DEL’s Straubing Tigers Sign Tyler Madden
Once a promising prospect in the Kings’ pool, Tyler Madden is off to Germany on a one-year deal with the Straubing Tigers of the DEL, the team announced.
Madden, 25, heads to Germany’s top league on the heels of a few years of stagnation in the minors. The son of longtime NHL center John Madden was a third-round pick of the Canucks in 2018 and quickly made a name for himself in college at Northeastern, turning pro after a sophomore season in which he had 37 points in only 27 games.
A few weeks before leaving college, Madden’s signing rights were sent to Los Angeles in the trade that sent Tyler Toffoli to Vancouver. He quickly signed his entry-level contract, but the pandemic delayed his professional debut.
After playing just 14 games with AHL Ontario in 2020-21 as a result, Madden looked like he was well on his way to a full-time NHL role the following season when he put up 31 points in 48 games for the Reign. Unfortunately, that was the peak of the New York native’s production.
Madden’s AHL points per game totals went from 0.65 in 2021-22 to around 0.46 over the following two seasons, resulting in him never getting an NHL call-up. Midway through last season, the Kings traded him to the Wild in exchange for minor-league defenseman Joseph Cecconi.
He finished the season with two goals and 10 points in 20 games for AHL Iowa, not enough to convince Minnesota to give him a qualifying offer. He became an unrestricted free agent on July 1 as a result and presumably didn’t receive any NHL two-way offers that intrigued him.
The 2019 World Juniors silver medalist now heads to Straubing, where he’ll potentially look to fuel a return to North America with a strong performance. If not, it might be the start of a lengthy European career.
The Tigers have been in Germany’s top league since gaining promotion from the second division in 2006, but have largely been a middle-of-the-pack team over the last two decades. They’ll hope Madden offers them an offensive infusion after their top scorer last season, Josh Samanski, left to sign an entry-level contract with the Oilers.
Players With Trade Protection In 2025-26
The following players have some form of trade protection for the duration of the 2025-26 league year, according to PuckPedia.
Trade protection comes in three forms: no-movement clauses (NMCs), no-trade clauses (NTCs), and modified no-trade clauses (M-NTCs). No-movement clauses are blanket protection save for buyouts, so the player is also protected against a waiver placement and subsequent AHL assignment unless they approve it.
No-trade clauses limit a team from trading a player to any other club without their approval, but if they’re trying to send a player somewhere where he won’t approve a deal, the team can still waive the player and have the team in question claim them.
Modified no-trade clauses do not prevent all trades. Players can submit a trade list with a preset number of teams, which is either in the form of a no-trade list or an approved trade list. The former is far more common. If a player has an approved trade list, the number of teams they can be traded to is asterisked. If there is no asterisk, the number of teams they can block a trade to is shown next to their name in parentheses.
NMCs and M-NTCs can be combined to provide guardrails for discussions when a team is approaching a player about waiving their NMCs. No-move and no-trade clauses can also differ over the life of a contract, or sometimes, mid-season. Only players who would otherwise be eligible for UFA status are eligible for trade protection.
Anaheim Ducks
NMCs: none
NTCs: Mikael Granlund
M-NTCs: Radko Gudas (10), Alex Killorn (15), Chris Kreider (15), Troy Terry (10), Jacob Trouba (12), Frank Vatrano (7)
Boston Bruins
NMCs: Viktor Arvidsson, Elias Lindholm, Hampus Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak
NTCs: Tanner Jeannot, Nikita Zadorov
M-NTCs: Henri Jokiharju (8), Joonas Korpisalo (10), Pavel Zacha (8)
Buffalo Sabres
NMCs: Rasmus Dahlin
NTCs: none
M-NTCs: Jordan Greenway (5), Tage Thompson (5), Alex Tuch (5), Jason Zucker (5)
Calgary Flames
NMCs: Mikael Backlund, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri
NTCs: MacKenzie Weegar
M-NTCs: Rasmus Andersson (6), Backlund (15, begins Jan. 1), Blake Coleman (10*), Yegor Sharangovich (10)
Carolina Hurricanes
NMCs: Sebastian Aho, Frederik Andersen, William Carrier, Jalen Chatfield, Nikolaj Ehlers, Taylor Hall, Jaccob Slavin, Jordan Staal
NTCs: none
M-NTCs: Andersen (20), Shayne Gostisbehere (15), Jordan Martinook (10), Eric Robinson (8), Andrei Svechnikov (10*), Sean Walker (15)
Andersen’s M-NTC reduces to a five-team no-trade list on Feb. 23 if he does not play in at least 33% of the Hurricanes’ regular season games by Feb. 15.
Chicago Blackhawks
NMCs: none
NTCs: none
M-NTCs: Tyler Bertuzzi (10), Andre Burakovsky (10), Ryan Donato (10), Ilya Mikheyev (12), Connor Murphy (10), Teuvo Teravainen (8)
Colorado Avalanche
NMCs: Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Devon Toews
NTCs: Brock Nelson
M-NTCs: Mackenzie Blackwood (6), Ross Colton (12), Samuel Girard (9), Artturi Lehkonen (12), Landeskog (12), Josh Manson (12), Valeri Nichushkin (12), Logan O’Connor (6)
Columbus Blue Jackets
NMCs: Charlie Coyle, Sean Monahan, Ivan Provorov, Zach Werenski
NTCs: Damon Severson
M-NTCs: Coyle (3), Erik Gudbranson (10), Boone Jenner (8), Elvis Merzlikins (10), Mathieu Olivier (10), Miles Wood (6)
Dallas Stars
NMCs: Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz, Mikko Rantanen, Tyler Seguin
NTCs: Esa Lindell
M-NTCs: none
Detroit Red Wings
NMCs: none
NTCs: Patrick Kane, Dylan Larkin
M-NTCs: Ben Chiarot (10), J.T. Compher (10), Andrew Copp (10), Alex DeBrincat (16), John Gibson (10), Justin Holl (10)
Edmonton Oilers
NMCs: Leon Draisaitl, Trent Frederic, Adam Henrique, Zach Hyman, Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse
NTCs: Andrew Mangiapane
M-NTCs: Mattias Janmark (10)
Florida Panthers
NMCs: Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling, Seth Jones, Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe
NTCs: none
M-NTCs: Sergei Bobrovsky (16), Reinhart (16)
Los Angeles Kings
NMCs: Kevin Fiala, Anze Kopitar
NTCs: none
M-NTCs: Cody Ceci (10), Phillip Danault (10), Drew Doughty (7*), Brian Dumoulin (10), Joel Edmundson (10), Warren Foegele (5), Adrian Kempe (10), Darcy Kuemper (10)
Minnesota Wild
NMCs: Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Kirill Kaprizov, Jacob Middleton, Mats Zuccarello
NTCs: none
M-NTCs: Eriksson Ek (10), Filip Gustavsson (5), Ryan Hartman (15), Jared Spurgeon (10), Vladimir Tarasenko (8*)
Montreal Canadiens
NMCs: Brendan Gallagher, Carey Price
NTCs: none
M-NTCs: Josh Anderson (5), Gallagher (6), Patrik Laine (10), Mike Matheson (8)
Nashville Predators
NMCs: Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, Jonathan Marchessault, Juuse Saros, Brady Skjei, Steven Stamkos
NTCs: none
M-NTCs: Erik Haula (6), Skjei (15)
New Jersey Devils
NMCs: Jesper Bratt, Dougie Hamilton, Jacob Markstrom, Timo Meier, Ondrej Palat
NTCs: Jake Allen, Connor Brown, Evgenii Dadonov (through March 1), Brenden Dillon, Johnathan Kovacevic, Brett Pesce
M-NTCs: Dadonov (10 after March 1), Hamilton (10*), Nico Hischier (10), Stefan Noesen (10), Palat (10*), Jonas Siegenthaler (10)
New York Islanders
NMCs: Ilya Sorokin
NTCs: Anthony Duclair, Bo Horvat, Scott Mayfield, Kyle Palmieri, Ryan Pulock
M-NTCs: Mathew Barzal (22), Jonathan Drouin (16), Pierre Engvall (16), Anders Lee (15), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (16), Adam Pelech (16), Semyon Varlamov (16)
New York Rangers
NMCs: Adam Fox, Vladislav Gavrikov, J.T. Miller, Artemi Panarin, Igor Shesterkin, Mika Zibanejad
NTCs: William Borgen
M-NTCs: Jonathan Quick (20), Carson Soucy (12), Vincent Trocheck (12)
Ottawa Senators
NMCs: Claude Giroux, Brady Tkachuk, Linus Ullmark
NTCs: none
M-NTCs: Thomas Chabot (10), Lars Eller (14*), David Perron (15), Artem Zub (10)
Philadelphia Flyers
NMCs: Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny
NTCs: Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler
M-NTCs: Dan Vladar (8)
Pittsburgh Penguins
NMCs: Sidney Crosby, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin
NTCs: none
M-NTCs: Noel Acciari (8), Ryan Graves (12), Kevin Hayes (12), Danton Heinen (12), Tristan Jarry (12), Rickard Rakell (8)
San Jose Sharks
NMCs: none
NTCs: John Klingberg (through Jan. 30), Dmitry Orlov, Jeff Skinner (through Jan. 30), Tyler Toffoli
M-NTCs: Logan Couture (3*), Barclay Goodrow (15), Klingberg (14 after Jan. 30), Skinner (8* after Jan. 30), Alexander Wennberg (15*)
Seattle Kraken
NMCs: Chandler Stephenson
NTCs: Jordan Eberle, Adam Larsson, Brandon Montour
M-NTCs: Joey Daccord (12), Vince Dunn (16), Frederick Gaudreau (15), Philipp Grubauer (10), Ryan Lindgren (6), Mason Marchment (10), Jared McCann (10), Jamie Oleksiak (16), Jaden Schwartz (16)
St. Louis Blues
NMCs: none
NTCs: Pavel Buchnevich, Jordan Kyrou, Colton Parayko, Robert Thomas
M-NTCs: Jordan Binnington (14), Justin Faulk (15), Cam Fowler (4*), Torey Krug (15), Brayden Schenn (15)
Tampa Bay Lightning
NMCs: Jake Guentzel, Victor Hedman, Brayden Point
NTCs: Erik Cernak, Anthony Cirelli, Yanni Gourde, Nick Paul
M-NTCs: Oliver Bjorkstrand (10), Zemgus Girgensons (16*), Nikita Kucherov (10*), Ryan McDonagh (12), Andrei Vasilevskiy (10*)
Toronto Maple Leafs
NMCs: Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev, John Tavares
NTCs: Jake McCabe
M-NTCs: Brandon Carlo (8), Max Domi (13), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (16), Calle Jarnkrok (10), David Kampf (10), Anthony Stolarz (8)
Utah Mammoth
NMCs: none
NTCs: Clayton Keller, Mikhail Sergachev
M-NTCs: John Marino (8), Olli Maatta (10), Nick Schmaltz (10), Nate Schmidt (10), Brandon Tanev (10), Karel Vejmelka (10)
Vancouver Canucks
NMCs: Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, Filip Hronek, Kevin Lankinen, Tyler Myers, Elias Pettersson, Marcus Pettersson
NTCs: none
M-NTCs: Teddy Blueger (12), Dakota Joshua (12), Evander Kane (16*), Drew O’Connor (12)
Vegas Golden Knights
NMCs: Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Alex Pietrangelo, Mark Stone
NTCs: Noah Hanifin, Brayden McNabb, Brandon Saad, Reilly Smith, Shea Theodore
M-NTCs: Ivan Barbashev (8), Tomas Hertl (3*), Adin Hill (10), William Karlsson (10)
Washington Capitals
NMCs: Jakob Chychrun, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Alex Ovechkin
NTCs: none
NMCs: John Carlson (10), Ovechkin (10), Matt Roy (15), Logan Thompson (15), Tom Wilson (14)
Winnipeg Jets
NMCs: Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Jonathan Toews
NTCs: none
M-NTCs: Kyle Connor (10), Dylan DeMelo (10), Adam Lowry (6), Josh Morrissey (15), Neal Pionk (15)
Jeff Skinner Signs With Sharks
Free agent winger Jeff Skinner has signed a one-year deal worth $3MM with the Sharks, according to a team press release. He was one of the few of our top 50 unrestricted free agents who remained unsigned heading into the second week of the new league year.
Skinner, 33, has averaged 0.65 points per game for his career and is a skilled shooter, finishing at an 11.2% clip in 1,078 career regular-season games. His lengthy career has been plagued by peaks and valleys that ultimately resulted in the Sabres buying out the final three seasons of his eight-year, $72MM extension last summer.
He quickly landed with the Oilers on an identical contract to this one when the market opened last year, but the fit wasn’t great. He spent most of his time in a bottom-six role, not particularly conducive to his offensive skillset, and turned out just 16 goals and 29 points in 72 games as a result. Those were his lowest offensive totals in three years, accompanied by the lowest deployment of his career at 13 minutes per game.
He’ll hope for better results with the Sharks, who needed another veteran forward for multiple reasons. Not only did they need another body in case they decide fringe youngsters like Collin Graf or Cameron Lund would be better served with AHL time out of the gate, but they needed to add salary to ensure they stay above the cap floor while debating what to do with their logjam of depth defensemen.
Skinner accomplishes both those objectives while hopefully adding an infusion to the league’s worst offense in 2024-25 in expanded minutes. The Sharks averaged 2.54 goals per game last season but now add a six-time 30-goal threat on a virtually zero-risk deal, even if he’s coming off a disappointing campaign in Edmonton.
San Jose hasn’t made many offseason moves at forward, although they did pick up enforcer Ryan Reaves in a trade last night and signed depth pieces Adam Gaudette and Philipp Kurashev in free agency. The bulk of their talent-adding has come on the back end, where they’ve added veterans John Klingberg, Nick Leddy, and Dmitry Orlov via signings and waiver claims.
After their recent moves, the Sharks are now $4.36MM above the $70.6MM lower limit with $20.54MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. While they’ll still lean primarily on youngsters like Macklin Celebrini, William Eklund, and Will Smith for offense, they’ve done a better job this summer of insulating their next wave of players with added quality veteran talent.
Image courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.
Jets Re-Sign Isaak Phillips To Two-Year Contract
The Jets have re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Isaak Phillips to a two-year contract, according to a team announcement. It’s unclear if it’s a one-way or two-way deal.
While playing his junior hockey with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, Phillips was drafted in the fifth round in 2020 by the Blackhawks. He got an early taste of pro hockey the following season when the OHL suspended operations due to COVID, playing for AHL Rockford in his post-draft year, and was able to remain there the following season thanks to his late September birthday. He bounced between leagues for much of his time with Chicago and successfully cleared waivers for the first time at the beginning of 2024-25.
Phillips, 23, was again shuttled between leagues through the early going of the campaign but was sent to the minors permanently in November. With his spot in the organization uncertain, the Hawks traded him to Winnipeg in January. He didn’t receive a recall after the trade, finishing the season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. He made just three NHL appearances in 2024-25, posting an assist and three hits while averaging a paltry 11:54 per game.
While a defensive defenseman first and foremost, Phillips had shown a degree of offensive competency in Rockford in the past that led some to believe he could have the all-around play necessary to become an everyday third-pairing piece. That wasn’t the case last season. He made 67 appearances between Rockford and Manitoba, only managing four goals and 16 points with a cumulative minus-three rating.
The 6’3″, 205-lb lefty may be valuable organizational depth for the Jets with his 238 games of AHL experience, but that lackluster showing in the minors doesn’t inspire confidence that he’ll realistically compete for a roster spot in the fall. Winnipeg has eight defensemen under contract who played at least 39 NHL games last season.
If Phillips doesn’t manage 24 NHL appearances over the next two seasons, he’ll be able to test unrestricted free agency early thanks to Group VI status. If he plays more than that, he’ll remain under Winnipeg’s control as an RFA upon expiry.
Hurricanes Sign Gavin Bayreuther To Two-Way Deal
The Hurricanes have signed free agent defenseman Gavin Bayreuther to a two-way deal, per a team release. They also confirmed a previous report that winger Noel Gunler had accepted his qualifying offer.
A 6’1″ lefty, Bayreuther has worked out a lengthy professional career for himself after going undrafted. He spent seven seasons bouncing between the AHL and NHL in the Stars and Blue Jackets organizations after ending his collegiate career with St. Lawrence University in 2017.
The 31-year-old spent last season in Switzerland’s National League with Lausanne HC, his first and only overseas season. In 52 games, he posted a 5-18–23 scoring line with 47 PIMs and a plus-five rating, finishing second on the team in scoring among defensemen.
Bayreuther will make the league minimum $775K salary if he’s on the NHL roster or $140K in the AHL with a $150K guarantee, the team said. With Carolina having six defensemen on one-way deals plus top prospect Alexander Nikishin expected to be with the club out of the gate, Bayreuther will likely land on waivers in training camp and head to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, Carolina’s affiliate, if he clears.
In 122 career NHL games with Columbus and Dallas in parts of four seasons, Bayreuther has five goals and 28 points while averaging 15:14 per night with a -17 rating.
Stars Hire David Pelletier As Assistant Coach
The Stars have named longtime Oilers skating coach David Pelletier as an assistant on Glen Gulutzan’s staff, per a team announcement Friday.
It’s not the 50-year-old’s first NHL job. He’s worked in the Edmonton area as a skating coach for the last decade, also working as a skills coach for the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings since 2020-21 and as an assistant coach for the University of Alberta program from 2018-20.
Pelletier never played hockey at any level but is a well-known pairs figure skater, winning gold for Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics. The team said Pelletier will not be on the team’s bench during games and will instead serve as an “eye-in-the-sky” assistant.
Dallas’ coaching turnover is now complete. After firing head coach Peter DeBoer and losing assistants Misha Donskov and Steve Spott to other roles, they’ve brought in Gulutzan as head coach and named Pelletier and Neil Graham as new assistants. Alain Nasreddine still remains from last year’s staff and will serve as the bench group with Gulutzan and Graham during games.
Pelletier is also a member of the Canadian Olympic and Sports Hall of Fame and was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy, given to the most outstanding Canadian athlete, in 2001. He was part of the Oil Kings staff that guided the team to a WHL championship in 2022, a roster that included NHLers Sebastian Cossa, Dylan Guenther, Kaiden Guhle, Jake Neighbours, and Justin Sourdif.
Collin Delia Signs With Sweden’s Brynas IF
Collin Delia has officially signed with Sweden’s Brynas IF, according to a team press release. It’s a one-year contract for Delia with the reigning SHL regular season champions.
Delia, a California native, heads overseas for the first time in his career. The veteran goaltender was an unrestricted free agent after spending last season with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors while on a two-way contract with the Oilers.
Delia, 31, played his youth hockey in his home state before heading to Texas for junior hockey ahead of a successful three-year run at Merrimack College. The undrafted 6’2″ netminder spent five seasons in the Blackhawks organization from 2017-22 and has spent the subsequent three years on one-year deals with Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. The longtime No. 3 option enjoyed his best NHL season in Chicago in 2018-19, posting a .908 SV% and 3.61 GAA in 14 starts and two relief appearances with a 6-4-3 record.
Delia’s last NHL action came in 2022-23 for the Canucks, making a career-high 20 appearances while starter Thatcher Demko battled injuries, but he struggled heavily with a .882 SV% and -11.6 GSAA. He’s spent the last two seasons exclusively in the AHL with the Jets’ and Oilers’ affiliates in Manitoba and Bakersfield as a result. He played 28 games for the Condors last year, registering a .906 SV%, 2.76 GAA, two shutouts, and a 12-11-5 record as the No. 4 on Edmonton’s depth chart behind Stuart Skinner, Calvin Pickard, and Olivier Rodrigue.
Delia now heads to Sweden to serve in tandem with another NHL-experienced netminder in Brynas, Erik Kallgren. The duo will backstop a skater core with over 2,500 combined games of NHL experience, headlined by forwards Johan Larsson, Oskar Lindblom, and reigning SHL MVP Jakob Silfverberg.
Jack Roslovic, Matt Grzelcyk, Victor Olofsson Among Top Remaining UFAs
Our list of top 50 UFAs saw many of its top names land a “re-signed” designation before the 2025-26 league year even began. Now, 10 days into free agency, 44 of those players have signed new contracts, leaving just six without deals:
20. C Jack Roslovic
22. D Matt Grzelcyk
27. LW Victor Olofsson
42. G Ilya Samsonov
46. LW Jeff Skinner
48. G Alexandar Georgiev
Roslovic still being on the market isn’t particularly surprising. It seems there’s always an odd man out in the top 20 range that lingers well into week two, particularly with the depth of this year’s class being as thin as it is.
His ongoing availability likely isn’t a knock on how teams perceive his value, either. Many clubs have already solidified their middle-six group with UFA pickups like Andrew Mangiapane and Pius Suter, and the ones that haven’t likely have interest in Roslovic as a backup option if they can’t land more of a needle-moving, first-line caliber player in a trade. That’s the case with the Maple Leafs, one of the few teams that have been linked to Roslovic in the last few days.
While far from being a bang-and-crash forward, Roslovic holds value in his positional versatility and has emerged as one of the more consistent depth scorers in the league. A third-line piece, ideally, he tied his career-high in goals last season with 22 in 81 games with the Hurricanes, adding 17 assists for 39 points. He’s scored between 30 and 45 points in each of the last five seasons.
Roslovic was projected to receive a three-year contract worth $4.09MM per season by AFP Analytics, while we forecasted a more conservative $3.5MM cap hit on a three-year deal. Either way, with most teams having filled out their rosters, only 11 teams have under $3.5MM in cap space and should likely be considered out of the running. Teams in need of added middle-six depth, like the Avalanche, Wild, and Red Wings, might be names to watch in the coming days.
The lack of capped-out teams this deep into July, a direct result of the quickly rising cap, likely means that players who were left without contracts after the first week of free agency may not need to take as steep a discount on their initial market value as they have in years past. That principle should at least apply to players like Roslovic and Grzelcyk, who at least have interest but are likely at the mercy of teams preferring trade options before they circle back with a firm offer. For someone like the offensively gifted but defensively challenged Olofsson, though, he’s likely abandoning hope of cashing in on his resurgent season with the Golden Knights.
Nonetheless, Olofsson is arguably the highest-ceiling name left on the market. He’s a three-time 20-goal scorer with the Sabres, with whom he spent the first six seasons of his career, but became a free agent in 2024 on the heels of a seven-goal, 15-point showing in 51 games.
Vegas took a flyer on him, and he settled quickly for a one-year, $1.075MM deal on July 2 last year. Injuries again limited him to less than 60 games, but he did get a few reps in the Knights’ top six, putting together a 15-14–29 scoring line in 56 outings. That was a 43-point pace – still the second-worst of his career behind his disastrous 2023-24.
He needs sheltered even-strength minutes and power-play deployment to be effective, but he’s a relatively safe bet for 20 goals and 40 points if he stays healthy. Only he and Roslovic can realistically provide that production among the remaining UFAs.
Grzelcyk is the only defenseman left on the board among our top 50, and he actually had the most points among any remaining UFA last season with 40. That was a career-high for the 31-year-old, who departed Boston for Pittsburgh last summer on a one-year deal and saw considerably more power-play deployment than he had in the past.
The Sharks looked like a potential fit for Grzelcyk at the start of free agency, but their slew of other additions has now led to a logjam of blue-liners, so they’re out of the market. Grzelcyk may have to expect a reduction in minutes on the 20 per game he saw last season, and look for another one-year commitment on a team looking for power-play help.
The most likely outcome for the ‘tenders, Samsonov and Georgiev, may be contracts in Europe at this point. There’s no team with a glaring hole at the No. 1 or No. 2 positions, and teams looking for an upgrade are likely looking for a more consistent option than the roller-coaster play those two have provided over the last couple of seasons.
Some other names still available include wingers Joel Kiviranta, Luke Kunin, Craig Smith, and Michael Carcone. Nikolai Kovalenko leads the way among intriguing non-tendered forwards, assuming he doesn’t sign in the KHL. The top defenseman outside of Grzelcyk, both in terms of name value and scoring last season, is Ryan Suter.
Image courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.
Canucks Sign Aleksei Medvedev To Entry-Level Contract
The Canucks have signed goaltender Aleksei Medvedev to an entry-level contract, according to a team press release. The three-year deal is slide-eligible for up to two seasons. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Medvedev, still 17 for another two months, foregoes NCAA eligibility and will presumably play out the remainder of his major junior eligibility as a result. The 6’3″, 181-lb netminder went to Vancouver in the middle of the second round (No. 47 overall) in last month’s draft.
The St. Petersburg, Russia native has been in North America since his early teenage years and jumped to premier junior play with the OHL’s London Knights in 2024-25. He did quite well in backup duties for the OHL and Memorial Cup champions, posting a 2.79 GAA, .912 SV%, three shutouts, and a 22-8-2 record in 34 appearances.
Medvedev did not see ice time in the OHL playoffs or the Memorial Cup tournament. However, he was still named to the OHL’s First All-Rookie Team and received the Dinty Moore Trophy for the best GAA from a rookie.
He will likely spend the next two seasons as London’s starter before making the jump to the pros in the Canucks organization in 2027-28, upon which his entry-level contract would go to effect (unless he plays 10 NHL games in 2025-26 or 2026-27, an unlikely outcome). The Canucks now have a league-high eight goalies under contract, although Medvedev won’t count against the 50-contract limit if he’s in the OHL this season.
Avalanche Sign Josh Manson To Two-Year Extension
The Avalanche have signed defenseman Josh Manson to a two-year extension, the team announced in a press release. The contract carries a $3.95MM cap hit for a total value of $7.9MM, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports (via X).
The deal goes into effect next season and will keep him in Colorado through the 2027-28 campaign. He was entering 2025-26 on the final year of the four-year, $18MM extension he signed to remain with the Avs following their Stanley Cup win in 2022, so he still counts $4.5MM against their cap for this year before his impact reduces by $550K in 2026-27.
Manson has a lengthy but injury-plagued NHL resume. He began his career with Anaheim in the 2014-15 season and grew into a reliable top-four piece over eight seasons there before Colorado acquired him at the 2022 deadline in advance of their championship win. He’s seen his minutes reduced somewhat in Denver but has still spent much of his time there as the No. 2 righty on their depth chart behind superstar Cale Makar.
On multiple occasions, injuries have taken more than half of Manson’s regular-season availability. He only played 27 games in the first year of his extension due to a recurring lower-body injury, and varying issues limited him to 48 appearances last season. He has only played in 61% of the Avs’ regular-season games since his acquisition and has missed roughly one in four games due to injury in his career, a trend positively skewed by four straight seasons with 70-plus appearances early on.
That makes any multi-year extension a risky bet, particularly for a player who will be 34 in October and saw his possession impacts nosedive in 2024-25. The physical stay-at-home defender has largely held up his end of the bargain in helping his team boast the majority of shot attempts while he’s on the ice despite his defensively-minded usage at even strength, but that wasn’t the case last season. Colorado still controlled 51.4% of shot attempts with Manson on the ice, but clicked at 56.2% without him. That difference of -4.8% was the worst in his career outside of his injury-plagued 2020-21 season with the Ducks.
With one year left on his deal, some considered Manson to be trade bait as the Avs looked to create salary cap flexibility. They opted to subtract from their forward group instead, sending Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to the Blue Jackets and augmenting their defensive depth by picking up veteran Brent Burns in free agency. The extension all but ensures he’ll remain in Colorado for the foreseeable future, perhaps for the remainder of his career, given his recent trajectory.
Image courtesy of Robert Edwards-Imagn Images.