Free Agent Focus: Anaheim Ducks
Free agency is just over a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We start our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Ducks.
Key Restricted Free Agents
G Lukas Dostal – Dostal had been viewed as Anaheim’s goalie of the future for some time now. He rewarded the franchise’s faith in spades with a breakout 2024-25 campaign. Now entirely supplanting John Gibson as the team’s No. 1 option between the pipes, his numbers slipped a bit down the stretch but still managed a 23-23-7 record, a .903 SV%, a 3.10 GAA, and one shutout in a career-high 54 appearances behind one of the league’s worst defensive teams. He’s owed a qualifying offer of just $892.5K coming off a cheap partial two-way deal, but will land much more than that on his coming deal, especially with arbitration rights in his back pocket. A one-year bridge likely keeps Dostal in the $4MM range, but for a Ducks club with ample salary cap flexibility, general manager Pat Verbeek could award him something in the $5MM-$6MM range on a mid-term deal if they’re unprepared to go eight years.
F Mason McTavish – McTavish’s game has steadily improved since being drafted third overall in 2021, and this season was no different. While the 22-year-old was robbed of a full 82-game schedule due to a few here-and-there injuries, he still set career-highs with 22 goals, 30 assists, and 52 points in 76 appearances. Now a legitimate top-six center with still room to grow, he’ll significantly outpace the $874,125 qualifying offer he’s owed as he comes off his entry-level deal. A deal in the $4MM range on a shorter-term commitment seems apt if the Ducks are still uncertain about his ceiling. Still, with his linear development so far, he could earn a long-term deal approaching the $7MM mark to lock him in as Anaheim’s No. 2 center behind Leo Carlsson long-term.
F Isac Lundestrom – A first-round pick back in 2018, Lundestrom’s role hasn’t fluctuated much since establishing himself as a full-timer in the shortened 2020-21 campaign. His ice time has steadily decreased as the player they once thought could be a long-term, defensively responsible third-line pivot hasn’t produced the level of offense they’d like for that role. 2024-25 was Lundestrom’s worst offensive performance of his five-year run as a full-time NHLer at just 0.19 points per game (4-11–15 in 79 GP). That’s not to say he’s not valuable – he’s one of the Ducks’ top penalty killers, and his possession metrics this season were passable given his extended defensive zone deployment at 5-on-5. Still, he’s likely more of a high-end fourth-line option long-term than a third-line one. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him accept his $1.5MM qualifying offer as a result, or take a multi-year deal in that range annually to gain some added stability in Anaheim if he desires.
F Brett Leason – Claimed off waivers from the Capitals at the beginning of the 2022-23 season, Leason capped off his third year in Anaheim with nine healthy scratches in 12 games. He was still serviceable in bottom-six minutes, scoring 17 points in 62 games with a minus-two rating in similarly heavy defensive deployment to Lundestrom. Still, he’s at risk of being non-tendered for the second consecutive year. Of course, he signed a one-year, $1.05MM contract on the first day of free agency to return to the Ducks despite not receiving a qualifying offer, but his willingness to do so again may be diminished after his lack of usage to end the campaign.
D Drew Helleson – Helleson, 23, somewhat surprisingly emerged as a roster fixture this year. He didn’t play anywhere close to a full schedule, suiting up 56 times, but remained on the Ducks’ roster for the balance of the season after being recalled from AHL San Diego in mid-November. The 6’3″, 214-lb righty did better than most would have expected given his limited minor-league success, posting 13 points and a plus-six rating in bottom-pairing minutes (16:21 ATOI). A 2019 second-round pick of the Avalanche who was acquired for Josh Manson in 2022, Helleson’s likely earned an opening-night job in the fall. He could even challenge Jacob Trouba for top-four minutes next year since the latter was a non-factor after his early-season acquisition from the Rangers.
Other RFAs: F Judd Caulfield, G Calle Clang, F Sam Colangelo, F Josh Lopina, F Jan Mysak, F Nikita Nesterenko, F Tim Washe
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Robby Fabbri – When healthy, Fabbri has been a decent secondary scorer throughout his nine-year NHL career. However, injuries have been a constant, and this year was no different. Knee surgery and a hand injury took away nearly half of his 2024-25 campaign, and he ended the year with an 8-8–16 scoring line in 44 contests. The 29-year-old has still hit at least 30 points twice in the last four years despite significant absences, which should help his case on the open market. With 2024 No. 3 overall pick Beckett Sennecke pushing for an opening-night job and the Ducks likely to be active in free agency, though, there may not be a fit for him on next year’s team. If they want to retain him, his injury concerns should make him a low-cost pickup around $1MM.
F Brock McGinn – From one injury-prone winger to another, McGinn’s season ended back in December due to ACL reconstruction. His recovery timeline may stretch into next year’s training camp, so his hope will likely be for a PTO opportunity somewhere, which could still be Anaheim, instead of searching for a guaranteed contract. Still, the defensive-minded winger has made just 50 appearances over the last two seasons combined with 11 points and a minus-four rating. They could still want to keep him in the fold with his over 500 games of experience, though, compared to some more unknown quantities in the system as a 13th or 14th forward.
D Oliver Kylington – Acquired at the deadline in what was effectively a three-team deal with the Avalanche and Islanders involving Brock Nelson, Kylington didn’t get much of an opportunity down the stretch in Anaheim. He averaged just 10:48 per game in six appearances, including his time in Colorado, where he spent most of the year in the press box with only 19 appearances to his name. The 28-year-old is now three years removed from his 31-point, +34 campaign with Calgary, and hopes of returning to those heights as a No. 2 left-shot option are slimmer than ever. He’s ticketed for a league-minimum or even two-way deal this summer, and it likely won’t be with the Ducks, who have plenty of young defenseman still to rotate/graduate into NHL minutes.
G Ville Husso – Husso began the season with the Red Wings, where he’d tumbled down to No. 3 on the depth chart and had cleared waivers in the final season of a three-year, $14.25MM contract. Anaheim, who had injuries to their AHL netminders and Gibson missing significant chunks of action, picked him up down the stretch to serve as a veteran backup option for Dostal. He did quite well in the few starts he received, posting a .925 SV% and 2.99 GAA in four appearances. While it’s a small sample size, that could go a long way toward earning Husso a chance at a No. 2 job next year on the open market instead of settling for a two-way deal and likely lengthy AHL assignments.
Other UFAs: F Justin Bailey, G Oscar Dansk, F Carson Meyer
Projected Cap Space
Few teams have more cap space than the Ducks this summer. They check in at $38.7MM, including $2.5MM worth of retention on the final season of Cam Fowler‘s contract. A good amount of that will get eaten up by new deals for Dostal and McTavish, but they’ll still have over $25MM to spend after getting those deals done. As a result, expect them to be active on both the trade and free agent markets this summer as they aim to end their playoff drought at seven years.
Photos courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images (Dostal) and Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images (Fabbri). Contract information courtesy of PuckPedia.
Offseason Checklist: Utah Mammoth
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those already eliminated through the first couple of rounds. Accordingly, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Utah.
A year ago today, the Utah franchise didn’t even have its initial Hockey Club moniker, nor was the sale officially giving Smith Entertainment Group ownership of the deactivated Coyotes franchise hockey operations assets formally complete. They gave their new fans in Salt Lake City an entertaining inaugural season in the Beehive State, but some notable injuries on defense early in the season put them in a hole they couldn’t get out of, and they finished seven points out of a playoff spot. However, with a young core and high-end possession numbers to build on, general manager Bill Armstrong will be looking to add once again to thrust the Mammoth franchise out of its years-long rebuild that started in Arizona. Here’s what he’ll look to do to make that happen.
Start Working On Extensions
While Utah has a mammoth amount of salary cap space to work with this summer (more on that later), it’s never too early to start looking ahead, especially when your No. 1 center is entering the final season of his entry-level contract. That’s the case with 21-year-old Logan Cooley, who took a demonstrable step forward for Utah in the second year of his NHL career this season. There’s no real rush – Cooley is a restricted free agent in the summer of 2026 and won’t be arbitration-eligible. Still, it may be advantageous for all parties involved for the two sides to come to terms on a long-term agreement shortly after he becomes eligible to sign an extension on July 1.
Cooley finished the year second on Utah with 65 points in 75 games and averaged nearly 18 minutes per game, up almost two minutes from his rookie deployment. After a corresponding 0.33 points per game improvement between his sophomore and freshman years, there’s reason to believe he can be a point-per-game threat alongside star winger Clayton Keller or sniper Dylan Guenther in 2025-26. It’s worth noting he did operate at a point-per-game pace over the final 18 games of the campaign with Utah in a playoff race.
Utah’s already shown a willingness to give max-term extensions to their foundational pieces early on. Armstrong did so with Guenther last offseason, awarding him an eight-year, $57.14MM extension after just 78 career appearances over two seasons. He rewarded the club with a 60-point effort in 70 games this season. With Cooley entering his first extension-eligible offseason with more than twice the career games played, it stands to reason Armstrong will have no hesitation in pushing for an eight-year contract.
With the salary cap projected to jump to $104MM for 2026-27, it will likely be pricey. AFP Analytics projects a long-term extension for Cooley at a $9.5MM price tag per season for seven years if signed this offseason. Waiting well into next year, if Cooley continues his upward trajectory, could very well mean he demands a price tag in the $10MM range. It’s likely better for the Mammoth to commit now and get a deal across the finish line to ensure any big free-agent spending this summer is amicable toward their long-term salary cap picture.
Stabilize The Goalie Tandem
2024-25 was a pivotal season for Karel Vejmelka. The 28-year-old netminder was inconsistent over his first three NHL seasons in Arizona but emerged as a legitimate No. 1 for Utah this season, starting 55 games with a .904 SV% and 2.58 GAA and ranking 18th in the league with 14.2 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. He earned a five-year extension in March for his work, which included a stretch of 23 straight starts at the tail end of the season with a playoff spot on the line.
The same can be said for Connor Ingram, but not in the same light. After tying for the league lead in shutouts last year, he started just 22 games and regressed to a .882 SV%, 3.27 GAA, and an -11.6 GSAx that ranked 98th out of 103 NHL goalies this season despite his limited workload. The fallback was understandable. He battled through injuries early in the campaign and also lost his mother. He entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in March, and he remains there today with his status for the beginning of 2025-26 uncertain until the program’s doctors clear him.
With Ingram under contract through next season at $1.95MM, it would make sense for the Mammoth to pursue another backup option in free agency to supplement Vejmelka. Ingram can’t be traded or waived while in the program, although he could be placed on long-term injured reserve to begin the season if he’s expected to miss at least the first 10 games and 24 days of the campaign.
If Ingram returns and plays closer to his 2023-24 form, the UFA pickup can be waived or traded. They already have three minor-league goaltenders signed through next year in Jaxson Stauber, Anson Thornton, and Matt Villalta, so there isn’t a need for another name in the mix with everyone healthy.
Consider Moving Underperforming Forwards
The Mammoth’s first season in Utah was marked by near across-the-board improvement. Wingers Lawson Crouse and Matias Maccelli were notable exceptions to the rule. Crouse, who’s been with the Arizona/Utah skater group for his entire NHL career and had established himself as a consistent 20-goal, 40-point force, dropped off the map entirely in 2024-25. The 6’4″, 214-lb power forward had just 12 goals and 18 points in 81 games and had his ice time slashed along the way. His 13:44 worth of deployment per game was his lowest in five years.
Maccelli’s regression was also quite disappointing. The 24-year-old Finn looked well on his way toward being a top-nine fixture for the franchise after scoring at a 60-point pace over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. He scored just eight goals and 18 points in 55 games this year, though, spending most of the last few months of the campaign as a healthy scratch due to his limited effectiveness in a checking role compared to Crouse.
Both are making significant cash. Crouse is signed through 2026-27 at a $4.3MM cap hit, while Maccelli has one year left on his deal at $3.425MM. The latter is probably worth keeping around and hoping for a bounceback. Trading him now would mean parting ways at the lowest point of his market value, and his signing rights will still be under team control as an RFA in 2026 if they still want to recoup an asset for him. Crouse, who has a much lower offensive ceiling but boasts a more consistent track record, may draw more interest.
Even with the Mammoth expected to be aggressive in free agency this summer, there isn’t a substantial financial urge for them to move either player. It might be more prudent to hope for rebounds for both next year. They have $21.2MM in cap space to fill just three roster spots, per PuckPedia, enough for them to potentially land the top UFA available in Mitch Marner, re-sign their lone notable RFA in Jack McBain, and land another serviceable depth piece on the open market. Mulling a trade for either Crouse or Maccelli would purely stem from fit and roster construction as the motivating factor.
Land A Needle-Moving Forward
Even with Sean Durzi and John Marino missing significant time on defense and their goaltending outside of Vejmelka putting up poor performances, Utah was still league-average defensively in 2024-25. Some natural improvement will come, especially with underlying metrics painting a much rosier picture of their defensive showing at 5-on-5 than their actual goals against indicate.
But the Mammoth, despite boasting five 20-goal scorers, ranked 20th in the league in offense in 2024-25. They have goal-scoring help coming soon in the form of top prospects Daniil But and Tij Iginla, but for a club with cap space to burn and an eagerness to bring postseason hockey to a new market, they’ll be in on the top names on this year’s UFA market.
They’ll consider the top name available in Marner, but landing a center, particularly one with size, might be the priority to serve as a more veritable second-line option behind Cooley. Former top-five pick Barrett Hayton has finally established himself as a quality two-way piece. He hit 20 goals and 46 points this year and averaged north of 16 minutes per game, but he’s likely best served as a No. 3 option long-term on a contending team.
That’s not to say they won’t look at wingers as well. They have an excellent top-three group at present with Guenther, Keller, and Nick Schmaltz, and Iginla and But will likely fill the last second-line winger role in a few years, but their current options of Crouse, Maccelli, or Josh Doan in the 2RW slot leave a little bit of uncertainty. But whether it’s a name like Marner, Sam Bennett, Nikolaj Ehlers, Brock Nelson, or someone else, expect them to have a fresh face near the top end of next year’s lineup to give them an added layer of scoring depth.
Image courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images.
Kings Retaining Marc Bergevin As Senior Advisor
After coming up short for the Islanders’ GM vacancy, Marc Bergevin will remain in his role with the Kings as a senior advisor, John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor reports.
Los Angeles hired Bergevin, 59, midway through the 2021-22 campaign. He’s remained with the team since as one of the top input men for former GM Rob Blake. He’ll now continue to do the same for Ken Holland, whom the Kings installed as the 10th general manager in franchise history earlier this month.
Bergevin’s time with L.A. kicked off shortly after he was relieved of his duties as general manager by the Canadiens, his hometown team. The longtime NHL defenseman spent nearly a decade in the GM’s chair in Montreal after he was hired in advance of the 2012-13 season. He nearly ended up landing the second GM role of his executive career this week. He was one of two finalists for the New York job but was passed over today in favor of Mathieu Darche.
As for the Kings, there are no other indications of any staff changes outside of the Blake/Holland swap. Luc Robitaille remains in his post as team president and alternate governor while the rest of the hockey operations staff, including Bergevin and assistant GM Nelson Emerson, will remain in their posts.
Islanders Name Mathieu Darche General Manager
2:01 p.m.: Darche has been given the title of general manager and executive vice president of hockey operations, the Islanders announced. Giving him a dual title suggests they won’t be hiring another person for oversight, at least not yet – Darche will report directly to ownership. Minority owner John Collins had the following statement:
Mathieu is the perfect choice to lead our hockey operations. He will be given every resource available to put the Islanders first-in-class on the ice, with our business initiatives, and in the community. Mathieu has served as a key member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and has a diverse background in top-level business models. He is a proven winner and is committed, as is our ownership group, to building a group that will be highly competitive next season and beyond.
11:33 a.m.: The Islanders are expected to name Mathieu Darche as their new general manager later today, sources tell Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. The now-former assistant GM of the Lightning was one of two finalists for the role alongside Kings senior advisor and former Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, per multiple reports.
Darche, 48, steps into the GM’s chair for the first time. He has some big shoes to fill, succeeding Hall-of-Fame executive Lou Lamoriello in the role after the Isles announced last month they wouldn’t be renewing his contract.
It’s a quick ascension for Darche, who’s only been in front-office roles for six years. After ending his playing career as an NHL/AHL tweener in 2013, he worked in the private sector before joining the Lightning, where he played a career-high 73 games in the 2007-08 season, as their director of hockey operations for the 2019-20 campaign. Darche kept the role until his departure from the organization today, although the organization added the AGM title to his duties beginning with the 2022-23 campaign.
The Quebec native has gotten plenty of experience as part of the management team of a perennial contender. He was involved in the Lightning’s three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final from 2020 to 2022 and won on his first two tries. While playoff success has evaded Tampa in the years since, they’ve remained a consistent threat in a tough Atlantic Division and have navigated some seismic roster changes like the departure of franchise fixture Steven Stamkos, continually retooling to stay just young enough to extend their championship contention window.
Darche won’t be the only front-office hire the Islanders announce in the coming days. They’re also looking for a president of hockey operations to oversee Darche, hiring two people to replace the dual roles Lamoriello held. That could very well be former Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan, who’d been granted permission to interview with the Isles before Toronto announced they wouldn’t extend his contract.
He’ll be charged with steering the ship through a retool on Long Island that started in the final months of Lamoriello’s tenure. He jettisoned top-six staple Brock Nelson to the Avalanche at the trade deadline but gave their limited prospect pool a huge boost in the form of center Calum Ritchie, a star playmaker with OHL Oshawa whom Colorado drafted 27th overall in 2023, and a 2026 first-round pick. The lottery balls also bounced the Isles’ way to vault them from 10th to first overall in this year’s draft, giving Darche his pick between dynamic two-way defender Matthew Schaefer or star offensive center Michael Misa as the cornerstone of his retool.
Image courtesy of Eric Bolte-Imagn Images.
Golden Knights, Penguins Interested In Maxim Shabanov
Maxim Shabanov has been tabbed as one of the crown jewels of this summer’s international free agency period, although it appears he’s still in the courting stage of NHL offers and isn’t close to a deal. That’s because his season in Russia just recently ended with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, who advanced to the Gagarin Cup Final but lost to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Today, Sergey Demidov of RG and NHL.com reports the Golden Knights and Penguins are two of the clubs that have “closely monitored” Shabanov throughout the season in hopes of landing him on an entry-level contract in the coming weeks.
There’s a natural fit for Shabanov, a 24-year-old right winger, in both organizations. The Golden Knights could use more cost-effective depth scoring with wingers Victor Olofsson, Tanner Pearson, Brandon Saad, and Reilly Smith all slated to become unrestricted free agents this summer. The Penguins, on the other hand, simply want to acquire younger, higher-upside talent to fill out their roster as they retool in the final stages of Sidney Crosby‘s and Evgeni Malkin‘s careers.
There are understandable concerns about Shabanov’s 5’8″, 157-lb frame that almost certainly makes him a winger at the NHL level despite being tested at center in Russia, but he’s coming off a spectacular season with Traktor. He led the team in scoring in the regular season with a 23-44–67 line in 65 games before leading the Gagarin Cup Playoffs with 10 goals and a +14 rating in 21 games.
The Penguins aren’t the only Metropolitan Division team that has an eye on Shabanov. After he got off to a hot start in the early weeks of the 2024-25 KHL season, the Islanders quickly displayed interest in his services, Ethan Sears of the New York Post said at the time. The Isles have had quite recent success with undrafted KHL pickups, hitting on one just last year with winger Maxim Tsyplakov. With a strong Russian presence on the Island in the form of Tsyplakov, Alexander Romanov, and Ilya Sorokin, there’s likely mutual appeal there for Shabanov as he adjusts to the NHL. He’d have Malkin in Pittsburgh, of course, and Pavel Dorofeyev in Vegas as well to help him with the transition.
Cap constraints likely won’t come into the picture, at least not immediately. Shabanov is only eligible for a one-year entry-level contract, so teams know they’ll have to reserve a chunk of change to re-up him in 2026-27 if he pans out for them next season.
Ivan Prosvetov Eyeing NHL Return
CSKA Moscow of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League has released goaltender Ivan Prosvetov from the final two years of his contract to pursue NHL opportunities, according to Pavel Panyshev of Championat. They will retain his KHL rights through the time his deal was initially set to expire in May 2027 if he opts to return home before then.
Prosvetov, 26, will try again to land a full-time NHL roster spot as a backup on an opening-night roster in the fall. A fourth-round pick of the Coyotes in 2018, he spent four pro seasons there before being claimed off waivers by the Avalanche at the beginning of 2023-24. After failing to capture the No. 2 job there and finishing the year in the minors, he returned to his hometown on a three-year deal upon becoming a Group VI unrestricted free agent.
The 6’5″ netminder’s NHL work to date leaves much to be desired. In 19 starts and five relief appearances across four seasons with Arizona and Colorado, he posted an 8-9-2 record with a 3.70 GAA and .881 SV%. His below-average save percentage equates to 15.3 goals allowed above average during that time. His best work came in his longest leash with the Avs one year ago, posting a .895 SV% in 11 appearances before being sent to the minors in January. After the demotion, he also looked like an elite AHL option for the first time with a 2.33 GAA, .921 SV%, two shutouts, and an 11-7-2 record in 21 games for the Colorado Eagles.
Prosvetov’s move to Russia gave him some more momentum. He started the lion’s share of games for CSKA this season and earned KHL Goaltender of the Month honors in November en route to finishing 2024-25 with a 2.32 GAA, .920 SV%, four shutouts, and a 20-16-2 record in 38 games. Those are still above-average numbers in the goalie-friendly KHL and, considering his upward momentum to end his last NHL campaign in the Avs’ system, it makes sense there would be some interest in bringing him back stateside.
Colorado no longer holds his signing rights, so he’s free to talk with any team regarding a one-way or two-way contract for next season and beyond. If he doesn’t find a suitable offer, he’ll presumably return to CSKA for 2025-26.
NHL Announces General Manager Of The Year Finalists
The Jets’ Kevin Cheveldayoff, the Stars’ Jim Nill, and the Panthers’ Bill Zito are the three finalists for this year’s Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, the league announced today.
Unlike most other major league awards, GMOTY honors take playoff performance into account. Voting for the award is also done by a jury of their peers – all 32 NHL GMs, plus a panel of NHL executives, print and broadcast media, comprise the voting, which takes place after the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs concludes.
Cheveldayoff is the relative newbie of the trio in terms of being included among the finalists. It’s his second time making the cut – he previously finished second in GMOTY voting after Winnipeg had its then-best season in franchise history in the 2017-18 campaign. That club had 114 points, a mark this year’s Jets beat by two en route to winning their first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history. This year’s notable moves included promoting Coach of the Year finalist Scott Arniel to the head role last offseason following Rick Bowness‘ retirement as well as acquiring winger Brandon Tanev and defenseman Luke Schenn at the deadline.
His nomination stems more from identifying his core and sticking with it through ups and downs. Most of Winnipeg’s driving forces – namely Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Josh Morrissey – have been there for years and were all drafted under Cheveldayoff.
Nill, meanwhile, is going for a three-peat. He’s already one of just two GMs to win the award twice, alongside former Islanders boss Lou Lamoriello. While he’s wholly responsible for the Dallas core that’s now advanced to three straight Western Conference Finals, his in-season moves may have him well-positioned to take home the honors yet again.
Playoff performance will be a factor here – after Nill traded for and signed Mikko Rantanen to a massive eight-year, $96MM extension at the deadline, he’s returned the favor as the Conn Smythe favorite so far with a playoff-leading 9-11–20 scoring line through 14 games. His draft record among mid-to-late first-round picks in recent years, highlighted by Wyatt Johnston, Jake Oettinger, and Jason Robertson, is arguably the biggest reason they’ve been able to enter their lengthiest contention window since winning the Stanley Cup in 1999.
As for Zito, he’d have won one by now if not for Nill’s reign. He’s a finalist for the third year in a row and the fourth time overall during his stint at the helm of the Panthers. His offseason work, with depth pickups like Nate Schmidt performing well in lieu of big-name players who left in free agency following last year’s Stanley Cup win, already had them well set for a repeat. Acquiring stars Brad Marchand and Seth Jones in separate pre-deadline deals, both of whom have been among the Cats’ best postseason players, is the main reason he finds himself on this year’s list, though.
Michael Sgarbossa Signs With Swiss League’s HC Lugano
Forward Michael Sgarbossa has signed a two-year deal with HC Lugano of the Swiss National League, per a club announcement. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after completing his two-year, two-way deal with the Capitals.
Sgarbossa, 33 in July, has carved out a lengthy pro career as an AHL mainstay and frequent call-up option despite going undrafted. He got his first NHL look with the Avalanche back in the 2012-13 season and played for four organizations in his first six pro seasons, including the Ducks, Panthers, and Jets – all in fringe NHL roles (or none at all, as was the case during his lone season in Winnipeg). He played 48 NHL contests over that span and recorded two goals and 10 points, including a career-high 38 appearances split between Anaheim and Florida in the 2016-17 campaign.
While Sgarbossa never found stability as a full-time NHL roster piece, he did at least find organizational stability for the latter half of his career. After spending the 2017-18 season with the Jets’ AHL affiliate, he signed with Washington in free agency the following summer and has remained in the Capitals’ system since.
He played almost exclusively for Hershey over the first couple of two-way deals he signed, but amid a near point-per-game season in the AHL, he did get more of an extended NHL look in the 2023-24 season. The veteran center slotted in 25 times for Washington down the stretch as the Caps fought for and won a wild-card spot, scoring a career-high four goals while averaging nearly 11 minutes per game.
Sgarbossa only got three NHL reps here in 2024-25, though, and injuries limited him to 35 games on the farm with Hershey. He was still extremely productive when healthy, though – the playmaking pivot notched a 7-24–31 scoring line.
He’s been a remarkably consistent first-line producer for Hershey since his arrival in the Caps’ system in 2018, scoring 268 points in 297 games for the franchise (0.90 per game). A two-time AHL All-Star and a Calder Cup champion with Hershey in 2023 (he didn’t play in the playoffs when the Bears won in 2024), he pauses his North American minor-league career after recording a 165-302–467 scoring line in 609 AHL games over the last 13 years. Since Sgarbossa made his pro debut in 2012, only eight players have recorded more AHL points than he has.
He’ll now join a Lugano team that was on the brink of relegation to the second-tier Swiss League but won their play-out series to extend their 42-year stay in the top level. They’ve been active in inking productive veteran AHLers this offseason, also signing defenseman Connor Carrick a few weeks back.
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby Signs Three-Year Deal In Sweden
Jets pending unrestricted free agent winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby has signed a three-year contract with Brynas IF of the Swedish Hockey League, the club announced Friday.
Jonsson-Fjallby, 27, didn’t see any NHL time this season after clearing waivers and heading to AHL Manitoba during training camp. He’s wrapping up a two-year, partial two-way deal he signed in free agency with Winnipeg in 2023 and earned the full league-minimum $775K salary this year despite not receiving any callups.
It was the first season that Jonsson-Fjallby hadn’t touched NHL ice since making his debut with the Capitals in the 2021-22 campaign. A fifth-round pick by Washington back in 2016, he was claimed off waivers by the Jets at the beginning of the 2022-23 season and has remained in the Winnipeg organization since.
Not too long ago, it looked like the speedy 6’0″ winger had what it takes to be an everyday bottom-six forward. He appeared in a career-high 50 games with Winnipeg in 2022-23 following the waiver claim, averaging 10:27 per game but still managing to record six goals and eight assists for 14 points. AJF only got 26 NHL games the following year, though, as he passed through waivers unclaimed and bounced between the majors and minors.
His chances of making an NHL comeback likely ended with a poor showing in Manitoba this season. After hovering well north of a 0.7 points per game rate in the prior few years, Jonsson-Fjallby produced an underwhelming 12-15–27 scoring line in 65 showings for the Moose, just 0.42 points per game. As such, it would have made little sense for Jonsson-Fjallby to hold out hope for a two-way deal as a UFA this summer when there was a much more stable offer waiting for him back home in Sweden.
There aren’t many better places for a potential resurgence overseas for Jonsson-Fjallby than Brynas, which just took home the top spot in the SHL in the regular season. His previous top-flight experience in Sweden came with Djurgardens IF from 2016 to 2019, recording an 8-19–27 scoring line in 102 games there as a youngster.
Including his time in Washington, Jonsson-Fjallby has a 10-13–23 scoring line with a plus-five rating in 99 career NHL games.
Daniil Pylenkov Hoping To Sign Entry-Level Deal With Lightning
Four years after being drafted by the Lightning in the seventh round, Russian defenseman Daniil Pylenkov is ready to come to North America and hopes to land his entry-level contract with Tampa this offseason, he told RG’s Daria Tuboltseva.
The 24-year-old lefty said he’s already had dialogue with Bolts GM Julien BriseBois, but a deal isn’t imminent yet. “He said they’re waiting for me. Nothing specific yet, but we’re in contact,” Pylenkov told Tuboltseva.
Pylenkov was the first of three seventh-round selections BriseBois’ Lightning made in 2021. He’d been passed over twice already – his late September 2000 birthday means he was first eligible for the 2019 draft. But by the time 2021 had rolled around, Pylenkov had two full professional seasons under his belt with the KHL’s Vityaz Podolsk and was coming off a five-goal, 19-point performance for them in 54 games.
The 6’1″, 196-lb rearguard has bounced around the KHL since being drafted, spending time with SKA St. Petersburg, Severstal Cherepovets, and Dynamo Moscow. The latter club is where he’s spent the last two seasons and enjoyed the most success. This year was far and away the best campaign of his career, leading Dynamo defensemen in points with a 6-25–31 scoring line and a +14 rating. He added seven points in 17 postseason games as Dynamo was bounced by Gagarin Cup runners-up Traktor Chelyabinsk in the third round of the playoffs.
“I understand I’ll have to compete fiercely for a spot,” Pylenkov said. “Two years ago, Tampa had a deeper defense lineup. Now there’s an opportunity, but the adaptation will be tougher since the guys who joined last year have already gained experience. It’ll be harder for me to adjust to Tampa’s style than it was for them.”
There is an opportunity for Pylenkov to work his way into NHL games next season, though. His being a left shot doesn’t make him a cut-and-dry replacement for pending UFA righty Nick Perbix, but a strong enough training camp could help him leapfrog or at least find himself on equal footing with third-pairing lefty Emil Lilleberg.