Avalanche Acquire Sean Walker From Flyers
The Avalanche traded for one of the more highly-coveted right-handed defensemen on the market Wednesday, announcing the acquisition of Sean Walker and a 2026 fifth-round pick from the Flyers in exchange for center Ryan Johansen and a 2025 top-10 protected first-round pick. The Flyers subsequently placed Johansen on waivers. If the first-round pick ends up being a top-10 selection, it would transfer to 2026, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.
Walker, 29, began his NHL as an undrafted free agent signing by the Kings in 2018 after spending a season with their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. He made his major league debut that year, impressing with three goals and 10 points and a -8 rating on one of the league’s worst offensive teams. His possession numbers out of the gate were strong, posting a relative CF% of 3.6 at even strength in primarily defensive-zone usage. He quickly became a full-time fixture, playing in the majority of the Kings’ games across the COVID-shortened 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns. However, a torn ACL and MCL ended his 2021-22 campaign after just six games.
While he was cleared to play when 2022-23 rolled around, he didn’t look like the same player. Walker tumbled out of top-four consideration in L.A., averaging a career-low 14:50 per game while posting a 51.4 CF% at even strength that was slightly below the team average. He was a healthy scratch at times, too, making his $2.65MM cap hit an unaffordable expenditure for a Kings team looking to load up last summer.
As such, he was traded to the Flyers last summer in the three-team blockbuster that also saw Ivan Provorov head from Philly to the Blue Jackets. It turned out to be a necessary change of scenery for Walker, who’s rediscovered his confidence and has once again blossomed into a capable top-four blue-liner. With six goals and 22 points in 63 games, he’s on pace to break his career-high of 24 points set in 2019-20, and he’s also averaging a career-high 19:36 per game. He’s had impeccable possession impacts, too, logging a +13.9 expected rating and a 53.6 CF% at even strength, playing primarily alongside journeyman shutdown blue-liner Nick Seeler, who’s nearing an extension to remain in Philadelphia. Both were pending UFAs.
Walker will slot in as a more defensively responsible partner for Samuel Girard on the Avs’ second pairing. He replaces 2019 fourth-overall pick Bowen Byram, who Colorado dealt to the Sabres in exchange for center Casey Mittelstadt in a subsequent trade Wednesday. Notably, three of the Avalanche’s top four defenders are listed at under 6 feet, but their core is still remarkably similar to the defense that led them to a Stanley Cup championship just two years ago.
With all their first-round picks in store for the next three years (and after making two first-round picks in 2023), parting with one for Walker is a sensible cost to pay for a team looking to capitalize on the primes of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar for a second championship. Ridding themselves of Johansen, who fell short of expectations with 23 points in 63 games this year, also clears a crucial $4MM off their books through next season. If he clears waivers and reports to the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, he’ll cost a slightly reduced $2.85MM against Philly’s cap.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the trade.
Sportsnet’s Eric Engels was first to report that the Flyers received a first-round pick, while Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports specified it will be in 2025.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was first to report that Johansen was heading to the Flyers.
The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta was first to report that Johansen was being placed on waivers.
Panthers Acquire Vladimir Tarasenko From Senators
11:33 a.m.: The Senators confirmed the trade and all its parts in a team release Wednesday morning.
10:45 a.m.: The Panthers are nearing a deal to acquire pending UFA winger Vladimir Tarasenko from the Senators, according to reports from Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Florida is sending a 2025 third-round pick and a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick to Ottawa, who retains 50% of Tarasenko’s $5MM cap hit, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. The 2024 fourth-rounder will upgrade to a 2026 third-round pick if the Panthers win the Stanley Cup.
Since no roster players are being sent back to the Sens, the Panthers must place a player on waivers and assign them a non-roster designation in the interim to create space. They have no open roster spots or waiver-exempt players to assign to AHL Charlotte. Swallowing Tarasenko’s reduced $2.5MM cap hit still leaves Florida with roughly $3.2MM in space ahead of Friday’s trade deadline.
Tarasenko joins his fourth team in the past two seasons and, based on previous reporting from Garrioch, ends up in his preferred destination. The 32-year-old has complete no-trade protection as part of the one-year deal he signed with Ottawa last summer, which he waived to approve the move to Florida.
In acquiring Tarasenko, Panthers GM Bill Zito addresses his squad’s most significant need on paper – another winger to ride shotgun with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. 30-year-old Nick Cousins, who has just five goals and 10 points in 51 games, has been shouldering top-six minutes with Anton Lundell and Evan Rodrigues finding chemistry together on Florida’s third line.
The defending Eastern Conference champions are now deeper than ever, adding Tarasenko’s 17 goals and 41 points this season to an offense that already ranked eighth in goals per game. Even his middle-of-the-pack possession metrics should be an improvement over the struggling Cousins, who’s hurt both the Bennett and Lundell lines, per MoneyPuck. When flanked by Carter Verhaeghe, Bennett and Tkachuk have controlled 60.4% of expected goals compared to 51.8% with Cousins.
It’s likely not the return the Sens wanted for their highest-value rental, especially with salary retention included. The extent to which Tarasenko’s no-trade clause limited Sens GM Steve Staios‘ options for a return is unknown. Two draft picks are better than none, though, and there was little reason for Ottawa to hold onto Tarasenko with the playoffs out of reach for a franchise-record seventh straight season.
Tarasenko’s absence should translate to an uptick in ice time for 21-year-old Ridly Greig, who’s averaged under 15 minutes per game, down the stretch. He’s been one of the Sens’ bright spots this season, posting a team-high +17 rating along with nine goals and 21 points in 49 games. Tarasenko’s most common spot alongside Drake Batherson and Tim Stützle will be filled by another veteran in Claude Giroux, at least out of the gate.
By retaining $2.5MM of Tarasenko’s cap hit, the Sens remain over the $83.5MM Upper Limit, requiring Joshua Norris‘ $7.95MM cap hit on LTIR to stay compliant. He remains out indefinitely with an upper-body injury potentially related to the shoulder problems that sidelined him for nearly all of 2022-23.
Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest was the first to report that two draft picks were heading from the Panthers to the Senators.
Canucks Reassign Vasily Podkolzin
The Canucks returned winger Vasily Podkolzin to AHL Abbotsford on Wednesday, per a team announcement.
The 22-year-old’s second stint on the NHL roster this season was brief, lasting just three days. He made back-to-back appearances against the Ducks and Kings, recording one shot while averaging 10:58 of ice time.
Podkolzin, the 10th overall pick in 2019, could very well be in his final days in the Canucks organization. The Canucks remain embroiled in trade talks for high-profile deadline targets like Jake Guentzel, and without a full-time NHL role, he’s a natural candidate to increase the value of their offers.
Sending him to Abbotsford frees up a necessary roster spot for Vancouver, who was at the 23-player maximum on their active roster. They may use the extra roster space to execute trades today or sign UFA winger Phil Kessel for the remainder of the season. The three-time Stanley Cup champion remains in Vancouver and has been working out with the organization since last month.
Podkolzin is in the final season of his entry-level contract, which carries a $925K cap hit. He’ll be an RFA this summer but is not yet eligible for salary arbitration.
He’s continuously slipped down the depth chart since skating in 79 NHL games for Vancouver two seasons ago, but he’s been decent in the minors this year with 15 goals and 28 points in 44 games. He boasted solid possession numbers in his two NHL showings this week, recording a 55.3 CF% at even strength with a +0.6 expected rating.
Philadelphia Flyers Extend Nick Seeler
3:40 pm: The Philadelphia Flyers have announced the signing, confirming that it will be a four-year, $10.8MM contract extension for Seeler. The deal will also carry a M-NTC for Seeler in the first two years of the contract.
9:59 am: Half of the Flyers’ top shutdown pairing appears to be off the trade block — for multiple reasons. Not only has Nick Seeler landed on injured reserve Wednesday with a lower-body injury, but his camp is making significant progress on a contract extension to keep him in Philly, Darren Dreger of TSN reports. Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period adds the deal is expected to be three or four years in length and will carry an average annual value of around $3.3MM.
In a transaction corresponding with Seeler’s IR placement, the Flyers recalled blue-liner Adam Ginning from AHL Lehigh Valley. It’s the 24-year-old’s first recall of the season.
Seeler, 30, has emerged from the woodwork to emerge one of the league’s most competent two-way defensive pairs alongside Sean Walker, who’s also seen his name bandied about heavily in trade talks. The two pending UFAs have been crucial in helping the Flyers break out for a likely playoff berth, posting a team-high 55.9% expected goals share in their 645 minutes together this season, per MoneyPuck. Seeler’s seen more limited usage at even strength – averaging 14:46 per game compared to Walker’s 16:47 – but he is tied for the team lead with a +15 rating alongside top scorer Travis Konecny. His overall 16:58 average per game is a career-high.
He’s slowly developed into a multi-competent NHL player after starting his career as a bottom-of-the-lineup enforcer with the Wild in the late 2010s. Since joining the Flyers in 2021, Seeler has accumulated six goals, 23 assists, and 29 points in 183 games. One of those goals and 12 points have come in 63 games this year.
While not guaranteed, Seeler’s extension increases the likelihood of Walker finding a new home within 48 hours. The Flyers are far ahead of schedule in their rebuild, and GM Daniel Brière has preached patience and not sacrificing long-term success for short-term gains in the weeks leading up to the deadline. Walker could command a first- or second-round pick plus a handful of other desirable assets based on the market set by the Chris Tanev swap last month after the Flyers took him on as a cap dump in a three-way trade with the Blue Jackets and Kings last summer involving Ivan Provorov.
Seeler is in the final season of a two-year, $1.55MM extension he signed in May 2022. His deal carries a two-way structure this season ($775K NHL/$350K AHL/$375K gt’d), although at no point has an AHL assignment been considered for him.
Unfortunately, the Minnesota native will miss a handful of contests as the Flyers try to maintain third place in the Metropolitan Division. Assuming his IR placement is backdated to when he sustained the injury on Monday against the Blues, he’s been ruled out for a pair of pivotal contests against the Panthers and Lightning this week.
Ginning, a second-round pick in 2018, could make his season debut if Walker is dealt by Friday or if the Flyers opt to dress seven defensemen. He’s appeared in 52 contests with Lehigh Valley this season, scoring twice and adding 11 assists for 13 points with a -9 rating. He’ll be an RFA with arbitration rights this summer after completing his two-year, $1.85MM entry-level contract.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the official deal for Seeler.
Senators Expected To Scratch Vladimir Tarasenko For Trade-Related Reasons
The Senators will likely scratch pending UFA winger Vladimir Tarasenko for trade-related reasons Wednesday against the Ducks, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports. Ottawa recalled winger Matthew Highmore from AHL Belleville in a corresponding transaction, a team announcement states.
In recent days, Tarasenko has generated interest from multiple teams. The Bruins, Oilers, Golden Knights, Hurricanes, Panthers, and Rangers have all inquired about picking him up before Friday’s trade deadline, Garrioch said Monday.
His one-year, $5MM contract contains a no-trade clause, so he can block a trade to any team he chooses. Per Garrioch, Tarasenko reportedly prefers the defending Eastern Conference champion Panthers as his post-deadline home, but it doesn’t appear he’ll force his way into a move to South Florida if another contender serves up an offer more to Sens GM Steve Staios‘ liking.
Tarasenko, 32, has picked things up after a slow start in the Canadian capital, posting 17 goals, 24 assists and 41 points in 57 games. His 0.72 points per game matches last season’s rate split between the Blues and Rangers, albeit in a little less ice time. Tarasenko’s averaging 16:03 per game, his lowest usage in 10 years.
Interestingly, he’s been a much-improved player at controlling possession quality from his later days in St. Louis. He has a 0.2 expected rating, his first time in the black in an entire season since winning the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019.
As such, Ottawa will follow in the footsteps of the Kraken (Alexander Wennberg) and Coyotes (Jason Zucker) and scratch their most likely trade asset to avoid a pre-deadline injury. Tarasenko, who has four points in his last four games, will be a scratch for the first time since taking a brief personal leave in December.
He’ll be replaced in the lineup by the 28-year-old Highmore, who comes up from Belleville for the third time this season. The Nova Scotia-born winger made six appearances for the Sens in November and December, recording an assist, a -1 rating and one shot on goal while averaging a career-low 7:59 per game.
The former Blackhawks, Blues and Canucks depth forward is in his first season in Ottawa after inking a one-year, two-way deal ($775K NHL/$400K AHL) on July 1 last year. He’s spent most of the year with Belleville, scoring nine goals and adding 20 assists for 29 points in 40 games. It’s a significant step back from last year’s minor-league showing when he posted 61 points in 68 games with St. Louis’ affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.
As long as Highmore’s recall lasts under 10 days and sees him play four games or less, he won’t need waivers to return to the B-Sens. He’ll likely factor in on Ottawa’s fourth line tonight with Mark Kastelic and Parker Kelly. Zack MacEwen, who was quietly moved to injured reserve yesterday, per CapFriendly, is out with a lower-body injury.
Capitals Sign Rasmus Sandin To Five-Year Extension
The Capitals have re-signed pending RFA defenseman Rasmus Sandin to a five-year extension, the team announced Wednesday. His contract carries an average annual value and cap hit of $4.6MM, earning him $23MM over the life of the deal. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was the first to report Washington and Sandin were nearing an extension.
Sandin, 23, would have been eligible for salary arbitration if he reached restricted free agency this summer. He’ll be a UFA at the end of his new deal, which expires after the 2028-29 season.
The 2018 first-round pick has logged major minutes for Washington since they acquired him from the Maple Leafs for Erik Gustafsson and a first-round pick before last season’s trade deadline. With Martin Fehérváry missing a significant chunk of the season with injuries, Sandin has often slid into a top-pairing role alongside John Carlson and is averaging a career-high 21:19 per game.
That pairing has struggled defensively, conceding 2.97 expected goals against per 60 minutes, according to MoneyPuck. He’s fared considerably better in slightly less usage alongside Trevor van Riemsdyk, who have a 50.4% expected goals share (and only 2.19 expected goals against per 60 minutes) when paired together.
His production is down slightly from last year’s seven-goal, 35-point campaign, but he still has a respectable 20 points in 52 games and has plenty of room to grow as he enters his mid-20s. Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic pegs the deal as an immediate slight overpay but a long-term bargain, with Sandin’s average market value projected at $5.3MM per season over the contract’s duration.
The contract does not include any trade protection, per CapFriendly. $7MM of the $23MM total, approximately 30%, will be paid in signing bonuses.
Washington has their blue line set for next season with only Joel Edmundson on an expiring contract. If he’s not dealt by Friday’s trade deadline, he’s unlikely to be re-signed. Carlson, Fehérváry, van Riemsdyk, Alexander Alexeyev, Ethan Bear, and Nick Jensen are all signed to one-way deals through next season, giving the Caps a full complement of seven defensemen.
However, the signing does leave Washington in a cap crunch that GM Brian MacLellan will need to get creative to navigate. With pay bumps for Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson kicking in next season, the Capitals are down to $4.17MM in projected cap space with a roster size of 16, per CapFriendly. That figure accounts for buried center Evgeny Kuznetsov, whose cap hit is reduced slightly to $6.65MM while on assignment to AHL Hershey, remaining in the minors.
Sandin was in the final season of a two-year, $2.8MM deal he signed after holding out for most of the 2022 offseason.
Metropolitan Notes: Capitals, Fehérváry, Toffoli, Palát, Islanders
The Capitals had multiple injury updates from Tuesday morning’s practice, per Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network. Namely, winger T.J. Oshie skated for the first time since sustaining a non-contact upper-body injury on Feb. 22 against the Lightning. The 37-year-old has missed five games and remains week to week, but signs are pointing toward the 2018 Stanley Cup champ coming off injured reserve before the end of the regular season.
Depth center Nic Dowd, who’s likely to be in play at Friday’s trade deadline if the Caps drop a key matchup against the Penguins in their pursuit of a wild-card spot on Thursday, also took a step forward in his recovery from an upper-body injury. While still wearing a no-contact jersey, El-Bashir says he “looked full-go” and could return against Pittsburgh. The 33-year-old is regarded as one of the better fourth-line centers in the league, consistently boasting above-average possession impacts with the ability to add some tertiary scoring. He’s got eight goals and 16 points in 45 games on the season, being elevated in the lineup at times and averaging a career-high 15:27 per game.
Defenseman Martin Fehérváry also skated in a no-contact jersey but didn’t look close to returning, El-Bashir said. The 24-year-old hasn’t played since sustaining a lower-body injury on Feb. 17 against the Canadiens and has now missed Washington’s last seven games. The 2018 second-round pick has again logged top-four usage this year, recording 12 points in 47 games with a -6 rating while averaging 18:45 per game. His absence has been a silver lining for the younger Rasmus Sandin, who’s regained some confidence in a top-pairing role alongside John Carlson and is now up to 20 points in 52 games while logging 21:19 per game.
Other updates from Metropolitan Division teams mired in the wild-card race:
- The Devils made it known earlier this week they’d prefer to keep winger Tyler Toffoli past the trade deadline and continue working on an extension. Today, GM Tom Fitzgerald said the two sides are close on salary but still have a gap to bridge regarding contract length (via Amanda Stein of the Devils’ official site). It’s not clear which side prefers a longer-term deal than the other, however. Toffoli leads the Devils in goals with 26 in 60 games and is wrapping up a four-year, $17MM deal signed with Montreal in 2020.
- New Jersey will also be without winger Ondřej Palát due to a lower-body injury as they aim to get back in the playoff race tonight against the conference-leading Panthers, interim head coach Travis Green said (via Stein). Palát has had a middling second year with the Devils, recording nine goals and 24 points in 51 games, but the two-time Cup champ with the Lightning has always been regarded for his playoff production rather than regular season point totals. Veteran center Chris Tierney, who’s averaged just 9:06 per game this year, will slide into a third-line role alongside Curtis Lazar and Dawson Mercer in Green’s debut leading the New Jersey bench.
- Sticking in the Tri-State Area, Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello issued a handful of injury updates during his media availability Tuesday morning (via Arthur Staple of The Athletic). Depth blue-liner Robert Bortuzzo, who remains on LTIR with a lower-body injury, should return within a week. He put up a -3 rating in 11 games for the Isles after a mid-season trade from St. Louis before exiting the lineup in early January, now missing over two months with the ailment. He’ll give them a more experienced option to slot into the lineup as they stay in the race for a playoff spot and look to add some help before Friday’s deadline. Lamoriello added that veteran enforcer Matt Martin, who left Saturday’s win over the Bruins early, is cleared to play tonight against the Blues. The 34-year-old has three points and 31 PIMs in 38 games in what could be his final season with the team.
Avalanche Sign Ivan Ivan To Entry-Level Contract
The Avalanche have signed undrafted free agent center Ivan Ivan to a two-year entry-level contract, per a team announcement Tuesday. Financial terms were not disclosed, although the deal will begin next season and make him an RFA in 2026.
Ivan, 21, was on an AHL contract with the Avalanche’s affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. He’s had a promising inaugural professional season, scoring 12 goals, 15 assists, and 27 points in 51 games with a +3 rating.
The 6-foot Czech pivot was impressive on an otherwise middling Cape Breton Eagles team over three years in the QMJHL, closing out his major junior career with a 33-goal, 90-point campaign in 64 games last year. He was named to Czechia’s 2022 World Junior Championship roster, where he notched one assist in seven games en route to a bronze-game loss.
Ivan’s transition to the pro game has created some buzz about his ceiling as a solid bottom-six playmaking center who can log some penalty-kill time. Size won’t be a hurdle in his NHL adjustment, weighing in at nearly 200 lbs, and he’s got plenty of experience playing on North American ice, joining Cape Breton in 2019 after playing out his youth career in Czechia.
Signing Ivan brings the Avs to 47 out of the maximum 50 contracts, so they’ll be cognizant of the limit as they navigate the trade waters this week. He’ll remain waiver-exempt throughout his ELC if he plays 80 NHL games or less.
Red Wings Have Shown Interest In Bryan Rust
The Red Wings “have shown the most interest” among multiple teams that have inquired about acquiring veteran Penguins winger Bryan Rust via trade, Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports Tuesday. However, the 31-year-old is unlikely to be on the move ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, as Yohe says Pittsburgh GM Kyle Dubas has not asked Rust to waive his no-move clause.
A 4-5-1 stretch in their last 10 games has the Penguins slipping down the Eastern Conference standings and heading toward retool mode. They boast arguably the top pending UFA available on the trade market in Jake Guentzel, and the prospects they receive in return for the point-per-game winger could help inject some much-needed youth as they attempt to continue being playoff contenders in the twilight years of the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin/Kris Letang core.
As Yohe points out, Guentzel’s likely trade in the next three days makes dealing Rust now a more aggressive short-term downgrade than Dubas is willing to execute. The team has no intentions of a complete rebuild with Crosby in the fold, especially with their captain nearing the end of his contract. Trading away both of his regular linemates would be counterintuitive.
That said, Rust is signed through 2028 at a reasonable $5.125MM cap hit, and his NMC expires on July 1, 2025. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Red Wings keep tabs on the Michigan native as the Penguins continue to navigate tumultuous waters and make another run at acquiring him, either during this offseason or after his NMC expires.
While injuries have limited Rust to 42 games this year, he’s primarily bounced back from a disappointing 2022-23 season that saw him produce at his lowest clip in four years. He’s potted 18 goals and 18 assists for 36 points with a career-high +15 rating, putting him on pace for 70 over an entire season – much closer to the realm of production he’s had throughout his prime.
A third-round pick of the Pens in 2010, Rust hoisted the Stanley Cup in his first two full seasons in the league in 2016 and 2017. If Detroit maintains their level of interest, he could be a logical veteran replacement for Patrick Kane in the top-six, who will be a UFA this summer after signing a one-year, $2.75MM deal to resume his NHL career in Hockeytown mid-season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Islanders To Place Scott Mayfield On LTIR, Out 4-6 Weeks
11:02 a.m.: The Islanders made Mayfield’s LTIR placement official in an announcement, activating winger Hudson Fasching off LTIR in a corresponding transaction. Fasching could suit up tonight against the Blues for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury at the end of January.
10:30 a.m.: The Islanders will move defenseman Scott Mayfield to long-term injured reserve, GM Lou Lamoriello said Tuesday (via Arthur Staple of The Athletic). Mayfield, who has already missed four games with a lower-body injury, will miss an additional four to six weeks.
The 31-year-old was previously listed as day-to-day. He has not played since Feb. 22 against the Blues and has been dealing with the lingering effects of an ankle injury he sustained in the first game of the season, as he confirmed to Ethan Sears of the New York Post last month.
A six-week recovery timeline from today puts him back in the lineup for Game 82 of the regular season, a potential but unlikely playoff-berth-deciding matchup against the Penguins. Given the chronic nature of the Missouri native’s injury, he could be done for the regular season, allowing the Isles to use his $3.5MM cap hit by next Friday’s trade deadline to make a playoff push. Sitting ninth in the Eastern Conference and six points out of a playoff spot, they won’t be aggressive buyers, but Lamoriello said Tuesday that he’s open to adding if the acquisition cost makes sense.
Suppose Mayfield is done for the regular season. In that case, the injury ends a challenging first year of the seven-year, $24.5MM deal with trade protection he signed to stay on Long Island after briefly reaching unrestricted free agency on July 1. His five assists in 41 games are disappointing. However, his decline in usage from 21:02 last season to 18:46 this year is downright concerning this early in the contract, especially considering his career-worst possession metrics (40.0 Corsi-for percentage at even strength, -8.7 expected rating).
His absence could influence the Isles to focus on blue-line insurance over the next 72 hours. Their top four, Noah Dobson, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, and Alexander Romanov, are passable for a playoff-bound team, especially considering Dobson’s resurgence, but a pair of fringe NHLers, Sebastian Aho and Mike Reilly, make up their bottom pairing with no better internal options. 23-year-old Samuel Bolduc remains on the roster after completing a recent conditioning stint in AHL Bridgeport. However, his possession metrics are among the worst on the team and trail Aho and Reilly’s decent even-strength play by a wide margin.
Assuming Mayfield’s LTIR placement is retroactive to his last appearance, he would be eligible to return on March 17 against the Rangers. However, his recovery timeline dictates he won’t play again until April at the earliest. He remains under contract with the Isles until 2030.