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Canucks Sign Thatcher Demko To Three-Year Extension

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July 1: It will be a three-year extension for Demko when announced later today, PuckPedia reports. He will be a UFA upon expiry in 2029 at age 33. The team has now announced the deal, which is worth $25.5MM for a cap hit of $8.5MM. He will earn a $10.5MM salary in 2026-27, a $2MM salary and $6MM signing bonus in 2027-28, and a $1MM salary and $6MM signing bonus in 2028-29, according to PuckPedia. The contract also includes a full no-movement clause.

June 30: The Canucks are nearing an extension to keep goaltender Thatcher Demko in Vancouver past next season, sources inform the now-independent insider Frank Seravalli. He’s expected to sign the deal upon becoming eligible to do so tomorrow. They’re still ironing out the money and structure of the contract, but have agreed on its length, per Darren Dreger of TSN.

Demko’s early extension comes days after Dreger reported there was momentum on a new deal despite free agency still being a year away for the netminder. The presumably multi-year commitment comes after perhaps the two hottest-and-coldest seasons an NHLer can have. The 29-year-old’s 2023-24 campaign was outright dominant, posting a .918 SV%, 2.45 GAA, five shutouts, and a 35-14-2 record in 51 games as he finished as the Vezina Trophy runner-up.

Then, Demko sustained a knee injury in Game 1 of their playoff run that year, later revealed to be a popliteus muscle tear – an exceedingly rare injury for an athlete, which led to considerable uncertainty about his return timeline. He started the season on injured reserve and wasn’t cleared to return until December. When he did come back, he was in and out of the lineup due to unrelated injuries and an illness. That led to his numbers nosediving this season, as he logged a career-low .889 SV% and a 2.90 GAA in 23 appearances. That was still good for 1.4 goals saved above expected, according to MoneyPuck, due to a demanding workload in terms of shot quality.

Long considered the organization’s goalie of the future, he had fully achieved that title and was their undisputed starter until late-offseason free agent signing Kevin Lankinen stepped up in his absence this year. During the campaign in which he posted a .902 SV% in 51 appearances, Vancouver rewarded him with a five-year, $22.5MM extension in February. That indicates they anticipate Lankinen handling more of a workload than a standard No. 2 option would for the foreseeable future. He also has a no-movement clause through 2026-27, so a trade isn’t on the table anytime soon.

That indicates the Canucks anticipate Demko’s injury significantly altering his career trajectory and his ability to handle 50-plus starts per season consistently. Presumably, his pending extension will reflect that. His track record, compared to Lankinen’s more limited deployment in heavy usage, means he should still be penciled in as the No. 1 option on the Canucks’ depth chart entering next season and for the foreseeable future. However, Vancouver could be betting on a more platoon approach to keep Demko healthy.

Demko will still count $5MM against Vancouver’s cap for 2025-26 as he enters the final season of the five-year, $25MM extension he signed in 2021.

Image courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.

Panthers Sign Brad Marchand To Six-Year Extension

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July 1: The Panthers have confirmed the six-year deal for Marchand while not disclosing financial terms. The exact cap hit is $5.25MM, per PuckPedia.

June 30, 6:20 p.m.: Unsurprisingly, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Marchand’s new contract is heavily frontloaded. He’ll make just $1MM in base salary each year, and the rest will be paid out in signing bonuses. For trade protection, LeBrun indicated that he’ll get a full no-movement clause for the first four years before transitioning to a modified no-trade clause in the final two years.

4:13 p.m.: The Panthers are signing winger Brad Marchand to a six-year extension “just under” $32MM in total, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The cap hit will be roughly $5.3MM.

Shockingly, after reportedly agreeing to a new long-term contract with defenseman Aaron Ekblad earlier today, the Panthers were able to retain all three of their prominent pending unrestricted free agents. For Ekblad and Marchand, Florida re-signed both on extremely team-friendly deals, in terms of their salary.

Still, it’s difficult not to question the terms of Marchand’s new contract. The two-time Stanley Cup champion is entering his age-37 season, meaning he’ll be 43 upon expiration. It’s quite uncommon for a player of Marchand’s age to sign a deal of such length. Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins could be the only recent comparable, signing a six-year extension beginning in his age-35 season.

In Marchand’s defense, he hasn’t shown signs of slowing down. Since turning 30 years old ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, Marchand has scored 198 goals and 521 points in 498 games with a +104 rating, averaging 19:02 of ice time per game. He’s received multiple votes for the Hart Memorial Trophy and Frank J. Selke Trophy in that time.

His postseason performances have been equally impressive. In that same time frame, Marchand has scored 45 goals and 98 points in 96 postseason contests between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers with a +23 rating. His playoff excellence came to a head a few weeks ago, finishing second place in Conn Smythe Trophy voting behind teammate Sam Bennett after the Panthers won their second consecutive Stanley Cup Final.

Now, by keeping Marchand for the foreseeable future, the Panthers will not only have a formidable top-six to stagger opposing teams, but will continue to have a third line that few teams will be able to match up against.

It’ll be interesting to see how General Manager Bill Zito fits the rest of Florida’s group with nearly $20MM doled out to Bennett, Ekblad, and Marchand. There will be more clarity on the Panthers’ salary cap picture tomorrow. They’ll need to find space for new deals for forward Mackie Samoskevich and netminder Daniil Tarasov. Still, they can rest easy knowing all the key players from their most recent Stanley Cup championship team are returning next season.

UFA Notes: Allen, Schmidt, Ceci, Perry, Asplund

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The Devils are likely to go “down to the wire” on extension talks with goaltender Jake Allen before the market opens at 11 a.m. CT today, independent insider Frank Seravalli reports.

Allen was a spectacular backup option to Jacob Markström in his first full season in Jersey. There’s no surprise that they’ve expressed strong interest in retaining him, but they’ll likely have to commit significant financial resources to do so. He’s the clear top goalie available amid a weak market and could very well have multiple offers out there for three or more years with an AAV north of $5MM.

Would the Devils be willing to make him their highest-paid goaltender for a season? Markström has some salary retained by the Flames, so he only costs $4.125MM against the cap as he enters the final season of his contract. A multi-year commitment to the 34-year-old Allen might still be a good idea to help guard against a potential Markström departure next summer, especially with no true blue-chip prospects in the system.

Despite a 13-16-1 record, Allen put up better numbers than Markström last year in 20 fewer starts with a .906 SV% and 5.0 GSAA while tying him with four shutouts. He may decide to at least wait to test the market to see if a goalie-needy team like the Sharks, who also need to add nearly $20MM in cap hits next season to reach the floor, gives him an offer he can’t refuse.

Other notes of interest before the market opens:

  • While the Panthers have managed to get extensions done for Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand, and now depth forward Tomas Nosek in the last few days, the same won’t happen for defenseman Nate Schmidt. He’ll head elsewhere on the open market today after recouping some market value on a one-year deal with Florida following a buyout by the Jets, according to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. Schmidt, 34 in July, had 19 points in 80 regular-season games but broke out for a 3-9–12 scoring line and a plus-nine rating in all 23 playoff games for the Cats.
  • Another UFA Florida will lose is depth forward Rasmus Asplund. Swiss National League club HC Davos announced they’ve signed him to a two-year contract. Asplund, 27, saw just six games of NHL action with Florida this year and instead spent most of the season with AHL Charlotte, where he had 20 goals and 43 points in 63 games.
  • With the Kings expecting to lose Vladislav Gavrikov in free agency today, they’ve shown interest in inking Cody Ceci on the open market to help recoup some defensive depth, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. A righty compared to Gavrikov’s left-shot, Ceci might be more of a direct replacement for the recently-traded Jordan Spence rather than Gavrikov. The 31-year-old had 24 points and a plus-six rating in 85 games last season between the Sharks and Stars while averaging 21:13 per game, his fourth straight season above the 20-minute mark.
  • The Flyers will make a play for veteran winger Corey Perry today, Friedman says. The 40-year-old may have priced himself out of a new deal with the Oilers following a renaissance postseason performance for Edmonton, ranking second on the team with 10 goals in 22 games.

Panthers Sign Tomas Nosek To One-Year Extension

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The Panthers have reached a one-year extension with center Tomas Nosek to keep him from unrestricted free agency today, according to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. He’ll earn the league minimum $775,000 salary on a one-way deal.

The cap-strapped Cats will likely sign a few similar deals today as they aim to assemble as complete a roster as possible. Retaining Nosek is a fine first step, bringing them to 18 players on their projected active roster, although the next deal they sign will put them over the cap for now. They have just $500,000 in space following his signing, per PuckPedia, but teams can exceed the cap by up to 10% during the offseason.

Nosek, 32, returns for his second season in Florida after inking a one-year, league-minimum pact in free agency last summer. Calling him a regular may be a stretch – he was often in the lineup for long stretches before sitting for weeks at a time. He appeared in 59 regular-season games, contributing a goal and nine points while averaging 9:49 per game. He was valuable in the faceoff dot (51.8%) and had a plus-four rating, so his non-offensive impacts were strong, but that was his worst production on a per-game basis since emerging as a full-time NHLer with the Golden Knights in 2017-18.

In the playoffs, Nosek was a healthy scratch for their first-round series against the Lightning but played for the remainder of the postseason after making his debut in Game 3 of the second round against the Maple Leafs. He contributed three assists and a plus-four rating in 16 games, seeing more deployment (11:10 per game) than he did in the regular season.

The Panthers have their top nine forward group filled out – even if they trade a forward to clear cap room, their role will likely be replaced by unsigned RFA Mackie Samoskevich. Nosek will be tasked with playing a more consistent role in the lineup next season, but shouldn’t see much increased responsibility when dressed as their fourth-line center.

List Of Players Not Receiving A 2025 Qualifying Offer

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The deadline to issue a qualifying offer to pending restricted free agents is today at 4:00 p.m. CT, making any player who has not received one eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday. Below are the players who will not be issued a qualifying offer:

(this list will be updated as reports continue to come in)

[Related: 2025 Free Agents]

[Related: How Do Qualifying Offers Work?]

Anaheim Ducks 

F Brett Leason, F Josh Lopina, F Isac Lundeström

Boston Bruins 

F Trevor Kuntar, F Jakub Lauko, F Jaxon Nelson, F Oliver Wahlstrom, D Drew Bavaro, D Daniil Misyul, D Ian Mitchell

Buffalo Sabres 

F Alexander Kisakov, F Bennett MacArthur, F Tyler Tullio, D Jacob Bernard-Docker

Calgary Flames 

G Waltteri Ignatjew, G Connor Murphy

Carolina Hurricanes 

D Anttoni Honka, D Ty Smith, G Yaniv Perets

Chicago Blackhawks 

F Cole Guttman, F Philipp Kurashev, F Jalen Luypen, F Aku Raty, F Antti Saarela

Colorado Avalanche

F William Dufour, F Jean-Luc Foudy, D John Ludvig, G Kevin Mandolese

Columbus Blue Jackets 

D Ole Julian Bjørgvik-Holm, D Cole Clayton, D Jordan Harris, D Samuel Knazko

Dallas Stars 

None

Detroit Red Wings

G Gage Alexander, F Cross Hanas

Edmonton Oilers

F Jacob Perreault, G Olivier Rodrigue, F Cameron Wright

Florida Panthers

D Nathan Staios, D Zachary Uens

Los Angeles Kings

D Cole Krygier, F Jack Studnicka

Minnesota Wild 

F Graeme Clarke, F Adam Raska, F Luke Toporowski, D Ryan O’Rourke

Montreal Canadiens 

F Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, F Xavier Simoneau, D Gustav Lindström, D Noel Hoefenmayer

Nashville Predators 

F Jordan Frasca, F Ondrej Pavel, F Jesse Ylönen, D Luke Prokop

New Jersey Devils 

F Nolan Foote, D Santeri Hatakka, G Isaac Poulter

New York Islanders

D Samuel Bolduc, D Aidan Fulp, D Scott Perunovich

New York Rangers

F Lucas Edmonds, F Arthur Kaliyev, F Jake Leschyshyn, D Zachary Jones

Ottawa Senators 

F Philippe Daoust, F Jamieson Rees, F Tristen Robins

Philadelphia Flyers 

F Elliot Desnoyers, F Jakob Pelletier, F Zayde Wisdom

Pittsburgh Penguins 

F Raivis Ansons, F Emil Bemström, F Connor Dewar, F Philip Tomasino, D Pierre-Olivier Joseph, G Taylor Gauthier

San Jose Sharks

F Carl Berglund, F Nolan Burke, F Brandon Coe, F Noah Gregor, F Klim Kostin, F Nikolai Kovalenko, G Georgi Romanov, F Mitchell Russell

Seattle Kraken 

D Peetro Seppala

St. Louis Blues

F Tanner Dickinson, D Anton Malmstrom

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Jaydon Dureau, F Gage Goncalves, F Ryder Korczak

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Pontus Holmberg, F Reese Johnson, F Cedric Pare, D Mikko Kokkonen

Utah Mammoth 

F Kailer Yamamoto

Vancouver Canucks 

F Ty Glover, F Tristen Nielsen, D Christian Felton, D Cole McWard

Vegas Golden Knights 

G Isaiah Saville

Washington Capitals

F Pierrick Dube, D Alexander Alexeyev, G Mitchell Gibson

Winnipeg Jets 

F Mason Shaw, D Simon Lundmark

Alex Pietrangelo Expected To Miss 2025-26 Season

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Monday: The Golden Knights have released statements from Pietrangelo and GM Kelly McCrimmon.  While stopping short of announcing it officially, it would appear as if Pietrangelo’s playing days may very well be over.

Pietrangelo:

The past few years have been very challenging on my physical well-being, and I am in a difficult position with my overall playing health. After exploring options with doctors as well as my family, it’s been advised to remove the intensity of hockey to see if my body can improve so that I can return to a normal quality of life. This decision has been difficult to come to terms with after the last 17 years of competition and the camaraderie with my teammates and coaches. The likelihood is low that my body will recover to the standard required to play, but I know this is the right decision for me and my family.

McCrimmon:

Alex has our organization’s full support in prioritizing his long-term health and quality of life. Alex is dealing with hips that would require bilateral femur reconstruction, with no guarantee of success. Throughout the season, the steps that Alex needed to take to be able to play and practice began to grow and take a significant toll on his body. Our hope in February during the NHL’s break for the 4 Nations Face-Off was to give Alex treatment and rest to help provide relief, but instead, what we found were diminished positive results and a process that is no longer sustainable moving forward. Alex has given everything to the game and to the Golden Knights and has played through significant challenges in the pursuit of trying to win another Stanley Cup in Vegas. He is one of the most respected players in the league, not only for his elite talent but for his character, leadership, competitiveness, and professionalism. Today’s decision is a difficult one for both Alex and the Golden Knights, but it is being made for the right reasons – so that Alex can be the family man we all know him to be.

Sunday: After weeks of speculation, it’s looking more like Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo won’t be available next season. He’s in line for “multiple major surgeries” this offseason that will go so far as to jeopardize his career, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.

The news comes just days after general manager Kelly McCrimmon spoke after the draft on Pietrangelo’s future. When asked whether or not Pietrangelo would be healthy enough to play next season, McCrimmon said it was something that still needed to be sorted out.

“We’re going to know more on that in the coming days. Alex and I have had a number of discussions. There are a number of decisions that need to be made. When I spoke earlier about having a number of things that need clarity, that would be one of them,” he said.

As rumors continue to intensify linking pending free agent Mitch Marner with the Golden Knights, Vegas now seemingly also faces the challenge of replacing Pietrangelo’s leadership and production. But moving Pietrangelo to long-term injured reserve before the start of free agency may free up the space the team needs to sign Marner, as outlined by Danny Webster of Las Vegas Review-Journal. Pietrangelo has two years remaining on his $8.8MM AAV deal, and the Knights currently have just $5.615MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.

Pietrangelo, 35, appeared in 71 games for the Golden Knights last season, posting four goals, 33 points, and a plus-11 rating. While he missed 11 games on the year and opted out of the Four Nations Faceoff due to injury, Pietrangelo averaged over 22:24 of ice time per game on the year, showcasing his ability to log meaningful minutes when healthy. The two-time Stanley Cup winner has produced 637 points throughout his 17-year career.

PHR’s Paul Griser contributed significantly to this article.

Panthers Sign Aaron Ekblad To Max-Term Extension

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6:35 p.m.: Florida has announced Ekblad’s new eight-year contract.

2:15 p.m.: The Panthers and defenseman Aaron Ekblad have made significant progress on a long-term extension to keep him away from the free agent market tomorrow, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports. It will be an eight-year deal worth around $48.8MM for a cap hit of $6.1MM, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.  PuckPedia reports the deal contains a full no-move clause for the first six years and a 16-team no-trade in the other two and breaks down as follows:

2025-26 to 2027-28: $1MM salary, $6.9MM signing bonus
2028-29: $1MM salary, $5.14MM signing bonus
2029-30 to 2032-33: $1MM salary, $3.74MM signing bonus 

Florida’s commitment to Ekblad, who would have been the top defenseman on the market had he tested free agency, comes after months of hesitancy to dole out a long-term commitment. Now, GM Bill Zito has acquiesced and will give Ekblad the long-term stability he desired with a significant discount on the cap hit he could have landed as a UFA, which McKenzie says could have been as high as $9MM.

The lifelong Panther gets to stay in Florida, who made clear during their run to their second straight Stanley Cup championship that he never wanted to leave. Their 2014 first overall pick set the club’s franchise record for games played and points by a defenseman several years ago, scoring 380 points with a +96 rating in 732 games in a Florida uniform over the past 11 years.

He could very well only end up signing three NHL contracts – his entry-level deal, the eight-year, $60MM extension he signed in 2016, and this one. While no doubt a top-pairing threat now coming in at a significant discount on his previous cap hit of $7.5MM, his injury history was always the holdup in signing him to a long-term deal. The Panthers felt that was a steep enough discount to quell their concerns, while Ekblad was willing to take nearly a 33% cut on his market value to land as much stability as possible.

Although Ekblad hasn’t played a full 82-game schedule since 2018-19 and has only hit the 70-game mark once since then, he did have a mostly healthy 2024-25 campaign that was truncated by a late-season suspension for PEDs. He still finished the season with a 3-30–33 scoring line in 56 games, along with a +11 rating. His 23:31 average time on ice was his most in three years, bolstered by an increase in power-play time in the wake of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour’s departures in free agency last year, which also played a role in his offensive resurgence. His 0.59 points per game in 2024-25 were the fourth-highest mark of his career.

Ekblad was also spectacular in the postseason, posting 13 points and a +10 rating in 19 games. That was his highest point total in any of Florida’s three straight runs to the Stanley Cup Final.

The 29-year-old will now reprise his role alongside Gustav Forsling for the foreseeable future as one of the best two-way pairs in the league. The duo logged 870 minutes together in the regular season and controlled 54.6% of expected goals while doing so, per MoneyPuck. He also forms one of the best one-two punches among right-shot D in the league with in-season acquisition Seth Jones. The trio of Florida’s top three defensemen is now under contract through 2029-30 (when Jones’ deal expires) at a combined cap hit of just $18.85MM – extremely good value that sets the Panthers up to continue having the flexibility to maintain a championship-contending roster.

Florida now has $4.9MM in cap space remaining with five roster spots to fill, per PuckPedia. That rules out an extension for their other highly notable UFA, winger Brad Marchand, at first glance, but they can get creative. They certainly won’t be able to match high-priced multi-year offers without offloading a salary or two, but could offer Marchand, who’s eligible for a bonus-laden one-year deal because of his age, a low base salary with easily achievable performance bonuses. That would allow them to initially be cap compliant with him, but if those bonuses are achieved and exceed the cap, Florida would be hit with a hefty penalty for 2026-27.

Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.

Senators Sign Leevi Merilainen To One-Year Extension

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The Senators agreed to a one-year, $1.05MM contract extension with goaltender Leevi Merilainen before today’s qualifying offer deadline, the team said.

Although it doesn’t completely shut the door, the new one-way contract for Merilainen likely spells the end of Anton Forsberg’s tenure with the Senators. Still, given Merilainen’s performance in limited action past season, and with Ottawa technically saving some money on the swap, the move could work out well for the Senators.

Merilainen has had respectable seasons in the Finnish Liiga and AHL, but he truly began knocking on the door this past season. Earning the starting nod for the Senators’ AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, Merilainen finished the campaign with an 18-12-7 record in 37 games, a .913 SV%, 2.37 GAA, and four shutouts. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to backstop the baby Senators to the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, but that was largely because Merilainen missed a handful of games when he was rostered in the NHL.

He made sure to make a statement in his NHL games, too. Impressively, Merilainen finished the season with an 8-3-1 record with Ottawa, managing a .925 SV% and 1.99 GAA, along with 7.5 Goals Saved Above Average. There is some room for pause, given that only three of those wins were against postseason-bound teams. Still, Merilainen stopped 24 out of 26 shots for a win against the Dallas Stars on January 12th, and took the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Washington Capitals to overtime after holding them scoreless through three periods.

Ottawa will likely give Merilainen every opportunity to win the backup role in training camp. If the Senators are unable to reach a new agreement with Forsberg, it would be wise for the team to consider acquiring a reliable third-string option later in the offseason. This would provide insurance in case Merilainen struggles at the beginning of the season.

Maple Leafs Sign Steven Lorentz To Three-Year Extension

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The Maple Leafs announced they’ve kept forward Steven Lorentz away from the open market on a three-year, $4.05MM contract. He’ll carry a $1.35MM cap hit through the 2027-28 campaign.

The move represents a nice raise for the 29-year-old who spent this past season on a one-year contract worth the league minimum of $775K.  That came on the heels of an underwhelming year with Florida where Lorentz managed just one goal and two assists in 38 games during the regular season although he did see action in 16 playoff contests that year.

Things went better for Lorentz with his hometown team, however.  He got into 80 games with Toronto and collected eight goals and 11 assists, enough to tie his career high in points with 19 while blowing past his previous benchmark in hits with 199.  He also saw some secondary action on the penalty kill, resulting in his average ice time jumping up past the 10-minute mark per game.  Lorentz was a regular in the lineup for the Maple Leafs in the playoffs, notching a pair of assists and a little over three hits per game.

Clearly earning the trust of head coach Craig Berube, Lorentz has established himself as a trustworthy fourth liner in Toronto’s lineup and has earned himself some desired stability which was enough to keep him away from testing the open market on Tuesday.

PHR’s Brian La Rose also contributed to this article.

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