Michael Brandsegg-Nygard To Join Norway At Worlds
Midway through the World Championship, Norway will get a significant boost to its roster. NHL.com’s Patrick Williams reports (Twitter link) that winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygard will fly to Switzerland to join the team for the rest of the tournament.
The 20-year-old got his first taste of NHL action this season, getting into 14 games for the Red Wings where he picked up his first point, an assist, while averaging 12:31 of ice time. Brandsegg-Nygard was much more productive in the minors, however, as he potted 20 goals and 24 assists in 60 games with AHL Grand Rapids in his first full season in North America.
Brandsegg-Nygard wasn’t expected to be available to suit up in this tournament with the Griffins being the top team in the Western Conference this season and the top seed left in the AHL playoffs after Providence was ousted early. However, Grand Rapids saw their playoff run come to an end last night, opening up the opportunity for the youngster to represent his country after putting up eight points in eight postseason contests.
Brandsegg-Nygard, the 15th overall pick back in 2024, becomes just the fifth NHL-affiliated player on the Norwegian roster. He’s the lone one of the five with NHL experience under his belt and is just one of two first-rounders, the other being Anaheim’s Stian Solberg (selected eight spots after Brandsegg-Nygard that year). Norway sits fifth in their pool standings at the moment and needs to get to fourth to qualify for the quarterfinals so they’ll be counting on Brandsegg-Nygard to come in and immediately be a key contributor.
These Mid-Season Contract Extensions Have Not Aged Well
This year has been unique for in-season contract extensions, as a rising salary cap put pressure on teams to lock up their pending free agents before they could even sniff the open market. What once looked like a promising free-agent class in the summer of 2026 quickly turned into a very thin market void of big names and impact players. Some of those extensions were signed with players who had thrived in previous years and/or started the season well, but faltered after signing their big new contract, leaving teams in a tough spot heading into the summer. Here are five contracts that the signing teams would presumably like to have back.
The first player on our list could very well turn things around next season, and that is Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley. The 24-year-old inked an eight-year, $84.7MM contract extension at the end of October ($10.587MM AAV), and it made perfect sense at the time, as Harley was the 15th-highest-scoring defenseman in the NHL over the previous three seasons, with 105 points in 166 games, and played a solid defensive game as well. However, he struggled this past season, posting his lowest offensive numbers in three years and struggling to drive play. Harley lacked a solid partner for much of the year, but given his new salary cap hit, the hope would be that he could overcome that obstacle, especially considering Dallas doesn’t have the cap space to really look at upgrades on their back end. Harley has plenty of time to turn things around, and he likely will, but Stars management has to be a little nervous about the deal they inked and the long-term ramifications if Harley can’t get his game back next season.
Sticking with Western Conference defensemen, Jake Walman of the Edmonton Oilers was a colossal disaster after signing his seven-year, $49MM extension with the team. The 30-year-old had been terrific after a trade from the San Jose Sharks, but after signing his extension in October, Walman began to struggle and never returned to his form for most of the season. Walman’s signing was made because Oilers management believed he was a good fit for the team’s style, with his solid first pass and heavy shot. But many of the warts in Walman’s game became evident as the season went on. He isn’t physical, he turns the puck over too much, and he doesn’t play a full season. These issues aren’t exactly unique, but for a player being signed to a $7MM AAV, you’d hope he would give you more than 21 points a season, something Walman has done just once in his NHL career. A big issue for the Oilers and Walman is that his contract will take him from his age 30-37 seasons, and at this point he is a finished product. It’s clear Edmonton overpaid to retain his services.
Moving up front, the Winnipeg Jets were quick to re-sign their captain Adam Lowry to a five-year, $25MM contract extension in late November. The deal looked fine at the time, though there were concerns about his age, as he was 32 at the time of signing, and five years is a long time for a player who plays the way he does. Lowry remains a solid shutdown center who can skate, outwork his opponents, and tilt the ice in the Jets’ favor. But given his age and style of play, it’s fair to wonder how much longer he can serve as a Jets top-nine center before his body breaks down and he is relegated to fourth-line duties. It’s a tough spot for Winnipeg because Lowry is a heart-and-soul player, but five years for him is a long time, and it’s a contract the Jets would probably like to renegotiate. Given the history with Lowry, the Jets would no doubt love to keep him in the fold, but at a lower cap rate.
Another late-October extension (two years, $12MM) was New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who had a decent first season with the Devils but was awful in his second year. The timing of this one was particularly peculiar, as Markstrom was off to a very slow start in October 2025, posting a 5.13 GAA and a .830 SV% in just four appearances. He was also coming off a lower-body injury and was 35 years old at the time, making the timing of the signing even stranger. Obviously, the Devils were concerned he might go on a heater and raise the price tag, but that never happened as Markstrom struggled through much of the year, finishing with a 3.07 GAA and a .883 SV%. Those numbers are clearly concerning, but the silver lining is that Markstrom has a history of struggling through a season and bouncing back the following year to get into Vezina Trophy contention, so a bounce-back season in 2026-27 can’t be discounted. However, for now the Devils must be looking at Markstrom’s $6MM AAV and wondering how much lower the number could have been or whether they should have gone in a different direction.
Finally, we have Detroit Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot, who inked a three-year extension this past January worth $3.85MM per season. The 35-year-old has his strengths, as he is reasonably good at skating and can move the puck. He’s also incredibly physical, playing on the edge much of the time and displaying a high level of orneriness in the defensive zone. But that is where his strengths wear off, and his weaknesses are becoming more glaring as he ages. Chiarot has been a drain on whoever he is paired with, particularly on the possession front, and he has posted the worst Wins Above Replacement score for two consecutive regular seasons (as per hockeystats.com). Chiarot can still be an effective defenseman in the NHL, but not in the top four, and that’s where Detroit may need to deploy him once again next season.
None of these contracts are going to be especially crippling to a team, but they do show how quickly the shine can wear off a high-priced extension and how much pressure teams are under to extend their players, thanks to a rising salary cap and many teams’ possession of additional cap space, chasing a few available players.
Genborg Released From ATO With Griffins
- Red Wings prospect Eddie Genborg has been released from his ATO with AHL Grand Rapids, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 19-year-old spent this season with SHL Timra, picking up 25 points in 43 games and then joined the Griffins in March after signing his entry-level deal. A 2025 second-round pick, Genborg played in 13 games during the regular season for them, picking up a goal and two assists while suiting up a couple of weeks ago for one playoff contest. However, he sustained an injury and hadn’t played since. Now, his season has come to an end and he will likely return to Grand Rapids for the 2026-27 campaign.
Raymond Added To Sweden's Roster For Worlds
- Canucks winger Nils Hoglander was expected to play for Sweden at the upcoming World Championship. However, that’s no longer the case as their federation announced (Twitter link) that Hoglander is withdrawing from the roster due to injury and will be replaced by Red Wings winger Lucas Raymond. Injuries were the theme of the year for Hoglander, who was limited to just 38 games. He struggled considerably in those outings, notching just two goals and three assists and was undoubtedly hoping to use this tournament as a springboard to his offseason. Meanwhile, Raymond’s addition is a big one for the Swedes. He surpassed the 70-point mark for the third straight year, notching 25 goals and 51 assists in 80 games.
Travis Hamonic Unlikely To Be Re-Signed By Detroit
- “It looks like” veteran defenseman Travis Hamonic‘s “time in Detroit is over,” writes Max Bultman of The Athletic. The 35-year-old defenseman, who has 926 career NHL games on his record, only got into 26 contests for Detroit after signing a UFA deal with the team last summer. Hamonic was squeezed out of head coach Todd McLellan’s lineup in large part due to the emergence of Axel Sandin Pellikka, a rookie who is among the Red Wings’ top prospects. When he did play, Hamonic averaged just 14:22 time on ice per game, the lowest mark of any Red Wings blueliner, and a solid step below where he was last season. (He averaged 17:04 time on ice per game as a Senator in 2024-25.) If Hamonic wants to continue his NHL career and make a push towards getting his 1,000th game, he’ll likely need to do so by signing with another team.
Red Wings Could Trade J.T. Compher, Michael Rasmussen
Extending their playoff drought to 10 years this season, there are plenty of changes expected for the Detroit Red Wings this summer, particularly to the team’s bottom-six. Outside of letting a few of their pending unrestricted free agents walk, Max Bultman of The Athletic argues that J.T. Compher and Michael Rasmussen are candidates to be traded this summer.
Compher, 31, will be entering year four of a five-year, $25.5MM contract signed in Detroit ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. The Red Wings had already signed Andrew Copp the previous offseason, but he hadn’t (and still hasn’t by many metrics) become the second-line center that Detroit believed he would be.
At the time, the thought process was that Compher would continue his upward trajectory. He was coming off a solid year with the Colorado Avalanche, scoring 17 goals and 52 points in 82 games with a 48.8% success rate in the faceoff dot. Some will argue that since the Avalanche lost Nazem Kadri the year before, Compher was moved to the top six in Colorado based on circumstance and benefited from having stronger wingers next to him.
Nevertheless, that’s not necessarily accurate. The Avalanche faced numerous injuries during the 2022-23 season, leading to a fluid lineup on most nights. Still, Compher spent most of the year next to Andrew Cogliano and Logan O’Connor, not necessarily All-Star candidates.
He had a strong start to his tenure in Detroit, scoring 19 goals and 48 points in 77 games with a -5 rating, averaging 19:23 of ice time. However, since then, he has been absent on most nights, scoring 22 goals and 60 points in 158 games with a -20 rating, averaging 16:09 of ice time. He has a relatively solid 48.0% faceoff rate in that stretch, and starts most of his shifts in the defensive zone.
Meanwhile, Rasmussen has had a similar trajectory. He topped out with a 13-goal, 33-point performance in 75 games during the 2023-24 season, but hasn’t gotten close since. In the last two years, the former ninth overall selection has registered 17 goals and 35 points in 141 games, usually playing on Detroit’s third line.
Standing at 6’6″, 222 lbs, Rasmussen is definitely a big body to have toward the bottom of the forward corps, but has not turned into the reliable power forward the Red Wings thought he would become when they drafted him. He doesn’t have the defensive metrics to warrant him playing in big situations, and if he isn’t scoring 15-20 goals a year, there’s no real point to having him in the lineup on a nightly basis. Like Compher, Rasmussen is signed for the next two years, albeit for a smaller $3.2MM cap hit.
As to what the Red Wings will target is anyone’s guess. Compher does have some trade protection (10-team no-trade list), but it’s not an insurmountable hurdle. If Detroit’s primary goal is to unload contracts and replace them with younger players, the Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, and Vancouver Canucks may be interested in enhancing their bottom-six in the short term. However, the Devils would face significant financial constraints.
Additionally, the Red Wings could package both in a larger trade, along with other assets such as a prospect or two and their 2027 first-round pick, for a much larger splash. It’s not uncommon for teams to attach a veteran (Compher), a flyer (Rasmussen), and a prospect plus draft capital to get a trade over the line.
Latest On Red Wings Offseason Plans
It’s safe to say that the Detroit Red Wings finish fell well short of expectations. Even for Steve Yzerman loyalists, this season felt different. Instead of fighting for a playoff spot until the last few days of the regular season like the last two years, the Red Wings were squarely in a playoff position before the team rolled over and died.
This has sparked intense speculation about what Detroit’s offseason will entail and whether Yzerman can guide this team to its goals. In a wide-ranging piece on The Athletic, Max Bultman broke down Yzerman’s end-of-season media availability and what it could indicate about the Red Wings’ offseason.
There’s no question that Detroit needs to add more goal-scoring. The Red Wings finished 30th in the league in even-strength scoring, which isn’t conducive to playoff eligibility. It’s a similar problem to last season, when Detroit finished 28th in the category. There will be some options on the free agent market to help with this issue, such as Anthony Mantha of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Tuch of the Buffalo Sabres.
It seems that Yzerman is keenly aware of this issue. Bultman quoted the franchise legend, saying, “We need to change some things. But (we’re) not just gonna go and get rid of everyone. But there needs to be some very blunt conversations with some of our players, and challenge them to do more and be better to get there. But ultimately, again, we need to surround them with more talent. And having said that, we still need more from some of our very key players.”
Additionally, Yzerman noted that the bottom six of the team’s forward corps need an identity change. Bultman shared another quote, saying, “So, I’d like to see us — in our bottom six, we need some production as well, and also to have some definition. Maybe a true checking line or shutdown line, and then depending on what you have in your top nine, you build your fourth line a little bit around that. If you don’t have enough production, then you’ve got to get some production on that fourth line. If you’re not big enough and hard enough or whatnot, then you need that. And truthfully, we need a little bit of all of that.”
Some of that has to do with the fact that Todd McLellan used so many different line combinations this season. He was doing his best to find a spark, but of the 10 combinations that skated in 80 or more minutes together this season, the top two lines were the only two that remained intact for much of the season.
Heading into the offseason, Yzerman can easily let aging veterans David Perron and James van Riemsdyk exit free agency or retirement. However, other players such as J.T. Compher, Michael Rasmussen, and Mason Appleton did not perform particularly well and should be traded if possible. Due to their contracts, it won’t be easy, but Yzerman may have to get more aggressive than he typically operates to apply the necessary remedies to Detroit’s issues.
Why Has The Steve Yzerman Era Been A Failure?
When Steve Yzerman rejoined the Red Wings in 2019 and began a rebuild in the Motor City, many wondered how long it would take the NHL Hall-of-Famer to build a powerhouse like the one he’d built for the Lightning. Some seven years into that tenure, the questions within the organization have shifted, and one narrative has become clear. Yzerman’s plan has been a colossal disaster thus far, raising the question of how much more time he will get to turn around a Red Wings team that hasn’t been in the playoffs in a decade.
It’s not as though Yzerman hasn’t built decent teams. The Red Wings have been competitive in the Eastern Conference over the past handful of seasons but haven’t made the postseason, despite being in a position to secure a playoff spot. This year, the Red Wings spent most of the season in a playoff spot, only to fall apart at the end and miss by just a few points. This pattern repeated in previous years as well. So, what happened, and what needs to happen next?
When Yzerman took over, he did a terrific job pivoting to a rebuild and trading roster players for future assets. The Anthony Mantha trade with Washington in 2021 was a home run, acquiring Jakub Vrána, a first-round pick, and a second-round pick. He also made the 2023 Tyler Bertuzzi trade, which brought in another first-round pick, and the Filip Hronek trade with Vancouver, which brought in an additional first- and second-round pick.
The Hronek trade didn’t work out well for Detroit, but it was an okay move given where the team was. Not long after, Detroit acquired forward Alex DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators, a move that suggested Yzerman felt the team was ready to move from rebuilding to trying to win now.
He also did well to identify core players to build around through trades and the draft, before locking them into reasonable long-term deals. Dylan Larkin, Moritz Seider, and Lucas Raymond are all signed to solid long-term contracts, with Seider and Raymond being Yzerman draft picks. Overall, it’s hard to find fault with Yzerman’s early work, as he laid a solid foundation to build on.
Where Yzerman has gone wrong is in his pursuit of veteran talent to insulate his younger stars; and to say he’s gone wrong is putting it very kindly. Yzerman has failed at almost every turn in his attempts to acquire veteran players, both in trades and in free agency.
The summer of 2022 was an especially egregious period for the Red Wings’ salary-cap structure, as Yzerman signed defenseman Ben Chiarot and forward Andrew Copp to bloated multi-year deals that have been awful value for Detroit. Chiarot received a four-year deal worth $4.75MM per year, which was a lot of money for a defenseman who generally makes his defense partners worse and is constantly on the wrong end of the possession game. Chiarot had his strengths, too, but given how he’d fared in his career when asked to do too much, it was inevitable that the results wouldn’t be good in Detroit.
Copp, on the other hand, signed a five-year deal worth $5.625MM annually and came to Detroit with a lot of promise and versatility. However, he had only one season with over 20 goals and 50 points, so expecting him to be a consistent offensive contributor was too high a bar for Copp, which is part of why his run has been disappointing for Red Wings fans. The issue was ultimately that Copp was paid to be a top-six forward, but he slots better as a middle-six option.
Yzerman’s poor work in free agency continued in 2023 when he signed UFA defenseman Justin Holl to a three-year deal worth $10.2MM, which proved disastrous for Detroit. Holl recorded two goals and 11 assists in 111 games as a member of the Red Wings and had to be dealt to St. Louis at the deadline as part of the Justin Faulk trade.
The Holl signing, and even the Faulk trade to a lesser degree, highlight a major flaw in Yzerman’s building strategy, as he has consistently tried to patch together his defense core with veteran players who don’t move particularly well and are on the backside of their careers. Chiarot, Faulk, Holl, and especially Jeff Petry all highlight this issue. In fact, Yzerman’s moves on his backend could be the ultimate undoing of his tenure in Detroit, as he has sent Jake Walman and Hronek out the door and essentially replaced them with Chiarot and company.
The Walman sequence was an especially curious error. Walman was dealt to San Jose along with a second-round pick, only to be traded less than a year later by the Sharks to Edmonton for a first-round pick. The move gift-wrapped two premium draft picks for the Sharks, who paid 50 games’ worth of Walman’s $3.4MM contract in exchange for them. Edmonton eventually signed Walman to a regrettable seven-year extension, but the real loser in the sequence of events was Detroit, which traded Walman along with an asset only to see him traded for an asset. The Walman trade tree is a real indictment of Yzerman and company’s pro scouting, which has failed Detroit in free agency too often.
The defensive contraction and the free agency failures have been Yzerman’s downfall thus far in Detroit, and even though he has won many of the trades he’s made, he hasn’t been able to undo some of the damage he’s done in the summertime and now the Red Wings are at a crossroads where many teams who never rebuilt (Washington and Pittsburgh) have lapped them, even though Detroit went through a long painful rebuild.
Red Wings Sign John Leonard To One-Year Extension
The Detroit Red Wings announced that forward John Leonard has inked a one-year contract extension worth $850k, as he’ll avoid unrestricted free agency this summer.
A 27-year-old with 81 NHL games under his belt, the news won’t do much to ease tension within Detroit’s fan base, after another season short of the postseason, which ended with a surprising 8-1 defeat last night. Regardless, Leonard’s scoring touch has played a huge part in their AHL club, the Grand Rapids Griffins’ spectacular campaign, where they’ve posted a 50-15-4 record, good for second behind the Providence Bruins.
Selected in the sixth round by the Sharks in 2018, Leonard was quickly injected into the San Jose lineup right out of college, playing 44 games in his first professional season six years ago. A top collegiate scorer and Hobey Baker finalist with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, expectations were high. The hope was that the club had snagged a draft steal to supplement a core still in the Logan Couture/Brent Burns era.
Understandably unable to make much offensive impact as a raw rookie receiving limited ice time, Leonard still posted a respectable 48.1% corsi for at five-on-five. That number fell drastically the next year, and as a result, the New Jersey native spent more time in the AHL.
Catching on with the Nashville Predators organization in 2022, Leonard spent most of that campaign with the Milwaukee Admirals, ranking second in team scoring with 44 points in 67 games. He then made stops with the Coyotes, as well as the Charlotte Checkers, breaking out with an eye-popping 36 goals in 72 AHL games with the Checkers in 2024-25, tied for second in the league that year.
The efforts caught the attention of the Red Wings last summer, who quickly scooped him up on July 1 with a one-year contract worth $775k. Leonard has made the most of his presence in Grand Rapids, further solidifying himself as an elite AHLer, where he buried 32 goals in just 46 games, fourth best in the league despite his counterparts playing as many as 20 games more.
First called up in mid-December, Leonard quickly provided a spark with four points in his first six games as a Wing. A role catered to his offensive skill set was harder to find with the roster at full health however, and he was held off the score sheet in his five remaining games with the big club this season.
With veteran forwards James Van Riemsdyk and David Perron‘s contracts set to expire, Leonard should have an opportunity to hold down a full-time NHL role next fall. Even if it’s not meant to be, the winger will continue to be a huge piece in Grand Rapids, capable of spot-call-up duty whenever needed.
Minor Transactions: 4/16/2026
The wave of minor-league assignments is continuing with the NHL regular season nearly completed. Pro Hockey Rumors will continue to track the movement around the AHL in the latest minor transactions tracker:
- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled goalie prospect Carson Bjarnason in preperation for their first round matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Bjarnason will serve as a black ace with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms eliminated from playoff contention. Bjarnason recorded 14 wins and a .887 save percentage in 32 AHL games this season. He also split results, and recorded a .881 save percentage, in two ECHL games. This was Bjarnason’s first year of professional hockey after four seasons with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. The 20 year old recorded a .903 save percentage across 156 career games in the WHL.
- The Colorado Avalanche are also padding their room of black aces, recalling forwards Alex Barre-Boulet and Jason Polin. Both players spent the bulk of their year in the AHL. Barre-Boulet led the Colorado Eagles with 26 goals and 70 points in 69 games – and added one assist in the only NHL game of his season. Polin was slightly less productive, with 21 points in 45 AHL games and no scoring in three NHL games. The duo will offer forward depth behind an Avalanche squad that has rotated through injuries this season.
- Forward Cole O’Hara could make his NHL debut in the Nashville Predators’ season finale. The 23 year old has been called up after leading the Milwaukee Admirals in goals (19) and ranking fourth in points (44) through 65 games this season. This was also O’Hara’s first pro season after three years at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He had a breakout season last year, netting 22 goals and 51 points in 40 games – 33 more points than he managed in 37 games of the 2023-24 season. O’Hara kept that scoring up through his rookie season in the AHL and could now get a chance to score against NHL talent.
- Headed back to the minors is goaltender Brandon Halverson, who recently helped the Tampa Bay Lightning respond to Jonas Johansson‘s short-term injury. Halverson recorded one loss and a .810 save percentage in 57 minutes – and two games – of NHL action this season. He started for the Syracuse Crunch for much of the year and recorded 24 wins and a .906 save percentage in 42 AHL games. He’ll now return to his post to help Syracuse keep up their strong play into the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Calgar Flames have also called up a goaltender. Prospect Arsenii Sergeev is on the NHL roster under emergency conditions with Devin Cooley set to miss Calgary’s season finale due to illness. Sergeev will make his NHL debut in game 82. The 24 year old recorded five wins and a .898 save percentage in 28 AHL games this season. He also split results, and recorded a .922 save percentage, in 12 ECHL games. Sergeev was a strong starter in college, recording save percentages north of .910 in two seasons with the University of Connecticut and one season at Pennsylvania State University. Thursday could be the bright side to a quiet season for the first-year pro.
- Top Edmonton Oilers prospect Isaac Howard has been loaned to the AHL. He will support the Bakersfield Condors’ push in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Howard scored 22 goals and 47 points in 45 AHL games this season. He ranked second in goals on Bakersfield and was the only Condor to score above a point-per-game pace this season. Howard also scored five points in the first 29 games of his NHL career this season. The 2025 Hobey Baker Award winner is also a first-year pro and should fill a substantial role in the AHL postseason.
- The Washington Capitals have assigned 2025 second-round pick Milton Gastrin to the AHL following the end of his season in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan. Gastrin racked up 10 goals and 24 points in 39 games in Sweden’s second-tier pro league and added four more points in 13 playoff games. He scored 42 points in 40 games in Sweden’s U20 league in the 2024-25 season. The bulky Gastrin should bring a boost of forechecking pressure and playmaking ability to the Hershey Bears lineup just in time for their perennial run into the postseason.
- A cohort of top prospects is headed to the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Detroit Red Wings have assigned Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Carter Mazur, Axel Sandin Pellikka, and Dominik Shine to the minor leagues. Brandsegg-Nygard finished the year third on the Griffins in scoring with 44 points in 58 games. He added one assist in 14 NHL games. Shine finished the year with 37 points in 38 AHL games and three points in 18 NHL games. Mazur was also a point-per-game player in the minors, with 15 points in 14 AHL games – but no scoring in eight NHL appearances. Of the bunch, Sandin-Pellikka was the only to play the bulk of his year in the NHL. He scored 21 points in 68 games of his first season in North America. The quartet should each assume top-end roles on a Griffins lineup that has added a substantial amount of talent late in the season.