Capitals Reassign Ethan Bear, Clay Stevenson, Mitchell Gibson
Since being eliminated from the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Washington Capitals could stand to lose a few players on their postseason roster. In an attempt to help their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, the Capitals announced they’ve reassigned defenseman Ethan Bear, and netminders Clay Stevenson and Mitchell Gibson.
Bear will be the most important piece for the Bears’ Division Finals matchup against the Charlotte Checkers. In his first full AHL season since 2018-19, Bear was impressive in Hershey, scoring 10 goals and 46 points in 62 games with a +33 rating. He led the entire Bears roster in scoring and finished tied for eighth among AHL defensemen. Fortunately, Hershey was able to eliminate their division rival, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, in five games without their top scorer.
After debuting in the NHL on the last game of the regular season, Stevenson was recalled by the Capitals yesterday in case Charlie Lindgren couldn’t participate. As it would turn out, Lindgren managed to serve in a backup role, and Stevenson will return to the AHL to help the Bears win their third consecutive Calder Cup championship. He appeared in one postseason game against the Phantoms, stopping 28 of 32 shots in Game 4, which allowed the Bears to extend the series.
Gibson is the only member of the trio who has spent little time on either team’s roster. He spent much of the 2025-26 season with the Capitals’ ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays, managing a 12-1-0 record in 14 games with a .933 SV% and 1.75 GAA. Depending on what Washington does with pending unrestricted free agent Hunter Shepard this offseason, Gibson could be in line to share the crease with Stevenson in southeast Pennsylvania next season.
Evening Notes: Lamoriello, Marchenko, Garland, Lightning
Although longtime General Manager Lou Lamoriello was spotted at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, it’s unrelated to any rumors of him joining the Buffalo Sabres organization. However, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the Sabres would be interested in adding the veteran front office magnate in some capacity.
Lamoriello has spent his entire professional career in the New York/Niagara area, starting as the New Jersey Devils’ President and General Manager in the 1987-88 NHL season. He spent the next 27 years in that role before becoming the Toronto Maple Leafs’ General Manager in 2014-15. Lamoriello only spent three years in Toronto before joining the New York Islanders organization in 2018-19 as the team’s President of Hockey Operations and General Manager.
It’s improbable that the Sabres will dismiss Kevyn Adams as General Manager, particularly with the 2025 NHL Draft and free agency approaching. Still, the team doesn’t have a President of Hockey Operations, meaning Lamoriello could be interested in that role.
Other evening notes:
- In a long-ranging interview with Sergey Demidov of Responsible Gambling, Columbus Blue Jackets’ winger Kirill Marchenko reaffirmed his commitment to the organization. Now, Marchenko is a few years away from contemplating a move, as he just completed the first season of a three-year, $11.55MM contract. Still, given his responses in the interview, which our readers are encouraged to read, Marchenko makes clear that he has no intentions of leaving Columbus even when his current contract expires after the 2026-27 season.
- Vancouver Canucks winger Conor Garland believes this year was a fluke, and thinks the Canucks will compete for a playoff spot next season (Article Link). Garland tied for first with Brock Boeser in scoring among Vancouver forwards with 19 goals and 50 points in 81 games. In his view, the Canucks should add a few forwards this offseason, saying, “We need some additions up front; we were thin. We had a hard time scoring down the stretch.“
- The Tampa Bay Lightning are leaving the FanDuel Sports Network after only one season. In an article from Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times, he explains that the Lightning have signed a new broadcast agreement with E. W. Scripps Company through Scripps Sports. The broadcast firm allows Lightning games to be broadcast directly to any consumer with an antenna, with other viewing options available via the Scripps app.
Central Notes: Rantanen, Wallstedt, Svechkov
Mikko Rantanen‘s reaction to being traded from the Colorado Avalanche was noticeable on the ice. He scored two goals and six points in 13 games with the Carolina Hurricanes and appeared as uninterested in an extension as he did during the games. Since joining the Dallas Stars, Rantanen is enjoying hockey again.
That’s evidenced by Rantanen’s torrid start in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. He’s the Conn Smythe Trophy favorite, scoring nine goals and 19 points in 11 games. In a recent article, Peter Baugh of The Athletic explored Rantanen’s pathway to the Stars organization this season.
Baugh even spoke to one of Rantanen’s family friends, Sauli Mattila, who said, “We’re getting back to ‘same old Mikko’ in his face. The smile is coming back.” The Stars are happy to reap the rewards of Rantanen’s new spark, as he may become the first player to be acquired at the trade deadline to become the postseason’s MVP.
Other notes from the Central Division:
- Now that Marc-Andre Fleury has shut the door on his playing career, Minnesota Wild netminder prospect Jesper Wallstedt has a clear pathway toward NHL minutes. Still, he’s not coming off a promising season, as injuries limited him to 27 games in the AHL, leading Wallstedt to a 9-14-5 record with a .879 SV% and a 3.59 GAA. In an interview with Joe Smith of The Athletic, Wallstedt reaffirmed his confidence in himself, saying, “I know I’m a great goalie. I know I can save the puck. I’ve done it for so many years. I’ve done it at so many different levels. I’ve done it at the AHL. So it’s more that I’m asking myself, ‘Why am I not doing it right now? What has changed?’ I just need to get a clean slate.”
- In an interview with Dave Kallmann of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nashville Predators prospect Fedor Svechkov spoke about transitioning back to AHL hockey for the Milwaukee Admirals’ pursuit of the Calder Cup. Svechkov, the team’s first-line center, is second on Milwaukee in postseason scoring with two goals and five points in five games. When pressed on re-joining the Admirals roster, Svechkov said, “It was so easy because I knew almost all the guys, and I’ve been here last year, start of this year, and I know the coaches, know all the stuff. And it was pretty easy, like I just came back to my family.“
Metro Notes: Smith, Crosby, Shaw, Shanahan
David Pagnotta from The Fourth Period reports that the Pittsburgh Penguins have contacted coach D.J. Smith regarding their head coaching vacancy. Smith, an associate coach with the Los Angeles Kings, has reportedly interviewed for multiple head coaching vacancies around the league.
It hasn’t been long since he’s been a head coach. Smith was the head coach of the Ottawa Senators from the 2019-20 season until he was fired on December 18 of last year. He finished his tenure in Ottawa with a 131-154-32 record in 317 games without ever leading the team to the postseason. Under Smith’s stewardship, the Senators never finished higher than 18th in GF or 20th in GA.
According to Josh Yohe of The Athletic, it doesn’t sound like captain Sidney Crosby will have much say in the Penguins’ next choice for head coach, but that’s by choice. When pressed on why he didn’t want a say in the process, Crosby replied, “Because, ultimately, I’m a hockey player. I’m not out there coaching games. I am not a manager.” The 20-year veteran clarified his statement further, saying, “If he wants my opinion on someone who’s out there, and someone who is out there that I might have had as a coach before or someone I’ve heard about, then sure, then I’ll share my opinion.”
Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:
- Although the Philadelphia Flyers ultimately hired Rick Tocchet as their next head coach, their most recent head coach was one of the finalists. Pagnotta reported that now-former interim head coach Brad Shaw was nearly hired for the full-time job, and there’s a possibility he remains on Tocchet’s staff as an assistant. Shaw guided the Flyers to a 5-3-1 record in their final nine games of the 2024-25 NHL season.
- According to The Athletic’s Arthur Staple, Brendan Shanahan could be a name to look out for regarding the New York Islanders’ President of Hockey Operations and General Manager vacancies. Shanahan has served as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ President since the 2014-15 season, and his contract expires on June 30th this summer. Should Toronto fail to reach the Stanley Cup Final or Eastern Conference Final, Staple believes the Islanders could encourage Shanahan to make a lateral move to the East Coast, and hire Toronto’s special assistant to the General Manager, Shane Doan, as their next General Manager.
Metro Notes: Palát, Berard, Hollowell
In a recent article from Todd Cordell of Infernal Access, he opines that the New Jersey Devils should look to move on from veteran winger Ondřej Palát this offseason. Whether through a buyout or trade, Cordell believes the salary cap savings could be better used to improve other areas.
Cordell’s argument is credible. Palát is making $6MM in 2025-26 and 2026-27 with a full no-movement clause and a modified 10-team no-trade clause. He hasn’t scored more than 31 points in a season since joining the Devils, and his ice time has dropped significantly over the last three years.
Assuming New Jersey is unable to find a trade partner, given the heavy trade protection, it’s likely the Devils buy out the remaining two years of Palát’s contract if they no longer want him on the team. Using PuckPedia‘s buyout calculator, New Jersey would be on the hook for $3.533MM in 2025-26, $2.533MM in 2026-27, and $1.483MM in 2027-28 and 2028-29. Aside from Luke Hughes, the Devils don’t have many high-end players to retain this offseason. Should they need the extra cap savings to pursue a notable free agent, buying out Palát’s contract may be the best route.
More notes from the Metropolitan Division:
- According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, New York Rangers forward Brett Berard has been removed from Team USA in the IIHF World Championships due to “physical limitations”. Neither Walker nor team representatives shared specifics regarding Berard’s injury, but he’s expected to be ready for the Rangers’ training camp in September.
- In his recurring segment analyzing players within the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, Seth Rorabaugh of the Tribune-Review recently looked at defenseman Mac Hollowell of the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Hollowell led all WBS defensemen in scoring this year with one goal and 31 points, but injuries limited him to only 56 games. Despite his offensive maturity in the AHL, there’s Rorabaugh doesn’t believe the Penguins will retain him, given they never recalled him this season.
Dallas Stars Activate Miro Heiskanen From LTIR
Earlier today, Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News passed along a note from Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer, indicating defenseman Miro Heiskanen would return tonight if everything at practice went well this morning. A few hours later, the Stars announced they’d activated Heiskanen from their long-term injured reserve, indirectly confirming he’d be in the lineup against the Winnipeg Jets this evening.
Heiskanen has been out of the lineup since January 28th after suffering a lower-body injury against the Vegas Golden Knights. During the game, after being tripped up by Dallas forward Roope Hintz, Vegas captain Mark Stone collided headfirst with Heiskanen’s knee, necessitating his teammates to help him off the ice.
A few days later, on February 4th, Heiskanen underwent successful knee surgery for the injury. Still, DeBoer expressed optimism that Heiskanen would return before the end of the regular season. Dallas waited a month to place Heiskanen on LTIR, using the salary cap savings to acquire fellow countryman Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes.
Thanks to Rantanen, the Stars survived a hotly contested opening-round matchup against the Colorado Avalanche, defeating their Central Division rivals in seven games without Heiskanen or star forward Jason Robertson. Robertson returned for the Stars in Game 1 of their Round Two series against the Jets, and they’ll have a mostly healthy lineup tonight for the first time this postseason.
Although his offensive output was depressed this year, Heiskanen has been a premier player for the Stars, particularly in the Stanley Cup playoffs. During their run to the Final in the 2019-20 postseason, Heiskanen scored six goals and 26 points in 27 games. Throughout their back-to-back Western Conference Finals runs in 2023 and 2024, Heiskanen scored seven goals and 28 points in 38 contests, averaging 28 minutes of ice time.
Panthers/Maple Leafs Notes: Stolarz, Rodrigues, Ekman-Larsson
Mark Masters from TSN reported that Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz was seen back on the ice this morning before the team’s practice. While there is no specific timeline for his return, this development is a positive sign.
Without sacrificing his long-term well-being, the Maple Leafs should want Stolarz back in the crease sooner rather than later, given the mixed results they’ve received from backup Joseph Woll. Despite winning the first two games of the series he appeared in, Woll only mustered a .875 SV% on 48 shots. Still, in the two most recent games that ended up in losses, Woll had a much improved .904 SV% on 73 shots.
Although anything can change this time of year, there’s little hope Stolarz will return to the Maple Leafs for Game 5. It’ll give Woll another opportunity to prove his worth, and could give Toronto more confidence in not rushing Stolarz back too early.
More notes from the Panthers and Maple Leafs series:
- According to Jameson Olive of the Panthers organization, forward Evan Rodrigues has not been cleared for Game 5. Still, Olive noted that the team has time to decide tomorrow, but the odds aren’t in Rodrigues’ favor after leaving Game 4 early in the third period. Rodrigues left Sunday’s contest after being interfered with by Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, a few games after being hit from behind by Toronto forward Scott Laughton, a play in which Rodrigues was given a two-minute embellishment penalty.
- Meanwhile, Ekman-Larsson is expected to play Game 5, despite missing practice today (Tweet Link). Masters followed up his initial report, indicating Ekman-Larsson is dealing with a mild illness, and head coach Craig Berube wanted to prioritize his rest rather than pushing him too far in practice.
NHL Sets Offer Sheet Thresholds For 2025
From the beginning of the ‘Salary Cap Era’ in the 2005-06 NHL season, offer sheets have been a mildly used tool by General Managers in the league, with most teams simply matching any given offer sheet. Since September 12, 2006, when Ryan Kesler signed a one-year, $1.9MM offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers to June 30, 2019, there had only been eight offer sheets signed, with Dustin Penner‘s being the only one to go unmatched.
Since July 1, 2019, when the Montreal Canadiens signed Sebastian Aho to a five-year, $42.27MM offer sheet (which was subsequently matched by the Carolina Hurricanes), there has seemingly been more appetite for them from General Managers. This culminated in the wildly successful offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues last offseason, when they poached defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway from the Edmonton Oilers for a second-round pick and a third-round pick in 2025.
Still, some risk remains when considering worthwhile offer sheets. Teams must determine if the required compensation is worth the player in question, and the NHL recently released those compensation figures via Sportsnet:
| AAV | Draft picks required |
| $1.54MM or less | No compensation |
| $1.54MM to $2.34MM | Third-round pick |
| $2.34MM to $4.68MM | Second-round pick |
| $4.68MM to $7.02MM | First and third-round picks |
| $7.02MM to $9.36MM | First, second and third-round picks |
| $9.36MM to $11.7MM | Two firsts, a second and third-round picks |
| Over $11.7MM | Four first-round picks |
The most given up in the ‘Salary Cap Era’ was the 2008 first, second, and third round pick awarded to the Anaheim Ducks for Penner’s offer sheet by Edmonton. No team has ever reached into the sixth tier of compensation, and that’s unlikely to change this offseason. Teams must use their own draft compensation, meaning they’d have to re-acquire any of their old draft selections should they need them for an unmatched offer sheet, similarly to what St. Louis had to do with the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer.
How Will The Colorado Avalanche Re-Tool This Summer?
After one of the busiest trade deadlines since their run to a Stanley Cup championship in 2022, the Colorado Avalanche fell short this spring, losing in Round One to the Dallas Stars. Last week, Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette analyzed six pending unrestricted free agents that the team could look to keep for next year’s iteration of the roster.
Despite shedding Mikko Rantanen‘s $9.25MM salary and not retaining him beyond this season, Rawal correctly points out that Colorado only has $8.7MM in salary cap space heading into the summer with 18 players already signed. Given their financial flexibility, it’s unlikely the Avalanche will re-sign Brock Nelson, Jonathan Drouin, Ryan Lindgren, Joel Kiviranta, Jimmy Vesey, and Erik Johnson.
If Colorado doesn’t bring back Nelson, they’ll again peruse the trade and free agent markets for a second-line center. He performed mildly well upon joining the Avalanche, scoring six goals and 13 points in 19 games, with another four assists in seven postseason contests. However, Nelson reportedly spurned a three-year, $22.5MM offer from the New York Islanders, meaning he’d leave Colorado with very little wiggle room if he were to sign a similar contract.
Being a limited center class in the free-agent market, the Avalanche would likely turn to the trade market to fill the gap. Unfortunately, after trading away several assets at the 2024-25 trade deadline, they’ll have little to offer other teams for a true second-line middleman.
It is unlikely that Colorado will re-sign Lindgren beyond this season unless he agrees to a significantly lower salary than his current $4.5MM. Lindgren’s future with the team could tie together with the health status of defenseman Josh Manson, who missed a large chunk of the 2024-25 season due to injury. If the Avalanche are confident Manson will open the 2025-26 season on the team’s long-term injured reserve, they may be interested in retaining Lindgren and his similar playstyle.
The last player Rawal believes the Avalanche will shy away from is Kiviranta. It’s not so much that Kiviranta wasn’t valuable to Colorado during the 2024-25 season, but because it’ll be hard to predict which player they’re getting. Kiviranta exploded for 16 goals in 79 games this season with a 19.0% shooting percentage, offering the Avalanche flexibility to move him up and down the lineup. Still, it may be unwise to significantly raise Kiviranta’s salary, considering he averaged an 8.1% shooting percentage over 219 games from 2019 to 2024.
The trio Rawal believes will likely stay in Colorado for at least the next season includes Drouin, Vesey, and Johnson. Drouin spurned longer-term offers last summer to re-up on a one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Avalanche this year. There’s a good chance Drouin’s injury history will drive other teams away from offering long-term deals this summer, meaning Colorado could re-sign him again on a below-market deal.
Vesey and Johnson should be available at a low price, but they might choose to leave on their own accord. Vesey was very outspoken about his discontent with the New York Rangers for lack of playing time, and none of that changed in Denver. Meanwhile, although Johnson has spent much of his career in Colorado and has publicly shown his admiration for the organization, he’s a prime retirement candidate this offseason.
Poll: Who Will Win The 2025 Calder Memorial Trophy?
Unlike many years where there is a clear-cut favorite for the Calder Memorial Trophy, the 2024-25 season had different ideas. A reasonable case could be made for any of this year’s finalists: Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens, Dustin Wolf of the Calgary Flames, and Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks.
Hutson likely has the strongest case of the trio. The former 62nd overall selection scored six goals and 60 assists in 82 games for the Canadiens this season, tying Hall-of-Famer Larry Murphy for the most assists recorded by a rookie defenseman. The 20-year-old blue liner ranked second on Montreal in ATOI (22:44) and was a large part of their run to the postseason for the first time since the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. Additionally, Hutson led the Canadiens in postseason scoring with five assists in five games.
Meanwhile, Wolf looks to become the first netminder to win the award since Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2008-09. He finished with a slightly worse year than Mason, comparatively, managing a 29-16-8 record in 53 games with a .910 SV% and 2.64 GAA. Still, although Mason backstopped the Blue Jackets to their first postseason appearance in 2009, Wolf was a major reason the Flames remained competitive until the last week of the regular season.
Lastly, last summer’s first overall pick will also be up for the award. Celebrini was one of the few bright spots on a rebuilding Sharks team, leading the team in scoring with 25 goals and 63 points in 70 games. His offensive output tied with fellow-rookie Matvei Michkov of the Philadelphia Flyers (in 10 fewer games), and bested last year’s Calder recipient, the Chicago Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard, by two points in two additional contests. Celebrini’s 25 goals accounted for 12% of all San Jose goals this season.
Although the members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) will have the final say in who ultimately wins the award, it’s time to cast your vote. Who do you think will win this year’s Calder Memorial Trophy? Vote below!
If the poll doesn’t show up for you, click here to vote.