Latest On Mario Ferraro
Entering the season, it looked like the Sharks would be selling off multiple pieces from an already weak blue line. Four of their seven active names are pending unrestricted free agents, and for a team primed for another losing season, it looked prudent to cut bait on most, if not all of them, for futures.
Past the halfway point of the year, though, San Jose has exceeded all expectations and finds themselves in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. While they may still look to flip some veteran names that don’t have a long-term future, Mario Ferraro is becoming less likely to be one of them. They’re still listening to calls on him but are “believed to have some interest in retaining Ferraro on a short-term deal,” David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period wrote last week.
That interest is mutual. The Sharks’ improvement in the standings has boosted his interest in sticking around – something Ferraro already said during training camp he was interested in doing, but Pagnotta wonders if he’d be open to a short-term offer with this summer being the 27-year-old’s best shot at a lucrative long-term contract.
Whether those offers would even be there for Ferraro if he hits the open market this summer remains to be seen. He’s been San Jose’s top minute-muncher throughout the rebuild – at least until this season, when their free-agent signing of Dmitry Orlov has bumped Ferraro down to a more comfortable role as their No. 2 lefty.
His results haven’t been great. Per 82 games for his career, the 5’11” rearguard averages 18 points and a -22 rating. Whether that’s a product of his game or his environment is the million-dollar question for teams entering the summer.
AFP Analytics projects Ferraro’s extension at $5.9MM annually for five years. That’s likely longer than the Sharks are willing to go, but they’re in a position to outcompete that AAV by a significant margin. They’ve shown a willingness to go for high-dollar, short-term deals recently, although with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith needing new deals in the 2027 offseason, that’s likely to fade fast.
Even if both sides were willing to go for a high-dollar, shorter-term deal in the $6-7MM range, it’s fair to question how much that makes sense for San Jose’s depth chart as soon as next season. Orlov will remain in the picture, Pagnotta relays, and youngsters Sam Dickinson and Shakir Mukhamadullin are solid locks for the other two spots on San Jose’s left side. Unless they’re willing to shift Mukhamadullin to his offside longer-term, there isn’t a pressing need to retain Ferraro past this year.
As for what Ferraro’s brought to the table this season, it’s more of the same. His -2 rating is greatly improved, but his possession numbers remain middle-of-the-pack in defensive-minded usage, controlling 43.7% of shot attempts at even strength. He’s also chipped in four goals and 12 points in 50 games while averaging 20:50 of ice time per game, his lowest workload since his rookie season.
KHL Notes: Kostin, Wilson, Loktionov, Kisakov
Today was the KHL’s deadline for both trades and free-agent moves, leading to a flurry of activity. Among the notable moves included CSKA Moscow acquiring former first-round pick Klim Kostin from Avangard Omsk.
Kostin, 26, headed back home last summer after being non-tendered by the Sharks. San Jose was his fourth NHL stop after being selected 31st overall by the Blues in 2017, coming after short stints with the Oilers and Red Wings. He only got into 35 games last year and was limited to a goal and seven points, so letting him go in exchange for more roster flexibility was a no-brainer move for San Jose.
Unfortunately for Kostin, his fortunes haven’t changed back in Russia. Drafted as a potential top-nine power forward, his offense simply never developed where it needed to. He was likely hoping a drop in competition against KHL talent compared to NHL players would boost his numbers, but he’s only managed two assists and a -7 rating in 21 outings for Avangard this year.
More out of Russia’s top league:
- Former NHLers Andrei Loktionov and Scott Wilson were swapped for each other, with the former headed from SKA St. Petersburg to Sibir Novosibirsk while Wilson heads to SKA. Both have Stanley Cup rings in depth roles, Loktionov’s coming with the Kings in 2012 and Wilson with the Penguins in 2017. The former is now 35 years old, and while he’d remained a productive piece late into his career, he’s been deeply affected by decline this season and has just one goal in 34 games for SKA. Wilson, who last played in North America in 2022 and is in his fourth KHL season, has 10 goals and 18 points in 43 outings.
- Ex-Sabres prospect Alexander Kisakov is also on the move, going from Dynamo Moscow to Traktor Chelyabinsk in exchange for cash. A second-rounder in 2021, he had just 14 goals and 25 points in 93 games for AHL Rochester before being non-tendered last summer. His return home hasn’t gone well, either. He had just one goal in 17 showings for Dynamo and has even spent some time in the second-tier VHL, where he’s expected to remain with Chelyabinsk’s affiliate, Chelmet.
Wild Reassign David Spacek
The Wild have reassigned defenseman David Spacek to AHL Iowa, the team announced. There is no corresponding move yet, although it could be an indication that Zach Bogosian will be ready to come off injured reserve for Tuesday’s game against the Blackhawks.
Taken in the fifth round of the 2022 draft, Spacek is in his third season with the organization and has earned his first set of recalls – three of them, to be exact – this season. The 6’0″ righty has been mostly used as press box fodder but finally made his NHL debut this month, suiting up twice against the Jets on Jan. 15 and against the Canadiens on Jan. 20.
The son of longtime NHL defender Jaroslav Spacek had his ice time capped at just 10:45 per game, recording a -1 rating with two blocks and one hit. He was otherwise held off the scoresheet and controlled just 19.6% of shot attempts at even strength, the worst figure among any Wild skater to step on the ice for them this season.
The Czech puck-mover has put together some good seasons in a disastrous minor-league environment in Iowa, though. He led the team’s blue line in scoring last season with 31 points in 72 games and is now second on the team in scoring overall this season with a 3-16–19 line in 35 showings. He’s also suited up for the Czech men’s national team at the last two World Championships and will be joining the club at next month’s Olympics as NHLers return to the event.
It’s a contract year for Spacek, who’s a pending restricted free agent in the final season of his entry-level agreement. He’s due a two-way qualifying offer of $813,750, something the Wild are likely to offer him if they haven’t reached an agreement by the end of June, given his promising AHL performances.
Blues’ Dylan Holloway Had MRI, Remains Day-To-Day
When Dylan Holloway returned to the Blues’ lineup last weekend after missing 15 games with an ankle fracture, his comeback was short-lived. He made just one appearance, logging a -2 rating in 12:45 of ice time against the Oilers, before coming back out of the lineup.
He hasn’t been placed on IR again, and for now, it doesn’t appear he will. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters yesterday (including NHL.com’s Lou Korac) that Holloway had an MRI this week to see if any structural damage remained following the fracture, but that the results were negative.
Instead, his absence from the lineup is more about pain management and getting used to the scar tissue that formed as a result of the fracture, Montgomery said. “It’s a tough injury. It’s just him now getting used to the fact that there’s going to be some scar tissue that he’s going to have to deal with. I guess it’s a little more painful when you come back a little earlier than if you let it heal another week.”
Whether the Blues will be willing to hold Holloway out – or if he’s even willing to sit out long enough to get back to 100% – remains to be seen. It’s clear he wanted playing time as soon as possible and pushed the envelope on his initial return. On a damaged ankle, though, it’s going to be tough for him to turn around what’s been a disappointing second season in St. Louis.
The offer-sheet acquisition from Edmonton in 2024 was one of the league’s best breakout stories last season, emerging as the true top-six threat he was expected to become when the Oilers took him No. 14 overall in 2020. He finished third on the Blues in scoring behind Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou with 26 goals and 63 points in 77 games before a late-season lower-body injury kept him out of the playoffs.
This season, though, he’s clicked at a 41-point pace despite averaging nearly a minute more of ice time per game. His shooting percentage has dropped back down to a more sustainable 10.1% after finishing at a 14.6% last year, giving him eight goals and 17 points in 34 appearances on the year.
His possession impacts have remained far more beneficial than his -13 rating would otherwise indicate, too. There’s plenty of motivation to chalk up his disappointing scoring line to the Blues’ league-worst offense and subpar finishing from everywhere in the lineup, but the pending restricted free agent’s outlook for his next contract has certainly dipped from when his stock was at an all-time high last summer.
Senators Recall Mads Sogaard, Reassign Hunter Shepard
Jan. 25: After making it through last night’s game without a goalie injury, the Senators reassigned Shepard to Belleville today, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports. After Reimer allowed four goals on 19 shots for a .789 save percentage in last night’s loss to the Hurricanes, that means Søgaard is the likely starter this evening against the Golden Knights. They’re now back to having an open spot on the active roster.
Jan. 24: The Senators have recalled goaltender Mads Søgaard from AHL Belleville, per a team announcement. To open a roster spot, they placed winger David Perron on injured reserve, per PuckPedia. They announced on Thursday that Perron will miss five to seven weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia.
Ottawa has spent much of the season swapping depth goaltending options to serve as backups to Linus Ullmark or, now, to recent free-agent signing James Reimer while Ullmark remains on leave. This isn’t that. The Senators have had Hunter Shepard backing up Reimer for the last two games, and he’s sticking around. Instead, Ottawa plans to carry three goalies amid the winter storm slated to hit the Eastern seaboard during their back-to-back home games tonight and tomorrow, to avoid a situation where weather prevents them from adding a Belleville netminder in case of injury.
It is the 25-year-old Dane’s third recall of the season. He backed up Ullmark in an overtime loss to the Oilers on Oct. 21 and also dressed for a pair of games earlier this month. He entered an 8-2 loss to the Avalanche on Jan. 8 in relief of Leevi Merilainen and allowed five goals on 16 shots for a harsh .688 SV% and 17.22 GAA.
Small sample size aside, it hasn’t been a kind season for Søgaard, nor has it been one for virtually any Sens netminder in the NHL or AHL. In 18 games with Belleville, he’s posted a .889 SV% and 4-8-4 record with a 3.30 GAA and one shutout.
While Søgaard was the third goalie taken in the 2019 draft behind Spencer Knight and Pyotr Kochetkov, it’s becoming abundantly clear that a stable NHL future isn’t in the cards for the 6’7″, 231-lb giant. In 30 appearances for the Sens since debuting five years ago, he’s logged an 11-11-3 record with a .875 SV% and 3.70 GAA.
Nonetheless, he will be heading to Italy next month to serve with teammate Lars Eller on Denmark’s Olympic team. It’s his second time on the men’s national team roster for a non-qualifying tournament, last suiting up as the backup at the 2021 World Championship.
Hurricanes Working To Extend Brandon Bussi
Most of the smoke around first-year goalies this season has rightfully come against the youngest ones – Yaroslav Askarov, Arturs Silovs, and Jesper Wallstedt featuring at the top of the class. One of the brightest stories, though, has come in Carolina.
27-year-old Brandon Bussi started the season as the Hurricanes’ third-string option with no NHL experience. He was claimed off waivers from the Panthers, who had signed him to a two-way deal just this past offseason, to serve as insurance for a banged-up Pyotr Kochetkov.
Fast forward past the halfway mark, and the former AHL standout in the Bruins’ system would likely be Carolina’s Game 1 starter if the playoffs started tomorrow. He’s now wrestled away the lion’s share of playing time from the struggling Frederik Andersen and, with Kochetkov likely done for the season, there’s little in-house challenge for him as the No. 1 option.
His raw numbers are good but not great. Behind one of the league’s elite possession systems in Carolina, they don’t need to be. His .904 SV% and 2.20 GAA in 22 starts have been enough to propel the Canes to a raucous 18-3-1 record when he’s between the pipes. That’s worked out to 7.4 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck, 18th in the league. Among goalies with at least 20 games played, his 0.332 GSAx/60 ranks 12th.
That promising breakout story, plus Andersen’s pending unrestricted free agency and unlikelihood of returning, has the Canes deep in talks to get a contract extension worked out for Bussi, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. “Everything that I’ve been told is that things are positive and it looks like it will get there,” Pagnotta said. “I would imagine, in the foreseeable future, Brandon Bussi will be extended with the Hurricanes, so good news on that front.”
What that deal may look like is hard to pin down. Initially signed by Boston as an undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan in 2022, he’s only ever been on entry-level or two-way deals, with the latter all carrying league-minimum cap hits. A one-way deal worth at least seven figures is a given. Whether Carolina pushes for a multi-year deal remains to be seen, but with no young goalies in the system making a real push for NHL ice time, it’s likely they envision he and Kochetkov as their tandem for the foreseeable future, barring an external upgrade – although Kochetkov could be a UFA himself in 2027.
His age makes it hard to imagine his extension being a particularly rich one. The last real comparable is Alex Lyon landing a two-year, $1.8MM contract from the Red Wings in free agency in 2023, following his age-30 breakout as a legit NHL option with the Panthers. It’s a richer goalie market now, but seeing Bussi land more than $2MM annually on a two-year pact would be a sharp departure from usual trends.
Kings Activate Trevor Moore From Injured Reserve
The Kings announced they’ve activated forward Trevor Moore from injured reserve. They had two open roster spots, so no corresponding move is required.
Moore returns to the lineup Saturday against the Blues after missing nearly a month. He was initially removed from the lineup due to an illness, but then sustained an upper-body injury that resulted in him being placed on IR on Jan. 8.
Tonight thus marks Moore’s first appearance of the calendar year. It hasn’t been a season to remember so far for the 30-year-old.
After being a consistent 40-to-50-point presence through much of his time in L.A., Moore is shooting at just 7.5% in 2025-26 with only 1.81 shots on goal and 3.65 shot attempts per game, some of his lowest numbers since emerging as a true top-nine threat at the beginning of the decade. He has just five goals and 13 points in 37 appearances, a far cry from the career-best 31 goals and 57 points he had just two years ago.
The Kings, who score the third-fewest goals in the league at 2.57 per game, simply need more from him and others in the stretch run to ensure their postseason streak doesn’t end at four seasons. With a 20-16-13 record through 49 games for 53 points and a .541 points percentage, L.A. currently sits ninth in the Western Conference and out of the playoff picture. Their strong possession numbers likely give them a leg up on their chief competitors, the Sharks and Kraken, though.
Wild Activate Matt Boldy From Injured Reserve
The Wild are expected to activate winger Matt Boldy from injured reserve before tonight’s matchup against the Panthers, Joe Smith of The Athletic reports. They had a roster spot open after demoting Hunter Haight and Ben Jones to the minors yesterday.
Much was made about how the Wild would handle losing two pillars of its top-six forward group when Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek landed on IR last week. Luckily, they didn’t have to worry too much as their stints were brief. Eriksson Ek returned to the lineup for Thursday’s overtime thriller against the Red Wings, while Boldy’s absence due to his lower-body injury ends after only four games. He last played on Jan. 15 against the Jets.
Boldy will reunite with Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson on the second line, comprising what’s been head coach John Hynes’ most-used trio this season – and for good reason. In 256 minutes together at 5-on-5, they’ve controlled 55.0% of expected goals and have an incredible +14 goal differential, outscoring opponents 17-3, per MoneyPuck.
Minnesota now has a fully healthy forward group once again. They haven’t been able to say that very often this season, only having all options available up front in 10 out of 52 games. For an offense that’s ninth in the league since the beginning of January at 3.55 goals per game, Boldy’s return should help prop up that momentum.
He remains Minnesota’s clear-cut secondary offensive weapon behind Kirill Kaprizov, sitting tied with him for the team lead in goals with 27 and sitting second in points with 51 in 48 games. If he can keep up his career-best 17.2% shooting rate, he’ll likely eclipse the point per game mark for the first time in his five-year career.
Lightning Activate, Reassign Scott Sabourin
The Lightning announced Friday that they activated winger Scott Sabourin from injured reserve and subsequently assigned him to AHL Syracuse.
Sabourin, 33, has been more of a factor for Tampa Bay this season than anyone anticipated. The enforcer was assessed a preseason suspension and was brought up multiple times from Syracuse after the campaign started to finish serving it, making him eligible to suit up for the Bolts rather early in the schedule.
He was called into action more consistently in November and December, marking his first big league action since last January. All told, he played nine games before sustaining an undisclosed injury against the Canadiens on Dec. 28 that’s kept him out for nearly a month. That’s the second-most NHL action he’s ever seen in a single season, trailing only the 35 appearances he made as a 27-year-old rookie for the Senators in 2019-20.
Sabourin scored a goal and two assists – his first tally since that rookie year – and averaged 8:12 of ice time per game with a whopping 63 penalty minutes. No one even comes close to Sabourin’s 12.19 penalties taken per 60 minutes this season. Ottawa’s Kurtis MacDermid is a distant second at 8.40.
The 6’4″, 207-lb winger has always displayed enough of a scoring touch to challenge for top-nine deployment in the minors and is thus a fine enough fourth-line spark plug at the NHL level in short-term regular-season deployment. We likely haven’t seen the last of him in Tampa this season as a result. For now, though, he returns to Syracuse, where he’s notched six goals and two assists in 20 games this year.
Sabres Place Jacob Bryson On IR, Recall Zachary Jones
The Sabres placed defenseman Jacob Bryson on injured reserve Friday and recalled Zachary Jones from AHL Rochester to replace him on the active roster, according to Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News.
Bryson, 28, is now ineligible to play in the Sabres’ next two contests in what is a light week for them. He suited up in Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Canadiens but left the team’s road trip today and returned to Buffalo to be evaluated for an upper-body injury, head coach Lindy Ruff told Lenzi.
Playing time has been difficult to come by for Bryson as of late. While he’s suited up in 10 of Buffalo’s last 11 games, his bottom-pairing ice time has been incredibly restricted, averaging just 9:19 of ice time per game since the calendar turned to 2026.
The 5’9″ Bryson is in his sixth NHL season, all with Buffalo. He’s been a clear-cut bottom-pairing/press box option since debuting in 2021, four years after the Sabres made him a fourth-round pick out of Providence College, and has 48 points and a -38 rating in 287 career appearances.
Five of those points have come in 33 outings this year. The Sabres have rarely had all their defensemen healthy, contributing to him playing in two-thirds of their games. Michael Kesselring has missed much of the year with lower-body issues and is still being load-managed as he steps back into the lineup, while Conor Timmins has been out with a broken leg since before Christmas.
Now, they’re short another depth option, meaning Kesselring’s in-and-then-out-again routine may be ending. It’s hard to find a more direct replacement for Bryson than Jones, a similarly undersized lefty who’s produced at essentially the same exact pace throughout his career.
Buffalo has recalled Jones multiple times to serve as short-term roster depth since plucking him from the Rangers in free agency last summer, but he hasn’t yet made his Sabres debut. That hasn’t stopped him from playing the most dynamic offensive hockey of his life in Rochester, where he leads the team in scoring with 37 points (six goals, 31 assists) in 32 games.
It’s concerns over Jones’ defensive game that have kept him from locking down an everyday NHL role. With a -1 rating in Rochester despite that elite scoring line, those concerns haven’t dissipated. And with Buffalo’s defense group already being lefty-heavy, it stands to reason that right-shot depth option Zach Metsa has a clearer path to minutes in Bryson’s absence than Jones does.