Hurricanes, Kraken To Play 2026 Global Series In Finland
The Hurricanes and Kraken will play a pair of games in Helsinki, Finland, on Nov. 12 and 14 next season as part of the 2026 Global Series, the league announced. That brings the NHL’s total regular-season games in Europe next year to four, following the previously announced pair of dates between the Blackhawks and Senators in Düsseldorf, Germany, in December.
It will be the first time either Carolina or Seattle has played a regular-season game under the Global Series designator. The Kraken have not played a game that counts outside North America in their five active seasons as a franchise, while the Canes haven’t gone overseas since opening up their 2010-11 season with a back-to-back against the Wild, also in Helsinki.
While neither club boasts Finnish NHL talent to rival the Stars’ Finnish mafia, there will be some high-powered homegrown talent in that game – namely, Carolina star center Sebastian Aho. He’ll be joined by teammate Jesperi Kotkaniemi as Finnish Carolinians under contract through next season. Seattle’s roster boasts another three Finnish forwards – Kaapo Kakko, Jani Nyman, and Eeli Tolvanen – although Tolvanen is a pending unrestricted free agent.
Finland has been one of the NHL’s most frequented destinations for European events. The country ranks third in the IIHF men’s world rankings, has medaled in five of the last six Winter Olympics, and accounts for roughly 5% of the NHL’s active player base.
It will be the league’s first time going to Veikkaus Arena (formerly known as Hartwall Arena) in Helsinki since 2018, though. The last two Global Series in Finland, 2022’s games between the Blue Jackets and Avalanche and 2024’s between the Panthers and Stars, were played at Nokia Arena in Tampere, the second-largest urban area in the country by population. Veikkaus Arena was closed for the last several years as the Finnish government went through the process of seizing it from its previous Russian ownership amid their invasion of Ukraine, opening back up last summer.
Avalanche Reassign Ivan Ivan
Saturday: Following Friday’s game against Chicago, the Avalanche announced that they’ve returned Ivan to the minors. He played in two games while on recall, seeing just under 13 minutes of ice time combined in those outings.
Wednesday: The Avalanche have recalled forward Ivan Ivan from AHL Colorado, per the NHL’s media portal. With Ross Colton, Gabriel Landeskog, and Artturi Lehkonen still sidelined, the Avs will dress 12 forwards and six defensemen tonight against the Stars after going 11 and seven in the last three games without Colton.
Technically, it’s Ivan’s sixth recall of the season. The last five came in an 11-day span in January, while Ivan was recalled only on game days and sent down in between. While that used to be a common practice, it’s no longer permitted if the player isn’t logging at least one AHL appearance between each recall. That meant Ivan was playing quite a lot of hockey that month as the Avs’ and Eagles’ game and travel schedules lined up favorably.
The Avs have opted to use a bare-minimum roster all season long. They’ve gone 11-and-seven on multiple occasions because of it, but when they’ve opted to have a 12th forward when stressed by injuries, Ivan has been part of a loose rotation between himself, Jason Polin, Tristen Nielsen, and a few others. The 23-year-old has suited up seven times between call-ups this year, registering one assist, a +2 rating, four shots, and two hits while averaging just 7:45 of ice time per game. He’s played much more infrequently after injuries above him got him into 40 NHL games as a rookie last year, in which he put up a 5-3–8 scoring line with a -9 rating.
It hasn’t been a great year in the minors for Ivan, either. He’s been limited to seven goals and 19 points in 55 AHL games. Considering he had 31 points in 67 games as a first-year pro on an AHL deal with Colorado two seasons ago, that’s a considerable step back. With his entry-level contract expiring, that offensive regression has him at risk of being non-tendered, especially as he’ll be eligible for arbitration and Colorado might want to avoid that award.
Penguins Sign Gabriel D’Aigle To Entry-Level Deal
The Penguins announced Saturday that they’ve signed goaltender Gabriel D’Aigle to an entry-level deal. It’s a three-year contract, although financial terms were not disclosed. The deal begins next season and will take him through the 2028-29 campaign. He will not join AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or ECHL Wheeling on a tryout yet. His junior season is still ongoing with the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres, who play their final regular-season game today before heading to the playoffs.
D’Aigle, 19, is wrapping up what will likely be his fourth and final junior season with Victoriaville, although he could return next season as an overage player. That’s a rare path, though, and he’s more likely to begin his pro career with the Penguins organization next season, probably in the ECHL. A third-round pick in 2025, Pittsburgh had until next summer to sign him, but elects to do so now. His November birthday is early for his draft class and allowed him to get an extra season of CHL seasoning, so he’s considered an age-20 player next season in the junior league’s eyes and can turn pro without any restrictions.
The Quebec native was once viewed as arguably the top goaltending talent in his class. Coming in at 6’4″ and 212 lbs, he made Canada’s under-18 World Juniors roster as a double-underager in 2023, a team loaded with NHL talent like Macklin Celebrini, Matthew Wood, and Calum Ritchie. His stock was perpetually downhill from there, though. The QMJHL isn’t exactly a goalie/defense-friendly league, but even still, his numbers came in below average. He had just a .879 SV% in 25 games in 2023-24, and had a .883 SV% and a glaring 4.52 GAA in 55 outings as Victoriaville’s starter last season.
The Pens still saw some technical ceiling in D’Aigle’s game through that statistical noise, though, and made him the eighth goaltender off the board in last year’s draft. It looks like that may have been the right call. D’Aigle’s numbers have spiked here in 2025-26 behind a shoddy Victoriaville club, recording a .908 SV% and 3.58 GAA in 39 games with a 14-21-3 record. That save percentage is eighth in the league (min. 30 GP).
D’Aigle is Pittsburgh’s clear-cut #3 goalie prospect behind Sergey Murashov and Joel Blomqvist, though. Even if one of those two (likely Murashov) earns an NHL promotion next season if pending UFA Stuart Skinner departs, it’s rare to rush a young goalie drafted outside of the first round or two straight from juniors to an AHL role. Even top prospects coming out of juniors compared to NCAA or Europe – the Red Wings’ Sebastian Cossa is a recent example – get a year of ECHL seasoning to adjust to pro competition before landing an AHL role. D’Aigle won’t grade out any higher than #5 on Pittsburgh’s goaltending depth chart to start next season as a result.
Blackhawks Recall Dominic Toninato
Forward Dominic Toninato is back with the Blackhawks. After being shuffled between the NHL and AHL Rockford a couple of times earlier in the year, he’s been recalled again today, per a team announcement.
Toninato signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Hawks last summer after spending the previous five seasons as a depth option for the Jets. He cleared waivers early in training camp, and he hasn’t seen enough time on the NHL roster this season to need to clear them again. The 6’2″ pivot has brought some much-needed veteran scoring punch to Rockford, leading the IceHogs with a 16-27–43 scoring line in 52 games. In five NHL appearances earlier this year, he had one assist and a +1 rating while averaging 9:12 per game and going 10-for-22 on faceoffs (45.5%).
He’s sticking around through next season at an $850K cap hit and figures to slot into a similar role, somewhere around #15 on Chicago’s forward depth chart and a #6ish option down the middle. The club has opted to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen as of late, with Oliver Moore out with what could be a season-ending injury and Sacha Boisvert still awaiting his work visa after signing his entry-level contract earlier this week. Sam Lafferty has been a healthy scratch, so Toninato doesn’t qualify as an emergency recall unless someone else is hurt, but there could be an opportunity for him to step into the lineup tonight against a former team of his, the Avalanche, as a result.
Toninato has rarely been a regular outside of his run as Winnipeg’s full-time 4C in 2021-22, appearing in a career-high 77 games that year. He’s still now suited up in nine straight NHL seasons, putting up a 13-23–36 scoring line in 194 games along the way with a +13 rating.
Rangers Notes: Lafreniere, Fortescue, Edstrom
Rangers right-winger Alexis Lafrenière has had a shaky season, but the 24-year-old former #1 overall pick has finally emerged as a true top-line threat ever since Artemi Panarin‘s departure via trade to the Kings last month opened up some more ice time. Head coach Mike Sullivan had loads of praise for Lafrenière this week, telling Vince Z. Mercogliano and Peter Baugh of The Athletic that “where Laf has improved most recently is in the down-low game in the offensive zone — the grind game.”
With a tally last night against the Blue Jackets, Lafrenière hit 20 goals on the season for just the second time in his six-year career. As Sullivan points out, his willingness to drive toward the middle of the ice is a gigantic part of that. Fourteen of those tallies have come from high-danger areas either in or directly in front of the crease. That’s the same number of goals Nathan MacKinnon has generated from those areas this year, for example. If his finishing from distance and struggle to create perimeter plays are going to remain an issue long-term, he and Sullivan have appeared to have found the necessary adjustment to finally make him into an everyday top-six threat.
The dividends have been immediate. Lafrenière has six goals and 15 points in 12 games since the Olympic break while skating alongside rookie Gabriel Perreault and Mika Zibanejad. While the trio’s underlying numbers have been lacking (48.9% expected goals share, 2.46 xGA/60, per MoneyPuck), they’ve figured out how to be an effective driver of offense for a Rangers team whose season was tanked from the start by a lack of high-danger chance generation.
Mercogliano and Baugh also discussed the future of some of the Rangers’ college-bound prospects. There’s a real chance that 2023 third-round pick Drew Fortescue will turn pro and even make his NHL debut this season while burning the first year of his entry-level contract, they report. The 20-year-old shutdown lefty is wrapping up a junior season at Boston College that’s seen him record a career-best 4-9–13 scoring line in 35 games with a +4 rating.
Fortescue, a 6’2″, 194-lb New York native, has been a fixture of the United States national junior team for the past few years. He suited up at both the 2024 and 2025 World Juniors before aging out, posting four points and a +12 rating across 14 games there with a pair of gold medals. The Rangers view him as someone “who could soon work his way into the mix on New York’s second or third pair,” Mercogliano and Baugh wrote. That checks out considering the Blueshirts don’t have very much left-side depth behind their #1 option, Vladislav Gavrikov.
Shifting back to the NHL roster, Adam Edstrom has lined up at center on the fourth line between Jonny Brodzinski and Jaroslav Chmelar for the past few games. A natural pivot, he’s played exclusively at the wing in the Rangers organization to date, but was thrilled to get an audition down the middle again after incumbent #4C Sam Carrick was sent to the Sabres at the trade deadline.
“I said that I’d be excited to play center again,” Edstrom said to Mercogliano and Baugh. “It’s been a little bit, but I feel like you’re a bit more included in the game, and kind of play low. My defensive game is something that I take a lot of pride in, so I think it’ll fit me well.”
Mammoth Sign Michael Carcone To Two-Year Extension
The Mammoth announced that they’ve signed left-winger Michael Carcone to a two-year extension through the 2027-28 campaign. The deal carries an average annual value of $1.75MM for a total value of $3.5MM, per TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Per PuckPedia, it’s an even split between 2026-27 and 2027-28 and is paid entirely in base salary.
It’s quite the shift for Carcone, whose time in Utah looked like it was over a year ago. A pending unrestricted free agent at the time, he was clear at exit meetings that he had no intent to re-sign in Salt Lake and wanted to test the open market for more consistent playing time. After going unsigned through the first two weeks of free agency, though, Utah was still looking for forward depth. He ended up returning to the Mammoth on a one-year, league-minimum deal.
The decision has been a win for both parties. Carcone broke out in 2023-24 with 21 goals and 29 points in 74 games for the Coyotes, but he ended up as a healthy scratch in Utah down the stretch last season. Few expected him to keep up his 18.9% shooting rate from his Arizona breakout, but seeing as it dipped by half in 2024-25, his effectiveness as a depth skill man wasn’t enough to justify keeping him in the lineup.
This season, though, Carcone has returned to form. Through 66 games, he ranks seventh on the Mammoth with 14 goals and has added 12 assists for 26 points. He’s done so while adding a considerable physical edge to his game, already more than doubling his previous career high in hits with 117. That’s done wonders for the 5’9″, 182-lb winger’s availability to stay in the lineup and has bumped his ice time up to 12:25 per game, seeing some increased power-play usage along the way as well.
Over parts of the last five seasons with Arizona/Utah, Carcone is up to a 48-35–83 scoring line in 223 career games. That’s an average of 18 goals and 31 points per 82 games, great production for the third- or fourth-line wing slot he usually occupies. The 29-year-old now signs a standard contract above league minimum for the first time in his career, earning a 126% pay bump in the process.
Utah now has 16 roster spots accounted for next season, at least based on players currently on their active roster. They’re still armed with north of $16MM in cap space with center Barrett Hayton as their only notable restricted free agent to re-sign. That leaves plenty of room for top prospects still on entry-level deals like Caleb Desnoyers, Tij Iginla, and Dmitriy Simashev to step in and compete for jobs while still allowing the Mammoth to add an impact free agent from this summer’s ever-thinning market.
Maple Leafs Recall Michael Pezzetta
The Maple Leafs have added enforcer Michael Pezzetta back to the NHL roster ahead of tonight’s game against the Hurricanes, the team announced. He was sent down to the AHL on Tuesday to get some minor-league playing time after serving as a healthy scratch for Toronto the previous weekend, but now figures to get another look in the lineup.
The 28-year-old Pezzetta signed a two-year deal with the Leafs in the offseason, joining his hometown team. A sixth-round pick by the Canadiens way back in 2016, he’d spent his entire career in Montreal up to that point with a 15-23–38 scoring line, a -9 rating, 241 penalty minutes, and 710 hits in 200 games.
Pezzetta couldn’t find a way onto Toronto’s opening night roster amid a logjam of forwards, though, leading to his first AHL action in four years. He’s spent virtually the entire campaign in the minors after clearing waivers until getting recalled last week following the Leafs’ deadline sell-off. He suited up in games against the Ducks and Sabres on March 12 and 14, racking up nine PIMs while averaging just 5:06 per game.
Pezzetta primarily fills an enforcer/checking role in the AHL as well, but has demonstrated a tad more offensive utility than he has in the past. He’s notched four goals and 10 points in 38 games for the Marlies with 52 penalty minutes and a -7 rating.
It doesn’t appear the Leafs have any injury concerns among their 12 healthy forwards already rostered, so Pezzetta’s recall likely doesn’t qualify as an emergency. That means he counts as the third of five regular recalls that Toronto can make after the trade deadline.
Red Wings Reassign John Leonard
The Red Wings announced Friday that they’ve assigned left-winger John Leonard to AHL Grand Rapids. The move comes after center Andrew Copp returned to the lineup in last night’s win over the Canadiens, scoring a goal after sitting out just three games with a leg injury that was initially expected to keep him out for at least two weeks. Since Leonard was up on an emergency basis, Detroit needed to return him as soon as they had 12 other healthy forwards.
Detroit picked up Leonard on a one-way, league minimum deal in free agency last summer. They were in need of some high-powered depth for their press box and for the minors, where Leonard had spent all of last season on an AHL deal with Charlotte in the Panthers organization. It’s been a great run for Leonard in Grand Rapids this year, leading the AHL’s best team in scoring with a 27-14–41 line and a +11 rating in just 34 games – a ridiculous 57-goal pace over a full 72-game minor-league season.
Leonard’s NHL results have been more tempered in limited minutes. The 27-year-old lefty has suited up 11 times for Detroit this season across multiple call-ups, with his pair of appearances earlier this week against the Stars and Flames serving as his first since January. Overall, he’s recorded two goals and two assists for four points with a -3 rating while averaging 11:30 of ice time per game, but he’s now without a point in his last five NHL showings dating back to late December.
These spot duty call-ups have marked Leonard’s first NHL action since a six-game call-up in March 2024 with the Coyotes. He hasn’t been a full-time NHL piece since appearing in 44 games for the Sharks (3-10–13, -7 rating)as a rookie in the COVID-shortened 2021 season. Those account for over half of his 81 career NHL appearances in parts of five seasons with San Jose, Nashville, Arizona, and Detroit. Given his electric AHL performance, though, he should be in line to land at least a two-way deal this summer, whether that’s on an extension in Hockeytown or somewhere else.
Even with Leonard dropped from the roster, the Wings are still dealing with their fair share of injuries. Captain Dylan Larkin‘s leg injury is expected to keep him out for at least another week. They’re also without Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Michael Rasmussen on a day-to-day basis, and lost Mason Appleton to an undisclosed injury in the second period last night. Brandsegg-Nygard was upgraded to questionable despite not dressing yesterday, though, so he should be in line to return tomorrow for another key matchup against the Bruins. With Leonard headed down, Brandsegg-Nygard will be the one stepping into Detroit’s top nine for Appleton if he can’t go.
Morning Notes: Sandin Pellikka, Hedman, Erixon
Red Wings rookie defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka was scratched for a sixth straight game in last night’s 3-1 win over the Canadiens. While the 2023 #17 overall pick hit the ground running this season as Detroit’s second-pairing righty behind Moritz Seider, his complete lack of usage after the team acquired Justin Faulk to fill that role at the deadline was weeks in the making. He has 19 points in 63 appearances but has seen his ice time slashed significantly dating back to New Year’s, averaging 13:27 per game in a 22-match stretch. He’ll no doubt make a push to leapfrog pending RFA Jacob Bernard-Docker on the depth chart next season to step back into a regular role, but his defensive results this year – a -21 rating, a 47.8% expected goals share, and a 45.2% scoring chance share at 5-on-5 – aren’t great.
Here’s more from around the NHL:
- Lightning captain Victor Hedman didn’t play the last two periods of the Bolts’ 6-2 drubbing of the Canucks last night, but there isn’t a huge cause for concern. Head coach Jon Cooper told reporters postgame that while he is a bit banged up, the decision to pull him was illness-related, per Benjamin Pierce of NHL.com. It’s long been known that the 35-year-old isn’t at 100% this season – he’s missed over 30 games due to elbow surgery and an undisclosed lower-body issue. It shows in his performance, averaging a career-low 18:52 per game while limited to a 1-16–17 scoring line and a -1 rating in 33 outings.
- Former NHL depth piece Tim Erixon has retired, he told Nathalie Vinroth of Swedish newspaper Sundsvalls Tidning this week. The 23rd overall pick by the Flames in the 2009 draft, he went on to play 93 games in parts of four years with the Rangers, Blue Jackets, Blackhawks, and Maple Leafs. He last saw NHL ice in 2015 and last played in the minors in 2019 before returning home to bookend his career in the Swedish Hockey League. The 35-year-old won an SHL championship with the Växjö Lakers in 2021 and has been with Timrå IK ever since, although he’s played just six games since the beginning of 2024-25 due to ongoing back issues aggravated by a foot fracture.
Prospects Whose Signing Rights Expire This Year
Every year, there are two pivotal dates for draft picks who are still on teams’ reserve lists and haven’t signed their entry-level deals. If they’re not signed by then, their exclusive draft rights expire, and they become free agents or, in some rare cases, can re-enter the draft if they’re young enough.
The first date circled on the calendar is June 1. This is the decision date for players who were drafted out of the Canadian Hockey League and most European countries’ programs, Russia and Switzerland (players drafted from there have their signing rights held indefinitely). For CHLers, it’s two years from their draft date, and for Euro players, it’s four years from their draft-eligible date, with a minimum of two years if they were selected as overagers.
Aug. 15 is when NCAA-bound players who wrapped up their senior or final collegiate season in 2025-26 become UFAs if they’re not signed.
Just because a team loses its exclusive signing rights to a player doesn’t mean they can’t still join the organization. It’s commonplace to see a good chunk of names on this list opt to stay with the organization that drafted them on an AHL or ECHL contract.
Here’s who each club risks losing this year if they don’t get a deal done:
Anaheim Ducks
June 1 – F Ethan Procyszyn (2024, 3-68), D Tarin Smith (2024, 3-79)
Aug. 15 – F Kyle Kukkonen (2021, 6-162)
Boston Bruins
Aug. 15 – F Andre Gasseau (2021, 7-213), F Oskar Jellvik (2021, 5-149), D Mason Langenbrunner (2020, 5-151), G Philip Svedebäck (2021, 4-117)
Buffalo Sabres
June 1 – F Gustav Karlsson (2022, 6-187), G Ryerson Leenders (2024, 7-219), F Joel Ratkovic Berndtsson (2022, 7-202)
Aug. 15 – F Stiven Sardaryan (2021, 3-88)
Calgary Flames
June 1 – F Hunter Laing (2024, 6-170)
Carolina Hurricanes
June 1 – D Simon Forsmark (2022, 4-101), F Nils Juntorp (2022, 6-188), G Jakub Vondras (2022, 6-171)
Chicago Blackhawks
June 1 – F Riku Tohila (2022, 7-199)
Colorado Avalanche
none
Columbus Blue Jackets
none
Dallas Stars
none
Detroit Red Wings
June 1 – F Maximilian Kilpinen (2022, 4-129), G Landon Miller (2024, 4-126)
Aug. 15 – F Kienan Draper (2020, 7-187), F Dylan James (2022, 2-40)
Edmonton Oilers
June 1 – F Petr Hauser (2022, 5-141), F William Nicholl (2024, 7-196), D Albin Sundin (2024, 6-183)
Florida Panthers
Aug. 15 – G Tyler Muszelik (2022, 6-189)
Los Angeles Kings
none
Minnesota Wild
Aug. 15 – D Ryan Healey (2022, 4-121), F Rieger Lorenz (2022, 2-56), F Charlie Stramel (2023, 1-21)
Montreal Canadiens
June 1 – D Owen Protz (2024, 4-102)
Aug. 15 – F Jack Smith (2020, 4-102)
Nashville Predators
June 1 – D Kasper Kulonummi (2022, 3-84), G Jakub Milota (2024, 4-99)
Aug. 15 – F Adam Ingram (2022, 3-82), F Sutter Muzzatti (2023, 5-143), F Ben Strinden (2022, 7-210)
New Jersey Devils
Aug. 15 – D Charlie Leddy (2022, 4-126), F Samu Salminen (2021, 3-68)
New York Islanders
none
New York Rangers
none
Ottawa Senators
June 1 – D Filip Nordberg (2022, 2-64)
Aug. 15 – F Tyson Dyck (2022, 7-206)
Philadelphia Flyers
June 1 – F Santeri Sulku (2022, 7-197)
Aug. 15 – F Owen McLaughlin (2021, 7-206)
Pittsburgh Penguins
June 1 – F Max Graham (2024, 5-139)
Aug. 15 – F Cruz Lucius (2022, 4-124)
San Jose Sharks
June 1 – F Carson Wetsch (2024, 3-82)
Seattle Kraken
June 1 – D Alexis Bernier (2024, 3-73)
St. Louis Blues
June 1 – F Antoine Dorion (2024, 7-209), D William McIsaac (2024, 5-145)
Tampa Bay Lightning
June 1 – D Jan Golicic (2024, 4-118), F Kaden Pitre (2024, 6-181), F Noah Steen (2024, 7-199)
Toronto Maple Leafs
June 1 – D Nathan Mayes (2024, 7-225)
Aug. 15 – F Joe Miller (2020, 6-180)
Utah Mammoth
June 1 – D Ales Cech (2024, 5-153)
Aug. 15 – D Cal Thomas (2021, 6-171)
Vancouver Canucks
none
Vegas Golden Knights
Aug. 15 – D Noah Ellis (2020, 6-184)
Washington Capitals
Aug. 15 – G Chase Clark (2021, 6-183), D Joaquim Lemay (2021, 4-119)
Winnipeg Jets
none