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Maple Leaf Notes: Stolarz, Top-Six Forward, Domi, Dubé

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For the past two weeks, the Toronto Maple Leafs and netminder Anthony Stolarz have been negotiating a new contract extension. Unfortunately, nothing has materialized yet, although a few updates were revealed in today’s media availability.

According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Stolarz reiterated his hope and desire for a new deal, saying, “We’re hopeful to get to a good outcome… I’m confident, until proven otherwise, that we can find something that’ll work.” Still, despite the positive update, Stolarz wants to get a deal finished before the start of the regular season.

In an update from Chris Johnston of The Athletic, the 31-year-old netminder has made his intentions known that he’s unwilling to negotiate once the regular season has begun. Although the Maple Leafs want to maintain cap space for next offseason, it would be wise for them to strike a deal with Stolarz quickly.

Outside of some injury concerns, Stolarz has been remarkably consistent over the last two years with the Florida Panthers and Maple Leafs. Since the start of the 2023-24 campaign, Stolarz has recorded a 37-15-5 record in 61 games with a .926 SV% and 2.10 GAA.

Other notes from the Maple Leafs:

  • Like many teams around the league, Toronto remains on the hunt for a top-six forward, according to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun. Per Koshan, General Manager Brad Treliving spoke of his pursuit, saying, “It’s not from lack of trying … you’re always looking to improve. League-wide, it was a slower summer.” The Maple Leafs have seemingly lost their opportunity on the free agent market, but could pursue a meaningful trade as training camp progresses.
  • In the same vein, David Alter of The Hockey News reports that Max Domi is being considered to fill a top-six role for the time being, specifically on the right side next to Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. Unfortunately, they’ll have to wait some time to see Domi next to the pair, as Koshan reports he’s dealing with a lower-body injury.
  • The last major news item regards an unrestricted free agent that the Maple Leafs won’t pursue. Despite being tied together from their time with the Calgary Flames, Treliving told Pagnotta that Toronto isn’t interested in signing Dillon Dubé, citing the recent Hockey Canada sexual assault trial as a primary factor.

Flames Sign Mikael Backlund To Two-Year Extension

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As alluded to a few weeks ago, the Calgary Flames are keeping their captain for the next few years. The Flames announced they’ve signed Mikael Backlund to a two-year, $6.5MM contract through the 2027-28 season.

For the second contract in a row, Backlund has taken a pay cut to remain with the only organization he’s ever known. After earning a $5.35MM salary from 2018 to 2024, Backlund will watch his current $4.5MM salary drop to $3.25MM on his new extension.

Despite the Flames being engaged in a retool, Backlund has shown clarity in his desire to remain in Calgary. The Flames drafted Backlund with the 24th overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, and debuted with the team during the 2008-09 campaign.

The native of Västerås, Sweden, is primarily recognized for his defensive skills in southern Alberta, but over the past decade, he has also been a reliable secondary scorer. Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Backlund has scored 164 goals and 435 points in 768 games with a +68 rating, finishing top 10 in Selke Trophy voting three times.

His defensive production is where his value truly lies, with Backlund managing a 49.0% faceoff percentage, 90.7% on-ice save percentage at even strength, and 54.0% CorsiFor% at even strength. This has led to the Flames retaining Backlund as an active second-line center, despite rostering more offensively-minded centers.

It’s hard to determine whether this will be Backlund’s final contract with Calgary. He’ll be preparing for his age-39 season if he plays after the expiration of the extension, and will have played in his 20th professional season. He has expressed interest in playing through the Flames retool, and their competitiveness over the next few years may influence his future decisions.

Photo courtesy of Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports.

Maple Leafs To Hire Mark Giordano

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After going unsigned for 2024-25, veteran defender Mark Giordano appears to be putting a bow on his playing career. Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said today they’ll announce in the coming days that they’ve hired him in a yet-to-be-disclosed role with their AHL affiliate, according to David Alter of The Hockey News.

That would signal the retirement of one of the game’s premier defensemen of the 2010s. He was intent on playing last season and beyond, his agent said last offseason. The Oilers and Sabres had expressed interest in him into training camp in 2024, as well as potential reunions with the Flames and Leafs, but no contract ever panned out. He’ll now make the jump into the next phase of his hockey career.

Giordano is in the running for one of the most fruitful undrafted free agent signings of all time. He landed his first NHL contract during the 2004-05 lockout, signing with Calgary out of OHL Owen Sound and spending the canceled year in the AHL. He made his NHL debut when the league resumed play for 2005-06. He got his first taste of full-time action the following year, making 48 appearances in a depth role. Without a guarantee of expanded playing time from the Flames entering 2007-08, though, Giordano opted not to re-sign with the club when his entry-level contract expired. He instead spent the year in Russia with Dynamo Moscow while remaining a restricted free agent.

He returned to the Flames for the 2008-09 season, more earnestly kicking off his career as a top-four fixture. He was more of a defensive-oriented piece early on but as he entered his 30s, his offensive production began to soar as well. He hit the 40-point mark for the first time in 2010-11 and, beginning with the prior year, averaged north of 20 minutes per game for Calgary for 12 years in a row.

Widely regarded as a top-20 defenseman in the league for most of his prime, Giordano exploded in the 2018-19 campaign for a career year at age 35. He took home the Norris Trophy and finished ninth in MVP voting on a 50-win Flames squad that year, racking up 74 points and a league-leading +39 rating in 78 appearances.

The Flames’ record slipped over the next couple of seasons, though. With Giordano entering the final season of his contract in the 2021 offseason and the Flames wanting to protect younger names like Rasmus Andersson and Noah Hanifin in that year’s expansion draft for the Kraken, the club left their captain exposed. Seattle picked him up, making him their first captain in franchise history, but his tenure in the Pacific Northwest was short-lived. The club was in the basement of the Pacific Division in their first year and, after Giordano scored 23 points in 55 games, traded the pending UFA to the Maple Leafs at the deadline for draft picks.

While the following summer meant the end of the six-year, $40.5MM contract he signed back in 2015, it didn’t mean the end of his time in Toronto. He signed a team-friendly two-year, $1.6MM deal that would see him finish his playing career with the Leafs as a serviceable bottom-pairing support piece. He made 144 regular-season appearances in a Toronto uniform in parts of three seasons, recording a 9-36–45 scoring line and a +49 rating.

Giordano’s 1,093 games in his second NHL stint rank seventh in the league among defensemen since 2008. His 561 points also rank 12th during that time. The Toronto native totaled a 158-419–577 scoring line in 1,148 career regular-season appearances with a +129 rating across 18 campaigns. All of us at PHR wish Giordano the best as he continues his career in the sport off-ice.

Image courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images.

Rasmus Andersson Calls Offseason Reports "Fake Information"

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  • Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson was one of the most frequently talked-about players in transaction rumors over the course of this past summer, though the defenseman did not ultimately get traded. Today, Andersson addressed the news from the summer, specifically calling reports that he was only willing to sign a long-term deal with the Vegas Golden Knights “fake information.” He added that he would “never handcuff” general manager Craig Conroy in such a fashion. Daniel Austin of The Calgary Sun wrote that “the most likely outcome” of Andersson’s situation (he is a pending UFA) is that the Flames trade the defenseman before the trade deadline, and doing so would likely pave the way for even more ice time for star prospect Zayne Parekh. Parekh is a dynamic offensive defenseman who is set to enter his first NHL campaign, assuming he can earn a job on the club’s season-opening roster.

Flames' Zayne Parekh Won't Participate In Rookie Camp

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As expected, given the reporting from a few days ago, Wes Gilberton of Postmedia confirmed that Calgary Flames’ top prospect, Zayne Parekh, will not participate in the team’s rookie camp for precautionary reasons. Parekh has reportedly been dealing with a nagging lower-body injury that has lasted for much of the summer.

The expectation is that Parekh will be ready for the start of the Flames’ training camp in a few days, suggesting he is in the latter half of his recovery. Still, it would significantly impact Calgary’s defensive core if Parekh’s injury continues to limit him during training camp, as he aims to make the Flames’ opening night roster.

Drafted with the 9th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Parekh has not only solidified his positioning as the Flames’ top prospect, but is considered one of, if not the best, defensive prospects not currently a full-time NHLer. Before making his debut with the Flames at the end of last season, Parekh put together a pair of rather ridiculous seasons with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, scoring 66 goals and 203 points in 127 games with a +81 rating, with another four goals and 20 points in 18 postseason contests.

[SOURCE LINK]

Flames Interested In Pavel Zacha

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A trade market for Boston Bruins forward Pavel Zacha continues to materialize throughout the summer months. According to a new report from James Murphy of RG Media, an NHL source claims that the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames are two teams that have inquired about the forward’s availability.

Murphy cited a quote from the source, saying, “The Canadiens definitely have interest in Zacha and have inquired about him, but they’re not the only team. Several teams — I’m told the Flames are one — continue to express interest in him.” While nothing is urgent, especially between the two Original Six rivals, Murphy states that various scenarios are now being discussed.

[SOURCE LINK]

Flames Notes: Wolf, Andersson, Parekh

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The Flames announced a seven-year, $52.5MM extension for premier young netminder Dustin Wolf this morning ahead of the final season of his entry-level contract. The deal, which carries a cap hit of $7.5MM, will make him among the league’s 10 highest-paid goalies when it takes effect in 2026-27.

Now, PuckPedia has the full breakdown of the contract. The deal will be paid out almost entirely in base salary, with only one up-front $2MM signing bonus in the first year. That will be paired with a $6MM base salary to give him $8MM in total compensation out of the gate. From 2027-28 through 2031-32, he’ll earn an even $7.5MM per year. The difference between his first-year compensation and the $7.5MM average annual value will be made up in the contract’s final year in 2032-33, when he’ll take a small pay cut to $7MM.

Wolf’s deal also includes relatively limited trade protection. He’s not eligible for it until 2028-29, when he’d otherwise be eligible for unrestricted free agency. From that point forward, he’ll have a 10-team no-trade list, but no full movement protection is included in the deal.

There’s more out of Calgary today:

  • While all parties have acknowledged pending UFA Rasmus Andersson will be traded at some point this season, the defender rebuked claims over the offseason that he was only willing to extend with one team – believed to be the Golden Knights. That would obviously have handcuffed Calgary from moving him elsewhere or even landing market value from Vegas, something Andersson said he’d never do, according to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960.
  • Top defense prospect Zayne Parekh isn’t fully recovered from the lower-body injury he sustained earlier this summer, general manager Craig Conroy told Steinberg. “The hope is that he’ll be ready for training camp,” Conroy said, indicating he likely won’t participate in any rookie camp activities in the days leading up to full camp beginning at the end of next week. He did skate today, Conroy confirmed, a welcome sign ahead of a pivotal camp that could lead to him carving out a roster spot. The 2024 No. 9 overall pick scored in his NHL debut last year and has led the OHL in scoring among defensemen in back-to-back years, although he’s still ineligible for a full-time assignment to AHL Calgary.

Flames Sign Dustin Wolf To Seven-Year Extension

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The Calgary Flames have signed reigning Calder Trophy finalist Dustin Wolf to a seven-year, $52.5MM extension, per a team release. The deal will carry a yearly cap hit of $7.5MM. That price tag will pull Wolf into the upper echelon of goalie contracts, making him the eighth-highest-paid goalie in the NHL.

Calgary is clearly confident after Wolf’s unprecedented play on his entry-level contract. He was once an overlooked goaltender, falling to the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft largely thanks to his slight 6-foot, 160-pound frame. Wolf was playing with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips at the time of his draft. He returned for a fourth season in Everett in the following year, and wrapped up his  WHL career with a staggering .935 save percentage in 149 games – the highest save percentage ever recorded across multiple WHL seasons.

Wolf moved to the AHL’s Stockton Heat in 2021-22 and earned the starter’s crease within just a few months. He was flashy and energetic, even as a first-year pro, and worked his way to a phenomenal 33-9-4 record and .924 Sv% in 47 games. That mark was enough to earn Wolf the AHL’s Baz Bastien award, handed out annually to the league’s top goalie. Not to be outdone, Wolf managed an even better record (42-10-2) and better save percentage (.932) in more games (55) in his second pro year, again taking home the Baz Bastien Award. With that, he became just the third goalie to ever win the award twice, and just the second to win it in back-to-back years.

That gave Wolf an incredible amount of momentum headed into last season. He played 18 games in the NHL between 2022 and 2024 – and managed a stout 8-7-1 record and .923 save percentage. But fans knew more was to come when Wolf finally broke into the Flames’ roster full-time. New Flames general manager Craig Conroy cleared the path for that to happen when he traded Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils in 2024. The lights were shining bright and trained solely on Wolf, headed into last season.

Wolf wasted no time proving he belonged in an NHL role. He won his first three games of the season with a .936 save percentage and managed his first shutout in his ninth game of the year. By the end of December, Wolf was touting an impressive 12-5-2 record and a .914 save percentage. Those numbers slipped slightly as Wolf worked his way up to 53 starts on the season – the 17th-most in the league. He finished his rookie season with a 29-16-8 record and .910 Sv% – tying Stuart Skinner, Pekka Rinne, and Andrew Raycroft for the eighth-most wins by a first-year starter.

It was a truly electric performance. Calgary’s chances to win rose significantly when Wolf took the net, and his athleticism and confidence were both unwavering. Advanced stat site Evolving Hockey estimates that Calgary received five wins-above-replacement (WAR) from Wolf – the fifth-most in the NHL, just narrowly behind Vezina Trophy finalist Darcy Kuemper and above Ilya Sorokin. That’s an incredible mark, and one that Calgary will quickly reward with a long-term extension. Teams have been duped in the past by strong rookie seasons. Hockey fans will surely remember the short-lived peak of Steve Mason. But Wolf seems well set to earn the starting role in every season of his new deal. He boasts all of the skill, speed, and sharp thinking to play at the top level, and will look to vindicate a great rookie year and hefty extension with a growing performance this season.

Photo courtesy of Brett Holmes-Imagn Images.

Afternoon Notes: Trenton, Bruins, Senators, Flames

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The Utah Grizzlies will relocate to Trenton, New Jersey for the 2026-27 season, with an announcement set for tomorrow, per hockey insider Frank Seravalli. If true, the Grizzlies will be set to move right after celebrating their 20th season in Utah. In doing so, they will bring ECHL hockey back to Trenton for the first time since 2013. The city previously hosted the Trenton Titans – briefly the Trenton Devils – for 24 years beginning in 1999. The club was red-hot at the turn of the century, reaching the Kelly Cup Finals in 2001 and taking the Cup home in 2005. They featured some incredible hockey names in their history. Stanley Cup winner and Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy presided over Trenton’s inaugural season, and current Utah Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong coached the team from 2002 to 2004.

The Utah Grizzlies are currently affiliated with the Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Eagles, the latter an ironic twist given the Eagles’ rivalry with the Grizzlies when they were a part of the ECHL. This move would break that tension, and return pro hockey to an upgraded CURE Insurance Arena.

Other notes from around the hockey world:

  • Sticking in the ECHL, the Boston Bruins have announced a three-year extension of their affiliation with the Maine Mariners. The affiliation began in 2021, and marked the first NHL partnership in Maine’s brief history. It was a continuation of a long history of work between the two teams. The Mariners served as Boston’s AHL affiliate from 1987 to 1992, before being relocated to form the Providence Bruins. The ECHL Mariners haven’t found their stride under Boston just yet – losing in the first round of the postseason three times, then missing the postseason last year. They’ll face a very interesting turnaround next season, after losing former player and head coach/general manager Terrence Wallin this summer. Maine hired Rick Kowalsky – aptly, a member of the Kelly Cup-winning Trenton Devils in 2005 – to fill the vacancy. Kowalsky has previously spent four years an ECHL head coach, 10 years as an AHL head coach, and six years as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils.
  • Shifting to looming NHL training camps – the Ottawa Senators are expected to bring multiple professional try-outs to the start of their camp, general manager Steve Staios told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Ottawa could use a bit of padding to their depth at all three positions, setting them up nicely to bring in some of the top remaining free agents. The likeliest paths to the lineup will be on the fourth-line wing, where Michael Amadio and Nick Cousins currently reside on the depth chart. Some options for UFA candidates could include 36-year-old wing Max Pacioretty, 30-year-old centerman Tyler Motte, or 31-year-old defenseman Matt Grzelcyk.
  • While Ottawa pursues the PTO market, the Calgary Flames are expected to stay away, per Ryan Pike of Flames Nation. While the Senators will look to vindicate a push to the playoffs last season, Calgary is likely much more geared towards keeping spots open for their emerging youngsters. Players like Rory Kerins, Dryden Hunt, William Stromgren, and Aydar Suniev could all make valiant pushes for bottom-six minutes next season.

Murphy Signs AHL Deal With Wranglers

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  • After spending last season on a two-way deal with the Flames before being non-tendered back in June, goaltender Connor Murphy will remain in the organization on a different contract. Their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, recently announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed the netminder to a one-year deal.  The 27-year-old struggled in limited action with the Wranglers last season but had a 2.54 GAA and a .922 SV% in 15 outings with them in 2023-24.  He’ll battle for a spot with them in training camp but could also land with ECHL Rapid City for the upcoming season.

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