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William Dufour Signs With KHL’s Lada Togliatti

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After going non-tendered by the Avalanche, winger William Dufour has signed a contract with Russian club Lada Togliatti for 2025-26, the team announced.

Dufour, still just 23, was one of the Islanders’ better prospects not too long ago. The 6’3″, 212-lb winger was a fifth-round pick in 2020 but popped offensively in a big way in the junior ranks, leading the QMJHL in goals and being named the league’s MVP following a 2021-22 season with the Saint John Sea Dogs that saw him post a 56-60–116 scoring line in 66 games. He also led the Sea Dogs to that year’s Memorial Cup title as the host city and posted a point per game for Canada at the World Juniors en route to a gold medal.

He followed that up with a strong first professional season in 2022-23. He was among AHL Bridgeport’s leading scorers with 21 goals and 48 points in 69 games and even made his NHL debut, posting a minus-two rating in 6:48 of ice time in a loss to the Bruins on Jan. 18, 2023.

That stands as Dufour’s only NHL appearance. His offensive production has decreased sharply in the two years following that promising rookie showing, logging 25 points in 55 games with Bridgeport in 2023-24, before managing only eight goals and 18 points through his first 45 appearances of the following season. He was sent to Colorado in the deadline blockbuster that brought Brock Nelson to Denver as the Isles looked to gain some additional assets from the Avs and land Dufour a fresh start.

Instead, Dufour only had four points in 12 games with the Colorado Eagles to close out 2024-25. Despite his previous track record as an intriguing prospect, that was enough for the Avalanche to let him walk for nothing months after acquiring him.

The Quebec City native will now look for a different opportunity overseas. It’s rare to see a player so young take this route, but it does afford him enough development time to get his career back on track and legitimately eye an NHL return in the coming years.

He joins a Lada roster that lacks NHL pedigree outside of Bruins 2011 second-rounder Alexander Khokhlachev and Sharks undrafted free agent signing Danil Yurtaykin. The club’s 17-36-5-10 record last season was among the worst in the KHL.

Riley Nash Announces Retirement

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Longtime depth center Riley Nash has retired from the NHL, he told Tyler Lowey of Castanet Kamloops.

Nash, 36, was an unrestricted free agent after spending 2024-25 under contract with the Rangers. He didn’t play at all last season while rehabbing what he told Lowey were a “variety of knee injuries” he sustained during the previous year while on assignment to AHL Hartford, spending his final professional season on the non-roster list.

“With three wonderful young kids and the way my body has behaved over the past few years, it was time to take a step back as an older guy and let others chase their dream the same way I did,” he told Lowey. “I consider myself very fortunate to have played in front of my kids over the last few years. They helped me regain the passion and love for the sport I had as a kid. Now was the right time to step away.”

The 6’2″, 187-lb pivot was the No. 21 overall selection in the 2007 draft by the Oilers, although he elected not to sign with one of the two clubs from his native Alberta. After winning an ECAC championship with Cornell in his junior campaign in 2009-10, he saw his signing rights flipped to the Hurricanes for a second-round pick.

Nash signed with Carolina a few weeks later. While he ended up having a true journeyman’s career, he did have some stability early on in the Hurricanes organization. He spent six seasons there, seeing NHL ice in the latter five, recording 31 goals, 50 assists, and 81 points in 242 games before reaching free agency in 2016.

Nash went on to see NHL ice for the Bruins, Blue Jackets, Maple Leafs, Jets, Lightning, Coyotes, and Rangers. He spent nearly a decade as a full-time AHL piece, going from 2013-14 to 2020-21 without seeing a minor-league assignment, frequently anchoring third and fourth lines. His best season came on a high-powered Bruins squad in 2017-18, setting career-highs across the board with 15 goals, 26 assists, 41 points, and a +16 rating while averaging 15:25 per game.

He spent the last few seasons of his career as a complementary AHL piece, serving as an alternate captain for the Charlotte Checkers in 2022-23 before spending his final healthy campaign with the Rangers’ affiliate in Hartford in 2023-24.

Nash concludes his pro career with 628 NHL appearances, scoring 63 goals, 113 assists and 176 points with a -11 rating in 13:09 of ice time per contest. He also scored 193 points in 312 AHL games in parts of seven seasons.

All of us at PHR wish Nash the best in retirement.

Stars Hire Toby Petersen As AHL Head Coach

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The Stars have appointed Avalanche skills coach and former NHL forward Toby Petersen as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, according to a team release.

A ninth-round pick back in 1998, Petersen went on to spend parts of nine seasons in the NHL, including six with Dallas. He appeared in 398 regular-season games and 18 playoff games for the Penguins, Oilers, and Stars, scoring 34 goals and 82 points with a -40 rating. He played for the Texas Stars in the 2010-11, 2012-13, and 2013-14 seasons as his pro career wound down.

Petersen, 46, transitioned to coaching immediately after retiring as a player in 2014. He bounced around AHL benches, serving as an assistant for the Springfield Falcons (2014-15), Lake Erie/Cleveland Monsters (2015-17), and Rochester Americans (2017-20) before taking a few years away. He re-emerged as a skills coach for Colorado ahead of the 2023-24 season and had spent the last two years in Denver.

Petersen replaces Neil Graham, who recently earned a promotion to the NHL bench as an assistant. He’d been at the helm of the Texas program since a midseason promotion in 2019-20 and was twice named as a coach for the league’s All-Star Game (2023, 2024).

Red Wings Hire Michael Leighton As Goaltending Coach

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Former NHL netminder is joining Todd McLellan’s staff in Detroit and will serve as the Red Wings’ goaltending coach, according to a press release from the team.

It’s Leighton’s first NHL job and just his second coaching job. The 44-year-old ended his playing career in 2019 before serving as the goalie coach for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires from February 2022 through the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

He succeeds Alex Westlund, whom general manager Steve Yzerman said had been relieved of his duties in April. Westlund was Detroit’s goalie coach for the last three seasons and also held the role for the United States at the 2024 World Championship. Detroit had the only documented goalie coach vacancy in the league, so it’s unlikely he’ll find another NHL job for this season.

Leighton joins McLellan’s staff ahead of his first full season behind Detroit’s bench as head coach. He serves alongside assistants Alex Tanguay and Trent Yawney and video coordinator Jeff Weintraub.

The Ontario native was a No. 3 option for most of his NHL/AHL career but famously stepped into playoff action for the Flyers in 2010, leading them to the Stanley Cup Final. He surrendered the championship-winning goal to Patrick Kane, with whom he’ll now be in the same organization. The Ontario native posted a 37-43-14 record, four shutouts, a 2.97 GAA, and a .900 SV% in 110 NHL regular-season games for the Blackhawks, Predators, Flyers, and Hurricanes from 2002 to 2017.

Capitals Sign Milton Gästrin To Entry-Level Deal

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July 7: The Capitals have officially loaned to MoDo for the 2025-26 season, the team announced Monday. It’s unclear if he’ll participate in training camp in the fall.

July 3: We have our first signing from last week’s 2025 NHL draft. The Capitals announced they’ve signed forward Milton Gästrin to his three-year, entry-level contract. It pays him a $877.5K base salary, $97.5K signing bonus, and $85K minors salary each season for a cap hit of $975K, per PuckPedia.

Gästrin will be loaned back to his home country and play for MoDo Hockey of Sweden’s second-tier league in 2025-26, the team said. The playmaking forward was the No. 37 overall selection last Saturday, taken with a pick Washington acquired from the Bruins in the 2023 deadline trade that sent Dmitry Orlov to Boston.

Fresh off his 18th birthday yesterday, Gästrin was the No. 3 European skater in the draft as ranked by NHL Central Scouting and was a consensus late first/early second-round pick in public rankings. The 6’1″, 194-lb center won medals with Sweden at both the Hlinka Gretzky Cup (bronze) and the under-18 World Juniors (silver) last season, racking up 11 goals and 32 points in 19 games in international competition for the U-18 squad.

In league play, Gästrin spent most of the season with MoDo’s U-20 squad in Sweden’s top junior league, the J20 Nationell. He served as an alternate captain and finished second on the team in scoring with 42 points in 40 games, tying for the team lead in goals with 18. He also made his professional debut, making eight pointless appearances for MoDo in the SHL. He’ll transition to a full-time professional role this fall, facing easier competition in the HockeyAllsvenskan after MoDo was relegated at the end of the 2024-25 season.

Because Gästrin will be loaned to MoDo and won’t see NHL action this season, his entry-level deal will slide to 2026-27 and won’t count against the 50-contract limit for Washington this year. He will still earn his $97.5K signing bonus for 2025-26, though, decreasing the cap hit of the contract when it goes into effect. He’s young enough that the contract is slide-eligible twice, so the deal won’t go into effect until 2027-28 if he also plays fewer than 10 NHL games in 2026-27.

Teams With Adequate Draft Capital To Tender Offer Sheets

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Yesterday, we examined players who are still technically eligible to receive and sign offer sheets this summer. That list has decreased by a few names in the last 24 hours, thanks to a pair of team-elected arbitration cases and one re-signing, but there are still many names who could be targets.

Now, it’s a good time to look at the teams that can realistically tender an offer sheet. The required compensation for each tier is below. Each team must have its own draft pick to satisfy the requirement – if a club acquires a different team’s draft choice for the round in question, that can’t be used for an offer sheet. Teams can reacquire their own picks via trade to facilitate an offer sheet. The Ducks, Flames, Blackhawks, Red Wings and Penguins are the only clubs with enough draft picks and cap space to offer-sheet an RFA at every salary/AAV tier.

$1,544,425 – $2,340,037: 2026 third-round pick

Able: ANA, BOS, BUF, CGY, CHI, CBJ, DET, LAK, MIN, NSH, NJD, NYI, OTT, PHI, PIT, TOR, UTA, WPG

Able, but not enough cap space: EDM, MTL, NYR, STL, TBL, VGK

Unable: CAR, COL, DAL, FLA, SJS, SEA, VAN, WSH

$2,340,038 – $4,680,076: 2026 second-round pick

Able: ANA, CGY, CHI, DET, LAK, NSH, NJD, PHI, PIT, SJS, SEA, UTA

Able, but not enough cap space: BOS, DAL, EDM, FLA, MTL, TBL, VAN, VGK

Unable: BUF, CAR, COL, CBJ, MIN, NYI, NYR, OTT, STL, TOR, WSH, WPG

$4,680,077 – $7,020,113: 2026 first-round pick, 2026 third-round pick

Able: ANA, BUF, CGY, CHI, CBJ, DET, LAK, MIN, NSH, NJD, PIT, UTA, WPG

Able, but not enough cap space: BOS, MTL, NYI, NYR, PHI, STL

Unable: CAR, COL, DAL, EDM, FLA, OTT, SJS, SEA, TBL, TOR, VAN, VGK, WSH

$7,020,114 – $9,360,153: 2026 first-round pick, 2026 second-round pick, 2026 third-round pick

Able: ANA, CGY, CHI, DET, NSH, PIT, UTA

Able, but not enough cap space: BOS, LAK, MTL, NJD, PHI

Unable: BUF, CAR, COL, CBJ, DAL, EDM, FLA, MIN, NYI, NYR, OTT, SJS, SEA, STL, TBL, TOR, VAN, VGK, WSH, WPG

$9,360,154 – $11,700,192: Two first-rounders between 2026 and 2028, 2026 second-round pick, 2026 third-round pick

Able: ANA, CGY, CHI, DET, NSH, PIT, UTA

Able, but not enough cap space: BOS, EDM, LAK, MTL, NJD, PHI, VGK

Unable: BUF, CAR, COL, CBJ, DAL, FLA, MIN, NYI, NYR, OTT, SJS, SEA, STL, TBL, TOR, VAN, WSH, WPG

≥$11,700,193: Four first-rounders between 2026 and 2030

Able: ANA, BUF, CGY, CHI, CBJ, DET, PIT, SJS, WPG

Able, but not enough cap space: BOS, CAR, COL, EDM, LAK, MIN, MTL, NSH, NJD, NYI, NYR, OTT, PHI, SEA, STL, UTA, VAN, VGK, WSH

Unable: DAL, FLA, TBL, TOR

Cap space figures from PuckPedia.

Zac Dalpe Announces Retirement

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Longtime minor-league forward Zac Dalpe, who appeared in parts of 12 NHL seasons with numerous clubs over the past two decades, has announced his retirement via an open letter published on the Charlotte Checkers’ website.

Dalpe, 35, scored 16 goals, 16 assists, and 32 points with a -37 rating in 168 career regular-season games with the Blue Jackets, Panthers, Wild, Canucks, Sabres, and Hurricanes, who drafted him No. 45 overall back in 2008. He made 16 playoff appearances, 13 of which came in Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023.

The versatile center/winger spent more time in the AHL with Charlotte than anywhere else, including as their captain for the last four seasons while under contract with the Panthers. They were also the Hurricanes’ minor-league affiliate when he was in Carolina’s system. He scored 131 goals and 238 points in 362 games there across seven campaigns, sitting third in franchise history in goals.

“Pulling that Checkers sweater over my head and walking through the redline club on the way out to the bright lights will always be stapled in my head,” Dalpe said in his letter, which is truly worth a full read. “It started here and now it shall end here. I’m proud of what I got to do, but more importantly, I’m so proud of who I got to do it with. I appreciate every single person that was along for the greatest ride of my life. A Canadian kid got to be a hockey player for 15 years.”

While Dalpe never won a Stanley or Calder Cup, he was a two-time AHL All-Star and was part of the league’s All-Rookie Team back in 2010-11. He finishes his career with 220 goals, 172 assists, and 392 points in 574 AHL games. Only seven players have spent more seasons in the league than Dalpe’s 16.

Before turning pro, Dalpe was a star at Ohio State, where he scored 70 points in 76 games in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. He was a CCHA First Team All-Star in his second and final collegiate season.

All of us at PHR wish Dalpe the best in the next phase of his life and career and congratulate him on such a lengthy run of high-end play in the pros.

Image courtesy of James Guillory-Imagn Images.

Flyers Re-Sign Cam York To Five-Year Contract

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9:33 a.m.: The Flyers announced York’s contract and confirmed the financial terms as reported.

7:48 a.m.: The Flyers and restricted free agent defenseman Cameron York have agreed to terms on a five-year contract worth $25.75MM, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The deal carries a cap hit of $5.15MM and takes up two UFA years, meaning he can test the open market upon expiry in 2030. Those seasons do not include trade protection, according to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic.

York, the No. 14 pick in the 2019 draft, is coming off his fifth season with Philadelphia, the last three of which have been spent as a full-time NHLer. Since beginning to play a regular role on the blue line in the 2022-23 season, York has scored 16 goals, 51 assists, and 67 points in 21:13 of ice time per night across 202 games, with a -22 rating and 369 blocks.

There was plenty of speculation during last season that York may be a trade candidate, primarily due to a rocky relationship with former head coach John Tortorella. The pair reportedly had a verbal altercation near the end of the year, which resulted in Tortorella’s dismissal and York sitting on the bench for the entirety of interim head coach Brad Shaw’s first game at the helm to close out the campaign.

It appeared all was forgiven when reports last month indicated the two sides were close on a deal, building on initial extension talks that took place last fall. With a new coach at the helm in Rick Tocchet, the Flyers land a long-term commitment from York at a marginal discount on his market value.

AFP Analytics projected a long-term extension for York to be a five-year deal at roughly $5.75MM per season. That’s shrewd work from general manager Daniel Brière to work quickly to remove an offer sheet threat while locking him in around 10% cheaper than expected.

The Flyers will technically be over the cap by roughly $580K with a full roster after registering York’s contract, although that shouldn’t be cause for concern. Retired defenseman Ryan Ellis’ $6.25MM cap hit will be placed on long-term injured reserve for the entirety of the season. At the same time, winger Tyson Foerster and his $3.75MM cap hit could also land on LTIR to begin the year while he recovers from an infection in his elbow. High-paid defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen also isn’t expected to be ready to begin the season. Philadelphia has time on their side to shed salary if need be – a move that could be as simple as waiving and reassigning third-string goaltender Ivan Fedotov, bringing his $3.275MM cap hit down to $2.125MM.

Next season, York will reprise his top-pairing role while fellow lefty Travis Sanheim mans the right side. He should be ticketed for a bump in ice time if Tocchet restores some of his power-play minutes. The 24-year-old didn’t see any deployment with the man advantage in 2024-25 – under 10 minutes in total – after playing a regular role there in 2023-24. That should help his offensive numbers to a career-high as well. He had 30 points in 82 games two years ago before posting 17 in 66 last season.

He and Sanheim will headline the Flyers’ defensive unit next season while being supported by veterans Ristolainen and Nick Seeler, some up-and-comers in Emil Andrae, Jamie Drysdale, and Egor Zamula, while also being complemented by depth free agent pickups Dennis Gilbert and Noah Juulsen.

Image courtesy of Eric Hartline-Imagn Images.

Sabres, Mammoth Elect Salary Arbitration With Bowen Byram, Jack McBain

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The Sabres and Mammoth will pursue team-elected salary arbitration with defenseman Bowen Byram and center Jack McBain, respectively, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

That brings the total number of players with potential arbitration hearings this summer to 13, along with the 11 players who elected arbitration before yesterday’s deadline. As with player-elected arbitration, team-elected arbitration removes the threat of an offer sheet. The Sabres and Byram – and the Mammoth and McBain – are now locked into short-term contracts with each other if they don’t come to an agreement before their hearing.

Unlike with player-elected arbitration, a team cannot walk away from an arbitration award if the AAV is above $4.85MM since they’re the ones who pursued the hearing. They’ll be at the mercy of whatever AAV the arbitrator awards if their negotiations reach a hearing, and the player can select whether it’ll be a one or two-year contract. Both Byram and McBain could walk themselves to unrestricted free agency in 2027 by opting for two-year deals; they would still be RFAs next summer if they opted for one-year commitments.

While the tea leaves still point toward a positive outcome between McBain and Utah, the Sabres and Byram are likely going to need to take advantage of the hearing. Byram opted not to elect arbitration yesterday as he looks to cash in following a career season, something Buffalo is reluctant to do with two other left-shot defenders, Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, already among their highest-paid players. He could have been offer-sheeted as late as today at 4:00 p.m. CT when team filings were due, but no other team decided to force the Sabres’ hand.

If things between the Sabres and Byram do need a hearing to settle, it won’t be prohibitive for Buffalo. The club still has $13.64MM in cap space remaining, per PuckPedia. That should be more than enough to handle new deals for Byram and fellow RFA defenseman Conor Timmins, who filed for player-elected arbitration.

In the meantime, Buffalo is still free to pursue a trade for Byram, although with the threat of a hearing looming, it’ll need to be a sign-and-trade unless they wait until after his arbitration award to do so.

If Byram and McBain opt for one-year deals, Buffalo and Utah cannot pursue team-elected arbitration with them again in 2026. Players can only receive one team-elected arbitration in their career, regardless of whether the situation reaches a hearing or not.

Maple Leafs Interested In Jack Roslovic

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Center Jack Roslovic is one of the top unrestricted free agent names available as we near the second week of the new league year. The Maple Leafs are among the clubs interested in adding him to their roster, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Sunday’s 32 Thoughts podcast.

Toronto’s desire for another top-nine forward is apparent as they take a ’by committee’ approach to replacing Mitch Marner’s lost offense. They’ve been linked to other middle-six wingers like Andrew Mangiapane, but didn’t land him.

They’ve done reasonably well so far in building out their depth in the wake of his departure. Prime bounceback candidate Matias Maccelli was a buy-low pickup from the Mammoth, and they recouped strong two-way center Nicolas Roy in the Marner sign-and-trade with the Golden Knights. There’s still another name that’s needed in the mix, though – likely as a complementary winger on their first line with Auston Matthews or on their second with William Nylander and John Tavares.

That’s where Roslovic could come in, although his offensive ceiling isn’t as high as someone like Maccelli’s. The 28-year-old has been a consistent 30- to 40-point threat throughout the 2020s and is coming off a 22-goal showing with the Hurricanes in 2024-25, which tied his career high.

He would be a safe bet for added depth in a top-nine role and has a history of being a plays-where-needed forward. If possible, though, the Leafs would presumably want a piece with more upside.

That could still come via trade, an avenue multiple reports over the past week indicate the Leafs are open to, with nearly $5MM in cap room to leverage. They don’t need to match salaries exactly, but could look to offload a marginally overpaid fringe piece like Calle Jarnkrok or David Kampf in a deal for an impact piece.

The market has been mostly scoured at this stage, but there are a pair of wingers that former Toronto GM Kyle Dubas, now with the Penguins, is looking to cash in on in Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust. If they can put together an appealing package, far from a guarantee after parting ways with most of their draft capital at the last few trade deadlines, that would be a more preferable top-six boost than inserting Roslovic there.

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