Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Penguins Assign Sebastian Aho And Matt Nieto To AHL

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned defenseman Sebastian Aho and forward Matt Nieto to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.

Nieto has had a tumultuous second season with the Penguins, missing nearly half of the year with a knee injury. He returned to the lineup in mid-November and dressed in 31 NHL games, registering a goal and two assists with a -8 plus/minus rating. Nieto was then placed on waivers a few weeks ago and cleared before he was assigned to the AHL for the first time. The 32-year-old was recalled earlier this week, but didn’t see any game action and has not played an NHL game since February 23rd against the New York Rangers.

Nieto is in the final year of a two-year contract he signed on July 1st, 2023 and might not see any one-way NHL offers this summer given his injury concerns and lack of contributions at the NHL level.

Aho signed a two-year, one-way deal with the Penguins last summer but has not seen any NHL action this season. The 29-year-old spent the previous three seasons with the New York Islanders and was an NHL regular before this year. He was signed as depth but was unable to make the team out of training camp and has instead served as a veteran presence in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Aho has dressed in 17 AHL games this season and has posted seven assists. He may see some time in the NHL down the stretch as the Penguins are dealing with a few injuries to their defensive group.

Sabres Loan Josh Dunne and Isak Rosen To The AHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Buffalo Sabres have announced that they are loaning forwards Josh Dunne and Isak Rosen to the Rochester Americans of the AHL. The Sabres called up both players just last weekend and both players dressed on Saturday against the Florida Panthers but have not played since, serving as a healthy scratch.

Dunne’s appearance on March 8th was his first in the NHL since he dressed for eight games with the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2022-23 season. The 26-year-old spent four seasons in the Blue Jackets organization, playing 134 games for the Cleveland Monsters. He signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Sabres last July and has dressed in 54 games this season for the Americans, tallying eight goals and 16 assists. In 15 career NHL games, the O’Fallon, Missouri native has yet to record a point and is -9 plus/minus with 35 hits and 12 blocked shots.

Rosen was the Sabres’ first round pick (14th overall) back in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old winger has played ten NHL games over two seasons and is also scoreless, with a -5 plus/minus, two hits and two blocked shots. In the AHL, the Stockholm, Sweden native has been nearly a point a game player this season, posting 26 goals and 24 assists in 51 games. Over his three-year AHL career, Rosen has registered 60 goals and 77 assists in 184 career games.

The Sabres don’t play again until Saturday afternoon against the Vegas Golden Knights and could recall both players before then. However, given that the Americans are in a battle to win the North Division, the Sabres may opt to keep both players in the AHL.

Dougie Hamilton To Miss The Rest Of The Regular Season

at CDT | by 9 Comments

New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald told the Krackin’ Canuckleheads podcast that defenseman Dougie Hamilton’s regular season is over, and the team isn’t expecting to get him back until the second round of the playoffs. Fitzgerald added that he would have to double-check his math on that, but the team had no plans for him to return in the regular season. Fitzgerald spoke in a press conference after the NHL Trade Deadline last week and said that the 31-year-old would miss, “an extended period of time,” after he suffered a lower body injury back on March 4th against the Dallas Stars. With Fitzgerald’s comments yesterday, it does appear that the team has some clarity on just how much time his recovery will take.

Hamilton is dealing with an undisclosed injury that looks to be a leg injury given the nature in which he left the ice against the Stars. Hamilton collided with Stars forward Mason Marchment and limped his way back to the bench. He remained on New Jersey’s bench for a bit, but eventually headed back to the locker room and did not return.

It’s the second year in a row that Hamilton will miss an extended length of time after he missed most of last season due to injury. Hamilton played just 20 games a season ago and was in the midst of a bounce back year, registering nine goals and 31 assists in 63 games this season, while playing nearly 20 minutes per game.

New Jersey is going through it right now when it comes to injuries. The team has already lost forward Jack Hughes as well as defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler for the rest of the regular season. It pales in comparison to last year’s injury bug, but it is more devastating given that New Jersey was one of the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference.

The team did make some additions at the Trade Deadline, in hopes of patching the holes opened up by injury, acquiring forward Cody Glass as well as defenseman Brian Dumoulin. However, they did not come close to replacing the offense lost with Hamilton and Hughes now on the shelf.

Latest On The Pittsburgh Penguins

at CDT | by 9 Comments

Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes that the Pittsburgh Penguins never came close to dealing forward Rickard Rakell prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. The Penguins reportedly didn’t care to deal Rakell and were happy to hold onto him, despite receiving several offers for his services. Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas doesn’t want the Penguins to tank over the next few years and instead hopes to mirror the retool that the Washington Capitals recently went through.

Dubas did make plenty of moves leading up to the deadline, but didn’t move any of the bigger names such as Rakell or Erik Karlsson. Yohe believes that the Penguins would like to move Karlsson in the summer and are willing to retain as much as $3MM to facilitate a move. Karlsson hasn’t been terrible in Pittsburgh, but his style of play has not meshed well, and he has not been the Norris Trophy defenseman that Pittsburgh thought they were trading for in the summer of 2023.

If the Penguins move on from Karlsson, it will put more pressure on defenseman Kris Letang. Although it’s questionable as to whether he will stick around. Yohe speculates that Dubas will approach Letang to see if he still has interest in remaining in Pittsburgh during their roster turnover. Letang has a full no trade clause and three years remaining on his contract at a $6.1MM AAV. His actual salary in those three years will be $4.8MM per year, which could be appealing for teams on an internal budget. Letang is having arguably the worst season of his professional career but remains a top four NHL defenseman. He hasn’t publicly expressed any interest in moving on from the Penguins.

Yohe expects teams to call Pittsburgh this summer about forward Bryan Rust as his full no movement clause expires. While teams will be interested, Yohe doesn’t believe the Penguins want to move the veteran, who is playing some of the best hockey of his career with 21 goals and 26 assists in 55 games this season.

Given the nature of the Penguins’ deadline, and a desire to keep high character veterans in the fold, it looks as though the Penguins intend to turn things around quickly rather than enduring a five-year rebuild. Yohe acknowledges that next year will be tough for Pittsburgh, but the Penguins are hoping to contend for a playoff spot again in the next two years.

Jonathan Toews Pushing For NHL Comeback

at CDT | by 6 Comments

Former Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews remains serious about an NHL comeback at the age of 37 even though he hasn’t played a professional hockey game in almost two years (as per Mark Lazerus of The Athletic). The three-time Stanley Cup Champion has been plagued by health issues for several years now but says he is in a good place both mentally and physically and has even begun skating in Arizona as he begins an attempted comeback.  Toews never officially retired when he wrapped up his time in Chicago and refers to his time away from the game as a “hiatus.”

With Toews ready to give hockey one last shot, many people will wonder about potential suitors for his services. One team that he will not play for is the Blackhawks as they have made it clear in the past that they were ready to move on from Toews and hand the keys over to their new core. Toews holds no hard feelings over this and acknowledged that he understands their reasoning.

Toews had skated just once since last playing in the NHL back on April 13th, 2023, dressing in a charity exhibition game in Slovakia. He returned to the United States last month and had his hockey gear sent to him in Arizona. Since then, he’s been doing skill work and conditioning skates but admits he doesn’t have his legs under him yet, which is understandable given the length of his absence. Toews tells Lazerus that he is excited to skate with other NHLers when their seasons end and will have a better idea at that time whether or not an NHL comeback is feasible.

Toews returning to the NHL would make for an exciting story, given the challenges he has dealt with. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native has nothing left to prove at any level of hockey but does admit that the desire to play in the NHL again is still burning strong.

Canadiens Recall Joshua Roy, Assign Owen Beck To AHL

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Montreal Canadiens announced that they’ve recalled forward Joshua Roy on an emergency basis and sent forward Owen Beck to the Laval Rocket of the AHL. Due to the nature of the recall, Roy will not count against Montreal’s team limit of four recalls. The Canadiens play a back-to-back this week on Tuesday and Wednesday in Vancouver and Seattle and needed a change at forward.

It’s the second time this season that Roy has been recalled from the AHL. In his first NHL stint, the 21-year-old dressed in four games and was held pointless. With Laval in the AHL, Roy has tallied 20 goals and 15 assists in 40 games and was named an AHL All-Star last month. He’s been on a heater as of late with goals in three straight games, and four in his last five.

Beck is also an AHL All-Star this season and was named as a late replacement for Roy of all people.  The Peterborough, Ontario native has dressed in 12 NHL games this season with the Canadiens but has had limited success with just a single assist and a -2 plus/minus. The 2022 second round pick (33rd overall) has seen limited ice time, skating less than 10 minutes per game, but has decent underlying numbers and has made his presence known with 23 hits. Beck is in his first season as a professional and has posted solid AHL numbers with 13 goals and 19 assists in 47 games. His demotion will allow him to play more minutes and re-capture his scoring touch with a top AHL team.

John Tavares Remains Open To Negotiations During The Season

at CDT | by 7 Comments

TSN is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares remains open to negotiating a contract extension during the season and would like to stay in Toronto. Tavares told the media that Maple Leafs management knows how he feels, and he is aware that management wants to take their time in dealing with his contract situation.

Tavares is in the final year of a seven-year $77MM contract that he signed as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2018. The deal was signed at a time when the salary cap was expected to rise significantly, but that didn’t happen as the pandemic shortened seasons, flatlined league revenues, leading to a stagnant salary cap that handcuffed the Maple Leafs’ management from making other roster additions.

Tavares is unlikely to match the $11MM AAV on his next deal but should still get a lucrative multi-year deal. At 34 years of age, Tavares has slowed down but remains a near point-per-game player this season, tallying 24 goals and 29 assists in 55 games despite getting less ice time and less opportunity on the powerplay. Tavares has benefited this year from a 108.3 PDO (shooting percentage + save percentage) but that number is only slightly higher than his career average of 104.7.

The Maple Leafs have significant work to do this summer with Tavares and Mitch Marner both set to become UFAs. The priority will likely be Marner given his age and current play, however, Tavares would become one of the top available free agents if he does reach the market and would garner a lot of interest.

Canucks Wanted First Round Pick For Brock Boeser

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported last night that the Vancouver Canucks were not willing to accept anything less than a first-round pick at the NHL Trade Deadline for forward Brock Boeser. No other team met the request, and ultimately Vancouver held onto the pending unrestricted free agent and will hold the exclusive rights to negotiate an extension into the summer. Canucks general manager Patrick Allvin came out in his press conference Friday and said that offers for Boeser weren’t good, which likely wasn’t meant as a shot at Boeser’s play but may not have been well received by the 28-year-old.

Vancouver’s asking price for Boeser was fair, given that it was a seller’s market at the deadline and many of the players traded were moved for astronomical prices. A year ago, Boeser would have been a hot commodity on the trade market after he tallied 40 goals and added 33 assists in 81 games.

Like many Canucks players, Boeser is having a down season after posting several career highs a year ago. Boeser has tallied 18 goals and 20 assists this season in 55 games and has a -20 plus/minus. His shooting percentage is almost 3% higher than his career average, which indicates that his drop in production isn’t simply a case of a player cooling off. Boeser’s shot volume has taken a considerable drop this year, as have his possession numbers, which is surprising given that Vancouver have been giving him more favorable deployment this season, starting him in almost 60% of his shifts in the offensive zone.

There is no word yet on whether Vancouver will sign Boeser long term, which will make for an interesting development over the next few months.

Blue Jackets To Acquire Luke Kunin From Sharks

at CDT | by 4 Comments

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that the Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired forward Luke Kunin from the San Jose Sharks. A return hasn’t yet been shared. The Sharks held Kunin out of their Thrusday night game in anticipation of a move. In return, San Jose has received a 2025 fourth-round pick, per an official team report from Columbus.

Kunin will head to the Blue Jackets after two tough seasons as San Jose’s third-line center. He scored 11 goals and 18 points in both seasons with the Sharks – achieving the feat in 77 games last year and 63 games this year. That scoring has been coupled with frequent penalties and a low plus-minus. Kunin recorded 83 PIMs and a minus-30 last year and has 46 PIMs and a minus-24 this year. He also leads the Sharks in hits this year with 163.

Kunin was originally drafted 15th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild. His selection came after a standout freshman season at the University of Wisconsin, marked by 19 goals and 32 points in 34 games. He took a step forward with 22 goals and 38 points in 35 games as a sophomore, and opted to turn pro at the end of the year. Kunin joined the AHL’s Iowa Wild for the end of the 2016-17 season and quickly flashed scoring upside. He scored five goals and eight points in his first 12 AHL games, then followed it with 10 goals and 19 points in 36 games of his formal rookie season. That was enough to earn Kunin an NHL call-up partway through the 2017-18 season. He took some time to find his scoring touch, with 21 points across the first 68 games of his career – split between 2017-18 and 2018-19. The slow start pushed Kunin back to the minors for part of the latter season, but he quickly proved the decision moot with 12 goals and 20 points in 28 games. Minnesota brought Kunin back to the NHL roster for the full 2019-20 season, and 15 goals and 31 points in 63 games was enough to solidify his spot.

Kunin has been in the NHL since 2019, though Minnesota moved him to the Nashville Predators after his breakout season. They recouped Nick Bonino and the selection used on Marat Khusnutdinov, while Kunin struggled to carry his newfound scoring touch across the Central Division. He scored just 10 goals and 19 points in his first 38 games with Nashville. Lower-body injuries cut his first year in Tennessee short. His struggle to score continued into his return in 2021-22 – but Kunin did find a different layer to his game that year. He scored just 13 goals and 22 points, but managed a career-high 99 penalty minutes as he embraced the role of a bruiser.

That hard-hitting role made Kunin an enticing pickup for the Sharks in the summer of 2022. Nashville acquired John Leonard and a draft pick for Kunin, who went on to fully embrace his hard-nosed style on an underperforming Sharks lineup. He recorded 42 penalty minutes in 31 games of his first season in San Jose, which was again cut short by injury. But the physical style proved much more repeatable, and Kunin returned with 83 PIMs in 77 games last season. His goal-scoring touch has faded the further he gets from his prime minor-league days – but Kunin still brings the heft of a six-foot, 200-pound depth centerman. He’ll be a strong depth option as the Blue Jackets gear up for what’s sure to be a hard-fought playoff run, in the mix with major Stanley Cup candidates in the Eastern Conference.

Kunin carries a $2.75MM cap hit through the end of the season. He will enter unrestricted free agency this summer without a new deal.

Kings To Acquire Andrei Kuzmenko

at CDT | by 28 Comments

The Los Angeles Kings have reportedly acquired forward Andrei Kuzmenko from the Philadelphia Flyers (as per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet). The deal will see a third round pick in 2027, and a 2025 seventh round pick (as per team release) headed back to the Flyers (as per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports) who will also retain 50% of Kuzmenko’s cap hit for the remainder of the season (as per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period). Kuzmenko is in the second season of a two-year, $11MM contract that carries an annual cap hit of $5.5MM. With the 50% retention, Los Angeles will only be adding $2.75MM to their cap spreadsheet. Kuzmenko is set to hit unrestricted free agency at the end of the season.

It’s the second trade in two months for the 29-year-old Kuzmenko who was dealt from Calgary to Philadelphia back on January 30th along with Jakob Pelletier and two draft picks in exchange for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. It’s been a quiet season for Kuzmenko who has been unable to find stability among all of the movement. In 43 games this year, Kuzmenko has registered just six goals and 14 assists.

An undrafted free agent signing in July 2022, Kuzmenko had a monstrous rookie season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2022-23, posting 39 goals and 35 assists in 81 games. However, his sophomore season saw a dramatic drop off in production as Kuzmenko tallied just 22 goals and 24 assists in 72 games and was dealt midseason to Calgary in the Elias Lindholm trade.

Kuzmenko leaves Philadelphia having played just seven games with the Flyers. He was quite good in Philadelphia after struggling in Calgary, posting two goals and three assists in his abbreviated stay. He could prove to be a steal for the Kings if he can get on a heater. Kuzmenko has been streaky throughout his NHL career and has responded well following trades in the past. Last year after joining Calgary mid-season, Kuzmenko went on to notch 14 goals and 11 assists in his final 29 games after a sluggish start to his season. If Los Angeles gets production anything close to that it will have been worth the cost of the third-round pick.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top