Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Ducks Sign Beckett Sennecke, Stian Solberg To Entry-Level Contracts

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Another top-10 selection from the 2024 NHL Draft has signed an entry-level contract as the Anaheim Ducks announced the team has agreed to terms with Beckett Sennecke. The Toronto, ON native was drafted by the Ducks with the third overall selection of last week’s draft.

According to CapFriendly, the deal will have a base salary of $875K at the NHL level with a $97.5K yearly signing bonus in addition to $1MM per year in performance bonuses. After factoring in the performance and signing bonuses attached to the deal, Sennecke will have the ability to make $1.975MM per year on his entry-level deal.

Sennecke was one of the later risers in the draft after an outstanding performance in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs this past year. The young forward scored 27 goals and 68 points for the Oshawa Generals over 63 games in the regular season and scored an impressive 10 goals and 22 points in 16 postseason contests. Not only did Sennecke lead the Generals in goals and points throughout the 2024 OHL playoffs — he led the entire league.

Even though he is considered a considerable reach with the third overall pick, the Ducks are still getting an exceptional talent. Sennecke has mature awareness and puckhandling for his age and should help Anaheim on both sides of the puck.

Outside of Sennecke, the Ducks have also signed 23rd overall pick from the 2024 NHL Draft, Stian Solberg, to his entry-level contract according to a team announcement. Solberg spent last season playing for Vålerenga of Norway’s top professional league, the Eliteserien.

In 42 games against other professional players, Solberg scored five goals and 15 points while carrying a +2 rating. Also putting in impressive work during the postseason, Solberg scored two goals and nine points in 17 postseason contests while his regular season scoring was the fourth-most by a defenseman under the age of 18.

Next season, Solberg is expected to take his talents to the Swedish Hockey League where he will play for Färjestad BK. The club has a decent history of producing NHL-caliber defensemen as Fredrik Olausson, Jonas Brodin, and Oliver Kylington, among others are products of the 91-year-old Swedish franchise.

Los Angeles Kings Sign Caleb Jones

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Los Angeles Kings brought some depth to their defensive core announcing a one-year, two-way contract with defenseman Caleb Jones. It will mark the second year in a row that Jones will have to settle for a league minimum contract on the open market.

Jones originally signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes last offseason but couldn’t find any playing time on a deep Hurricanes blue line. Carolina traded Jones to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Callahan Burke exactly two months after signing the depth defenseman. He would go on to split the year between the Avalanche and their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.

During his time in the American Hockey League, Jones managed six assists for the Eagles over 12 games and produced a -2 rating. He was recalled on three separate occasions to the Avalanche on an emergency loan and would end up playing 25 games where he tallied five helpers. Still, Jones was rarely used by Colorado during his time on the NHL roster as he only averaged 12:12 of ice time per night. Nevertheless, the team still opted to use him when they could, and Jones was able to suit up in three postseason games for the Avalanche for the first time since the 2019-20 Stanley Cup playoffs.

It will be interesting to see where Jones fits into the lineup for Los Angeles as the team already has eight defensemen signed to NHL contracts without factoring in the next deal for Jordan Spence. In all likelihood, Jones will start the year with the Kings’ AHL affiliate in Ontario, CA unless there is an injury to the blue line during training camp.

Florida Panthers Sign Jaycob Megna

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Florida Panthers announced the team has signed defenseman Jaycob Megna to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2024-25 NHL season. The deal will pay Megna the league minimum of $775K at the NHL level as Megna joins the fourth organization of his career.

Two summers ago, Megna signed on with the San Jose Sharks on a two-year contract paying him $1.525MM over the contract. Megna would not last long in San Jose on this contract as the team moved him to the Seattle Kraken in early February of 2023 in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick. Serving as depth for the Kraken as they made their way to the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, Megna managed six games down the stretch.

With an injury to start the year and improved defensive depth on the NHL club, the Kraken placed Megna on waivers nearly two weeks after he finished his conditioning stint in AHL Coachella Valley. The Chicago Blackhawks claimed Megna on waivers and gave the defenseman much more opportunity at the NHL level. Megna logged 17:31 of ice time on average in Chicago while suiting up in 44 games for the Original Six franchise. The defenseman only tallied two assists on the year but did block 87 shots and made 60 body checks on opponents.

Over the first few days of free agency, the Panthers have lost considerable depth on their blue line with the departures of Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Josh Mahura. Despite the loss of talent, Megna should start the season with the team’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte while being able to fill in for injury at any point during the regular season.

14 Players Elect For Salary Arbitration

at CDT | by 10 Comments

Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and originally produced by the National Hockey Leaguer Players’ Association, 14 players have elected for salary arbitration this summer. The deadline for team-elected arbitration is tomorrow. Friedman also notes the arbitration hearings will happen between July 20th and August 4th. To add context, not every one of these players will appear for a hearing with their respective teams as they may continue to negotiate on a new contract. However, each player who elects for salary arbitration is now prohibited from negotiating with other teams or signing an offer sheet. Here is a list of the players that have elected for arbitration:

F Beck Malenstyn (Buffalo Sabres)
G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Buffalo Sabres)
F Martin Necas (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Jack Drury (Carolina Hurricanes)
D Jake Christiansen (Columbus Blue Jackets)
G Jet Greaves (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Kirill Marchenko (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Joe Veleno (Detroit Red Wings)
D Spencer Stastney (Nashville Predators)
F Oliver Wahlstrom (New York Islanders)
D Ryan Lindgren (New York Rangers)
D Ty Emberson (San Jose Sharks)
D J.J. Moser (Tampa Bay Lightning)
F Connor Dewar (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Buffalo Sabres Sign Henri Jokiharju

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Rather than wait for an arbitrator to sort out his next contract, the Buffalo Sabres, and Henri Jokiharju have agreed to a one-year, $3.1MM contract. The deal will keep Jokiharju in Buffalo for his sixth season with the team and he will become an unrestricted free agent upon expiration.

Jokiharju is coming off arguably the best individual season of his career as he scored three goals and 20 points in 74 games for the Sabres while averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time per night. The Finnish defenseman has become much better defensively as he led the team with a +14 rating and finished the season with a 92.0% on-ice save percentage in all situations. He didn’t spend too much time this past season on Buffalo’s special teams but would be the first option in case of injury.

The deal also ensures that the Sabres will bring back a nearly identical defensive core to last season as they improved dramatically in keeping the puck out of their net. During the 2022-23 NHL season Buffalo finished 26th in the league in goals against per game with a 3.62 mark and watched it fall to 2.96 this past season which was good for 11th in the league. If the defensive can hold strong and the offense can rebound to the tenacity it showed during the 2022-23 season, the Sabres should be well positioned to earn a playoff spot this upcoming season.

Buffalo now has approximately $13.7MM left in cap space to work with and new contracts are needed for remaining restricted free agents Peyton Krebs, Beck Malenstyn, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. None of the three should eat much into that number especially if the Sabres can keep them on shorter-term contracts.

Sabres Acquire Ryan McLeod, Trade Matt Savoie To Oilers

at CDT | by 24 Comments

3:33 PM: The Sabres organization have confirmed the trade with Edmonton.

3:08 PM: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres are working on a trade that would send Ryan McLeod to the American Northeast. In a follow-up report, Friedman suggests the Oilers will receive forward prospect Matt Savoie from the Sabres and will additionally send Tyler Tullio to Buffalo.

The Sabres were intent on improving their middle six and bottom six this summer and will acquire McLeod as he enters the last year of a two-year, $4.2MM contract. Featuring breakneck speed and a high motor in the offensive zone, it will be difficult to find a better player than McLeod to plug into the Sabres bottom-six. During the past three years in south-central Alberta, McLeod has suited up in 209 games for the Oilers, scoring 32 goals and 74 points while averaging 13:43 of ice time per night.

Outside of the topical statistics, McLeod is an analytical dream. He has averaged a 52.7% CorsiFor% throughout his career which will give the Sabres a boost in the possession game after finishing the 2023-24 season with a 51.2% team average in the category. According to HockeyReference, McLeod has an E +/- of 20.3 throughout his career showing that he limits his opponent’s ability to score when he is on the ice. The Sabres improved considerably in this department last season, and McLeod will help continue that effort and be an effective penalty killer.

Tullio is also heading to the Sabres organization and will likely start the year with the team’s AHL affiliate Rochester Americans. The Oilers selected Tullio with the 126th overall selection of the 2020 NHL Draft and he has spent the last two years playing for the Bakersfield Condors. Tullio has scored 22 goals and 47 points over 117 games in AHL Bakersfield and should slot into a bottom-six role with the Americans.

Edmonton will not come away unhappy from this deal as they’ve acquired quite a prospect in Savoie. The young center is two years removed from being the ninth overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft and recently finished his playing days in the Western Hockey League. Savoie split the 2023-24 WHL season between the Wenatchee Wild and Moose Jaw Warriors in a season where he scored 30 goals and 71 points in only 34 games. Continuing to prove his offensive prowess in the playoffs, Savoie scored 10 goals and 24 points in 19 postseason contests for the Warriors as he led his team to the Memorial Cup semifinals.

Savoie eventually made his professional debut last season in AHL Rochester where he scored two goals and five points in six contests. One could reasonably assume that Savoie will start the 2024-25 NHL season with the Condors but could be a sneaky option to be called up and placed next to Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. Whatever his pathway is, the Oilers bring in a cost-effective option who can immediately play in the team’s top six.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Tory Dello

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Detroit Red Wings organization has made an addition to their AHL affiliate as the team announced a one-year, two-way contract with defenseman Tory Dello. It will mark the first time in Dello’s short career that he has signed with an NHL franchise.

After a lengthy stay with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL, the Lakewood, IL native committed to the University of Notre Dame where he would spend the next four years. During his time in South Bend, Dello scored seven goals and 40 points in 154 games for the Fighting Irish and amassed 133 PIMs in the process. Dello signed an AHL contract with the Grand Rapids Griffins once his playing days in Notre Dame ended.

Dello’s time in the AHL has been very similar to his time in the NCAA as he’s rarely seen on the scoresheet outside his time in the penalty box. Going into his sixth professional season, Dello has played 188 games split between the Griffins, Laval Rocket, and Chicago Wolves while collecting 12 goals, 38 points, and 112 PIMs overall.

With the Red Wings looking to graduate some defensive prospects to the NHL level this season, Dello may find a home on the Griffins as the team’s sixth or seventh defenseman. Grand Rapids recently qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season and will be looking to return in this upcoming season. Keeping this in mind, and factoring in the glut of prospects in Detroit’s system, Dello’s playing time may be considerably limited on the life of this contract.

Maxim Tsyplakov Likely To Crack Islanders Roster

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Since the start of the week, the New York Islanders have been fairly quiet in free agency, as their only notable moves were re-signing defenseman Mike Reilly and poaching forward Anthony Duclair from the free agent market. As one of only 11 teams in the 2023-24 NHL season to average under three goals per game, the Islanders were expected to pursue goal-scoring this summer. One of the team’s most peculiar moves in addressing this dilemma happened in May as the team signed winger Maxim Tsyplakov from Spartak Moskva.

In an article from Stefen Rosner and Matthew Page of The Hockey News, the future of Tsyplakov was brought up to general manager Lou Lamoriello at the 2024 NHL Draft and he said, “We did not sign him for Bridgeport. He’s an NHL-type of player“. Given the transition between playing in the KHL and the NHL, it is more than likely that Tsyplakov will start the year on the Islanders’ third line with the ability to move up to the second line if his play warrants it.

If all goes as expected in New York, Tsyplakov will become the strong secondary scorer that the Islanders have desperately craved over the past several seasons. Tsyplakov scored 31 goals and 47 points for Spartak this past season in 65 games. In the playoffs, Tsyplakov did not perform up to his standards from the regular season as he collected two goals and four points in 11 games while tallying 14 PIMs.

As he transitions to life in North America, it may be prudent for the Islanders to start Tsyplakov on the third line next to Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Simon Holmstrom. With Pierre Engvall and Anders Lee destined for middle-six roles this upcoming season, New York could have a flexible roster that could change in each game.

Hurricanes Sign Jack Roslovic

at CDT | by 16 Comments

July 4: It’s a one-year, $2.8MM deal for Roslovic, the Canes confirmed Thursday morning.

July 3: The Carolina Hurricanes are making strides in repairing their forward core as several players recently left the team on the free-agent market. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the organization will be signing forward Jack Roslovic although no financial terms of the deal have been confirmed.

The Columbus, OH native was originally brought to the NHL after being selected with the 25th overall pick of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Winnipeg Jets organization. Roslovic spent one year at the Miami University (Ohio) before turning professional for the 2016-17 season. Roslovic broke into the organization with 13 goals and 48 points in 65 games as a rookie for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.

After another impressive start to the season in the AHL, Roslovic became a full-time member of the Jets partway through the 2017-18 season. Over 180 games in Winnipeg, Roslovic scored 26 goals and 67 points while playing in a middle-six role before the team moved his signing rights to his hometown Columbus Blue Jackets in the deal that brought Pierre-Luc Dubois to Winnipeg.

Moving into a second-line role with the Blue Jackets, Roslovic experienced the most productivity in his career up to this point. In three and a half seasons for the Blue Jackets, Roslovic scored 51 goals and 146 points in 206 regular season games. The team failed to make the playoffs throughout his entire tenure in Columbus and decided to part ways with him this past year by shipping him to the New York Rangers in exchange for a conditional fourth-round selection in 2026.

Returning to the Stanley Cup playoffs after four years, Roslovic provided solid play for the Rangers as the team ended their season in the Eastern Conference Finals. While averaging 13:51 of ice time over 16 games, Roslovic scored two goals and eight points during New York’s postseason run. Due to the major loss of talent in Carolina over the last several days, Roslovic should find a spot in the team’s middle-six on the reported contract.

Winnipeg Jets Sign Mason Shaw, Haydn Fleury

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the Winnipeg Jets have signed forward Mason Shaw to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K at the NHL level and $350K in the AHL. In a follow-up report, Dreger also reports the Jets have added defenseman Haydn Fleury on a similar one-year, two-way contract worth $775K in the NHL and $400K in the AHL.

Shaw joins the second organization of his career after spending the last seven years with the Minnesota Wild organization. During the 2022-23 NHL season, Shaw put together a quality season as a bottom-six forward as he scored seven goals and 17 points in 59 games. Although he contributed nicely as a tertiary scoring option, Shaw had his season cut short by an ACL tear and would not play again until this past March.

The depth forward couldn’t muster up a repeat of his 2022-23 campaign as he only scored one goal and three points in 20 games for the Wild this past season. While playing for the Wild’s AHL affiliate in Iowa, Shaw operated more in a middle-six role as he scored 43 goals and 121 points in 197 games over seven years in AHL Iowa.

Fleury is much more of a journeyman compared to Shaw as he’s joining the fifth organization of his career. The former seventh overall pick of the 2014 NHL Draft also has much more experience at the NHL level as he’s competed in 268 games split between the Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken, and Tampa Bay Lightning. Fleury should start as the seventh defenseman in Winnipeg as he offers the team a lot of flexibility in case of injury given that he can play on both sides of the blue line.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top