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Minor Transactions: 11/03/2025

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It’s not a hugely packed day on the NHL schedule, with just four games on the docket. That’s also the case outside of the NHL, where most European pro leagues aren’t playing and the AHL has just one contest – a game between the Manitoba Moose, the affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets, and the Texas Stars who are the affiliate of the Dallas Stars. What has been active today, though, even without many games to be played, has been player movement outside of the NHL. There are quite a few transactions to go over from the wider world of professional hockey, so we’ll recap all the notable moves here:

  • Veteran goalie Louis Domingue, a longtime NHL backup or organizational third goalie, left KHL side Sibir Novosibirsk after just 11 games played. Per a translated copy of the team’s official announcement, Novosibirsk cited “family reasons” as the reason for Domingue’s release. The 33-year-old goalie, who has played in 144 games over the course of his NHL career, signed in Russia in July, marking his first entry into the European pro hockey circuit. His adjustment to the KHL game did not go well, as he posted an 0-9-0 record with an .892 save percentage and 3.83 goals-against average. Domingue played last season on a one-year, one-way $775K contract, and will now look to continue his career elsewhere. He has performed well as an AHL goalie throughout his time in North America, so given his level of experience and track record, a return to North America, perhaps even on an AHL contract, cannot be ruled out. A team such as the Chicago Wolves could be a fit for his services, as they could benefit from some veteran reinforcement in the crease. Their two incumbent netminders, Amir Miftakhov and Nikita Quapp, are short on AHL experience and have posted respective save percentages of .878 and .852 so far this season.
  • 2019 Anaheim Ducks first-round pick Brayden Tracey has found a place to play out the 2025-26 season, signing a one-year contract with Mora IK of HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier league. Tracey originally signed his entry-level contract in November 2019, but was unable to secure a second NHL contract after three underwhelming pro campaigns with the San Diego Gulls. He was reasonably productive, scoring 31 points in 55 games as a rookie, for example, and even earned the right to make his NHL debut. But he wasn’t retained by the team and started 2024-25 on an AHL PTO with the Bakersfield Condors, one that did not materialize into a full-time AHL deal. Tracey then split the rest of the season between Jukurit of the Finnish Liiga (scoring six points in 13 games) and Slovan Bratislava of the Slovak Extraliga, scoring eight points in 11 combined regular season and playoff games. The 6’0″ forward, still just 24 years old, heads to a Mora team that has gotten off to a slow start to the season, and they will likely look for him to help boost an offense that currently ranks fourth-to-last in goals scored in the league.
  • Former Philadelphia Flyers goalie Felix Sandstrom has left Finnish Liiga side Karpat Oulu, as his fixed-term contract with the team expired Nov. 2. Sandstrom originally signed the deal in September as part of the club’s response to an injury suffered by incumbent starter Visa Vedenpaa, who is a 2023 draft pick of the Seattle Kraken. Sandstrom didn’t have a great stretch with Karpat, going 3-6-1 with a .872 save percentage. A 2015 third-round pick of the Flyers, Sandstrom ultimately became the organization’s No. 3 goalie, playing in a total of 30 NHL games across his six-year career in North American pro hockey. Sandstrom played well enough to earn a one-way contract year for 2023-24, but the Flyers ultimately moved on from him in 2024 and he signed a one-year, two-way deal with a $450K guarantee with the Buffalo Sabres for 2024-25. Sandstrom struggled to get into games for the Rochester Americans, getting into just 19 contests, in large part due to the success of top prospect goalie Devon Levi. Now that his short-term deal in Liiga has expired, the experienced goalie will need to find another spot to continue what has been a solid pro career.
  • Another goalie who was once playing on an NHL contract was involved in player transaction news today: Hugo Alnefelt. Liiga’s HIFK confirmed that the 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick would remain with the club for the duration of the 2025-26 season after passing through the trial period of his loan. Alnefelt is contracted to Swedish side HV71, but after he went 8-16-1 with a .899 save percentage in 28 SHL games last season, the club elected to move forward with other goalies for 2025-26. HV71 worked with Alnefelt to find a place for him to get playing time in 2025-26, and they elected to loan him to HIFK in Liiga. Alnefelt has played in six games so far in Finland, posting a .889 save percentage and 2.94 goals-against average. Alnefelt was a tandem goalie for the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch for three seasons, from 2021-22 through 2023-24. He posted an .895 save percentage across 86 games, and was not signed to an NHL contract extension upon the expiry of his entry-level deal, prompting his move back to Europe.
  • 2017 Detroit Red Wings fifth-round pick Cole Fraser was traded in the ECHL today, as the Worcester Railers traded the defenseman to the Cincinnati Cyclones for future considerations. The big right-shot blueliner has been in the ECHL since he signed with the Kansas City Mavericks at the conclusion of his junior career with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes. Across his 288-game career in North America’s third-tier pro league, Fraser has scored 62 points and has earned a call-up to play in the AHL once. That call-up came in 2021-22, when he skated in a Nov. 14 contest for the Belleville Senators against the Utica Comets, a 4-1 loss for the Senators. Fraser played a defensive role through six games this season with the Railers, ranking second on the team in shorthanded ice time per game.
  • The ECHL’s Maine Mariners acquired forward Owen Gallatin from the Fort Wayne Komets in exchange for cash considerations, according to a team announcement. The 23-year-old is in the first full season of his professional career, having dipped his toes into pro hockey late last season after the conclusion of his NCAA career. Gallatin signed with the Komets after playing four seasons with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, including a strong junior campaign where he scored 30 points in 37 games. Gallatin’s production dipped in his senior year, and he wasn’t able to earn consistent ice time at the start of 2025-26 with Fort Wayne, leading to this early-season trade to Maine.
  • Another first-year pro player was traded in the ECHL today, with the South Carolina Stingrays acquiring forward Tanner Edwards from the Toledo Walleye. The 25-year-old was the most penalized player in the USHL in 2019-20, his lone season of USHL hockey, racking up 206 penalty minutes in just 37 games. He then played four years of college hockey, his first three with Minnesota State (where he won two CCHA conference titles) before spending his senior year with his hometown program Alaska-Anchorage. Edwards has just one pro game to his name at this point, an Oct. 25 game against the Bloomington Bison in which he registered his first pro fight.
  • There was a trade in the Czech Extraliga today, with HC Energie Karlovy Vary acquiring Jan Bambula from HC Vitkovice Ridera in exchange for forward Jan Sir. Bambula, 24, was in the midst of his second season with Vitkovice. He scored 13 points in 35 games last season and began this year with five points in 19 games before today’s trade. A speedy, offensively-oriented undersized winger, Bambula’s acquisition could boost Karlovy Vary’s offensive attack. Sir, 25, joined Karlovy Vary for 2024-25 after a five-year pro career with Bili Tygri Liberec, which was also his junior team. The 6’2″ pivot doesn’t offer the speed or offensive ability that Bambula is credited with, but brings the ability to play down the middle, additional size, and defensive versatility. He’s gone scoreless through 20 games this season, though he has been the team’s leading penalty-killing forward so far this season. While Bambula isn’t a direct replacement in that role as a winger, his speed did allow him to carve out a role on Vitkovice’s penalty kill, meaning he could end up taking Sir’s vacated spot on Karlovy Vary’s penalty kill.
  • Liiga side Ilves Tampere announced today that forwards Julius Hermonen and Joel Kerkkanen would not continue with the club upon the recent conclusion of their fixed-term contracts. Hermonen, 28, has nearly 300 games of Liiga experience, though he only managed two assists across 14 games for Ilves. He did score a goal in Champions Hockey League play, as part of a 5-0 victory over HC Kometa Brno. Kerkkanen, 26, isn’t an established quantity in Finland’s top division the way Hermonen is, with just 41 Liiga games to his name. But he has been quite successful in Finland’s second-tier Mestis, even putting together a point-per-game season in 2022-23 with JoKP. That scoring ability hasn’t translated to the Liiga level, though, and he registered just one point in his four games in Tampere.
  • Veteran Swedish netminder Jonas Gunnarsson, who was once a member of the Nashville Predators organization, signed a deal with HockeyAllsvenskan club AIK today. The 33-year-old has experience in Sweden’s second division, helping teams to promotion to the SHL on two separate occasions: 2014-15 with the Malmo Redhawks, and 2021-22 with HV71. 2021-22 was Gunnarsson’s most recent season in the Allsvenskan, and he performed very well, registering the most shutouts in the league and posting a .907 save percentage. He served as Joni Ortio’s backup for HV71 in its first year back in the SHL in 2022-23, before earning a role as a starter in Liiga with Ilves in 2023-24. He was solid in Liiga, posting a .912 save percentage in 36 games, and then spent 2024-25 with Graz in the ICEHL. Now he’s back in the league where he’s been successful in the past, and will look to stabilize an AIK goaltending situation that has been an issue for the team so far in 2025-26.
  • The SHL’s Vaxjo Lakers signed veteran forward Erik Andersson to a one-year contract, according to a team announcement. The 31-year-old winger is a defensive specialist who brings a large amount of experience in Sweden’s top league. He has played in 471 games, and while he’s only registered 74 points, he should be able to contribute on Vaxjo’s penalty kill in short order. Vaxjo’s penalty kill currently ranks fifth in the league in success rate, but with the potential for injuries, the signing of Andersson provides the team with suitable cover to be able to sustain its shorthanded success in the event that natural attrition of a long hockey season leads to regular penalty killers becoming unavailable.

Snapshots: Strome, Devils, Liiga

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The Washington Capitals’ solid early-season momentum was placed at risk last night as first-line center Dylan Strome suffered a lower-body injury. After the game, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery called the injury “concerning,” and The Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson noted that while Strome will be evaluated today, the fact that the Capitals have an off day means that we likely won’t receive an update on Strome’s status until Monday at the earliest.

Carbery is likely far from the only person concerned at the prospect of losing Strome for a period of time due to injury. While franchise face Alex Ovechkin set all-time records last season, it was Strome who quietly led the club in scoring with a career-best 82 points in 82 games. The 2015 third-overall pick ranks second in scoring on Washington this season, behind only rugged forward Tom Wilson. Should Strome miss time, the Capitals may elect to shift Connor McMichael back to the center position, where he has spent time previously. He dressed as the club’s second-line left winger yesterday on a line centered by Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Other notes from around the hockey world:

  • New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe issued updates today on two injured players: Juho Lammikko and Cody Glass. As relayed by team reporter Amanda Stein, Lammikko will travel with the Devils on their current western road trip, while Glass will not travel. We previously covered how Lammikko had returned to practice and was nearing a return to the ice, as well as news that Glass would be out “multiple weeks.” Lammikko signed a one-year, one-way $800K deal with New Jersey to return to North America after spending three seasons with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League. He hasn’t yet made his Devils debut, but Lammikko could very well slide into Glass’ vacated bottom-six center role once he’s healthy. While Lammikko doesn’t have the pedigree as a scorer that Glass has, he does bring over 150 games of NHL experience to the table as well as a 51% faceoff win rate in his most recent NHL campaign.
  • Some interesting news broke in Finland this morning, as journalist Timo Kunnari of Iltalehti reported that the country’s pro hockey circuit could undergo some significant changes in the short and medium-term future. According to Kunnari, some of the country’s biggest pro clubs, including Tappara, HIFK, and TPS (based out of the major metropolitan cities of Tampere, Helsinki, and Turku, respectively) are reportedly in advanced talks to form their own professional league and break away from the established Liiga at some point in the short-to-medium term future. While this news has not been officially announced by any team, and appears to be more of a credible rumor at this stage than confirmed fact, such a move would be a significant development with potentially far-reaching implications for the business of hockey in one of the world’s most passionate hockey nations.

Felix Sandstrom Signs With Liiga’s Oulun Karpat

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Free agent goaltender Felix Sandström has signed on with Finnish powerhouse Kärpät, according to a team release. It’s a short-term deal with quite a few exceptions – the contract is only valid until Nov. 2 and includes an NHL out-clause, the team said.

Sandström, now 28, was a third-round pick by the Flyers in 2015 and was once a relatively promising prospect in their system. He ended up playing a career-high 20 games for them in the 2022-23 campaign, splitting backup duties with Samuel Ersson, but struggled with a .880 SV% and a 3.72 GAA. He spent most of the following season with AHL Lehigh Valley after clearing waivers and was unplayable in his brief call-up, recording a .823 SV% and -7.7 GSAA in a five-game window in March.

Along with an uninspiring .884 SV% in the minors that year, the Flyers had no qualms about letting him become an unrestricted free agent in the 2024 offseason. He landed a two-way commitment from the Sabres on the open market to serve as the No. 4 on their depth chart behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, James Reimer, and Devon Levi. He passed through waivers unclaimed at the beginning of the season and never saw a recall. He did see improved AHL numbers in Rochester, though, logging a .899 SV% and 2.86 GAA with a 12-5-2 record in 19 games.

That still didn’t lead to much interest in his services this summer, not even on a PTO for training camp. There may have been AHL-only offers out there but he held out for the hope of a more financially lucrative agreement to return to Europe. So far, not much of anything has panned out and he’ll now take a short-term deal in Finland with the hopes of impressing there and landing a two-way contract with an NHL team in need of goaltending depth.

Sandström last played in Europe in his native Sweden during the 2020-21 season. He had a .921 SV% in five games while on loan to Västerviks IK of Sweden’s second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. He has never played in Finland before.

Kärpät has been the main producer of Finnish NHL players in recent years and has won seven Liiga titles since 2004, but none since 2018. They also finished below .500 last year and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since last being promoted to Finland’s top flight in 2000. They’re now dealing with an injury to starting netminder Niklas Rubin, who was off to a great start with a .934 SV% in four games. In the interim, Sandström will serve in tandem with Kraken prospect Visa Vedenpää, whom they selected in the sixth round in 2023.

Brad Hunt Signs In Finland

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Friday: Hunt has indeed signed with Vaasan Sport with the team announcing that he has signed a one-year contract.

Monday: Longtime pro defenseman Brad Hunt is expected to take his career overseas for the first time next season. He is set to sign with Vaasan Sport of Finland’s Liiga, per Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey. Hunt recently concluded his 14th season in the North American pros. His only rich experience with playing in Europe came during the spring of 2023, when he joined Team Canada for the World Championships, which were played in Latvia that year.

Hunt, 37, has already built up a career worth being proud of. He was originally overlooked in the NHL Draft – the consequence of being a 5-foot-9 defenseman – but earned a pro contract after four strong years at Bemidji State University. Hunt made his AHL debut in 2012 and quickly looked the part of a strong play-driver.

He played his way into three NHL appearances with the Edmonton Oilers in 2013-14, coupled with a breakout performance in the AHL that saw him post 50 points in 66 games. Hunt continued that pace – great AHL scoring mixed in with a handful of NHL starts – through the 2016-17 season.

Hunt seemed doomed to the role of fringe-NHL defenseman until 2017-18, when the Vegas Golden Knights operated with him on the NHL roster for the whole season. Hunt stepped into 45 games and scored 18 points that year, enough to earn him a solid NHL role for the next four seasons, even through moves to the Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks.

He didn’t return to the AHL until the 2022-23 season, when he donned the captaincy for the Colorado Eagles and scored 21 points in 24 games. Hunt served an additional year as the Eagles’ captain before moving to the Hershey Bears last season. He scored just 19 points in 41 games with Hershey last year, though he managed a lofty 49 points in 70 games in the 2023-24 season.

Hunt now sits with 86 points in 288 games, and 10 seasons, in the NHL and 298 points in 422 games, and nine seasons, in the AHL. He will now take that deep resume to one of Finland’s emerging clubs. Vaasan finished last season ranked 11th out of the Liiga’s 16 teams. They struggled to consistently drive up the scoring, which is something that the puck-moving Hunt should be able to directly address.

Cameron Wright Signs In Finland

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Cameron Wright’s stay in the Oilers organization will be a short one. After turning an AHL contract into an NHL one at the beginning of last season, he’s on his way overseas and has signed a one-year deal with HPK in Finland’s Liiga, the club announced.

Wright, 27, had a long path to landing an NHL deal. Undrafted, he spent five years in college and won a national championship with Denver in 2022 after spending the prior four years at Bowling Green. The 6’1″ winger actually tied for the team lead on that Pioneers squad in goals with 23 in 41 games, and while he had some NHL interest, he ended up landing an AHL contract with the Avalanche’s affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.

Wright barely played for the Eagles, however. He spent most of the season down in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies, where he exploded for 63 points in 64 games (with 136 PIMs to boot) in his first pro season. He landed a much more consistent AHL role the following season, now in the Oilers organization with Bakersfield, and parlayed that into an NHL contract the following year.

The Ontario native was a solid depth scoring piece for the Condors in 2024-25, posting a 13-11–24 scoring line in 60 games while providing physicality to their depth contingent. Evidently, that wasn’t enough for Edmonton to keep him around. They declined to issue him a qualifying offer at the end of the season and he became an unrestricted free agent.

There may have been some AHL offers on the table, but he’ll opt for a likely richer contract overseas instead. This far down the road in his development, it’s not overly likely that he makes his way back toward contention for an NHL roster spot. He joins an HPK club whose lone NHL-experience player is Kristian Vesalainen, a first-round pick by the Jets in 2017.

International Notes: Henman, Little, Good Bogg

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After spending the last four years in the minors with the Kraken organization, center Luke Henman is headed to Finland on a one-year deal with Ilves, the Liiga club announced today.

Henman, 25, was actually the first signing in Seattle franchise history in 2021. He was a fourth-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2018 but never signed, instead becoming an unrestricted free agent.

He’d remained in the Seattle organization ever since, recording 26 goals and 33 assists for 59 points in 229 AHL games for their affiliates in Charlotte and Coachella Valley. They re-signed him last summer after his entry-level contract expired, but since Henman was old enough and had accrued enough experience for Group VI unrestricted free agency this year, he was ineligible for a qualifying offer and wasn’t retained.

The Nova Scotia native will now head to Ilves, one of two Liiga clubs based in the city of Tampere. While the club is light on NHL-experienced talent, they’ve finished second in Liiga in three straight years as they aim to capture their first title since 1985.

There’s more from overseas:

  • American winger Broc Little has announced his retirement, according to the SHL’s Linköping HC. Little, 37, was an ECAC champion and All-Star with Yale but was never drafted and never signed an NHL contract. He spent the vast majority of his professional career in Europe aside from a 21-game AHL stint with Springfield and Iowa back in 2013-14. He played 10 of his 14 pro seasons for Linköping, where he’s served as an alternate captain since 2018 and led the SHL in goals twice. His 367 points in 454 games for Linköping are fifth in franchise history.
  • Islanders defense prospect Dennis Good Bogg has found a place to play next season, signing with Väsby IK of HockeyEttan, Sweden’s third division. Good Bogg, 21, was a seventh-round pick in 2023, and New York holds his signing rights for two more years. Unless something changes drastically, he likely won’t ever sign an NHL contract. The 6’2″, 201-lb lefty has yet to reach Sweden’s top flight and has struggled at lower levels. He split last season between second-tier club Östersunds and third-tier club Mariestad, combining for just three points and a -10 rating in 35 games.

International Notes: Pavel, Gettinger, Virtanen

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Free agent forward Ondrej Pavel has signed a one-year deal with Finnish club Tappara with an option for 2026-27, the team announced today.

Pavel, 24, will play in Europe for the first time since the Czech center departed his home country in 2016 to play the bulk of his development in North America. While undrafted, he was a free agent signing by the Avalanche out of Minnesota State in 2023 after winning regular-season titles in each of his three seasons in Mankato.

Primarily a bottom-six checking piece, his offensive production in the pros has reflected that. He scored only 12 points in 77 games for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles before the Avs traded him to the Predators as part of the Juuso Pärssinen deal in December. He finished the season with an improved 8-10–18 scoring line with 49 PIMs and a +8 rating in 43 games for the Milwaukee Admirals, but he was still non-tendered by Nashville last month and became an unrestricted free agent as a result.

The Prague native got into a pair of NHL games with Colorado in the 2023-24 season, recording one hit and three shots on goal in just over 12 minutes of total ice time. He now takes his talents to Tappara, joining a club that looks to get back on track following a .500 finish last year after winning three straight Liiga championships. He joins former NHLers Jyrki Jokipakka and Olli Juolevi, among others.

There are some more notable international signings today:

  • While winger Timothy Gettinger was reportedly looking for a KHL contract a few weeks ago, he’s ended up in Germany with the DEL’s Schwenninger Wild Wings on a one-year deal. The longtime minor-league winger in the Rangers’ and Red Wings’ systems solidifies his move overseas after recording 81 goals and 174 points in 346 AHL games over the past seven seasons. The 27-year-old was a fifth-round pick by New York in 2016 and has one point in 16 NHL games, all with the Blueshirts. He joins ex-NHLers Zachary Senyshyn and Jordan Szwarz on the Wild Wings’ forward corps.
  • Former Canucks forward Jake Virtanen has landed a one-year deal with Slovak club HK Dukla Michalovce, the team said on Facebook. Virtanen, 28, has not played in North America since being bought out in 2021 amid sexual assault allegations that he was later found not guilty of by a jury. The 2014 No. 6 overall pick has underwhelmed in Europe, most recently recording 19 points in 46 games last season for the DEL’s Iserlohn Roosters. He’ll now look to improve his scoring in a less competitive league in Slovakia.

Markus Nutivaara Signs With Liiga’s Kärpät

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Former NHL defenseman Markus Nutivaara is launching a comeback bid after retiring two years ago due to hip issues. Kärpät, which plays in the Finnish rearguard’s hometown of Oulu, announced they’ve signed him to a one-year deal.

While the 31-year-old Nutivaara has only been retired for two years, it’s been longer than that since he actually played. His last appearance at any level came with the Panthers on Oct. 29, 2021, his lone appearance of the 2021-22 campaign. He logged an assist but played just 7:01 as he attempted a comeback from his first of multiple hip surgeries.

Nutivaara was an unrestricted free agent the following summer and attempted to get his career back on track by signing a one-year deal with the Sharks, but his continued hip problems prevented him from making an appearance for them. The 6’1″ lefty has remained unsigned ever since.

A seventh-round pick out of Kärpät by the Blue Jackets in 2015 – three years after he was initially eligible for selection – Nutivaara made the jump to North America one year later. He remained an NHL fixture aside from a three-game stint in the minors in 2017-18, becoming a good two-way piece in a depth role for Columbus. Although he consistently saw bottom-pairing deployment, averaging 15:48 per game, he still managed a 17-43–60 scoring line with a +25 rating in 244 appearances for the Jackets in his four years there.

Columbus traded Nutivaara to Florida following the 2019-20 season. He played 30 out of 56 regular-season games for the Cats in the COVID-shortened 2021 season, recording 10 points and a plus-one rating.

His comeback bid comes after Nutivaara had another hip procedure in November 2024 to have an artificial joint installed, Kärpät said. Even if he can’t get back into game shape, Nutivaara said his recovery has gone well enough to allow him to return to a relatively normal, pain-free life.

Nutivaara won a Liiga championship with Kärpät in his rookie year back in 2014-15, contributing six points in 16 playoff games for a roster led by former NHL winger Joonas Donskoi that also included a 17-year-old Sebastian Aho.

Snapshots: Pacioretty, Rossi, True

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Heading into August, one of the better veteran scoring options left on the market is winger Max Pacioretty. Michael Augello of The Hockey News theorized on five (although it’s actually seven) potential destinations for Pacioretty in what could be the last season of his professional career.

Pacioretty (36) is coming off another injury-plagued season, this time with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his lowest-producing offensive season since his sophomore campaign with the Montreal Canadiens during the 2009-10 season, Pacioretty scored five goals and 13 points in 37 games, averaging 13:30 of ice time per game. Fortunately, Pacioretty had a stronger showing in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring three goals and eight points in 11 games, including the series-clincher in the Maple Leafs’ opening-round series against the Ottawa Senators.

Augello’s hypothetical destinations include Pacioretty’s former teams: the Canadiens and Maple Leafs, a team from the New York metropolitan area, the Detroit Red Wings, or the Edmonton Oilers. Whether for geographical location, nostalgic purposes, or for putting him in the best position to win the first Stanley Cup of his career, all five destinations make sense for Pacioretty in the twilight years of his career. 

Other snapshots:

  • In a minor update to the impasse between center Marco Rossi and the Minnesota Wild, Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic indicated in a new article that the two sides haven’t spoken since June. The gap is well known, with Rossi seeking a long-term deal similar to that of his teammate Matt Boldy, while the Wild remain firm in their desire for a bridge contract. The pair of journalists argues that Rossi is unlikely to sign a new deal, let alone speak to Minnesota’s management, until the start of training camp in September.  
  • According to a team announcement, former NHL and AHL veteran Alexander True has signed a one-year deal with the Finnish Liiga’s JYP. Now two years removed from playing in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers, True’s first professional season overseas was fairly disappointing. Playing for the SHL’s MoDo Hockey, True scored seven goals and 17 points in 52 games with a -15 rating last season.

Morning Notes: Berard, Nabokov, Kärki

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Rangers winger Brett Berard played through most of his rookie season with a labrum tear, he told Mollie Walker of the New York Post.

He sustained the shoulder injury back in November in what was just his fourth career NHL game, but it wasn’t significant enough to keep him out of game action through the remainder of the regular season. While he was initially named to the United States’ roster for the 2025 World Championship on the heels of his first taste of NHL hockey, he ended up pulling out to fully rehab the injury as he aims to crack New York’s opening night roster for the first time in the fall.

“Just kind of lingered all year, wore a brace all year,” Berard said. “It was good to kind of get that situated. It feels good, it feels strong. So just trying to get it all better, but we feel a lot better now.”

Berard, who turns 23 in September, scored six goals and 10 points in 35 appearances for the Rangers last season while averaging 10:43 per game. The 2020 fifth-round pick will likely build on that deployment this season, as the Blueshirts’ roster turnover over the last few months means there are a couple of top-nine spots for the taking, one of which he’ll hope to grab. The diminutive but high-energy lefty also scored 23 points in 30 games for the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack last season.

More from around the league:

  • Avalanche goaltending prospect Ilya Nabokov has officially put pen to paper on a one-year deal to keep him in Russia for 2025-26 with the KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk, the league announced. Nabokov signed his entry-level contract with Colorado in May, but it was quickly reported that the Avs planned to loan him back to Metallurg for the upcoming season. While he was initially draft-eligible in 2021, he was finally selected in the second round in 2024 on the heels of a dominant postseason for Metallurg that earned him a Gagarin Cup championship, playoff MVP honors, and the KHL’s Rookie of the Year award. He’ll likely compete for the No. 2 job behind Mackenzie Blackwood when he comes to North America in 2026-27.
  • Golden Knights defense prospect Arttu Kärki is on the move in his native Finland, with HIFK announcing they’ve signed him to a two-year contract. Vegas selected Kärki in the third round of the 2023 draft but hasn’t yet signed him; they have until June 1, 2027, to do so before they lose his rights. The 20-year-old lefty got his first taste of professional hockey last season and split the campaign between Tappara and Ässät in Finland’s top league, recording 14 points and a -11 rating in 43 games. The shot-minded rearguard will look for more offensive success as he remains in Liiga with HIFK.

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