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Senators Acquire Jordan Spence From Kings

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The Ottawa Senators are reportedly getting close to acquiring defenseman Jordan Spence from the Los Angeles Kings, per TSN’s Bruce Garrioch. The Los Angeles Kings will receive a 2025 third-round pick – 67th-overall – and a 2026 sixth-round pick in return per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The move has been confirmed by the Senators.

In the minutes leading up to the start of draft day two, Ottawa has pulled off yet another lucrative deal. They acquired the third-round pick moved in this deal from the Nashville Predators on Friday, as part of a package with the 23rd-overall pick to move up to Ottawa’s 21st-oveall slot. The Senators went on to select Logan Hensler at 23, landing a heavy-body and poised defender who should fit perfectly ahead of Spence in the Senators’ future lineup. That makes this acquisition of Spence all the sweeter for Ottawa. For the net cost of 21st overall and a sixth-round pick, they’ll land a top prospect in Hensler, and a high-upside puck-mover in Spence.

Spence climbed into a hardy role in the Kings lineup over the last two seasons, on the back of confident play-driving and gradual improvements to his game away from the puck. Last season marked his first full year in the NHL, and he marked it with 24 points, 12 penalty minutes, and a plus-five through 71 games played. Not to be outdone, Spence returned to the NHL full-time this year and improved his stat line to 28 points, 16 penalty minutes, and a plus-23 in 79 appearances. He’s a crafty and quick defender, though one often undercut by his 5-foot-11, 180-pound frame.

That size has kept Spence an unheralded player for much of his hockey career. He was originally drafted by the Kings in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Draft, following a year where he scored 49 points in 68 games with the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats. He continued on in the QMJHL for the next two seasons, and didn’t reach point-per-game scoring until he managed 40 points in 22 games of the shortened 2020-21 campaign.

It was on the heels of that surge to scoring that Spence opted to turn pro. He played through his rookie AHL season, and fell one game short of his rookie NHL season, in the 2021-22 season. That year was marked by a productive 42 points in 46 AHL games, but just eight points in 24 NHL games. He returned for much of the same in the following year – netting 45 points in 56 AHL games but just one point in six NHL appearances.

Now, Spence seems firmly set as a routine, full-time NHL fixture. That fact made him a tough asset for the Kings to hold onto, with Drew Doughty and Brandt Clarke holding firm roles in the lineup above Spence. The Senators should be able to reward him with much more playing time – with their right-side only blocked off by Artem Zub and Nick Jensen, two options who move the puck far less than Spence. That setup could be the makings of a breakout year for the flashy defender, though just how well his all-three-zones playmaking will hold up at the NHL level is yet to be seen.

Jets Sign Haydn Fleury To Two-Year Extension

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The Winnipeg Jets have announced a two-year, $1.9MM contract extension for defenseman Haydn Fleury. The deal was first reported by Murat Ates of The Athletic, who shares that it will carry a cap hit of $950K. More specifically, Fleury will be paid $1MM in salary in year-one, and $900K in year two, per PuckPedia. Fleury appeared in just 39 NHL games this season after a mid-season knee injury held him out for much of January and February.

Fleury recorded seven assists, six penalty minutes, and a minus-12 during the regular season. He returned to full health in time for the postseason, and chipped in an additional two assists and eight penalty minutes in eight games. It was, by and large, another quiet season for the 2014 seventh-overall pick. He filled a firm, third-pair role on the Jets roster, and only earned go-to minutes as the result of injury or other’s mistakes. But through his shortened season were flashes of stout improvements to his game away from the puck. Fleury ranked fourth on the Jets blue-line in hits-per-60 minutes this season, with a 4.63 average placing him above booth Neal Pionk (4.49) and Dylan Samberg (2.64). Fleury also recorded the second-highest blocks-per-60 minutes with a 5.40 average, behind only Samberg (5.67).

Those are strong improvements for a player who often looked unable to jump off the page in any one way. Even with a mid-season injury, Fleury’s 39 appearances this year are his most since the Carolina Hurricanes’ 2019-20 season, when he recorded 14 points in 45 games. He’s now appeared solely in the NHL through five of the last six seasons, earning extra-defender roles with each of the Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken, and Tampa Bay Lightning. He may not be the flashiest player, but Fleury seems a reasonable bet to round out Winnipeg’s blue-line depth. They’ll cement him to that role for the next two seasons with a cost-effective deal.

Free Agent Focus: Winnipeg Jets

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Free agency is now under a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Jets.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Gabriel Vilardi – Winnipeg enters the off-season with a few big names at the top of their list – but re-signing Vilardi will have to be their first order of business. The 25-year-old centerman finally had his breakout season this year, after years of flashing high upside through battles with injuries. He scored a career-high 27 goals, 34 assists, and 61 points in 71 games this season – while confidently manning the second-line center role behind Mark Scheifele. The performance was a natural ramp-up after Vilardi potted 23 goals in 63 games of 2022-23, and 22 goals in 47 games last year. He averaged over 18 minutes of ice time this season, and also potted 25 points on the power-play – second-most on the club behind Kyle Connor. Vilardi’s breakout year was helped along by a 20.8 shooting-percentage, two percent higher than his career-average, and a heap of power-play scoring. But even then, it seems hard to deny that he’s the right man to command Winnipeg’s second-line moving forward. That sentiment could set Vilardi up for a major, long-term contract sometime this summer.

D Dylan Samberg – Another top-of-list item will be finding a new contract for hefty defender Dylan Samberg after he graduated into top-end minutes this season. He averaged north of 21 minutes a night as part of a Jets blue-line that leaned heavily on their top-four. His sheer compete and willingness to make plays on both sides of the ice made the heavy utilization look wise. Samberg led the Jets lineup in blocked shots (120) and takeaways (33), while also working his way to a career-high 20 points and plus-34 through 60 games. He’s still only four years into his career, but has so far found strong defensive metrics and a positive plus-minus in every season. That’s an impressive bit of reliability, especially in a Jets’ defensive group that’s often unwavering. Samberg’s offensive upside may never fully come along, but his ability to step up and make plays against top-end competition will be hotly coveted. He seems like a sure bet to sign a long-term and pricey deal this summer.

F Morgan Barron – Barron’s lineup role doesn’t shimmer the same as his RFA company – but he’s found a firm groove on Winnipeg’s fourth-line that would likely be hard to replace. The 26-year-old winger stands at 6-foot-4, 220-pounds and used that size to great effect this season. He ranked fourth on the team in hits (122) despite averaging just a little over 10 minutes of ice time a game. He was also strong when he needed to step up to the faceoff dot – winning 52 percent of his 163 attempts. Best of all, Barron was able to fill the physical and often defense-first role while only accruing 16 penalty minutes through 74 games on the season — a career low in terms of penalties-per-game. He did only score 15 points across the full year, which continued his fall in scoring after netting 23 points last year, and a career-high 31 points the season before. But Barron is a hardy fourth-liner who isn’t at risk of assignment to the minor-leagues. He should be a confident and cheap re-signing for the Jets.

F Rasmus Kupari – Playing alongside Barron was depth center Rasmus Kupari – another player who found his keep from making the responsible plays, rather than high scoring. Kupari totaled just eight goals, 16 penalty minutes, and a minus-one through 59 games this season – but he also recorded a 52.5 percent faceoff win-rate on 499 draws, the highest success rate of any of Winnipeg’s predominant centermen. He was an impactful depth forward capable of making plays in every direction – and standing up to physical play when the moment called for it. Winnipeg may be enticed to try and find a better scoring fit on the open market, but Kupari would still be worth a cheap contract to fill the role of extra forward and toolsy centerman, if nothing else.

Other RFAs: F Kristian Vesalainen, F Mason Shaw, F Parker Ford, D Simon Lundmark, D Isaak Phillips, D Tyrel Bauer

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Nikolaj Ehlers – The headliner of Winnipeg’s summer will be the decision that Ehlers makes in free agency. He is set to head to the open market, and potentially bring a close to his decade-long tenure with the Jets franchise. Only three Jets have scored more than Ehlers’ 520 points in 674 games since he joined the club in 2015-16: Scheifele (720), Connor (582), and Blake Wheeler (560). That’s impressive company. Even more impressive is Ehlers’ ability to stay consistent. He scored his career-high 64 points in 82 games of the 2016-17 season, his sophomore year. But he managed to notch a new career-high in scoring pace with 24 goals and 63 points in just 69 games this year. Ehlers looks well cemented into his prime years right now, and should only continue to serve as a persistent scorer and transition monster wherever he lands next. 10 years in Winnipeg will be hard to leave behind – and the door isn’t closed yet – but after back-to-back, 60-point seasons, Ehlers is making the wise choice to find a payday while he still can.

F Mason Appleton – Appleton has expressed his interest in remaining apart of the Jets’ core, but that could be a hard sell after his scoring returned to Earth a bit this season. He saw a late-stage breakout last season, netting 14 goals and 36 points while appearing in all 82 games of the 2023-24 campaign. But that mark teetered on an 11.5 shooting percentage, and Appleton fell to just 10 goals and 22 points in 71 games on the back of a 9.3 shooting percentage this year. His career average shooting percentage sits somewhere between those two marks, suggesting that Appleton could find consistency scoring in the high-20s over the next few seasons. That could be enough to warrant an inexpensive contract, especially as Appleton continued to provide impact away from the puck. He recorded a plus-seven, 76 hits, and 15 takeaways on the year – fine-enough numbers for a player split between lines two and three. But the Jets have prospects beginning to knock on the door to NHL minutes. If any veteran would be set to lose on a role, it’d reason to be middle-six winger Appleton. He’s played with the Jets in all eight of his NHL seasons, though did take a trip to the Seattle Kraken for 49 games of the 2021-22 campaign. That familiarity will make him a name to watch in Winnipeg.

F Brandon Tanev – The Jets acquired Tanev from the Seattle Kraken at the Trade Deadline for a 2027 second-round pick. He had 17 points in 60 games on the season up until then, but dwindled to just five points in 19 games of Winnipeg’s second-half. But even with low-scoring in mind, the Jets seem to have gotten what they paid for out of the burly Tanev. He recorded 46 hits in his short time on the team, enough to earn the highest hits-per-60 mark on the roster and bring his year-long total up to a daunting 168 hits in 79 games. He also stayed out of the penalty box, with just six penalty minutes in a Jets jersey. Tanev began his career in Winnipeg way back in the 2016-17 season. He played through three full seasons with the club, before kicking off on a journey that’s winded through two years in Pittsburgh and four years in Seattle. But now, Tanev has found his way back home – and while he certainly won’t offer flashy upside, the chance to lock up his imposing physical presence for a full season would be tough for the Jets to ignore.

D Haydn Fleury – Once a top-10 pick in the NHL Draft, it seems Fleury is now headed towards a split with the NHL. He’s appeared with five different clubs over the last eight seasons, and not yet found a true role with any of them. The Jets awarded Fleury with 39 games this season – the most he’s played since the 2020-21 campaign – and he returned just seven assists, a minus-12, and six penalty minutes. Even his intangible stats raise an eyebrow, with only 56 blocked shots and 48 hits on the year. Fleury stepped up to the chance to earn a role, but ultimately ended his season with little flash. He’ll be a depth defender moving forward, and will likely only command a league-minimum salary and an extra-defender role, if he’s re-signed into the NHL.

Other UFAs: F Dominic Toninato, F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, D Dylan Coghlan, G Chris Driedger

Projected Cap Space

Winnipeg is entering the off-season with plenty of money to pursue whoever they’d like. They sit with $24.463MM in projected cap space. That mark could dwindle to just under $12MM, or less, by the time that Vilardi and Samberg sign career-defining contracts — but that should still be more than enough for the Jets to re-sign depth skaters and land big fish on the open market. It would also be enough to give Ehlers a much-deserved pay-raise, should he decide to return. The Jets led the Western Conference with a 56-22-4 record this season, and now enter the summer with enough money to bring in some impactful additions. Their off-season will be one to follow.

Contract information courtesy of PuckPedia. Photo courtesy of Terrence Lee-Imagn Images and Connor Hamilton-Imagn Images.

Sabres Sign Jack Quinn To Two-Year Extension

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5:50 p.m.: Quinn’s deal will pay him $3.25MM in 2025-26 and $3.5MM in 2026-27 – all in base salary, according to PuckPedia. That means he has a $3.5MM qualifying offer due in 2027.

4:01 p.m.: The Buffalo Sabres have announced that winger Jack Quinn signed a two-year, $6.75MM extension with the club. Quinn was set to become a restricted free agent this summer. His new deal will carry an annual average value of $3.375MM.

Quinn will opt for the short-term bridge deal in his first free agent contract negotiations. He is coming off of his entry-level contract – a three-year, $5.3MM deal signed in the delay prior to the shortened 2021 season. Quinn played through the first 15 AHL games of his career that season and posted a stout nine points. He returned for a full season in the minors in 2021-22 and scored an impressive 26 goals and 61 points in just 45 games. His 1.36 points-per-game that season ranked third among AHLers with more than 15 games played, and earned Quinn the AHL Red Garrett Memorial ’Rookie of the Year’ Award.

The Sabres granted Quinn his NHL rookie season on the heels of his AHL breakout, and his impactful presence quickly translated. He scored 14 goals and 37 points in 75 games of the 2022-23 season, seventh-most among rookies that season. It was a hardy rookie year that ended with Quinn earning routine looks in Buffalo’s top-six. But his encore performance in 2023-24 failed to continue his hot run. Instead, he didn’t make his season debut until January after suffering an Achilles tendon injury that required surgery during the off-season. He scored a promising 19 points in 27 games – a 57-point pace across 82 games – when he did return, but the injury still left fans questioning.

Quinn bounced back to form and good health this season, but didn’t find the breakout some fans expected. He scored 15 goals and 39 points in 74 games – good for a new career-high but well short of the 50-point upside he flashed during his injured year. The fluctuation will likely earn Quinn a short-term bet on his next contract. He’ll now have a chance to prove his goal-scoring upside at the NHL level and earn a hardy payday in 2027 because of it. If he can’t, the Sabres will have an opportunity to get out from under a player who’s already borne through multiple injuries in his hockey career. Quinn is among the highest upside bets on the Sabres roster and boasts an impressive 97 points in 178 career games at the age of 23. He’ll be a player to watch closely on his new deal.

Panthers Sign Sam Bennett To Eight-Year Extension

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The Florida Panthers have signed reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett to an eight-year, $64MM contract extension, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. The move was later confirmed by the Panthers. It will carry an annual-average-value of $8MM and carry Bennett through his age-37 season. The contract will also carry a no-movement clause through the first five years, and a no-trade clause through the final three years, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

After a postseason full of speculation as to where he’d land next, Bennett will stand by his word and re-sign with the Panthers. The deal clocks in at a cheaper price than many speculated he could receive on the open market, especially after leading the playoffs with 15 goals in 23 games. No other player scored more than 11 goals. Bennett was ferocious through every single game in Florida’s run to a second consecutive Stanley Cup win. Serving as the team’s top-line left-wing, Bennett earned 22 points in summer hockey, with many coming on the back of relentless play around the opponent’s net.

The postseason performance was the culmination of what many knew Bennett was capable of. He’s long served as an imposing, aggressive presence in the offensive end – capable of racking up just as many penalty minutes as he does points. He scored 14 points in 19 games of Florida’s Stanley Cup win last season, after netting 41 points and 100 penalty minutes during the regular season. That marked Bennett’s third-straight season reaching at least 40 points – a streak he maintained this season by posting a career-high 51 points in 76 games. He added 90 penalty minutes and a minus-15 to that stat line.

Bennett has now scored 20 goals and 40 points in three of the last four seasons. His only miss – the 2022-23 campaign – saw him net 16 goals and 40 points in just 63 games. He’s proven incredibly reliable ever since joining the Panthers via trade in the 2020-21 season. Florida acquired him from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Emil Heineman and a second-round pick ultimately used by Seattle to select David Goyette. Heineman was traded earlier today in Montreal’s acquisition of Noah Dobson.

Bennett scored 15 points in his first 10 games with the Panthers following his trade. In the years since, he’s combined for 95 goals and 196 points in 289 games – the fifth most on the Panthers behind Aleksander Barkov (332), Sam Reinhart (324), Carter Verhaeghe (254), and Matthew Tkachuk (254). Bennett has also totaled 59 points in 77 playoff games in Florida, fourth on the team behind Verhaeghe (76), Barkov (74), and Tkachuk (69).

This deal will likely carry Bennett through the end of his career in a Florida Panthers jersey. The Holland Landing, Ontario native originally began his NHL career with the Calgary Flames, who selected him fourth-overall in the 2014 NHL Draft. Bennett played through his rookie NHL season in the 2015-16 campaign and earned a hardy 18 goals and 36 points in 77 games. His stout performance was drowned out by a loaded 2015-16 rookie class – headlined by Artemi Panarin, Jack Eichel, and Connor McDavid. But Bennett showed he could do more than just score with a lofty 75 penalty minutes in 81 games of his sophomore season. With that performance, he fell into the rut of bruising middle-six center in Calgary – a role he would stick in until moving to the Panthers.

Florida has brought out the best of the best in Bennett, and been rewarded two Stanley Cups for their efforts. The 2024-25 season was undoubtedly the best in the 29-year-old’s NHL career – and interestingly ended with him serving as a utility tool more than a set-in center. Florida could expand that role as Bennett enters his 30s, especially with a measly 46.4 faceoff percentage over the last five seasons. Having a Swiss-army-knife locked up for the foreseeable future will be an invaluable piece for the Panthers, as they look to maintain their top-of-the-league presence for as long as possible.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Blue Jackets Acquire Charlie Coyle, Miles Wood From Avalanche

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired forwards Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for top prospect Gavin Brindley, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2025 third-round pick, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The deal was first reported by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The deal has now been confirmed by Columbus. Colorado will clear out $7.75MM in cap space with this move.

Columbus will land a much-needed second-line center through this move. Coyle started the 2024-25 season with the Boston Bruins, but posted a very quiet 15 goals and 22 points in the 64 games leading up to the Trade Deadline. With a lost season on hand, the Bruins opted to move Coyle to the forward-needy Colorado Avalanche in exchange for centerman Casey Mittelstadt, prospect William Zellers, and a 2025 second-round draft pick. It was a lofty return, but Coyle made it worthwhile with a surge back to scoring heights. He recorded 13 points in 19 games with Colorado – an 82-game pace of 56 points. But Coyle fell surprisingly snake-bitten in the postseason, and managed just one goal in Colorado’s seven playoff games.

Coyle’s surge back to productivity is one Columbus will hope can stick. He was a focal point of the Bruins’ offense during his six full seasons with the club. He had dipped to 28 points in 60 games with the Minnesota Wild prior to a mid-season move to the Bruins. But after a red-hot postseason in Boston – 16 points in 24 games – Coyle found his groove with 16 goals and 37 points in 70 games of his first full year with the Bruins. His scoring took a hit during the shortened 2020-21 campaign, but he climbed back to success with 44 and 45 points in the following two years. He then broke out in a big way during the 2023-24 season, netting a career-high 25 goals and 60 assists in 82 games.

That performance made Coyle’s ice cold start to the 2024-25 season all the more confusing. But even through peaks and valleys on the box score, Coyle has stayed a consistent two-way feature of anywhere he’s landed. He has a bulky 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame and controls movements through both directions of the neutral zone with confidence. That kind of reliable veteran could be invaluable as Columbus looks to build out behind a top line of Kent Johnson, Adam Fantilli, and Kirill Marchenko.

Just as valuable will be the gritty, veteran depth that Colorado adds in the form of Miles Wood. The 29-year-old winger was limited to just 37 games this year due to an upper-body injury. When he did play, he only tallied eight points. That scoring pace falls just short of the 27 and 26 points Wood totaled over the last two seasons, likely a result of an injury slowing him down. Wood’s career-year stands as his 2017-18 campaign with the New Jersey Devils. He scored 19 goals and 32 points in 76 games that year, though Wood’s true impact has always come away from the puck. He’s a bulky, physical forward who’s at his best when causing havoc along the boards or in the corners. He has recorded 182 points, split evenly, and 550 penalty minutes in 513 career games in the NHL. That imposing physical presence will back Columbus’ young top-six well.

But even with the clear-cut roles that Coyle and Wood are headed for, it’s a surprise to see the Blue Jackets move on from Brindley before giving him a consistent chance in the NHL. The team selected the 5-foot-8 winger with the 34th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, after a standout freshman year at the University of Michigan. Brindley performed even better in his sophomore season, scoring 25 goals and 53 points in only 40 games. His scoring led the Wolverines that season – above players like Rutger McGroarty, Dylan Duke, Seamus Casey, and Frank Nazar.

While he can be called undersized, Brindley is far from outworked. He’s a tireless forechecker, and creates a surprising amount of turnovers and chances deep in the offensive end for a player his size. But, as was to be expected, Brindley struggled to maintain that through his transition to pro leagues. He found his way into bottom-six minutes with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters this season, while playing through his first professional season. He ended the year with just 17 points, 24 penalty minutes, and a minus-10 through 52 games.

Those numbers – and especially his mere three points through the final 22 games of the season – will set Brindley on a course for the minor leagues again next year. But his upside will be sky-high – and in an Avalanche pool that can pad his size concerns, there could be the makings of a strong depth-winger here. This will be an upside bet for Colorado, and an err towards sure things for the Blue Jackets.

Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports.

Canadiens Acquire, Extend Noah Dobson From Islanders

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The Montreal Canadiens are set to acquire high-scoring defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders, per NHL.com’s Kevin Weekes. The deal was later confirmed by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who shares that the Islanders signed Dobson to a maximum-term, eight-year contract before moving him to Montreal. That extension will carry a total value of $76MM, or an annual average value of $9.5MM.

In return, the Islanders will receive both of Montreal’s draft picks in the 2025 first-round – picks 16 and 17 – as well as forward prospect Emil Heineman, per Friedman.

After multiple days of rumors, Montreal has landed the big fish in high-end scorer Dobson. The move will give Montreal more oomph to an already high-octane offensive group manning their blue-line. Dobson managed a career-year at the age of just 24 during the 2023-24 campaign, when he managed 10 goals and 70 points in 79 games. He became the first Islanders defenseman since Stanley Cup-winner Denis Potvin to reach the 60-assist mark.

That breakout performance was a gradual ramp-up after Dobson managed 13 goals and 51 points in 2021-22, and 13 goals and 49 points in 2022-23. He’s climbed the ranks of offensive output and reached double-digit goals in every full season of his NHL career. That includes reaching 10 goals again this year, though his point total took a surprising tumble to 39 points in 71 games played.

That sudden spike in scoring, and a fall to a minus-16 after posting a plus-12 last year, brought out many skeptics to Dobson’s overall upside. But it’s worth noting that New York scored the fifth-fewest goals in the NHL this season (222), 23 fewer than they managed in Dobson’s breakout campaign in 2024. A bulk of that decrease can be attributed to Islanders’ star forward Mathew Barzal missing all but 30 games of this season, after leading the Islanders in scoring in 2023-24.

Dobson’s scoring totals are near-second-to-none in the league. He ranks fifth among U25 defensemen in total goals scored over the last five seasons (49), behind Cale Makar (104), Rasmus Dahlin (70), Evan Bouchard (54), and Quinn Hughes (51). Dobson also ranks sixth in total points (223) behind Makar (378), Hughes (353), Dahlin (275), Adam Fox (266), and Bouchard (237).

But Dobson’s defensive prowess remains scrutinized. Among the same sample – U25 defenders over the last five years – only seven players have been on the ice for more goals-against than Dobson’s 346. He’s also been on the ice for the eighth-most expected goals-against (xGA; 385.53), per Evolving Hockey. Of the bunch, he boasts the fourth-best goal-differential (+82).

There’s a lot to like, and a lot to be nervous about in how Dobson has blazed his path through his first four full seasons in the NHL. But that argument aside, there seems no denying that he’s among the sheer best, young offensive-defensemen in the NHL. His growth into a star, top-pair role in New York far exceeded the 12th-overall draft spot he earned in the 2018 NHL Draft – and likely exceeds the paths any options at Montreal’s previous 16th and 17th overall slots this year would have yielded. He’s a premier scorer, and will join another emerging superstar on Montreal’s defense in Lane Hutson. Hutson reached the 60-assist mark as a 20-year-old rookie this season, and earned the Calder Trophy because of it.

Both Hutson and Dobson dominate possession on their line – and excel at gaining momentum through their drives in the neutral zone. They’ll be elusive and effective play-drivers, but man need to play off of each other’s pairings to give Montreal the best results. That will be where other young Montreal defenders have a chance to step up – with Kaiden Guhle and David Reinbacher likely the future glue pieces holding the offensive-stars down. How Montreal pursues that deployment, or even if they’ll maintain their current structure at all, will be headlines worth following through the rest of the summer.

Meanwhile Heineman will fall as the unheralded addition to a draft-day blockbuster. The 23-year-old winger played through his rookie NHL season in Montreal’s bottom-six this year. He managed 10 goals and 18 points through 62 games, though looked in need of a spark through multiple points in the year. This move marks the third time that Heineman has been moved by his NHL club – after previously being traded from the Florida Panthers to the Calgary Flames in a 2021 deal that landed Florida Sam Bennett; then from the Flames to the Canadiens in a 2022 trade that sent Tyler Toffoli to Calgary.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.

Red Wings Sign William Lagesson To Two-Year Extension

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The Detroit Red Wings have signed defenseman William Lagesson to a two-year extension, per a team release. Lagesson spent the bulk of his season serving as the Red Wings’ seventh defenseman watching from the press box. He appeared in just 30 games on the full year: seven in the NHL and 23 in the AHL. He scored one assist in the NHL and nine points in the minor leagues.

Lagesson, 29, has fallen into the rut of a journeyman, depth defenseman over the last four seasons. He was originally a fourth-round draft pick to the Edmonton Oilers in 2014, and made his NHL debut with the club in the 2019-20 campaign. He filled a minimal NHL role through the 2021-22 campaign, ultimately totaling six assists, 22 penalty minutes, and a minus-three through his first 57 NHL games. After splitting much of the 2021-22 campaign split between major and minor leagues, the Oilers opted to send Lagesson and two draft picks – including the pick used to select Lane Hutson – to the Montreal Canadiens in a deal for defenseman Brett Kulak at the 2022 Trade Deadline.

Lagesson entered unrestricted free agency in the following summer, opening the door for him to sign a one-year, league-minimum contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. He spent his full time in the Hurricanes organization with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, where he managed a career-high 32 points and 46 penalty minutes in 65 games. He re-entered free agency in the following summer and landed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who returned him to a depth NHL role for the start of the 2023-24 season. He was placed on waivers in March of that season, and claimed by the Anaheim Ducks, who continued his NHL deployment. That pattern repeated itself this last season – with a league-minimum contract signed last summer, and a minimal role in Detroit this season.

A two year contract will be Lagesson’s longest since his three-year, entry-level contract signed in 2017. He may not have made too much of an impact through the 2024-25 season, and may still be looking for his first NHL goal after netting 12 points in 107 career games – but Detroit is clearly confident in his ability to continue serving as a depth defender worth keeping around.

Maple Leafs Sign John Tavares To Four-Year Extension

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the final stages of signing John Tavares to an extension. The move was first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger. It was later confirmed by the player on the Instagram page for the John Tavares Foundation — and then by the team themselves. Dreger adds that the deal with be a four-year, $17.52MM extension with an annual average value of $4.38MM.

Tavares’ extension will include $2MM in deferred salary – a practice soon to be outlawed in the NHL’s next collective bargaining agreement, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic. Johnston also shares that Tavares’ deal will carry a no-movement clause through the first two seasons, and a five-team no-trade list in the final two.

Toronto gets an important piece of business accomplished, for a price well under what many Leafs fans expected. The deal is a near-$4MM discount against Tavares’ player value, calculated by The Athletic’s statistician Dom Luszczyscyn. Tavares was coming off of a monstrous, seven-year, $77MM contract signed with Toronto on July 1st, 2018. The deal ate up 13.84 percent of Toronto’s cap-hit at the time, and often served to limit the team’s roster flexibility, alongside lofty deals for Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander.

Now age 34, Tavares will drop his cap hit by nearly two-thirds, and likely ride out the remainder of his career in a Maple Leafs jersey. He’s a Mississauga native, with deep roots in and around the Leafs organization. That includes serving as the team’s captain from 2019 to 2024. He was replaced this season by Matthews.

Tavares’ last contract was often scrutinized, but his performance on the deal should be remembered fondly. He filled a hardy role as the team’s second-line center for the duration of the contract, and totaled 222 goals and 493 points in 515 games. That mark ranks third on the Maple Leafs since the start of the 2018-19 season, behind Marner (611 points in 498 games) and Matthews (595 points in 485 games). Tavares also scored 31 points in 51 playoff games in that stretch – fifth on the Leafs behind Matthews, Nylander, Marner, and Morgan Rielly.

Tavares has been a staple of every lineup he’s played for. Prior to joining his hometown Maple Leafs, he was the quintessential top-line center for the New York Islanders spanning nine seasons. The Islanders originally drafted Tavares first-overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, following the end of his exceptional status career in the OHL. He joined the team immediately following his draft, and scored an impressing 54 points in 81 games as a rookie.

His hot-start in the NHL continued to grow-and-grow over his time with the Islanders. Tavares recorded 31 goals and 81 points in the 2011-12 season, and topped that again with 38 goals and 86 points in 2014-15. By that time, he had already served two full years as the Islanders’ captain, and earned the second all-star berth of his career. Tavares would remain New York’s captain, and a perennial all-star, until he left the squad after the 2017-18 campaign.

Tavares’ departure from Long Island, NY was one of the most scrutinized moves in recent NHL history. It was seen by many as a captain abandoning his post, with a preference for the glitz and glamour of a big market. The Islanders have appeared in four of a possible six postseasons since Tavares’ departure, while Toronto has made the playoffs in every year since their big addition.

In a summer where Toronto seems headed for a sure breakup with superstar winger Marner, they’ll opt to not shake the boat too much by also losing Tavares. Instead, Tavares will remain locked-in as Toronto’s second-line center through the foreseeable future. He scored a stout 38 goals and 74 points in 75 games this season – his highest scoring pace since netting 36 goals and 80 points in 80 games of the 2022-23 campaign. Those are electric scoring totals for a player well over the hill of his NHL career. At a cheap price for the next four seasons, even two-thirds of those scoring totals would make Tavares a contract worth hanging onto.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports.

Mammoth Acquire, Extend J.J. Peterka

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The Buffalo Sabres are reportedly close to finalizing a deal that would send winger JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for forward prospect Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. It’s been further announced that Peterka has agreed to a five-year, $38.5MM extension with the Mammoth, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The Mammoth later confirmed the trade and signing. It’s a late-night blockbuster, and a rare three-player swap with no additions.

Utah has now completed the franchise’s biggest trade under its new moniker. In Peterka, the Mammoth have acquired a consistent goal-scorer they can plug into their top six without having to part with too many quality assets. Kesselring and Doan filled important needs for the team last season, but they didn’t replicate what Peterka can bring to their offense.

The German-born winger was selected by the Sabres as the 34th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, coming from EHC München in the DEL. A year later, after scoring nine goals and 20 points in 30 DEL contests and 10 points in only five World Junior Championship games, the Sabres knew that it wouldn’t be long before Peterka debuted in North America.

He did just that the following season. Primarily playing for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, Peterka gave an impressive rookie performance, scoring 28 goals and 68 points in 70 games. Despite being named to the All-Rookie Team and finishing 10th in AHL scoring, Peterka lost out on the Dudley “Red” Garrett Memorial Award as the league’s most outstanding rookie to teammate Jack Quinn.

Despite playing in two games during the 2021-22 campaign, Peterka made the full transition to NHL hockey in 2022-23 and never looked back. Being a capable tertiary scorer during the 2022-23 campaign with limited ice time, Peterka became a full-fledged top-six winger the last two seasons, scoring 55 goals and 118 points in 159 games played.

Peterka has some defensive shortcomings to work on, which is to be expected of any young winger. Still, he brings a wealth of offensive capabilities and possession quality to plug into a similarly styled offense in Salt Lake City. Peterka will join the likes of Logan Cooley, Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Dylan Guenther, and Barrett Hayton and the Mammoth’s top-six, with every player falling under the age of 30.

Meanwhile, Buffalo adds a young, right-handed defenseman whom they’ve been coveting for some time. The team was oversaturated on the left side last season, with all four of the team’s highest-paid blue liners shooting from the left. Even at 25 years old, Kesselring has already proven to be a capable puck-moving defenseman who can hold his own in the defensive zone.

It’s hard to imagine the Mammoth thought Kesselring would become the player he is. The Arizona Coyotes acquired Kesselring from the Edmonton Oilers in 2023 as part of the Nick Bjugstad trade, whom they later re-signed the following offseason. They quickly assigned him to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners.

Since then, Kesselring has scored 12 goals and 50 points in 147 NHL contests, jumping into a top-four role with the formerly named Utah Hockey Club last season. The scoring totals may not stand out, but his possession and defensive metrics are impressive. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 53.7% CorsiFor% at even strength, and a on-ice save percentage of 92.2%. His positive possession quality should help the Sabres dramatically, as they finished the 2024-25 campaign as the league’s 17th-best possession team.

Lastly, Doan, the son of former Coyotes icon Shane Doan, comes to the Sabres organization without having made his mark on the NHL level. The former 37th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft has been a productive AHL scorer since his draft year, accumulating 40 goals and 78 points in 104 games.

Still, that talent hasn’t yet translated to the NHL level, and much of that can be explained by a lack of ice time. Doan finished the 2024-25 campaign with seven goals and 21 points in 51 games, averaging 13:31 seconds of ice time in a third-line role. Unfortunately, given the talent that the Sabres have on the wing in their top-six, Doan is likely destined for the same role in New York.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

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