Oilers Extend Mattias Ekholm
The Oilers announced that they have agreed to a three-year contract extension with defenseman Mattias Ekholm. It runs from 2026-27 through 2028-29 with a cap hit of $4MM and a total value of $12MM. According to Ryan Rishaug of TSN, he’ll have a $2MM signing bonus with a $2MM salary in 2026-27, followed by a flat $4MM salary in the final two years. He will have a no-movement clause for the life of the contract. Ekholm was previously slated for unrestricted free agency after this season.
Ekholm, 35, has long been a quality top-four piece and one of the league’s better two-way defenders. The 6’5″ lefty was drafted in the fourth round in 2009 by the Predators, with whom he’s spent the vast majority of his career. He first cracked the NHL lineup two years later and was a full-timer by 2013, one of many high-end young defenders Nashville was churning out in that era alongside Ryan Ellis, Seth Jones, and Roman Josi. He was a top-four staple by the time Nashville’s championship contention window opened, culminating in a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2017, and peaked with a 10th-place finish in Norris Trophy voting in the 2018-19 season.
While Ekholm signed a four-year, $25MM extension with Nashville in 2021, he wouldn’t play very much for the Preds under that deal. With the club falling out of the playoff race in 2022-23 and the Oilers in desperate need of a needle-mover on defense, Edmonton surrendered a haul that included Tyson Barrie, recent first-round pick Reid Schaefer, plus their 2023 first-round pick to acquire Ekholm with three full seasons still left on his deal at a $6.25MM cap hit, which Nashville brought down to $6MM for the Oilers with a small amount of retention.
Since the deal, Ekholm has more than held up his end of the bargain. He’s been a staple on Edmonton’s top pair alongside offensive dynamo Evan Bouchard, highlighted by a dominant 2023-24 campaign that saw him record a career-high 11-34–45 scoring line in 79 games along with a dominant +44 rating. He finished 12th in Norris voting that year, controlling a remarkable 62.8% of expected goals on his pairing with Bouchard, according to MoneyPuck.
Last year was more of the same. He had 33 points in 65 games with a +11 rating, averaging north of 22 minutes per game, until a torn adductor effectively ended his regular season in March. He missed the vast majority of Edmonton’s second straight run to the Cup Final as a result, although he did return for the clinching Game 5 of the Western Conference Final and played through the entirety of the Cup Final. He wasn’t fully healthy and had his minutes capped at a slightly more conservative 21:35 per game as a result, but he still managed an even rating and remained involved offensively with a goal and five assists.
He remained stapled to Bouchard, and while they weren’t quite as dominant at controlling play as they were in 2023-24, they still controlled a sparkling 59.5% of expected goals together, finishing second in the league among pairings who logged at least 500 minutes. With his point production yet to see a sharp decline and his under-the-hood numbers remaining some of the best in the league in a system that serves him well, it’s easy to see why the Oilers don’t have a ton of concern about signing him through his age-38 season – particularly at a price as attractive as $4MM per season for a top-pair blue liner, far below his present market value.
Last week, it looked like Edmonton would enter the season with four big-name pending UFAs: Ekholm, Stuart Skinner, Jake Walman, and, in a category of his own, Connor McDavid. Three of those names have signed in the last three days. Walman’s seven-year, $49MM extension means Edmonton’s top four blue-liners, Bouchard and Darnell Nurse included, are now all signed through 2029, when Bouchard and Ekholm will be UFAs. There’s McDavid’s “win-now-or-lose-me” two-year, $25MM extension as well that keeps all of Edmonton’s true core in place through at least 2028, giving them three more legitimate chances at a championship before their window might begin to close.
With Ekholm and McDavid taking significant discounts, things are looking quite comfortable for Edmonton next summer. The club projects to have at least $18.71MM in cap space to fill eight roster spots, a number that could rise by a few million if the cap increases past its projected $104MM limit. While the big names are taken care of, there’s still serviceable depth like Adam Henrique, Kasperi Kapanen, and Brett Kulak on expiring deals, plus their top two goalies in Skinner and Calvin Pickard.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.
Maple Leafs Recall Top Prospect Easton Cowan
The Maple Leafs announced that No. 1 prospect Easton Cowan has been recalled from AHL Toronto. He was expected to be included on the club’s opening night roster but was assigned to the minors on Monday as the team claimed Sammy Blais and Cayden Primeau off waivers and set their LTIR capture with defenseman Marshall Rifai. Forward Jacob Quillan has been assigned to the AHL in a corresponding move.
Whether Cowan makes his NHL debut tonight when the Leafs open their season against the Canadiens remains to be seen. The 20-year-old was a late riser in the 2023 draft, fueled by a strong combine performance, and went 28th overall to Toronto. He’s slotted in as the organization’s top-ranked prospect ever since and still holds the title over 2024 first-rounder Ben Danford, according to NHL.com. The 6’0″ center has enjoyed an offensive surge in juniors in the two years following his selection but also plays an intriguing physical brand.
While Cowan wasn’t technically on Toronto’s initial roster submission, he would have broken camp with the team if not for roster constraints. He was a late cut in each of the last two seasons after signing his entry-level contract back in August 2023 and had a good preseason showing for the Leafs, managing two assists in five games while generating seven individual scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick. He looked like a sure bet to open the season as Toronto’s fourth-line right wing alongside Steven Lorentz and Scott Laughton, a spot where he spent virtually all of training camp, until Laughton was sidelined late in preseason with a lower-body injury and landed on IR to start the year.
Two years on from draft day, Cowan is still considered a top-100 prospect in the NHL – checking in as high as No. 48 league-wide in preseason rankings by Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff. He’s been the offensive centerpiece of a dominant London Knights team in the OHL over the past two seasons, winning a pair of league championships. He’s led the OHL postseason in scoring in back-to-back years – same with the Memorial Cup – and has won MVP honors once in each tournament. Since draft day, Cowan has amassed 92 goals, 161 assists, 253 points, and a +105 rating in 144 regular-season, playoff, and Memorial Cup games – a rate of 1.76 points per game.
That resume, plus Cowan’s strong camp performance, was enough for the Leafs to risk exposing serviceable depth forwards David Kämpf and Michael Pezzetta to waivers in order to keep maneuverability open to get him a spot. After “making” the team, Cowan’s attention now turns toward staying in the lineup and putting himself ahead of names like Blais, Calle Järnkrok, and Nicholas Robertson on the depth chart.
His $873,500 cap hit is ever so slightly less than Quillan’s $875,000 cap hit, explaining why the latter was included to help them get as close as possible to unlocking the max $775,000 worth of initial relief that placing Rifai on LTIR provides (he had wrist surgery last month). While Quillan’s initial inclusion may have only been for cap purposes, it likely won’t be the last of him on Toronto’s roster this season. An undrafted free agent signed out of Quinnipiac in 2024, Quillan had 37 points in 67 AHL games last season and earned his first NHL call-up, although he was injured early and skated just 5:21 in a January game against the Senators.
Quillan is a pending restricted free agent and has two waiver-exempt seasons remaining, unless he hits 70 career NHL games before the end of the 2026-27 campaign. The 23-year-old will look toward next training camp as a chance to stick around as a depth checking forward.
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Anaheim Ducks
Roster size: 25
Last updated April 6, 10:00 p.m.
Forwards (14): Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Mikael Granlund, Jansen Harkins, Ross Johnston, Alex Killorn, Chris Kreider, Mason McTavish, Ryan Poehling, Beckett Sennecke, Troy Terry, Frank Vatrano, Jeffrey Viel, Tim Washe
Defensemen (9): John Carlson, Radko Gudas, Drew Helleson, Tyson Hinds, Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, Ian Moore, Jacob Trouba, Olen Zellweger
Goaltenders (2): Lukáš Dostál, Ville Husso
IR: G Petr Mrázek (undisclosed, out for season)
Boston Bruins
Roster size: 23
Last updated April 1, 6:30 p.m.
Forwards (14): Viktor Arvidsson, Michael Eyssimont, Morgan Geekie, Tanner Jeannot, Mark Kastelic, Marat Khusnutdinov, Sean Kuraly, Elias Lindholm, Fraser Minten, Casey Mittelstadt, David Pastrňák, Lukas Reichel, Alex Steeves, Pavel Zacha
Defensemen (8): Jonathan Aspirot, Jordan Harris, Henri Jokiharju, Hampus Lindholm, Mason Lohrei, Charlie McAvoy, Andrew Peeke, Nikita Zadorov
Goaltenders (2): Joonas Korpisalo, Jeremy Swayman
Buffalo Sabres
Roster size: 28
Last updated April 1, 6:30 p.m.
Forwards (16): Zach Benson, Sam Carrick, Josh Doan, Joshua Dunne, Jordan Greenway, Tyson Kozak, Peyton Krebs, Beck Malenstyn, Ryan McLeod, Joshua Norris, Noah Ostlund, Tanner Pearson, Jack Quinn, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Jason Zucker
Defensemen (9): Bowen Byram, Rasmus Dahlin, Michael Kesselring, Zach Metsa, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, Luke Schenn, Logan Stanley, Conor Timmins
Goaltenders (3): Colten Ellis, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon
IR: F Justin Danforth (lower body, month-to-month), F F Jiri Kulich (blood clot, indefinite)
Calgary Flames
Roster size: 26
Last updated March 28, 2:07 p.m.
Forwards (16): Mikael Backlund, John Beecher, Blake Coleman, Matthew Coronato, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Matvei Gridin, Tyson Gross, Adam Klapka, Ryan Lomberg, Victor Olofsson, Brennan Othmann, Martin Pospisil, Yegor Sharangovich, Ryan Strome, Connor Zary
Defensemen (8): Kevin Bahl, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joel Hanley, Yan Kuznetsov, Olli Määttä, Brayden Pachal, Zayne Parekh, Zach Whitecloud
Goaltenders (2): Devin Cooley, Dustin Wolf
IR: D Jake Bean (undisclosed, indefinite), F Samuel Honzek (upper body, out for season), F Jonathan Huberdeau (hip surgery, out for season)
Carolina Hurricanes
Roster size: 27
Last updated April 8, 6:00 p.m.
Forwards (17): Sebastian Aho, Jackson Blake, Skyler Brind’Amour, William Carrier, Nicolas Deslauriers, Nikolaj Ehlers, Taylor Hall, Mark Jankowski, Seth Jarvis, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jordan Martinook, Bradly Nadeau, Eric Robinson, Josiah Slavin, Jordan Staal, Logan Stankoven, Andrei Svechnikov
Defensemen (8): Jalen Chatfield, Shayne Gostisbehere, Charles-Alexis Legault, K’Andre Miller, Alexander Nikishin, Mike Reilly, Jaccob Slavin, Sean Walker
Goaltenders (2): Frederik Andersen, Brandon Bussi
IR: G Pyotr Kochetkov (undisclosed, indefinite)
Chicago Blackhawks
Roster size: 26
Last updated April 1, 6:30 p.m.
Forwards (16): Connor Bedard, Tyler Bertuzzi, Sacha Boisvert, André Burakovsky, Ryan Donato, Anton Frondell, Ryan Greene, Sam Lafferty, Nick Lardis, Andrew Mangiapane, Ilya Mikheyev, Oliver Moore, Frank Nazar, Landon Slaggert, Teuvo Teräväinen, Dominic Toninato
Defensemen (8): Louis Crevier, Ethan Del Mastro, Matt Grzelcyk, Wyatt Kaiser, Kevin Korchinski, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, Alex Vlasic
Goaltenders (2): Spencer Knight, Arvid Söderblom
IR: D Ryan Ellis (pelvic tear, retired), D Shea Weber (ankle, retired)
Colorado Avalanche
Roster size: 23
Last updated April 1, 6:30 p.m.
Forwards (14): Zakhar Bardakov, Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Nazem Kadri, Parker Kelly, Joel Kiviranta, Gabriel Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, Valeri Nichushkin, Logan O’Connor, Nicolas Roy
Defensemen (7): Nick Blankenburg, Brent Burns, Brett Kulak, Cale Makar, Sam Malinski, Josh Manson, Devon Toews
Goaltenders (2): Mackenzie Blackwood, Scott Wedgewood
Columbus Blue Jackets
Roster size: 26
Last updated April 1, 6:30 p.m.
Forwards (16): Zach Aston-Reese, Charlie Coyle, Luca Del Bel Belluz, Adam Fantilli, Conor Garland, Danton Heinen, Boone Jenner, Kent Johnson, Isac Lundeström, Kirill Marchenko, Mason Marchment, Sean Monahan, Mathieu Olivier, Cole Sillinger, Dmitri Voronkov, Miles Wood
Defensemen (8): Jake Christiansen, Dante Fabbro, Erik Gudbranson, Denton Mateychuk, Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson, Zach Werenski, Egor Zamula
Goaltenders (2): Jet Greaves, Elvis Merzļikins
IR: D Brendan Smith (lower leg, week-to-week)
Dallas Stars
Roster size: 27
Last updated April 1, 6:30 p.m.
Forwards (16): Oskar Bäck, Nathan Bastian, Jamie Benn, Colin Blackwell, Mavrik Bourque, Michael Bunting, Matt Duchene, Adam Erne, Roope Hintz, Justin Hryckowian, Cameron Hughes, Arttu Hyry, Wyatt Johnston, Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson, Sam Steel
Defensemen (9): Lian Bichsel, Kyle Capobianco, Thomas Harley, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, Nils Lundkvist, Ilya Lyubushkin, Tyler Myers, Alexander Petrovic
Goaltenders (2): Casey DeSmith, Jake Oettinger
IR: F Radek Faksa (upper body, day-to-day)
Season-ending LTIR: F Tyler Seguin (ACL, indefinite)
Detroit Red Wings
Roster size: 24
Last updated April 4, 10:15 p.m.
Forwards (14): Mason Appleton, J.T. Compher, Andrew Copp, Alex DeBrincat, Emmitt Finnie, Patrick Kane, Marco Kasper, Dylan Larkin, Carter Mazur, David Perron, Michael Rasmussen, Lucas Raymond, Dominik Shine, James van Riemsdyk
Defensemen (8): Jacob Bernard-Docker, Ben Chiarot, Simon Edvinsson, Justin Faulk, Travis Hamonic, Albert Johansson, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Moritz Seider
Goaltenders (2): John Gibson, Cam Talbot
Edmonton Oilers
Roster size: 22
Last updated April 1, 6:30 p.m.
Forwards (13): Jason Dickinson, Trent Frederic, Adam Henrique, Zach Hyman, Max Jones, Kasperi Kapanen, Curtis Lazar, Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Vasily Podkolzin, Jack Roslovic, Josh Samanski, Matthew Savoie
Defensemen (7): Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, Ty Emberson, Connor Murphy, Darnell Nurse, Spencer Stastney, Jake Walman
Goaltenders (2): Connor Ingram, Tristan Jarry
LTIR: F Colton Dach (undisclosed), F Leon Draisaitl (lower body, out for regular season), F Mattias Janmark (undisclosed, week-to-week)
Florida Panthers
Roster size: 28
Last updated April 8, 8:45 p.m.
Forwards (16): Sam Bennett, Jesper Boqvist, Nolan Foote, A.J. Greer, Noah Gregor, Vinnie Hinostroza, Luke Kunin, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Tomáš Nosek, Cole Reinhardt, Sam Reinhart, Evan Rodrigues, Mackie Samoskevich, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe
Defensemen (10): Uvis Balinskis, Michael Benning, Tobias Björnfot, Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling, Mikulas Hovorka, Ludvig Jansson, Seth Jones, Dmitry Kulikov, Donovan Sebrango
Goaltenders (2): Sergei Bobrovsky, Daniil Tarasov
LTIR: F Aleksander Barkov (right ACL/MCL, proj. return April 26 – June 26), F Jonah Gadjovich (upper body, proj. return Feb. 8), F Brad Marchand (lower body, indefinite), D Niko Mikkola (knee, season), F Cole Schwindt (lower body, indefinite)
Los Angeles Kings
Roster size: 23
Last updated March 21, 12:30 p.m.
Forwards (14): Joel Armia, Quinton Byfield, Samuel Helenius, Mathieu Joseph, Adrian Kempe, Anže Kopitar, Alex Laferriere, Scott Laughton, Jeff Malott, Trevor Moore, Artemi Panarin, Alex Turcotte, Taylor Ward, Jared Wright
Defensemen (7): Mikey Anderson, Cody Ceci, Brandt Clarke, Drew Doughty, Brian Dumoulin, Joel Edmundson, Jacob Moverare
Goaltenders (2): Anton Forsberg, Darcy Kuemper
IR: F Kevin Fiala (leg fractures, out for season), F Andrei Kuzmenko (meniscus, week-to-week)
Minnesota Wild
Roster size: 25
Last updated March 27, 8:50 p.m.
Forwards (15): Matt Boldy, Bobby Brink, Joel Eriksson Ek, Robby Fabbri, Marcus Foligno, Nick Foligno, Ryan Hartman, Marcus Johansson, Kirill Kaprizov, Michael McCarron, Nico Sturm, Vladimir Tarasenko, Yakov Trenin, Danila Yurov, Mats Zuccarello
Defensemen (8): Zach Bogosian, Jonas Brodin, Brock Faber, Quinn Hughes, Daemon Hunt, Jacob Middleton, Jeff Petry, Jared Spurgeon
Goaltenders (2): Filip Gustavsson, Jesper Wallstedt
Montreal Canadiens
Roster size: 25
Last updated March 30, 5:15 p.m.
Forwards (14): Josh Anderson, Zachary Bolduc, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Phillip Danault, Ivan Demidov, Jake Evans, Brendan Gallagher, Oliver Kapanen, Alex Newhook, Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, Alexandre Texier, Joe Veleno
Defensemen (8): Alexandre Carrier, Noah Dobson, Adam Engstrom, Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson, Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj
Goaltenders (3): Jakub Dobes, Jacob Fowler, Sam Montembeault
IR: F Patrik Laine (abdomen, indefinite)
Nashville Predators
Roster size: 22
Last updated April 1, 6:30 p.m.
Forwards (13): Luke Evangelista, Filip Forsberg, Erik Haula, Tyson Jost, Joakim Kemell, Zachary L’Heureux, Jonathan Marchessault, Ryan O’Reilly, Reid Schaefer, Steven Stamkos, Fedor Svechkov, Ozzy Wiesblatt, Matthew Wood
Defensemen (7): Justin Barron, Nicolas Hague, Roman Josi, Nick Perbix, Brady Skjei, Ryan Ufko, Adam Wilsby
Goaltenders (2): Justus Annunen, Juuse Saros
New Jersey Devils
Roster size: 25
Last updated Apr. 4, 10:15 a.m.
Forwards (15): Nick Bjugstad, Jesper Bratt, Connor Brown, Paul Cotter, Evgenii Dadonov, Cody Glass, Arseny Gritsyuk, Brian Halonen, Lenni Hameenaho, Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Marc McLaughlin, Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer, Maxim Tsyplakov
Defensemen (8): Dennis Cholowski, Brenden Dillon, Dougie Hamilton, Luke Hughes, Johnathan Kovacevic, Simon Nemec, Brett Pesce, Jonas Siegenthaler
Goaltenders (2): Jake Allen, Jacob Markstrom
LTIR: F Zack MacEwen (lower body, season), F Stefan Noesen (knee, indefinite)
New York Islanders
Roster size: 24
Last updated Mar. 26, 10:00 a.m.
Forwards (14): Mathew Barzal, Casey Cizikas, Anthony Duclair, Marc Gatcomb, Emil Heineman, Simon Holmström, Bo Horvat, Anders Lee, Kyle MacLean, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ondřej Palát, Calum Ritchie, Brayden Schenn, Maxim Shabanov
Defensemen (8): Adam Boqvist, Tony DeAngelo, Isaiah George, Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, Matthew Schaefer, Carson Soucy
Goaltenders (2): David Rittich, Ilya Sorokin
LTIR: F Pierre Engvall (ankle, out for season), F Kyle Palmieri (ACL, out for season), D Alexander Romanov (upper body, indefinite), G Semyon Varlamov (knee, indefinite)
New York Rangers
Roster size: 25
Last updated April 1, 6:30 p.m.
Forwards (14): Jonny Brodzinski, Jaroslav Chmelar, William Cuylle, Adam Edstrom, Tye Kartye, Noah Laba, Alexis Lafrenière, J.T. Miller, Gabriel Perreault, Taylor Raddysh, Conor Sheary, Adam Sykora, Vincent Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad
Defensemen (8): William Borgen, Drew Fortescue, Adam Fox, Vladislav Gavrikov, Vincent Iorio, Matthew Robertson, Braden Schneider, Urho Vaakanainen
Goaltenders (3): Dylan Garand, Jonathan Quick, Igor Shesterkin
IR: F Matt Rempe (thumb surgery, week-to-week)
Ottawa Senators
Roster size: 27
Last updated April 4, 10:15 a.m.
Forwards (14): Michael Amadio, Drake Batherson, Nick Cousins, Dylan Cozens, Lars Eller, Warren Foegele, Claude Giroux, Ridly Greig, Stephen Halliday, Kurtis MacDermid, Shane Pinto, Tim Stützle, Brady Tkachuk, Fabian Zetterlund
Defensemen (11): Thomas Chabot, Cameron Crotty, Jorian Donovan, Dennis Gilbert, Tyler Kleven, Nikolas Matinpalo, Jake Sanderson, Jordan Spence, Lassi Thomson, Carter Yakemchuk, Artem Zub
Goaltenders (2): James Reimer, Linus Ullmark
IR: D Nick Jensen (knee surgery, six weeks)
Philadelphia Flyers
Roster size: 24
Last updated April 1, 6:30 p.m.
Forwards (15): Denver Barkey, Alex Bump, Noah Cates, Sean Couturier, Christian Dvorak, Luke Glendening, Nikita Grebenkin, Carl Grundström, Garnet Hathaway, Travis Konecny, Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett, Garrett Wilson, Trevor Zegras
Defensemen (7): Emil Andrae, Jamie Drysdale, Noah Juulsen, Rasmus Ristolainen, Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, Cam York
Goaltenders (2): Samuel Ersson, Daniel Vladař
IR: F Rodrigo Abols (upper body, indefinite), F Tyson Foerster (arm surgery, proj. return May 17)
Pittsburgh Penguins
Roster size: 26
Last updated April 3, 9:00 a.m.
Forwards (14): Noel Acciari, Justin Brazeau, Yegor Chinakhov, Sidney Crosby, Connor Dewar, Kevin Hayes, Benjamin Kindel, Blake Lizotte, Evgeni Malkin, Anthony Mantha, Thomas Novak, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, Elmer Söderblom
Defensemen (10): Connor Clifton, Samuel Girard, Ryan Graves, Caleb Jones, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Ryan Shea, Ilya Solovyov, Jack St. Ivany, Parker Wotherspoon
Goaltenders (2): Arturs Silovs, Stuart Skinner
IR: F Filip Hallander (blood clots, proj. return early-mid Feb.)
SOIR: F Tanner Howe (ACL, proj. return Jan. 24)
San Jose Sharks
Roster size: 25
Last updated April 1, 7:00 p.m.
Forwards (16): Macklin Celebrini, Igor Chernyshov, Ty Dellandrea, William Eklund, Adam Gaudette, Barclay Goodrow, Collin Graf, Philipp Kurashev, Michael Misa, Zack Ostapchuk, Ryan Reaves, Pavol Regenda, Kiefer Sherwood, Will Smith, Tyler Toffoli, Alexander Wennberg
Defensemen (7): Vincent Desharnais, Sam Dickinson, Mario Ferraro, John Klingberg, Nick Leddy, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Dmitry Orlov
Goaltenders (2): Yaroslav Askarov, Alex Nedeljkovic
IR: F Logan Couture (osteitis pubis, retired)
Season-ending LTIR: G Carey Price (knee)
Seattle Kraken
Roster size: 26
Last updated April 1, 6:30 p.m.
Forwards (15): Matty Beniers, Berkly Catton, Jordan Eberle, Oscar Fisker Molgaard, Frédérick Gaudreau, Kaapo Kakko, Jared McCann, Bobby McMann, Jacob Melanson, Ben Meyers, Jaden Schwartz, Chandler Stephenson, Eeli Tolvanen, Ryan Winterton, Shane Wright
Defensemen (8): Vince Dunn, Ryker Evans, Cale Fleury, Adam Larsson, Ryan Lindgren, Josh Mahura, Brandon Montour, Jamie Oleksiak
Goaltenders (3): Joey Daccord, Philipp Grubauer, Matt Murray
SOIR: F Max McCormick (hip, out for season)
St. Louis Blues
Roster size: 25
Last updated March 9, 2:14 p.m.
Forwards (15): Jonatan Berggren, Pavel Buchnevich, Jonathan Drouin, Dalibor Dvorsky, Jack Finley, Dylan Holloway, Jordan Kyrou, Jake Neighbours, Jimmy Snuggerud, Otto Stenberg, Oskar Sundqvist, Pius Suter, Robert Thomas, Alexey Toropchenko, Nathan Walker
Defensemen (8): Philip Broberg, Cam Fowler, Justin Holl, Matthew Kessel, Theo Lindstein, Logan Mailloux, Colton Parayko, Tyler Tucker
Goaltenders (2): Jordan Binnington, Joel Hofer
Season-ending LTIR: D Torey Krug (ankle, out for season)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Roster size: 23
Last updated April 2, 8:02 p.m.
Forwards (14): Oliver Bjorkstrand, Mitchell Chaffee, Anthony Cirelli, Zemgus Girgensons, Gage Goncalves, Yanni Gourde, Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, Pontus Holmberg, Nikita Kucherov, Nick Paul, Corey Perry, Brayden Point, Scott Sabourin
Defensemen (7): Erik Černák, Charle-Édouard D’Astous, Emil Martinsen Lilleberg, Ryan McDonagh, J.J. Moser, Darren Raddysh, Steven Santini
Goaltenders (2): Jonas Johansson, Andrei Vasilevskiy
LTIR: D Declan Carlile (undisclosed, indefinite), D Maxwell Crozier (core surgery, done for regular season), D Victor Hedman (undisclosed, indefinite), F Dominic James (leg, indefinite)
Toronto Maple Leafs
Roster size: 23
Last updated April 1, 6:33 p.m.
Forwards (14): Easton Cowan, Max Domi, Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Calle Järnkrok, Dakota Joshua, Matthew Knies, Steven Lorentz, Matias Maccelli, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Michael Pezzetta, Jacob Quillan, Nicholas Robertson, John Tavares
Defensemen (7): Simon Benoit, Brandon Carlo, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jake McCabe, Philippe Myers, Morgan Rielly, Troy Stecher
Goaltenders (2): Anthony Stolarz, Joseph Woll
LTIR: D Chris Tanev (core muscle surgery, out for season)
Utah Mammoth
Roster size: 25
Last updated April 4, 1:00 p.m.
Forwards (15): Michael Carcone, Logan Cooley, Lawson Crouse, Dylan Guenther, Barrett Hayton, Clayton Keller, Alexander Kerfoot, Jack McBain, Liam O’Brien, JJ Peterka, Kevin Rooney, Nick Schmaltz, Kevin Stenlund, Brandon Tanev, Kailer Yamamoto
Defensemen (8): Ian Cole, Nick DeSimone, Sean Durzi, John Marino, Nate Schmidt, Mikhail Sergachev, Dmitri Simashev, MacKenzie Weegar
Goaltenders (2): Vítek Vaněček, Karel Vejmelka
Vancouver Canucks
Roster size: 22
Last updated March 21, 7:00 p.m.
Forwards (13): Teddy Blueger, Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, Curtis Douglas, Nils Höglander, Evander Kane, Linus Karlsson, Drew O’Connor, Liam Ohgren, Elias Pettersson, Aatu Räty, Marco Rossi, Max Sasson
Defensemen (7): Zeev Buium, Filip Hronek, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Victor Mancini, Elias N. Pettersson, Marcus Pettersson, Tom Willander
Goaltenders (2): Kevin Lankinen, Nikita Tolopilo
IR: F Filip Chytil (facial fracture, indefinite)
LTIR: G Thatcher Demko (hip, out for season), D Derek Forbort (undisclosed, indefinite)
Vegas Golden Knights
Roster size: 22
Last updated April 1, 6:35 p.m.
Forwards (13): Ivan Barbashev, Pavel Dorofeyev, Nic Dowd, Jack Eichel, Tomáš Hertl, Brett Howden, Keegan Kolesar, Mitch Marner, Brandon Saad, Colton Sissons, Cole Smith, Reilly Smith, Mark Stone
Defensemen (7): Rasmus Andersson, Noah Hanifin, Ben Hutton, Kaedan Korczak, Jeremy Lauzon, Brayden McNabb, Shea Theodore
Goaltenders (2): Adin Hill, Akira Schmid
IR: F Jonas Rondbjerg (undisclosed, week-to-week)
LTIR: G Carter Hart (lower body, indefinite), F William Karlsson (lower body, indefinite)
Season-ending LTIR: D Alex Pietrangelo (various)
Washington Capitals
Roster size: 25
Last updated April 1, 6:36 p.m.
Forwards (14): Anthony Beauvillier, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Brandon Duhaime, Ethen Frank, David Kämpf, Hendrix Lapierre, Ryan Leonard, Connor McMichael, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Alex Ovechkin, Aliaksei Protas, Justin Sourdif, Dylan Strome, Tom Wilson
Defensemen (9): Declan Chisholm, Jakob Chychrun, Martin Fehérváry, Cole Hutson, Timothy Liljegren, Dylan McIlrath, Matt Roy, Rasmus Sandin, Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders (2): Charlie Lindgren, Logan Thompson
Winnipeg Jets
Roster size: 25
Last updated April 6, 8:30 p.m.
Forwards (15): Morgan Barron, Kyle Connor, Alex Iafallo, Cole Koepke, Brad Lambert, Adam Lowry, Vladislav Namestnikov, Nino Niederreiter, Gustav Nyquist, Cole Perfetti, Isak Rosen, Mark Scheifele, Jonathan Toews, Gabriel Vilardi, Danil Zhilkin
Defensemen (8): Jacob Bryson, Dylan DeMelo, Haydn Fleury, Ville Heinola, Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk, Elias Salomonsson, Dylan Samberg
Goaltenders (2): Eric Comrie, Connor Hellebuyck
IR: D Colin Miller (lower body, week-to-week)
Canucks Recall Victor Mancini
12:01 p.m.: Joseph’s landing on IR is indeed the corresponding transaction, the Canucks announced. The placement is backdated to Sep. 30, so he’s eligible to return at any time.
9:48 a.m.: The Canucks are set to recall defenseman Victor Mancini from AHL Abbotsford, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports. The team has since confirmed the move. While he wasn’t on the opening night roster the Canucks submitted yesterday, he will be eligible to play in Vancouver’s home opener on Thursday against the Flames.
Vancouver’s initial roster submission was at the 23-player limit, however. They’ll need to free up a roster spot before officially recalling Mancini. In all likelihood, that will be moving defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph to injured reserve. He missed the Canucks’ preseason finale while dealing with what head coach Adam Foote called a minor issue, Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy relayed at the time. He hasn’t practiced since, though, leaving his status for Vancouver’s first regular-season game in doubt. The Canucks can backdate Joseph’s IR placement to when he first sustained the injury, meaning he’ll have already missed the required seven days and could return as soon as this weekend.
Mancini, 23, was one of Vancouver’s final cuts from training camp. His waiver-exempt status meant he faced an uphill battle for a depth job over non-exempt veterans like Joseph. A 2022 fifth-round pick by the Rangers, he’s coming off his first professional season – one that saw him unexpectedly break camp with the Rangers last fall. He ended up making 31 NHL appearances as he bounced between the majors and the minors throughout the year, splitting them nearly evenly across New York and Vancouver after he was included in January’s blockbuster J.T. Miller trade.
The 6’3″ righty showed definite room for improvement in his two-way game. His 2-6–8 scoring line worked out to 0.26 points per game, more than passable for a rookie rearguard whose primary upside is as a defensive specialist. He failed to succeed at his calling card, though, posting some rather troublesome possession numbers despite being given a relatively advantageous deployment. Despite starting 53.9% of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone, Mancini only controlled 40.3% of shot attempts – a nearly 12% relative downgrade compared to his teammates in both New York and Vancouver.
In 30 AHL appearances last year, Mancini netted four goals and nine assists for 13 points and a -4 rating. He added a 3-5–8 scoring line with a -6 rating in 24 playoff games as he helped Abbotsford to a Calder Cup championship.
Mancini carries an $870K cap hit and is kicking off the final season of his entry-level contract, making him a restricted free agent without arbitration rights next summer. The Canucks opened the year with $1.34MM in cap space, according to PuckPedia, leaving them enough room to call him up with Joseph (and Nils Höglander) still counting against the cap on IR.
Sharks Place Jack Thompson On Injured Reserve, Sam Dickinson Makes Team
The Sharks listed defenseman Jack Thompson on injured reserve when releasing the opening day roster they registered last night, per Max Miller of Sharks Hockey Digest. It’s not clear what he’s dealing with, but his placement does create an open roster spot that San Jose is giving to top defense prospect Sam Dickinson.
It’s an extremely late save for Dickinson’s spot on the active roster. The Sharks’ waiver activity over the weekend would have left them with no other option than to return Dickinson to OHL London yesterday to get down to 23 players had Thompson not sustained an injury. He did not dress for their preseason finale against the Mammoth on Saturday and appeared to leave their Friday win over the Golden Knights early, only registering 10:10 of ice time.
It’s understandable why the Sharks wouldn’t have wanted to expose Thompson to waivers. The 23-year-old was acquired from the Lightning in 2024’s Anthony Duclair trade, and he worked his way into 31 appearances for San Jose last year after only making three the season prior. The offensively skilled righty managed four goals and six assists for 10 points with a -9 rating, averaging 15:47 per game. He got some power-play looks and had solid possession impacts in his sheltered even-strength duties, logging a 45.4 CF% and 50.4 xGF%.
Thompson signed a one-year, two-way deal as a restricted free agent this summer, paying him $800K in the NHL. His pathway to regular playing time upon returning to health isn’t clear. Including Dickinson, the club has four new faces on its blue line after signing John Klingberg and Dmitry Orlov in free agency and claiming Nick Leddy off waivers. There’s also Vincent Desharnais and Shakir Mukhamadullin on the active roster in addition to San Jose’s projected top pair of Mario Ferraro and Timothy Liljegren. Thompson could see more looks in the lineup later on in the season if the still-rebuilding Sharks trade one of their veterans, namely Ferraro, but it might be tough sledding for the Ontario native early on.
One thing is for sure – the Sharks aren’t keeping Dickinson around to sit him in the press box. The 2024 No. 11 overall pick arrives in the NHL and is ticketed to make his debut when San Jose opens its season on Thursday against Vegas. The 6’3″ lefty will do so on the heels of a spectacular junior career with London, where he won back-to-back championships and was named the CHL’s Defenseman of the Year in 2024-25. He’s nearly a point-per-game for his junior career and exploded for a 29-62–91 scoring line in just 55 regular-season contests last year.
If Dickinson doesn’t stick around, the Sharks won’t be able to send him to their AHL affiliate unless it’s for conditioning. He’ll need to return to London if it’s a full-time demotion, something the Sharks weren’t keen on doing to risk overbaking him. Dickinson averaged nearly 20 minutes per game across five preseason appearances for the Sharks, notching a pair of primary assists.
Stars Sign Adam Erne To Two-Way Deal
The Stars have signed winger Adam Erne to a two-way deal for 2025-26, according to a team announcement. The contract includes an NHL salary of $775K, an AHL salary of $250K, and a guarantee of $300K, per PuckPedia.
Erne attended Dallas’ training camp on a professional tryout. The 30-year-old lands a contract after working his way into five of the Stars’ six preseason contests, scoring two assists and averaging a shade over 13 minutes per game. He had nine shots on goal and tied Nathan Bastian for the team lead in hits with 18.
While he has eight years and 379 games of NHL experience under his belt, Erne didn’t see any ice time last year and hasn’t skated in an NHL contest since April 2024. He attended the Rangers’ training camp on a PTO last year but wasn’t successful in landing a deal. He received a tryout with their AHL affiliate in Hartford, but he recorded just one assist and a -5 rating in 10 games before being released. He didn’t land anywhere else, so he hasn’t played a regular-season or playoff game at any level in nearly a calendar year.
At his peak, Erne was a fine third-line checking piece for the Lightning and Red Wings. He’s hit the 20-point mark in a single season twice and carries a career 41-50–91 scoring line with a -59 rating into his NHL return. His signing makes him one of 12 healthy forwards on Dallas’ roster for now, meaning he’s slated to make his Stars debut on Thursday against the Jets unless they opt to dress seven defensemen.
His pathway to a contract was made easier by preseason injuries to forwards Oskar Back and Jamie Benn, the latter of whom landed on long-term injured reserve this morning to create the cap space for Erne to join the active roster. Benn is expected to return late this month after sustaining a collapsed lung during a preseason game, while the team hasn’t issued any details on Back’s injury. Erne will likely get fourth-line reps until one or both of Back and Benn are ready to return, at which point he could land on waivers and back in the AHL if he clears.
The Stars should have roughly $1.1MM remaining in their LTIR pool. That leaves them enough flexibility to recall an extra forward from AHL Texas if they need one.
Blues’ Oskar Sundqvist Out Week-To-Week
Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist has been given a week-to-week designation with a lower-body injury ahead of their season opener on Thursday, general manager Doug Armstrong told reporters (including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic). The club doesn’t expect his absence to last much longer than the first check-in point, though, and has only ruled him out for their first three games, per Lou Korac of NHL.com.
Sundqvist didn’t land on injured reserve when the Blues submitted their opening night roster yesterday, so he’s technically eligible to return at any time. With just $625K in cap space to start the season, the Blues wouldn’t have enough space to make a corresponding recall if they moved Sundqvist to IR, so there wasn’t any point in doing so.
The 31-year-old sustained the injury during a practice session on Sunday, Korac wrote for The Hockey News. It appeared to be a right leg issue after falling during a battle drill along the boards, and he required help off the ice. Fortunately, his absence won’t be as extensive as initially feared. Injuries are a commonality for Sundqvist, who’s only cracked the 70-game mark twice in his 10-year NHL career. He has missed 18 games over the last two seasons, primarily due to an ACL injury he suffered late in the 2023-24 season that carried into the beginning of the 2024-25 season.
Sundqvist is in the third season of his second stint in St. Louis. He initially landed back with the Blues on a one-year, league minimum deal in free agency in 2023, but he signed a two-year, $3MM extension in March 2024. He’s entering the final year of that deal, which carries a cap hit of $1.5MM, and could be an unrestricted free agent again next summer.
A career-long bottom-six checking piece, Sundqvist usually produces in the 20-to-30-point range. That held true last year, managing a 6-14–20 scoring line with a -6 rating in 67 appearances. He’s versatile enough to bounce between the wing and center but spent a good amount of time down the middle in 2024-25, winning 45.5% of his 572 faceoffs. He’s expected to continue to see time at center upon his return, potentially in a fourth-line role after St. Louis’ offseason additions of Nick Bjugstad and Pius Suter bumped him down the depth chart.
Panthers Sign Noah Gregor To Two-Way Deal
The Panthers announced Tuesday that they’ve agreed to terms with forward Noah Gregor on a two-way contract. He had been in training camp on a professional tryout agreement. The deal carries an NHL salary of $775K and an AHL salary of $450K, according to PuckPedia. In a pair of corresponding moves, the team also reversed yesterday’s paper demotion of winger Mackie Samoskevich to AHL Charlotte and moved Aleksander Barkov from standard injured reserve to long-term injured reserve, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports. Gregor’s contract won’t be registered with the league until those two moves are formalized, as Florida doesn’t have the cap space to add him to the roster until after gaining relief from Barkov’s LTIR placement.
While Gregor wasn’t on the opening night roster that Florida formally registered with the league last night, he will be eligible to play in tonight’s season opener against the Blackhawks. The six-year NHL vet made four preseason appearances for the Cats, scoring a goal and an assist while adding seven hits and a blocked shot in over 17 minutes of ice time per game. He won’t get nearly that much deployment in the regular season. The 27-year-old center has only averaged 12:19 of ice time per game across 293 career contests, and that figure has been trending down over the past few years.
It wasn’t all that surprising to see Gregor need to settle for a tryout. He also required one to land a contract with the Maple Leafs in 2023, and he has now been non-tendered for three consecutive years. That streak will end next offseason as he’ll be eligible for outright unrestricted free agency. The Alberta native is coming off his worst showing since emerging as an NHL regular with the Sharks in 2020. Splitting the year between Ottawa and San Jose, he tied a career-worst -21 rating in 52 appearances while making minimal offensive contributions – just four goals and three assists. While his high-end skating has always generated intrigue, it has rarely translated into a legitimate offensive impact. He’s only hit the 10-goal and 20-point marks once in a single season.
Nonetheless, he showed out well enough in Florida’s camp to earn another deal. The Panthers are in desperate need of cheap forward depth, as they’re virtually capped out despite starting the year with all of Barkov, Tomáš Nosek, and Matthew Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve thanks to the new rule that teams are limited to the previous year’s average salary (~$3.82MM in this case) in LTIR relief per player if their injury isn’t season-ending. After Gregor averaged only 11:06 per game last season, he’ll presumably be in the Cats’ fourth-line rotation along with returnees Jonah Gadjovich and A.J. Greer, late-offseason signing Luke Kunin, and preseason waiver claim Cole Schwindt. The two-way structure indicates he’s a candidate to end up on waivers when Nosek or Tkachuk is ready to return, depending on who comes back first.
As for Samoskevich, his quiet demotion yesterday was essential to Florida’s initial salary cap setup. The team submitted their opening night roster, which excluded the waiver-exempt Samoskevich and included Nosek and Tkachuk on LTIR, but listed Barkov on standard IR. That left the Panthers $4.55MM over the cap but with $4.6MM in relief from Nosek and Tkachuk. That set their initial LTIR capture within $50K of the maximum relief. Moving Barkov to LTIR then opens up an additional $3.82MM in space, which they used to recall Samoskevich (who also carries a $775K cap hit) and sign Gregor. After all those transactions are officially completed, the Panthers will have $2.27MM remaining in their LTIR pool, per PuckPedia.
Samoskevich, Florida’s 2021 first-round pick, will be in tonight’s lineup, presumably in a top-nine role. The 22-year-old finished 11th in Calder Trophy voting for the league’s top rookie last year with 15 goals and 31 points in 72 games.
Today’s moves also officially leave the door open for Barkov to suit up for Florida in the playoffs. He’s expected back sometime between late April and late June after he blew up his right ACL and MCL in his first practice of training camp, requiring surgery.
2025 NHL Opening Night Rosters
The deadline to submit cap-compliant opening night rosters, which must be at or below the 23-player limit, is Monday at 4:00 p.m. Central. As teams confirm their final moves, we’ll be listing each team’s initial roster for the 2025-26 campaign as announcements come in:
Last updated Oct. 7, 11:27 a.m.
Anaheim Ducks
Roster size: 23/23
Link to team announcement
Forwards (14): Leo Carlsson, Sam Colangelo, Cutter Gauthier, Mikael Granlund, Ross Johnston, Alex Killorn, Chris Kreider, Mason McTavish, Nikita Nesterenko, Ryan Poehling, Beckett Sennecke, Ryan Strome, Troy Terry, Frank Vatrano
Defenseman (6): Radko Gudas, Drew Helleson, Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, Jacob Trouba, Olen Zellweger
Goaltenders (3): Lukáš Dostál, Ville Husso, Petr Mrázek
IR: F Jansen Harkins (upper body, proj. return Nov. 22)
SOIR: F Coulson Pitre (upper body, indefinite)
Boston Bruins
Roster size: 23/23
Link to team announcement
Forwards (14): Viktor Arvidsson, John Beecher, Michael Eyssimont, Morgan Geekie, Tanner Jeannot, Mark Kastelic, Marat Khusnutdinov, Sean Kuraly, Elias Lindholm, Fraser Minten, Casey Mittelstadt, David Pastrňák, Jeffrey Viel, Pavel Zacha
Defensemen (7): Jordan Harris, Henri Jokiharju, Hampus Lindholm, Mason Lohrei, Charlie McAvoy, Andrew Peeke, Nikita Zadorov
Goaltenders (2): Joonas Korpisalo, Jeremy Swayman
Buffalo Sabres
Roster size: 23/23
Link to team announcement
Forwards (14): Zach Benson, Justin Danforth, Josh Doan, Mason Geertsen, Tyson Kozak, Peyton Krebs, Jiri Kulich, Beck Malenstyn, Ryan McLeod, Joshua Norris, Jack Quinn, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Jason Zucker
Defensemen (6): Jacob Bryson, Bowen Byram, Rasmus Dahlin, Ryan Johnson, Mattias Samuelsson, Conor Timmins
Goaltenders (3): Colten Ellis, Alexandar Georgiev, Alex Lyon
IR: F Jordan Greenway (lower body, week-to-week), D Michael Kesselring (undisclosed, week-to-week), G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower body, week-to-week), D Owen Power (undisclosed, day-to-day)
SOIR: F Carson Meyer (undisclosed, indefinite)
Calgary Flames
Roster size: 23/23
Link to team announcement
Forwards (13): Mikael Backlund, Blake Coleman, Matthew Coronato, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Matvei Gridin, Samuel Honzek, Nazem Kadri, Justin Kirkland, Adam Klapka, Ryan Lomberg, Yegor Sharangovich, Connor Zary
Defensemen (8): Rasmus Andersson, Kevin Bahl, Jake Bean, Joel Hanley, Daniil Miromanov, Brayden Pachal, Zayne Parekh, MacKenzie Weegar
Goaltenders (2): Devin Cooley, Dustin Wolf
IR: F Jonathan Huberdeau (undisclosed, day-to-day), F Martin Pospisil (undisclosed, day-to-day)
Carolina Hurricanes
Roster size: 23/23
Link to team announcement
Forwards (13): Sebastian Aho, Jackson Blake, William Carrier, Nikolaj Ehlers, Taylor Hall, Mark Jankowski, Seth Jarvis, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jordan Martinook, Eric Robinson, Jordan Staal, Logan Stankoven, Andrei Svechnikov
Defensemen (7): Jalen Chatfield, Shayne Gostisbehere, K’Andre Miller, Alexander Nikishin, Mike Reilly, Jaccob Slavin, Sean Walker
Goaltenders (3): Frederik Andersen, Pyotr Kochetkov, Brandon Bussi
SOIR/non-roster: F Juha Jaaska (undisclosed, indefinite)
Oilers Extend Connor McDavid, Jake Walman
Edmonton’s biggest piece of offseason business is done on the eve of opening night. They’ve announced a two-year, $25MM extension to keep captain Connor McDavid off next year’s unrestricted free agent market. That’s a $12.5MM cap hit, the same as his current eight-year deal signed back in 2017 carries. It’s not just the Oilers’ generational talent inking a new deal, either. Defenseman Jake Walman has agreed to terms on a long-term extension, according to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. That deal will be a seven-year, $49MM contract with a $7MM cap hit, per Friedman.
According to PuckPedia, McDavid’s new deal will be largely paid out in signing bonuses as expected. In 2026-27, he’ll earn an $850K salary with a $13.4MM signing bonus, and in 2027-28, he’ll make a $900K salary with a $9.85MM signing bonus. He’ll have full no-movement protection in each year of the deal.
Meanwhile, a few hours later, PuckPedia shared that Walman’s contract breaks down as follows:
- Year 1: $1.24MM salary, $6MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
- Year 2: $2.5MM salary, $5MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
- Year 3: $4MM salary, $4MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
- Year 4: $2.565MM salary, $4MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
- Year 5: $5.565MM salary, $1MM signing bonus, 15-team no trade clause
- Year 6: $5.565MM salary, $1MM signing bonus, 15-team no trade clause
- Year 7: $5.565MM salary, $1MM signing bonus, 15-team no trade clause
In his first two years on the job, Edmonton general manager Stan Bowman has now been successful in renewing his two franchise cornerstones well before unrestricted free agency became a real threat. He went through a similar song and dance with Leon Draisaitl last year. However, unlike McDavid, Draisaitl’s commitment was long-term – an eight-year, $112MM extension in September 2024 that, at the time, carried the league’s highest cap hit at $14MM.
Draisaitl’s decision to extend came before the Oilers dropped a second straight Stanley Cup Final to the Panthers. Now 28 and entering his 11th NHL season, the context surrounding McDavid’s negotiations was markedly different as a result. The team has been knocking on the door for quite some time, but is now years deep into a contention window without a championship to show for it. With a bottom-five prospect pool and spending flexibility limited in recent seasons, there was an expectation that McDavid wanted the option to reach free agency in a few years, while still in his prime, if he hadn’t yet won a Cup with the Oilers.
But at least for the next few years, Edmonton’s contention window remains wide open with today’s news. McDavid is coming off an underwhelming regular season by his standards, one that saw him miss significant time with an injury for the first time since a fractured collarbone stole nearly half of his rookie season. He still managed to hit the 100-point mark in 67 appearances, but only 26 of them were goals, also his lowest output since his rookie year and one of the worst per-game efforts of his career.
That was all put to bed by another dominant postseason run that would have earned him MVP honors had Edmonton emerged victorious this time around – an honor he managed to win anyway in 2024 despite being on the losing end as well. In the Oilers’ back-to-back Final runs, McDavid has led the league in playoff scoring both times for a cumulative 15-60–75 line in 47 games. He’s established himself as one of the top playoff performers of all time in the process. He’s got 150 points in 96 games across seven trips to the postseason, making his 1.56 points per game third in league history behind Wayne Gretzky‘s 1.84 and Mario Lemieux‘s 1.61.
The regular-season numbers are similarly fantastic. Only twice in McDavid’s career has he managed not to hit the century mark – his rookie season and the 2019-20 campaign that COVID cut off with weeks left in the season. He enters Year 11 with 361 goals, 721 assists, and 1,082 points in 712 career games. That’s good for 1.52 points per game, also third all-time behind Gretzky (1.92) and Lemieux (1.88).
He and Draisaitl remain the co-headliners of a forward group that’s lost a bit of depth punch due to cap constraints, but still has Zach Hyman signed through 2028 and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins through 2029. McDavid’s deal coincides with the expiry of Hyman’s contract. It also marks an immense discount on his market value, which was close to – if not the max salary ($20MM-ish per season) – in order to help facilitate a long-awaited championship. If that doesn’t happen, it’s hard to envision a world in which McDavid doesn’t head elsewhere in the offseason of 2028.
As for Walman, it’s hard to find a player whose fortunes have changed as dramatically since last offseason as his. The 29-year-old is entering the final season of a three-year, $10.2MM contract extension he signed with the Red Wings back in 2023. Despite Walman averaging nearly 20 minutes per game in the first year of that deal and managing a 12-9–21 scoring line in 63 appearances – fine value for the money – Detroit opted to clear his contract. They even paid a second-round pick to the Sharks to take him on.
On a thin San Jose blue line, Walman quickly emerged as their No. 1 option. He averaged north of 23 games for the Sharks and responded with an offensive breakout, notching a 6-26–32 line in 50 appearances with a highly respectable -1 rating on a club that ended up finishing the season with a -102 goal differential. San Jose parlayed the lefty’s breakout by trading him to the Oilers at the deadline, netting a 2026 first-round pick in return in addition to the second-rounder they received from the Wings for taking on his contract in what remains one of the more puzzling trades in recent memory.
Walman’s production barely even took a hit despite slotting in as Edmonton’s No. 4 behind Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, and Darnell Nurse. He spent most of his time last year anchoring a third pairing with John Klingberg, but is now getting a look in the top four to start 2025-26, moving to his offside to play with a fellow lefty in Nurse. In 37 combined regular-season and playoff games with the Oilers after the move, Walman had a 3-15–18 scoring line with a +14 rating while still averaging north of 20 minutes per game.
A seven-year extension keeps the pending UFA under contract through the 2032-33 season, so Walman now carries the longest remaining term of any Oiler alongside Draisaitl and Trent Frederic. He’s also due to be their fifth-highest-paid skater next season behind Draisaitl, McDavid, Bouchard ($10.5MM), and Nurse ($9.25MM). With McDavid and Walman in tow, the Oilers now have $81.3MM committed to 14 players for 2026-27, per PuckPedia. That still leaves at least $22.7MM in flexibility to fill nine roster spots, a number that could grow if the salary cap exceeds its $104MM projection. They do still have a few notable UFAs left unsigned past this season, a class headlined by Ekholm and starting netminder Stuart Skinner.
Frank Seravalli of Bleacher Report and Victory+ was first to report notable progress on McDavid talks today. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report the deal had gotten signed. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug was first on the two-year term.
Image courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.