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Former NHL Goaltender Wayne Thomas Passes Away At Age 77

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Wayne Thomas, a long-time NHL executive and eight-year playing veteran as a goaltender, has passed away at age 77, “following a long battle with cancer,” according to a press release from the Sharks.

While undrafted, Thomas managed to appear in 243 NHL games between 1972 and 1981, compiling a 103-93-34 record for the Canadiens, Maple Leafs, and Rangers, with a 3.34 GAA and a .891 SV%. He earned an All-Star Game appearance in 1976 as Toronto’s starter, a season in which he saved 20.8 goals above average in 64 appearances.

Immediately after ending his playing career, Thomas transitioned into a coaching role with the Rangers. He later held goaltending/assistant coaching roles for the Blackhawks, Blues, and Sharks, as well as multiple minor-league clubs. Midway through the 1995-96 season, San Jose promoted him from assistant coach to assistant general manager, a role he held until he retired from the league following the 2014-15 campaign.

“While he achieved great success as a member of several NHL front offices, Wayne’s core passion was his daily work on and off the ice with NHL goaltenders throughout his coaching career, too many to list here, and he continued fruitful relationships with many of them up until his passing,” the Sharks wrote.

All of us at PHR send our condolences to Thomas’ family and friends, as well as the Sharks organization with whom he spent so many years.

CBA Q&A: AHL/CHL Transfers, EBUGs, Preseason, LTIR, More

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In conjunction with last week’s callout, PHR’s Josh Erickson is answering some reader-submitted questions about the new Memorandum of Understanding and adjustments to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Some questions have been edited for clarity and style.

Mike_t – I’ve heard NHL teams can put a 19-year-old in the AHL starting next season or maybe the following season. Do you know if that is part of the new CBA?

Fargo Chipper – Does the CHL have to sign off on the reported eligibility of one 19-year-old player per team being allowed assignment to the AHL?

Starting with a bit of a two-fer here. You’re both onto something. Yes, it is part of the new MOU. Yes, the CHL will need to sign off on it before it happens. The exact text is that the NHL “will reopen its agreement with the CHL to seek to eliminate the mandatory return rule for 19-year-old Players.” The proposed modification allows teams to loan a single 19-year-old player who would otherwise be subject to the previous transfer agreement to the AHL.

As an aside, none of the changes outlined in the new MOU affect league operations for the 2025-26 season or the 2026 draft and free agency. The existing CBA/MOU combination remains valid through Sep. 15, 2026. Every modification laid out in the new MOU takes effect on that date.

blues1967 – What would be the pay scale for an EBUG, since they are expected to be ready for all 82 games? My understanding is their pay would NOT count against the salary cap, correct?

The second part of this question is the quickest to answer. An EBUG is not on the active roster or even signed to a standard NHL contract – that would prohibit them from serving as one, so they’re not considered for salary cap purposes, no.

The first is also pretty simple. Compensation for emergency backups wasn’t previously outlined in the CBA or previous MOUs, and that doesn’t change here. It is entirely up to the team to offer whatever compensation they see fit.

The MOU also stipulates that the EBUG “may also be employed by the Club in another capacity.” I imagine most teams will not “hire” a separate EBUG as a result and will instead give that responsibility to someone already in the organization, assuming they meet the new specific eligibility requirements, like a development coach who’s traveling with the team.

Those eligibility requirements are as follows, and I’ll paraphrase them as best as possible to get rid of the legalese:

  1. Can’t have previously played an NHL game under a standard contract, so previous EBUGs who have entered game action remain eligible,
  2. Can’t have played more than 80 professional hockey games,
  3. Can’t have played pro hockey in the last three seasons,
  4. Can’t have any other contractual obligation that would prevent them from honoring their EBUG responsibilities,
  5. Can’t be on another NHL team’s reserve list.

vincent k. mcmahon – So with the preseason now shortened to just four games with the upcoming CBA, do you think this will have any sort of effect on roster construction around that time? Also, do you see this affecting players who settle for a PTO?

I think the shortened preseason will have a minimal impact on roster construction, particularly for existing players under contract. However, it will have a more significant effect on players with PTO. I’ll address the remedies for this in a second.

As for contracted players, yes, it likely puts more emphasis on their regular-season play the previous year to fuel their candidacy for a roster spot and may result in more teams making decisions based on players they penciled into their lineup over the summer. Considering the fluidity of rosters in the NHL, I don’t see this as a significant impact in the big picture. If anything, it protects teams from perhaps rushing players who aren’t ready for NHL roles into them based on an impressive but small training camp/preseason sample size.

To clarify these new rules (beginning with the 2026-27 preseason), teams cannot schedule more than four preseason games during training camp, those games cannot start earlier than the fourth day of camp, and no one with at least 100 games played (or dressed for goaltenders) can dress for more than two preseason games.

Like I said, opening night roster spot “battles” are often overblown because NHL/AHL roster fluidity is generally vast, particularly with a rising cap. It’s the veteran PTO players who are getting disadvantaged because they now only have a two-game sample size. In contrast, they’d have previously skated in close to every matchup in a longer exhibition schedule.

To that end, the MOU introduces a new formal mid-season PTO agreement, allowing for the extension of an on-the-books tryout into the regular season at any point. That agreement does not permit the player to enter a regular-season game; however, it does essentially provide an exclusive 10-day training/practice window, during which the team has the first right of refusal on a contract if another club attempts to sign the player.

highflyballintorightfield – Can you confirm/correct/comment on this reading of the LTIR changes: 1. A team can replace a player on LTIR only with players of average-salary-or-less (that is, no replacing an injured star with an equivalent player) unless the injured player is deemed ineligible for the rest of the season, including playoffs. 2. In the playoffs, the season’s cap amount applies (with numerous counting rules for bonuses, retentions, etc., that I will assume make sense) to the 20-man roster for each game. 3. The teams or NHLPA can request a good-faith re-assessment of the playoff cap after two playoffs in use (2028).

I’ll go number-by-number on these:

  1. Correct, with a couple of caveats. Essentially, the maximum cap relief via in-season LTIR usage when the player is expected to return is limited to the league average salary for the prior campaign. If this rule were to take effect for 2025-26, the maximum LTIR relief per team would be $3.82MM, since that was the average salary for 2024-25. It will be higher when it takes effect for 2026-27, as the 2025-26 league-average salary is greater than that. Additionally, the injured player in question would be ineligible to dress in the regular season or playoffs, even if they’re medically cleared, if the team exceeded that relief threshold.
  2. Correct. Dead cap applies in full in the playoffs; the only difference is your healthy scratches don’t count.
  3. Mostly correct. They can have that discussion, but the current provisions are locked in through 2028-29. If they decide to scrap it entirely, that can’t happen until the 2030 playoffs.

KSHabs – What are your beliefs on A) How taxes affect contracts after the new CBA, B) Chances of new expansion teams and what divisions and expansion draft could look like, and C) Who is in line to succeed Bettman as he could likely retire within the next few years. Thanks!

None of the above, honestly. The state income tax “loophole,” if you even want to call it that, wasn’t discussed in this MOU. Status quo, no change.

This MOU also doesn’t discuss expansion, aside from players now receiving an additional $35,000 stipend unrelated to moving expenses, if claimed in an expansion draft (it’s unclear who pays this money). Expansion will remain directly tied to hockey-related revenue and the valuation of franchises. The league has a price they’ve set. If someone is willing to pay it and the league sees a viable market/situation, they’ll expand. As a result, there’s no indication as to whether or how expansion draft protection rules may change.

If you ask Bettman, he’ll say that speculation is unfounded. Realistically, he’s 73 years old. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly has been in that post for 20 years now and is 12 years younger than Bettman. It’s really hard not to see him ascending to the throne if he’s still working with the league when Bettman eventually retires.

Ducks Sign Calle Clang, Jan Mysak To Two-Way Deals

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The Ducks have signed restricted free agent goaltender Calle Clang to a two-way deal for the upcoming season, according to a team announcement. The team also announced a two-way agreement for RFA forward Jan Mysak. Financial terms were not disclosed by the team but PuckPedia reports that Clang’s deal is worth $775K in the NHL and $85K in the minors, while Mysak’s is worth $775K and $90K, respectively.

Clang, 23, was a third-round pick of the Penguins in 2020, and Anaheim acquired his signing rights in the deal that sent Rickard Rakell to Pittsburgh in 2022. He looked like quite an intriguing prospect at the time and was amid a run of three strong seasons in professional leagues in his native Sweden. Now, his development has stalled since he arrived in North America at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

The former Champions Hockey League winner with Rogle BK has made 68 appearances for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls in the last few years, logging a 3.15 GAA and a below-average .896 SV% with a 22-32-8 record. His save percentages have slowly declined, from .904 in a five-game trial in 2022-23 to .897 in 2023-24 to .895 last season.

Clang, who stands at 6’2″ and 194 lbs, won’t be in contention for an NHL roster spot in the fall with Lukas Dostal, Petr Mrazek, and Ville Husso ahead of him on the depth chart. He could be in line for extended playing time in San Diego if Husso ends up as part of a three-goalie rotation in the NHL. Still, even that isn’t a given with three other young goalies under contract competing for minor-league playing time in Vyacheslav Buteyets, Damian Clara, and Tomas Suchanek.

Mysak is newer to the Ducks organization than Clang. Anaheim acquired in a minor prospect swap with the Canadiens last season, sending underperforming first-rounder Jacob Perreault the other way.

While Perreault is no longer with the Habs, Mysak extends his stay in Orange County on the heels of a decent showing for San Diego in 2024-25. A second-round pick in 2020, Mysak put together an 18-24–42 scoring line in 68 games after ending the previous season with just one goal in 18 games for the Gulls.

Now 23, the Czech forward has some call-up potential this season if injuries strike. If so, it would be the NHL debut for the 5’11”, 190-lb Mysak, who’s entering his fourth professional season.

Both players will be restricted free agents again next summer. Anaheim now has 38 out of 50 contract slots filled.

Mammoth Sign Michael Carcone To One-Year Contract

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4:03 p.m.: Carcone’s deal is now official and carries a league-minimum cap hit of $775K, according to KSL Sports’ Cole Bagley.

10:23 a.m.: The Mammoth are bringing back unrestricted free agent winger Michael Carcone on a one-year contract, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

The move is one of the more surprising of the offseason, considering Carcone was one of the first players in the league to declare he would be testing free agency after the regular season ended. Evidently, there wasn’t considerable interest in him on the open market, and the Mammoth still wanted him around as offensive insurance for their bottom-six forward group.

Carcone, 29, was a longtime AHL fixture but burst onto the scene with the Coyotes in 2023-24, scoring 21 goals in 74 games despite averaging just 11:16 of ice time per contest. The move to Utah wasn’t kind to him, though.

Utah made Carcone a healthy scratch for a larger portion of the campaign, only playing him in 53 games. When he dressed, his shooting percentage had dropped by half from the prior season. He scored only seven goals and 19 points, despite seeing a slight increase in average ice time of 10 seconds when he was in the lineup. Things came to a head late in the season, as Utah chased down a playoff spot, and Carcone only appeared in one of their final 10 games.

There’s no guarantee that Carcone will slot into the opening night lineup in the fall. The Mammoth have acquired and sent away an equal amount of impact forwards, leading to a refreshed but still full-looking group. The 5’9″ winger will be competing with names like the similarly undersized Kailer Yamamoto and enforcer Liam O’Brien for the 12th and final spot in the forward lineup, presumably as their fourth-line left wing, assuming there are no pressing injuries.

Utah will have 46 out of the maximum 50 contracts on the books for next season after registering Carcone’s deal.

Image courtesy of Brad Penner-Imagn Images.

Maple Leafs Sign Miroslav Holinka To Entry-Level Deal

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The Maple Leafs have signed 2024 fifth-round pick Miroslav Holinka to a three-year, entry-level contract, per a team press release. Financial terms were not disclosed by the team but PuckPedia reports that the deal will carry a $918K cap charge.

Holinka, 19, made the jump to North America last season after playing his draft year in Czechia with HC Ocelari Trinec, split between their pro club and their under-20 squad. The offensive-minded center was spectacular in the Czech juniors in 2023-24, scoring 20 goals and 41 points in just 29 games.

That breakneck pace didn’t hold up as Holinka arrived in the much more competitive WHL with the Edmonton Oil Kings. However, he was still among their top producers on a per-game basis and had a 19-26–45 scoring line in 47 appearances.

The 6’1″, 185-lb center also cracked Czechia’s roster for the 2025 World Juniors, where he scored a goal and three assists in seven games en route to a bronze medal. While he could technically jump to the AHL this season – he turns 20 in November and wasn’t subjected to the AHL/CHL transfer agreement anyway since he was drafted out of Czechia – it wouldn’t be surprising to see him remain with the Oil Kings for another year of development. If he’s intent on turning pro, a lower-stakes environment like the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones may be a better fit for Holinka, who is still somewhat of a raw talent.

Since Holinka is signing at 19 and turns 20 before Jan. 1, 2026, he’s not eligible for an entry-level slide. His contract will take effect this season no matter if he sees NHL action or not, so he’ll be a restricted free agent upon expiry in 2028.

Jets Sign Tyrel Bauer To Two-Way Deal

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The Jets announced they’ve re-signed depth defenseman Tyrel Bauer to a two-way contract. The restricted free agent will earn a $775K NHL/$100K AHL/$125K guaranteed salary breakdown, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press reports.

Bauer, 23, will return to the Jets organization for his fourth professional season. The 6’3″, 207-lb righty has spent his entire career with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose since turning pro in 2022, serving as a No. 6/7 option there with a willingness to drop the gloves.

A sixth-round pick in 2020, Bauer was never a point producer in junior hockey, and that’s carried over to his time with the Moose. The Alberta native has only four goals and 16 points in 162 career AHL games, logging 291 penalty minutes and a -39 rating.

It’s a tad surprising to see Winnipeg dole out an NHL contract to Bauer since the possibility of a call-up at any point in his career is slim to none, unless he makes a move to forward to make him a more palatable enforcer. Nonetheless, it appears they view him as a valuable depth piece for his intangibles and will keep him in the system for another season after his entry-level contract expired two weeks ago.

Bauer will remain under team control next summer upon expiry. He’s still two years away from being eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency, which he’ll almost certainly qualify for if he gets to that stage.

Winnipeg now has 43 contracts out of the maximum 50 on the books for this season and still has to sign RFAs Parker Ford, Dylan Samberg, and Gabriel Vilardi to new deals.

Pacific Notes: Willander, Raty, Lekkerimaki, Eichel, Uljanskis, Thornton

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After the Canucks made another piece of offseason business in trading goaltender Arturs Silovs to the Penguins over the weekend, The Athletic’s Thomas Drance took a deep dive into the roster math that lies ahead and what other moves could be coming.

Among those could be something of a crunch on defense. After signing 2023 first-rounder Tom Willander to his entry-level contract in May, Drance reports the club has him penciled in on Vancouver’s opening night roster, not on assignment to AHL Abbotsford to begin his professional career. He expects that the defenseman named Elias Pettersson, not their highest-paid forward of the same name, has received a similar designation.

As such, Drance relays to expect Vancouver to carry 13 forwards and eight defensemen out of the gate instead of the slightly more commonplace 14/7 breakdown, with prospect Victor Mancini and recent depth signing Pierre-Olivier Joseph likely the only legitimate candidates for the eighth spot. Mancini is still waiver-exempt, so that could work in Joseph’s favor.

For the forwards, Aatu Raty has the best candidacy for a job out of all their young fringe NHLers coming off a Calder Cup championship with AHL Abbotsford because of “the club’s needs down the middle,” Drance writes. One name that likely won’t be in contention for a depth job is top wing prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki.

“It sounds like the club is open to slow-cooking Lekkerimäki in the AHL to begin next season,” Drance said. “The gifted scoring winger is waiver exempt, and the club wants to be cautious about managing his development and not rushing him.” Older but lower-ceiling names like Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson will be in contention for open fourth-line/press box slots instead.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • There isn’t anything new to report on extension talks between the Golden Knights and star center Jack Eichel, writes David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. An “open line of communication” remains after negotiations reportedly began over the past few months, but the needle hasn’t moved much since.
  • Ducks defense prospect Darels Uljanskis is making the jump from Europe to North America to finish out his junior career, via Derek Lee of The Hockey News. Anaheim selected the left-shot Latvian in the seventh round last year. He’ll play out 2025-26 for the OHL’s Flint Firebirds after recording 39 points and a +12 rating in 44 games for AIK’s under-20 squad in Sweden last season.
  • The Sharks announced on Tuesday that they’ve formalized a front-office title for Hall-of-Famer Joe Thornton, naming him as a player development coach and hockey operations advisor amid a slew of other minor staff changes. Thornton had remained in the San Jose area and worked frequently with the club in an unofficial capacity since retiring in 2022, but the franchise icon will now be firmly embedded in the process of building the team’s next window of championship contention.

Bruins Sign John Farinacci To Two-Way Deal

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The Bruins have signed restricted free agent forward John Farinacci to a two-way contract, according to a team press release.

Farinacci, 24, would have spent four seasons at Harvard if not for COVID after being drafted in the third round by the Coyotes in 2019. He did not sign an entry-level contract with Arizona and instead reached an agreement with the Bruins immediately upon becoming a free agent in August 2023 following his senior season. He’s spent most of the past two seasons playing in the AHL for the Bruins’ affiliate in Providence.

Farinacci made his NHL debut in Boston’s final game of the 2024-25 regular season, scoring a goal on his lone shot in 10:58 of ice time against the Devils. The 5’11” center also went an impressive 6-for-8 on draws in that game and recorded three hits.

In 58 regular-season games with the Providence Bruins last season, the New Jersey native scored 10 goals, 28 assists, and 38 points while taking just three minor penalties and recording a plus-nine rating. While he only had one goal in eight Calder Cup Playoff games, he did manage to finish seventh on the team in regular-season scoring and matched his 2023-24 point total in 13 fewer appearances.

If Farinacci appears on the NHL roster in the 2025-26 season, he’ll earn the prorated league minimum of $775K; the team didn’t disclose his minor-league salary. The cousin of Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato will likely be a Group VI unrestricted free agent next summer unless he manages to play in 79 NHL games in the upcoming season.

The Bruins have now filled 45 of their 50 standard contract slots for 2025-26.

Sabres, Bowen Byram Avoid Arbitration With Two-Year Deal

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The Sabres have settled with restricted free agent defenseman Bowen Byram before their arbitration hearing, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports. It’s a two-year contract worth $6.25MM per season, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet adds. The team has since confirmed the signing.

The contract, worth $12.5MM in total, could still be part of a sign-and-trade involving Byram, whose name more seriously popped up in trade speculation early in the offseason ahead of what he hoped would be a big payday for him. Instead, the young rearguard settles for another “show-me” bridge deal, one that notably walks him to his first UFA-eligible year in 2027, giving him better earning potential on a long-term deal than he has now, assuming he continues an upward trajectory.

Byram, selected No. 4 overall in the 2019 draft by the Avalanche, struggled with concussions early and often in his development but has enjoyed healthier campaigns in recent years. After getting his name on the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022, they signed him to a two-year, $7.7MM bridge deal the following summer. Before he completed the first season of the contract, Colorado, looking to upgrade its center group, dealt Byram to Buffalo in a surprise one-for-one trade for Casey Mittelstadt.

While few things have gone right for the Sabres in the last decade-plus, that trade was one of them. Colorado no longer has Mittelstadt or the veteran they ended up trading him for, Charlie Coyle, on their roster. Byram, meanwhile, could still be poised to play another couple of seasons in Buffalo – multiple reports have indicated he’s open to staying long-term as long as the money is of interest.

Byram’s best NHL season came last year in top-pairing deployment with Rasmus Dahlin. While a bit of an awkward fit at first glance with two lefties, Byram managed a career-high with 38 points and a +11 rating while averaging nearly 23 minutes per game and, perhaps more importantly, played in all 82 contests. He’s now missed just nine games over the last two years after missing more than half of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons combined.

Byram notably did not file for arbitration, leaving himself susceptible to an offer sheet. Still, the Sabres negated that threat the following day when they opted for team-elected arbitration. That move limited their ability to walk away if they didn’t like the award and allowed Byram to choose between a one-year or a two-year term. Even without a hearing, Byram likely gets his wish here with a chance to test unrestricted free agency as early in his career as possible.

Still just 24, Byram’s 116 blocks co-led the team last year, although his possession impacts, with a noticeable discrepancy between his and Dahlin’s even-strength Corsi shares, are cause for concern. Both Buffalo and Byram, for his market value’s sake, will count on his defensive play to improve as the Sabres aim to make the postseason for the first time since 2011, assuming he remains in Western New York come opening night.

Image courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.

Submit Your Questions For A CBA Q&A

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The NHL and NHLPA today released the full text of their new Collective Bargaining Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding, set to take effect ahead of the 2026-27 season. The two sides officially ratified the four-year extension on Tuesday, with many key details about the document already reported.

Still, some of the finer details may have gotten lost in translation or were not completely made public before today. As a result, we’re running a special-edition mailbag/Q&A about the new CBA and MOU. Submit your questions about the extension in the comment section below, and PHR’s Josh Erickson will comb through both documents to find the answer.

The mailbag will run on Tuesday, July 15.

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