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Islanders Sign Maxim Shabanov

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The New York Islanders have announced they’ve signed KHL forward Maxim Shabanov to a one-year, entry-level contract. The deal was first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, and confirmed by Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. Rosner adds that the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers were also among Shabanov’s finalists, before deciding on the Islanders. The contract will carry a $975,000 cap hit and maximum bonuses – valued at $3.5MM – per NHL.com’s Kevin Weekes.

Shabanov, 24, will follow in the footsteps of top Islanders’ rookie Maxim Tsyplakov, who posted 10 goals and 35 points in 77 games this season after seven seasons in the KHL. Shabanov has three full years of KHL experience to his name, though he’s found a way to emerge as one of his team’s top forwards in each year. He scored 23 goals and 67 points in 65 games with HC Traktor this season, good for the third-most points in the entire league. He then added an additional 20 points, split evenly, in 21 postseason appearances as Traktor charged towards a championship runner-up finish.

It was a red-hot performance for the young winger, after he broke out with 25 goals and 50 points in 64 games last season. That performance was itself a stark increase from the 18 goals and 31 points that Shabanov managed as a KHL rookie in 2022-23. Three years of production have made Shabanov one of the top young forwards. In fact, his 150 points in 207 career KHL games is the ninth-most a player has scored prior to their 25th birthday. He ranks just ahead of Vadim Shipachyov, and just behind New Jersey Devils forward Arseni Gritsyuk.

Shabanov is a flashy, high-speed forward with a knack for finding ways to get involved in the offense. He was among Traktor’s biggest drivers through the neutral zone this season, and consistently found ways to crash the net on or off of the puck. He’s got a strong shot, nifty hands, and a creative ability to set up plays that should all yield interesting offensive upside at the NHL level. He could be held back by a slight, 5-foot-8 frame — a knock that likely excluded him from much NHL draft consideration during his years of eligibility in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Shabanov should slot into the Islanders’ third-line left-wing role to start his NHL career. He could also be a candidate to man a right-wing role, should it better fit New York’s deployment of Anthony Duclair and newcomer Jonathan Drouin. He could even fit on the opposite wing to Tsyplakov. The two young Russians have never appeared in league play together.

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.

Morning Notes: McDavid, Hertl, Kostin

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Yesterday evening, TSN’s Ryan Rishaug gave a brief update on contract extension negotiations between Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. Rishaug shared that General Manager Stan Bowman and team President and CEO Jeff Jackson are in Ontario to meet with McDavid’s agent, Judd Moldaver, to begin informal negotiations.

This week’s negotiations will reportedly focus on ’big picture’ issues, as the two sides are not close to exchanging numbers. The talks are expected to last well into the summer months and may not be solidified until closer to training camp, similarly to Leon Draisaitl’s recent extension.

Last week, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported that McDavid was in no rush to sign an eight-year extension with the Oilers, hinting toward a contract similar to Auston Matthews’ with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the perceived driver’s seat for the negotiations, a shorter-term contract would allow McDavid to pursue other options if the Oilers fail to capitalize on their Stanley Cup contention window.

Other morning notes:

  • Yesterday morning, there was some loose speculation that the Vegas Golden Knights were in trade discussions with the Carolina Hurricanes over forward Tomáš Hertl, which could be completed by the end of the weekend. Without any solid reporting on the situation, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff refuted the talks. He stated on yesterday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live that he found no evidence suggesting Vegas is looking to trade Hertl. Although the Golden Knights are aiming to free up salary cap space, Hertl possesses significantly more trade protection than other candidates, like William Karlsson or Ivan Barbashev, which makes moving him objectively more challenging.
  • With the salary cap increasing, there will be significantly fewer non-tender candidates this summer. One player expected to depart is from the San Jose Sharks, as Seravalli reports that Klim Kostin will likely not receive a qualifying offer from the team. Shortly after, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News shared that instead of seeking another NHL opportunity, Kostin is expected to take his talents to the KHL with Avangard Omsk. Kostin last played for Omsk back during the 2020-21 season on loan, scoring seven goals and 18 points in 43 contests.

International Notes: Petan, Heatherington, Wilson, Keeper

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Longtime NHL and AHL depth piece Nic Petan is coming off his first season overseas in 2024-25. While the 30-year-old won’t be staying with Russia’s Ak Bars Kazan, with whom he produced 44 points in 47 games, he isn’t making an NHL return, either. He’s staying on the other side of the Atlantic after Swiss club HC Ambrì-Piotta announced Monday they’ve signed him to a two-year contract.

Many would ask how a player with 120 points in 71 WHL games in their draft year wasn’t a first-round pick. It appeared that NHL teams were onto something. While the 2013 second-rounder has gone on to become an elite minor-league scorer, his lack of size (5’9″, 174 lbs) ended up proving prohibitive in making him a full-time NHLer. While Petan has recorded 35 points in 170 NHL games with four clubs in parts of nine seasons, he has only topped 20 games in a season twice and big-league opportunities were becoming increasingly few and far between for him over the past few years.

After appearing in just six games with the Wild in the 2023-24 season and not receiving a call-up after the Rangers acquired him before the trade deadline, Petan opted for more stability overseas following a nine-year pro career that saw him log NHL and AHL time each season. The move to Switzerland is somewhat closer to “home” – while Petan was born in British Columbia, he also holds Italian citizenship and will now play in an Italian-speaking region of the country.

Petan, 30, joins ex-NHLers Christopher DiDomenico, Tim Heed, Gilles Senn, and Chris Tierney on Ambrì-Piotta’s roster for 2025-26. The club finished 10th in the National League this past season, continuing a run of top-league appearances that began with their promotion from the NLB (now called the Swiss League) in 1985.

There’s more international news to pass along:

  • Former NHL defenseman Dillon Heatherington has signed a two-year contract with EHC Munich of Germany’s DEL, the club announced. It marks the 30-year-old lefty’s second time playing overseas after spending the 2020-21 season in Kazakhstan with Barys Nur-Sultan (now Barys Astana) of the Kontinental Hockey League. The former second-round pick of the Blue Jackets played this past season on an AHL contract in San Diego, serving as an alternate captain for the Ducks’ top minor-league affiliate while recording seven points and a minus-three rating in 59 games. He last appeared in the NHL with the Senators, playing three games in the 2022-23 season.
  • Forward Scott Wilson, a member of the Penguins’ 2017 Stanley Cup championship team, has signed a two-year deal with the KHL’s Sibir Novosibirsk, the league relayed. The 33-year-old has played exclusively in Russia since his last North American contract, an AHL deal in the Panthers organization, expired in 2022. He’s put up a 53-46–99 scoring line in 164 KHL games with Vityaz Moscow Region, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, and Salavat Yulaev Ufa over the past three years.
  • 29-year-old defenseman Brady Keeper has agreed to a one-year deal with the Glasgow Clan of the United Kingdom’s Elite Ice Hockey League. The 6’2″ righty did not play in 2024-25 after recording four points in 22 games the prior season with AHL Laval while on a two-way deal with the Canadiens. The Manitoba native played two regular-season games and one playoff game for the Panthers between 2019 and 2021.

Bruins’ Daniil Misyul Signs With KHL’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

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Bruins pending RFA defenseman Daniil Misyul has opted to return to his native Russia for the 2025-26 season. He’s signed a one-year deal with the Kontinental Hockey League’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, per a league release. Boston can retain Misyul’s NHL rights through 2027-28 if they issue him a qualifying offer by the June 30 deadline.

Misyul did not appear in an NHL game for the Bruins after being acquired from the Devils in exchange for depth forward Marc McLaughlin at the trade deadline. He played out the season with AHL Providence, recording a goal, 27 PIMs, and a minus-two rating in 11 appearances. He totaled a 1-8–9 scoring line with a -10 rating in 58 AHL games on the year across Providence and Utica.

A third-round pick by the Devils in 2019, Misyul just completed the two-year, entry-level contract he signed with New Jersey in 2023. The 6’3″, 196-lb lefty made his NHL debut for New Jersey this season before the trade. He logged a minus-one rating, one shot attempt, one block, and one hit in 12:23 of ice time in an 8-5 loss to the Lightning on Oct. 22.

The Belarus native had spent his entire professional career in Russia with Lokomotiv before coming to North America two years ago. He recorded 21 points and a +28 rating in 184 games with the club throughout five seasons and won a silver medal with Russia back at the 2020 World Juniors. Yaroslavl is coming off its first Gagarin Cup title and first championship since winning the Russian Superleague in 2003. Their 2025-26 roster includes former NHLers Byron Froese, Mac Hollowell, Alexei Melnichuk, Alexander Radulov, and Alexander Yelesin in addition to Predators 2024 first-round pick Yegor Surin.

Chris Driedger Signs With KHL’s Traktor Chelyabinsk

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Pending UFA goaltender Chris Driedger signed a one-year contract with Russia’s Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League on Tuesday, per a team release.

Driedger, 31, didn’t see NHL ice in 2024-25 for the second time in three seasons. The longtime No. 2/3 netminder was signed by the Panthers last offseason, his second tour of duty with the club, to serve as an insurance option behind backup Spencer Knight. He wasn’t needed due to the young netminder’s emergence, and even though Florida traded Knight to the Blackhawks in the Seth Jones deal, they acquired Vítek Vaněček from the Sharks to be their new backup shortly thereafter and didn’t need Driedger’s services. They then sent him to the Jets for Kaapo Kähkönen in a swap of experienced third-stringers at the trade deadline.

Between Florida’s and Winnipeg’s AHL affiliates, the Charlotte Checkers and Manitoba Moose, Driedger logged a highly underwhelming 3.03 GAA and .877 SV% with an 11-9-4 record in 25 appearances. It was the worst save percentage he’d put up over that large a sample of his entire career, both professional and junior. It’s unsurprising to see the 6’4″ netminder head overseas in search of career and financial stability as a result with an NHL offer far from guaranteed this summer.

For a brief period, Driedger was one of the better backups in the league. During his first stint with the Panthers, he had a 21-8-4 record, .931 SV%, 2.07 GAA, and four shutouts in 35 appearances in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. While he was set to be an unrestricted free agent the following summer, the Kraken selected his signing rights in their expansion draft and promptly signed him to a three-year, $10.5MM deal. He dealt with frequent injuries in his first year though, and after managing a .899 SV% in 27 games in Seattle’s first season, he had ACL surgery that robbed him of most of the 2022-23 campaign. Upon returning, he was played almost exclusively with the Kraken’s AHL affiliate in Coachella Valley.

The Winnipeg native’s NHL career is now likely behind him. If that’s the case, the 2012 third-rounder wraps it up with 67 games to his name, during which he posted a 31-24-5 record, five shutouts, a 2.45 GAA, .917 SV%, and saved 16.0 goals above average. He also has a .910 SV% in 217 AHL games across 10 seasons.

Driedger will likely form a platoon in Chelyabinsk with 25-year-old Sergei Mylnikov, who posted a .920 SV% in 21 games for Traktor last year. Driedger is the replacement in Chelyabinsk for former NHLer Zachary Fucale, who spent the last two seasons with the club and led the KHL with nine shutouts this year but signed a two-year contract with Belarusian side Dinamo Minsk earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the Jets will look to add a different veteran depth option behind Connor Hellebuyck and Eric Comrie for 2025-26. They have youngsters Thomas Milic and Domenic DiVincentiis under NHL contract next year, but neither has the track record to confidently be penciled in as a No. 3 option/AHL starter.

Hurricanes Expected To Sign Stanislav Yarovoi

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The Hurricanes appear to be closing in on a contract with one of their 2023 draft picks.  Championat’s Anton Nekrasov reports that Carolina is close to signing winger Stanislav Yarovoi to an entry-level deal.

The 21-year-old was a late fourth-round selection, going 126th overall.  However, he’ll turn 22 before September 15th meaning that his contract should be a two-year agreement if and when he signs.

Yarovoi’s offensive numbers don’t exactly jump off the charts.  In his draft year, he had nine goals and seven assists with Vityaz Moscow of the KHL and he hasn’t reached that plateau since then at the top level in Russia.  He also had a dozen points in five junior-level games that year.

This season, he played in 49 games with Vityaz, tallying nine goals along with just three helpers.  His playing time was down a bit from 2023-24 as he logged 13:16 per night of playing time.

Heading into the 2023 draft, Yarovoi was noted for bringing some above-average defensive elements to his game, traits that should endear him to Carolina’s coaches as the checking gets a little tighter in North America.  Assuming a contract gets done, Yarovoi seems unlikely to crack the roster of the Hurricanes right away which would make him a candidate to start with AHL Chicago.  However, we often see Russian prospects get European Assignment Clauses to allow them to play at home a little longer so that could potentially be on the table as well.

Hurricanes Linked To Amir Miftakhov

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With veterans Dustin Tokarski and Spencer Martin set to be unrestricted free agents next month, the Hurricanes are expected to make a move to add some depth at the goaltending position.  That move could be coming soon as Championat’s Rustam Imanov reports that netminder Amir Miftakhov has rejected extension offers from KHL Ak Bars Kazan and is in the final stages of talks with Carolina about a contract for the upcoming season.

The 25-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2020, going 186th overall.  He signed an entry-level deal with them the following year and split the 2021-22 season between AHL Syracuse (22 games) and ECHL Orlando (five appearances).  However, Miftakhov wanted to return home instead of staying in the minors and had the final two years of his contract terminated in July 2022.

Since then, Miftakhov has played in the KHL.  This past season, he played in 30 games with Kazan, posting a strong 2.18 GAA and a .927 SV% along the way.  Those were largely in line with his career numbers of a 2.19 GAA and a .922 SV% in 82 outings over parts of five seasons at that level.

While that performance probably isn’t going to be enough to give him a shot at a full-time spot with the Hurricanes (assuming a deal gets finalized), it could give him a chance to be the starter at AHL Chicago, putting him in line to be the first goalie recalled if injuries arise to Frederik Andersen or Pyotr Kochetkov.  It appears that opportunity might be enough for Miftakhov to give playing in North America another shot.

Metropolitan Notes: Orlov, Flyers, Hollowell

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The expectation is that Hurricanes defenseman Dmitry Orlov will test the open market next month, reports Pierre LeBrun in his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link).  The 33-year-old was somewhat of a surprise signing two years ago when he joined Carolina, eschewing a longer-term offer to accept a two-year, $15.5MM deal, one that was above-market at the time.  Orlov averaged 20 minutes a game this season while chipping in with six goals and 22 assists, making it nine straight years that he has eclipsed the 20-point mark.  While he likely won’t beat his most recent price tag, he should generate some strong interest in free agency.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • While the Flyers have been suggested as a possible team interested in Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) word from a team source that this is not the case. Hague is a pending restricted free agent and with the expectation that he’ll be looking for a fair bit more than his $2.7MM qualifying offer, he has become a speculative trade candidate.  Philadelphia already has four left-shot blueliners signed for next season with Cameron York, another lefty, becoming a restricted free agent next month.
  • Pending UFA defenseman Mac Hollowell won’t be hitting the open market to see what North American options he might have. Instead, the 26-year-old has signed with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL, the league announced.  Hollowell has been a productive player in the minors but outside of six appearances with Toronto in 2022-23, his NHL opportunities have been limited so he’ll try his hand overseas now.  He had a goal and 30 assists in 56 games with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season after a 44-point showing with Hartford in 2023-24.

Penguins’ Vasiliy Ponomarev Signs In KHL

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June 11: As expected, Ponomarev has indeed signed in the KHL after Avangard Omsk acquired his rights.  The team announced on its Telegram account that they’ve signed him to a three-year contract.  Ponomarev will still be RFA-eligible at the end of the contract so as long as he’s tendered a qualifying offer at the end of this month, Pittsburgh will still hold his NHL rights.

June 6: The Pittsburgh Penguins could soon lose a promising young winger. 23-year-old Vasiliy Ponomarev is expected to sign in the KHL after not being guaranteed NHL playing time next season from Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas, shares Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now. Dubas adds that Ponomarev has switched his Russian representation and is in the midst of working out a KHL deal. The GM also added that Pittsburgh will issue a qualifying offer to the young forward, and thus will retain his rights for the duration of his European stay.

Ponomarev’s KHL rights were traded to Avangard Omsk on Wednesday. He made his pro debut in the Moscow Spartak pipeline in 2021-22, stepping into 14 KHL games and recording two points with the club. He also appeared in 21 games in the VHL – Russia’s second-tier pro league – that season and scored 13 points. It was all a part of Ponomarev’s brief return to Russian hockey after he was drafted out of Canada’s QMJHL in 2020. He returned to America at the tail end of the 2021-22 campaign, and spent his first 29 AHL games supporting the Chicago Wolves in a push to the Calder Cup championship. He scored 16 points in those appearances.

Ponomarev kept the good times rolling in his first full season in the AHL, netting 24 goals and 46 points in 64 games with the Wolves – and adding one goal and one assist in his the first two NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes. But the Hurricanes ultimately opted against the gritty Russian – and loaned him to the Tuscon Roadrunners, then traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins, partway through the 2023-24 campaign. Ponomarev has since appeared in 59 games with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he’s recorded 16 goals and 42 points. He also appeared in seven games in the NHL lineup this season, but didn’t manage any scoring.

At 23 and with a history of international travel between seasons, news of a return to the KHL won’t entirely rule out Ponomarev’s chances at playing full-time for the Penguins one day. He’s been a productive and physical forward at the AHL levels, but has so far received minimal opportunity to do the same in the NHL. A move back to Russia will mark a chance to play in a league somewhere between North America’s pros – and a chance for Ponomarev to prove he can be a top-end center on a productive pro club.

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