Patrick Brown Signs With DEL’s Adler Mannheim
The Boston Bruins have lost some of their organizational forward depth. According to a team announcement, the DEL’s Adler Mannheim have signed Patrick Brown for the 2026-27 season.
In all fairness, at 34 years old, Brown’s professional career in North America was likely nearing its end, anyway. He was signed as a collegiate free agent by the Carolina Hurricanes ahead of the 2014-15 campaign, and has primarily been an AHL talent for the last 11 years.
Although the Bloomfield Hills, MI native didn’t challenge for any scoring awards throughout his time in the AHL, his North American career is defined by his leadership. Brown was named captain for the Boston College Eagles for the 2013-14 NCAA season, and wore the ‘C’ for three different AHL organizations, including the Providence Bruins, for the past two years.
Despite carving out a consistent role in the AHL, Brown didn’t go without his NHL opportunities, either. Highlighted by a two-year stint with the Philadelphia Flyers in which he played 87 games from 2021 to 2023, Brown played parts of nine seasons with the Hurricanes, Golden Knights, Flyers, Senators, and Bruins. Assuming his NHL career has finished, Brown ends with 10 goals and 26 points in 164 appearances.
Understandably, his performance in the AHL has been much better. Beginning with the Charlotte Checkers in 2014-15, Brown has registered 111 goals and 286 points in 572 career games. Additionally, he captained the Checkers to a Calder Cup championship in 2019.
Morning Notes: Hellebuyck, Karlsson, McIlvane
While most eyes will be on this summer’s center trade market, the trade market for goaltenders should be fairly active as well, particularly for the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the latter has reached out to the Winnipeg Jets to gauge the trade possibility of one of, if not the league’s best.
Much of the trade speculation surrounding Connor Hellebuyck stems from his end-of-season media availability, where he questioned Winnipeg’s ability to build a true Stanley Cup contender, especially given that no other top-level talent has any interest in joining the organization. Still, Hellebuyck added in the same monologue that he loves playing for the Jets and wants to play a part in drawing other players to the organization.
Additionally, Pagnotta noted that Winnipeg has no interest in trading Hellebuyck, but if the three-time Vezina winner were to quietly request a trade, they would navigate the trade waters. Despite the gold medal win in February, Hellebuyck arguably had the worst season of his career, finishing with a 23-23-11 record in 57 games with a .895 SV%, 2.86 GAA, and -0.3 Goals Saved Above Average.
Other morning notes:
- In last night’s Game 5, the Vegas Golden Knights suffered more than just a loss. In the second period, after being hit by Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker, Golden Knights forward William Karlsson left the game entirely (Video Link). It’s a difficult blow to Karlsson, who already missed 68 games in the regular season due to a lower-body injury. He’s scored three goals and nine points in 15 games during the playoffs, but his postseason may have come to an abrupt end.
- According to a team announcement, the Boston Bruins have hired Matt McIlvane as an assistant coach, replacing Jay Leach. McIlvane had been the head coach of the AHL’s San Diego Gulls for the past three years, guiding them to an 88-97-31 record, with a berth in the Calder Cup playoffs this season. Unfortunately, the postseason run was short-lived, as the Colorado Eagles quickly dispatched the Gulls in the First Round.
Carolina Hurricanes Recall Amir Miftakhov
According to the AHL transactions log, the Carolina Hurricanes have recalled netminder Amir Miftakhov from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The roster move comes a few hours before the Hurricanes play the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, and a day before the Wolves begin the Calder Cup Final against the Toronto Marlies.
The news is surprising for several reasons. For one, Carolina already has three goaltenders on the active roster, without any public injury updates.
Carolina had been using Frederik Andersen for most of the playoffs, and for good reason. The 36-year-old netminder was nearly unbeatable through the Eastern Conference Final, managing a 12-1-0 record in 13 games with a .931 SV%. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case in the Stanley Cup Final, with Andersen owning a 1-1-0 record through three games with a .815 SV%.
In Game 3, Andersen was hit in the head by Ivan Barbashev, causing him to miss Game 4 entirely. Carolina indicated that Andersen was being held out for “maintenance”, but there’s some belief that he’s dealing with a concussion. Today’s recall of Miftakhov strongly suggests that this is the case.
Bussi wasn’t sensational in Game 4 by any stretch, though it was enough to earn the win. Assuming the status quo remains the same, Bussi will be in the starter’s crease tonight, with Pyotr Kochetkov backing him up. If Andersen is dealing with a concussion, Miftakhov would presumably be the emergency backup netminder.
Kings Sign Martin Chromiak To One-Year Extension
According to a team announcement, the Los Angeles Kings have signed Martin Chromiak to a one-year, two-way extension. Los Angeles included that Chromiak will earn an $850K salary at the NHL level.
Chromiak, 23, was a fifth-round pick by the Kings back in the 2020 NHL Draft. He split his draft season between the Slovakian professional leagues and the OHL, scoring five goals and six points in 32 games with the HK Dukla Trencin, and 11 goals and 33 points in 28 games for the Kingston Frontenacs.
During the 2020-21 campaign, he spent the entire year in Slovakia, again with HK Dukla Trencin, improving his output to seven goals and 19 points in 32 contests. The following season, the Kings agreed to a full transition to North America, spending the entire year with the Frontenacs. Chromiak was exceptional, registering 44 goals and 86 points in 60 games.
After that season, Los Angeles felt he was ready to make the jump to the professional ranks, adding him to the AHL Ontario Reign for the 2022-23 campaign. Since then, he’s continued to improve, topping out with a 28-goal, 56-point performance in 71 games for the Reign this past season.
The Kings don’t have a lot of top prospects, but they do have a decent crop of forwards looking to compete for bottom-six roles next season. Several of them are ahead of Chromiak on the depth chart, but he could become the first man up early next season if he continues his positive trajectory.
Poll: Which Team Will Acquire Dylan Larkin?
The summer trade market got a major injection last week, with the captain of the Detroit Red Wings, Dylan Larkin, requesting a trade from the team. Given how many teams are searching for a top-six center, Larkin immediately became the top available trade target. However, thanks to the full no-trade clause in his contract, Larkin controls his destiny for the most part, and notified the Red Wings that he would only be open to a trade to the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, or Vegas Golden Knights.
The trickiest part of a hypothetical Larkin trade is what the Red Wings would want. Despite missing the playoffs the last three years, it wasn’t for a lack of trying. The team is eager to jump into their competitive window, so they will likely want NHL-ready players in return. Given that all three teams on Larkin’s list are not only in their competitive windows but legitimate Stanley Cup threats, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for them to trade off their roster either, so the Red Wings may have to settle for future assets or a mixture of both.
Assuming everyone is healthy to begin the 2026-27 campaign, the Panthers have little need for Larkin. They may still want him, but if Florida is going to target anything this summer, it’ll be goaltending. The Panthers already have a relatively deep center corps with Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett, and Anton Lundell at the top of the hierarchy. However, compared to the Wild and Golden Knights, the Panthers have much more cap space to work with.
Florida could dangle the eighth overall pick of the 2026 NHL Draft, but it has very little to offer outside of that. It’s well known that the Panthers have the worst farm system in the NHL, so it’s unlikely the Red Wings would be interested in any prospect capital. Additionally, given that they’re in the same division, Detroit will be competing with the Panthers for a postseason spot next season, so Florida would have to overpay more than the Wild or Golden Knights. The Red Wings may aim for the Panthers to include Eetu Luostarinen and/or Niko Mikkola with the eighth overall pick, but Florida will have little appetite to move them after the injury concerns from the 2025-26 season.
Meanwhile, of all three clubs, the Wild have the biggest need for a top-six center. It was evident during the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs that this was a significant factor in their inability to advance beyond Round Two. In a recent article from Joe Smith of The Athletic, he speculated that Minnesota could offer Danila Yurov and Charlie Stramel in a hypothetical trade for Larkin, but have little else to offer beyond that. The team traded some of their most enticing capital for Quinn Hughes and doesn’t have a ton left to add another All-Star talent.
However, the Wild’s potential offer to the Red Wings isn’t necessarily dead on arrival. Minnesota still has its 2027 first-round pick, although it’s expected to fall well outside of the lottery range. Would it make sense for Minnesota to offer Jonas Brodin, as well? He hasn’t completed a full season in seven years, so the team has learned to operate without him by now. Furthermore, his contract does not include any trade protection, and his $6MM salary would help create some cap space for other acquisitions this summer.
Lastly, like the Wild, the Golden Knights will have some salary cap hurdles to overcome. Still, that’s never stopped them before. Currently embroiled in a tightly contested Stanley Cup Final with the Carolina Hurricanes, the Golden Knights will enter the summer with approximately $4.625MM in space, and that’s without factoring in a possible extension for Rasmus Andersson.
Given that they don’t have a pick in the first two rounds until the 2028 NHL Draft, Vegas will undoubtedly have to include prospect Trevor Connelly in any hypothetical deal for Larkin, as well as players on their roster. Unfortunately, the Golden Knights don’t have many players without trade protection in their contracts, and it wouldn’t make a ton of sense for a player to greenlight a trade to Detroit after playing in the Stanley Cup Final.
Another possibility is that Larkin ultimately remains with the Red Wings. General Manager Steve Yzerman isn’t afraid to play hardball, as he did with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Jonathan Drouin many moons ago. As much as Larkin can pick where he goes due to the no-trade clause, he’s still contractually committed to Detroit through the 2030-31 season. It’s highly unlikely that Yzerman will be bullied into a bad deal, so if Larkin doesn’t expand his list, or Detroit doesn’t get an offer to their liking, they may tell Larkin they can’t wait to see him in Traverse City for training camp in September.
Now it’s time for you to pick: will Larkin be on one of the three teams on his trade list come next season, be on a different organization than those he originally listed, or with the Red Wings? Vote below!
Which Team Will Acquire Dylan Larkin?
Max McCormick Announces Retirement
According to an announcement from the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds, captain Max McCormick has retired from professional hockey. McCormick lost the entire 2025-26 campaign due to a hip injury, and that likely influenced him to hang up his skates.
McCormick, 34, was drafted with the 171st overall pick of the 2011 NHL Draft by the Ottawa Senators. Before turning pro, McCormick spent his collegiate days at The Ohio State University, scoring 36 goals and 88 points in 104 games from 2011 to 2014. He eventually signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Senators, but spent his entire first season with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators.
Although he would never lead the team in scoring throughout his tenure, McCormick became a relatively solid secondary contributor with the AHL Senators. Across four and a half seasons, McCormick registered 61 goals and 125 points in 254 contests. Additionally, Ottawa is where McCormick earned the most NHL opportunities throughout his professional career, scoring six goals and 10 points in 71 games from 2015 to 2019.
The Senators eventually traded McCormick to the Colorado Avalanche halfway through the 2018-19 campaign. He finished the campaign with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles before departing for the Carolina Hurricanes the next offseason. He spent two years with the Hurricanes organization, again primarily playing for their AHL affiliate. They mildly used him in the NHL during the 2020-21 season, finishing with two goals and three points in 12 games, averaging 7:49 of ice time.
Again looking for a new home, McCormick signed with the new Seattle Kraken franchise, where he would ultimately finish his career. He had an impressive two-year run with the Firebirds, the best of his professional career, scoring 60 goals and 127 points in 139 games, which helped the team reach back-to-back Calder Cup Finals, losing both times to the Hershey Bears. Unfortunately, over the past two years, McCormick’s career was derailed due to his chronic hip injury.
The De Pere, WI native concludes his career with 159 goals and 337 points in 540 AHL games, along with 26 additional goals and 45 points in 53 postseason contests. Additionally, McCormick tallied eight goals and 13 points in 94 NHL appearances. We at PHR congratulate McCormick on his 12-year professional career and wish him the best in his next chapter.
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.