Victor Hedman Taking Leave Of Absence
The Lightning announced Wednesday that captain Victor Hedman will be out for at least one additional game as he takes a temporary leave of absence for personal reasons.
Hedman has already missed Tampa Bay’s last three contests. He left their game against the Canucks last Thursday after less than five minutes of ice time and didn’t return due to what the team labeled an illness.
That, plus a whole host of other injuries, has limited the usually durable Hedman to under half of the Bolts’ games this season. He has only managed 33 appearances, currently tracking for a career low, including lockout and COVID-shortened seasons.
Hedman, who finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting just last year, hasn’t had nearly the same effect when dressed, either. At 18:52 of ice time per game, he’s averaging under 20 minutes for the first time in his 17-year career, and his 0.52 points per game is his worst output since his early 20s.
The Bolts have maintained a 27-7-3 record without Hedman dressed this season, including a 2-0-1 stretch in their last three without him. They certainly miss his presence, even lower in the lineup, with depth options Declan Carlile and Maxwell Crozier sidelined, but they’ve been able to keep their system rolling and intact this season amid a bevy of other injuries on defense.
At this point in the season, the Lightning have essentially locked up home ice in the first round with a 89.5% chance of finishing in the top two in the Atlantic Division, per MoneyPuck. A playoff spot is all but clinched, but the race with the Sabres for the division title is still wide open.
Jets Sign Lucas Wahlin To Two-Way Deal
The Jets announced they’ve signed college free agent forward Lucas Wahlin to a two-way contract for next season with a cap hit of $850K. He’ll report to AHL Manitoba on a tryout for the remainder of 2025-26.
Wahlin, 25 in May, is too old to be eligible for an entry-level deal, so his first NHL contract is a standard one. His signing today is a bookend to one of the more unlikely development stories of the past few seasons. He turns pro after spending all four NCAA years at the University of St. Thomas, where he’s served as team captain since his sophomore year and has helped guide the program to top-20 status nationally, still early in its Division I years.
A remarkably consistent two-way producer, Wahlin was named the CCHA’s best defensive forward this season and finishes his collegiate career with a 56-75–131 scoring line in 137 games for the Tommies. His worst points-per-game rate was still a strong 0.81 figure as a freshman, topping out with a pair of 1.08 points-per-game seasons as a junior and senior.
The fact that Wahlin, a three-position forward who checks in at 6’0″ and 170 lbs, even became an effective NCAA producer is shocking considering his development path. Initially draft-eligible way back in 2019 out of the Minnesota high school circuit, he spent his post-draft season way down in tier III juniors with the North Iowa Bulls of the NA3HL. Even when jumping to a more competitive tier II junior environment with Alaska’s Kenai River Brown Bears as a 19-year-old, his output was still limited to a middling 27 points in 44 games.
Wahlin only played one season of high-level junior hockey – as an overage 20-year-old, at that – before landing at St. Thomas. It was the 2021-22 campaign, spent with the USHL’s Lincoln Stars, that seemed to finally unlock his two-way game at a high level. He exploded for 31 goals and 61 points with a +26 rating in 59 games there.
Now, after captaining the Tommies to back-to-back CCHA championship game appearances, he’ll land not too far from home in Winnipeg to begin his pro career. The Jets will welcome any sort of forward depth, especially on the farm. Manitoba has only scored 2.54 goals per game this season, and the NHL side isn’t much better at 2.83.
Wahlin’s relatively advanced age for a player signing his first NHL deal makes his pro impact harder to project. Nonetheless, given his run of collegiate success, he’ll at least be given a long look for a fourth-line role in training camp next fall.
Kraken Recall Oscar Fisker Molgaard
The Kraken announced Wednesday that they’ve recalled center Oscar Fisker Molgaard from AHL Coachella Valley. The team reassigned right-winger Jani Nyman to Coachella Valley in the corresponding move.
Fisker Molgaard, 21, lands his fourth recall of the season. He suited up twice for the team in November, didn’t get into a game on his second recall in January, and entered the lineup a third time in February before the Olympic break as a send-off before he represented Team Denmark in Milan.
Seattle has to be pleased with how their 2023 second-round pick has developed thus far. The 6’0″ two-way pivot has impressed mightily in professional environments in the three seasons since draft day, suiting up for the Swedish Hockey League’s HV71 until coming to North America last year. He had an 18-29–47 scoring line in 129 career SHL games before joining Coachella Valley, including a 19-point effort in 38 games last season.
As a rookie in the AHL, the Dane has immediately settled in as one of the Firebirds’ top producers. With 10 goals and 32 points in 46 games, he sits fourth on the team in scoring. Combined with his already attractive international resume – he’s represented Denmark at three straight World Championships and had three points in four Olympic contests – the question now becomes simply how high Fisker Molgaard will climb on Seattle’s depth chart over the next few years, not whether he’ll be an NHL talent or not.
They’ve been trialing him as a fourth-line pivot at points this season, and he hasn’t looked out of place with an assist, a +1 rating, and a 58.3% faceoff win percentage in his three NHL outings so far while averaging just 6:14 per game. With the Kraken opting to dress 11 forwards and seven defenders for last night’s shootout loss to the Panthers, Fisker Molgaard could re-enter the lineup again in a fourth-line role tomorrow night in Tampa.
Nyman has been on Seattle’s roster for the past week. He got into back-to-back games but had a horrific go of things defensively, posting a -4 rating against the Blue Jackets last Saturday in just 8:15 of ice time, leading to him being scratched against Florida last night. Seattle is still waiting for the gifted goal-scorer, who has a 4-2–6 scoring line across 26 NHL outings this year, to develop the other areas of his game in the AHL.
Mammoth Sign Michael Hrabal To Entry-Level Deal
The Mammoth announced they’ve signed goalie prospect Michael Hrabal to a three-year, entry-level deal that begins next season. He’ll immediately report to AHL Tucson on a tryout basis to finish the current campaign. Per PuckPedia, the contract carries a cap hit of $1.075MM and breaks down as follows:
| Year | NHL salary | Signing bonus | Potential performance bonuses | Minors salary |
| 2026-27 | $922.5K | $102.5K | $500K | $82.5K |
| 2027-28 | $967.5K | $107.5K | $750K | $82.5K |
| 2028-29 | $1.013MM | $112.5K | $1MM | $82.5K |
Hrabal, 21, was a member of the Coyotes’ final draft class in 2023, going quite early in the second round at 38th overall. Now, he’s ticketed as Utah’s likely goalie of the future.
The Czech native towers at 6’7″ and 216 lbs, now slated for his pro debut after three largely standout seasons of college hockey at UMass. He was particularly exceptional as a junior this season, racking up a 1.95 GAA, .937 SV%, and four shutouts for a 19-9-1 record in 29 games. That earned him both First Team All-Star and Player of the Year honors in the Hockey East conference, but it wasn’t enough to get the offensively challenged club to a national tournament berth.
If he wasn’t the clear-cut top goaltending prospect in the organization before this season, he certainly is now. Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis ranked him #6 in the Mammoth’s deep prospect pool last summer, still touting him as having “true star goalie” potential.
While he won’t be eligible to suit up in the NHL this year, he will get an early chance down the stretch to challenge AHL veterans Jaxson Stauber and Matt Villalta for playing time in Tucson. Neither has been particularly inspiring this season with sub-.900 save percentages, so the path is wide open for Hrabal to establish himself as Utah’s clear-cut #3 goalie entering training camp in the fall, potentially even putting forth a challenge to replace pending unrestricted free agent Vítek Vaněček as Karel Vejmelka‘s backup.
Hrabal will be a restricted free agent when his deal is up in 2029, but he won’t be eligible for arbitration. Utah will be on the hook for a $1.114MM qualifying offer.
Maple Leafs Reassign Dennis Hildeby
March 25: Hildeby has been reassigned back to AHL Toronto, the team announced. He did not dress for Tuesday’s win over the Bruins, as Stolarz started and made 18 saves on 20 shots.
March 23: The Maple Leafs announced they’ve recalled goaltender Dennis Hildeby from AHL Toronto on an emergency basis. He could dress tomorrow against the Bruins in place of Anthony Stolarz, who was scheduled to start Saturday night’s loss to the Senators but had to go to the hospital to get checked out after taking a puck to the throat during warmups. Stolarz skated with the team before practice this morning, sporting a neck guard, per Nick Barden of The Hockey News, so he shouldn’t miss too much time.
It has been an incredibly trying season for the 32-year-old Stolarz, losing his tenuous grip on the Leafs’ starting job to Joseph Woll. After back-to-back seasons of leading the league in save percentage in limited tandem/backup deployment, his numbers have taken a nosedive to a .894 SV%, 3.34 GAA, and 8-9-3 record in 21 starts and one relief appearance. He has accounted for -8.2 goals saved above expected after a great 25.8 figure last season, per MoneyPuck. That led to Toronto making him available at the trade deadline despite him signing a four-year, $15MM extension last September, but no deal was made.
Injuries have long stopped the high-ceiling Stolarz from ever becoming a true #1 option. That hasn’t changed this year. A lingering upper-body injury kept him out of the lineup for over two months earlier this year, rendering him unavailable for 33 games. With the playoffs out of reach in Toronto, there’s no reason for the Leafs to rush him back after what was surely a scary ordeal on Saturday, even if he’s been cleared.
For what it’s worth, they have a great third-string option in Hildeby. The 24-year-old was exceptional as Woll’s backup earlier this year when Stolarz was sidelined, recording a .910 SV%, 2.90 GAA and seven quality starts in 19 total outings. A lack of goal support meant he posted a 5-6-4 record, but his 8.9 goals saved above expected during that run are still far ahead of what Woll and Stolarz have produced with far more usage. With Hildeby losing his waiver-exempt status next season, the Leafs will want to find a way to keep him around.
Sabres Activate Conor Timmins From Injured Reserve
Sabres defenseman Conor Timmins has been cleared to return to the lineup after missing over three months with a broken leg, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters Wednesday (including Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News). He will draw right back into the lineup tonight against the Bruins, replacing Zach Metsa as Buffalo’s third-pairing righty, per Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald.
Timmins, 27, was an offseason acquisition in June 2025 in a trade that sent defenseman Connor Clifton to the Penguins. He played 33 games for Buffalo prior to his injury and had a total of six points, averaging 19:14 of ice time. This is the first year out of a two-year deal signed shortly after the trade, and he will be a UFA at the end of the 2026-27 season.
The 6’3″ righty comes back into the lineup in a competitive environment, as he looks to prove himself to Ruff and work himself into the equation as a valuable option for the playoffs. At this time, the Sabres have Metsa, Michael Kesselring, and Luke Schenn as their right-shot defenseman options, with Logan Stanley on the third pairing. With Timmins healthy, the team will have to evaluate its options as it heads into the final stretch of the regular season.
When Timmins was dressed earlier this season, he featured primarily with either Bowen Byram or Owen Power on his left flank. That won’t be the case now as those two lefties have gelled together on the Sabres’ second pairing, but it’s worth noting that Byram’s defensive results were better with Timmins than they were with Power – logging a 2.44 xGA/60 with the former and a 2.96 xGA/60 with the latter, per MoneyPuck.
The hope is that Timmins can give the third pairing a bit more offensive juice than what Metsa has provided over the last few games, although Metsa does have a raucous +20 rating on the season and has been on the ice for just two goals against at 5-on-5 in 385 minutes of ice time.
Senators, Gabriel Eliasson Agree To Terms On Entry-Level Deal
The Senators announced Wednesday that they’ve agreed to terms with defense prospect Gabriel Eliasson on a three-year, entry-level contract that starts next season. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Eliasson, 19, was the 39th overall selection in the 2024 draft, going early in the second round. The pick warranted a fair amount of detractors at the time. He was a consensus third-to-fourth-round threat by most rankings and, although NHL teams favored him more than the public sphere, he was still taken several spots north of his #55 slot in TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s polling of NHL scouts that year.
The left-shot Swede checks in at 6’7″ and 220 lbs. He has the skating ability to pair with that to create good defensive impacts, but is limited virtually everywhere else, keeping him squarely as a bottom-pairing and penalty-killing threat if he cracks the NHL.
As such, Eliasson didn’t even earn a mention on Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s ranking of Senators prospects this month, although he was listed at #10 by Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff last offseason. His standing in their pool likely didn’t improve this season. He’s spent the last two seasons in North American juniors after playing his draft year in his native Sweden, but has managed just a 5-10–15 scoring line with an even rating in 124 games for the OHL’s Barrie Colts. He was also the OHL’s most penalized player this season, with 122 penalty minutes, and earned the same honor twice in two different Swedish junior leagues during his development.
Eliasson had previously committed to the University of Michigan. That ship had likely already sailed, but he’s officially no longer eligible to jump to the NCAA as a freshman next year after inking his NHL deal. He’ll instead report to AHL Belleville to begin his pro career in the fall if his Colts remain in the postseason picture past the end of Belleville’s current season.
Avalanche’s Nicolas Roy To Miss Time
Avalanche forward Nicolas Roy will be held out of the lineup “for a little bit” with the upper-body injury that caused him to miss last night’s win over the Penguins, head coach Jared Bednar said on Altitude Sports Radio this morning (via Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette).
Bednar said that his proclamation has more to do with the fact that they won’t be rushing him back into the lineup rather than the immediate severity of his injury. It’s still unclear what happened to Roy, who missed some shifts against the Capitals last Sunday and played a season-low 8:40 but never left the game for good.
Acquired at the trade deadline from the Maple Leafs for a first and a fifth-round pick, Roy has been a natural fit defensively thus far in Colorado’s bottom six. He was relied upon as a shutdown presence in Toronto through the first chunk of the season, and with his offensive-zone usage increasing a little bit after the trade to a 42.1 oZS% at 5-on-5, his possession numbers have jumped to a 56.1 CF% and 54.0 xGF%.
He’s yet to notch an assist in the burgundy and blue, but he does have three goals in nine outings, 60% of his goal output in Toronto this season in nearly 60 games. He won’t continue finishing at a 17.6% clip, but the chance generation numbers are way up – 1.89 shots on goal per game for the Avs compared to only 0.93 per game for the Leafs.
Faceoffs have been a struggle, though. He’s normally below average but was quite stout with the Leafs at the start of the season, winning 52.9% of his draws. Post-trade, he’s gone 17-for-41 (41.5%) and has seen a good bit of time on the wing, bouncing around a bit but seeing a good bit of time as high as the second-line right wing slot with Nazem Kadri and Brock Nelson.
Colorado got a pair of key bottom-nine forwards back in Ross Colton and Logan O’Connor last night, so that helps offset Roy’s loss a bit. For now, there’s no indication they expect him to be unavailable for Game 1 of their playoff run next month. With him and Artturi Lehkonen sidelined, that’ll just mean more reps for depth names like Zakhar Bardakov and Joel Kiviranta last night.
Islanders Reassign Victor Eklund To AHL
The Islanders have recalled top right-wing prospect Victor Eklund from his loan to Djurgårdens IF of the SHL, the Swedish club announced this morning. He was subsequently loaned to AHL Bridgeport, where he will finish this season before competing for an opening night roster spot in 2026-27. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period was the first to relay the news yesterday.
Eklund, 19, was the second of three first-round draft choices the Isles made last summer, going 16th overall with the earlier of the two picks New York had acquired from the Canadiens in the Noah Dobson trade. It was a significant fall for someone who scouts unanimously labeled as a top-10 pick. Eklund was the second-ranked European skater in the class behind only Anton Frondell, according to NHL Central Scouting, while outlets like McKeen’s Hockey, Elite Prospects, and even TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s polling of NHL scouts had him going in the #8-10 range overall.
The Islanders were happy to be the beneficiaries of the 5’11”, 170-lb righty slipping through the cracks. A workhorse, all-around forward, Eklund played a key role in helping Djurgården gain promotion from the second-tier Allsvenskan to the SHL last year, posting a team-leading 19 goals in 42 games while adding 12 assists for 31 points and a +16 rating.
Eklund’s production took an understandable hit this year as the strength of competition increased significantly, but not too much. He finished sixth on the team in regular-season scoring with a 6-18–24 line in 43 games, tied for second with a +8 rating, and added three assists in three playoff games as Djurgården dropped its best-of-three play-in series against the Malmö Redhawks to end their season.
The younger brother of Sharks winger William Eklund now looks to follow in his footsteps as he looks to quickly become a dependable top-nine piece on Long Island. He was ranked as the #4 name in the Islanders’ prospect pool last summer by Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff, who projects Eklund to top out as a complementary top-line piece, but the top two names on that list, Matthew Schaefer and Calum Ritchie, have now graduated to full-time NHL roles. There’s an argument to be made that while he doesn’t have the goal-scoring acumen of #3-ranked Cole Eiserman, his all-around game – plus Eiserman’s semi-underwhelming sophomore season at Boston University in 2025-26 – should make Eklund the Islanders’ top prospect at this point.
It’s worth noting that because Eklund already signed his entry-level contract last summer and he was on the Isles’ reserve list at the trade deadline, he will be eligible to play for them in both the regular season and playoffs if they make it there. For now, though, he’ll make the adjustment to North American ice in the minors.
Red Wings Reassign Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Dylan Larkin To Return
The Red Wings announced that they’ve reassigned rookie winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygard to AHL Grand Rapids. That means his emergency conditions have been removed, meaning that captain Dylan Larkin should be expected to return to the lineup tonight against the Senators. He’s officially labeled a game-time decision for now, per Ansar Khan of MLive.
Brandsegg-Nygard’s recall back on March 7, the day after the trade deadline, was linked directly to Larkin’s injury the night before. He also ended up falling victim to Detroit’s injury bug, sitting out the last four games with an undisclosed injury. At the very least, he’s now at least healthy and cleared to play and will do so for Grand Rapids in short order.
The 20-year-old Norwegian only got into three games on this recall before the injury. In them, he went without a point while averaging 12:28 of ice time per game. He added eight hits and six shot attempts.
The 2024 15th overall pick is in his first season in North America. While he hasn’t made much of an NHL impact – just one assist and a -5 rating across 12 games dating back to his opening-night roster inclusion – he has made a smooth adjustment to AHL play. With 16 goals and 37 points in 50 games for Grand Rapids, he’s tied for second on the team in scoring – along with a glowing +24 rating – and will get some postseason experience too with the Griffins cruising toward the best record in the AHL’s Western Conference.
As for Larkin, Detroit navigated his absence as well as can be expected. The star pivot has missed seven games with a non-contact leg injury, during which the Wings have tread water with a 3-3-1 record. In a playoff race as tight as it is in the East, that’s potentially a death blow to their postseason hopes. They’re now one point back of the Islanders for a spot with a game in hand and have a must-win contest tonight against the Senators, who only trail Detroit by a point.