Mammoth Begin Extension Talks With Logan Cooley
The Utah Mammoth have begun discussing a contract extension with top young center Logan Cooley, per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. Cooley has one more year remaining on the three-year, $2.85MM entry-level contract he signed in July of 2023. His $950K cap hit makes him the cheapest forward currently signed to Utah’s roster.
Cooley has a true breakout season this year. He took full reigns over Utah’s top-line center role and reached an impressive 25 goals and 40 assists in 75 games. He became just the 13th player since 2000 to reach 25 goals and 65 points in a single season before their 22nd birthday. The last players to reach that mark were Wyatt Johnston (65 points in 2023-24), Tim Stutzle (90 points in 2022-23), and Connor McDavid (106 points in 2017-18).
Cooley has reached a high shelf early into his hockey career. Even his rookie year set franchise headlines, with 20 goals and 44 points last season making him the fourth-highest scoring rookie in Arizona Coyotes club history. He matched the scoring totals of a rookie Anthony Duclair with those marks. That season came on the heels of a stellar freshman year at the University of Minnesota, where Cooley scored 22 goals and 60 points in just 39 games.
Just two years in, and before the age of 22, it’s already clear that the 2022 third-overall pick can stand up to major minutes in Utah. The team has gone as far as keeping Cooley top of mind in their draft day approaches – drafting impactful two-way center Caleb Desnoyers in the top 10 last weekend to compliment Cooley’s downhill offensive drive.
With so much attention around embedding Cooley into the future plans, he’ll likely be the topmost priority for the Mammoth between this summer and next. They boast nearly $11MM in projected cap space this summer, and should have just as much room with Nick Schmaltz, Alexander Kerfoot, and Ian Cole set to come off the books next year. Cooley seems set for a major year this season – and could rack up more-and-more of a payday with a hot performance. His baseline for a new deal will likely be the eight-year, $66.8MM deal that Ottawa signed Stutzle to in 2022. That deal carries an annual average value of $8.35MM. But with the rise in cap ceiling in the last few years, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Cooley settle in closer to $9MM.
Getting Cooley settled to a long-term contract will go a long way towards pulling Utah into their future. They have a strong youth presence beginning to break into the top flight, with Cooley backed by Dylan Guenther, JJ Peterka, Tij Iginla, Daniil But, and Desnoyers. That group, and their company on top of the Mammoth prospect chart, will look to push the club into a new generation following looming separations with many top veterans. Cooley will be the leader of the bunch, and likely push forward as Utah’s top-line center of the future.
Photo courtesy of Rob Gray-Imagn Images.
Islanders Hire David Cunniff, Chad Kolarik To AHL Assistant Coach Roles
The New York Islanders have rounded out their minor-league coaching staff, hiring David Cunniff and Chad Kolarik as assistant coaches for the Bridgeport Islanders per a team release. The duo will join recently named head coach Rocky Thompson at Bridgeport’s helm.
Both Cunniff and Kolarik have deep roots in minor-league hockey. Cunniff played through parts of three seasons in the AHL and five in the ECHL during the late-1990’s. He gained a reputation for bruising minutes, and racked up 168 penalty minutes in 62 games of the 1997-98 season at his peak. Cunniff retired at the age of 30, in the 2001-02 season, and quickly turned his sights towards a coaching career. He was hired as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Barons in the 2002-03 season, and continued on in the role for the next four seasons. He then moved on to eight seasons with the Worcester Sharks, four seasons with the Iowa Wild, one year with the Hartford Wolf Pack, and two seasons with the Utica Comets.
Cunniff’s journeyman career around AHL benches has taken him to just five postseasons over the last 22 years. He’s a stout defensively-minded coach, who should bring regiment to a Bridgeport lineup that struggled last season.
Cunniff will be complimented by rookie pro coach Kolarik. He has only appeared in one coaching season through his hockey career: an assistant coach role with the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks in 2021-22. Prior to then, Kolarik trekked through an international playing career. He began as a seventh-round pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, and turned towards an AHL career in the 2008-09 season. He scored 100 points in 152 games over his first three AHL seasons – enough to earn two NHL games with the 2009-10 Columbus Blue Jackets. He went without any scoring, and would continue through four more seasons as a full-time minor-leaguer, with just four more games – and one assist – in the NHL.
Kolarik opted to move to Sweden’s SHL in the 2013-14 season, kicking off a journey around European hockey. He spent two years in Sweden and one year in both Russia and Switzerland, before kicking off a three-year career in Germany’s DEL that ended with a league title. He finished his playing career with one year in Austria’s top league in the 2019-20 season. Kolarik will offer an offensive eye and rich playing experience
Blues Pushing For Bowen Byram Trade
The St. Louis Blues are set on continuing their overhaul this season. On the heels of announcing a new logo, trading a top rookie, and waiving a long-term veteran – the Blues are now aggressively pushing to acquire Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram, per Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic. Rutherford adds that Byram is still a candidate to be offer-sheeted by one of many teams, but St. Louis would not be among those teams. They would have to trade for Byram, since they don’t have the draft capital to match an offer sheet.
Acquiring the former fourth-overall pick would be St. Louis’ biggest move since they kicked off the wave of offer-sheets by acquiring Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg last summer. Byram spent the 2024-25 season closely tied to star Sabres defender Rasmus Dahlin. With his help, Byram was able to reach a career-high 38 points in 82 games – while averaging a career-high 22:42 in ice time each game.
The role in Buffalo was the biggest of Byram’s career, and a hardy step up from the 21 minutes a night he averaged with the Colorado Avalanche in the 2022-23 season. He recorded 24 points in 42 games that year, then followed it up with 29 points in 73 games split between Colorado and Buffalo last season.
Byram has managed an impressive 246 NHL games before the age of 25. He’s managed multiple seasons in top-line roles, on the back of high acclaim in his draft year. And yet, the instinctive offensive-defenseman has yet to manage a season with more than 40 points. He was a glowing defense partner for Dahlin — with the two managing a plus-15 goal differential in their minutes together — but struggled significantly away from the star padding — with a minus-22 goal-differential without Dahlin.
Those marks could spell reason for pessimism around the young defender. But of the many teams interested in striking a deal with Buffalo, the Blues may be the ones with the best role available for Byram. They recently lost their top left-defender in Torey Krug, who missed the entirety of last season with an ankle injury. Broberg admirably filled the top role in Krug’s absence, but only managed 29 points in 68 games on the full season. A move to St. Louis would push Byram into a direct competition with Broberg for top-pair minutes. Byram’s offensive instinct would be what wins him ice time in that battle – though losing out would mean a second-line role next to longtime pro Colton Parayko, while Justin Faulk mans the top role.
The need to lean into more offense could be the spark Byram needs, but landing the trade could be a lofty task for the Blues. They currently hold $625,150 in projected cap space – a number that will rise to just over $7MM when Krug goes on long-term injured reserve. Byram earned a $3.85MM cap hit on his last contract, and could be due double that mark after a year on Dahlin’s hip. That could take St. Louis right up to the salary cap mark, unless they can shed money in a move.
Top-end winger Jordan Kyrou has been rumored to be garnering interest from around the league, and would certainly make sense as the buy-up that Buffalo is looking for in a Byram trade. But Kyrou, 27, has reached the 70 point mark in three of the last four seasons – a streak only interrupted by his 67-point campaign last year. Should he be too rich of an asset to move, the Blues could also bank in on their wealth of high-upside prospects on the wing. They already dealt Zachary Bolduc away for a defense upgrade, and could find a similar move revolving around Jake Neighbours or Dalibor Dvorsky, packaged with additional capital.
Just over a week after claiming that the roster was “set”, Blues general manager has explored multiple ways to shake it up even further. Acquiring Byram would be another big-fish addition to a pond that’s been stocked up over the last two summers. The Blues earned a Wild Card bid last season on a regulation-wins tiebreaker. They scored the most goals of any Western Conference team in the Wild Card race, and could get an even bigger boost should Byram continue his growth through another move.
Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports.
Jets Sign Gustav Nyquist
The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms on a one-year, $3.25MM contract with winger Gustav Nyquist. The deal was first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Nyquist, 35, spent last season split between the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild. His year began in a top-six role with the Predators where he managed nine goals and 21 points in 57 games. But, like many Predators veterans, Nyquist struggled to prevent the barrage on defense, and wound up being traded at the Trade Deadline in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick. He finished his year with seven points in 22 games with the Wild.
On the season, Nyquist combined for just 28 points and a minus-24 in 79 games played. That number is a sharp, sharp fall from the career-year he posted on the Predators last season. He formed a formidable pairing with playmaking center Ryan O’Reilly on the 2023-24 Predators, and reached a career-high 75 points in 81 games while operating from a second-line role. His 52 assists on the season fell 14 higher than his previous career-high. It was an electric performance, with Nyquist reaching new heights at an age where many players often consider retirement.
That flash of upside will earn Nyquist a 14th NHL season with Winnipeg next year. He’s a perennial scorer, and has reached the 50-point mark in three of his last six seasons. In the years he fell short of the mark, Nyquist still managed a serviceable 42, 27, and 28 points respectively. Across his full career in the NHL – which spans back to the 2011-12 season in Detroit – Nyquist has averaged 20 goals and 50 points per 82 games played. That average falls to 16 goals and 46 points when looking at 2021-22 and beyond.
Nyquist recorded a 10.7 shooting percentage last year, one percent lower than his career average and nearly five percent lower than the mark he reached in his career year. That could set him up for a boost in scoring next season. He’ll have every chance to reach new heights, likely set on filling the top-six role vacated by Nikolaj Ehlers — assuming Ehlers doesn’t re-sign. He may need to compete with Alex Iafallo, Nino Niederreiter, and Cole Koepke for minutes next to Jonathan Toews, who will make his return to the league in a middle-six center role with the Jets.
Flames Sign Morgan Frost To Two-Year Extension
The Calgary Flames have signed centerman Morgan Frost to a two-year, $8.75MM contract extension per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The deal was first reported by Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News. It will carry an annual cap hit of $4.38MM and an up-front signing bonus of $500,000 per PuckPedia.
The Flames acquired Frost alongside Joel Farabee partway through this season in a deal that sent Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, a 2025 second-round pick (Shane Vansaghi), and a 2028 seventh-round pick back to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Frost quickly slotted into Calgary’s third-line center role, but struggled to maintain the heights that he had reached with the Flyers. After beginning the year with 11 goals and 25 points in 49 games with Philadelphia, Frost finished it off with just 12 points in 32 games with Calgary. Despite the dip in scoring, he remained an active presence in all other areas of the ice, recording a positive faceoff win-rate, 21 blocked shots, and 34 hits with the Flames.
Frost’s cumulative 37 points on the season fall just shy of the pair of strong seasons he posted in Philadelphia over the last two years. Playing through his first full year in the NHL in 2023-24, Frost managed an impressive 19 goals and 46 pionts in 81 games while splitting time between the second and third lines. He followed that performance up with 13 goals and 41 points in 71 games last season, this time in a much more clear-cut third-line role.
There seems to be heaps of untapped offensive upside in Frost’s game. He’s recorded 147 points in 310 games in the NHL, to go with 48 points in 65 career games in the AHL. He was even tracking for a 50-point season to kick off this year, before being knocked off course by a what seemed to be a sudden trade. That fact could make this short-term deal an interesting bet for the Flames. He will enter unrestricted free agency on the other side of this contract, providing Frost a chance to either earn a pay raise in Calgary or find new pastures should he flame out. He’ll head for the third-line center role on the Flames lineup next season, behind Nazem Kadri and Mikael Backlund.
Islanders Sign Maxim Shabanov
The New York Islanders have announced they’ve signed KHL forward Maxim Shabanov to a one-year, entry-level contract. The deal was first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, and confirmed by Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. Rosner adds that the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers were also among Shabanov’s finalists, before deciding on the Islanders. The contract will carry a $975,000 cap hit and maximum bonuses – valued at $3.5MM – per NHL.com’s Kevin Weekes.
Shabanov, 24, will follow in the footsteps of top Islanders’ rookie Maxim Tsyplakov, who posted 10 goals and 35 points in 77 games this season after seven seasons in the KHL. Shabanov has three full years of KHL experience to his name, though he’s found a way to emerge as one of his team’s top forwards in each year. He scored 23 goals and 67 points in 65 games with HC Traktor this season, good for the third-most points in the entire league. He then added an additional 20 points, split evenly, in 21 postseason appearances as Traktor charged towards a championship runner-up finish.
It was a red-hot performance for the young winger, after he broke out with 25 goals and 50 points in 64 games last season. That performance was itself a stark increase from the 18 goals and 31 points that Shabanov managed as a KHL rookie in 2022-23. Three years of production have made Shabanov one of the top young forwards. In fact, his 150 points in 207 career KHL games is the ninth-most a player has scored prior to their 25th birthday. He ranks just ahead of Vadim Shipachyov, and just behind New Jersey Devils forward Arseni Gritsyuk.
Shabanov is a flashy, high-speed forward with a knack for finding ways to get involved in the offense. He was among Traktor’s biggest drivers through the neutral zone this season, and consistently found ways to crash the net on or off of the puck. He’s got a strong shot, nifty hands, and a creative ability to set up plays that should all yield interesting offensive upside at the NHL level. He could be held back by a slight, 5-foot-8 frame — a knock that likely excluded him from much NHL draft consideration during his years of eligibility in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Shabanov should slot into the Islanders’ third-line left-wing role to start his NHL career. He could also be a candidate to man a right-wing role, should it better fit New York’s deployment of Anthony Duclair and newcomer Jonathan Drouin. He could even fit on the opposite wing to Tsyplakov. The two young Russians have never appeared in league play together.
Blues Sign Pius Suter To Two-Year Contract
The St. Louis Blues have agreed to a two-year, $8.25MM contract with center Pius Suter per insider Frank Seravalli. The move was confirmed by Cam Robinson of EliteProspects, after reports that Suter had signed from Chris Johnston of The Athletic and Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News.
The contract was originally reported as carrying a $4MM cap hit through both seasons, though David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period shares that the second year will actually carry a $4.25MM cap hit. St. Louis confirmed the extra $250,000 in a team press release.
Suter is coming off a career year with the Vancouver Canucks. He reached new heights in nearly every stat category, including scoring 25 goals, 46 points, 43 blocked shots, 59 hits, and averaging north of 17 minutes a night. He made good work out of a promotion to Vancouver’s second-line following the departure of top forward J.T. Miller via a midseason trade. Suter even earned a vote for the Selke Trophy, awarded annually to the league’s best defensive-forward.
Suter has stood as a reliable middle-six center in every season since his NHL career began in 2020-21. He moved to the Chicago Blackhawks after six seasons, and one championship, with Zurich SC of Switzerland’s top league. Suter recorded 14 goals and 27 points in 55 games of his NHL rookie season – on pace for 40 points across 82 games. A Blackhawks organization in flux pushed Suter out of the door after his one-year deal ran up, prompting a two-year, $6.5MM contract with the Detroit Red Wings. Suter continued to stand up to a third-line role in Detroit, even scoring 15 goals and 36 points while appearing in all 82 games of the 2021-22 season.
His scoring fell to 24 points in 79 games in his final year with the Red Wings, sparking yet another summer move – this time on a discounted two-year, $3.2MM deal with the Canucks. A change of scenery brought a spark to Suter’s scoring, which grew to 29 points in 67 games last year and a breakout season this year.
Now, after completing another pair of seasons with his club, Suter will head for a move once more. He could find a lucrative lineup role with the Blues, who are yet to make a clear decision between who will handle center duties on their second and third lines. Suter will compete with captain Brayden Schenn and rookie Dalibor Dvorsky for minutes.
A dismal 42.7 faceoff percentage, compared to Schenn’s 52.3 percentage, could be enough to push Suter to the wings. Even then, his volume shooting and hefty presence will help the Blues make up for recently trading youngster Zachary Bolduc. Suter recorded an 18.1 shooting percentage last season – far above his career average of 13.1 percent. That could point towards his 46-point mark being a tough one to recreate, though he’ll still be a strong bet for modest production from a depth role.
Golden Knights Sign Kaedan Korczak To Four-Year Extension, Jeremy Davies To Two-Year Deal
The Vegas Golden Knights have re-signed defenseman Kaedan Korczak to a four-year, $13MM contract extension, per Stephen Whyno of AP News. The deal will carry an annual cap hit of $3.25MM. Vegas later confirmed the deal in a team press release. In that release, the team also mentioned they’ve signed defenseman Jeremy Davies to a two-year contract.
Korczak will earn a hardy bode of confidence with this news. He has one more season left on a two-year, $1.65MM contract signed on July 1st, 2024. With that contract in place, Korczak was promoted to Vegas’ extra defender role – marking his first season spending the full year with the NHL roster. He was often a healthy scratch over the course of the season, but still managed to record 10 assists, one penalty, and a plus-15 across 40 games. He also recorded 59 hits in his appearances — giving him the fifth-most hits per-60 minutes of ice time.
Physical hockey and strong passing were the two features that Vegas aimed to buy in signing Korczak to a multi-year extension last season. They evidently saw enough to stand confident in his abilities, and will now keep Korczak controlled through his age-33 season in 2029-30.
A hefty contract extension could be a strong indication that Korczak is set for a nightly feature in Vegas’ lineup, likely in place of fellow giant Nicolas Hague, who was recently traded to the Nashville Predators. Korczak has appeared in 77 NHL games across the last four seasons, and managed one goal, 21 points, and a plus-25. He has also recorded 39 points and a minus-three in 134 AHL games since 2020.
Vegas will find an insurance defender in the gritty Davies, who has spent the last four seasons primarily in the minor-leagues. He recorded a staggering 11 goals and 48 points in 72 games with the Belleville Senators this season – marking a new career-high. The boost in scoring came alongside a dwindling in penalties, with Davies recording 44 PIMs this year after posting 90 PIMs just two seasons ago. He’s been a fixture of the minor-leagues through his six-year professional career, so far only stepping into 23 NHL games and recording three points. A standout year with Belleville could be enough to warrant NHL attention next year, though Davies will likely have to climb his way up from a feature role with the Henderson Silver Knights.
Red Wings Sign Mason Appleton To Two-Year Deal
The Detroit Red Wings have signed forward Mason Appleton to a two-year, $5.8MM contract per PuckPedia. PuckPedia adds that Appleton will be due $3MM of salary in the first year of the deal, and $2.8MM in the second year. The deal will move Appleton away from his second stint with the Winnipeg Jets, which spanned the last four seasons.
Appleton has emerged as a reliable utility forward over the course of his seven years in the NHL. He contributed 10 goals, 22 points, 22 penalty minutes, and a plus-seven through 71 games with the Jets this season, while operating out of a bottom-six role. He took a quiet step down in both minutes and impact this season, after posting a career-high 14 goals, 36 points, and plus-16 while also recording a career-high 16 minutes of average ice time last year. Even with that dock, Appleton has found strong footing in an everyday lineup role after missing half of the 2022-23 season with a wrist injury that required surgery.
At 29 years old, Appleton seems well glued to a hardy bottom-six role. He has recorded 57 goals, 138 points, a plus-35, and 124 penalty minutes through 400 career games in the NHL. Appleton also adds a notable amount of hits and blocked shots each year. Looking at all seven years of his pro career, Appleton has averaged 28 points, a plus-seven, 31 blocked shots, and 83 hits per 82 games played. He will offer stout depth behind Red Wings newcomer James van Riemsdyk, though may need to compete for a nightly role with Jonatan Berggren or Elmer Soderblom.
Islanders Sign Emil Heineman To Two-Year Deal
The New York Islanders have announced they’ve signed Emil Heineman to a two-year, $2.2MM contract. The contract terms were first reported by Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. New York acquired Heineman in a draft day trade alongside the 16th and 17th-overall picks in a deal that delivered top defender Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens. New York used the draft picks to select Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson.
Heineman played through his rookie season in the NHL this year. He spent the season operating out of a bottom-six winger role, and accumulated 10 goals and 18 points through 62 games. His promotion to the NHL came after just one full season in the minor-leagues. He tallied 15 goals and 29 points in 48 games with the Laval Rocket last season. He also chipped in nine points in 11 AHL games at the tail end of the 2022-23 season, after moving to North America following the end of Sweden’s SHL season.
The Florida Panthers originally drafted Heineman in the second-round of the 2020 NHL Draft. That pick came on the heels of a strong year in Sweden’s junior league, where Heineman managed 26 goals and 41 points in 29 games. He also contributed two points in 11 SHL games that year, then earned a full-time promotion to the pro league in the year after his draft selection. Heineman tallied 13 points in 43 games as an SHL rookie, and worked his way up to 15 points in 35 games two seasons later.
Through his journey in the SHL, Heineman’s rights were first traded to the Calgary Flames in a deal that landed Florida Sam Bennett, then were again moved to the Canadiens in a move that landed Calgary Tyler Toffoli.
Heineman a lofty winger who throws hits with confidence and plays responsibly on both ends of the ice. He ranked fourth on the Canadiens in hits (173) as a rookie last season, and generated at least one shot per game. He’s a strong foundation to build on – and an acquisition that could look shrewd for the Islanders with a few more years of growth.