Free Agent Focus: Calgary Flames
Free agency is just over a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. Even with the UFA crop being thinned out in recent months, there will be some quality veterans set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We start our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Flames.
Key Restricted Free Agents
John Beecher – The Flames don’t have any key NHL players set to become restricted free agents, in part thanks to the $7.5MM AAV extension they signed with No. 1 goalie Dustin Wolf. That deal kicks in on July 1. As a result, Beecher is the Flames RFA with the most NHL experience, though it’d be difficult to call him a key player by any means.
The Flames claimed Beecher, 25, off of waivers from the Boston Bruins in the middle of November. The speedy forward looked to have established himself in the NHL in 2024-25, playing in a career-high 78 games. But the Bruins team Beecher played those games for that season was an uncharacteristically weak one, and this past campaign, he lost his role as a lineup regular under new head coach Marco Sturm.
Calgary was likely intrigued by the traits in Beecher’s game that made him a first-round pick by the Bruins: he possesses a coveted combination of size (6’3″ 220 pounds) and speed, while also being able to play the center position.
That speed has allowed Beecher to carve out a spot in both Boston and Calgary’s penalty-kill rotations, but he hasn’t been able to make a more well-rounded impact on either team he’s played for.
He was not a top scorer in the AHL for the Providence Bruins, nor in college for the Michigan Wolverines, and has produced just 28 points in 165 career NHL games.
Despite the pace in his game, it’s unlikely Beecher will ever be much of a point producer. The key question is whether he’ll be able to leverage his skating and size to carve out a lengthy career as a fourth-line player with valuable penalty-kill utility. He has shown some flashes of potential to become that kind of player, but hasn’t been able to do so with much consistency.
The Flames could bring Beecher back at a relatively affordable price. He cost $900K this past season, and would need to receive a one-way deal for next year. The main complicating factor at play here is Beecher’s right to pursue arbitration, which could give the Flames some pause if they’re not certain Beecher is a part of their plans for next season’s team.
Brennan Othmann – Like Beecher, Othmann is a first-round pick by an original six franchise who thus far hasn’t been able to carve out a meaningful long-term role in an NHL lineup. Othmann is a few years younger than Beecher and therefore doesn’t have as much NHL experience, though he is a considerably more advanced player at the AHL level. The 23-year-old scored 21 goals and 49 points as an AHL rookie with the 2023-24 Hartford Wolf Pack, and has maintained a solid scoring clip at the AHL level, even as he’s struggled in call-ups to the NHL.
A skilled winger who has some valuable pest-like elements to his game, Othmann hasn’t been able to translate any of his scoring from the AHL and OHL to the NHL level. He was traded to Calgary at the deadline for 2024 second-rounder Jacob Battaglia, but managed just seven points in 14 AHL games after the trade. He did score a goal and an assist in two games for the Flames after the deal, but that is just two games.
With his entry-level deal now concluded, it’ll be interesting to see how the Flames value Othmann. It’s not unreasonable by any stretch to believe he still has NHL potential, but his star as a prospect has faded. A one-year, two-way deal likely makes the most sense here, one with the kind of solid AHL salary merited by the level of production Othmann has put forward in his minor-league career so far.
Rory Kerins – Kerins, 24, has been a real developmental success story for the Flames as a 2020 sixth-round pick. The 5’10”, 175-pound center was one of the OHL’s best players in 2021-22, scoring 43 goals and 118 points in 67 games. That raised expectations for what he might be able to do as a professional, but he ended up spending his debut pro campaign in the ECHL with the Rapid City Rush, scoring 37 points in 38 games.
In 2023-24, after that one year in the ECHL, Kerins quickly became an impactful AHLer. He scored 16 goals and 32 points that year, but the real breakout was to come a year later. In 2024-25, Kerins scored 33 goals and 61 points in 63 games, production that made him an AHL All-Star. This past season, Kerins showed that year wasn’t any fluke, scoring 22 goals and 57 points in 56 games.
The question for Kerins is whether he’ll top out as a high-end AHL scorer, or if he has something to give at the NHL level. His most recent contract was a one-year, two-way deal containing a guarantee of $125K. Without question, he’s earned a raise off that number for next season in the AHL.
Other RFAs: F Carter King, F Parker Bell, F Lucas Ciona, F Sam Morton, D Gavin White, D Artem Grushnikov, G Owen Say
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
Ryan Lomberg – After winning the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in 2024, Lomberg cashed in on his status as a fan-favorite agitator playing on the league’s best team. He signed a two-year, $2MM AAV deal with the Flames, a solid contract for a player with a career-high of just 20 points. 
With the Flames, Lomberg has been as advertised: a low-scoring fourth-line winger who punches above his weight, plays with energy and physicality, and tries his best to get under the skin of opponents.
A player of Lomberg’s skillset is often held as most valuable in the playoffs, meaning Lomberg’s talents didn’t feel quite as meaningful playing on a rebuilding Flames team.
With that said, the experience Lomberg was able to provide to a young team full of developing prospects still held real value, even if he wasn’t able to produce nearly as much as the 12 goals and 20 points he put forward in 2022-23. He’d be an in-demand bottom-sixer on the open market.
Back in February, Lomberg made his desire to remain in Calgary very clear. He told Sportsnet’s Eric Francis:
This is where I want to be. I’ve been pretty vocal on how much I love the city, and the people, and the organization. I want to win here. My family and I love it here, and we’re extremely proud to be part of the organization and a big part of the community. I signed here with the intention of helping this team win, and being part of the solution. So that’s definitely how I would like it to stay.
The Flames certainly have the financial bandwidth to match any bid for Lomberg, but the question will be whether the team has interest in retaining the 31-year-old or if they’re eager to turn over the role he occupies to a younger player.
Victor Olofsson – Cast off by the Colorado Avalanche as part of the Nazem Kadri trade deadline deal, Olofsson has only played in 18 games for the Flames, and his time in Calgary could very well end there. Olofsson has always been something of an enigmatic player, a clearly talented sniper whose inconsistency has kept him from holding down a permanent role on any NHL team.
A two-time 20-goal scorer during his days with the Buffalo Sabres, Olofsson scored 13 goals and 31 points in 78 games across stints with Calgary and Colorado in 2025-26. The year before, he scored 15 goals and 29 points in 56 games for the Vegas Golden Knights.
While there is likely still a place for Olofsson in the NHL, it may not be in Calgary. Making the most of Olofsson on an NHL roster means giving him an offensive role with at least second-unit power play time. As the Flames look to develop as much long-term value as possible on their roster, there may be more to gain by giving a young player the opportunity to play that role, rather than reserving it for Olofsson.
Daniil Miromanov – In the immediate aftermath of when the Flames acquired Miromanov from the Golden Knights as part of the Noah Hanifin trade, there was some optimism that he could end up becoming a real steal for Calgary. He seemed to instantly elevate his game. He played in only four contests in Vegas, but got time in the NHL with the Flames down the stretch in 2024. In 20 games for the Flames, he averaged 21:15 time on ice per game, including 2:05 per game on the power play. He managed a solid seven points in 20 games, and signed a two-year, $1.25MM AAV extension.
That performance, and contract, earned Miromanov an NHL spot for the next season. But Miromanov wasn’t able to resume his role from late the season before, instead serving as a frequent healthy scratch. He only got into 44 games in 2024-25, and averaged 17:40 time on ice per game, almost entirely at even strength.
This past season, Miromanov’s decline in terms of role has only hastened. Despite Calgary’s decisions to trade away veteran talent from its defense, Miromanov wasn’t able to seize on the minutes vacated by MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson. Instead, he spent almost all of 2025-26 in the AHL, playing in just a single game at the NHL level. While nothing has been set in stone, there is every indication that Miromanov has already played his final game in Calgary.
Jake Bean – Bean, 27, has had a disappointing two-year stint with the Flames. In his first season in Calgary, he averaged just 15:05 time on ice per game, and scored just seven points in 64 contests. He wasn’t able to take a step forward in the NHL despite looking like a future top-four defenseman earlier in his career.
This past season, Bean was limited to just 16 games. He underwent surgery in December as the result of an undisclosed injury. A fresh start could be what is best for both Bean and the Flames.
Other UFAs: F Justin Kirkland, F Clark Bishop, D Nick Cicek, G Ivan Prosvetov
Projected Cap Space
The Flames enter next season with a little over $18MM in projected cap space. While that may seem surprisingly low for a team in the midst of a full-on rebuild, that’s simply because greater financial freedom is just on the horizon. The Flames project to have over $51.5MM in cap space for 2027-28, and $83.5MM for 2028-29. But even that $18MM figure should be more than enough for the team to be able to not only comfortably retain all of their pending free agents, but also have some spending money for free agency if that’s a route they want to take.
They’ll also have the flexibility to be able to take on sub-optimal contracts in exchange for draft picks, though the market for those kinds of deals is sure to be less robust than it was during the days of the flat salary cap. In any case, Calgary will have significant financial flexibility in the year to come, especially on their back-end. Calgary’s highest-paid defenseman is Kevin Bahl at $5.35MM, and no other Flames blueliner even reaches $4MM in cap hit.
Photos courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images, Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Minor Transactions: Stevens, Newkirk, Fontaine, Jandric
John Stevens, a veteran of nearly 400 career AHL games, will depart Liiga’s Kiekko-Espoo after one season there, according to a team announcement on social media. Stevens signed with the club last summer, a move that appeared to end – or at the very least suspend – an AHL career spanning back to the 2016-17 season. Stevens won the Calder Cup with the Abbotsford Canucks in 2024-25, but didn’t get to play in their playoff run.
A former captain at the NCAA level for the Northeastern Huskies, Stevens developed into an impactful AHL scorer in Abbotsford. He was more of a bottom-six piece during the early portion of his AHL career in the New York Islanders organization with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but a mid-season trade to the Canucks organization in 2020 helped spark a greater level of contributions. Stevens scored a career-high 19 goals and 43 points in 2021-22, and had a solid 35 points in 68 games as recently as 2023-24. For AHLers who have exceeded their status as “development players,” finding a way to stick in the league can be a challenge. Stevens’ 2024-25 season saw his production decline by 20 points, which appears to have spelled the end of his time in North America’s second-best league. His debut season overseas saw him score 10 goals and 23 points and wear an “A” for a Kiekko-Espoo side that reached the Liiga postseason.
Other minor transactions from across the hockey world:
- Another former Islanders prospect, Reece Newkirk, has elected to swap the North American minor leagues for Finland’s top division. Newkirk, 25, has signed a one-year contract with JYP Jyväskylä for the 2026-27 season. A 2019 fifth-rounder by the Islanders, Newkirk spent three seasons in their minor-league system serving as an AHL/ECHL bubble player. He developed into a point-per-game ECHL player for the Worcester Railers while serving in a depth capacity for Bridgeport. Newkirk exited the Islanders’ farm system in 2024 and has bounced around a bit, most recently settling with the Syracuse Crunch and their ECHL affiliate, the Orlando Solar Bears. Newkirk ranked No. 2 on the Solar Bears in scoring this past season with 51 points in 52 games, while also dressing in 15 games for the Crunch.
- Former New York Rangers prospect Gabriel Fontaine has signed a two-year contract with reigning German champions Eisbären Berlin, reports Jörg Lubrich of German outlet Bild. The 29-year-old was a 2016 sixth-round pick of the Rangers and spent a half-decade in the AHL (2017-2022) before heading overseas. Fontaine’s European career began in Liiga with Lukko Rauma, but he struggled in 2023-24 scoring just 13 points in 36 games. He transferred to Germany that summer, and ended up finding a home in Berlin, where he scored 19 goals and 40 points en route to a DEL title. He signed with Red Bull Munich last summer, but wasn’t able to repeat the success he had in Berlin, scoring just 21 points in 37 games. Now, Fontaine will return to Berlin and look to help their title defense.
- The Nürnberg Ice Tigers of the DEL announced the signing of ECHL champion Chris Jandric to a one-year contract. Jandric, 27, crossed the Atlantic and signed with the DEL’s ERC Ingolstadt last summer, and he ended up playing in just 28 games during the team’s regular season. Previously, Jandric had spent the entirety of his professional career split between the AHL and ECHL. A former top NCAA defenseman with North Dakota, Jandric developed into a legitimate No. 1 defenseman at the ECHL level, with his 50 points in 54 games helping lead Trois-Rivières Lions to a Kelly Cup title in 2025. He wasn’t able to bring that level of play over to the DEL with Ingolstadt, but he will hope that can change in Nürnberg.
Latest On Vladimir Tarasenko, Minnesota Wild
Although the Minnesota Wild “certainly liked” having Vladimir Tarasenko on their roster this past season, it’s questionable whether the club will end up being able to sign him to a contract extension, Joe Smith of The Athletic reported today.
According to Smith, “the price would have to be right” for the Wild to sign Tarasenko to an extension, meaning below the $4.75MM cap hit on his previous deal. After a bounce-back season that saw him produce 23 goals and 47 points on a strong Wild team, Tarasenko may feel he will be able to earn more on the open market than Minnesota is prepared to offer him.
Smith also noted one key factor complicating negotiations between the Wild and Tarasenko: agents. Tarasenko is reportedly repped by both Pat Brisson of CAA and Paul Theofanous of TMI, part of a formal collaboration agreement by Theofanous and CAA signed in February. Smith reported that Theofanous “is taking the lead with Tarasenko’s next deal.”
That could make it harder to reach a deal with Minnesota, as Theofanous is the agent who represents the Wild’s franchise player, Kirill Kaprizov. According to Smith, the Wild got “squeezed into” the $17MM AAV mega-extension they signed with Kaprizov, and it’s Smith’s belief that the Wild are “unlikely [to] play ball” with Theofanous again this summer.
The Wild have numerous pending unrestricted free agents to consider signing, including Mats Zuccarello, Michael McCarron, Marcus Johansson, and Nick Foligno. The Wild may not have the cap room to retain everybody, and may prefer to sign a player like Johansson to an extension rather than Tarasenko. Johansson, 35, scored 15 goals and 49 points this past season and is repped by J.P. Barry of CAA. AFP Analytics projects Johansson’s next deal at one-year, $3.2MM and Tarasenko’s at one-year, $3.4MM.
Although the Wild appreciated Tarasenko’s efforts in his year with the team, especially his proactive work to help rookie Danila Yurov adjust to life in North America, Tarasenko will likely be able to receive more substantial offers on the open market than what Minnesota will likely be prepared to offer. Tarasenko himself said he “would love to return” to the Wild, but such a return may not be in the cards for a variety of reasons.
Beyond just the recent history between Tarasenko’s lead representative and the Wild’s front office, the state of upcoming free agency could simply be too favorable for Tarasenko to pass up on a chance to test the open market. Free agency is widely expected to be thin on talent, with few difference-making scorers set to be available.
While Tarasenko hasn’t produced at above a middle-six rate for two years, he does have exceptional pedigree as a former star scorer and a two-time Stanley Cup champion. With many teams set to have significant cap space available, and precious little high-end free agent talent on the market to spend it on, the conditions are optimal for Tarasenko to enter the open market and receive a (relatively) substantial contract.
For as much as the Wild appreciated having Tarasenko on their team, it’s unlikely they will be able to match the kind of contract he could receive in free agency. The team is expected to be aggressive this summer in procuring high-end talent to support their immediate efforts to win a Stanley Cup (while they still have franchise defenseman Quinn Hughes under contract) and will likely want to preserve as much cap space as possible for their chase for a No. 1 center. Among other factors, that could price Tarasenko out of the Twin Cities.
Photos courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
Islanders Sign Liam Foudy To One-Year Contract Extension
9:35 PM CST: Per Puckpedia, Foudy’s extension carries an $850K NHL cap hit and a $325K AHL salary, a modest raise that falls short of the $400K AHL plateau but reflects his step forward in Bridgeport.
2:00 PM CST: The New York Islanders announced that forward Liam Foudy has been signed to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Foudy, who is repped by Thane Campbell of Pro Counsel International, was set to become an RFA with arbitration rights this summer. Signing this extension takes Foudy off the board and gives the Islanders some more continuity in terms of the depth in their organization. The one-year term of the deal means Foudy, 26, will become an unrestricted free agent a year from now.
A first-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets back in the 2018 draft, Foudy has found a home in the Islanders organization over the last two seasons.
The Ontario native made a name for himself as a member of the London Knights back in his OHL days thanks in large part to his skating. He possesses raw foot speed few players can match. That allowed Foudy to become an effective junior scorer, (68 points in each of his final two OHL campaigns) but he has not yet been able to translate that elite tool into tangible NHL production.
Foudy has played in 105 NHL games but has just seven goals and 22 points. His speed remains a standout trait, but the NHL is home to some of the world’s fastest players. Against AHL competition, that elite pace stands out far more. That’s helped him develop into an effective AHL scorer even as NHL success has eluded him. Foudy registered career-highs playing for the Bridgeport Islanders last season, scoring 26 goals and 47 points in 60 games.
It’s likely that Foudy’s strong 2025-26 season will earn him a raise from his previous contract. Foudy played 2025-26 on a one-year, league-minimum two-way deal. The contract carried a $250K AHL salary and a $300K guarantee. Expect Foudy’s deal, once the financial terms come to light, to contain a heftier AHL salary and guarantee, perhaps even breaking the $400K plateau that is typically reserved for high-end AHL contributors.
Also, it’s worth noting that the Islanders do not appear to be closing the door on Foudy’s NHL future. NHL history is littered with examples of highly-drafted prospects who at first disappointed, but then found their way back into the NHL after extensive development in the AHL. According to Andrew Gross of Newsday, the Islanders believe Foudy has the potential to add his name to that list. Gross reported that Foudy is ” highly thought of in the organization” and has a “legit chance of making team in training camp.”
If Foudy does find a way to carve out an NHL career, it will likely be somewhere in the bottom-six. While he hasn’t been able to find a way to translate his speed into points at the NHL level, he could still leverage the pace of his game to become an effective defensive forward. His skating could be especially useful on the penalty kill. Now armed with a one-year contract extension, Foudy will get the chance to make a push to return to the NHL with the Islanders in the fall.
Central Notes: Blackhawks Defense, Sturm, No. 4 Pick
The Chicago Blackhawks’ priority in the offseason will be “adding a quality defenseman,” writes Scott Powers of The Athletic. There has been some belief that Chicago might be aggressive in pursuing a young top-six winger who can partner with franchise center Connor Bedard, and that still may be on the table, but Powers writes that the Blackhawks are likely to seek defensive help to stabilize a blueline that featured several young defensemen last season.
According to Powers, the Blackhawks are hoping their young defensemen, such as Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel, are able to take steps forward, but also acknowledge that they “need some support.” Don’t look for the Blackhawks to prioritize right-shot defensemen, though. Powers would “be surprised if” Chicago was looking for a right-shot blueliner to compete with Rinzel and Levshunov, who will be all but assured spots in the opening-night lineup barring some sort of steep unexpected decline in form.
Other notes from the Central Division:
- The Minnesota Wild may be forced to choose between veteran fourth-line centers Nico Sturm and Michael McCarron over the next month, write Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic. The Wild traded a second-round pick to acquire McCarron, a pending UFA, from the Nashville Predators. McCarron indicated in his end-of-season media availability that he will be seeking to maximize his financial security with his next contract. If the Wild decide to pay the market price for McCarron, they could be forced to move Sturm. The 31-year-old has one more year left on his deal at a $2MM cap hit.
- The Blackhawks “are preparing for the possibility” that the upcoming draft’s top three forward prospects (Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Caleb Malhotra) aren’t available at No. 4, writes Powers. Such an outcome would put the Blackhawks in a position where the next few top-ranked players are all likely to be defensemen. Chicago has already invested a recent top pick in a right-shot defenseman (Levshunov, the 2024 No. 2 pick) so according to Powers, they could be hesitant to pick someone such as OHL defenseman Chase Reid. The top left-shot options expected to be on the board are WHL blueliner Carson Carels and Latvian international Alberts Smits.
Avalanche Notes: MacKinnon, Blackwood, Wedgewood
Colorado Avalanche star forward Nathan MacKinnon will dress tonight for game four of the Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. MacKinnon suffered a lower-body injury in game three, but that won’t stop him from taking the ice as Colorado looks to stave off elimination and avoid being swept by the Golden Knights. The news means Colorado will have both MacKinnon and star defenseman Cale Makar in their lineup tonight. Makar had missed game one and game two with an upper-body injury.
The importance of MacKinnon’s health to the Avalanche cannot be overstated. The 30-year-old is Colorado’s best player, and is one of the most impactful scorers in the game. MacKinnon won the Rocket Richard Trophy this past season with 53 goals. His total of 127 points in 80 games marked the second-highest point total of MacKinnon’s career. While his production has been down a tick in the playoffs, he is still tied for the third-most points in this year’s playoff scoring with 15 in 12 games. He’ll hope to add to that number tonight and extend the Avalanche’s season.
Other notes from Colorado:
- The Avalanche are making a change in net, and will start MacKenzie Blackwood in goal rather than Scott Wedgewood, according to reports from the team’s optional morning skate. Blackwood hasn’t played against the Golden Knights, but did see some time in net in the second round. Blackwood got his first start of the playoffs in game four of the second round against the Minnesota Wild. He stopped 19 of 21 shots in the Avalanche’s 5-2 win, but lost his job as starter in the following game after surrendering three goals on 13 shots in an eventual Avalanche comeback victory. The 29-year-old, who is signed at a $5.25MM AAV through 2029-30, went 23-10-2 in the regular season with a .904 save percentage.
- The move to start Blackwood means Wedgewood, 33, may have already played in his final game of his 2025-26 season. Wedgewood’s 2025-26 campaign stands as, without question, the strongest of his career. The longtime backup seized the No. 1 role in Colorado, playing in a career-high 45 games. Wedgewood improved on his stellar form from last season, posting a 31-6-6 record and a .921 save percentage. While he was not named as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, he and Blackwood took home the William M. Jennings Trophy. Wedgewood is under contract for one more year at a $2.5MM cap hit.
Penguins Sign Evgeni Malkin To One-Year Extension
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed future Hall of Fame center Evgeni Malkin to a one-year contract extension, per a team announcement. The deal contains an AAV of $5.5MM.
According to Chris Johnston of The Athletic, Malkin can exceed his $5.5MM guarantee by earning up to $500K in games played bonuses, $1MM if the Penguins reach the playoffs, and $500K for each playoff round the team wins. The contract also contains a full no-move clause. PuckPedia has reported the deal contains a $3MM signing bonus.
Malkin’s extension puts an end to what was months of speculation about his Penguins future.
Just this morning, we covered reports indicating that Malkin’s sights were set on an extension with Pittsburgh, and that he was unlikely to be headed elsewhere. This represented a distinct shift from what had been reported over the last year.
A year ago, Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported that the 2025-26 season would be Malkin’s “last in Pittsburgh.” He cited sources within the organization who indicated that the Penguins were “not expected to offer him another contract with the franchise.”
It seems Malkin’s performance this past year, as well as the Penguins’ surprisingly strong regular season, changed the organization’s thinking.
Malkin, who turns 40 at the end of July, seemed to turn back the clock in 2025-26. He scored 19 goals and 61 points in 56 games, his first season pacing at above a point-per-game rate since 2022-23. The Penguins endured a difficult series against their arch-rival Philadelphia Flyers, losing in six games in the first round, but that doesn’t erase what he was able to accomplish in the regular season.
The key question for Malkin is health. While he was perfectly healthy in 2022-23 and 2023-24, he has missed some time in each of the last two years. In 2024-25, he played in 68 games, and this past year was limited by upper-body injuries as well as a lengthy five-game suspension. Malkin’s on-ice qualities remain exceptional, but there has been concern about his ability to stay on the ice, as well as how his on-ice value will fare if the pace of his game slows further.
Pittsburgh appears determined to turn over their team to a new generation of young forwards, including promising rookie center Ben Kindel. Much of the prior reporting indicating Pittsburgh was hesitant to extend Malkin can likely be explained by the organization’s desire to carve out as much ice time and prime power play opportunities for its young forwards.
But Malkin showed he still has quite a lot to offer in the NHL, and the Penguins don’t have to pick between keeping Malkin and developing their young players – they can do both. Kindel, for example, could stand to benefit from another season sharing the ice and locker room with Malkin.
Now, he’ll get the chance to do so as the Penguins have elected to keep one of their two legendary centers for an additional season.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Claude Giroux To Continue Playing For 2026-27 Season
Veteran scorer Claude Giroux will not hang up his skates for at least one more season, reports Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. According to LeBrun, Giroux “needed some time after the season to mull over his future” as he was considering retirement, but now the 38-year-old “has decided he wants to come back and play another season.”
Giroux’s decision means a 1,345-game NHL career that began in 2007-08 will continue for at least one more campaign. Complicating Giroux’s situation is the fact that he is a pending unrestricted free agent. Giroux has been playing for his hometown Ottawa Senators since 2022, arriving there from the Florida Panthers. Giroux was on the Panthers as a rental trade addition. Before that, he was a top scorer and face-of-the-franchise player for the Philadelphia Flyers.
One of the greatest Flyers in the franchise’s modern history, Giroux is no longer the star scorer he once was. At 38 years old, that’s to be expected. But he has shown himself to still be a productive scoring winger for the Senators even as he’s aged. In 2025-26, he scored 14 goals and 49 points. That’s not quite at the level of his debut season in the Canadian capital (35 goals, 79 points in 2022-23) but still more than strong enough to make him worth his cap hit of $2MM. (Base cap hit, he also earned $1MM in performance bonuses)
Looking ahead to next season, it seems overwhelmingly likely that Giroux will remain in Ottawa. Another one-year contract with a relatively low base salary and stocked full of performance bonuses, similar to the contract he played last season on, seems most appropriate.
Playing at least one more year, Giroux will be able to help the Senators try to win their first playoff series since their run to the Eastern Conference Final in 2017. He’ll also be chasing some individual milestones, like 1,400 games played, 400 goals, and 1,200 points.
Morning Notes: Holmstrom, Vitelli, Mosley
New York Islanders forward Simon Holmstrom could be poised to reach even greater heights next season if his usage under new head coach Peter DeBoer was any indication, writes Stefen Rosner of The Elmonters. In the few games DeBoer was able to coach before the end of the Islanders’ season, Holmstrom skated next to top center Bo Horvat, an opportunity he rarely received under former coach Patrick Roy. Horvat, 31, finished the season centering the top line alongside a pair of Swedish wingers: Holmstrom and 2025 first-rounder Victor Eklund.
While the Islanders could seek offseason upgrades along the wing that could box out Holmstrom from retaining such a big role, 2026-27 could nonetheless be a big year for Holmstrom. The 25-year-old, who was a 2019 first-round pick, steadily grew over the course of his time in the Islanders organization, to the point where he has now had back-to-back seasons with around 20 goals and at least 40 points. If Holmstrom can find a way to stick with either of the two Islanders’ top-six centers (Horvat, Mathew Barzal) rather than play where he spent much of last year (alongside third-line center J.G. Pageau) he could most likely make a push into the 50-plus point range. That would be a very positive development for the player, as he will be a pending RFA next season playing out the final year of a $3.625MM AAV deal.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- After four years of professional hockey split between the AHL and ECHL, Reece Vitelli has elected to continue his career overseas. The 24-year-old has signed a contract with Kalmar HC of HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of hockey in Sweden. A former alternate captain for the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, Vitelli didn’t get the chance to play NCAA hockey the way CHLers can today, and as a result began his pro career in 2022-23. He played in 15 games for the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners, but spent most of the year in the ECHL. He had 37 points in 49 ECHL games, and one point in 15 AHL contests. That would prove to be the trend for Vitelli. Over the last three seasons, Vitelli has been a solid AHL bubble forward, scoring at a decent clip in the ECHL while playing in as many as 15 AHL games per season, but scarce offense at that level. Now, he’ll leave the chance for further AHL call-ups behind as he begins his European pro career.
- Another player who spent last season on the AHL/ECHL bubble has elected to sign in Europe: longtime college hockey scorer Ryland Mosley. The 26-year-old forward spent a half-decade playing college hockey, skating for Michigan Tech from 2020-2024, and then the Wisconsin Badgers in 2024-25. He reached at least 30 points in his final three campaigns in the NCAA, and scored at a point-per-game rate in his lone season at Wisconsin. He signed an ATO and AHL deal with the Cleveland Monsters after his season as a Badger, but scored just one point across 12 total games in Cleveland. He scored seven points in 12 games at the ECHL level and was traded to the Rockford IceHogs in March, where he managed one point in seven games. Mosley has signed a one-year deal with Mora IK in the HockeyAllsvenskan, where he will look to help the club return to the SHL for the first time since 2018-19.
Mario Ferraro Likely To Test Unrestricted Free Agency
San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro is likely “going to UFA,” Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported on today’s 32 Thoughts Podcast. Friedman said it “doesn’t sound like” there has been much progress on a contract extension between Ferraro and the Sharks, and as a result it appears likely the veteran defenseman will test the open market on July 1.
This confirms what Sharks GM Mike Grier told the media at the end of the season, saying Ferraro would “probably at least test free agency” before finalizing any potential extension with San Jose. (Quote via Josh Frojelin of San Jose Hockey Now)
While there is enough time between now and the start of free agency for things to change, Friedman’s report indicates that Ferraro’s time as a Shark is soon to come to an end. Ferraro was a second-round pick by the team (No. 49 overall) at the 2017 NHL Draft, plucked from the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL. After two solid seasons of college hockey at UMass-Amherst, Ferraro broke into the NHL in 2019-20. He earned an NHL spot out of training camp and hasn’t relinquished it since.
Across seven seasons in the Bay Area, Ferraro played in 490 NHL games, scoring 114 points. While his arrival in San Jose coincided with the team’s decline from consistent playoff contender to basement-dwelling rebuilder, Ferraro has been a steady presence on the Sharks blueline throughout those lean years.
A captain in the NCAA, Ferraro quickly took on more of a leadership role in San Jose. In 2021-22, his age-23 campaign, Ferraro was named an alternate captain and has held onto that status through 2025-26.
Now 27 years old, Ferraro has a chance to earn a life-changing contract this summer.
He’s on the younger side when it comes to unrestricted free agents, meaning interested teams can go into negotiations with Ferraro with less fear of the risks of age-related decline. That factor will help him drum up league-wide interest on the open market.
An additional factor aiding Ferraro’s case in free agency is his experience. While he has not yet played in the playoffs in his career, Ferraro has handled a top-four, if not top-pairing workload for a half-decade. His average time-on-ice per game for his career is 21:14, but that’s weighed down by his rookie season, when he averaged just 15:53 per game. From 2020-21 through this past season, Ferraro has averaged 22:00 time on ice per game.
He has consistently played a heavy workload in San Jose, including in 2023-24, when he was the team’s No. 1 defenseman. He has also been a fixture on the penalty kill, leading the team in time-on-ice per game while short-handed in three of the last four seasons.
While offensive production has never been a major element of Ferraro’s game, his ability to weather significant minutes stands out in what is expected to be a thin free agent class. AFP Analytics projects Ferraro to receive a four-year, $5.1MM AAV deal as a free agent, though that could be a conservative estimate given the way player costs have risen as projected increases in the cap have gotten priced into contracts on a more regular basis.
San Jose has more than enough cap space to afford to match any offer made to Ferraro in free agency. PuckPedia projects the Sharks to have nearly $42MM in cap space this summer. But the Sharks have to plan carefully, as they have extensions for their young stars to consider down the line, and they won’t want to commit too much money too far down the line in order to preserve as much financial flexibility as possible for when Macklin Celebrini and others are eating up significant portions of the cap.
Additionally, taxes are a factor that works against the Sharks whenever they look to bid on free agents. While they have had success in the past on the open market, suggesting they have been able to work around this obstacle, the reality is players take home a greater portion of their salary playing in a low-tax market such as Tampa Bay, or Nashville, than in a market like San Jose.
The tax calculator tool provided by Cardinal Point Athlete Advisors shows that if Ferraro were to receive identical offers at AFP Analytics’ projected salary ($5.13MM) from San Jose and Tampa Bay, respectively, Ferraro would pay an additional $705K per year if he took the Sharks’ offer, compared to Tampa Bay’s. Over the lifetime of a four-year contract, that is nearly $3MM difference between the two offers.
In other words, the Sharks and other markets are at a natural disadvantage when competing for free agents. Of course, the Sharks do have some advantages, such as their climate and up-and-coming roster. It’s difficult to isolate the free agent decision-making process to just one variable. And it has to be said that the true tax situation NHL players navigate is far more complex than a simple side-by-side calculator will be able to reflect.
But given all of the things working in Ferraro’s favor, it’s no surprise that he would want to see what kind of offers he’ll receive from around the league before deciding whether to move on from the only NHL franchise he’s ever known.
Photos courtesy of Stan Szeto-Imagn Images