Lightning Acquire And Sign Lucas Mercuri
Earlier this month, Lucas Mercuri informed the Hurricanes that he wouldn’t be signing with them. It didn’t take Carolina long to find a team that the center was amenable to joining, as the Lightning announced that they acquired the prospect for a 2025 sixth-round pick and signed him to a two-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms of the deal, which begins next season, were not disclosed.
The 23-year-old was a sixth-round pick by the Hurricanes back in 2020, going 159th overall. In essence, they’re going to land a pick that’s somewhat close to what they originally used on him which isn’t the worst return for a player who doesn’t want to sign with a team. It wasn’t disclosed why Mercuri didn’t want to sign with Carolina.
Mercuri just wrapped up his college career with UMass, saving his best season for last. In 40 games for the Minutemen this season, he notched 10 goals and 21 assists, both personal bests while finishing fifth on the team in scoring. Over his four-year career with them, he recorded 28 goals and 57 assists in 148 games.
While Mercuri’s contract won’t start until next season, he will be able to get a head start on his professional career. As part of the acquisition announcement, the Lightning revealed that he has signed a tryout deal with AHL Syracuse and will play with them for the rest of the season.
San Jose Sharks Recall Jimmy Schuldt
Veteran defenseman Jimmy Schuldt is getting another look with the Sharks. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Schuldt from AHL San Jose; it’s his fourth recall of the month.
The 29-year-old is in his first season with the Sharks after signing a one-year, two-way deal with them last summer. He has seen his first NHL action since the 2018-19 campaign with Vegas so from that standpoint, the choice was a good one.
Schuldt has suited up in five games for the Sharks this season, all of which have come this month. He has been held off the scoresheet in those outings while averaging a little under 15 minutes a game of playing time. Meanwhile, with the Barracuda, Schuldt has six goals and 14 assists in 59 outings, his second straight year of declining offensive production in the AHL.
Schuldt is expected to add to his NHL games played total tonight against the Rangers as it’s believed he’ll draw in for the injured Vincent Desharnais. However, his recall will likely be short-lived as Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News relays (Twitter link) that it appears that blueliner Marc-Edouard Vlasic will be available to play Sunday versus Los Angeles. At that time, the emergency conditions for Schuldt’s recall will terminate, meaning he’ll either have to return to the Barracuda or be converted to one of San Jose’s four post-deadline regular recalls.
Philadelphia Flyers Sign Karsen Dorwart
Mar. 29: According to a team announcement, the Flyers have confirmed Dorwart’s two-year contract, also sharing that he’ll join the team immediately.
Mar. 28: Dorwart’s deal is done, per PuckPedia. He lands the maximum entry-level cap hit of $975K on his two-year deal, which begins immediately. His 2024-25 salary figure will be prorated. Dorwart will earn an $877.5K base salary, a $97.5K signing bonus, and an $85K minors salary each season with no performance bonuses.
Mar. 22: College free agency has already started for some players while some of the more notable ones will become available in the coming weeks once their Frozen Four tournament comes to an end. One of the players in that category is Michigan State forward Karsen Dorwart. He’s expected to have several suitors with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reporting that several teams feel the Flyers are expected to strongly pursue Dorwart’s services.
The 22-year-old is in his junior year with the Spartans, one that has seen him take a bit of a step back offensively. After putting up 15 goals and 19 assists in 38 games last season, Dorwart has 11 goals and 16 helpers in 33 games so far. Despite the drop in output, he’s still second on the team in scoring behind Tampa Bay winger Isaac Howard.
Dorwart was viewed as one of the top college free agents available last year with Friedman noting that the Maple Leafs nearly landed him at that time before he decided to remain in school. With that in mind, it seems likely that Toronto will take a run at trying to sign him again as well. Dorwart is among the top options available again this year so it’s likely he’ll be able to secure a contract that allows him to play down the stretch this season (he won’t be playoff-eligible, however) and burn one of the two years of his entry-level deal in the process.
Lack Of Cap Space An Impediment For Lightning And Isaac Howard
With more college teams starting to be eliminated, we’re seeing an influx of NHL prospects signing contracts. With Michigan State losing on Thursday, several of their prospects will be turning pro. While it’s expected that Lightning winger Isaac Howard will be one of them, his situation might take a little longer to resolve.
Scott Wheeler of The Athletic relays (Twitter links) that Howard’s desire is to burn a year of his entry-level deal right away and join Tampa Bay for the stretch run where he could play for them, including in the playoffs. However, that’s something they can’t afford to do. Per PuckPedia, the team has just $8,372 of cap space which obviously isn’t enough to fit Howard in. Even prorating by day, they’d likely only be able to sign him with two days left in the regular season. That’s still not for another roughly three weeks and it might be harder for the team to consider using him in the playoffs after sitting for so long.
Alternatively, the Lightning could push for Howard to go to AHL Syracuse. For that to happen, he’d have to sign an entry-level deal that begins next season (eliminating his NHL eligibility this season) or sign a tryout deal with the Crunch, play with them for a bit, and then sign an NHL deal with Tampa Bay beginning this year to be playoff-eligible. The latter route is rarely taken but there is a recent instance of a player doing that; Anaheim’s Sam Colangelo took that path last season.
Howard started his college career at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2022-23 but went to Michigan State via the transfer portal the following year. He put up a point per game last season and found another gear offensively this year, tallying 26 goals and 26 assists in just 37 games, slotting him fifth in NCAA scoring while demonstrating he’s ready to make the jump to the pros. But with Tampa Bay’s cap situation, just how exactly he’s going to start his professional career remains in question.
Predators Sign Matthew Wood
Another top college prospect has decided that the time is right to turn pro. The Predators announced that they have signed forward Matthew Wood to a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms of the deal, which begins this season, were not disclosed.
The 20-year-old was the 15th overall selection back in 2023, following a very impressive freshman season at the University of Connecticut. That year, he had 11 goals and 23 assists in 35 games before averaging nearly two points per game for Canada at the World Under-18s, further boosting his stock heading into the draft.
But things didn’t go as well for Wood last season. His point total dropped to 28 in 34 games although 16 of those were goals. Nevertheless, he opted to enter the transfer portal after the season, joining the University of Minnesota.
Wood played for Canada at the World Juniors last year but didn’t make the squad this season. However, he had a strong year for the Golden Gophers, setting new benchmarks in goals (17) and points (39) in 39 contests, good for a share of second place in team scoring while earning him a spot on the All-Big Ten Honorable Mention team.
Wood will now get his first taste of NHL action as he’ll report to the Predators in the coming days. Because he’s burning the first year of his contract this season, he will not be eligible to report to AHL Milwaukee when Nashville’s season comes to an end. The Preds have ten games left this season so Wood should have a chance to get at least a few games in with the big club, giving him a chance to make a good first impression toward a possible full-time spot next season.
Connor Zary Out Week-To-Week
While it wasn’t the worst-case scenario for Flames forward Connor Zary as it pertains to his lower-body injury, he’ll still be out for a little while. The team announced (Twitter link) that Zary has been listed as out week-to-week.
The injury was sustained back on Thursday in their loss to Dallas in a collision with Mikko Rantanen, requiring some assistance to get off the ice. Initially feared it could be a recurrence of the significant knee injury that caused Zary to miss 15 games recently, it doesn’t appear as if the injury is as severe but nonetheless, he’s set to miss some time.
This is Zary’s first full NHL season after he spent a bit of time with AHL Calgary last year. The 23-year-old had 14 goals and 20 assists in 63 games in 2023-24 and is producing at a similar clip this year, tallying 13 goals and 14 helpers in 54 outings, good for seventh in team scoring, fifth among Flames forwards.
Zary joins Anthony Mantha and Justin Kirkland (who both have season-ending injuries) on the shelf for Calgary as they look to get back into a playoff spot. Entering tonight’s action, the Flames are six points out of the last Wild Card spot held by St. Louis but also have three games in hand on the Blues. But they’ll have to find a way to stay in the mix without one of their top-six forwards for at least the next little while.
Bokondji Imama Out Four To Six Months After Bicep Surgery
Bokondji Imama’s first season with the Penguins has come to an early end. The team announced that the winger underwent successful surgery to repair a bicep injury. The procedure carries a recovery timeline of four to six months.
The 28-year-old joined Pittsburgh in free agency last summer, inking a one-year, two-way contract. Imama started the campaign with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, notching three goals, two assists, and 47 penalty minutes in 24 games with them before being recalled to the big club in late January.
Since then, Imama has had his biggest taste of NHL action, getting into 16 games, tallying a goal, 30 penalty minutes, and 45 hits in a little under six minutes of playing time per night. For his career, he has a pair of goals in 31 appearances at the top level.
Imama will once again be an unrestricted free agent this summer. At the long end of the recovery timeline, he could miss part of training camp which might negatively affect his market in free agency. Imama indicated earlier this month that his preference was to remain with Pittsburgh but with this injury, it remains to be seen if they’ll be willing to do so.
Flames Sign Jacob Battaglia To Entry-Level Contract
The Flames have agreed to terms with one of their more promising prospects. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed winger Jacob Battaglia to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will carry an AAV of $931.7K and while not specified by the club, it will begin next season.
The 19-year-old was a late second-round pick last year, going 62nd overall after a promising sophomore season with OHL Kingston. After potting seven goals and 20 assists as a rookie, those numbers jumped to 31 and 34, respectively, in 67 outings in 2023-24.
This season, Battaglia was able to add to those totals once again. He finished up the campaign with 40 goals and 50 helpers in 68 games, good for a share of the team lead in scoring with Vegas prospect Tuomas Uronen. Battaglia had a pair of assists in yesterday’s playoff opener as well.
As Battaglia won’t turn 20 until next March, playing in the minors next season won’t be an option. He’ll have to make Calgary’s roster or be returned to Kingston. The latter scenario is much more likely and in that instance, his deal will slide and still have three years left on it heading into the 2026-27 campaign.
Blackhawks Sign Sam Rinzel
11:03 AM: The Blackhawks officially confirmed Rinzel’s signing.
10:17 AM: It appears Oliver Moore won’t be the only prominent prospect that the Blackhawks will be signing. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that Chicago is also inking defenseman Sam Rinzel to a three-year, entry-level deal that begins this season. PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the contract will break down as follows:
2024-25: $830K salary, $95K signing bonus, $25K games-played bonus
2025-26: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $500K ‘A’ bonuses
2026-27: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $750K ‘A’ bonuses
The above works out to a cap hit of $942K and an AAV of 1.363MM. Rinzel isn’t eligible for ‘A’ bonuses in his contract this season since they’re unachievable with how little time is remaining in the schedule.
The 20-year-old was the 25th overall selection by Chicago back in 2022 out of Chaska in Minnesota’s high school system. At the time, he was viewed as a high-ceiling but a long-term development project.
Rinzel spent his post-draft season exclusively with USHL Waterloo after spending a bit of time there the year before as well. After a strong year offensively with them, he went on to the University of Minnesota where he has spent the last two seasons. In his freshman year, Rinzel put up two goals and 26 assists in 38 games while this season, he notched 10 goals and 22 helpers in 40 contests, ranking him sixth among all Division I blueliners in points.
It appears Chicago feels Rinzel is ready for the next test. Because the contract starts this season, he will not be eligible to play with AHL Rockford once Chicago’s season ends but there’s a good chance he’ll see some time with the IceHogs next season with GM Kyle Davidson shifting toward giving his top prospects a chance to play a prominent role in the minors before getting an extended NHL look. But for now, Rinzel will be able to get his feet wet at the NHL level and get into a few games with the Blackhawks down the stretch.
West Notes: Oilers, Stancl, Fischer, Colangelo
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch provided injury updates to several reporters, including TSN’s Ryan Rishaug (Twitter link). While centers Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were ruled out for the week recently, Knoblauch clarified that Draisaitl will be the first one to come back, likely after this week ends or soon after; that suggests McDavid could miss a bit more time beyond that. Meanwhile, newcomer Trent Frederic could still be multiple weeks away from skating with the team, calling into question if he’ll be able to get into game action before the end of the regular season. Edmonton recently slipped into third place in the Pacific Division and they’ll have to find a way to at least stay close to getting that spot back while waiting for their two top players to return.
More from out West:
- The Blues’ AHL affiliate in Springfield announced a pair of additions. First, St. Louis reassigned winger Jakub Stancl from WHL Kelowna to the Thunderbirds. The 20-year-old signed his entry-level contract last year but spent the season with the Rockets where he potted 23 goals and 34 assists in 58 games. This was his only year in major junior after playing professionally in Sweden last season. His entry-level deal will officially begin in 2025-26 after sliding this season. The Thunderbirds also added defenseman Lukas Fischer on an ATO for the remainder of the year. The 18-year-old was a second-round pick last year, going 56th overall and spent this season with OHL Sarnia where he had 15 goals and 22 assists in 51 games. If he sees game action with Springfield, it will be his first taste of professional action.
- The Ducks will have winger Sam Colangelo back in the lineup tonight against Boston, relays Eric Stephens of The Athletic (Twitter link). He had been out for the last two weeks with an upper-body injury. Colangelo is in his first full professional season and has split time between Anaheim and AHL San Diego. He has six goals and an assist in 20 games with the Ducks while being quite productive with the Gulls, tallying 19 goals and 16 helpers in 38 outings on the farm.