Jets Sign Jaret Anderson-Dolan To Two-Year Deal
7:26 PM: The Jets have officially signed Anderson-Dolan to a two-year deal for $775K at the NHL level (as per Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun). The first year of the deal is a two-way contract, with the second year as a one-way deal.
12:49 PM: The Jets are expected to pick up versatile depth forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan on a two-year deal, Mayor’s Manor reports.
Once a second-round pick of the Kings in 2017, Anderson-Dolan has now moved to his third squad in the past few months. He began last season in a 13th-forward role for Los Angeles, his usual spot on the depth chart for the past couple of years. But after providing serviceable depth scoring in 2022-23 (12 points in 46 games), the offense dried up. Shuffling in and out of the lineup when injuries dictated his presence, Anderson-Dolan managed only one goal and three assists through his first 30 games of the year.
That led the Kings to place him on waivers ahead of the trade deadline to open up some roster flexibility, upon which he was claimed by the Predators. The move to Nashville didn’t yield any more opportunity for the 5’11”, 200-lb forward, though. He played just once in the Preds’ final 18 games of the season, posting a -1 rating and two shots in 13:39 of ice time in his lone appearance against the Blue Jackets on April 13. He was then scratched for all six games in Nashville’s first-round loss to the Canucks.
Anderson-Dolan should land a bit more opportunity in Winnipeg, which will look for its depth forwards to step up after losing Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli to free agency yesterday. His usability at center helps his case for minutes, but he’s been somewhat rocky in the faceoff dot with a 45.2% career win percentage. He’ll likely compete for roster spots and ice time with the likes of David Gustafsson, Axel Jonsson-Fjällby and Rasmus Kupari in training camp.
In 127 career NHL games, Anderson-Dolan has 15 goals and 28 points with a -31 rating. He’s still young enough to be an RFA upon expiry of his new deal, at which point he’ll be 26.
Avalanche Sign Erik Brännström, Wyatt Aamodt
3:00 p.m.: The Avs have also brought back defenseman Wyatt Aamodt on a one-year deal with an undisclosed cap hit. Aamodt, an RFA, had 14 points in 60 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles last year. The 26-year-old returns for his third full season in the Colorado organization.
1:00 p.m.: Colorado has made the deal official.
11:54 a.m.: The Avalanche have come to terms on a one-year, $900K deal with UFA defenseman Erik Brännström, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. Canucks freelance reporter Irfaan Gafaar said earlier Tuesday that there was traction between the Avs and Brännström on a deal.
Brännström, 24, became a UFA yesterday after being non-tendered by the Senators. It wasn’t unexpected. Ottawa has never fully placed their trust in the 2017 first-round pick, who they acquired from the Golden Knights as the centerpiece of the trade return for Mark Stone in 2019.
The Swede has spent parts of the last six seasons in Ottawa but didn’t truly catch on as a full-time piece until 2022-23. Since doing so, he’s been an exemplary bottom-pair defender, posting 38 points and a +10 rating in 150 games over the last two years. He’s also posted decent possession numbers, controlling 50% of shot attempts and 52.1% of expected goals at even strength last year.
The Sens didn’t use that strong play as evidence to try him higher up in the lineup, though, and his ice time stayed low at around 16 minutes per game. The one time Ottawa did insert Brännström into somewhat consistent top-four minutes in the 2021-22 campaign, he struggled with 14 assists and a -17 rating in 53 contests while averaging 19:46 per game.
Brännström won’t be tasked with a ton of responsibility in Colorado, though. Their top four is already set with Samuel Girard, Cale Makar, Josh Manson and Devon Toews. Instead, he’ll likely start the season in a consistent bottom-pairing role with either journeyman Calvin de Haan, who the Avs signed yesterday, or third-year pro Sam Malinski on his flank.
He’ll provide solid puck-moving depth and is a much cheaper replacement for deadline pickup Sean Walker, who signed a five-year, $18MM deal with the Hurricanes yesterday. At $900K, Brännström’s deal can be fully buried in the minors if he flames out, but he would need to pass through waivers to head to the AHL.
It’s a good pickup for an Avalanche team that is already projected to be over the salary cap upon the return of Gabriel Landeskog from injury and Valeri Nichushkin from suspension next season. They’ll need players on sub-$1MM cap hits to contribute as much as possible, and there were arguably no higher-upside bets available for that price after yesterday’s moves than Brännström.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Ducks Acquire Brian Dumoulin From Kraken
The Ducks have acquired defenseman Brian Dumoulin from the Kraken in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick, per a team announcement.
This move cuts short Dumoulin’s time in Seattle, after inking a two-year, $6.3MM contract with the club last summer. It was Dumoulin’s first time entering the market as an unrestricted free agent, bringing an end to Dumoulin’s 10-year career with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He established himself as a stout defensive-defenseman with the Penguins, working his way into top-line minutes during the team’s run to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. The run locked him in as Kris Letang‘s defensive partner, a role he held on to through the 2022-23 season.
Dumoulin has never been known for his scoring, with 25 points in 2022-23 marking his career-high. He didn’t bring that scoring to the West coast, posting a much quainter 16 points in 80 games. But he did bring his patented defense, earning his keep among a crowded Kraken blue-line thanks to his ability to shut down play in the neutral zone.
Dumoulin’s move away from Seattle will open space for top prospect Ryker Evans to pursue a full-time role with the NHL club. Evans, a second-round pick in 2021, played in the first 36 games of his NHL career this year, netting one goal, nine points, 20 penalty minutes, and a -5. He found much more production in back-and-forth trips to the minors, scoring 15 points in 25 games with the Coachella Valley Firebirds and adding 10 points in 18 Calder Cup postseason games. Evans headlines a list of strong defense prospects in Seattle, including Ville Ottavainen, Lukas Dragicevic, and Caden Price.
Meanwhile, Dumoulin will move to the rebranded Anaheim Ducks, where he’ll bring veteran presence and Stanley Cup precedent to a very young group. There seems to be no telling how Anaheim will organize their blue-line headed into the new year – with top prospects Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger, Tristan Luneau, and Jackson LaCombe each vying for routine ice time. That’ll be hard to dish out for a team that also needs to find minutes for veterans Cam Fowler, Radko Gudas, Urho Vaakanainen, and now Dumoulin.
Blues Sign Pavel Buchnevich To Six-Year Extension
The Blues have signed winger Pavel Buchnevich to a six-year extension worth $8MM per season, the team announced.
Buchnevich, who was set to be a UFA after the 2024-25 season, will instead remain in St. Louis through the 2030-31 campaign. The deal includes a full no-trade clause through 2028-29 before downgrading to a modified no-trade clause in the final two years, Bally Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reports. They’ve also upgraded Buchnevich’s 12-team no-trade list in the final year of his current deal to a full no-trade clause. It’s a 20-team no-trade list in 2029-30 and a 15-team no-trade list in 2030-31, Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Buchnevich remains under contract at a $5.8MM cap hit this season, the final one of a four-year extension he signed back in 2021 after the Blues acquired his signing rights from the Rangers. The 29-year-old is coming off a somewhat disappointing campaign, posting 27 goals and 63 points in 80 games. The totals are in line with what he’s produced the past few years, but he also stayed healthier, meaning he was significantly less productive on a per-game basis. Buchnevich clicked at over a point per game over his first two years in a St. Louis uniform.
Locking up Buchnevich long-term puts him on track to expire alongside Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas in 2031. It’s clear that if the Blues intend to contend for a championship with their current core, it’ll happen by then. He becomes the fourth forward signed past 2026, joining the aforementioned duo and Brayden Schenn.
The Blues hope that a rebound to point-per-game form from Buchnevich, increased development from 2020 first-round pick Jake Neighbours, and solid contributions from depth offseason adds Radek Faksa, Mathieu Joseph, and Alexandre Texier can help revitalize an offense that only managed 239 goals last season, 24th in the league. With a full season of Drew Bannister behind the bench, who guided them to a 30-19-5 record as interim last season, they’ll look to close the six-point gap that separated them from a playoff spot.
Buchnevich’s recent injury troubles are something to make a minor note of. His 80 games played last year were a career-high, coming after missing significant time with a recurring ankle injury in 2022-23. They’re hoping his somewhat disappointing year offensively is more a result of an offseason that was spent recuperating – something he won’t have to deal with this summer after a healthy campaign.
The deal will cover the remainder of Buchnevich’s prime, taking him through his age-35 season. The Russian winger has never tested the open market in his career and won’t do so until its twilight.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Stars To Sign Colin Blackwell
The Stars have added forward depth in the form of UFA Colin Blackwell, who’s inked a one-year, $775K deal, per PuckPedia.
Blackwell moves across the Central Division with this move, after spending the last two seasons in a bottom-six role with the Chicago Blackhawks. Both seasons were limited by injury. He appeared in 53 games during the 2022-23 season, tallying two goals, 10 points, and a -16, before hernia surgery ended his season in March. The same injury held Blackwell out through December of this season, while an upper-body injury cut his March in half, holding him to 44 games and 12 points this season.
Despite an in-and-out role with Chicago, Blackwell still showed a lot of utility on the Blackhawks fourth-line and penalty kill. Blackwell will now bring those traits to Dallas, where he should be able to earn a consistent role on the fourth line, among players like Sam Steel and Evgeni Dadonov.
Blackwell will be playing with his sixth NHL club in Dallas, not including the San Jose Sharks – who originally drafted him in 2011. Blackwell has filled roles across the league, with his career-year coming in 2020-21 with the New York Rangers, when he managed 12 goals and 22 points in 47 games. He’ll look to chase that kind of scoring as he moves to one of the league’s best offenses in Dallas.
Devils Sign Tomáš Tatar
Winger Tomáš Tatar has landed back with the Devils on a one-year, $1.8MM deal, the team announced Tuesday.
Tatar will be set to return to the Devils after just one season away from the club. He signed a one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Colorado Avalanche last summer, but appeared in just 27 games before the team traded him to the Seattle Kraken for a 2024 fifth-round pick. Tatar played in 43 more games with Seattle, ultimately totaling a meager 24 points in 70 games this season. That’s a hefty step down from the 20 goals and 48 points that Tatar managed with New Jersey in 2022-23, though signs of bleak scoring shined through as he posted just one goal in 12 games during the 2023 playoffs.
But regardless of the down year, Tatar is still moving back to New Jersey as an acclaimed middle-six scoring winger. Tatar earned that role through five strong seasons with the Detroit Red Wings early in his career, continuously rivaling 20 goals and upwards of 40 or 50 points. Detroit traded Tatar to the Vegas Golden Knights ahead of the 2018 Trade Deadline, receiving a first, second, and third-round pick in return. Tatar was just a rental for the Golden Knights, though, getting dealt to the Montreal Canadiens alongside Nick Suzuki and a second-round ahead of the 2018-19 season in the deal that landed Vegas Max Pacioretty.
Tatar found the best years of his career in Montreal, setting a career-high 58 points in his first year with the club that he then topped with 61 points in the following year.
Now 33, Tatar likely won’t chase the same scoring heights he once managed. Instead, he’ll look to provide a bunch from the Devils’ bottom-six, likely set for a role alongside Erik Haula and Ondrej Palat. That’s a stout third-line, though New Jersey will certainly have to make up for their lack of speed elsewhere.
Penguins Sign Sebastian Aho To Two-Year Deal
The Penguins have signed UFA defenseman Sebastian Aho to a two-year deal carrying the league minimum $775K AAV, per a team announcement. Stefen Rosner of NHL.com and The Hockey News was the first to report the signing Tuesday afternoon.
Golden Knights Sign Victor Olofsson
1:17 p.m.: Vegas has confirmed the Olofsson signing.
12:20 p.m.: The Golden Knights are expected to add some depth scoring in the form of UFA winger Victor Olofsson, PuckPedia reports. It’ll be a one-year deal worth $1.075MM, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
With the signing, the 28-year-old Olofsson leaves the only NHL home he’s ever known. A seventh-round pick of the Sabres, Olofsson ended up giving Buffalo great value for such a late-round selection. While a well-documented one-dimensional talent, he’s a three-time 20-goal scorer and is two years removed from a career-best 49 points in 72 games with the Sabres.
2023-24 was an extremely trying campaign for Olofsson, though, and it was clear he wouldn’t be brought back. After a difficult start to the season, he requested a trade prior to the deadline, although GM Kevyn Adams couldn’t find a deal. Now, he had a bit more agency in finding his next team on the open market.
Last year was inarguably Olofsson’s worst since breaking into the league in 2019. He was a frequent healthy scratch and was rendered largely ineffective when in the lineup, limited to seven goals and 15 points in 51 games in solely fourth-line minutes (11:34 per game). And without his goal-scoring, there isn’t much to like about his game. Looking at traditional plus-minus ratings to develop an informed opinion about a player’s defensive acumen isn’t always the best idea, but his career -63 rating in 314 games is telling. He’s also never had an xGF% above 50 at even strength in his five full NHL seasons and has struggled to control shot attempts, particularly over the past two seasons.
However, it’s a no-risk signing for Vegas at a one-year term with a cap hit that’s fully buriable in the minors. They’ll need a group effort to shoulder the loss of forwards Michael Amadio, Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson, who all headed elsewhere when the UFA market opened yesterday.
Marchessault’s 40-plus goals last season will be especially difficult to replace, but a full season of deadline add Tomáš Hertl will take a lot of that burden away from Vegas’ young players and depth additions like Olofsson. He joins a group of secondary scorers that includes Golden Knights draft picks Brendan Brisson and Pavel Dorofeyev, as well as Devils 2020 top-10 selection Alexander Holtz, who was acquired via trade over the weekend and will be relied upon to help replace the aforementioned trio’s offense by committee.
Blues Acquire Radek Faksa, Mathieu Joseph
The Blues have acquired center Radek Faksa from the Stars for future considerations, the team announced. In a separate trade with the Senators, they’ve also picked up winger Mathieu Joseph and a 2025 third-round pick with future considerations heading to Ottawa in return.
With the deals, St. Louis essentially makes a pair of slightly overpriced free-agent signings and receives a third-round pick for their trouble. Faksa is signed for next season at a $3.25MM cap hit, while Joseph is signed for two more years at a $2.95MM cap hit. No salary was retained in the deals.
Both should slot into everyday bottom-six roles with the Blues, while Joseph could have some mobility up to the second line. He’s coming off a strong season in a depth role for Ottawa, recording 11 goals and 35 points in 72 games. He was more than serviceable for what he cost, but the Sens desperately needed to open up cap space with Shane Pinto in need of a new contract (although he does remain a trade candidate, per The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco) and a handful of other forward spots still to fill.
The problem for Ottawa is that they’ll now need to replace Joseph’s production, not something they can confidently do for less than what he costs. After parting ways with him and picking up Michael Amadio and David Perron in free agency yesterday, they likely still need a top-nine forward in order to boast a playoff-caliber offense next season, something they may not be able to afford based on how much a new deal for Pinto costs them. They have $7.35MM in projected cap space remaining after the Joseph trade, per CapFriendly.
Dallas, too, needed to open up some cap space for an RFA in need of a new deal – defenseman Thomas Harley. The Stars rebuilt their blue line on the fly yesterday after losing Jani Hakanpää and Chris Tanev and buying out Ryan Suter, bringing in Mathew Dumba, Ilya Lyubushkin and Brendan Smith while also giving a new deal to Nils Lundkvist, who was briefly a UFA after not receiving a qualifying offer. They now have almost $8MM in space after the move, opening enough space to re-sign Harley and land a more economical replacement for Faksa on the open market among the few names that are left.
Faksa’s cap hit wasn’t an outright albatross for Dallas, and he remains a premier fourth-line center with a good defensive game, receiving Selke votes four times in his career. But over $3MM annually was a tad tough to swallow for a player who’s only had double-digit goals once in the past four years and is coming off a 19-point campaign in 74 games last season. His usage had slipped, averaging 12:31 per game last season – his lowest since his rookie year.
He’s a similarly-priced and more defensively-oriented replacement in St. Louis for Kevin Hayes, who they traded to the Penguins over the weekend. Over his first 638 NHL games, all in Dallas, Faksa had 89 goals and 200 points with a -11 rating.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was first to report that Faksa was headed to the Blues.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the Blues were acquiring Joseph.
TSN’s Chris Johnston was first to report the Senators were sending a draft pick to the Blues in exchange for future considerations.
Rangers Sign Casey Fitzgerald, Benoit-Olivier Groulx
The Rangers have added some NHL-experienced depth on cheap deals. Defenseman Casey Fitzgerald is joining on a two-year contract, while forward Benoit-Olivier Groulx is heading to New York on a one-year pact after being non-tendered by the Ducks, per a team announcement. Fitzgerald’s is a two-way deal in 2024-25 before converting to a one-way deal in 2025-26, while Groulx’s is a two-way deal, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports.
Fitzgerald, 27, is coming off a one-year, two-way deal with the Panthers that saw him buried in the minors for the entire season for the first time since 2020-21. He played in 69 games on assignment to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, notching four goals and 17 assists for 21 points with a +22 rating and 65 PIMs.
The son of Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald has played 148 career AHL games across five seasons in the Panthers and Sabres organizations, recording 55 points (13 goals, 42 assists). He has also skated in 63 NHL games in Buffalo and Florida in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, collecting nine assists and a -21 rating. He’s still on the hunt for his first major league goal. He was originally a third-round pick of the Sabres in 2016.
The physical right-shot blue liner is expected to start the season on assignment to AHL Hartford but will be an outside candidate to land a spot on the NHL roster out of camp as an extra defenseman. His main competition for the role as it stands will be Connor Mackey. Either way, there’s an increased opportunity for the Rangers’ depth defenders to find NHL minutes next season with Erik Gustafsson and Chad Ruhwedel hitting free agency.
Groulx, 24, was a second-round pick of the Ducks back in 2018 but hit the open market early after a disappointing 2023-24 campaign, recording only two assists and a -9 rating in 45 games for Anaheim while averaging 12:11 per game. He’s scored only once in 65 NHL games dating back to his debut in 2021-22. He can play both left wing and center but has struggled in the faceoff dot at the NHL level, winning 44.4% of his draws.
His possession impacts in Anaheim have been quite poor, too, but he could carry some value as a cheap energy winger, especially for what’s likely a league-minimum cap hit. He finished seventh on the Ducks in hits (101) last season and has good size at 6’2″ and nearly 200 lbs. He’ll enter camp competing with UFA addition Sam Carrick and familiar faces Jonny Brodzinski, Adam Edstrom and Matt Rempe for a fourth-line/extra forward role.