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Blackhawks Discussing Extension With Ryan Donato

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As a pending unrestricted free agent, there has been an expectation that the Blackhawks would be moving forward Ryan Donato before today’s 2 PM CT trade deadline.  However, that might not be the case, as Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the two sides are discussing a potential contract extension.  Even if an agreement on that front can’t be reached, LeBrun adds that teams have been told that Chicago won’t move him unless they’re blown away with an offer.

The 28-year-old is in the midst of a career year, tallying 23 goals and 23 assists in 60 games, buoyed by a 16.9 shooting percentage.  By comparison, his previous personal best in points in a season was 31.  Perhaps more impressively is that he has done so without a dramatic jump in playing time as Donato is logging just 15:30 per night.

Donato is in the final season of a two-year, $4MM contract signed with Chicago after Seattle non-tendered him back in 2022 to avoid giving him salary arbitration eligibility.  With the year he’s having, Donato appears to be well on his way to potentially doubling his current price tag if not more on his next deal.

In the meantime, GM Kyle Davidson has set a high asking price for Donato’s services.  Earlier this week, as relayed by All CHGO’s Mario Tirabassi, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that the Blackhawks are seeking a first-round pick to move Donato.  While that might seem lofty given his overall track record of being more than a depth scorer, Donato has been a legitimate top-six forward this season and his price tag from a salary cap perspective is much cheaper than many of the other top-six options out there.  Notably, Chicago has used its three retention slots so they won’t be able to pay down any of the contract to help facilitate a move.

Clearly, Chicago’s preference is to get Donato locked up to a new deal but even if that doesn’t happen, it appears as if there’s at least a chance he’ll remain with the Blackhawks for at least the rest of the season.

Maple Leafs Showing Interest In Several Bottom-Six Forwards

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With their cap space relatively limited (though likely to grow once Ryan Reaves is off the roster either via waivers or AHL assignment), the Maple Leafs appear to be looking at some lower-cost options up front.  David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (Twitter link) that among the bottom-six players Toronto is looking at are Kraken winger Brandon Tanev and Sharks forward Luke Kunin.  Meanwhile, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that they’re also in the mix for Flyers center Scott Laughton.

Tanev is in the final season of a six-year, $21MM contract carrying a $3.5MM AAV.  The 33-year-old had a breakout offensive year in 2022-23, a campaign that saw him set new personal bests in goals (16), assists (19), and points (35).  However, he hasn’t been able to reach that point total in the last two seasons combined as he has reverted to his more typical level of production.

This season, Tanev has nine goals and eight assists through 61 games.  Of course, physicality is his main calling card and he’s once again averaging over two hits per contest.  He’s also Seattle’s most-used forward on the penalty kill which will make him more appealing to Toronto and other playoff contenders.  He has a 10-team no-trade list which could come into play depending on where he’s moved, assuming the Kraken find a swap to their liking.

Kunin, meanwhile, is the most versatile player out of this group as he can be deployed at all three forward positions.  The 27-year-old has only reached the 30-point mark once in his career, that being back in 2019-20 when he had 31 points in 63 games.  He has equaled his line from last year, tallying 11 goals and seven assists in 63 contests while chipping in with 163 hits.  Like Tanev, Kunin is also heavily used on the penalty kill.

He’s in the last year of his contract, one that carries a $2.75MM AAV.  Notably, San Jose does not have any remaining retention slots while Toronto doesn’t quite have enough money to bring him in, even if Reaves is off the roster.  So if the Maple Leafs are to land Kunin, they’ll either have to open up some more cap space or a third team will need to get involved to retain a chunk of the contract.

As for Laughton, he’s more of a higher-end bottom-six piece.  Through 59 games this season, he has 11 goals and 16 assists, his second straight season of a decline in per-game production.  Of course, the 30-year-old is known for his sound defensive game and brings the size, physicality, and penalty killing acumen that many teams are known to be coveting.

Notably, Laughton has another year left on his contract on a deal that carries a $3MM AAV.  Between that and the dearth of centers available, Philadelphia is believed to have set a high asking price for Laughton’s services, a package that includes a first-round pick.  If Toronto GM Brad Treliving wants to make a longer-term splash over going for a rental, he’ll have to pay a pretty hefty price to do so.

Utah Signs Karel Vejmelka To Five-Year Extension

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March 6: Utah has made Vejmelka’s extension official as reported.

March 5: A busy Wednesday for Utah continues.  After inking Alexander Kerfoot and Ian Cole to one-year extensions, the team has agreed to terms with its most prominent pending unrestricted free agent.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Utah has signed goaltender Karel Vejmelka to a five-year extension worth $4.75MM per season.

The 28-year-old was a late bloomer, only coming to North America at the age of 25 on a one-year, two-way contract.  But instead of being a depth option as expected, he wound up quickly becoming their starter, getting into 52 games.  While his overall numbers weren’t great on a rebuilding team (a 3.68 GAA and a .898 SV%), he did well enough to secure a three-year, $8.175MM extension less than 11 months after getting that entry-level pact, a deal that kept him off the trade block leading into the 2022 trade deadline.

The first two seasons of that contract were similar to the first while last year, he started to cede playing time to Connor Ingram who effectively took over as the strong side of the platoon in goal.  Along the way, his numbers largely stayed the same with a save percentage a little below .900 and a GAA well above the 3.00 mark.  On a team that wasn’t particularly focused on getting to the playoffs, those numbers were fine but there were some questions as to whether he could elevate his game when the time came for the club to start to try to emerge from that rebuild.

Those questions have been answered in a big way this season.  Vejmelka has reclaimed the number one nod in a big way, shaving more than a full goal off his GAA compared to his first three years with this year’s number checking in at 2.45 through 38 appearances.  His save percentage is up 15 points from last year, landing at .910, well above league average.  On top of that, he has cracked the top 10 in goals saved above average, per MoneyPuck.  He has played a big role in Utah hanging around the periphery of the playoff chase; they came into play today sitting just four points behind Calgary for the final Wild Card spot in the West.

This contract falls in line with some of the more recent deals signed for netminders.  Seattle’s Joey Daccord received $5MM per season for five years on his extension earlier this season while Kevin Lankinen’s five-year extension signed last month carries a $4.5MM cap charge.  Clearly, those two deals served as comparables to help get this deal across the finish line.

With the signing, Utah now has its goalie tandem signed through at least the 2026-27 season at a more-than-reasonable combined cap hit of $6.7MM.  Meanwhile, they now have 20 players signed for next season so while there’s an expectation that GM Bill Armstrong is going to try to make a splash, it doesn’t appear as if their roster is going to have a lot of turnover for 2025-26.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Red Wings Sign Austin Watson To A One-Year Extension

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March 6, 8:55 a.m.: Watson’s deal carries a $775K cap hit and NHL salary with a $375K minors salary, PuckPedia reports. The contract comes with a $400K guarantee.

March 5, 9:51 p.m.: The Red Wings are keeping one of their depth forwards around for a little while longer.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed winger Austin Watson to a one-year, two-way contract extension.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

The 33-year-old earned a contract for this season via the PTO route after spending training camp with Detroit.  He did well enough to earn a one-year, two-way pact that pays $775K in the NHL and $200K in the minors.  However, it hasn’t earned him much NHL action this season as he has been limited to just two appearances with the big club, both coming back in October where he was held off the scoresheet in seven minutes of playing time per night.

Instead, Watson has spent the bulk of the campaign with AHL Grand Rapids, his first extended taste of action in the minors since the 2014-15 campaign when he was a prospect with Nashville.  In 51 games with the Griffins, he has 12 goals and 19 assists along with 91 penalty minutes.

In his career, Watson has 517 NHL appearances under his belt over parts of 11 seasons where he has 118 points, 707 penalty minutes, and 1,215 hits.  While he could have tested free agency again this summer and potentially changed organizations for the fourth straight year, he’ll now stay with the Red Wings where he’ll likely remain as a veteran option in Grand Rapids.

Dougie Hamilton Out Week-To-Week

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It turns out learning that they’d be without their leading scorer for the rest of the season and playoffs wasn’t the only bad injury news for the Devils on Wednesday.  TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (audio link) that defenseman Dougie Hamilton is believed to be out week-to-week from the lower-body injury sustained in Tuesday’s loss to Dallas.

After missing the bulk of last season due to a torn pectoral muscle, Hamilton has been his usual productive self on New Jersey’s back end this year.  The 31-year-old has nine goals and 31 assists through 63 games despite not even averaging 20 minutes a night of playing time.  With 40 points, he leads all New Jersey blueliners in points (a dozen ahead of Luke Hughes) while sitting fifth on the team in scoring overall.

In his absence, it seems likely that they’ll ask Hughes to take a bigger role offensively, especially on the power play.  Meanwhile, Hamilton’s injury could also open up a spot for Seamus Casey to get back in the lineup; the rookie had a solid start offensively to the season and has been a strong point producer in the minors so he could be counted on to help shoulder some of the load on that front as well.

It’s another tough blow to a team whose hold on a playoff spot has started to slip recently with the team losing three of their last four games.  As a result, they now hold just a four-point lead on Columbus (who has two games in hand) for the third spot in the Metropolitan Division while they’re only six points ahead of a Wild Card position.  Now, they’ll be down two key veterans as they look to maintain their grip on a playoff spot.  That said, they also have over $13MM in LTIR room at the moment, per PuckPedia, if they want to try to add a replacement or two to try to stay afloat in the playoff race.

Senators Receiving Trade Interest In Drake Batherson

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While the Senators are expected to be looking to add to their roster by Friday’s trade deadline, that hasn’t stopped teams from calling about some of their younger veterans.  To that end, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Ottawa has been receiving trade interest in winger Drake Batherson.

Notably, Garrioch notes that the Sens aren’t actively shopping him and it’s believed that GM Steve Staios isn’t believed to be in any sort of hurry to move Batherson.  But with Ottawa having very limited cap space – around $850K, per PuckPedia – they would need to clear out some money if they want to make any sort of significant change to their roster.  While it has been suggested before that they’d be open to moving center Josh Norris, his $7.95MM price tag through the 2029-30 season makes an in-season move a lot less likely.

Batherson’s contract, however, is a much more palatable one.  He’s signed through the 2026-27 campaign at a $4.975MM price tag, one that’s generally viewed as a team-friendly cap charge.  In theory, moving him would give them some flexibility to try to add a core piece although dealing away Batherson would also obviously open up a hole to fill in their core forward group.

Batherson enters tonight’s game against Chicago in second place in team scoring with 16 goals and 31 assists through 60 appearances while logging 18:30 per night of ice time.  However, he has been a bit quiet as of late; since the calendar flipped to 2025, he has notched just three tallies and eight helpers in 24 games despite a small jump in playing time over that stretch.

Despite the dip in production as of late, Batherson’s recent track record is undoubtedly fueling the interest.  He came into this season with two straight years of at least 22 goals and 62 points under his belt with his 28 goals and 66 points last season representing new career bests.  Even with the slower pace of late, he still has a chance of reaching 20 goals and 60 points for a third straight year.  Accordingly, Staios and the Sens could justifiably place a high asking price for his services if they were to consider moving Batherson.

At the moment, Ottawa will be hard-pressed to do much of consequence on the trade front by Friday at 2 PM ET.  They can maybe add a lower-cost depth piece and that’s about it.  If they do intend to do something bigger, it appears they’ll have at least one option to open up more flexibility with the interest in Batherson.

Utah Signs Ian Cole To A One-Year Extension

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It turns out Alexander Kerfoot wasn’t the only pending UFA from Utah to get an extension on Wednesday.  Not long after announcing Kerfoot’s deal, the team announced that they’ve inked blueliner Ian Cole to a one-year extension.  Financial terms were not disclosed but Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the deal carries a base salary of $2.8MM and games-played bonuses of $200K, bringing the AAV to $3MM.  GM Bill Armstrong released the following statement:

We are thrilled to have Ian back for another season.  Ian’s championship pedigree, work ethic and leadership on and off the ice are valuable assets to our group, and we’re thrilled to have him remain with our organization as we fight for a playoff spot.

The 36-year-old has been somewhat of a hockey nomad in recent years, spending time with six different organizations over the last five seasons alone.  During that time, Cole was never with a team for more than one season.  That’s now set to change with this extension.

Cole signed a one-year, $3.1MM deal with Utah last summer meaning, like Kerfoot, he’s taking a small dip in pay to stick around.  After starting to ease into more of a lower spot on the depth chart in recent years, that hasn’t been the case this season.  With Utah’s back end being banged up for a good chunk of the year, Cole is averaging over 20 minutes a game of playing time for the first time in his career.

Through 61 games this season, Cole has a goal and 12 assists along with 160 blocked shots, a mark that leads the team by a considerable margin; Mikhail Sergachev sits second on the squad with 108.  That stat line lines up quite closely with his entire 15-year NHL career as Cole generally carries a point total in the teens while being among the leaders in blocks no matter where he plays.  That type of consistency and defensive reliability has always made him a popular target for teams and now he’ll get a bit of stability by getting to remain with Utah for another year.

Between this signing and the recent extension given to Olli Maatta, Utah’s top six defensemen are all under contract through at least next season, giving them a solid base with which to try to build from this offseason.  With very few free agents remaining – Karel Vejmelka and Nick Bjugstad are the headliners – Utah is in strong shape in terms of building some continuity on their roster while still having plenty of financial flexibility to try to add to its core group.

Utah Signs Alexander Kerfoot To One-Year Extension

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After signing Olli Maatta to an extension back on Monday, Utah HC has taken another pending UFA off the market for this summer.  The team announced that they’ve signed center Alexander Kerfoot to a one-year contract extension.  While the financial terms weren’t disclosed by the team, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the deal will pay Kerfoot $3MM.  GM Bill Armstrong released the following statement about the signing:

We are very pleased for Alex to remain in Utah. Alex is an important leader for our group with his versatility on the ice and leadership off the ice, and we look forward to having his continued contribution as we fight down the stretch to make the playoffs.

The 30-year-old is in his second year with the organization going back to his time in Arizona.  But those two seasons have had considerably different trajectories.  Last year with the Coyotes, Kerfoot had the second-best offensive season of his career, tallying 13 goals and 32 assists in 82 games while logging a career-best 17:26 per night.  It looked like he’d be well on his way toward a long-term deal on his next contract if he could even match that level of performance.

But instead of producing at a similar level in 2024-25, Kerfoot’s output has dipped to the lowest levels of his eight-year NHL career.  Through 61 outings this season, he has just seven goals and nine assists while his playing time has dropped by more than two minutes a game.  While he is winning more than 50% of his faceoffs for the first time since his sophomore season, it’s fair to say his stock around the league has taken a hit.

To that end, it shouldn’t come as much surprise that Kerfoot opted to take just a one-year deal now, giving himself a chance at rebuilding some value before potentially taking a run at the 2026 free agent market when another big jump in the salary cap is expected.  He’s also taking a small cut in pay in the process to stick around; next season will be the first time since the 2018-19 campaign that he hasn’t carried a $3.5MM charge against the salary cap.

With the signing, Utah now has $73.5MM in commitments for next season to 18 players, per PuckPedia.  Those numbers could go up soon enough if they’re able to get goaltender Karel Vejmelka locked down on an extension, an outcome he’s known to be seeking.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Oilers Recall Max Jones And Cam Dineen On Emergency Basis

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The Oilers have added some extra depth to their roster in advance of Thursday’s game against Montreal.  The team announced that they’ve recalled winger Max Jones and defenseman Cam Dineen from AHL Bakersfield on an emergency basis.

Jones was acquired earlier this week from Boston as part of the trade that also saw them land Trent Frederic.  He signed a two-year, $2MM contract with the Bruins early in free agency last summer but didn’t spend much time with them.  Instead, he played in just seven games with Boston before passing through waivers unclaimed.

Since then, the 27-year-old had been playing in the minors with Providence before the recent swap.  In his first taste of extended action in the AHL since the 2018-19 campaign, Jones has 13 goals and eight assists through 38 outings.  If he plays for Edmonton on recall, he’s likely to be in the fourth-line role he has largely held throughout his career, one that spans 265 NHL games over parts of seven seasons.

As for Dineen, this is his second recall of the week on an emergency basis with the first being a one-day promotion.  The 26-year-old has spent the season with the Condors where he has 29 points in 45 games, six shy of his career high set back in 2022-23.  His last taste of NHL action came in 2021-22 when he got into 34 games with Arizona.

To make room on the roster, Frederic was moved to injured reserve.  Edmonton now has the maximum of 23 players on its active roster although that maximum will only be in place until Friday.

Predators Acquire Michael Bunting

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The Predators and Penguins have made a multi-player swap.  Nashville has acquired winger Michael Bunting along with a 2026 fourth-round pick from Pittsburgh in exchange for center Thomas Novak and defenseman Luke Schenn.

Pittsburgh acquired Bunting last season as the most prominent part of the package from the Jake Guentzel trade with Carolina.  However, the 29-year-old has struggled in his first full season with the Pens.  Through 58 games this season, Bunting has just 14 goals and 15 assists.  By comparison, he had 19 points in 21 games down the stretch last year and hasn’t recorded fewer than 49 points over the last three seasons, a streak that seems likely to come to an end.

Nashville will undoubtedly be hoping that the change of scenery will get him back to the level of production he had.  They’re taking on the final year and a bit of a contract that carries a $4.5MM cap charge.  When Bunting is at his best, he’s worth that type of money as a top-six winger who plays with an edge but he’ll be joining a team that has had several veterans underachieve this season.

The move is an interesting one from their standpoint.  While the expectation was that they’d be looking for younger pieces who are longer-term fits, they actually get a little older up front with the swap while losing some club control with Novak still having two years left on his contract after this one.  It suggests that GM Barry Trotz feels his team isn’t that far away from being a playoff contender once again and that a tweak or two to the forward group could propel them back in the right direction next season.  Bunting won’t be able to help in the short term, however, as he is currently on IR after undergoing an appendectomy.

As for Pittsburgh’s return, Novak is the headliner.  He’s a bit of a reclamation project himself as he’s in the midst of a down year as well.  The 27-year-old had two straight seasons of more than 40 points heading into this one, a performance that earned him a three-year, $10.5MM contract a little before the trade deadline last March.

But, like many of Nashville’s players this season, Novak hasn’t been able to produce to expectations.  He has just 13 goals and nine assists in 52 games while his playing time has dipped to just over 13 minutes a night.  Meanwhile, his struggles at the faceoff dot continue as he’s winning just 43% of his draws which has resulted in him spending more time on the wing this year.

Clearly, Pittsburgh feels that a fresh start will be beneficial for Novak.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see him moved back down the middle with a center group that’s on the older side, featuring Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kevin Hayes.  If they can get Novak back to even being a capable third-line option, that would be a solid outcome for a team that clearly isn’t looking to rebuild despite being on pace to miss the playoffs for the third straight year.

Schenn, meanwhile, has been a fixture on the third pairing of several teams in recent seasons.  After faring well with Vancouver and Toronto in the 2022-23 campaign, he signed a three-year, $8.25MM contract with Nashville in the 2023 offseason.  But his role has been more limited with the Predators as he has barely averaged 15 minutes a night since joining them.  While he brings plenty of physicality to the table – he has notched more than 200 hits in four straight years – he hasn’t been able to elevate himself to being higher than sixth on the depth chart.  Meanwhile, he has just five points in 61 outings this season although offense has never been his calling card.

It will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh intends to hold onto Schenn or if they intend to flip him, just like they did earlier tonight with Vincent Desharnais.  Despite Schenn’s struggles, his success at being a late-season addition before coupled with his toughness will undoubtedly have playoff-bound teams kicking the tires on the potential of him being moved once again.  If it doesn’t happen, he’s likely to have the same role on the depth chart with the Penguins on their third pairing.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the players involved while Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic was first with the pick inclusion.

Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.

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