Snapshots: Stanley, Jarry, Bedard
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Logan Stanley‘s status for game six tonight against the Boston Bruins is questionable as he manages an illness, reports The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn. Stanley missed Sabres practice on Thursday but Ruff said he was feeling better then compared to how he felt on Wednesday. If he isn’t able to dress in tonight’s game, Michael Kesselring would likely get the call.
Kesselring, 26, would be making his playoff debut if he ends up dressing for the Sabres tonight. A key piece of the team’s return in exchange for forward JJ Peterka, Kesselring spent most of 2025-26 sidelined by injury. He played in just 34 games and his unavailability is part of what prompted Buffalo to acquire two defensemen at the trade deadline. He had a strong season the year prior in Utah, though, and there is hope he can rediscover that form with a stretch of good health. If Kesselring does play, his entrance into the lineup would mean the Sabres would be staffing their third pairing with two right-shot defensemen, the other being Conor Timmins.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- The Edmonton Oilers will be under a significant amount of pressure to upgrade their roster this summer after a disappointing first-round exit, and an area likely to receive considerable attention is their goaltending. Neither veteran Tristan Jarry nor Connor Ingram inspired much confidence, and The Athletic’s Chris Johnston and Sean Gentille wrote that “it wouldn’t be surprising if Edmonton looked to move on” from Jarry. The 31-year-old, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins early in 2025-26, has two years remaining on his deal at $5.375MM AAV. Finding a taker for Jarry could prove difficult at that cap hit, as he posted an .858 save percentage in 19 games in Edmonton. A buyout wouldn’t yield significant cap savings.
- Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard won’t play for Team Canada at the upcoming IIHF Men’s World Championships, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Bedard reportedly wanted to represent his home country at the tournament but was told the “best thing” would be for him to focus on rehabbing his injury. Bedard missed time in December and January with a shoulder injury. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick, who turns 21 in July, scored 30 goals and 75 points in 69 games this season.
Transaction Notes: Brabenec, Svozil, Witkowski, Ollas
Czech Extraliga club HC Kometa Brno are currently negotiating the potential signing of two NHL prospects for next season: the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Stanislav Svozil and the Vegas Golden Knights’ Jakub Brabenec, according to a team release. Both Brabenec and Svozil are prospects who did not appear in the NHL this past season and are pending RFAs.
Brabenec, 22, was a fourth-round pick of the Golden Knights at the 2021 draft. 2025-26 was the most productive of his three AHL campaigns, as he scored 12 goals and 31 points in 62 games. He entered the season ranked as the No. 17 prospect in the Vegas system, per Elite Prospects. Svozil, 23, was a third-round pick of the Blue Jackets at the 2021 draft. He entered the season ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Columbus system according to Elite Prospects. Considered a well-rounded potential NHL third-pairing defenseman, Svozil endured a difficult 2025-26 that saw his role with AHL Cleveland cut down significantly.
More transactions from around the hockey world:
- 132-game NHL veteran Luke Witkowski signed with Brno, per the team’s release, bringing the former NHL bruiser to the Czech Extraliga after a two-year stint in Sweden. Witkowski, 36, spent this season with Brynäs IF, where he scored two points in 27 games. Witkowski last played in North America in 2022-23 and last appeared in the NHL in 2021-22.
- New York Rangers prospect goaltender Hugo Ollas has elected to return to his native Sweden for 2026-27. The 2020 seventh-rounder signed a deal with the Nybro Vikings of HockeyAllsvenskan, according to an official team release. Once considered a top-10 prospect in the team’s system by some outlets, Ollas’ upside as a massive 6’8″ netminder didn’t translate to success beyond the collegiate level. He was a strong three-year tandem goalie at Merrimack College but fizzled out in the Rangers’ system. He wasn’t able to get more than a single start at the AHL level and posted an .896 save percentage across two years and 51 total games played in the ECHL.
Defense Notes: Nikishin, D’Astous, Bonk
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin skated in a non-contact jersey this morning, his first time hitting the ice since he suffered a concussion against the Ottawa Senators. The move indicates that Nikishin is progressing closer to a return to the ice in time for the start of the team’s second-round series, which will either be against the Pittsburgh Penguins or Philadelphia Flyers. Nikishin played on the left side of Carolina’s third pairing for the team’s first-round sweep of the Senators, also handling some power play duties.
Long seen as one of Carolina’s top prospects, Nikishin had a successful rookie campaign and his return bolsters a Hurricanes team that is one of the league’s finest. He averaged 18:11 time on ice per game this season, chipping in on both sides of special teams. He scored 33 points across 81 games, ranking second in scoring among rookie blueliners across the league. The former captain of the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg was a star defenseman back in Russia and if he can end up returning before the start of the second round, he would only further underscore Carolina’s position in the upcoming series as heavy favorites.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper told the media that defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous is a game-time decision tonight, meaning he could potentially return for a high-stakes game five against the Montreal Canadiens. D’Astous suffered an undisclosed injury in game one and has missed three consecutive contests. D’Astous has been a significant win for Tampa Bay’s scouting staff and wider hockey operations department this season, as the former SHL, Liiga, ECHL, and QMJHL defenseman of the year stepped right into the NHL and had a strong rookie campaign at the age of 28. The undrafted blueliner, signed through next season at an $875K cap hit, scored 29 points in 70 games while averaging 18:45 time on ice per game.
- The Flyers have considered inserting rookie defenseman Oliver Bonk into their lineup for game six against the Penguins, head coach Rick Tocchet told the media yesterday. (Per Kevin Kurz of The Athletic.) Although Bonk skated with the expected scratches at today’s morning skate, Tocchet said yesterday that “it is in the discussion to maybe put him in.” The 21-year-old has just one NHL game on his résumé, though he does have extensive playoff experience from his days in junior hockey with the London Knights. If they elect to dress Bonk, the Flyers could be looking for one of their top defensive prospects to provide them with a spark, a spark similar to the ones provided by rookies Porter Martone, Denver Barkey, and most recently Alex Bump.
Sabres’ Noah Ostlund Suffers Lower-Body Injury
10:35 a.m.: Ruff spoke to the media again this morning and said Östlund is going to miss “some time.” He added that the update the team received on Östlund’s status was “not good.”
Ruff did also say that Norris is ready to return to the ice for game six against Boston, meaning the Sabres have avoided the scenario where all three of Östlund, Norris, and Carrick are sidelined.
9:27 a.m.: Buffalo Sabres forward Noah Östlund was knocked out of the team’s game five loss to the Boston Bruins with a lower-body injury, the team announced last night.
After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff told the media (including Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic) that Östlund’s injury “doesn’t look good” and pointed to the fact that the player attempted to skate during a media timeout to test out the injury, but ended up quickly leaving the ice and returning to the locker room. 
Östlund’s status is a key storyline to watch in advance of what will be an extremely important game six for Buffalo.
At this point, it looks more likely than not that the Sabres will have to make do without their talented rookie pivot.
The center, who is the No. 3 prospect in the team’s pool according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, had slotted in as the team’s third-line center. He scored a goal and an assist in three games this series.
While Östlund has not been ruled out of the team’s next game officially, Ruff’s statement as well as the visual of the injury both indicate that he’s set to miss at least some time. His absence would leave the Sabres in a somewhat precarious position down the middle. Ruff elevated No. 4 center Tyson Kozak into Östlund’s role after the latter’s injury. But the high-energy bottom-sixer isn’t a natural fit for Östlund’s role.
Hurting the Sabres is the fact that they’re already missing three centers due to injury. 21-year-old Jiri Kulich was already ruled out for the season due to blood clotting. Trade deadline addition Sam Carrick was sensational to start his time in Buffalo, but has been out since the start of the month with an arm injury. Ruff previously ruled out Carrick returning in the first round.
Top-six pivot Josh Norris has been sidelined for three consecutive games due to an undisclosed injury. He participated in the team’s morning skate on Tuesday but wasn’t able to dress last night. His return to the lineup would mitigate a lot of the damage done by Östlund’s injury.
If Norris can’t return for game six, the team does have some options as to how it might fill Östlund’s vacant No. 3 center role. They could shift Peyton Krebs, a natural center who is playing left wing, to the role. The 25-year-old is the Sabres’ most talented candidate to play there, but moving him would risk disrupting the team’s first line.
Krebs has been stellar in the first round playing alongside Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch, and has five points in five contests. He’s continued what was a breakout regular season and Ruff is unlikely to want to break up a combination that has worked so well.
If moving Krebs to the middle isn’t a realistic option, the team’s best option might be to simply dress 27-year-old Joshua Dunne and run him and Kozak as the two bottom-six pivots. Dunne played in the first two games of the series before he was replaced in favor of Kozak.
Regardless of what the Sabres ultimately elect to do, the most important thing to track will be Östlund’s status. With how many injuries the Sabres are already dealing with up front, the hope will have to be that the skilled rookie center’s injury isn’t as bad as it initially looked.
Photos courtesy of Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
Senators Unlikely To Retain Nick Jensen
The “expectation is” that the Senators will not retain pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Nick Jensen, reports Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen.
Senators GM Steve Staios told the media this week that the club has “not closed the door” on any of their pending unrestricted free agents. But while the team could still retain some of its pending UFA forwards, they reportedly won’t be doing so with Jensen.
If Garrioch’s expectation comes to fruition, and the Senators let Jensen walk, the decision would end the veteran’s two-year stint in the Canadian capital. Jensen’s season ended in March after he underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus.
The 35-year-old blueliner is a veteran of nearly 700 NHL games and arrived in Ottawa as part of the Jakob Chychrun trade.
The longtime Capitals rearguard helped stabilize the right side of the Senators’ defense, and his arrival in Ottawa coincided with the team’s long-awaited return to the playoffs.
Ottawa had not made the playoffs since its run to the Eastern Conference Final in 2017 before Jensen arrived, but qualified for the postseason in each of the defenseman’s two seasons with the team.
There are a few factors that are contributing to the likelihood Jensen won’t return to Ottawa. Right-shot defenseman Jordan Spence emerged as a quality NHLer this season, scoring 31 points in 73 games while averaging 18:43 time on ice per game, including 1:16 per game on the power play. He’s due a new contract as an RFA and merits real consideration in a top-four role.
Veteran Artem Zub is already entrenched on the right side of Ottawa’s top four, meaning Jensen would likely have to settle for a third-pairing role if he re-signed in Ottawa. AFP Analytics projects Jensen’s next contract to be worth $3.575MM on a one-year deal, which could be too rich for the Senators if they’re signing him to slot in behind Zub and Spence.
Moreover, re-signing Jensen at that rate would box top prospect Carter Yakemchuk out of an opening-night lineup spot. Ottawa likely has every intention of letting the 2024 No. 7 pick legitimately compete for an NHL roster spot, and re-signing Jensen could work against that objective.
If Jensen and the Senators part ways, it might be a development that is mutually beneficial for both the player and club.
From Jensen’s perspective, he gets to exit a place where he saw his role decline sharply year-over-year. In his last season in Washington, Jensen was the team’s leading penalty-killer, averaging 2:46 time on ice per game on that unit. Jensen was a first-option penalty killer for nearly a half-decade with the Capitals. He largely maintained that status in his first campaign with the Senators, playing nearly two minutes per night on the penalty kill and 20:13 per game overall.
In 2025-26, Jensen saw that role diminish considerably. In 61 games, he spent just 0:48 per contest killing penalties. His overall time on ice per game declined over three minutes, to 17:00. He was Ottawa’s No. 4 defenseman in 2024-25, a role he also held in his time in Washington. This year, he was the team’s No. 6 defenseman.
While Jensen’s age likely has something to do with this decline in role – he’s not quite the same player he once was – Jensen’s perspective is likely to be that he still has more to give than he was called on to provide with the Senators.
That is likely a driving factor contributing to his projected departure from Ottawa, combined with the aforementioned financial and lineup considerations.
Photos courtesy of Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Atlantic Notes: Tkachuk, Free Agents, Hamonic
The Ottawa Senators’ quick elimination from the playoffs at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes has prompted speculation about the future of captain Brady Tkachuk. Senators GM Steve Staios was asked about Tkachuk’s future in his end-of-season media availability today, and he made it clear the franchise has no interest in trading away – or even having a conversation about trading away – their star forward. When asked about whether he’d sit down with the player to discuss Tkachuk’s future, he said “there’s nothing that we have talked about or thought about where that conversation should happen.”
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen noted that Tkachuk, who has a full no-move clause on his contract, has “full control” over his future. Although Tkachuk is just two seasons away from being able to leave Ottawa as an unrestricted free agent, it’s somewhat difficult to imagine the Senators winning any trade involving him. The Calgary Flames’ decision to deal Tkachuk’s older brother, Matthew Tkachuk, serves as a cautionary tale. The deal immediately vaulted the Panthers to legitimate Stanley Cup contention while plunging the Flames into what would eventually become a true rebuild. The younger Tkachuk isn’t the same caliber of player as his brother, but he’s still, as Travis Green said, a winger that all 31 other NHL teams “would love to have.” But the no-move clause on Tkachuk’s contract means he could hand-pick a trade destination, and dramatically reduce the kind of return the Senators might receive. That’s a factor that has burned teams in the past trading players with no-move clauses. For that reason, and many more, Staios made it clear today that unless something changes, his hockey operations department has no interest in even entertaining trade discussions revolving around Tkachuk.
Other notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Staios also updated the media (including TSN’s Claire Hanna) on the status of the team’s pending unrestricted free agents, saying of the group “I have not closed the door on anyone.” He said he has spoken to each of the team’s pending UFA’s, but decided it best to “take a little bit of time and reflect” since the end of the season is still so fresh. The most significant name among Ottawa’s pending UFAs is veteran winger Claude Giroux. The 38-year-old, who is a veteran of over 1,300 NHL games, scored 49 points this season. He’s shown he can still be a productive member of an NHL middle-six, and it would not be a surprise if there is mutual interest in a contract extension.
- “It looks like” veteran defenseman Travis Hamonic‘s “time in Detroit is over,” writes Max Bultman of The Athletic. The 35-year-old defenseman, who has 926 career NHL games on his record, only got into 26 contests for Detroit after signing a UFA deal with the team last summer. Hamonic was squeezed out of head coach Todd McLellan’s lineup in large part due to the emergence of Axel Sandin Pellikka, a rookie who is among the Red Wings’ top prospects. When he did play, Hamonic averaged just 14:22 time on ice per game, the lowest mark of any Red Wings blueliner, and a solid step below where he was last season. (He averaged 17:04 time on ice per game as a Senator in 2024-25.) If Hamonic wants to continue his NHL career and make a push towards getting his 1,000th game, he’ll likely need to do so by signing with another team.
Kings To Reassign Jared Wright
The Los Angeles Kings are going to reassign forward Jared Wright to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, reports Anthony Collazo of Mayor’s Manor. The Kings telegraphed this move earlier in the year, when they made a paper transaction to reassign Wright to the AHL so he could be eligible to re-join Ontario in the postseason.
Wright, 23, spent most of this season in Ontario. 2025-26 is actually Wright’s first campaign as a full-time professional, as he signed with the Kings close to the end of last season. Before signing in Los Angeles last spring, Wright played three seasons of college hockey for the University of Denver Pioneers, where he won a national title in 2024.
In 54 games for the Reign, Wright scored 17 goals and 30 points. He began the season in the AHL but earned his first NHL recall in March. After a one-game reassignment, Wright was recalled on March 5 and didn’t play another game in the AHL past that point. Wright was a fourth-line player for the Kings, scoring four points in 23 games while averaging 11:25 time on ice per game.
In the AHL, Wright plays a more substantial role. He received middle-six deployment in Ontario this season and was one of the team’s top penalty-killing forwards. Wright was a regular penalty-killer in Denver as well, and will likely play on that side of special teams if he ends up carving out a long-term spot in the NHL.
In the immediate term, this expected reassignment will return a valuable defensive winger back to the Reign, who will stand to benefit from his penalty killing and secondary offensive production. He’s also fresh off of getting into his first set of NHL playoff games, and while they didn’t go too well for the Kings as a whole, the experience should help him for his time in Ontario.
The Reign will begin their Pacific Division Semifinal against the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Wednesday in Ontario, California.
Capitals Assign Terik Parascak To AHL
The Washington Capitals announced today that forward Terik Parascak has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. The team also signed prospect Aron Dahlqvist to an ATO.
Parascak’s junior team, the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, fell in the second round of the league’s playoffs on April 19. This reassignment allows him to join Hershey for its playoff run, which continues Thursday against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. This won’t be Parascak’s first stint in Hershey. He joined them in a similar fashion last year and got into one regular-season game.
The 19-year-old was the No. 17 pick of the 2024 draft, picked out of Prince George, where he scored 105 points in his draft campaign. He’s remained in Prince George since that point, and has totaled 266 points across 192 career WHL games. Parascak was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Capitals’ system by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, who wrote that Parascak has “middle-six upside” but added that “there is some wonder about what his next step is after two years of stagnant progression.” With this reassignment, he’ll get the chance to show his progress at a different level, in the high-intensity AHL playoffs.
Dahlqvist, who is also 19, was picked in the sixth round by the Capitals at the 2025 draft. He has spent the last two seasons mostly playing in Sweden’s top junior league, while also filling in for around 15 games at the SHL level for Brynäs’ senior team.
Elite Prospects scout Lassi Alanen wrote last year that Dahlqvist has “stay-at-home potential at the next level,” and that he believes in Dahlqvist as “potential NHL depth.” Compared to Parascak, it’s less likely Dahlqvist will see any game action during Hershey’s run seeing as he doesn’t have any experience playing pro hockey in North America.
Central Notes: Stars, Zuccarello, Honka
Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan updated the media on the status of multiple injured Stars players today. Star defenseman Miro Heiskanen did not skate today but that was only since it was a scheduled maintenance day – he will play in game five against the Minnesota Wild tomorrow. Nils Lundkvist, who suffered a deep facial laceration, won’t play tomorrow, but Gulutzan expressed optimism that he’d be back before the end of the series. Roope Hintz, who has been sidelined since March 8 with a lower-body injury, is progressing and skating on his own but doesn’t have an imminent expected return date.
With Lundkvist set to miss game five, the Stars will have to replace his spot in their lineup. He was partnered with Thomas Harley on Dallas’ second pairing. Gulutzan said the decision hasn’t been made as to who will take the open spot on the defense tonight. The Stars have three defensemen on their roster to choose from: right-shot blueliners Ilya Lyubushkin and Alexander Petrovic, and left-shot defenseman Kyle Capobianco. The front runner for the role is almost certainly Lyubushkin, a veteran of over 500 NHL games who got into 14 playoff games for Dallas last season.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Injured Wild forward Mats Zuccarello practiced with the team today, something that head coach John Hynes told the media was a “good sign” for his availability for game five, relays Joe Smith of The Athletic. Zuccarello has played in just one game of the Wild’s first-round series and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Also day-to-day is veteran Yakov Trenin, who was forced out of game two with an upper-body injury. Zuccarello, 38, is one of the Wild’s top offensive options while Trenin is a bottom-six staple.
- 2014 Dallas Stars first-round pick Julius Honka signed a contract with HC Ajoie of the Swiss National League, according to a team announcement. The signing will allow Honka to join his younger brother, former Carolina Hurricanes prospect Anttoni Honka, who was also the team’s top scorer. The older Honka brother played last season with the NL’s Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, and has been in the Swiss league since 2023. Honka last played in North America in 2020-21, for the AHL’s Texas Stars, and last appeared in the NHL with Dallas in 2018-19.
Snapshots: Garand, Team Canada, Poirier
The New York Rangers are likely to give young goaltender Dylan Garand the inside track to become the team’s backup netminder next season, reports Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic. Veteran Jonathan Quick has been the No. 2 on Broadway for the last three seasons, but has played his final NHL game. Garand, 23, has been waiting in the wings, and it appears he’ll be given a strong chance to win the role at training camp next fall. The former CHL Goalie of the Year has been the No. 1 goalie for the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack for the last three years, and went 2-0-1 with a .948 save percentage in his first three NHL games this year. Garand was an AHL All-Star in 2024-25 and his playoff performances have been especially impressive, as he has a .927 save percentage in 17 games across two runs.
While Garand does seem ready for the NHL, Mercogliano did also say that Rangers GM Chris Drury will most likely add “some level of veteran competition” for Garand. The Rangers already have veteran Spencer Martin (72 career NHL games played) under contract at a one-way, league-minimum rate for next season. But Martin struggled this season (.864 save percentage in six NHL games, .873 in 22 AHL games) and isn’t likely to be a part of their long-term plans. According to Mercogliano, Drury could add another veteran beyond just Martin, “either on a cheap, short-term deal or a professional tryout contract,” to compete with Garand.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Hockey Canada has secured some significant commitments for its roster for the upcoming IIHF Men’s World Championship tournament, reports Darren Dreger of TSN. According to Dreger, Macklin Celebrini, Mark Scheifele, Mathew Barzal, and Morgan Rielly have all committed, landing the team some significant names from the NHL. Additionally, potential 2026 No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna will be on the roster as well. McKenna isn’t the first top prospect to play for Canada at Worlds in his draft year. Porter Martone played for Canada at last year’s tournament before he was selected No. 6 overall, while Adam Fantilli won the tournament in 2023 just shortly before he was selected No. 3 overall. Joining the team will give McKenna the chance to compete against men, something his main rival to be picked No. 1, Sweden’s Ivar Stenberg, has been able to do all year playing for Frolunda in the SHL.
- Carolina Hurricanes prospect Justin Poirier has transferred from the University of Maine to Penn State, reports Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald. The 19-year-old ranks as the No. 7 prospect in the Hurricanes’ system, according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. The Hurricanes selected Poirier in the fifth round, No. 156 overall, at the 2024 draft. That was a somewhat surprising result for a player who scored 69 goals across 85 regular season and playoff contests in his draft year. Poirier was able to translate his QMJHL scoring to the college level, posting 18 goals and 29 points in 27 games for Maine. There will be big shoes for him to fill in the Nittany Lions attack, as the team’s top three scorers from last season will all be playing pro hockey in the fall. Additionally, Penn State’s fourth-highest scorer, J.J. Wiebusch, transferred to Wisconsin.