Capitals Unlikely To Hold Offseason Extension Talks With John Carlson
When the Capitals signed Jakob Chychrun to a massive eight-year, $72MM extension in March, most thought he’d been locked in as their succession plan to John Carlson as the team’s No. 1 defenseman. That appears to be the case, as Capitals general manager Chris Patrick told reporters today they’re in no rush to begin extension talks with Carlson as he enters the final season of his deal, the AP’s Stephen Whyno relays.
Carlson will be 37 years old in the summer of 2026 after wrapping up the eight-year, $64MM extension he signed following Washington’s Stanley Cup win in 2018. He’s coming off another strong offensive campaign en route to a regular-season conference crown for the Caps, leading Washington defensemen and ranking seventh on the team in points with a 5-46–51 scoring line in 79 games.
But the two-time All-Star and the 2020 Norris Trophy runner-up still isn’t producing anywhere near his 2018-2022 peak, during which he averaged 0.91 points per game. While still a legitimate top-four threat, there’s understandable hesitancy about continuing to bill him as their leader in ice time among rearguards as the offensive-minded Carlson enters his 17th NHL season, all with Washington.
It’s likely the Caps remain intent on extending Carlson as long as he’s willing and effective, but they’ll want to get a glimpse of what he looks like to kick off the 2025-26 season before zeroing in on the money and term they’re willing to offer him. Patrick got a ton of long-term business done during the season, but they still have Martin Fehervary and Connor McMichael on expiring deals and due considerable raises when Carlson’s deal is up in the summer of 2026. Alex Ovechkin‘s deal is up then as well, but he’ll presumably either retire or re-sign at a significantly lower price than his current $9.5MM cap hit.
Holding off on a Carlson deal allows the Caps a bit more peace of mind when making moves this summer too – they won’t limit their longer-term cap space when considering trade pickups or free agent signings. Regardless, their ability to be major players in free agency without some unanticipated pre-July 1 trades will be limited. They’ve got nearly their entire roster fleshed out for next season already with 21 of 23 roster spots filled. They do have $8.6MM to burn on those two spots, though.
Regardless, expect some of Carlson’s minutes (23:34 ATOI in 2024-25) to be shifted to Chychrun (21:04 ATOI) next season as the transition begins. It’s also worth noting that the Chychrun-Carlson pairing fared the worst defensively out of any Capitals regular defense pairing this year, allowing 2.85 expected goals against per 60 minutes (according to MoneyPuck).
Image courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.
Snapshots: Blashill, Braun, Misa, Niederreiter
Lightning assistant Jeff Blashill isn’t just the only name firmly linked to the Blackhawks’ vacancy this summer; he’s becoming the clear favorite for the role, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet on today’s 32 Thoughts podcast. Talk around the league sprouted up aggressively this week after Blashill canceled an interview he had with another club about their opening.
“I heard on Friday morning that he was in as the head coach of Chicago,” Friedman said. “I started asking around and had a couple [of] people tell me it’s too soon… that would be premature.”
It’s premature because the Blackhawks also have a strong interest in someone on the staff of a recently eliminated team, Friedman said. “It’s possible that one of the reasons there has been a bit of a delay is somebody who is central to the process with the Blackhawks was not available at the end of last week, so it had to be pushed into this week. He is a very serious contender there. I just can’t tell you it’s 100% his job” (via CHGO Blackhawks).
The fact that Blashill’s the only name leaked from what’s otherwise been an airtight coaching search for Chicago likely speaks volumes about how highly the club values him compared to other candidates they’ve interviewed. Chicago surely hopes that after a few years of working under Jon Cooper in Tampa, he’s able to get the Blackhawks to greater heights exiting their rebuild than the success he had as head coach of the Red Wings at the beginning of theirs.
There’s more from around the hockey world:
- Two years removed from his last NHL game, defenseman Justin Braun is still playing overseas in Germany and will extend his career for another season. The 38-year-old has signed a one-year deal with Dresdner Eislowen ahead of their first season in the top-flight DEL in franchise history after gaining promotion from the DEL2, the team announced. The longtime Sharks (and briefly Flyers and Rangers) rearguard had spent the last two years with the Straubing Tigers, where he posted a 10-33–44 scoring line and a +22 rating in 103 games.
- After an underwhelming pre-draft season, OHL exceptional status grantee Michael Misa reclaimed his spot as the 2025 draft class’ top scorer with a 62-goal, 134-point showing in just 65 games for the Saginaw Spirit. It remains to be seen whether he’ll go No. 1 overall ahead of speedy two-way defenseman Matthew Schaefer, but Misa’s happy with his trajectory this season as a more explosive yet still well-rounded center. “I think my defensive ability, just to be that second guy in battles—it was something my coach harped a lot on me this year,” Misa told RG’s Marco D’Amico. “Just trying to become that 200-foot player. I think my offensive ability was there. But being able to be reliable defensively and break pucks out is something I think I improved on.“
- Team Switzerland is getting a boost at the World Championship after losing Devils captain Nico Hischier to injury. Jets winger Nino Niederreiter is heading to the tournament to represent his country as they aim to secure the top spot in Group B, the team announced.
Bruins Sign Simon Zajicek To Entry-Level Contract
The Bruins have made a splash in the undrafted free agent market. They announced they’ve signed Czech goaltender Simon Zajicek to an entry-level contract for the 2025-26 campaign. He’ll carry a cap hit of $872.5K if he’s on the NHL roster.
Zajicek, 23, has been a late but quick bloomer. He wasn’t even close to getting NHL consideration in his draft year. He would have first been eligible following the 2018-19 season, a campaign he split between Czechia’s U-19 junior league and their third-division professional circuit. Despite that, he saw action in the top-level Extraliga by the following year and, after several seasons bouncing between the Extraliga and the second-division Maxa liga, emerged as a full-time tandem option for HC Litvinov in 2024-25.
Not only did Zajicek stick on Litvinov’s roster for the entire season, he wrestled the lion’s share of starts away from Flyers reserve list netminder Matej Tomek, a high-end option in European professional leagues since 2019. Zajicek recorded a .930 SV% in 29 games to lead the Extraliga, adding a 2.12 GAA, five shutouts, and a 15-13-0 record. He also played in three of Litvinov’s four playoff games and recorded a .927 SV%.
The 6’2″, 187-lb netminder will now head to training camp in Boston in the fall to determine where he falls on the organization’s depth chart to begin the season. The Bruins’ NHL duo of Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo is locked in for 2025-26, but their minor-league tandem, Brandon Bussi and Michael DiPietro, are both pending unrestricted free agents. Signing Zajicek indicates they expect at least one of them not to return. If both come back or they replace them with subsequent free agent signings, the younger Zajicek could get his start in the North American pros down a level with ECHL Maine.
Maple Leafs Notes: Marner, Tavares, Berube, Game 7 Offense
With yet another Game 7 loss in the books, there’s little doubt that Mitch Marner‘s future lies somewhere other than Toronto, writes Chris Johnston of The Athletic. After his first 100-point regular-season performance, Marner didn’t record a point in last night’s season-ending loss and saw only 18:43 of ice time, his lowest of the 2025 playoffs. He recorded eight points in six games against the Senators in the first round but had just one point and a minus-three rating in Games 4 through 7 against Florida.
As Johnston wrote following the Leafs’ Game 5 loss to put them on the brink of elimination, Marner testing the unrestricted free agent market this summer is nearly a given. In his media availability following last night’s loss, he referred to his Toronto tenure in the past tense:
“It meant everything. (They) took maybe a risky pick on a small kid from Toronto and I’ve been forever grateful to be able to wear this Maple Leaf, and be a part of some of the great legends here and be able to wear this jersey.”
Letting Marner walk will, of course, free up all of his $10.9MM cap hit to spend elsewhere on the roster. Retaining him on a long-term deal would have likely cost them an additional $2MM per season, if not more – TSN’s Darren Dreger said last night that an eight-year, $13.5MM AAV offer was on the table at some point (via Nick Barden of The Hockey News). Whether that flexibility is spent wisely will determine how quickly Toronto can execute a retool without their top scorer.
There’s more on the Leafs:
- Former captain John Tavares, also a pending unrestricted free agent, had a much different tone last night. He made it clear in no uncertain terms that he wants to come to terms on an extension to continue his career in Toronto (via TSN), although it’ll need to be at a considerable discount from his expiring $11MM cap hit. There were some extension talks during the season, but it’s not clear how close the two sides got to an agreement. The 34-year-old managed nearly a point per game in the regular season but only had a 5-2–7 scoring line in 13 postseason games, including a four-game point drought to end the playoffs.
- While last summer’s coaching change did help propel the Leafs out of the first round for the second time in three years, it didn’t get them to the Conference Finals for the first time in the salary cap era. “I think this team has fire,” bench boss Craig Berube told James Mirtle of The Athletic. “I can’t explain (what happened) right now, nor do I want to, (with Game) 5 and (Game) 7 at home. Obviously (there are) things that we have to look at and talk about as an organization.”
- The Maple Leafs’ powerhouse offense cocooning, not necessarily defensive missteps, have been what’s cost them in past Game 7s. That trend continued in 2025, with Max Domi‘s early third-period goal registering as Toronto’s only output for the night. As The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel points out, Toronto has now been limited to just one goal in a remarkable five straight Game 7s.
Snapshots: Tocchet, Stolarz, Stars
Rick Tocchet landed with the Flyers for his next head coaching gig as many expected, but they weren’t the only team with interest in hiring him after he departed the Canucks organization. One club linked to him was the Bruins, who have yet to fill their vacancy.
After his brief stint on the free agent market came to a close, it appears that having some long-term front office stability was a priority for Tocchet as he decided which clubs to have mutual interest with, according to RG’s James Murphy. With Boston general manager Don Sweeney entering the final season of his contract and the team in a precarious, retooling position, that was enough for Tocchet to essentially withdraw himself from consideration for the role.
“He was concerned for two reasons – Sweeney’s status and Sweeney’s track record with his head coaches,” a source told Murphy. Boston has fired Bruce Cassidy and Jim Montgomery in the last three years, both of whom have gone on to either win a Stanley Cup or vastly improve their team’s outlook in their new roles in Vegas and St. Louis.
As Murphy points out, if true, Sweeney may have spoken too soon when discussing his confidence in landing his preferred candidate during his end-of-season media availability. “I’ll call you up and let you know if somebody turns it down, the invitation to interview for one of the most historic jobs in the National Hockey League,” Sweeney said at the time.
More from around the NHL:
- After a Game 6 shutout to keep his team alive, Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll is getting the start again in tonight’s Game 7. Even if Anthony Stolarz, who was Toronto’s starter to begin the postseason but hasn’t played since leaving Game 1 with apparent concussion symptoms, was available to play, he’d likely go, but that’s not the case. Stolarz did not practice this morning and will not dress, according to Jonas Siegel of The Athletic. Veteran Matt Murray, who entered Game 5 in relief of Woll for his first playoff action in five years, will again dress as Woll’s backup.
- The Stars’ in-season moves are arguably the biggest reason they’ve advanced to the Western Conference Final in three straight years, Nicholas J. Cotsonika writes for NHL.com. Aside from Mikko Rantanen re-emerging as a superstar after his roller-coaster regular season that saw him arrive in Dallas from Colorado by way of Carolina, their depth has stepped up in considerable fashion with top defenseman Miro Heiskanen and top left-winger Jason Robertson – the latter of whom only has one point in five games – missing the majority of their postseason slate thus far.
Panthers’ Evan Rodrigues Likely To Return For Game 7
Panthers winger Evan Rodrigues will be back in the lineup for tonight’s Game 7 after missing the last two contests with an undisclosed injury, relays Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. He’ll replace Jesper Boqvist, who had directly filled Rodrigues’ spot on the top line alongside Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart in his absence.
Florida’s offense is back at full strength to counter the Maple Leafs’ top unit of Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner, who are collectively coming off their best performance of the series in Game 6 while facing elimination. Knies was questionable for tonight’s do-or-die contest after getting banged up in the first period, but Toronto head coach Craig Berube confirmed this morning he’ll be in the lineup without any minutes restrictions.
Even before exiting the lineup, Rodrigues’ minutes were limited at times earlier in the series. He played a season-low 8:48 in Game 2 after a hit from behind by Toronto forward Scott Laughton that earned him a controversial embellishment call, and he left the Cats’ Game 4 win in the third period after a hard hit from Leafs defender Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Rodrigues has two points in four games in the series, both in Florida’s Game 3 overtime win. He combined with linemates Barkov and Reinhart to assist on the Panthers’ first two goals of the game and logged nearly 19 minutes of ice time, his most of any game so far in the playoffs.
The 31-year-old only has three assists in nine postseason outings this year but was an indispensable depth piece in the Panthers’ Cup win last year, scoring 7-8–15 in 24 games – including four goals and seven points in seven Stanley Cup Final games. The versatile top-nine forward hit 30 points for the fourth year in a row in the regular season, mostly playing a supporting role on Florida’s top two lines.
Max Comtois Receiving NHL Interest
A return to the NHL is on the horizon for winger Max Comtois. The 26-year-old has received “several NHL offers,” including from the Red Wings, after spending this season in Russia with Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League, according to Daria Tuboltseva of RG.
The big-bodied Comtois (6’2″, 210 lbs) was a second-round pick of the Ducks in 2017. In a few years’ time, it looked like he was one of the league’s brighter young power forwards. After turning pro in 2018 and splitting his first two seasons between Anaheim and AHL San Diego, he landed a full-time role with the Ducks in the shortened 2021 season and did so with a bang. He managed to lead the league’s worst offensive club in scoring with a 16-17–33 scoring line in 55 games, averaging 15:28 per game while ranking fourth on the team in plus/minus (+3) and hits (93).
Injuries and shooting regression meant the following years haven’t been nearly as successful for Comtois. He hasn’t touched double-digit goals or the 20-point mark in a single season since and wasn’t extended a qualifying offer by the Ducks when he became a free agent in 2023. He didn’t even land an NHL contract that summer, settling for an AHL deal with the Chicago Wolves and only receiving an NHL contract at the 2024 trade deadline from the Hurricanes to make him eligible for recalls down the stretch (he did play one game for Carolina). He did well enough in the minors, finishing third on the Wolves in scoring with 44 points in 65 games (and 109 PIMs).
That wasn’t enough to put him back on NHL teams’ radars, though – aside from a failed PTO with the Golden Knights – and he headed overseas for the first time in his career. It was a prudent move for the Quebec native, who emerged as a star in the Russian capital. Alongside other former NHLers like Nikita Gusev, Cédric Paquette, and Jordan Weal, Comtois posted a 21-29–50 scoring line in 62 regular-season games before leading Dynamo with 13 points in 15 Gagarin Cup Playoff games.
“I’ve always said I want to return to the NHL, and this season I did everything possible to make that happen,” Comtois said (relayed by Tuboltseva). “Hockey had become just a job for me in North America, but here, it became my passion again.”
If he lands with Detroit or any other NHL team, it’ll presumably be on a two-way deal. There will be an opening for him to capture a bottom-six role with the Wings, with veterans Tyler Motte and Craig Smith headed for unrestricted free agency this summer.
Pacific Notes: Golden Knights, Canucks, Sharks
The Golden Knights’ 2025 postseason came to a swift end in the second round at the hands of the Oilers. They were without winger Brandon Saad for most of that series and also had Mark Stone and Brayden McNabb carry injury designations at times, the former missing the series-clinching Game 5.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon told reporters today that none of them will require offseason surgery and there are no injury concerns entering 2025-26 among players signed through next year, per SinBin.vegas. Saad would have been out for the longest period of time had Vegas avoided elimination, while McNabb’s upper-body injury was the most significant of the bunch. Stone and McNabb will be back next year – the latter signed an extension mid-season – but Saad may have played his last game as a Knight after signing a one-year, $1.5MM contract in Vegas in January.
As for McNabb, the 34-year-old will get some needed recovery time after arguably the best season of his 13-year career. The shutdown defender recorded 20 points and played in all 82 games for the third straight season, leading the team and finishing second in the league with a +42 rating. He led Vegas with 167 blocks and led Knights defensemen with 131 hits.
More from the Pacific Division:
- The Canucks have $16.72MM in cap space to burn this summer and no notable free agents to retain outside of forwards Brock Boeser and Pius Suter, both of whom are unrestricted. The former appears set on testing the market despite Vancouver’s desire to talk extension, meaning Vancouver will have a decent amount of flexibility to improve their stagnant offense this offseason. Speaking on Canucks Central today, president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford told Dan Riccio and Satiar Shah that “we’re going to be in the free agent market if we still have cap space at that time – but we may get our work done before then.” Reading between the tea leaves – expect some trade rumors from Vancouver this summer.
- The Sharks have called the SAP Center home since their third year of existence in 1993-94, and that won’t change anytime soon. They’re close to finalizing a 25-year lease extension with the City of San Jose that will keep them at the downtown arena through 2050, per Curtis Pashelka and Devan Patel of The Mercury News. Local government will be putting funds toward renovating the arena, the fifth-oldest in the league, as part of the contract.
Metropolitan Notes: Shaw, Chatfield, Sandin, Eller
Yesterday, Flyers general manager Daniel Brière confirmed an earlier report that associate coach and briefly interim head coach Brad Shaw won’t be back with the team next season. According to Jonathan Bailey of The Hockey News, Shaw wasn’t enthused about going through the interview process a second time to remain a part of new head coach Rick Tocchet‘s staff after finishing as the runner-up to Tocchet in head coaching interviews over the past few weeks.
“He called me yesterday and said he didn’t feel like he could fully invest himself going through the [interview] process again to see if he was to be part of [Tocchet’s] staff moving forward,” Brière said.
Now with 21 years of experience as an assistant/associate and interim head coach on NHL benches, Shaw is likely going to emerge as a candidate for at least one of the league’s four remaining head coach vacancies in Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Seattle. He reportedly received interest from the Capitals and Ducks in 2023’s hiring cycle.
“We’re really appreciative of what Brad has done,” Brière said. “He’s helped a lot of our young guys on defense, especially, and he was considered.”
We have more from the Metropolitan Division:
- When the Hurricanes won Game 5 of the second round against the Capitals to advance to the Eastern Conference Final, they did so without the services of defenseman Jalen Chatfield. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour is hopeful but uncertain regarding his status for the beginning of the third round, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer relays.
- On the other side of the Carolina/Washington coin, Caps defenseman Rasmus Sandin is expected to join Sweden’s blue line at the World Championship, according to Hockeynews.se’s Henrik Sjoberg. Sweden’s roster is at the 22-skater maximum, so they’ll presumably be dropping a player (likely one of defenseman Gabriel Carlsson or forward Christoffer Ehn, neither of whom has played in the tournament yet) to make room for him. The Swedes are dominating the tournament on home ice, going undefeated through six group stage games and recording three consecutive shutouts against Latvia, Slovenia, and France. Sandin previously suited up for them at the 2023 Worlds.
- Still in Washington, pending UFA center Lars Eller told Sammi Silber of The Hockey News he has every intention to keep playing next season (article link via DC Backcheck). “I’ll definitely keep playing. My body feels good,” Eller said. The 36-year-old Dane was limited to 22 points in 80 games split between the Penguins and Capitals this year, recording under 0.30 points per game for the second time in the last three years. Whether his future is in Washington, elsewhere in the NHL, or in Europe remains to be seen.
Poll: Who Will Win Maple Leafs/Panthers Game 7?
Any playoff series featuring the defending Stanley Cup champions, especially when matched up against a similarly equipped opponent on paper, is usually bound to be an entertaining one. That’s what we’ve gotten in the second round between the Maple Leafs and Panthers, with a couple of wild momentum shifts resulting in a Game 7 on Sunday night.
The series didn’t start as evenly matched as most would have predicted. Some underwhelming play from Florida netminder Sergei Bobrovsky meant the Leafs, doubling their win total past the first round in the Auston Matthews era, took a 2-0 series lead into Sunrise. But the Panthers, who have controlled the majority of quality chances at 5-on-5 throughout the series, got more support from their All-Star netminder in Games 3 through 5 as they countered with three straight wins of their own to push Toronto to the brink in Game 6. The Leafs, perhaps taking a vital step to erase their underwhelming postseason reputation, put their best performance of the series forward with their backs against the wall with a 2-0 shutout win on the road to send the series home for a do-or-die Game 7.
Bobrovsky and Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll, who entered Game 1 in relief of starter Anthony Stolarz when he exited with apparent concussion symptoms and has started every game since, have had similar showings here in Round 2. The latter’s Game 6 shutout upped his save percentage to .893 with 0.42 goals saved above expected, while Bobrovsky’s posted a .895 SV% and 0.76 GSAx, per Natural Stat Trick.
Regarding the skaters, Florida’s best player hasn’t even played every game in the series. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad has been dominant after missing Game 1 due to suspension, serving as the Cats’ only point-per-game player in the series while averaging 22:34 per game. Depth has been the name of the game for Florida – every player to suit up in at least half of the series has registered a point.
It’s no surprise to see now-established playoff performer William Nylander atop the Leafs’ scoring chart with six points through six games, but the player he’s tied with is quite eye-raising. Depth veteran Max Pacioretty has turned back the clock after scoring the series-clinching goal against the Senators in the first round, rattling off two goals and four assists with a team-high plus-three rating through Game 6 of the Florida series. Averaging just 12:58 per game against the Panthers, he’s among the most efficient scorers in the league this postseason.
As for Toronto’s first-line triumvirate of Matthews, Matthew Knies, and Mitch Marner, they played their best game in Game 6. Matthews’ game-winner was his first of the series, but Knies is the only one with multiple goals in Round 2. On a highly concerning note for Toronto, he’s questionable for Game 7 after sustaining an apparent shoulder injury early in Game 6 and playing through it, head coach Craig Berube said.
While the Panthers are the road team, betting odds and most prediction sites give them the slight edge. Most betting sites have the implied odds of a Florida win around 55%, while MoneyPuck has it at just 50.2%. Of course, Toronto is 2-1 at home against the Panthers in this series and 4-2 at home so far in the playoffs.
One storyline to watch: after the first three games in the series were decided by one goal, including Florida’s come-from-behind overtime win in Game 3, the last three have been decided by two or more. Will we get more of a nail-biter Sunday night?
Let us know which team you think will win Game 7 and advance to the Eastern Conference Final – potentially the Panthers’ third straight ECF appearance or the Leafs’ first since 2002. Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thinking!
Who will win Game 7?
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Florida Panthers 52% (760)
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Toronto Maple Leafs 48% (707)
Total votes: 1,467
If you can’t see the poll, click here to vote.