Anaheim Ducks To Recall Nathan Gaucher
A recent first-round pick by the Anaheim Ducks could be making his NHL debut relatively soon. According to Derek Lee of The Hockey News, the Ducks are expected to recall forward Nathan Gaucher from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, with an official announcement coming later.
Gaucher, 22, has been playing in the Ducks organization for a few years now. Anaheim selected Gaucher with the 22nd overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft after he scored 31 goals and 57 points in 66 games for the QMJHL’s Québec Remparts, with a +30 rating. The 2022-23 campaign was Gaucher’s best at the major junior level, scoring 22 goals and 46 points in 44 games with a +35 rating, with another seven goals and 16 points in 18 postseason contests en route to a Memorial Cup title.
Since then, he has played professionally in the Ducks’ organization, exclusively for the Gulls. Unfortunately, his development, primarily on the offensive side of the puck, has stagnated somewhat. Throughout his three years in the AHL, Gaucher has registered 30 goals and 70 points in 185 games, but has set a new career-high this season.
Given his production in San Diego, it’s somewhat difficult to project Gaucher’s long-term path in the NHL. He’s an aggressive forechecker who isn’t afraid of physicality, with the vision to find his teammates relatively effortlessly. A good comparison would be Martin Pospisil of the Calgary Flames, a strong player who excels at moving the puck in a bottom-six role while averaging over three hits per game.
Red Wings Extend Jacob Bernard-Docker
The Detroit Red Wings announced that they’ve signed defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker to a two-year, $3.2MM ($1.6MM AAV) contract extension. The contract will run through the 2027-28 NHL season, and Bernard-Docker will become an unrestricted free agent upon expiry.
Bernard-Docker, 25, is in his first year with Detroit after signing a one-year, $875K contract last summer. The former first-round pick began last season with the Ottawa Senators and finished the campaign with the Buffalo Sabres after being included in the Dylan Cozens, Joshua Norris swap at the trade deadline. Buffalo opted not to tender him a qualifying offer last offseason, making him free to sign with any team.
Although he doesn’t provide much offense from the blue line, he’s had an otherwise solid debut with the Red Wings. Through 55 games this season, Bernard-Docker has tallied four assists with a +5 rating, averaging a flat 15 minutes per game.
Most of his value is made up on the defensive side of the puck. Not only is Bernard-Docker averaging the highest on-ice SV% at even strength (95.0%) of his career, but he is averaging the highest on the team by a significant margin — a team that has flirted with postseason positioning for much of the season.
Still, the Red Wings don’t typically utilize Bernard-Docker on the special teams as they usually opt for a veteran-heavy rotation, particularly on the penalty kill. At even strength, he is almost exclusively partnered with Albert Johansson, and the two have combined for a 51.0% xGoals% throughout the year, according to MoneyPuck.
The biggest question mark with this extension is how Bernard-Docker will be utilized next season and beyond. Detroit brought in Justin Faulk at the deadline, and with Moritz Seider and Axel Sandin Pellikka, it leaves little room on the right side of the defensive corps. The Travis Hamonic experiment, if you want to call it that, is assuredly over after this season. If nothing else changes, Bernard-Docker may have to move to his off-hand, or Detroit will have to do some shifting around of some kind.
At any rate, Bernard-Docker’s new deal locks up every Red Wings defenseman for next season outside of Hamonic and Simon Edvinsson. Edvinsson, who is scheduled to become a restricted free agent, isn’t yet eligible for arbitration, giving Detroit a lot of flexibility with his next deal.
Utah Mammoth Recall Danil But
According to a team announcement, the Utah Mammoth have recalled prospect forward Danil But from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. The transaction increases the Mammoth’s active roster to 24 players.
It’s not immediately clear if But will enter Utah’s lineup, or if he’s being kept around as a practice player as the team prepares for the postseason. At the time of writing, the Mammoth aren’t dealing with injuries to their forward corps, so someone will have to be healthy scratched to get But into the lineup.
Still, given the Roadrunners’ position in the standings, an unreported injury is likely. Tucson is only three points back of a postseason spot in the AHL’s Pacific Division, meaning But would be involved with meaningful hockey no matter what team within the organization he’s playing with.
If he does draw in, it’ll be his first NHL appearance since January 31st. He was sent down through the Olympic break and kept on the Roadrunners to ensure his eligibility for the 2026 Calder Cup playoffs.
While he may not break any scoring records this season, he has had a relatively solid rookie campaign overall. In 28 games, But has registered three goals and seven points with a +2 rating, averaging 12:35 of ice time per game. Additionally, his 18 blocked shots, 16 hits, 55.1 CorsiFor% at even strength, and 92.5% on-ice SV% at even strength highlight a maturity to his game that isn’t necessarily common in younger wingers.
Furthermore, there’s good indication that his offensive game will catch up to the rest of the skills he has shown in the NHL this season. In Tucson, But has scored 16 goals and 33 points in 34 games, second on the team in rookie scoring behind fellow 2023 draftee, Dmitriy Simashev.
Ducks Sign Herman Traff To Entry-Level Contract
The Anaheim Ducks are bringing one of their recent third-round picks to North America. According to a team announcement, the Ducks have signed winger Herman Träff to a three-year, entry-level contract. He’ll join the AHL’s San Diego Gulls on an amateur tryout agreement for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign.
Shortly after Anaheim’s announcement, PuckPedia released the contract details of Träff’s entry-level deal:
- 2026-27: $850K salary, $94K signing bonus, $85K minors salary
- 2027-28: $900K salary, $91K signing bonus, $85K minors salary
- 2028-29: $950K salary, $85K signing bonus, $85K minors salary
Although it won’t harm anything to keep a closer eye on Träff in the AHL, it’s a somewhat surprising development. Träff is 20 years old and has managed only 36 games of experience in the SHL. Because of that, especially in a new continent, playing full-time in the AHL will serve as a large step for Träff.
Still, he likely would have earned a look in the SHL next season, regardless. He was dominant this year, scoring 23 goals and 41 points in 51 games for the HockeyAllsvenskan’s IK Oskarshamn. Träff’s last appearance in the SHL came last season with HV71, when he scored three goals and seven points in 25 games as a 19-year-old.
Fortunately, Träff’s season should last a little while longer. The San Diego Gulls are three points up on the Tucson Roadrunners for the final postseason spot in the AHL’s Pacific Division, and have 11 games remaining to increase the gap.
At the very least, even if the Gulls don’t make the postseason this year, Träff will take part in meaningful hockey right away. Still, unless he is particularly dominant down the stretch this season and at next year’s preseason, Träff will likely begin next season with the Gulls and remain there for some time as he continues his development.
Samuel Fagemo Expected To Sign In SHL
The 2025-26 campaign is expected to be the last for forward Samuel Fagemo in North America, for at least one year. According to a report from Sweden, the former second-round pick is expected to join the SHL’s Frölunda HC next year.
Frölunda has tried to poach Fagemo from the North American circuit for some time. The 26-year-old originally came up through Frölunda’s program in his youth, and last played for them during the 2019-20 season, scoring 13 goals and 22 points in 42 games with a -2 rating.
Since then, he’s played for the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, and Winnipeg Jets organizations. Originally drafted by Los Angeles in the 2019 NHL Draft, that’s where Fagemo has spent much of his professional career in North America.
Unfortunately, despite being a particularly reliable scorer at the AHL level, he hasn’t earned many opportunities in the NHL. Despite playing in North America for the last six years, Fagemo’s NHL career scoring line stands at three goals and four points in 21 games, averaging 9:29 of ice time per game.
Still, as mentioned, he’s been an effective offensive player in the AHL, which is generally regarded as a better league on the international stage than the SHL. Across six years, playing for the Ontario Reign, Milwaukee Admirals, and Manitoba Moose, Fagemo has scored 148 goals and 232 points in 326 games with a -24 rating. He topped out with a 43-goal performance in 50 games during the 2023-24 season with the Reign, earning Second All-Star Team honors.
Currently in the postseason, there’s no question Frölunda could use additional offense. Despite finishing the regular season as the league’s second-best team, Frölunda didn’t have a single player in the top 10 in scoring. The team’s highest scorer was winger Jere Innala, who managed 22 goals and 40 points in 48 games.
East Notes: Greer, Stolarz, Quick
In a somewhat surprising development, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced it would have a phone hearing for Florida Panthers forward A.J. Greer for his hit against Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary.
Ultimately, it means that Greer won’t be given a suspension any longer than five games. On the play in question, Greer was assessed a two-minute minor for hooking, a five-minute major for interference, and a 10-minute game misconduct. Essentially, Greer hit Zary from behind into the boards, well before there was any expectation of incidental contact.
At the very least, it suggests that the NHL DoPS isn’t feeling any outside pressure to change the way they assess supplementary discipline. After Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas was suspended for five games for delivering a knee-to-knee hit on Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, who suffered a season-ending injury due to the incident, there was an outcry from fans and media for the DoPS to impose stricter discipline to prevent such situations in the future.
Other Eastern Conference notes:
- Netminder Anthony Stolarz did not make his scheduled start tonight because of an injury suffered in warm-ups. Before the game, the Maple Leafs announced that Stolarz was struck in the neck by a puck during warm-ups and was subsequently taken to a local hospital for further testing. Toronto has not provided any additional updates regarding Stolarz since.
- There is additional context regarding the New York Rangers’ recall of netminder Dylan Garand yesterday. According to Andrew Crane of the New York Post, veteran netminder Jonathan Quick is dealing with a minor upper-body ailment. Regardless, the expectation is that Garand will make his NHL debut while Quick is sidelined.
Rangers Sign Drew Fortescue To Entry-Level Contract
8:00 p.m.: PuckPedia shared Fortescue’s contract details, sharing that it would be a $923K cap hit and $950K AAV:
- 2025-26: $775K salary, $95K signing bonus, $80K performance bonus, $82.5K minors salary
- 2026-27: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $82.5K minors salary
- 2027-28: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $82.5K minors salary
6:00 p.m.: According to a team announcement, the New York Rangers have signed defensive prospect Drew Fortescue to a three-year, entry-level contract. Instead of joining the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack on an amateur tryout agreement to conclude the season, Fortescue will immediately report to the Rangers and burn the first year of his new contract.
Fortescue, 20, was drafted by the Rangers with the 90th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. The Pearl River, NY native spent his draft season and the year before with the United States National Team Development Program, where he scored three goals and 42 points in 113 games with a +34 rating split between their U17 and U18 clubs.
The year after being drafted by New York, Fortescue joined the Boston College Eagles to continue his development. He joined a loaded squad for his freshman campaign. During the 2023-24 season, the Eagles were led by Will Smith, Cutter Gauthier, Ryan Leonard, and teammate Gabriel Perreault.
Fortescue had a decent freshman season, scoring four goals and eight points with a +13 rating in 40 contests. Boston College made it all the way to the National Championship game before being shut out by the University of Denver. The Eagles haven’t made it to a Frozen Four since.
Still, Fortescue continues to improve his game, scoring four goals and 25 points in 72 games combining his sophomore and junior seasons, managing a +31 rating. He was solid for Team USA at the IIHF World Junior Championships, accumulating one goal and four points in 14 games with a +12 rating with the U20 club.
As shown by his collegiate output, the Rangers shouldn’t expect Fortescue to come in and take the league by storm like Matthew Schaefer or Lane Hutson. Still, he is an extremely reliable defenseman on the breakout and brings a mature game in transition.
Putting it simply, Fortescue will unlikely be a player that you notice too much, but he won’t be a player you worry about much either. Given that New York has little to play for beyond pride to finish the 2025-26 campaign, Fortescue should receive a decent opportunity to test his mettle at the NHL level.
Vancouver Canucks Activate Pierre-Olivier Joseph
The Vancouver Canucks announced they’ve activated depth defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph from the team’s injured reserve. Without a corresponding roster move, Joseph’s activation brings the Canucks to seven defensemen on the active roster and 22 players in total.
Joseph, 26, has missed the last few weeks due to an upper-body injury. He last played on March 2nd against the Dallas Stars, when he suffered his upper-body ailment. Vancouver has largely maintained a roster of only six defensemen during that timespan.
As nice as it will be to have additional depth to conclude a rough 2025-26 campaign, Joseph is likely playing for his next contract with a new team more than he’s playing for the Canucks. A pending restricted free agent, Joseph is a strong non-tender candidate entering the summer, given that Vancouver will likely want an influx of youth as it continues its transitional period.
Even on a rebuilding club, Joseph has largely been treated as a seventh defenseman this season. Despite being relatively healthy, he’s only appeared in 24 games this season, scoring one goal and five points while averaging 13:18 of ice time per game.
Although he’s now eligible to play, Joseph didn’t draw into the lineup tonight against the St. Louis Blues, and it’s not altogether clear how the Canucks will utilize him to finish the season. He doesn’t offer Vancouver any direct improvements on anyone, and he’s not young enough to warrant taking time away from a prospect.
Atlantic Notes: Larkin, Sanderson, Rielly
The Detroit Red Wings have been without their captain, Dylan Larkin, for just over two weeks due to a leg injury suffered on March 6th. Fortunately for the Red Wings, Ansar Khan of MLive reported that Larkin is nearing a day-to-day status, meaning he should return relatively soon.
Larkin has missed Detroit’s last six games due to his leg injury. Although the team has gone 3-2-1 in that stretch, they’re entering crunch time for their postseason lives. Their upcoming schedule won’t give them any favors, with consecutive games against the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Red Wings would welcome a return at any time. Not only is Larkin the team’s top center by a significant margin, but he is the heart and soul of the team. Simply put, Detroit typically looks like a completely different team without Larkin. If he returns by the end of next week, the Red Wings will get a major boost as they look to string some wins together to close out the regular season.
Additional notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Another Atlantic Division team in the playoff hunt is the Ottawa Senators, who are also dealing with a significant injury to an important player. Like Larkin, defenseman Jake Sanderson has missed the last few weeks with the Senators, this time due to an upper-body injury. Similar to Detroit, Ottawa has played fine without Sanderson, but he objectively gives them a better chance to win each night. According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen, Sanderson is expected to return by the end of March or early April.
- Staying in Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that defenseman Morgan Rielly would miss today’s game due to a lower-body injury. It is believed that Rielly did not suffer the injury due to any direct play in Toronto’s recent game against the Carolina Hurricanes, but rather re-aggravated an issue from earlier in the season. The 13-year veteran has scored nine goals and 33 points in 67 games for the Maple Leafs this season, averaging 21:15 of ice time.
Canucks Sign Victor Mancini To Two-Year Extension
The Vancouver Canucks are getting more work done early with one of their pending restricted free agents. Vancouver announced that they’ve signed defenseman Victor Mancini to a two-year, $2MM extension.
It’s a fairly straightforward extension since Mancini wasn’t eligible for much of anything extra in his next deal. PuckPedia shared that the 23-year-old blueliner will earn a $905K salary during the 2026-27 season, and a $1.05MM salary in the 2027-28 campaign.
The Hancock, MI native is in his first full season with the Canucks since being acquired from the New York Rangers last year in the trade that sent J.T. Miller back to the Big Apple. He was drafted 159th overall by the Rangers in the 2022 NHL Draft and made his debut on October 9, 2024.
He got off to a solid start to his NHL career. By the end of October last season, Mancini had scored one goal and four points in eight games with a +4 rating, averaging 16:37 of ice time per game.
Unfortunately, not much has gone right since. In Mancini’s next 41 games, split between the Rangers and Canucks, he has scored one goal and four points with a -23 rating.
Still, that’s not the entire picture. Even in limited ice time, Mancini has managed a respectable 90.9% on-ice SV% at even strength. He has also performed well with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate this season, scoring four goals and 12 points in 33 games with the Abbotsford Canucks with a +1 rating.
Given the ongoing rebuild in Vancouver and the $1MM AAV on his new deal, it’s more than likely Mancini will open the 2026-27 campaign with the Canucks. This summer, Vancouver is expected to re-sign Derek Forbort or Pierre-Olivier Joseph, giving Mancini a pathway to the bottom-pairing unless the Canucks make another addition.