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.
It’s quite the heel turn 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 guy 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.
More to come…
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
Ryan Johansen Announces Retirement
Ryan Johansen announced his retirement in an episode of the Predators’ official team podcast released Thursday afternoon. The 33-year-old center steps away after an NHL career that spanned 13 seasons and included an All-Star nod and a Western Conference championship with Nashville in 2017.
Johansen played his junior hockey with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, where he rode a 69-point rookie season to a fourth overall selection by the Blue Jackets in the 2010 draft. After a standout performance for Portland the following season, he arrived in Columbus as a full-time NHL talent beginning with 2011-12. He struggled to produce from the hop, posting 14 goals in 107 games across his first two seasons. He fully arrived as the centerpiece of the Jackets’ attack in 2013-14, though, erupting for 33 goals and 63 points while leading the franchise to just its second playoff appearance in team history at the time.
An RFA the following summer, it took Columbus until October to get Johansen signed. Even then, the two sides could only end up settling for a three-year, $12MM bridge deal. It immediately became one of the best contracts in the league as Johansen followed up his breakout with a career-high 71 points, leading the team with 45 assists while representing Columbus at the All-Star Game and winning MVP honors there.
While it looked from there like Johansen would be the Jackets’ second great offensive star after Rick Nash, his time in the organization was already near its close. With Columbus in need of defensemen, they cut bait quickly with Johansen the following season when he got off to a sluggish start. Halfway through the 2015-16 campaign, he was dealt to the Predators in what ended up being one of the most consequential one-for-one deals of the decade for Seth Jones.
Johansen immediately assumed duties as Nashville’s top center. While he never topped the 70-point mark again, he was a major part of the most successful stretch in franchise history that saw the Preds win playoff series in three consecutive years from 2016-18, making the Cup Final in 2017 and winning the Presidents’ Trophy the following season.
At age 24, Johansen had put up four straight 60-point seasons and played a pivotal role on a team that came just two wins short of a Stanley Cup, although he missed the Final after developing acute compartment syndrome in his left thigh. It seemed like a no-brainer for Nashville to commit long-term when he was an RFA again that summer, inking him to an eight-year, $64MM contract.
Johansen’s offensive consistency would fall off significantly after he put pen to paper on that deal. He only hit the 60-point mark twice more in his career and only averaged 18 goals and 54 points per 82 games for the Preds after signing the contract. His ice time steadily decreased throughout the deal, bottoming out with a 15:46 figure in 2022-23 that also saw him limited to 28 points in 55 outings with a -13 rating. At that point, the Predators had just missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years and hadn’t won a series in five.
Looking to clear money in a flat-cap environment and get out of what was becoming an increasingly undesirable contract, the Preds put him on the trade block. The Avalanche, looking for reclamation stopgap projects down the middle in their middle-six after losing Nazem Kadri the summer prior, took Johansen on for virtually nothing while Nashville retained half his cap hit to offload him.
The move only accelerated Johansen’s jagged but now aggressive decline. He was a non-factor in Colorado and had fallen out of a top-six role by the trade deadline, posting 13 goals and 23 points in 63 games for his worst offensive showing since his teenage years. The Avs were able to offload the last year and a half of his contract by trading him to the Flyers in that year’s Sean Walker deadline deal, but he never played a game for Philadelphia. The Flyers attempted to waive him and assign him to the AHL, but that was later nullified when he failed his physical due to a nagging hip injury.
The Flyers likely planned on buying him out that summer if he was healthy. Since he wasn’t cleared to play, that wasn’t an option. They then moved to place him on unconditional waivers later in the summer to terminate his contract for what the team called a “material breach,” likely due to his failure to report the issue to team doctors before the trade. Johansen appealed, and the process lasted through the entire 2024-25 campaign anyway before an independent arbitrator ultimately ruled in favor of the Flyers.
It was essentially a foregone conclusion at that point that Johansen’s hip issues would prevent him from playing again, but he now makes it official. He tallied just over 900 career games with a 202-376–578 scoring line. His 362 points in a Nashville uniform rank sixth in franchise history. PHR congratulates Johansen on his lengthy career and wishes him the best in retirement.
Image courtesy of Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images.
Predators Have Interviewed Marc Bergevin, Brett Peterson For GM Position
The Predators have a general manager vacancy – well, kind of. While incumbent Barry Trotz announced his resignation from the role over six weeks ago, he will be staying on until a replacement is named. That gives Nashville plenty of runway and the rare opportunity to embark on a lengthy search process while the season is still ongoing.
Nashville is casting an incredibly wide net as a result, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes, but a few names of interest are starting to leak out. Sabres associate GM Marc Bergevin and Panthers assistant GM Brett Peterson have both been part of the initial interview process, Friedman reports.
Bergevin was previously the GM of the Canadiens from 2012 to 2021. He hasn’t held the top exec role since, but has been through multiple interviews, including the Blue Jackets’ vacancy in 2024 and the Islanders’ vacancy last offseason. Just because he’s come up short in those talks doesn’t mean he’s been unemployed for the past five years. Almost immediately after his dismissal from Montreal in November 2021, the Kings brought him in as a senior advisor to former GM Rob Blake.
The 60-year-old remained in L.A. through last summer’s GM change to Ken Holland. That arrangement only lasted a couple of months into the season. Shortly before Christmas, he left the Kings to accept an offer from Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekäläinen to serve as his top assistant as part of the Sabres’ front office turnover.
During Bergevin’s stint in Montreal, he twice finished as the runner-up for the General Manager of the Year award (2014, 2021). The Habs made the playoffs six times in Bergevin’s nine full seasons at the helm, including trips to the Eastern Conference Final in 2014 and the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. He also served as GM of Montreal’s AHL affiliates, a role typically held by an associate/assistant GM.
The veteran of nearly 1,200 NHL games as a player would certainly be an experience-oriented hire after Nashville’s decision to hire a respected coach but inexperienced executive in Trotz has yielded mixed results. Before his time in Montreal, Bergevin also climbed the ladder in the Blackhawks organization from scout to assistant GM from 2005 to 2012. Excluding the lockout-nixed 2004-05 campaign, Bergevin has been involved in every NHL campaign since 1984 as either a player, coach, or executive.
Peterson is more of the up-and-comer archetype, but it’s hard to argue with the brief experience he’s already accumulated. He’s spent all of his time in the NHL as an AGM in Florida under Bill Zito, first hired in 2020. He’s been part of the franchise’s three straight Stanley Cup Final trips and has been entrusted with more responsibility on the international stage, where he was just announced as the general manager for the United States’ World Championship team for the second time in three years. The 44-year-old was an assistant GM for the USA squad that won gold at the 2025 World Championship, ending a 65-year drought.
Penguins Recall Ryan Graves From Conditioning Stint
The Penguins announced they’ve recalled defenseman Ryan Graves from his conditioning stint to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. For now, he remains on injured reserve.
It wasn’t clear why Graves had been out of the lineup for well over a month when Pittsburgh sent him for his conditioning stint a week ago today. He was on the active roster after recovering from a lower-body injury and being reinstated from IR in early February, but he hasn’t played since. Instead, it appears he’s either still working his way back from that initial issue or sustained a new, undisclosed one, as he landed back on IR to allow him a conditioning stint. Regular conditioning loans are prohibited after the trade deadline; only those related to long-term injuries are permitted.
Graves suited up twice for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, so it appears he should be good to go and should be activated off IR soon. Now in year three of the regrettable six-year, $27MM deal he landed with the Pens in free agency in 2023, he cleared waivers earlier this season and, when healthy, has split time between Pittsburgh and WBS. After a horrid showing in a full-time roster role last season, he’s had improved impacts as an #8/9 piece who can occasionally jump into a bottom-pairing role. He’s averaged 15:29 of ice time per game across 19 contests for the Pens this season with one goal and a -2 rating. His 52.2% shot attempt share at 5-on-5 is his best since the 2020-21 season.
He’s also been an impact player in the minors, where he has 10 points and a +4 rating in 15 games for the Baby Pens. It’s likely too much to expect him to return to being the top-four fixture Pittsburgh hoped he could be, but injury troubles aside, this season has been a step in the right direction for Graves’ play. Unless cap space becomes a concern, it wouldn’t be all too surprising to see him back on the opening night roster in the fall as a bottom-pairing or #7 piece.
Oilers Place Leon Draisaitl On Long-Term Injured Reserve
The Oilers were expected to eventually move star center Leon Draisaitl to long-term injured reserve after it was announced he’ll be shut down for the rest of the regular season with a lower-body injury. That’s now happened, per a team announcement, and they’ve used their newfound cap space to recall winger Roby Jarventie from AHL Bakersfield in the corresponding move.
As the ever-durable Draisaitl gears up for the longest absence of his career at one of the worst possible times, the Oilers had just a few days left to be eligible for cap relief by placing him on LTIR. They have 28 days left in their regular season, and there has to be at least 24 days or 10 games – the LTIR minimums – left on the regular-season calendar to initiate an LTIR placement.
Edmonton is now over the cap by nearly $2.5MM, but with Draisaitl now generating some relief in addition to the previously LTIR-bound Colton Dach, Mattias Janmark, and Curtis Lazar, the Oilers’ LTIR pool is now at almost $7MM, leaving them $3.3MM in current cap space after Jarventie’s recall, per PuckPedia.
With all those names sidelined, the 23-year-old Jarventie should be ticketed for his first NHL appearance since debuting with the Senators in November 2023. An early second-round pick in the 2020 draft, he was traded to Edmonton in the 2024 offseason for Xavier Bourgault, but he missed all but two AHL games last season due to knee surgery.
Jarventie initially planned to return home to Finland with Tappara early last offseason, but ended up accepting a two-way extension from the Oilers in June. That decision has proved fruitful for both parties. The 6’2″, 184-lb Jarventie hasn’t clicked at the near point-per-game rate he did in the minors before his injury, but he’s back to at least being a serviceable producer. In 52 outings for Bakersfield, he has 17 goals and 36 points with a +12 rating. That’s good for fifth on the team in scoring.
Rangers Recall Connor Mackey
The Rangers announced Thursday that they’ve recalled left-shot defender Connor Mackey from AHL Hartford. He’ll ensure New York has seven defensemen for the time being after Urho Vaakanainen left Wednesday’s loss to the Devils with an upper-body injury and didn’t return. Vaakanainen did not travel with the team to Columbus this morning, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports, so he’ll be out for at least tonight’s contest against the Blue Jackets.
It’s Mackey’s sixth Rangers stint of the season. He’s been up on several brief recalls as injury insurance throughout the year, but none of them have resulted in playing time, sitting as a healthy scratch in 11 contests. Mackey is in his third season with the Rangers organization after initially landing there on a two-way deal in free agency in 2023, subsequently signing a two-year extension that will expire this summer. His offense isn’t what it used to be, but he’s still been an imposing physical presence in Hartford, logging 52 games with a 5-10–15 scoring line, 81 penalty minutes, and a -8 rating.
Mackey, 29, has played in parts of five NHL seasons but not since December 2024. He previously suited up for the Coyotes and Flames. The 6’3″, 205-lb lefty has totaled 42 NHL appearances with a 4-7–11 scoring line, a -1 rating, and 78 hits while averaging 14:11 of ice time per game. He’s a few years removed from his career year split between Calgary and Arizona in 2022-23 that saw him traded to the Yotes at the deadline, becoming a regular for them in a depth role down the stretch. After notching seven points and a -4 rating in 30 games that year, he’s suited up just three times with the Blueshirts in the three seasons since.
The Rangers have preferred to keep Mackey in a press-box role only this season. It remains to be seen if that will change, since Vaakanainen being out means their top six group is now made up of four righties and two lefties. It remains to be seen whether someone will shift to their offside to allow righty Vincent Iorio to elevate from the press box and play his first game since March 7, or if Mackey will make his season debut to keep an even lefty/righty alignment. It’s of little long-term consequence to a Rangers club that’s dropped two in a row after a four-game winning streak, keeping them in a five-point hole behind the Panthers for last place in the East.