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Two-Way Deals: 7/1/25

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As major signings come in around the NHL today with the 2025-26 league year beginning, teams are shoring up their minor-league depth as well by signing players to two-way contracts. We’re keeping track of those signings today in this article, which will be continuously updated. Deals are one year unless otherwise noted.

Boston Bruins

F Riley Tufte ($775K NHL) – Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub
D Jonathan Aspirot ($775K NHL) – Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub
G Luke Cavallin ($775K NHL) – Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub

Buffalo Sabres

F Riley Fiddler-Schultz ($865K NHL/$90K SB/$35K PB/$85K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years, entry-level
F Carson Meyer ($775K NHL/$350K AHL Y1 – $375K AHL Y2) – PuckPedia // two years
D Mason Geertsen ($775K NHL/$425K AHL) – Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet // two years
D Zachary Jones ($900K NHL/$550K AHL) – PuckPedia
D Zach Metsa ($775K NHL/$250K AHL/$325K gt’d) – PuckPedia

Calgary Flames

D Nick Cicek ($775K NHL) – team release

Carolina Hurricanes

G Amir Miftakhov ($775K NHL/$100K AHL/$240K gt’d) – PuckPedia

Chicago Blackhawks

F Dominic Toninato ($850K NHL) – team release // two years

Colorado Avalanche

F T.J. Tynan (unknown) – team release
D Jack Ahcan (unknown) – team release
D Ronald Attard ($775K NHL/$450K AHL/$500K gt’d) – PuckPedia

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Owen Sillinger (unknown) – team release
D Christian Jaros (unknown) – team release

Dallas Stars

D Niilopekka Muhonen (unknown) – team release // three years, entry-level

Edmonton Oilers

D Riley Stillman ($775K NHL/$475K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years
G Matt Tomkins ($775K NHL/$400K AHL/$450 Y2 gt’d) – PuckPedia // two years

Florida Panthers

F Nolan Foote ($775K NHL/$150K AHL/$250K gt’d) – PuckPedia
F Jack Studnicka ($775K NHL/$450K AHL) – Chris Johnston of TSN/The Athletic
G Brandon Bussi ($775K NHL/$400K AHL) – PuckPedia
G Kirill Gerasimyuk (unknown) – team release // two years, entry-level

Los Angeles Kings

F Cole Guttman ($775K NHL/$450K Y1 – $475K Y2 AHL/$475K gt’d Y1 – $500K gt’d Y2) – PuckPedia // two years

Minnesota Wild

F Tyler Pitlick ($775K NHL/$300K Y1 – $350K Y2 AHL/$325K gt’d Y1 – $375K gt’d Y2) – PuckPedia // two years
D Ben Gleason ($800K NHL/$475K AHL) – PuckPedia

Montreal Canadiens

F Alex Belzile (unknown) – team release
D Nathan Clurman ($775K NHL/$125K AHL/$140K gt’d) – PuckPedia

New Jersey Devils

D Calen Addison ($775K NHL/$325K AHL/$400K gt’d) – PuckPedia
F Angus Crookshank ($775K NHL/$425K AHL/$475K gt’d) – PuckPedia // two years, one-way in 2026-27

New York Islanders

F Matthew Highmore (unknown) – team release
D Ethan Bear ($775K NHL/$325K AHL/$425K gt’d) – PuckPedia
D Cole McWard (unknown) – team release

New York Rangers

D Derrick Pouliot ($775K NHL/$400K AHL/$425K gt’d Y1 – $450K gt’d Y2) – PuckPedia // two years

Ottawa Senators

F Wyatt Bongiovanni ($775K NHL/$160K AHL) – PuckPedia
F Olle Lycksell ($775K NHL/$450K AHL/$500K gt’d) – Darren Dreger of TSN

Philadelphia Flyers

F Lane Pederson ($775K NHL/$525K AHL) – PuckPedia

San Jose Sharks

F Jimmy Huntington (unknown) – team release
F Samuel Laberge (unknown) – team release
F Colin White ($775K NHL/$425K AHL/$475K gt’d) – PuckPedia
D Cole Clayton (unknown) – team release

St. Louis Blues

F Matt Luff ($775K NHL/$400K AHL) – PuckPedia

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Nicholas Abruzzese (unknown) – team release
F Tristan Allard (unknown) – team release // two years, entry-level
F Boris Katchouk (unknown) – team release
D Simon Lundmark ($775K NHL/$250K AHL/$350K gt’d) – PuckPedia // two years
G Ryan Fanti ($775K NHL/$80K AHL) – PuckPedia

Utah Mammoth

F Kailer Yamamoto ($775K NHL/$500K AHL) – PuckPedia
D Scott Perunovich ($775K NHL/$400K AHL/$500K gt’d) – PuckPedia

Vancouver Canucks

F Joseph LaBate ($775K NHL/$350K AHL) – PuckPedia
F Mackenzie MacEachern ($775K NHL/$575K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years
D Jimmy Schuldt ($775K NHL/$500K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years

Winnipeg Jets

F Phillip Di Giuseppe ($775K NHL/$450K AHL) – PuckPedia
D Kale Clague (unknown) – Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet

Blackhawks Acquire Sam Lafferty From Sabres

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The Blackhawks have acquired forward Sam Lafferty from the Sabres in exchange for their 2026 sixth-round pick, the team announced.

The move begins the 30-year-old’s second tenure in Chicago. The Hawks previously acquired him from the Penguins for Alexander Nylander in January 2022. He spent parts of two seasons with the club before getting dealt to the Maple Leafs in the 2023 Jake McCabe deal. He suited up 97 times in that span, posting 15 goals and 32 points – the most offensive he’s provided for any of his five NHL teams – and averaged nearly 15 minutes per game.

Chicago had Lafferty back in the organization for a few days last year, acquiring him from the Canucks in the trade that brought Ilya Mikheyev to the Hawks. He was a pending UFA, though, and instead decided to test the open market. He promptly signed a two-year, $4MM deal with the Sabres.

After scoring 13 goals and 24 points with Vancouver last year, it seemed like a worthy bet on Buffalo’s part. Instead, Lafferty struggled to be effective even in a fourth-line role. He averaged just 9:53 per game, making 60 appearances and scoring seven points with a -15 rating. Needless to say, both Lafferty and the Sabres likely preferred a move this summer if possible.

Lafferty now gets to return to the environment where he’s had the most success in Chicago, while the Sabres open up a roster spot and $2MM in cap space. He’ll look to compete for a spot in Chicago’s bottom six with young forwards like Oliver Moore and Landon Slaggert.

As for the Sabres, who hope to be more aggressive in free agency than Chicago today, they now have nearly $23MM in space with a roster size of 17, per PuckPedia. In addition to freeing up a space for a young player like Noah Ostlund or Isak Rosen to make the team out of training camp, they open up even more spending flexibility and shed an undesirable salary.

Sumpf To Play At Providence Next Season

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  • Blackhawks draft pick Julius Sumpf is expected to play at Providence College next season, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 20-year-old was the 98th overall pick on Saturday following a solid season with QMJHL Moncton that saw him pick up 65 points in 58 games.  He also had seven points in five games for Germany at the World Juniors.

Canucks Acquire Rights To Ilya Safonov From Blackhawks

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The Canucks announced Saturday they’ve acquired the signing rights to forward Ilya Safonov from the Blackhawks in exchange for future considerations. Vancouver will now presumably try to get the Russian center, who’s been on Chicago’s reserve list since they drafted him in the sixth round in 2021, signed to an NHL contract.

The 24-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Chicago back in 2021, going 172nd overall.  At the time, Safonov had a minor role with Kazan in the KHL but in 2022-23, he had a breakout 37-point performance that suggested he could bring more to the table while also sparking hopes that he might come to North America.

Unfortunately for Chicago, Safonov’s production has gone in the wrong direction since then.  He managed 20 points in 67 games in 2023-24 and while his point total (22) was marginally better this season, his seven goals were the lowest he had in a single season since being drafted.  In the meantime, he signed a one-year contract extension with Kazan last month, keeping him signed in Russia through the end of next season.  Unlike contracts in some other countries, his deal does not have an NHL out clause.

With this in mind, it feels like this is a longer-term no-risk move for the Canucks.  If Safonov is able to rebound offensively next season, he could play his way into consideration for being signed and given a chance to crack Vancouver’s lineup.  Meanwhile, if that doesn’t happen or Safonov decides he just wants to keep playing at home, it’s not as if they’ve given up anything to get his rights.

Trade Interest In Lukas Reichel Increasing

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Last summer, Blackhawks forward Lukas Reichel was a speculative trade candidate but he wound up signing a low-cost, two-year bridge deal to remain with Chicago.  But after the first year of that contract didn’t go well, the trade speculation is back.  Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that interest in Reichel has started to pick up in recent days with teams viewing him as more of a secondary target at this point.

The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Chicago back in 2020, going 17th overall after playing well with Eisbaren Berlin in the German men’s league when he had 24 points in 48 games.  That improved to 27 points in 38 outings the following season before Reichel came to play in North America.

Reichel spent the bulk of the first season of his entry-level deal with AHL Rockford and was quite productive, tallying 21 goals and 36 assists in 56 games while also getting into 11 games with the Blackhawks.  The following year in 2022-23, he was similarly productive with the IceHogs, notching 20 goals and 31 helpers in 55 contests, earning him a longer look with the big club where he got into 23 games, collecting 15 points.  It looked like he was ready for full-time NHL duty.

But the 2023-24 campaign was a tough one for Reichel.  He struggled with Chicago, scoring just five goals along with 11 assists in 65 games while his possession numbers took a tumble as well.  He was more productive with eight points in a ten-game stint in Rockford but at this point, there were questions about his longer-term fit in the organization with the Blackhawks having one of the deepest pipelines in the NHL.

Those questions still remain after this season, one that saw Reichel only slightly improve offensively with eight goals and 14 assists in 70 games while seeing his ice time drop to below 12 minutes a night, a career-low.  With several prospects in the pipeline that could benefit from an extra roster spot to try to compete for, it’s understandable to think that Chicago could make Reichel available this summer.

Of course, with how things have gone the last two seasons, trade offers aren’t going to be anywhere near the level of the first-rounder they used on Reichel in the past.  But with an affordable contract at $1.2MM, he’s the type of buy-low candidate that some rebuilding teams will want to take a chance on to see if a change of scenery can help get him going.  Whether that results in a trade later today in the draft or later on in the summer once the dust settles remains to be seen but it certainly seems like there’s a good chance that Reichel could be on the move this offseason.

Chicago Blackhawks Acquire 29th Overall Pick, Select Mason West

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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Carolina Hurricanes have traded the 29th overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft to the Chicago Blackhawks for the 34th and 62nd overall picks, plus a fifth-round pick in 2027. With their third first-round pick of the evening, the Blackhawks have selected Mason West from the USHL’s Fargo Force.

West, who will be joining the NCAA’s Michigan State University Spartans in the fall of 2026-27, is an intriguing prospect for a few reasons. He’s a towering forward, considering his talent, standing at 6’6″, 218lbs. Although he finished the year with USHL Fargo, he spent much of the year with Edina High School in Minnesota, scoring 27 goals and 49 points in 31 games.

Once he transitioned to Fargo toward the end of the year, he scored one goal and nine points in 10 games. The most fascinating part about West is that he’s never been a full-time hockey player. Throughout his time with Edina, West doubled as a premier high school quarterback and could receive D1 scholarships if his senior season this autumn goes well.

Because of his non-zero chance of cracking an NFL roster someday, West was projected to fall into the second round, anywhere between the 45th and 55th overall picks. The Blackhawks see potential in West and believe he will continue his professional hockey career.

Blackhawks Select Anton Frondell Third Overall

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The Chicago Blackhawks have added another high-end forward to their deep cupboard of prospects. With the third overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft, the Blackhawks selected Anton Frondell from the SHL’s Djurgårdens IF.

There’s a reason Frondell was listed as the top available European skater in this summer’s draft. The 6’1″, 205lbs Swede scored 11 goals and 25 points in 22 games for Djurgårdens IF HockeyAllsvenskan team, with another three goals and seven points in 16 postseason contests.

He shone on the international stage, too. The Trångsund, Sweden native scored one goal and three points in five tournament gams for Sweden’s U18 team at the U18 World Junior Championship this past season. Overall, Frondell was far and away Sweden’s top talent, scoring eight goals and 18 points in 19 international contests.

It’ll be interesting to see if Chicago decides to let Frondell make the jump to North America right away or continue his development overseas in the SHL with Djurgårdens IF, who have recently been promoted. At any rate, the Blackhawks organization and their fans will likely see Frondell participating in the 2025-26 U20 World Junior Championships.

As a natural center, Chicago may have cemented a powerful one-two punch down the middle with Frondell’s selection. Connor Bedard has already carved out his role as the team’s top center moving forward, which would allow Frondell to thrive on the second line or play on Bedard’s wing.

Seney Signs Two-Year Deal In Rockford

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  • Pending Blackhawks UFA winger Brett Seney has decided not to test the open market after all and will remain with the organization. But after playing on an NHL deal in recent years, that won’t be the case anymore as their affiliate, AHL Rockford, announced that they’ve signed the 29-year-old to a two-year contract.  Seney has 66 career NHL appearances under his belt, including four in 2023-24, but spent all of this season in the minors where he notched 10 goals and 19 assists in 58 games.

Blackhawks Buy Out T.J. Brodie

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June 22: Brodie has cleared unconditional waivers and will have the final season of his contract bought out, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic confirms. There are no new pending buyouts today.

June 21: The Blackhawks have placed Brodie on unconditional waivers for buyout purposes, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.  In doing so, they’ll be able to buy out the final year of his contract on Sunday, assuming he’s not claimed.

June 18: The Blackhawks will likely buy out defenseman T.J. Brodie when the first window opens later this week, reports Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The vast majority of his $3.225MM total compensation for next season was via a $2.45MM signing bonus, which is unaffected by a buyout.

He’ll only see a reduction in his base salary from $775K to $517K, which will be paid out over two years, and he will become an unrestricted free agent. Brodie will still count $3.23MM against the cap for Chicago in 2025-26, savings of $517K on his original $3.75MM cap hit, but will only incur a $258K penalty in 2026-27 before coming off the Hawks’ books.

Brodie, 35, signed a two-year, $7.5MM contract with Chicago in free agency last summer. The $3.75MM cap hit was an understandable expense given his long track record of success as an excellent two-way option in the top four for the Flames and Maple Leafs, but a multi-year commitment raised some eyebrows. Brodie was aging, coming off an underwhelming performance in Toronto in 2023-24 that meant the team had no trouble letting him hit the market, and there were questions about how his declining speed would hold up on a much thinner Blackhawks blue line.

The fears of the deal were realized as Brodie’s 2024-25 season was his worst as an NHLer. He only posted a 2-8–10 scoring line in 54 games, and his defensive impacts declined further following a sharp dropoff with the Leafs the year prior.

While Chicago initially signed him as a support piece for their emerging young defensemen, he was entirely removed from the lineup in March. He didn’t log a single appearance for the club after the trade deadline, serving as a healthy scratch for the final 22 games of the season. That was even after the club traded top righty Seth Jones to the Panthers, and the left-shot Brodie had spent most of the year in a familiar spot on his offside, where he’s spent most of his career.

As it stands, the Blackhawks enter the offseason with established NHLers Alex Vlasic and Connor Murphy set to be joined by a complement of high-end prospects to round out their top six on defense, including Nolan Allan, Kevin Korchinski, Artyom Levshunov, and Sam Rinzel. Levshunov, Murphy, and Rinzel are all righties, giving the Hawks an even three/three split on handedness.

That also doesn’t include potential roster players Louis Crevier and Wyatt Kaiser, both of whom are pending RFAs needing new deals. There simply isn’t a spot for Brodie on next year’s roster, at least not one that involves significant playing time. Instead, they’ll allow him to pursue other opportunities on a new, cheaper deal instead of being saddled with the burden of an overpriced contract and likely ending up in the minors.

Blackhawks Acquire Andre Burakovsky

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The Kraken and Blackhawks have made a swap of underperforming forwards.  Chicago has acquired winger Andre Burakovsky from Seattle in exchange for center Joe Veleno in a one-for-one move.  Both teams have confirmed the trade.

Burakovsky became a key secondary scorer when he was acquired by Colorado back in 2019.  Over three seasons with the team, he had two seasons of more than 40 points while his last one with them saw him record a career-best 61, allowing him to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time while being one of the better options available on the open market.

That helped him land a five-year, $27.5MM contract with the Kraken in 2022 and the deal has not gone particularly well thus far.  The 30-year-old produced at a similar rate in 2022-23 from a points per game perspective but while he had 39 points in 49 games, missing 33 outings due to injury made for a disappointing year.  2023-24 was more of the same on the injury front as he once again missed 33 games, but to make things worse, his output fell considerably, down to just seven goals and nine assists.

This past season, Burakovsky was able to rebound a bit.  For starters, he was able to play in 79 games, one shy of his career best in that regard.  Meanwhile, while he didn’t get back to the type of production he had back in Colorado, he was able to chip in with 10 goals and 27 assists.

Last summer, Chicago added wingers Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen in free agency, giving themselves some upgrades up front and some veterans to work with their young forward core.  This move appears to follow that same idea while they’ll be taking on the final two seasons of Burakovsky’s deal at a $5.5MM price tag to make that happen.

As for Veleno, he’s on the move for the second time in a matter of months.  The 25-year-old spent parts of five seasons with Detroit after being a late first-round pick by the Red Wings back in 2018 but he was moved to the Blackhawks at the trade deadline in exchange for goaltender Petr Mrazek.

This past season, Veleno played in 74 games between the two teams, notching eight goals and nine assists in a little over 12 minutes per night of playing time.  It was the first time in three years that he failed to reach the 20-point mark with his career high in that regard coming in 2023-24 when he had 28.  While he was a productive scorer at the junior level, Veleno has been more of a checker at the professional ranks.

Veleno has one year left on his contract at a $2.275MM cap charge and joins a center group that is starting to become a bit crowded.  They already have Matty Beniers, Chandler Stephenson, and Shane Wright down the middle while Jared McCann, a natural center, is already on the wing.  Top prospect Berkly Catton is expected to push for a roster spot in training camp as well.  While the Kraken solved one logjam by moving out Burakovsky following the recent acquisition of Mason Marchment, they’ve created another with this move.

Speculatively, Seattle has a relatively easy way to solve it.  If they’re primarily looking for cap flexibility and can’t move Veleno in the coming days, he could become a buyout candidate.  Since he’s still 25, the cost of buying out that final year would only be one-third, not the standard two-thirds.  That would cost the Kraken a cap charge of $795.8K next season and $295.8K in 2026-27, allowing them to effectively remove the majority of Burakovsky’s $5.5MM cost from their books.  Alternatively, they could give Veleno a chance to lock down the center spot on the fourth line as he has shown himself to be useful in that role for several years now and see what happens from there.  Either way, their early offseason shakeup continues.

Photos courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz (Burakovsky) and David Banks (Veleno)-Imagn Images.

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