Kale Clague Signs With KHL’s Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
The Winnipeg Jets are losing a small piece of their defensive depth for next season. According to multiple reports, defenseman Kale Clague has signed a two-year contract with the KHL’s Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
The Regina, Saskatchewan native had a coming home of sorts this season, signing a one-year, two-way contract with the Jets for the 2025-26 season. Unfortunately, that didn’t translate to any playing time in the NHL, as Clague spent the entire campaign with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
It was a relatively productive year, scoring nine goals and 27 points in 67 games. Still, it was a far cry from the 10-goal, 39-point performance he enjoyed a year earlier with the Rochester Americans. Additionally, Clague finished with a -16 rating, which stands as his worst mark since the 2018-19 campaign.
Given his age and the length of his new contract, the 2025-26 season could very well have been Clague’s last in North America. Despite being drafted over a decade ago, the 28-year-old blue liner has only managed 94 games at the NHL level, scoring two goals and 21 points with a -22 rating.
He’s unsurprisingly performed much better in the AHL, at least offensively. Debuting in the 2018-19 season with the Ontario Reign, Clague has registered 39 goals and 165 points in 321 career AHL appearances.
In Russia, Clague should largely operate as a two-way threat, with the capacity to average a point every two games. If he performs particularly well, another NHL team may give him another opportunity, but it’s unlikely at this point.
Afternoon Notes: Hischier, Gasseau, Daley Jr.
General Manager Sunny Mehta will have his hands full with the New Jersey Devils, primarily by finding a trade partner for defenseman Dougie Hamilton and making a decision on defenseman Simon Nemec‘s future. Still, there’s another negotiation that will help define the Devils’ offseason.
According to Todd Cordell of Infernal Access, Mehta and the rest of the front office have already begun prioritizing a Nico Hischier extension this summer. New Jersey’s captain is entering the final season of a seven-year, $50.75MM extension and has been the subject of some trade speculation as we approach the offseason.
That might be why the Devils are pushing for an extension sooner rather than later. If negotiations sour, New Jersey could make Hischier available on the trade market, and he could be of supreme value for teams that miss out on Dylan Larkin this summer. Hischier registered 28 goals and 66 points in 82 games for New Jersey this season, and he only has a 10-team no-trade list in his contract.
Additional afternoon notes:
- In an interview at the NHL Draft Combine, General Manager of the Boston Bruins, Don Sweeney, confirmed to Jim McBride of The Boston Globe that the team would likely trade forward Andre Gasseau this summer, or allow him to become an unrestricted free agent in August. Gasseau, 22, recently wrapped up his senior season with the NCAA’s Boston College Eagles, scoring six goals and 23 points in 23 games, but lost multiple games due to wrist surgery. The former seventh-round pick wants NHL ice time immediately, and the Bruins are unwilling to do that.
- According to Jeff Marek of The Sheet, Trevor Daley Jr., son of veteran Trevor Daley, is leaving the United States National Team Development Program for the OHL. Daley Jr. will join the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds for the 2026-27 season after registering one assist in four games for the NTDP this past season.
Kings Hire Peter Laviolette As Head Coach
June 9th: The Kings have formalized the hiring through a team announcement. Laviolette officially becomes the 32nd head coach in team history.
June 8th: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Los Angeles Kings have hired Peter Laviolette as their new head coach. Friedman mentioned that Laviolette was anticipated to be a finalist for the head coaching positions with both the Edmonton Oilers and the Toronto Maple Leafs had he not accepted the Kings’ offer. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun shared that Laviolette has agreed to a three-year deal with the Kings.
Los Angeles will be the seventh team that Laviolette has served as head coach with, and only his second in the Western Conference. The last time Laviolette coached a team in the West was with the Nashville Predators until he was relieved of duties partway through the 2019-20 season.
Throughout his 23-year coaching career, Laviolette has had tremendous success. His head coaching career began back in the 2001-02 season, when Laviolette spent two years with the New York Islanders. The franchise had struggled for years before Laviolette had arrived, and he managed to guide the team back to the postseason in both years.
Still, despite the return to relevance, the Islanders weren’t inspired by Laviolette coaching the team back into the postseason, and he was fired in the summer leading up to the 2003-04 season. It didn’t take long for him to find a new job as the Carolina Hurricanes hired him partway through the next season.
Although his first half-year with the team didn’t go well, nobody has any complaints about how the team did the following year. After returning from the 2005 lockout, Laviolette guided the Hurricanes to their first Stanley Cup Final since 2002, and the organization’s first and only championship, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.
Unfortunately, largely due to injuries, Carolina was unable to repeat their success under Laviolette, and the team parted ways with him after 25 games into the 2008-09 season. He spent the next year on the open market before landing with the Philadelphia Flyers early on in the 2009-10 season.
Similar to his start with the Hurricanes, Laviolette achieved quick success with his new organization. The recent Stanley Cup winner stewarded the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final that season, albeit losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. Outside of reaching the Cup Final, Philadelphia also became the third team to come back from a 3-0 series deficit, overcoming the Boston Bruins in the semifinals.
The Flyers remained competitive during Laviolette’s tenure, but never achieved the same playoff success. Eventually, after getting off to a winless start in three games at the beginning of the 2013-14 campaign, Philadelphia let go of Laviolette.
Heading into the 2014-15 campaign, Laviolette was hired by the Nashville Predators to become the team’s second head coach in franchise history, replacing Barry Trotz, who had departed for the Washington Capitals. Like his time with Carolina and Philadelphia, Laviolette helped his team to the Stanley Cup Final relatively early into his tenure.
Under Laviolette, the Predators reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history in 2017, but would ultimately fall short of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He remained in Nashville for three more years before being fired during the 2019-20 season.
Since then, Laviolette has had a three-year run as head coach of the Washington Capitals and another two with the New York Rangers. Both teams played well in the regular season, but couldn’t get over the hump and back to the Stanley Cup Final. He has not coached since the Rangers fired him after the 2024-25 campaign.
Beginning in the 2001-02 season, Laviolette has compiled a head coaching record of 846-562-25-161 for a win percentage of .589. He has guided three teams to the Stanley Cup Final, winning once, and has two Presidents’ Trophies.
Laviolette’s head coaching tactics should be a stark transition for the Kings, who have been branded as a defensive-minded team for the past several years. Under Laviolette, who emphasizes quick transitions and aggressive gap control on defense, the team is expected to have greater success in scoring goals simply due to an improved system.
Additionally, it’s likely that Los Angeles forward Artemi Panarin had a hand in Laviolette’s hire. Panarin, who could very likely become the new face of the franchise for the Kings since Anže Kopitar retired. Panarin had the best season of his career under Laviolette, scoring 49 goals and 120 points in 82 games during the 2023-24 campaign.
Still, given his track record, it’s hard to say how this hiring will work out in the long run. Laviolette typically gets off to quick starts with new teams, but struggles to keep up the success long-term. However, the Kings may be trying to prevent this by limiting their offer to a three-year deal.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel of Imagn Images.
West Notes: Stars, Larkin, Babcock
A few days ago, the Dallas Stars submitted a non-binding letter of intent to the Plano City Council, proposing a new entertainment district and stadium nearly 20 miles north of downtown Dallas. According to a new article from the Sports Business Journal, the Stars faced no adversity in the vote, with the Plano City Council unanimously supporting the proposal while offering up to $700MM in public funding.
Given that the proposal is non-binding, the Stars aren’t necessarily locked into moving to Plano, but today’s vote demonstrates that the interest goes both ways. Dallas’ ownership indicated that the stadium itself would cost around $1B, while the mixed-use district would cost around $3B, all things considered.
The Stars are locked into their lease at American Airlines Center until the 2030-31 season, so a new stadium would still be at least five years away, regardless. The city of Dallas remains in contact with the Stars to extend their lease, or keep the team downtown at the very least, but all signs indicate the Stars may be following their fans to the suburbs.
Additional notes from the Western Conference:
- Despite being one of the three teams that Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin would accept a trade to, it’s not that simple for the Minnesota Wild. In a new article, Joe Smith of The Athletic opined that the Wild are a logical landing spot for Minnesota, but questioned if the Wild had the necessary assets to pull it off. Smith speculated that Minnesota would make Danila Yurov and Charlie Stramel available, but they have exhausted many of their high-value trade assets from acquiring Quinn Hughes this past season.
- After yesterday’s report indicating that the Edmonton Oilers have zeroed in on Mike Babcock as their next head coach, many questioned how this would affect the team’s leadership, particularly the future of Connor McDavid. According to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, Babcock has already met with Edmonton’s player leadership, which would obviously include McDavid among others. Per Rishaug, the players gave the Oilers’ front office their full support to hire Babcock if possible.
Panthers Sign Cooper Black To Two-Year Contract
Given that Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov could depart the organization in free agency this summer, the Florida Panthers are doing everything they can to keep most of their goaltending depth intact. The Panthers announced that they’ve signed netminder Cooper Black to a two-year, two-way contract.
Black, 24, recently wrapped up his second professional season. He’s a relative success story, grinding it out with the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers only five years before committing to Dartmouth College ahead of the 2022-23 campaign. His first season at Dartmouth didn’t go well, with Black finishing with a 5-23-1 record in 30 games with a .899 SV% and 3.07 GAA.
Despite the bad performance, Black remained with the program for what would be his last season in the NCAA. The next year went much better, managing a 13-8-8 record in 30 games with a .910 SV% and 2.58 GAA. Although the Big Green finished fourth in the ECAC Conference, they were eliminated in the conference semifinals by Cornell.
Still, that was enough for the Panthers to give him a shot, and they inked Black to his entry-level contract that same year. He played a few games with the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates, but primarily played for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers during the 2024-25 campaign. Black finished with an 11-4-2 record in 17 games with a .910 SV% and 1.98 GAA.
Finally, Black was given the reins for the 2025-26 season, and he turned it into a decent year. The Alpena, MI native managed a 25-13-4 record in 43 games with a .903 SV% and 2.47 GAA. Unfortunately, Black couldn’t keep that success going in the Calder Cup playoffs, and the Checkers were eliminated in three games.
Unless something goes horribly wrong this offseason, there’s little chance of Black beginning the 2026-27 season with the Panthers. Even with the likely exit of Bobrovsky and Tarasov, Black will remain Florida’s third-string option heading into next season.
Oilers Interested In Hiring Mike Babcock As Head Coach
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Edmonton Oilers are consulting with the NHLPA to see if any objections need to be resolved if they were to hire Mike Babcock as their next head coach. Edmonton’s inquiry to the NHLPA about a potential investigation suggests their interest in Babcock is quite serious.
Dreger later added that if an investigation is warranted, the NHL would manage it. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun added that if the Oilers were to hire Babcock, former Los Angeles Kings interim head coach D.J. Smith would likely join his staff.
There are a lot of “ifs” to work through, but it would obviously be one of the most controversial coaching hires in recent memory if Edmonton were to hire Babcock. Despite his tremendous success with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Detroit Red Wings, Babcock has experienced unceremonious endings to his tenures with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Columbus Blue Jackets, thanks to multiple scandals.
A significant part of this began during his time with the Red Wings. In 2019, former Red Wing Johan Franzen called Babcock “the worst person I’ve ever met” in an interview with Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Veteran defenseman Chris Chelios added that Babcock verbally abused Franzen to the point of the latter suffering a nervous breakdown. Additionally, during the 2010-11 season, Babcock made Mike Modano a healthy scratch on multiple occasions at the end of the season, causing the legend to finish one game shy of 1,500 games played.
Then came the Mitch Marner incident. A year into an eight-year, $50MM contract with the Maple Leafs, Babcock asked Marner, who was a rookie at the time, to rank his teammates from first to last in work ethic. The stunt understandably angered the team, putting Marner in an awkward position just days into his professional career. The details of this incident wouldn’t come out until Babcock was fired by the Maple Leafs in 2019.
Babcock became radioactive after the news broke. Coupled with the controversies throughout his time in Detroit, no player was keen on playing for Babcock, and no team was willing to give him another opportunity. Still, under the assumption that time heals all wounds, the Blue Jackets became the first team to offer him an opportunity in 2023.
However, Babcock would finish his time with the Blue Jackets without coaching a single game. Originally shared on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, host Paul Bissonnette revealed that Babcock had approached multiple players, including captain Boone Jenner, asking them to share personal photos and sometimes displaying them for the rest of the team to see. Babcock resigned from his role a few days later.
Since then, although Babcock has appeared in rumblings here and there, none have been as serious as the Oilers’ current attempts. In late May, Babcock told Dreger that he considers himself retired, but obviously, Edmonton has gotten his attention one way or another.
Free Agent Focus: Los Angeles Kings
Free agency is now less than a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. Even with the UFA crop being thinned out in recent months, there will be some quality veterans set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Kings.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Brandt Clarke – If there were any remaining questions about Clarke’s ability to become a top-four defenseman, those have completely subsided. The former first-round pick had an impressive season with the Kings, scoring eight goals and 40 points with a +11 rating in 82 games. It’s not terribly more production than what he had last season, but he proved he could handle nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game. Given that Clarke is the only defenseman in Los Angeles who has yet to enter his prime, it would make the most sense to give Clarke a long-term deal this summer to ensure the Kings have a defenseman to build a defensive corps around.
Other RFAs: F Martin Chromiak, F Francesco Pinelli
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Scott Laughton – There wasn’t much hope in Laughton after the Kings acquired him from the Maple Leafs at the trade deadline, given his struggles with Toronto this year. However, Laughton seemingly rediscovered his game in Los Angeles, scoring five goals and eight points in 21 games down the stretch, with a 59.4% faceoff rating while averaging over 15 minutes of ice time per game. Laughton expressed a desire to remain with the Kings at the end-of-season media availability, and the Kings likely won’t have any issue retaining him for a bottom-six role.
F Andrei Kuzmenko – Although Laughton has found a new home with the Kings, Kuzmenko has seemingly lost his. Limited by injuries, the 30-year-old Russian registered only 13 goals and 25 points in 52 games this season. Toward the end of May, Eric Stephens of The Athletic reported that Los Angeles is likely to move on from Kuzmenko this offseason, since he no longer has a spot in the top six. He’s an incredibly streaky scorer, but can provide some offense in a middle-six role. Regardless, he’s likely to join his fifth organization in as many seasons.
Other UFAs: F Mathieu Joseph, F Jeff Malott, D Jacob Moverare, G Pheonix Copley, F Glenn Gawdin, F Logan Brown, F Jan Jenik, F Nikita Alexandrov, D Kyle Burroughs
Projected Cap Space
No pressure, but this offseason has the chance to be a franchise-defining one for the Kings. Yes, the team has a priority to retain Clarke for as long as possible, but they also have an Anže Kopitar-shaped hole down the middle. The team has $18.3MM in cap space, which should leave plenty left over to fill that need. It’s not clear whether Los Angeles is confident in Quinton Byfield assuming that role just yet, so the Kings will likely have to use their available dollars on the trade market to add an impact center this summer.
Photos courtesy of Bob Frid (Clarke) and Griffin Hooper (Laughton) of Imagn Images. Contract information courtesy of PuckPedia.
Devils’ Arseny Gritsyuk Seeking Multi-Year Extension
According to a report from James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now, New Jersey Devils winger Arseny Gritsyuk is seeking a multi-year extension with the club. Nichols added that the interest is mutual, and the two sides are progressing well toward a new contract.
It’s safe to say that Gritsyuk’s first year with the Devils went well. New Jersey drafted Gritsyuk with the 129th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, but had to wait a few years for him to play with the team, as he spent multiple seasons in the KHL. In his final KHL season, he had a solid performance, scoring 17 goals and earning 44 points in 49 games, while boasting a +22 rating with SKA St. Petersburg.
Entering the 2025-26 season, New Jersey had a significant need for additional scoring depth, which made the decision to bring Gritsyuk over to North America a relatively easy one. Additionally, his one-year, $925K contract made it a low-risk option for the Devils.
Despite some injury concerns, Gritsyuk provided the secondary scoring the Devils needed this season. In 66 games, the Krasnoyarsk, Russia native scored 13 goals and 31 points while averaging 15:10 of ice time per game. It wasn’t enough to turn New Jersey into a competitive team, but it was enough to finish eighth on the team in scoring.
The biggest concern with Gritsyuk’s play is his work on the defensive side of the puck. He finished with the highest CorsiFor on the team, but his defensive metrics were toward the bottom. That shows New Jersey controls the shot attempts more when he’s on the ice, but he doesn’t do much to stop the opposition from getting high-danger chances.
Still, the Devils’ lack of production in their middle-six is so severe that the front office is likely willing to overlook his defensive shortcomings if he continues to produce the way he did. If Gritsyuk can get to the 40-point mark consistently while being on New Jersey’s third line, it makes the extension an easy decision.
Canadiens Nearly Acquired Matthew Knies At Deadline
Around the trade deadline, it was reported that the Montreal Canadiens had completed a significant trade with an unidentified team; however, the other team was unable to file the trade by the 3 pm ET deadline. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the trade partner is now known, with the outlet reporting the Canadiens and Maple Leafs had agreed to a trade for Matthew Knies back in March.
Pagnotta had the details on the proposed return package, too. The Canadiens were prepared to send Alexander Zharovsky, who recently won Rookie of the Year in the KHL, another top prospect, and two first-round selections to the Maple Leafs. It has been confirmed that neither Michael Hage nor David Reinbacher was the other prospect in the deal.
Had the trade been completed, it would have sent ripples around the league. For one, although he had been involved in trade rumors leading up to the deadline, it’s relatively shocking that the Maple Leafs would actually entertain trading Knies, and not building around him. He’s only 23 years old, is signed long-term, and has had two consecutive productive years with Toronto.
Furthermore, given Montreal’s lack of scoring depth became their Achilles heel in the Eastern Conference Final, Knies certainly would have changed their outlook. The Canadiens boast one of the best first lines in the league; however, their lack of a strong second line turned them into a one-dimensional team, and the Hurricanes dispatched them easily.
Having Knies, a young winger who has scored 52 goals and recorded 124 points in 157 games for the Maple Leafs over the past two years, would have provided Montreal with a significant asset to place alongside Ivan Demidov. Additionally, Knies was relatively productive in Toronto’s playoff run last year, scoring five goals and seven points in 13 games, while also delivering 31 hits.
While trade talks may potentially resume this summer, it is unlikely that they will do so. Brad Treliving, the Maple Leafs’ General Manager at the time, agreed to that trade. The Maple Leafs have since transitioned to a different regime under John Chayka.
Chayka has a mandate to keep captain Auston Matthews happy, or risk him asking for a trade out of town if Chayka can’t turn the team around. Trading Knies away for futures wouldn’t be conducive to that goal.
While it’s unlikely that the Canadiens will be able to pursue Knies this summer, it is clear that the team intends to be aggressive in reaching their next competitive stage. Given that they’re willing to trade with divisional opponents, Montreal may already be in touch with the Detroit Red Wings about their captain, Dylan Larkin, who requested a trade from the team earlier today.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski of Imagn Images.
Flyers Sign Jacob Gaucher To One-Year Contract
According to a report from PuckPedia, the Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Jacob Gaucher to a one-year, $850K contract for the 2026-27 season. Gaucher was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights.
Gaucher, 25, was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Flyers back in 2024. The Longueuil, Quebec native spent most of his QMJHL days with the Val-d’Or Foreurs before spending his final season with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar while also serving as the team’s captain.
Unfortunately, Gaucher didn’t produce enough in the QMJHL to warrant a draft selection. He scored 35 goals and 68 points in 66 games during his final season in 2021-22, but he already turned 21 by that point.
In fact, it wasn’t until a successful campaign in the ECHL that any team became interested in giving him an NHL contract. Before the 2022-23 season, Gaucher signed an AHL deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, yet he spent the entire year with the Reading Royals, scoring 22 goals and 61 points in 71 games with a +22 rating.
After that year, the Flyers felt comfortable giving him a two-year, two-way contract, but he’s still spent much of his time in the AHL since. He’s been a solid secondary scorer, registering 48 goals and 90 points in 198 games with the Phantoms, but has zero points to show for in eight NHL contests with the Flyers.
His next contract should offer him a similar role. The Phantoms didn’t have the best season, finishing four points shy of a spot in the Calder Cup playoffs, but Gaucher finished fourth on the team in scoring, and the organization likely has an interest in retaining the handful of players that performed well this season.