At Least Eight Teams To Carry Overage Penalty Into 2026-27
The NHL adds contract performance bonuses to the salary cap hit of each team at the end of the season. Any price over the salary cap is carried over to the team’s cap hit in the following season. Performance bonuses are broken up into two categories. The first are A-level bonuses, which are paid out for reaching set numbers of goals, assists, points, plus-minus, or time on ice per-game. End-of-season accolades, such as an All-Star or All-Team nomination, are also A-level bonuses. B-level bonuses are worth up to $2MM and can include leaderboard rankings, minimum stats reached, or award wins. More details about performance bonuses can be found on PuckPedia.
At least NHL teams will carry an overage penalty into the 2026-27 season per PuckPedia. That number is down from 11 in the 2025-26 season and 15, an NHL record, in the 2024-25 season. This year’s list includes:
New York Islanders: $3.5MM
The Islanders paid out every last bit of rookie phenom Matthew Schaefer‘s potential $3.5MM performance bonus. He was awarded $1MM for his per-game scoring and ice time, then earned an additional $2.5MM by finishing in the top-10 of defensemen scoring. The Islanders utilized long-term injured reserve to exceed the salary cap at the end of the season. That will leave all of Schaefer’s performance bonus as overage headed into next season.
Colorado Avalanche: $2.29MM
Colorado lands an overage penalty thanks to Brent Burns‘ performance on an age-35+ contract. Burns had a potential for $4MM in performance bonuses on his deal and earned $3MM of that by playing in 10 games this season. Colorado utilized LTIR earlier in the year but finished the season with a little more than $700K in cap space. That space will help offset the cost of Burns’ bonuses just a bit, though Colorado will still carry a penalty into 2026-27.
Dallas Stars: $2.08-$3.08MM
The Dallas Stars paid out $80K in bonus to Justin Hryckowian for reaching 70 games this season. Captain Jamie Benn also earned $2MM of a potential $3MM in bonuses for playing in 50 games. That includes appearing in the season finale, which netted him $500K on its own. Benn has the potential to earn an additional $1MM in bonus – $500K each if Dallas wins the Western Conference Finals and Stanley Cup. That will sit the Stars with just over $2MM in overage currently and the potential for $3MM if they win it all.
Montreal Canadiens: $1.93-2.07MM
The Montreal Canadiens finished the year with less than $50K in cap space, in part thanks to their mid-season acquisition of Phillip Danault. Rookie Ivan Demidov landed $1MM in bonuses, of a potential $2MM, for his per-game scoring and ice time totals. Oliver Kapanen also earned $250K in bonuses for his per-game totals. He could earn an additional $137.5K if he is named to the NHL All-Rookie Team – a feat that seems unlikely with rookie forwards like Demidov, Beckett Sennecke, Benjamin Kindel, and Jimmy Snuggerud also in the running. Montreal also paid out $400K in bonuses to star defenseman Lane Hutson for a variety of reasons and $80K to rookie goalie Jacob Fowler for reaching 10 games. They will sit just shy of $2MM in overage penalty and could crest that mark if Kapanen earns all-team honors.
Ottawa Senators: $0-1.41MM
The Ottawa Senators will have to sign some big checks if they go on a playoff run. They have already paid out $1MM to Claude Giroux, and $750K to Lars Eller, for playing in 60 games and reaching the postseason. Giroux will earn an additional $500K if Ottawa wins in the first round – a cost that would be absorbed by their end-of-year cap hit. But Giroux and Eller will also be eligible for $250K in bonuses if Ottawa wins the second round, and Giroux can net an additional $500K for wins in each of the Eastern Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals. That will leave Ottawa with four potential outcomes: no overage penalty, $414K in overage penalty (third-round loss), $914K in overage penalty (Stanley Cup Final loss), or $1.414MM in overage penalty (Stanley Cup win).
New Jersey Devils: $1.25MM
The Devils paid out two bonuses that pushed them into the red. Young defenseman Simon Nemec earned $750K in bonuses for his scoring, plus-minus, and ice time per-game totals. Winger Evgenii Dadonov landed $500K for scoring at least one point, $250K for playing in 10 games, and an additional $250K for reaching 20 games. He did not play in his 20th game of the season until March 29th, earning the 37 year old a late-season chip. Now, the Devils will carry more than $1MM in overage penalty into next season.
San Jose Sharks: $918.7K
The San Jose Sharks finished the year with $4.8MM in cap space but still land on the list of overage penalties. Much of that is thanks to their young stars. Macklin Celebrini earned every bit of his $3.5MM in potential bonuses with his franchise record-setting scoring. Will Smith earned $1MM, and William Eklund earned $450K, in bonuses for their scoring and ice time per-game. Those marks also earned Sam Dickinson $250K and Collin Graf reached his contract cap of $500K in bonuses. That amounts to $5.425MM, pushing the Sharks into the red for next season.
Edmonton Oilers: $250K
The Edmonton Oilers will face their second-straight season with $250K in overage penalty next year. This time, it is a result of rookie Matthew Savoie, who earned $250K with his ice time per-game. Edmonton finished the year utilizing LTIR to exceed the salary cap.
Florida Panthers: $150K
Defenseman Jeff Petry earned $150K in bonuses for reaching 50 games played with the Florida Panthers before the Trade Deadline. He earned an additional $60K for reaching 60 games, though that bonus came after his trade to the Minnesota Wild.
Photo courtesy of Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Maple Leafs Place Michael Pezzetta On Waivers
The Toronto Maple Leafs placed forward Michael Pezzetta on waivers on Friday per PuckPedia. This move would allow Pezzetta to join the Toronto Marlies for the Calder Cup Playoffs, if he clears the waiver wire. He was in the minor leagues until mid-March and filled a depth role for Toronto through the last few weeks of the season.
Pezzetta played in 37 games with the Marlies before a March 12th call-up. His season was limited by injuries in November and January. He finished the year with four goals, 10 points, and 52 penalty minutes. It was a quiet year in Pezzetta’s return to the AHL, after he spent the last three seasons in a full-time role with the Montreal Canadiens. He was a nightly fixture of Montreal’s 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons and combined 27 points and 136 penalty minutes in 124 games. That low-scoring fell to zero in 25 games of the 2024-25 season.
That bumped Pezzetta to free agency this summer, where he signed a two-year, $1.6MM contract with the Maple Leafs. He began the year in the AHL and quickly stood out as a bruiser. Pezzetta recorded 37 penalty minutes in the first 17 games of the Marlies season. He will return to that role on a Marlies team that clinched the last playoff spot from the AHL’s North Division. The Marlies split their games without Pezzetta this season – 26 wins and 25 losses.
Minor Transactions: 4/16/2026
The wave of minor-league assignments is continuing with the NHL regular season nearly completed. Pro Hockey Rumors will continue to track the movement around the AHL in the latest minor transactions tracker:
- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled goalie prospect Carson Bjarnason in preperation for their first round matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Bjarnason will serve as a black ace with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms eliminated from playoff contention. Bjarnason recorded 14 wins and a .887 save percentage in 32 AHL games this season. He also split results, and recorded a .881 save percentage, in two ECHL games. This was Bjarnason’s first year of professional hockey after four seasons with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. The 20 year old recorded a .903 save percentage across 156 career games in the WHL.
- The Colorado Avalanche are also padding their room of black aces, recalling forwards Alex Barre-Boulet and Jason Polin. Both players spent the bulk of their year in the AHL. Barre-Boulet led the Colorado Eagles with 26 goals and 70 points in 69 games – and added one assist in the only NHL game of his season. Polin was slightly less productive, with 21 points in 45 AHL games and no scoring in three NHL games. The duo will offer forward depth behind an Avalanche squad that has rotated through injuries this season.
- Forward Cole O’Hara could make his NHL debut in the Nashville Predators’ season finale. The 23 year old has been called up after leading the Milwaukee Admirals in goals (19) and ranking fourth in points (44) through 65 games this season. This was also O’Hara’s first pro season after three years at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He had a breakout season last year, netting 22 goals and 51 points in 40 games – 33 more points than he managed in 37 games of the 2023-24 season. O’Hara kept that scoring up through his rookie season in the AHL and could now get a chance to score against NHL talent.
- Headed back to the minors is goaltender Brandon Halverson, who recently helped the Tampa Bay Lightning respond to Jonas Johansson‘s short-term injury. Halverson recorded one loss and a .810 save percentage in 57 minutes – and two games – of NHL action this season. He started for the Syracuse Crunch for much of the year and recorded 24 wins and a .906 save percentage in 42 AHL games. He’ll now return to his post to help Syracuse keep up their strong play into the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Calgar Flames have also called up a goaltender. Prospect Arsenii Sergeev is on the NHL roster under emergency conditions with Devin Cooley set to miss Calgary’s season finale due to illness. Sergeev will make his NHL debut in game 82. The 24 year old recorded five wins and a .898 save percentage in 28 AHL games this season. He also split results, and recorded a .922 save percentage, in 12 ECHL games. Sergeev was a strong starter in college, recording save percentages north of .910 in two seasons with the University of Connecticut and one season at Pennsylvania State University. Thursday could be the bright side to a quiet season for the first-year pro.
- Top Edmonton Oilers prospect Isaac Howard has been loaned to the AHL. He will support the Bakersfield Condors’ push in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Howard scored 22 goals and 47 points in 45 AHL games this season. He ranked second in goals on Bakersfield and was the only Condor to score above a point-per-game pace this season. Howard also scored five points in the first 29 games of his NHL career this season. The 2025 Hobey Baker Award winner is also a first-year pro and should fill a substantial role in the AHL postseason.
- The Washington Capitals have assigned 2025 second-round pick Milton Gastrin to the AHL following the end of his season in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan. Gastrin racked up 10 goals and 24 points in 39 games in Sweden’s second-tier pro league and added four more points in 13 playoff games. He scored 42 points in 40 games in Sweden’s U20 league in the 2024-25 season. The bulky Gastrin should bring a boost of forechecking pressure and playmaking ability to the Hershey Bears lineup just in time for their perennial run into the postseason.
- A cohort of top prospects is headed to the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Detroit Red Wings have assigned Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Carter Mazur, Axel Sandin Pellikka, and Dominik Shine to the minor leagues. Brandsegg-Nygard finished the year third on the Griffins in scoring with 44 points in 58 games. He added one assist in 14 NHL games. Shine finished the year with 37 points in 38 AHL games and three points in 18 NHL games. Mazur was also a point-per-game player in the minors, with 15 points in 14 AHL games – but no scoring in eight NHL appearances. Of the bunch, Sandin-Pellikka was the only to play the bulk of his year in the NHL. He scored 21 points in 68 games of his first season in North America. The quartet should each assume top-end roles on a Griffins lineup that has added a substantial amount of talent late in the season.
Jets Sign Garrett Brown To Two-Year Deal
The Winnipeg Jets have added a collegiate national champion to their ranks. Defenseman Garrett Brown has signed a two-year contract with the Jets following the end of his junior year at the University of Denver. Winnipeg drafted Brown in the 2022 fourth-round after his first season with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers.
Brown, 22, has long been regarded as a mobile, two-way defenseman. He grew up through the San Jose Sharks AAA program, where he played alongside fellow NHL prospects including Calgary Flames forward Cade Littler and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Aiden Celebrini. Brown was a third-round selection in the 2020 USHL Futures Draft and debuted with the Musketeers at the end of the following season. He joined Sioux City full-time in the 2021-22 season and left his rookie USHL year with 17 points in 72 games. More notably, he left his rookie season with a USHL championship, filling a third-pair role on a Sioux City squad that featured seven other NHL prospects. Brown took on an assistant captain role with Sioux City, before a mid-year move to the Waterloo Black Hawks, in his second USHL season. He finished the year with 18 points in 54 games.
Winning tendencies followed Brown to the college level. He was an extra defenseman for much of the 2023-24 season but did manage four points in the eight games he stepped into. More than that, he helped spread some luck on a Denver Pioneers squad that went on to win the 2024 National Championship. Brown earned a full-time role in 2024-25 and scored eight points in 42 games, a mark that grew to 14 points in 34 games in another Championship-winning year this season.
Through it all, Brown has stood out for his fundamental defense and active stick. He has never finished a season with a negative plus-minus and found his way into routine minutes with the Pioneers. Brown will now push into the pro flight hoping that his strong stick and ability to defend tempo will be enough to cement a role in the AHL. The Manitoba Moose are headed for the Calder Cup Playoffs and have already added late-year additions Alfons Freij and Lukas Gustafsson to the blue-line. Brown will be the right-handed compliment to those lefty additions, and should compete with bruiser Tyrel Bauer for minutes.
Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov To Play At World Championship
Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov missed the entirety of the 2025-26 season with a knee injury sustained during training camp. On the other side of a losing year for the Panthers, Barkov is finally nearing a return to game action. The star center is expected to play for Team Finland at the 2026 World Championship, Florida head coach Paul Maurice told George Richards of Florida Hockey Now.
Barkov is a cornerstone piece of every lineup he’s apart of. The 30 year old scored 20 goals and 71 points in 67 games of the 2024-25 NHL season. He capped the year off with 22 points in 23 games en route to a 2025 Stanley Cup championship, the same point total and outcome that he reached in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Barkov was the first European captain to lead his team to back-to-back Stanley Cups.
Routine playoff appearances have kept Barkov from appearing in many of Finland’s international tournaments as of late. He captained the Finns at the 2025 4-Nations Face-Off and scored two points in three games. Outside of that, his last appearance with Finland was at the 2017 World Cup, where he posted no scoring in three games. Barkov has played in two World Championships – marked by 16 points in 17 games – and the 2014 Winter Olympics where he had one point in two games.
Each of those international appearances were on the other side of Barkov’s ascension towards superstardom. He has won three Selke Trophies as the league’s best defensive-forward and consistently earned votes for the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy since his 2017 World Cup appearance. Barkov also won the 2025 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded on the basis of leadership and humanitarian contribution. He also became a franchise owner of the Liiga’s Tappara, part of Finland’s top pro league, in 2020. Barkov has grown into a face of Finnish hockey in North America and routinely rivals point-per-game scoring in the NHL.
It is with the weight of a missed NHL season – and a missed Olympic Games – that Barkov will now enter the 2026 World Championship. He will be among the Finns’ biggest scoring threats and could challenge the most ice time on the team each game. Finland will also lean on Florida’s Anton Lundell and Seattle Kraken winger Kaapo Kakko to bolster their lineup, with much of the country’s top NHL talent headed towards the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Either way, Barkov’s return will be far more than the addition of one more player. It will also give the reigning Cup captain a chance to get back to full speed before the 2026-27 campaign is underway.
Evening Notes: Canucks, Ducks, Psenicka
The Vancouver Canucks will need to reconsider much of their roster after a last-place finish this season. Winger Evander Kane and defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph are not expected to be a part of the plans moving forward per Thomas Drance of The Athletic. Both players will enter unrestricted free agency on July 1st.
Kane played a full season after missing the entirety of the 2024-25 campaign. He recorded 13 goals, 31 points, and 92 penalty minutes in 71 games. He proved capable of filling an every-night role in the NHL but still underperformed his $5.125MM cap hit. The silver lining of Kane’s season was the 1,000th game of his NHL career, played on March 30th. He has 339 goals and 648 points in 1,001 career NHL games.
Joseph has fought to move out of an extra defender role for much of the last three seasons. He recorded six points and a minus-16 in 31 games this season. That is a slight boost from three points and a minus-23 in 47 games, split between the St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins, last season. He will eye a cheap contract, and promise of NHL minutes, should he hit free agency this summer.
Other notes from the Western Conference:
- The Anaheim Ducks have signed San Diego Gulls head coach Matt McIlvane to a multi-year extension per Patrick Present of The Hockey News. McIlvane posted his best record in three years as San Diego’s head coach with a 33-24-12 finish this season. That performance has pushed the Gulls into their first Calder Cup Playoff appearance since 2022. McIlvane, an Illinois native, coached five seasons with EHC Salzburg, in Austria’s IceHL, before being hired by San Diego in 2023. He led the team to two IceHL championships. He also won three DEL championships as an assistant coach with EHC Munchen from 2014 to 2019. That role also earned McIlvane an assistant coach role on Germany’s Men’s Hockey team at the 2018 Winter Olympics. He helped lead the country to a Silver medal finish, their first men’s hockey medal in modern Olympic history.
- Utah Mammoth defense prospect Max Psenicka has signed an amateur try-out contract with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. Psenicka is coming off his second season with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. He recorded eight goals, 30 points, and 67 penalty minutes in 53 games – and no scoring and a minus-10 in four playoff games. He brings some pro experience to the AHL level, having played 16 games and scored two goals in Czechia’s Extraliga at the start of last season. Psenicka should bring an impactful, defensive presence to Tucson’s lineup as they approach the final three games of their season.
Islanders Assign Victor Eklund, Calum Ritchie, Isaiah George, Liam Foudy To AHL
The New York Islanders have loaded up their AHL affiliate with the Stanley Cup Playoffs out of sight. Forwards Victor Eklund , Liam Foudy, and Calum Ritchie, and defensemen Isaiah George have all been assigned to the minor-leagues with the Islanders’ season now over. Eklund made his NHL debut in New York’s season finale. He recorded one assist. Ritchie has spent nearly the full season in the NHL, while Foudy and George spent most of their years in the minors.
Ritchie and Eklund could be X-factor additions for the Bridgeport Islanders’ playoff run. Eklund made his AHL debut in late-March, following the end of his season in Sweden. He has been an immediate impact with nine points in his first seven AHL games. It has been a boom in scoring after Eklund notched six goals and 24 points in 43 games of the SHL regular season and three points in three playoff games. He was a difference-maker for Djugardens in their promotion from the HockeyAllsvenskan last season and finished the 2024-25 season with 31 points in 42 games.
Ritchie began the year in the minors but earned a call-up after just three games, and three points, with Bridgeport. He carved out a middle-six role for much of his rookie season and finished the year with 30 points in 65 games. Ritchie is only one season removed from a 70-point season in the OHL. He was mostly a center at the junior level but played right-wing in his first NHL season. Whether Bridgeport prioritizes Ritchie’s development as a center, or comfort as a pro winger, could add an interesting wrinkle to their playoff push. New York head coach Peter DeBoer said he sees Ritchie as a center moving forward per NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner.
Foudy finished the AHL season second on Bridgeport in goals (25) and points (46). That finish is one point more than he scored in 70 games last year, his first season with Bridgeport. He has rotated between the NHL and AHL level since turning pro in 2020. Foudy’s only full season in the NHL came with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022-23. He finished that season with 14 points in 62 games.
George will also have a role carved out for him in the minors. He scored 17 points and a plus-10 in 45 games with Bridgeport this season, in addition to one point and a plus-one in four NHL games. George split last season between the major and minor leagues. He finished the year with five points in 33 NHL games and 14 points in 33 AHL games.
Blues Sign Arseni Koromyslov To Entry-Level Contract
The St. Louis Blues have signed 2022 fourth-round pick Arseni Koromyslov to a two-year, entry-level contract set to begin in the 2026-27 season. This deal will move Koromyslov to North America after four seasons in Russia’s pro leagues. The contract details, per PuckPedia, are:
| Year | NHL Salary | Signing bonus | Potential performance bonuses | Minors salary |
| 2026-27 | $850K | $102.5K | $72.5K | $82.5K |
| 2027-28 | $967.5K | $107.5K | $82.5K |
Koromyslov, 22, filled an important role for the KHL’s Chelyabinsk Traktor this season. He recorded 17 points, 40 penalty minutes, and a plus-four in 61 games this season. This was Koromyslov’s second season in a full-time, KHL role. His 2024-25 season was spread across three teams, with Koromyslov recording five points in 26 games with Lada, two points in seven games with SKA St. Petersburg, and 10 points in 48 games with Traktor including the postseason. He scored one goal with each team, a pattern he kept up through this season.
Despite the low-scoring, Koromyslov has never recorded a negative plus-minus across a full season. He has proved to be a reliable defender at Russia’s junior and pro levels – a knack helped along by just how much Koromyslov has improved his game as he’s moved to higher roles. He was a noticeable physical presence this season, using a long reach and hard checking to stop opponents in the neutral zone. His ability to win puck battles from Traktor’s second-pair went far in supporting a forward group with seven players who scored 35 points or more.
Koromyslov will lean on that defensive prowess to earn minutes with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds next season. He joins a long list of left-defenders on the Thunderbirds roster but could offer a bit more defensive reliability than Marc-Andre Gaudet, Quinton Burns, or Michael Buchinger. Should that professional defense carry over, Koromyslov could plant his feet behind Leo Loof on St. Louis’ depth chart in the 2026-27 season.
Panthers’ Tomas Nosek Suffers Broken Leg
The end of the season has brought no relief to the Florida Panthers’ injury woes. Winger Tomas Nosek sustained a broken leg in Sunday’s win over the New York Rangers, head coach Paul Maurice told Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson. Nosek did not play the final three minutes of the game. It is not clear exactly when he suffered the fracture but Nosek specified that the leg he broke is not the same one that he underwent knee surgery on earlier in the season.
Nosek missed the first 60 games of the season with a knee injury sustained during the off-season. He has scored four points and a minus-eight in 21 games on the year, before sustaining another injury in the second-to-last game of Florida’s season.
This injury continues a long run of misfortune for Nosek. He missed the first month of the 2024-25 season with an upper-body injury and ultimately played only 59 games for the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers. Nosek scored nine points in those games, and three more in 16 playoff games. He missed multiple chunks of the 2023-24 season with a variety of injuries, including another upper-body injury, and ultimately only played in 36 games that year. Nosek even broke his foot in the latter-half of the 2022-23 season, only totaling 66 regular season games. In full, the 33-year-old winger has only averaged 55 games and 13 points per season dating back to his first full year in the NHL in 2018-19.
This will give Florida another injury to monitor as their off-season gets off to an early start. The Panthers are set to miss the postseason for the first time since 2019, on the heels of three-straight appearances in the Stanley Cup Final. Nosek will join many of the team’s stars in nursing an injury, including Brad Marchand, Aleksander Barkov, Gustav Forsling, and Aaron Ekblad. He faces the added wrinkle of entering free agency this summer and will face the challenge of convincing a team to renew the one-year, league-minimum contract he played on this summer with only 21 games to show for it. Nosek has 120 points in 514 career games in the NHL.
Islanders Recall Victor Eklund, Liam Foudy
April 14: The Islanders announced Tuesday that they’ve recalled both Eklund and forward Liam Foudy from Bridgeport. If Foudy plays, it’ll be his first contest since making his Isles debut back in October 2024. The former Blue Jackets first-rounder is now 26 years old and is amid a career year in Bridgeport, where he’s amassed a 25-21–46 scoring line in 58 games for the playoff-bound Baby Isles.
He’s a pending restricted free agent, so today’s bump could indicate they intend to issue him a qualifying offer. They didn’t let him get to restricted free agency last summer, signing him to a two-way extension on June 29. He was initially signed in the 2024 offseason after a non-tender by the Predators, who had claimed him off waivers from Columbus the prior season.
April 13: The New York Islanders are expected to recall top prospect and 2025 draft pick Victor Eklund from the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, per NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner. Eklund, the younger brother of San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund, made his AHL debut on March 27 following the end of Djugården’s season in Sweden’s SHL. He has been red-hot ever since, scoring seven assists and nine points in his first seven AHL games.
On the heels of that strong start, Eklund could make his NHL debut in the Islanders’ season finale on Tuesday. New head coach Peter DeBoer spoke about his hopes of incorporating future impact into the lineup for the Islanders’ final game, after the team was eliminated from playoff contention. Eklund will certainly be a part of that group after being drafted by the Islanders with the 16th overall pick last year.
Eklund has a long history of success at the pro level. He scored 19 goals and 31 points in 42 games in the HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier pro league, as a rookie in 2024-25. He formed a formidable tandem with Chicago Blackhawks prospect Anton Frondell, enough to earn Djurgården a promotion to the SHL in 2025.
The duo stayed hot – Eklund by scoring 24 points in 43 SHL games – to help Djurgården avoid relegation this season. Now, the aggressive forechecker and strong shooter could test his talents in the Islanders’ lineup. His debut may come at the expense of one of the Islanders’ short-term forwards, like Ondrej Palat or Marc Gatcomb. Eklund enters the NHL already boasting a World Juniors gold medal and HockeyAllsvenskan championship.