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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.

Avalanche Re-Sign Trent Miner To Two-Year Deal

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The Avalanche have re-upped depth netminder Trent Miner on a two-year deal, per a team announcement. Although financial details weren’t disclosed in Colorado’s announcement, Miner likely only commanded a league-minimum salary on both years of the deal, given the Avalanche already has their tandem squared away for next season.

The Brandon, Manitoba, native made an unexpected debut in the NHL this past season. Due to injuries and significantly poor play at the beginning of the season, Colorado utilized six different netminders last year. Still, Miner only registered two games, managing a 0-1-0 record with a .879 SV% and 2.62 GAA.

Given their lack of depth and available capital to spend, it would make sense for Miner to start the year as the Avalanche’s third-string option. Ilya Nabokov is a more talented goalie, but Colorado has decided he will spend another year with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL, making Miner the top available option for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.

Still, given Miner’s performance with the Eagles last year, Nabokov may not have been given the starting gig to start the campaign. In his first full year as the team’s starting goaltender, Miner managed a 22-10-9 record in 38 games for the AHL Eagles, with a .918 SV%, 2.12 GAA, and three shutouts. He did everything he could to deepen the Eagles’ playoff run, earning a 5-4-0 record in nine postseason contests with a .925 SV% and 2.15 GAA.

In any other year, Miner might not have been given the backup role, but he would at least have had the chance to try out for the position during training camp. Unfortunately for Miner, there’s no legitimate argument to put him over Scott Wedgewood to begin the 2025-26 campaign, leaving him as the next best available option.

Red Wings Re-Sign Albert Johansson To Two-Year Deal

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The Red Wings announced Monday they’ve signed defenseman Albert Johansson to a two-year, $2.25MM contract worth $1.125MM per season. He was set to be an RFA tomorrow. PuckPedia reports he’ll earn $1.1MM base salary in 2025-26 and $1.15MM in 2026-27, giving him a $1.15MM qualifying offer as an RFA upon expiry in 2027.

Detroit was essentially forced into giving Johansson, a 2019 second-round pick, a roster spot this season to avoid the risk of losing him on waivers. This past season was his third in North America, spending all of 2022-23 and 2023-24 on assignment to AHL Grand Rapids. After posting 36 points in 119 games there, the Wings deemed the mobile Swede’s game valuable enough to warrant an NHL audition.

Johansson ended up getting plenty of reps as the Wings rotated him in with struggling veterans like Erik Gustafsson, Justin Holl, and Jeff Petry. The 6’0″ lefty made 61 appearances in his rookie season, scoring three goals and nine points with a -11 rating while averaging 16:22 per game. His possession impacts raise some cause for concern, combined with that rating. Despite seeing semi-advantageous offensive deployment at even strength, Detroit only controlled 48.0% of shot attempts and 45.5% of expected goals with Johansson on the ice.

He’s still only 24 with room to grow, though. Assuming the Wings add at least one name on the blue line, he’ll continue to serve as a No. 6/7 option next season at an affordable price tag. If he can really force his way ahead of Gustafsson and Holl on the depth chart, he might be able to force a waiver placement for one of the vets. Detroit has done so successfully before with Holl, who still carries a $3.4MM cap hit through next season.

It appears to be a fair contract for both the player and the team, at least. Despite the lack of scoring and strong possession metrics, Johansson’s usage alone earned him a bump on his previous league-minimum salary. Still, if he doesn’t take a significant step forward in 2025-26, there’s no legitimate risk on the Red Wings’ side.

Islanders Sign Alexander Romanov To Eight-Year Extension

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The Islanders are signing RFA defenseman Alexander Romanov to an eight-year, $50MM extension, PuckPedia reports. The deal will carry a cap hit of $6.25MM. The team has since confirmed the deal. He receives no-move protection from 2026-27 through 2029-30 and a 16-team no-trade list from 2029-30 through 2032-33 as part of the deal, per PuckPedia.

Romanov, 25, lands his big payday after taking a three-year, $7.5MM bridge deal from the Isles in 2022. That decision worked out well for him, and he’ll now be one of the team’s most well-compensated defenders through the expiry of his deal following the 2032-33 season.

The 6’1″ lefty has panned out nicely since the Islanders paid a steep acquisition price to land him from the Canadiens at the 2022 draft, parting ways with a pick that was flipped to the Blackhawks for Frank Nazar. He’s coming off his best NHL season yet. While injuries limited him to 64 games, he still produced 20 points for a career-best 0.31 per-game rate and averaged a career-high 22:18 per game.

Romanov always projected as a stout defensive presence; whether he would avoid being too much of an offensive liability to deploy in a top-four role was always the question with his ceiling. He’s answered it now, fitting well in transition despite never being a big-time point producer in his own right. His possession metrics haven’t been particularly impactful one way or another, considering his slightly defensively-oriented deployment, but he’s shown legitimate minute-munching ability while also generating over 200 shot attempts in each of the last four years. He’s also one of the league’s most physically involved defenders, recording 100-plus hits and blocks every year since 2021-22.

There will be a bit of sticker shock on that $6.25MM price tag for a defenseman with an offensive skill set as simple as Romanov’s. Considering the recent comparables set by extensions in the $5MM range for Kevin Bahl and Nicolas Hague, though, it comes across as fair value.

He’ll be a long-term anchor for the Islanders’ left side that still includes Adam Pelech and gained Matthew Schaefer with the first overall pick in last week’s draft. The team has $14.7MM in cap space left this summer with Emil Heineman, Simon Holmstrom, and Maxim Tsyplakov among its notable RFAs still to sign.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Canucks Re-Sign Four Players

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The Canucks have re-upped depth center Max Sasson on a one-year, one-way contract worth $775,000, per PuckPedia. The deal was first announced by his agent, Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein. The team also announced they’ve agreed to terms with winger Arshdeep Bains on a two-year deal to keep him off the RFA market. It’s a two-way deal in 2025-26 before changing to a one-way deal in 2026-27, per PuckPedia. Additionally, the Canucks announced a two-way contract for defenseman Guillaume Brisebois for 2025-26. Center Aatu Räty has also signed a two-year, one-way extension worth $775,000 per year, PuckPedia reports.

Of the group, the three forwards have the greatest chance of being on next season’s opening night roster. One-way commitments out of the gate to Räty and Sasson indicate Vancouver anticipates both making the jump to full-time NHL duties to help shoulder the likely loss of pending free agents Brock Boeser and Pius Suter tomorrow.

Räty, 22, is the most important player of the group. The Canucks evidently recognize that as he’s the only player receiving a multi-year one-way commitment from them today. Once a top prospect in the 2021 draft class, he ended up slipping to the Islanders in the second round and was traded to Vancouver in the Bo Horvat deal in 2023 shortly after making his NHL debut.

He didn’t see any NHL ice in 2023-24 but re-emerged as a call-up option this past year. He didn’t look out of place at all as a bottom-six center when given the chance, and that’s the role he’ll look to grab on a more consistent basis starting in the fall. He averaged 10:39 per game for Vancouver in 2024-25 over 33 appearances, scoring seven goals and 11 points with a minus-four rating. He was great on draws, particularly for a young player, winning 57.7% of his faceoffs. He’s a decently physical piece as well, ranking 10th on the team with 80 hits despite his limited workload.

Räty also would have required waivers starting next year, a risk the Canucks certainly aren’t willing to take. He’ll be on the roster come October and could even begin the season with as big of a role as third-line center if Vancouver can’t make any notable free agent additions down the middle in the coming days.

Sasson, 25 in September, won’t be too far behind Räty on the Canucks’ center depth chart. He also saw significant NHL ice last season, except in his case, it was his first NHL call-up. He scored three goals and seven points in 29 games for Vancouver, routinely slotting in down the middle and winning 42.7% of his draws while averaging 10:20 per game.

When on assignment to AHL Abbotsford, Sasson managed 32 points in 41 games – his second straight season with strong minor-league production after signing with Vancouver as a free agent out of Western Michigan in 2023. He’s still waiver-exempt for another year, though. If there’s a roster crunch in camp, he could be the odd man out as a result.

Bains would also require waivers to head back to the AHL, so that’s something to watch. Another undrafted free agent signing, he’s also been an extremely productive AHL piece over the last few years. He scored 43 points in 50 games for Abbotsford this year after nearly reaching a point per game in 2023-24, but the winger has just one goal in 21 NHL appearances over the last two years. Whether his minor-league track record is enough to keep him on the NHL roster remains to be seen, but he could also be a trade candidate if he makes the club and starts slow out of the gate to avoid losing him for nothing on the wire.

Brisebois is the longest-tenured Canuck of the group by a significant margin. A third-round pick back in 2015, he’s settled in as an AHL depth piece and occasional call-up. The 6’2″ lefty played three NHL games this past season in a January call-up, his first action with Vancouver since March 2023. He’ll be 28 next month and has three points and a minus-seven rating in 30 NHL games with the Canucks.

He’s been one of the key defensive minds on Abbotsford’s blue line, helping the minor-league club to its first Calder Cup championship in franchise history a few days ago. He posted five points and a plus-three rating in 48 regular-season games for the AHL Canucks this season.

Maple Leafs Acquire Matias Maccelli From Mammoth

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The Maple Leafs have acquired winger Matias Maccelli from the Mammoth in exchange for their 2027 third-round pick, both teams announced. The pick will upgrade to Toronto’s 2029 second-rounder if Maccelli records at least 51 points in 2025-26 and the Leafs make the playoffs.

The change of scenery comes after a disastrous campaign for Maccelli, one of the few Utah players who took a measurable step back after the players moved there from Arizona. He was reportedly shopped around at the trade deadline, but no move came to fruition. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports Maccelli did submit an official trade request to Utah GM Bill Armstrong during the season.

It’s likely a worthwhile bet on Toronto’s part on Maccelli’s ceiling. He was a fourth-round pick by the Coyotes back in 2019, but immediately popped as a strong point producer in his native Finland and in the AHL. He forced his way into a full-time role with Arizona in 2022 and was a legitimate top-six piece for the Coyotes in their last two years of existence, finishing fourth in Calder Trophy voting back in 2022-23 on the back of an 11-goal, 49-point showing in 64 games. He continued to hover around that pace in 2023-24, playing in all 82 games for the Yotes and finishing third on the team with 57 points.

Amid increased competition from younger, higher-profile names like Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, Maccelli’s production and ice time tumbled in Utah. He ended up spending a good part of the latter half of the year in the press box and had just eight goals and 18 points in 55 games on the year. That came with a career-low -13 rating and 13:44 average time on ice as well.

The Leafs hope Maccelli can see increased production, presumably as their second-line left wing alongside John Tavares and William Nylander, a position that was a bit of a revolving door throughout the 2024-25 campaign. He should, theoretically, fit in quite well as the primary playmaker on that line beside two incredibly skilled goal-scorers. Toronto’s focus will now turn toward finding a Mitch Marner substitute in free agency for their top line alongside Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews. After acquiring Maccelli, who’s signed through next season at a $3.425MM cap hit and will be an RFA upon expiry, they still have $10.1MM in space, per PuckPedia.

Utah doesn’t really need to make a corresponding move to replace Maccelli, who spent a good portion of the season out of the lineup anyway. They come out well here, too, for getting a potential second-rounder after the poor showing Maccelli had in 2024-25. They now have $18.4MM in cap space for next season with Jack McBain as their only notable RFA, per PuckPedia.

Darren Dreger of TSN was first to report the trade.

Image courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

Wild Acquire Vladimir Tarasenko From Red Wings

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The Wild have acquired winger Vladimir Tarasenko from the Red Wings in exchange for future considerations, Detroit announced on X. It does not appear the Red Wings are retaining any of Tarasenko’s $4.75MM cap hit for the final season of his contract.

Tarasenko had an eight-team approved trade list as part of the two-year, $9.5MM deal he signed with the Wings in free agency last summer. It’s not clear if Minnesota was on it – he may have waived the clause to facilitate a trade after an incredibly trying lone season in Hockeytown. The two-time Stanley Cup champion and All-Star couldn’t hang onto a consistent top-six role with the Wings, and his 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games amounted to the worst scoring pace of his 13-year NHL career.

The Wild are betting on a rebound and will essentially complete this deal in lieu of making a free-agent addition on the wing tomorrow, preferring to land a more conservative short-term commitment from Tarasenko instead of making a long-term splash on the open market.

Tarasenko will return to the league’s Central Division, where he previously spent 11 seasons and won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues. Tarasenko was perhaps the Blues’ best prospect in the 2010s. He joined the team via a draft-day trade in 2010 that sent high-end selection David Rundblad to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for the 16th-overall pick. St. Louis used that to reel in the top Russian prospect that year, kicking off a decade of close attention surrounding Tarasenko.

The bulky right-winger continued on in Russia’s KHL for three seasons following his draft year. He reached point-per-game scoring in the latter two years, with 70 points in 70 games, before making a move to the NHL partway through the 2012-13 season. Tarasenko’s travel to the United States was closely followed, and fan excitement was vindicated when he scored two goals in his NHL debut. Tarasenko went on to pot 10 points through his first eight NHL games, en route to a season-long total of 19 points in 38 games.

Tarasenko immediately carved out his role in the NHL with that hot start. He’d be promoted to the Blues’ top-six in 2013-14 and began a long streak of routinely rivaling the team’s scoring title. Tarasenko scored at least 30 goals and 60 points in six of his first nine years in the NHL, with his only misses coming on the back of inexperience or long-term injury. His career peaked with 40 goals and 74 points in the 2015-16 season, then again in 2021-22 when he scored 34 goals and 82 points in 75 games.

Tarasenko moved on from the Blues partway through the 2022-23 season. He’s appeared with four different clubs in the three seasons since, and struggled to find the same flashy scoring he boasted in a Blues jersey. Twenty-three goals and 55 points scored in 76 games last season stand as the most Tarasenko has scored away from St. Louis, though he tumbled all the way down to 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games this year.

It is on the heels of that down year — the lowest-scoring season in Tarasenko’s career, excluding injury-riddled years — that the flashy Russian will move to the Minnesota Wild. He shot at an abysmal 8.3 shooting percentage last year, over four percent lower than his career-long average of 12.6 percent. That mark should give Wild fans some hope that Tarasenko can find his way back to the scoresheet with a change of scenery. He’ll slot into a comfortable role on the team’s third line behind Mats Zuccarello and Matt Boldy, though a hot hand could push him back into the Wild’s top six. That upside, and Tarasenko’s career-long average of 30 goals and 65 points a season, will make him an exciting upside bet. And with only future considerations headed the other way, and a manageable $4.75MM cap hit, Minnesota will take on that upside bet with little risk.

As for the Red Wings, they free up that space and now have over $23MM in cap space heading into free agency tomorrow, per PuckPedia. With Patrick Kane as their only pending free agent expected to command a significant payday, they’ll have the flexibility to match the highest offers for their desired targets. They’ll presumably be looking to add at least one high-profile defender to pair with Simon Edvinsson or Moritz Seider. The Wild, meanwhile, still have $13MM to spend this summer.

PHR’s Gabriel Foley contributed significantly to this article.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports.

Avalanche, Sam Malinski Agree To Terms On One-Way Contract

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The Avalanche have agreed to terms with pending RFA defenseman Sam Malinski on a one-year deal worth $1.4MM, according to PuckPedia. The contract walks him to UFA status in 2026.

Malinski, 27 next month, needed a new deal after completing the two-year, two-way contract he signed to join Colorado as an undrafted free agent out of Cornell University in 2023. He split his first professional season between the NHL and AHL but emerged as a full-timer on the Avs’ blue line this past season, recording a 5-10–15 scoring line in 76 appearances. The 5’11” righty also appeared in five of seven playoff games for Colorado, logging his first postseason assist with a plus-three rating.

While Malinski wasn’t anything above a third-pairing piece at even strength and didn’t see any consistent special teams usage, he was still effective in his role. He averaged 15:57 per game and posted a plus-eight rating while being an apt shot-blocker, ranking third on the team with 107 blocks. His possession impacts were fine – a 52.2 CF% at even strength was pedestrian compared to his teammates, and his shot quality was identical at a 52.2 xGF%.

He’s emerged as a perfectly acceptable No. 6/7 option who’s a good skater with a good first pass. He’s not expected to top out as anything more than a depth transition defender, but that’s what he’s going to get paid as on his next deal for an Avs team that needs his skillset for their third pairing at an affordable price tag. The team is down to $7.55MM in cap space with six roster spots to fill after registering Malinski’s contract, per PuckPedia.

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