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Sharks Expected To Non-Tender Noah Gregor

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The Sharks will not issue a qualifying offer to center Noah Gregor, per Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. He will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

This will be Gregor’s third straight offseason with a non-tender. He was initially a fourth-round pick of the Sharks back in 2016 but was not given a qualifying offer by San Jose in 2023, leading to him signing a one-year deal with the Maple Leafs in free agency. Toronto also declined to qualify him, after which he landed with the Senators for the 2024-25 season. The Sharks brought him back to the organization in the deadline deal that saw Fabian Zetterlund head to Ottawa, but his second stint in the Bay Area will be short-lived.

The quick-footed Gregor first arrived in the NHL with the Sharks in the 2019-20 campaign, his first in the pros. While he bounced between the NHL and AHL his first two seasons in the organization, he established himself as a full-timer in 2021-22 with a 23-point showing in 63 games while averaging nearly 15 minutes per night, all of which still stand as career highs. While a proper depth offensive presence at times, he’s yet to provide the scoring punch necessary to elevate himself out of a bottom-six or even fourth-line role.

This season marked something of a new low for Gregor. He never gelled in Ottawa after signing a one-year, $850K deal there when free agency opened. He dealt with injuries and was limited to just six points and a -12 rating in 40 games when healthy, averaging 11:21 per game. He also had just one assist and a minus-nine rating in 12 showings with San Jose after the trade. His non-tender is an unsurprising one as the Sharks look to create roster flexibility for more impactful free agent signings and young players graduating to NHL roles.

While he hasn’t seen AHL action in over three years, a two-way deal seems likely for Gregor on the open market this season following his tough 2024-25 showing and burgeoning journeyman reputation. There’s still some late bloomer potential as he turns 27 in July, but he’ll have to work on rounding out his offensive skillset beyond just strong skating ability.

Capitals Re-Sign Henrik Rybinski To Two-Way Deal

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The Capitals have retained pending RFA forward Henrik Rybinski on a two-way deal for 2025-26, the team announced Thursday. He’ll make the league minimum $775K salary if he’s in the NHL and a $130K salary in the minors.

It’s a nice birthday present for Rybinski, who turns 24 today. He’s yet to make his NHL debut but has spent the last three seasons developing in AHL Hershey after signing his entry-level contract in March 2022. That deal was due to expire this summer, making him a restricted free agent, but he’ll get some offseason business early out of the way with an extension.

Rybinski signs a deal that carries a lower NHL salary and cap hit than his $813,750 qualifying offer would have provided, but does land a higher AHL salary in the process. That’s the more important number for him since he’s not anticipated to spend much of any time on the NHL roster in 2025-26. He is coming off a nice year in Hershey, though, posting a career-high 10-25–35 scoring line with a +11 rating in 60 games.

The two-time Calder Cup champion with the Bears will now get another season to show the Caps what he can do. He was initially a fifth-round pick by the Panthers back in 2019, but they opted not to sign him to an entry-level deal, and his signing rights expired two years later. Washington ended up picking him up in free agency after he scored 65 points in 47 games for the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds in 2021-22.

Since Rybinski will turn 25 by next July 1 and has accrued three seasons of professional experience, he’ll almost certainly be a Group VI unrestricted free agent next summer, so this was Washington’s last summer with control over Rybinski’s rights. The only way they can avoid making him UFA-eligible next summer is by playing him in 80 NHL games next season, a highly unlikely scenario.

Blue Jackets Acquire Brendan Gaunce From Wild

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The Blue Jackets have acquired center Brendan Gaunce from the Wild in exchange for right-winger Cameron Butler, the team announced Thursday.

Gaunce, 31, begins his second stint in Columbus after spending one season in Minnesota. The Wild signed him to a two-year, two-way deal on the opening day of free agency last year after spending three seasons in the Blue Jackets organization, primarily with AHL Cleveland. He only made 12 NHL appearances, posting one point and a minus-four rating while averaging 9:42 of ice time per game.

He spent the bulk of the season down with AHL Iowa when he wasn’t in the Twin Cities as an injury call-up. There, he posted a 15-14–29 scoring line in 39 games while posting a -16 rating and serving as an alternate captain. That was one of the better stat lines on a weak Iowa club this year, and his 0.74 points per game was higher than his career average of 0.69 over 382 minor-league games over the course of his lengthy professional career.

As for Butler, the 23-year-old gets a fresh start after a rocky beginning to his professional career. Columbus signed him as an undrafted free agent following a 55-point season with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals in 2022-23. He’s struggled to even hold down a regular AHL role in Cleveland, though, posting just 11 points in 91 games over the last three years. He only appeared in 37 out of 72 possible games last season and was looking like a strong non-tender candidate when his entry-level contract expires following the 2025-26 campaign. He’ll now look for more ice time in Iowa as the 6’4″, 209-lb power winger looks to get his development back on track.

Bruins, Henri Jokiharju Having Extension Talks

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The Bruins are making an attempt to sign right-shot defenseman Henri Jokiharju to a new deal before he hits the open market next Tuesday, general manager Don Sweeney told reporters (via Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub).

“We have a need on the right side, no doubt about that,” Sweeney said. Boston acquired Jokiharju, 26, from the Sabres at the trade deadline for a 2026 fourth-round pick. It was a peculiar move for a team selling off high-priced assets at the time, but they simply needed NHL-experienced bodies on their blue line to make it through the last few weeks of the season after dealing away Brandon Carlo and losing Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy to injuries, robbing them of their top three rearguards.

While this offseason will ideally provide enough time for Lindholm and McAvoy to be 100% entering training camp and lead to a reset for the rest of the roster, it makes sense the Bruins would want to at least entertain the idea of retaining Jokiharju after surrendering an asset for him just a few months ago. While the 6’0″ Finn would typically be too young to test unrestricted free agency under non-Group VI status, he came into the league as a teenager with the Blackhawks in 2018-19 and has thus accrued seven years of service time. That puts him to UFA status this summer, regardless of his age.

Jokiharju had a tough year offensively, producing 10 points in 60 games. That tied for the worst points-per-game output of his career at 0.17. He’s more of a two-way threat, though, and the 29th overall pick of the 2017 draft wasn’t projected as a big point-getter in the NHL. Defensively, Jokiharju showed a lot to like after the trade. He closed the year with a plus-seven rating in 18 games for Boston, backed up by a strong 50.7 CF% on an understaffed team in difficult deployment. He averaged 21:22 per game, which would have been the second-highest mark of his career over a full season.

There’s a clear fit for him as a fine second-pairing option to help anchor youngster Mason Lohrei or in more sheltered third-pairing minutes if Boston can make a more notable addition on the right side, too, bumping Andrew Peeke to the press box or waivers. There won’t be many options to replace him on the open market if he walks, unless the Bruins make themselves a legitimate contender for a name like Aaron Ekblad or Dante Fabbro (assuming either even gets to the market). That will give Jokiharju some leverage in talks, though. If he hits the open market, AFP Analytics projects he’ll earn a three-year deal worth $3.6MM per season. That’s a little pricey for a player who struggled to hold down a role on an underperforming Buffalo roster in the past couple of years, but he has shown top-four competency in flashes and might still have some room for growth in his game, unlike his older UFA peers.

Golden Knights To Extend Reilly Smith

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Pending UFA winger Reilly Smith will sign an extension with the Golden Knights instead of testing the market, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Wednesday. It’s a one-year deal worth $2MM, half of which will be paid via signing bonus, according to PuckPedia. The contract also includes a full no-trade clause.

The 34-year-old’s second stint in Vegas will last longer than a few months. The Knights reacquired the familiar face, who played for the club in its first six seasons and won the Stanley Cup with them in 2023, from the Rangers at the trade deadline in exchange for prospect Brendan Brisson and a third-round pick.

It’s been rough for the veteran winger since the Knights made him a cap casualty in the days following their Cup win. Vegas had signed him to a three-year, $15MM extension the year prior, but they needed to make room for new deals for goaltender Adin Hill and the younger and more productive Ivan Barbashev on the wing. Smith had limited trade protection, so he was dealt to the Penguins, not one of his preferred destinations, for a third-rounder.

While Smith’s 40 points in 76 games for Pittsburgh were fine, it was a sharp decline from his 56 points the year prior. He only had 13 goals, tied for his lowest tally in a season since establishing himself as a full-time NHLer with the Bruins in 2013-14. The Penguins, looking to get younger and shed salary, traded Smith to the Rangers last summer while retaining some of his contract. His point totals were similarly middling in New York as the team struggled in general, posting a 10-19–29 scoring line in 58 games before getting traded back to Vegas. He finished the year with 11 points and a +11 rating in 21 games for the Knights, although only three of those points were goals. He was also limited to three goals and an assist in 11 postseason outings.

Aside from a blip in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign, Smith was a routine 20-goal, 50-point scorer in his heyday with Vegas. Barring what would be a surprising resurgence given his age, those days are behind him. He’s still a useful depth scorer on a team that needs them, but it would probably benefit both sides if his ice time dropped from the 15 minutes per game he was still seeing last year to give him more favorable matchups. He also didn’t see much power-play time for Vegas after his reacquisition; that could change in 2025-26, depending on how aggressive a makeover the Knights’ forward group receives in the coming weeks.

Clearly, Smith’s priority was staying in Vegas. He leaves some money on the table in exchange for contractually guaranteed team stability, unless he struggles and ends up on waivers. Vegas now has $7.615MM in cap space remaining with Nicolas Hague as their only super notable RFA to re-sign, and he’s on the trade block. They’ve got five roster spots to fill, though, so that might be a tight fit barring a cap-clearing trade. There’s also the potential of defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, signed through 2026-27 at an $8.8MM cap hit, starting the season on long-term injured reserve after playing injured last year.

Image courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

2025 Composite NHL Preseason Schedule

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The Capitals, Blackhawks, Stars, Wild, Blues, Jets, Flames, Oilers, Kraken, and Canucks are the teams who have still yet to announce their preseason rosters. For everyone else, we’ve compiled their announcements into a composite schedule here. All times are in CT.

* – denotes split squad game

Sunday, Sept. 21

TBD: Avalanche* at Mammoth*
TBD: Mammoth* at Avalanche*
12:00 p.m.: Rangers at Devils
2:00 p.m.: Panthers* at Predators*
2:00 p.m.: Maple Leafs at Senators
4:00 p.m.: Blues at Blue Jackets
4:00 p.m.: Capitals at Bruins
5:00 p.m.: Ducks at Kings (Toyota Arena, Ontario, Calif.)
6:00 p.m.: Flyers at Islanders
6:00 p.m.: Panthers* at Predators*
7:00 p.m.: Golden Knights at Sharks

Monday, Sept. 22

6:00 p.m.: Lightning at Hurricanes
6:00 p.m.: Sabres at Blue Jackets
6:00 p.m.: Penguins at Canadiens
9:00 p.m.: Mammoth at Ducks

Tuesday, Sept. 23

6:00 p.m.: Blue Jackets at Sabres
6:00 p.m.: Islanders at Devils
6:00 p.m.: Bruins at Rangers
6:00 p.m.: Flyers at Canadiens
6:00 p.m.: Blackhawks at Red Wings
6:00 p.m.: Lightning at Predators
6:00 p.m.: Senators at Maple Leafs
9:00 p.m.: Kings at Golden Knights

Wednesday, Sept. 24

5:00 p.m.: Panthers at Hurricanes
6:00 p.m.: Penguins at Blue Jackets
9:00 p.m.: Kings at Ducks

Thursday, Sept. 25

6:00 p.m.: Islanders at Rangers
6:00 p.m.: Flyers at Capitals
6:00 p.m.: Sabres at Red Wings
6:00 p.m.: Maple Leafs at Canadiens
9:00 p.m.: Mammoth at Golden Knights

Friday, Sept. 26

6:00 p.m.: Hurricanes at Lightning
6:00 p.m.: Devils at Islanders
6:00 p.m.: Red Wings at Penguins
9:00 p.m.: Golden Knights at Sharks

Saturday, Sept. 27

2:00 p.m.: Red Wings at Sabres
4:00 p.m.: Bruins at Flyers
5:00 p.m.: Ducks at Kings (Dignity Health Arena, Bakersfield, Calif.)
6:00 p.m.: Blue Jackets at Penguins
6:00 p.m.: Canadiens at Maple Leafs
6:00 p.m.: Predators at Lightning
6:00 p.m.: Stars at Avalanche

Sunday, Sept. 28

2:00 p.m.: Devils* at Senators (Videotron Centre, Quebec City, Que.)
2:00 p.m.: Capitals at Devils*
6:00 p.m.: Predators at Hurricanes

Monday, Sept. 29

5:00 p.m.: Hurricanes at Panthers
6:00 p.m.: Rangers at Islanders
6:00 p.m.: Flyers at Bruins
6:00 p.m.: Penguins at Red Wings
9:00 p.m.: Sharks at Ducks

Tuesday, Sept. 30

6:00 p.m.: Capitals at Blue Jackets
6:00 p.m.: Panthers at Lightning (Kia Center, Orlando, Fla.)
6:00 p.m.: Canadiens at Senators (Videotron Centre, Quebec City, Que.)
7:00 p.m.: Red Wings at Blackhawks
7:00 p.m.: Golden Knights at Avalanche
8:00 p.m.: Kings at Mammoth (Idaho Central Arena, Boise, Idaho)

Wednesday, Oct. 1

6:00 p.m.: Penguins at Sabres
8:00 p.m.: Avalanche at Golden Knights
9:00 p.m.: Ducks at Sharks

Thursday, Oct. 2

6:00 p.m.: Devils at Rangers
6:00 p.m.: Islanders at Flyers
6:00 p.m.: Bruins at Capitals
6:00 p.m.: Red Wings at Maple Leafs
6:00 p.m.: Panthers at Lightning
7:00 p.m.: Senators at Blues
8:00 p.m.: Kings at Mammoth

Friday, Oct. 3

6:00 p.m.: Sabres at Penguins
9:00 p.m.: Sharks at Golden Knights

Saturday, Oct. 4

1:00 p.m.: Rangers at Bruins
2:00 p.m.: Devils at Flyers
3:00 p.m.: Hurricanes at Predators
3:00 p.m.: Ducks at Kings
5:00 p.m.: Avalanche at Stars
6:00 p.m.: Blue Jackets at Capitals
6:00 p.m.: Maple Leafs at Red Wings
6:00 p.m.: Lightning at Panthers
6:00 p.m.: Senators at Canadiens
8:00 p.m.: Sharks at Mammoth

AHL Notes: Pitlick, Gibson, Utica

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The Oilers’ AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, announced Wednesday they’ve signed forwards Rem Pitlick and Rhett Pitlick to one-year and two-year contracts, respectively. Both are still free agents in the NHL’s eyes, but will have a secure playing role in the pros in Edmonton’s system next season.

Rem, 28, is the older of the two brothers and has the NHL experience to show for it. He’s produced quite well in limited minutes when given the chance but has never found a stable home, suiting up for the Predators, Canadiens, Wild, and Blackhawks in parts of five seasons from 2018-19 to 2023-24. He’s managed a 21-33–54 scoring line in 132 career games, but despite that solid production, he didn’t land an NHL contract for 2024-25. He didn’t sign anywhere until February, when he inked an AHL contract with the Sharks’ affiliate. He finished the year with two goals and 13 points in 18 games, a diminished output from the point-per-game rate he’s hovered around in the minors over the past few years.

He’s joined by his younger brother, Rhett. The 24-year-old was a fifth-round pick by the Canadiens in 2019, but they relinquished his signing rights last offseason. Instead of turning pro following three years at the University of Minnesota, he transferred to Minnesota State for his senior season. He led the Mavericks with 27 assists, 40 points, and a +32 rating in 39 games en route to a CCHA regular-season and tournament championship. He was also named to the conference’s First All-Star Team and was dubbed CCHA Forward of the Year. He finished the season on a tryout with Bakersfield, notching six assists in six games with a plus-eight rating. Both are strong candidates to get NHL contracts from the Oilers at some point next season if they perform well and move up their list of potential call-ups.

Other notable news out of the AHL:

  • It’s unclear if the Capitals plan on issuing a qualifying offer to pending RFA goalie Mitchell Gibson, but the depth netminder will be staying in the organization next season regardless. He’s agreed to a one-year contract with the Hershey Bears, per a club announcement. Gibson, 26, was a fourth-round pick by the Caps in 2018 and turned pro in 2023 following four seasons at Harvard. He’s spent the vast majority of his pro career down a level with ECHL South Carolina but has made three appearances for the Bears in the past two years, recording a 1.95 GAA and .920 SV% in the process. He also did quite well in limited ECHL action this past season with a .933 SV% and 1.75 GAA in 14 games for the Stingrays. That may be enough to land him a full-time AHL job as a backup with Hershey in 2025-26 without taking up a contract slot on Washington’s books, particularly if the club doesn’t plan on re-signing UFA Hunter Shepard.
  • The Devils announced that the coaching staff for their affiliate, the Utica Comets, is set in stone for next season. Ryan Parent will stay on as head coach after taking over for Kevin Dineen on an interim basis early last year. They had a 31-33-6-2 record after the coaching change following a 0-8-1 start under Dineen. The club also promoted player development coach Mark Voakes to an assistant role under Parent and hired former NHL defenseman Matt Carkner as his other assistant. Utica’s goaltending coach, Brian Eklund, remains in his post.

Offseason Checklist: Edmonton Oilers

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The offseason has arrived with the draft and free agency fast approaching.  Accordingly, it’s time to look at what each team needs to accomplish this summer.  Next up is a look at Edmonton.

Like usual, the Oilers were one of the league’s streakier teams in the regular season. They had a couple of ruts, and although they weren’t as offensively dominant as they were in years past, they still managed third place in the Pacific Division with a 101-point season. That didn’t mean much as the Oilers dominated their way to the Stanley Cup Final, going 12-4 in the first three rounds before losing the championship series to the Panthers for the second season in a row. General manager Stan Bowman now has to navigate another offseason of limited spending flexibility in Edmonton while having some must-needed improvements to make.

Lock Up Bouchard

The Oilers haven’t had many impact players arrive through the draft since Connor McDavid ended their string of high-end picks (for the most part) in 2015. They have hit on one of them, though, selecting defenseman Evan Bouchard 10th overall back in 2018.

Bouchard became a full-time NHL player in 2021-22 and had a good rookie season with 12 goals and 43 points, averaging nearly 20 minutes per game. He took a small step back offensively in his sophomore campaign, putting up 40 points in 82 games, but found a new gear in the postseason as he posted 17 points in just 12 games to lead the 2023 postseason in scoring among defensemen despite Edmonton being eliminated in the second round. That was a sign of things to come, but the cap-strapped Oilers opted to bridge him upon expiry of his entry-level contract that summer, signing him to a two-year, $7.8MM deal instead of freeing up space to commit to Bouchard long-term.

That’s a decision that may come back to haunt them. Now an RFA again, Bouchard has finished top 11 in Norris Trophy voting each of the last two seasons and, while he has some visible defensive faults, plays an elite possession game and has established himself as one of the league’s top offensive rearguards. He’s scored 149 points in his last 163 games, averaged a career-high 23:28 per game in 2024-25, and he’s one of the most productive playoff defensemen in league history. Among D-men with at least 50 postseason games, his 1.08 points per game are second only to Bobby Orr’s 1.24.

There’s no other option here besides a max-term extension for Bouchard, and they need to do it quickly to avoid the threat of a short-term offer sheet with a high AAV that would be too prohibitive to match. According to AFP Analytics, that deal is projected to cost the Oilers in the high $10MM range per season. They did themselves a favor today by opening up $5.125MM in cap space by trading Evander Kane to the Canucks with no salary retention. Still, they likely need to make another cap-clearing move, too – potentially underperforming winger Viktor Arvidsson and his $4MM cap hit – to be able to sign Bouchard and make some other roster alterations comfortably.

Work On McDavid Extension

There’s been little doubt in the past few seasons that this summer would result in a max-term extension for McDavid to avoid any talk of a free-agency departure in 2026 and restore his place as the league’s highest-paid player. After a second straight Cup Final loss, though, doubt has crept into public opinion. Those fires were stoked more over the weekend when Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported that no deal was expected to come across the wire in the near future and that it may not be an eight-year deal if it gets done. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug added that informal negotiations will begin this week, but they’re not close to a position of exchanging initial numbers.

Those talks come after somewhat of a down season for the 28-year-old. He dealt with injuries and a suspension that limited him to 67 games, his lowest total in an 82-game schedule since a collarbone fracture limited him to 46 appearances in his rookie campaign. Of course, a “down season” for the best player in the world still means 74 assists and 100 points, even if his 0.39 goals per game were his lowest total since the 2016-17 campaign. 2024-25 also marked the first time McDavid went without a First Team All-Star selection in back-to-back seasons.

Nonetheless, he will assuredly eclipse teammate Leon Draisaitl’s $14MM cap hit and once again become the league’s highest-paid player sometime in the next 12 months, no matter the team and no matter the length of the contract. Draisaitl signed his extension for 14.67% of the salary cap – if McDavid signs for 15% at the projected $104MM for 2026-27, that would mean a $15.6MM cap hit. He’ll likely get even more – AFP Analytics’ extension projection is a four-year deal at $16.35MM per season, a reasonable bet if he opts for a bridge deal to maximize his career flexibility, particularly if the Oilers enter next season with a weaker roster.

It all comes down to how soon and for how long McDavid is willing to commit to Edmonton. They’ll almost certainly write him a blank check, so the ball will be in his court throughout extension talks. Winning a championship, not cash, will be his top priority. While that gives the Oilers some leverage, they at least need to provide McDavid with the hope/promise that Edmonton is his best chance of winning a Stanley Cup.

Improve Goaltending Situation

Saying goaltending has been an issue for Edmonton in recent years would be an understatement. They haven’t had a legitimate No. 1 netminder since Cam Talbot’s brief peak from 2015 to 2018. Stuart Skinner has been a high-ceiling option at times, but at least so far, simply doesn’t have the game-to-game consistency to get Edmonton to their first Cup win since 1990.

He’s also coming off an exceptionally difficult 2024-25 campaign. His .896 SV% in the regular season was a career-low among his seasons as a full-timer, and that figure dropped to an .889 mark in the postseason. The Oilers faced enough high-profile offensive clubs that Skinner was actually still a league-average goalie compared to the quality he faced, but the last team to win a championship without high-end playoff goaltending was the Avalanche in 2022.

Skinner is still an extremely cost-effective option for the club at a $2.6MM cap hit, though, as is backup Calvin Pickard for $1MM. They’re both entering the final year of their contracts and will be UFAs in 2026. Neither warrants entering extension discussions now with much bigger fish to fry in Edmonton. It might make sense for the Oilers to trade away one of them – either in an in-kind trade for an upgrade or to help open space to pursue the top UFA option in veteran Jake Allen. Either way, it’s hard to imagine Edmonton running things back with the same tandem in 2025-26.

Look At Depth Scoring Upgrades

The Oilers were one of the more active teams in free agency last summer, at least in terms of the volume of signings meant for the NHL roster. They were all veteran wingers on short-term deals, namely Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, while also retaining Corey Perry. Aside from the last name, those pickups didn’t work out. Both Arvidsson and Skinner were healthy scratches in the playoffs, and neither one had more than 30 points in the regular season.

Their cap situation dictates they’ll need to take a similar approach this summer. They’ll need to be better at identifying who has the upward mobility to play with McDavid or Draisaitl, though, and should be open to younger reclamation projects as well. They’ve already added some cheap insurance in the form of reigning SHL scoring leader David Tomasek on the open market, but will look for NHL-experienced options too as cap space allows. There’s an extension in the works for deadline acquisition Trent Frederic, which should go a long way toward solidifying their middle-six group if he can rediscover his 40-point ceiling.

Image courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

Canucks Acquire Evander Kane From Oilers

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11:01 a.m.: The trade call is complete, and the Oilers have now announced the deal.

10:01 a.m.: The Oilers and Canucks are working on a trade that would send winger Evander Kane to Vancouver if completed, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Wednesday. Kane has confirmed the move himself on his X account. The Canucks are sending the Senators’ 2025 fourth-round pick (No. 117 overall) to Edmonton in return, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

Kane had frequently been speculated as a trade candidate in the days since the Oilers lost their second consecutive Stanley Cup Final. Edmonton requires additional salary cap flexibility this summer to iron out a new deal for restricted free agent defenseman Evan Bouchard while reserving space for potential depth scoring and goaltending upgrades.

The 33-year-old winger is entering the final season of the four-year, $20.5MM contract he signed with the Oilers in 2022, which carries a $5.125MM cap hit. Edmonton is not retaining any of his salary, per Ryan Rishaug of TSN. Kane had a 16-team approved trade list as protection, but it doesn’t appear that was a hiccup for today’s move. Vancouver, Kane’s hometown, was his preferred destination if traded, LeBrun reports.

Kane’s move comes amid an active league inquiry into the Oilers’ handling of his surgeries and subsequent long-term injured reserve placement that kept him out for the entire 2024-25 regular season. The 6’2″ lefty underwent a wide-ranging abdominal/hip surgery last offseason but waited until the beginning of training camp to do so, keeping him sidelined until an expected January return.

Edmonton then announced shortly before he was due to return that Kane needed knee surgery, which paused his recovery from the previous surgery and added weeks to his return timeline. He wasn’t cleared to return until Game 2 of the first round, and the Oilers used the cap space Kane’s LTIR placement created to acquire defenseman Jake Walman from the Sharks in the week before the trade deadline. That surgery was recently reported as addressing a congenital issue, raising concerns with the league about the team’s decision to have him undergo the surgery at that point.

Upon returning to action in the playoffs, Kane’s performance was as expected. Even for his injury troubles and disciplinary concerns – he led the Oilers with 44 PIMs in the postseason – he’s still an extremely effective top-nine scorer and posted a 6-6–12 scoring line in 21 games. His defensive impacts continue to drag on his value, though. While never a stalwart shutdown winger by any stretch, his possession play was historically competent enough to help compensate for his defensive faults. That hasn’t been the case during his last couple of seasons in Edmonton, though, and it was especially apparent in the playoffs. Kane’s 45.5 CF% at even strength was 16th out of 23 Oilers skaters, while his relative impact of -6.5% was 18th.

That won’t be of enormous concern to Vancouver, though, especially with just one season left on his deal. The Canucks desperately needed to acquire scoring depth this offseason, and they’ll accomplish that in a pure form with Kane’s pickup. He’s averaged 29 goals and 54 points per 82 games over his 16-year NHL career. Those numbers would have put him in the team lead in goals and second in points last season. Vancouver only averaged 2.84 goals per game, 23rd in the league. Health is a legitimate concern – Kane’s only topped the 70-game mark once in the last five seasons – but with no long-term financial risk and a minimal acquisition cost, it’s a risk worth taking.

Kane should be penciled into a top-six role in Vancouver. He could even see increased minutes as a top-line wing option for Elias Pettersson, particularly with the Canucks expected to lose Brock Boeser in free agency next week.

As for the Canucks’ salary cap picture, they’re down to just over $7MM in space but have just one roster spot to fill assuming depth names like Linus Karlsson and youngsters like Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Victor Mancini get cracks on the opening night roster in the fall. While Boeser won’t be back in the picture, they have the flexibility to iron out an extension to keep center Pius Suter off the UFA market if they choose.

Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV was the first to report that the Oilers received a mid-round draft pick in return for Kane.

Image courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.

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