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Maple Leafs, Anthony Stolarz Holding Extension Talks

September 12, 2025 at 5:30 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 9 Comments

Sep. 12th: David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period offered an update today regarding the ongoing extension talks between Stolarz and the Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, Pagnotta indicated that no progress has been made to date, although both sides remain hopeful and are still committed to working something out.

Sep. 3rd: The Leafs have opened extension discussions with goaltender Anthony Stolarz, general manager Brad Treliving tells Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. He divulged that those talks have been ongoing “for some time” and that they’ve explored multiple options, presumably those with varying term.

Stolarz is a slam-dunk extension target, even with the younger and highly competent Joseph Woll as the other half of Toronto’s tandem. The 31-year-old has been one of the better backups in the league for some time before landing with the Leafs in free agency last year, finishing fifth in Vezina Trophy voting after posting a league-high .926 SV% in a career-high 33 starts and one relief appearance.

That strong play yielded a 21-8-3 record along with a 2.14 GAA and four shutouts. He was incredibly consistent over the course of the season, and by the numbers, no one in the league was more effective on a per-game basis. Among goalies with at least 15 appearances, no goalie saved more goals above expected per 60 minutes than Stolarz’s 0.779 mark, per MoneyPuck. That figure is a whole 0.144 clear of Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck’s.

Still, that elite level of play combined with his outright lack of track record as a starter or even 1A option makes him something of a unicorn. Stolarz had never even started 25 games in a season entering last year, although his career numbers (.917 SV%, 2.55 GAA, 64-39-12 record in 142 GP) remain well above average since he made his NHL debut with the Flyers back in 2016.

His lack of ice time has been influenced by a variety of reasons, but none more pertinent than his injury history. He would have started the majority of his team’s games for the first time last year if not for midseason knee surgery – his second in the last three years – that kept him out for nearly two months. He began the postseason as Toronto’s starter and guided them to a six-game dispatching of the Senators in the first round, but sustained a concussion in Game 1 of their second-round loss against the Panthers, ending his season.

Yet that also paints a picture of Stolarz being an incredibly resilient goaltender, reaching his peak and establishing himself as an elite tandem option 13 years after Philadelphia took him in the second round of the 2012 draft. The 6’6″, 234-lb netminder has now posted a save percentage north of .920 in four of his last six NHL seasons, and his .926 combined SV% over the last two seasons leads everyone with at least 25 starts.

Treliving already made something of an insurance policy for himself by signing Woll to a three-year, $11MM extension as soon as he became eligible to ink one last year. That contract is only going into effect now, meaning Woll, who has a 39-25-2 record and .908 SV% over his first two seasons as a full-time NHL option, is locked in at a $3.67MM cap hit through 2027-28. It would make sense that Toronto opines for a three-year extension for Stolarz, keeping his injury history in mind, but staggering the expiry of his and Woll’s contracts.

His open-market value is hard to predict. Even after excelling in a backup role with the Panthers in 2023-24, he only landed a two-year deal with a $2.5MM cap hit with Toronto in free agency. AFP Analytics projects a two-year extension for Stolarz at just north of $4.25MM per season – that’s with the projected cap jump to $104MM – and the AAV likely wouldn’t differ much with an additional year of term.

That would still make Stolarz and Woll, the latter of whom is just entering his prime, one of the most cost-effective tandems in the league, especially when considering the market set by extensions for names like Logan Thompson ($5.85MM AAV) and Adin Hill ($6.25MM AAV) last season. Without a slam-dunk prospect in the system behind Woll and next summer’s premier UFA options (Sergei Bobrovsky, Filip Gustavsson, Jacob Markström) likely out of their price range, hedging their bets on Stolarz and Woll continuing to split the crease in a more cost-effective manner is likely their best path forward.

Toronto Maple Leafs Anthony Stolarz

9 comments

Calvin De Haan Signs With SHL’s Rögle BK

September 12, 2025 at 12:30 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 6 Comments

Sep. 12th: As expected, the SHL’s Rögle BK announced they’ve signed de Haan to a one-year contract for the 2025-26 campaign.

Aug. 31st: Veteran defender Calvin de Haan’s NHL days appear to be behind him. His agent has been pitching offers from European clubs to him for the past couple of weeks, and he’s being pursued aggressively by Swedish club Brynäs IF, Johan Svensson of Expressen reports.

Brynäs, the reigning SHL regular-season champions, have de Haan as their “absolute main target” to add defensive depth with two weeks before their regular-season schedule begins, Svensson writes. Their early offseason moves didn’t leave them with a lot of defensive depth to start with, an issue that has been exacerbated by a knee injury to veteran Simon Bertilsson, which will keep him out past New Year’s.

De Haan has no desire to stay in North America if it means a minor-league role, Svensson reports. If he’s only open to a one-way deal with a clear path to an NHL roster spot, his options are slim to none as a result. Svensson didn’t mention his willingness to stake things out on a PTO agreement, but if stability is the reason he’s spurned two-way and AHL offers so far, it stands to reason he wouldn’t have any interest in a tryout, either.

That means an everyday role in a top European league will be the next step in the 34-year-old’s career after 13 NHL seasons and nearly 700 games. Last season was a tough one for the 2009 No. 12 overall pick. He was a frequent healthy scratch and only made 47 appearances, his lowest total since the COVID-shortened 2021 season. He had eight assists with a -4 rating and averaged 14:58 per game while playing a No. 7/8 role for the Avalanche and Rangers, moving between clubs in the Ryan Lindgren trade.

De Haan was clearly displeased with how his tenure in New York went, using some colorful language to articulate his lack of usage down the stretch despite the team continuing to slide out of the playoff picture. He only got into three games for the Blueshirts – his first three after being acquired – and was then benched for the last month-plus of the schedule.

If the move to Brynäs is solidified, he’ll join a club that already likely has the most games of NHL experience on its roster in all of Europe. He would become the seventh player on their roster with at least 200 games of NHL time, joining Nicklas Bäckström, Robert Hägg, Michal Kempný, Johan Larsson, Oskar Lindblom, and Jakob Silfverberg.

SHL Calvin de Haan

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Carter Hart, Others Found Not Guilty In Hockey Canada Sexual Assault Trial

September 11, 2025 at 3:36 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson

Sept. 11th: According to an update from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the NHL and NHLPA have agreed that the five players will be suspended until December 1, 2025. However, they will be permitted to sign with any team on October 15th. Friedman clarified that the Commissioner Gary Bettman did not have a formal hearing with any of the players, as all five reportedly waived their right to appeal the Commissioner’s decision.

Jul. 25th: As expected, the five players will not be immediately accepted back into the NHL despite yesterday’s verdict. According to a public announcement, the league released a statement, saying, “The allegations made in this case, even if not determined to have been criminal, were very disturbing and the behavior at issue was unacceptable. We will be reviewing and considering the judge’s findings. While we conduct that analysis and determine next steps, the players charged in this case are ineligible to play in the League.”

Jul. 24th: Carter Hart, the first of five players charged in connection with an alleged sexual assault involving the 2018 Canadian men’s national junior team to hear his verdict, has been found not guilty by Justice Maria Carroccia in London, Ontario, according to reporting from The Athletic. Dillon Dube, Callan Foote and Alex Formenton have also been found not guilty of sexual assault. The fifth player charged, Michael McLeod, has received the same verdict. He was the only player charged with two counts – one of sexual assault and one of being a party to the offense.

The allegations against Dube, Foote, Formenton, Hart, and McLeod first became public in May of 2022, when reports emerged that Hockey Canada had paid to settle a lawsuit with a woman, known in court documents as E.M., who said she was sexually assaulted by eight players “over several hours” in a London hotel room on July 18, 2018. No charges were levied as a result of the initial investigation by local police, which was closed in February 2019, but the case was reopened after the 2022 report.

Formal charges were then brought against the five defendants on Jan. 30, 2024. The trial began on April 22, 2025, and the verdicts were reached solely by Justice Carroccia after two mistrials influenced her to dismiss the jury.

The NHL does not have a formal policy for players accused of or charged with domestic violence, sexual assault, or similar crimes. Instead, the four players who were under NHL contracts at the time – Dube, Foote, Hart, and McLeod – were granted indefinite leaves of absence by their clubs shortly before the charges were announced. All of them were pending restricted free agents on expiring contracts and were not extended qualifying offers, making them unrestricted free agents as of July 1, 2024.

Today’s not guilty verdict indicates the Canadian prosecutorial team “failed to meet its onus on any of the counts before me,” Justice Carroccia said today. She did not find reasonable doubt that any of the players’ contact with E.M. was non-consensual, which was the main point of contention in the trial that could have led to a guilty verdict.

When asked about the playing eligibility of the defendants, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has continually deferred action until after a verdict was reached. While none of the players are formally suspended by the league, similar situations have routinely required some sort of permission from league offices for them to play in or return to the NHL. If teams approach any of them with a contract offer, they will presumably wait for that guidance before registering the deal.

Newsstand Alex Formenton| Cal Foote| Carter Hart| Dillon Dube| Michael McLeod

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Jets’ Adam Lowry Continues To Recover From Hip Surgery

September 11, 2025 at 12:30 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 4 Comments

Sept. 11th: Pushing back somewhat on last month’s report, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press spoke with Lowry today and indicated that although his recovery is going very well, he’s still targeting a return in late October or early November. Still, given that a sixth-month recovery would have projected Lowry for a late November return, today’s update indicates he’s on the early end of the recovery timeline.

Aug. 26th: In somewhat of a surprising revelation, given the original recovery timeline, the Jets shared an update of Lowry taking part in an informal skate this morning, donning his full equipment. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Lowry will be ready to start the season on time, but it does indicate he could be available far earlier than expected. An earlier return should prove a boon for Winnipeg, as they’re set to open the 2025-26 season with Namestnikov and the question mark, Jonathan Toews, as their top two center options behind Scheifele.

May 28th: Jets captain Adam Lowry won’t be available at the start of the 2025-26 season after undergoing successful hip surgery on Tuesday, per a club announcement. The procedure carries a five-to-six-month rehabilitation timeline, meaning he’ll likely make his season debut sometime in November.

While it could be a tough start to Winnipeg’s season without their top matchup and penalty-killing center, a roughly month-long absence shouldn’t impact the Jets’ offseason planning too much outside of adding a depth piece down the middle to give them additional insurance through the first few weeks of the campaign. A potential late October return doesn’t guarantee Lowry will miss enough time to qualify for a long-term injured reserve placement at the beginning of the season. Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff must presume Lowry counts against the salary cap to start the year.

The Jets’ center core of Lowry, Mark Scheifele, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Morgan Barron are all signed or under team control for next season, so there likely weren’t going to be many moving parts down the middle for Winnipeg this summer anyway outside of finding a potential upgrade on Namestnikov for the second line. However, Lowry’s absence for the first few weeks will likely allow the Jets to evaluate the readiness of their potential internal long-term replacements for Namestnikov in a top-six role. There’s 2023 first-rounder Brayden Yager, who’s primed to land an opening-night roster spot after scoring 25 goals and 82 points in 54 games with WHL Moose Jaw and Lethbridge this year. 2022 first-round Brad Lambert has gotten a couple of NHL reps over the last two years and might be a candidate as well, although he’s coming off a highly disappointing season with AHL Manitoba (7-28–35, -30 rating in 61 GP).

For Lowry, the hip rehab will mark an inauspicious start to the final season of the five-year, $16.25MM extension he signed in 2021. With Kyle Connor and Cole Perfetti also eligible to sign extensions on July 1, it’s unclear how quickly Cheveldayoff intends to start those talks with his captain. However, it should be expected that they’ll do everything in their power to keep the 11-year veteran in the only NHL city he’s ever known.

If they do opt to engage in extension discussions this summer, AFP Analytics projects the 32-year-old to receive a two-year deal in the $4MM range per season. He’s coming off his third straight 30-point campaign and has averaged at least 15 minutes per game for five straight seasons.

Lowry’s injury also puts a small dent in his climb up the Jets franchise’s all-time leaderboard. His 775 games played are fourth in Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise history, and he needs 69 games to leapfrog Bryan Little for third – that’s still doable next year if he returns at the early end of his timeline and stays healthy the rest of the way. His 121 goals are 10th all-time for the Jets, his 152 assists and 273 points rank ninth, while his +50 rating ranks fourth.

Injury| Newsstand| Winnipeg Jets Adam Lowry

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Sharks Sign No. 2 Overall Pick Michael Misa

September 10, 2025 at 11:33 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 1 Comment

The Sharks have signed No. 2 overall draft pick Michael Misa to his entry-level contract, the team announced. Unsurprisingly, he receives close to the maximum allowable compensation. Per PuckPedia, he’ll receive the maximum base salary of $877.5K, signing bonus of $97.5K, and up to $1MM in Schedule “A” performance bonuses each year. His potential Schedule “B” bonuses are up to $2.25MM, $250K short of the max.

Misa was essentially a slam-dunk selection for San Jose after the Islanders took defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the first pick, although there was some smoke that the Sharks were also considering Swedish center Anton Frondell, who ended up going No. 3 to the Blackhawks. Misa, an OHL Saginaw product, was the early favorite for the top choice in the 2025 draft, gaining exceptional status and beginning his OHL career with the Spirit at the age of 15. However, a semi-conservative showing in his pre-draft year had tempered projections for Misa entering last season.

But in 2024-25, Misa looked more like the franchise-level phenom that his early hype awarded him. The left-shot center served as Saginaw’s captain and clicked at nearly a goal per game, totaling a 62-72–134 scoring line in 65 appearances to lead the entire CHL in points and, unsurprisingly, received CHL First All-Star and OHL MVP honors. He was also named the league’s Scholastic Player of the Year. That had him as the consensus No. 2 prospect in the class behind Schaefer, according to every major public ranking, by the time the season came to an end.

There will still be those out there who argue Misa deserved the top selection, especially considering Schaefer’s season ended after just 17 appearances due to a collarbone injury in December. He was the first OHLer to crack 130 points in nearly 20 years, and the last player to score more points in that league as a draft-eligible player was Patrick Kane’s 145 points in 58 games in 2006-07. Elite Prospects’ Lauren Kelly even labeled him the most complete forward in the class in June.

He thus enters his first professional season with a similar level of hype to San Jose’s No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, Macklin Celebrini, had 12 months ago. While the Sharks’ flurry of forward pickups in free agency indicates they aren’t necessarily banking on him being on their opening night roster, there’s plenty of flexibility for him to play meaningful minutes or, at the very least, earn a nine-game trial to start the season before burning the first year of his deal.

Newsstand| San Jose Sharks| Transactions Michael Misa

1 comment

Kirill Kaprizov’s Camp Rejects Eight-Year, $16MM AAV Offer

September 10, 2025 at 11:25 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 26 Comments

The Wild are indeed prepared to make pending UFA winger Kirill Kaprizov the highest-paid player in NHL history, but even that may not be enough to get a contract extension across the finish line. His representation turned down an eight-year, $128MM offer from the Wild yesterday that would have carried a cap hit of $16MM, Frank Seravalli of Bleacher Report relays. That would have been a record-setting deal in terms of both AAV and total value.

It’s the first marginal indication that the 28-year-old superstar’s time in Minnesota may be coming to an end. Wild front office staff and ownership have projected extreme confidence in their ability to get a long-term deal across the finish line ever since he became eligible to sign an extension on July 1. Michael Russo of The Athletic reported last month that the club would essentially let Kaprizov dictate the structure of his contract as long as it was at least five years in length.

Yet that was with the assumption that a $16MM cap hit, a whole $2MM clear of the record-setting $14MM AAV that Leon Draisaitl signed for with the Oilers one year ago, would be enough to get a deal done. If it’s going to take closer to the maximum salary of $19.1MM, it could be back to the drawing board.

While a jarring headline, it’s important to note the Wild and Kaprizov are still extremely early in the negotiating process. Talks didn’t begin in earnest until Kaprizov arrived back in Minnesota ahead of training camp in the last several days.

Seravalli’s report also doesn’t clarify what the basis was for the rejection. It might be a change in salary/bonus structure or trade protection that will take some time to work out, or a desire from Kaprizov to sign a shorter-term contract and give himself another chance to cash in on a deal in his early 30s. While a general hesitance to commit to the Wild, who haven’t won a playoff series during Kaprizov’s tenure, could be the driving force, it’s far too soon to write off the notion of an extension entirely.

In any event, the Wild must ask themselves how far above market value they’re willing to award Kaprizov. While he’s a true superstar and the brightest offensive talent in franchise history, he simply doesn’t have the resume that led names like Draisaitl and Nathan MacKinnon to receive record-setting contracts in recent years. He’s never hit the 50-goal mark, only broken 100 points once, and has never finished top five in MVP voting. All that combines to make his actual market value likely closer to the low $14MM range – even adjusted for the projected salary cap increase to $104MM, according to AFP Analytics.

Since entering the league in 2020-21, Kaprizov’s 386 points in 319 career games are 15th in the league. His 1.21 points per game are 10th. That’s still a whole 224 points less than what Oilers star Connor McDavid, also a pending UFA expected to sign in the $16MM range if he extends in Edmonton, has over the last five years.

Minnesota Wild| Newsstand Kirill Kaprizov

26 comments

Stars Sign Adam Erne To PTO

September 10, 2025 at 10:29 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 2 Comments

The Stars have signed Adam Erne to a professional tryout, according to the training camp roster they announced today. It will be his third consecutive season attending an NHL camp on a tryout basis.

Erne has skated in parts of eight NHL seasons as a checking winger. He spent his first three years with the Lightning, breaking out as a full-time piece with 20 points in 65 games in 2018-19. Luckily for Erne, that was a contract year. Tampa couldn’t afford to give him a seven-figure cap hit, so they traded his signing rights to the Red Wings the following summer. He spent four years in Detroit, including a career-best offensive performance that saw him produce 11 goals and 20 points in only 45 games in the shortened 2020-21 season, before tumbling down the depth chart in 2022-23 and ending up on waivers.

Initially, it was puzzling to see the lack of interest in Erne on the open market in 2023. His waiver clearance could have been chalked up to his previous $2.1MM cap hit, but he still looked like an effective NHLer with 18 points in 61 games for the lowly Wings while averaging 13:23 per game and laying 161 hits. Nonetheless, he had to settle for a tryout with the Oilers, and he was successful in converting that into a two-way deal with Edmonton for 2023-24. He only managed two points in 24 games for the Oilers, though, ending up back on waivers and spending most of the season in the AHL.

Erne landed another PTO last summer with the Rangers, although he only managed to squeeze an AHL tryout deal out of that. He only had one assist in 10 games before sustaining a lower-body injury and getting released from his tryout in November, so it’s been around 10 months since he last played. Dallas’ forward depth remains a strong suit, so he’s unlikely to be in consideration for an NHL roster spot. He’ll use this tryout opportunity to angle for a two-way contract or AHL deal to get his career back on track in the minors.

Among Dallas’ other PTOs announced today who weren’t already signed to minor-league contracts are forward Cross Hanas and goaltender Antoine Bibeau, both of whom will be looking for AHL deals. Hanas was a second-round pick by the Red Wings in 2020 and had 50 points in 146 AHL games over the three seasons of his entry-level contract before getting non-tendered this summer. Bibeau, 31, is a veteran depth option with four games of NHL experience who spent the last two seasons in Europe. He played for Finland’s KooKoo last season, recording a .905 SV% in 35 Liiga games with a 20-13-0 record.

Dallas Stars| Transactions Adam Erne| Antoine Bibeau| Cross Hanas

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Canadiens To Sign Kevin Mandolese To PTO

September 10, 2025 at 9:29 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

The Canadiens are bringing goaltender Kevin Mandolese to training camp on a professional tryout, reports Frank Seravalli of Bleacher Report. He was scouring the KHL market for a guaranteed deal earlier in the summer but never landed one.

Mandolese, fresh off his 25th birthday, is a former Senators sixth-round draftee who’s since emerged as a steady minor-league presence. He’d spent his entire career in the Ottawa organization until last summer, when the Sens issued him a qualifying offer but ended up trading his signing rights to the Avalanche a couple of weeks later.

The Quebec native’s only NHL action came in 2022-23 amid a rash of injuries in Ottawa’s crease. He made three starts in February and March, performing above expectations with a .916 SV% and 3.29 GAA – only allowing 10 goals despite facing nearly 40 shots per game. For whatever reason, that strong initial showing never landed him another NHL opportunity.

Mandolese also didn’t play very much in the Colorado system last year. He made 19 appearances for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, where he served as the primary backup to No. 3 option Trent Miner and had an 11-6-0 record in 19 showings with a .903 SV%, 2.87 GAA, and one shutout. The Avs did not issue him a qualifying offer at the end of last year, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Montreal is likely looking for a more experienced AHL option to have under contract. Starter Sam Montembeault is set in stone, but youngster Jakub Dobes will be battling with veteran free-agent pickup Kaapo Kähkönen for the No. 2 job in camp. If Kähkönen doesn’t make the team and is lost on waivers, that would leave Montreal with just three goalies under contract and top prospect Jacob Fowler without much help in AHL Laval as he kicks off his first professional season. As such, Mandolese will take a PTO with the Habs to start while they sort out whether they want to offer him a two-way NHL contract or only extend him a minor-league offer.

Montreal Canadiens| Transactions Kevin Mandolese

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Panthers To Sign Tyler Motte, Ben Harpur To PTOs

September 10, 2025 at 8:42 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 2 Comments

The Panthers are in agreement with forward Tyler Motte and defenseman Ben Harpur on professional tryouts, according to Frank Seravalli of Bleacher Report. They’ll get the chance to compete for NHL jobs or at least a minor-league safety net with AHL Charlotte.

Motte, 30, is entering the second decade of his professional career. A 2013 second-round pick of the Blackhawks, he debuted with them in his first full pro season in 2016-17 and has appeared in every NHL season since. He’s become a true journeyman in the process. Outside of spending parts of five seasons with the Canucks from 2018-22, he’s also logged time for the Blue Jackets, Rangers, Senators, Lightning, and Red Wings – never playing more than 70 total games for anyone other than Vancouver.

If signed, it could be Motte’s fourth straight one-year deal. He’s also no stranger to sitting on the open market for long periods, waiting until September to sign deals in 2022 and 2023. But he picked up a one-year, $800K commitment from Detroit early in free agency last summer, prefacing a campaign that saw him serve as a rather nondescript No. 13/14 forward. He averaged 11:19 per game over 55 appearances – his lowest total in a season since the shortened 2020-21 campaign – and scored four goals and five assists for nine points.

The Michigan native has never been a high-end offensive producer, only recording double-digit points three times in his nine-year career. He’s a pure energy winger with enough versatility to slot in down the middle, although his career 42.8% success rate on faceoffs isn’t terribly ideal.

He’ll join a Panthers training camp that will have stiff competition for depth forward roles. They’ve made Luke Kunin a late-summer signing while also extending a PTO to Noah Gregor just yesterday. Those names will compete alongside a group of returnees in Jesper Boqvist, Jonah Gadjovich, A.J. Greer, and Tomas Nosek for fourth-line and press box spots.

As for Harpur, he doesn’t have much chance of landing an NHL roster spot. That’s likely not the intent of having him in camp, though. The 30-year-old would bring nearly 200 games of NHL experience and over a decade of pro time in general to Florida’s depth contingent on a two-way deal. That’s an archetype the Cats are missing on their depth chart. Of their six projected non-roster defenders, according to PuckPedia, none are over the age of 25. He’d be a veteran body for AHL Charlotte, should clear waivers without issue if signed, and would be a safer, more experienced recall option in case of an injury to the NHL group.

That would make him essentially a direct replacement for Jaycob Megna, who made eight appearances down the stretch for Florida last season but signed with the Golden Knights in free agency. Harpur hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2022-23 season, when he had six points in 42 appearances for the Rangers in a bottom-pairing role. He’s remained in the New York organization since then, but injuries have limited him to just 36 games over the last two seasons with AHL Hartford.

Florida Panthers| Transactions Ben Harpur| Tyler Motte

2 comments

Injury Notes: Sharks, Power, Seguin

September 9, 2025 at 5:01 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 2 Comments

There was some concern for Sharks up-and-comer William Eklund’s health over the summer after he sustained a wrist laceration while playing in a pre-tournament game for Sweden at the World Championship. He needed surgery, and while the skate cut didn’t damage any vital nerves, it did carry a lengthy three-month recovery window. During that time, he also inked a three-year, $16.8MM extension.

Since Eklund’s injury occurred in May, the expectation was that he’d be ready for training camp. That looks to be the case as he was on the ice for an informal skate Monday and was taking contact, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now relays. That’s great news ahead of what could be even more of a breakthrough season for Eklund. He turns 23 next month and carried a 17-41–58 scoring line through 77 appearances in his sophomore year in 2024-25, up from 45 points in 80 games as a rookie (with a horrifying -45 rating) the year prior.

With the 2021 No. 7 overall pick on the mend, another first-rounder in their system also skated after ending last season on injured reserve. Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin was on the ice yesterday “without obvious limitation,” Peng wrote. The 23-year-old had shoulder surgery in the closing days of the regular season after logging nine points and a -7 rating in 30 regular-season appearances, a career-high. The 2020 first-rounder, previously acquired from the Devils, will be in a tight battle with fellow first-rounder Sam Dickinson and depth righty Jack Thompson for a roster spot in camp. He’ll need waivers to head to AHL San Jose, likely a matter of high concern to the Sharks’ front office.

Other injury updates as players begin to return to their team bases for training camp:

  • Sabres defender Owen Power is fully healthy after rehabbing a lower-body injury that ended his 2024-25 season prematurely, telling the team’s Justin Alpert he’s “back to doing everything” and is “ready to go.” He said he’s looking forward to how the increased time in the gym over the summer due to his rehab affects his game as he heads into his fourth full NHL season. The 2021 top pick hit a career-high in points with 40 last year, but also saw career lows in plus/minus (-13) and time on ice (21:19 per game).
  • After telling reporters following the Stars’ playoff elimination that he was dealing with a shoulder injury, Tyler Seguin is 100% after some “relatively easy” rehab, he tells Robert Tiffin of D Magazine. He told Tiffin the injury was caused by a hit from Oilers defender Darnell Nurse in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final. Seguin had 29 points in 38 combined regular-season and playoff games last year, losing most of his regular season to a significant hip procedure.

Buffalo Sabres| Dallas Stars| San Jose Sharks Owen Power| Shakir Mukhamadullin| Tyler Seguin| William Eklund

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