Central Notes: Benn, Hyry, Klippenstein
Stars captain Jamie Benn is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the same fate he faced last year before signing a one-year deal to remain in Dallas. While Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News believes that the organization would be willing to bring him back, there would need to be some tough discussions first as he’s now coming off his second straight subpar playoff performance. He’ll be 37 when next season starts so while he could still hold his own in a bottom-six role during the regular season but will those postseason struggles give them enough pause to start the search for a new captain? If not, Benn is eligible to once again sign a bonus-laden deal as long as it’s a one-year pact. He did so last summer, accepting a $1MM base salary with up to $3MM in bonuses, $2MM of which were reached and will count against their salary cap in 2026-27 thanks to them ending the year using LTIR.
More from the Central:
- Still with the Stars, forward Arttu Hyry won’t be available for AHL Texas in their series against Chicago, relays 100 Degree Hockey (Twitter link). The 25-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in the fifth game of the Dallas-Minnesota series earlier this week and while it was initially thought that it was a day-to-day issue, it appears that’s not the case. Hyry was on Texas’ roster at the trade deadline, meaning that Dallas can send him down once he’s cleared to return. He had 19 points in 27 AHL games along with five points in 20 NHL appearances during the regular season.
- Wild prospect Carter Klippenstein will be leaving the WHL next season to make the jump to the NCAA. Providence College announced on its Instagram page that the 19-year-old has committed to playing for them next season. A fifth-round pick last summer, Klippenstein was limited to just 38 games this season due to injury. Still, he was fairly productive, tallying 11 goals and 17 assists in those outings. With the transfer of leagues, Klippenstein’s signing timeline will be extended, giving Minnesota a couple of extra years to determine if they want to sign him. Had he stayed in junior, they’d have had to make that call just over a year from now.
Snapshots: Garand, Team Canada, Poirier
The New York Rangers are likely to give young goaltender Dylan Garand the inside track to become the team’s backup netminder next season, reports Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic. Veteran Jonathan Quick has been the No. 2 on Broadway for the last three seasons, but has played his final NHL game. Garand, 23, has been waiting in the wings, and it appears he’ll be given a strong chance to win the role at training camp next fall. The former CHL Goalie of the Year has been the No. 1 goalie for the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack for the last three years, and went 2-0-1 with a .948 save percentage in his first three NHL games this year. Garand was an AHL All-Star in 2024-25 and his playoff performances have been especially impressive, as he has a .927 save percentage in 17 games across two runs.
While Garand does seem ready for the NHL, Mercogliano did also say that Rangers GM Chris Drury will most likely add “some level of veteran competition” for Garand. The Rangers already have veteran Spencer Martin (72 career NHL games played) under contract at a one-way, league-minimum rate for next season. But Martin struggled this season (.864 save percentage in six NHL games, .873 in 22 AHL games) and isn’t likely to be a part of their long-term plans. According to Mercogliano, Drury could add another veteran beyond just Martin, “either on a cheap, short-term deal or a professional tryout contract,” to compete with Garand.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Hockey Canada has secured some significant commitments for its roster for the upcoming IIHF Men’s World Championship tournament, reports Darren Dreger of TSN. According to Dreger, Macklin Celebrini, Mark Scheifele, Mathew Barzal, and Morgan Rielly have all committed, landing the team some significant names from the NHL. Additionally, potential 2026 No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna will be on the roster as well. McKenna isn’t the first top prospect to play for Canada at Worlds in his draft year. Porter Martone played for Canada at last year’s tournament before he was selected No. 6 overall, while Adam Fantilli won the tournament in 2023 just shortly before he was selected No. 3 overall. Joining the team will give McKenna the chance to compete against men, something his main rival to be picked No. 1, Sweden’s Ivar Stenberg, has been able to do all year playing for Frolunda in the SHL.
- Carolina Hurricanes prospect Justin Poirier has transferred from the University of Maine to Penn State, reports Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald. The 19-year-old ranks as the No. 7 prospect in the Hurricanes’ system, according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. The Hurricanes selected Poirier in the fifth round, No. 156 overall, at the 2024 draft. That was a somewhat surprising result for a player who scored 69 goals across 85 regular season and playoff contests in his draft year. Poirier was able to translate his QMJHL scoring to the college level, posting 18 goals and 29 points in 27 games for Maine. There will be big shoes for him to fill in the Nittany Lions attack, as the team’s top three scorers from last season will all be playing pro hockey in the fall. Additionally, Penn State’s fourth-highest scorer, J.J. Wiebusch, transferred to Wisconsin.
Metropolitan Notes: Greaves, Fisher, Vladar
Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves will play for Canada at the Worlds next month, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link). This was the 25-year-old’s first full NHL season and it was a good one as he posted a 2.60 GAA and a .908 SV% in 55 games. That showed that his hot finish to last season wasn’t just a one-off and he’s now in place as their starter of the future. Notably, Greaves is a pending restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights and is poised for a significant raise on his current $812.5K price tag. That makes it a little surprising that Greaves will play for Canada in the tournament as pending free agents usually take a pass to avoid the risk of an injury sustained there affecting contract negotiations. Instead, he’ll make a strong case to be the starter regardless of whichever other two goalies participate, something that Dreger added is still being worked out.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Still with the Blue Jackets, prospect James Fisher has changed schools. Brad Elliott Schlossmann of the Grand Forks Herald relays that the forward has transferred from Northeastern to St. Lawrence University for next season. The 21-year-old was a seventh-round pick by Columbus back in 2022 and has not progressed particularly well thus far. After two post-draft seasons at junior levels, he spent two years with the Huskies, managing just five points in 60 games over that stretch. He’ll be hoping that a change of scenery can land him a bigger role and a chance to get back on the radar for a contract down the road.
- After a bit of an injury scare in Game 3 of their opening round series against Pittsburgh, it appears Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar is good to go as the team announced (Twitter link) that he’ll get the start tonight. Bryan Rust fell over him in the third period on Wednesday and didn’t practice the following day but it won’t cost him any time. Vladar’s first foray into the playoffs as a starter has been successful so far as he has turned aside 70 of 74 shots to help Philadelphia take the first three games.
Hurricanes Notes: Nikishin, Second Line, Poirier
Earlier this week, Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky met (video link) with local media to discuss his team. One of the questions he was asked was about rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin, whose entry-level deal is set to expire this summer. Tulsky indicated that while talks have been ongoing throughout the season, the team would prefer their pending free agents focus on the playoffs which means an extension in the coming weeks is likely doubtful. Nikishin had a very promising rookie season with 11 goals and 22 assists in 81 games while logging over 18 minutes per night of playing time. He won’t be eligible for an offer sheet this summer which should also take off some pressure as the two sides work to get a new deal in place.
More from around the Hurricanes:
- Carolina’s second line of Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven, and Jackson Blake has been dominant so far in the first round, pacing them to a 3-0 series lead over Ottawa so far. Julian McKenzie of The Athletic provided an overview of just how productive it has been. On top of combining for 13 points to make them the most productive line of the playoffs, they are also controlling possession and Expected Goals. The Sens have done well to limit Carolina’s top line to just one point (a Sebastian Aho goal) but the second line has more than picked up the slack.
- Prospect Justin Poirier has entered the NCAA transfer portal, relays Brad Elliott Schlossmann of the Grand Forks Herald (Twitter link). The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2024, going 156th overall. Poirier decided to leave the QMJHL to play in college this season and was quite productive at the University of Maine, notching 18 goals and 11 assists in just 27 games but is electing to move on. With the portal closing on Tuesday, he’ll have to pick his next school fairly quickly.
Transaction Notes: Miller, Okhotyuk, Robins
Montreal Canadiens prospect Quentin Miller transferred from the University of Denver to Western Michigan University a week ago, Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reported. He is one of two Canadiens goalie prospects to transfer this week, as 2025 fifth-rounder Alexis Cournoyer left Cornell University to join the Wisconsin Badgers on April 20. Miller, 21, was a fourth-round pick of the Canadiens at the 2023 draft. He won a QMJHL title and Memorial Cup as a backup with the Quebec Ramparts, and has been a tandem goalie at multiple levels for much of his time since being drafted.
Miller went 12-10-2 in 25 games for Denver this season, posting a .916 save percentage and 2.39 goals against average, but lost the No. 1 goalie spot to freshman sensation Johnny Hicks. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler recently ranked Miller the No. 14 prospect in the Canadiens’ system, writing “The Habs will likely want to see him be the guy somewhere before they commit to signing him.” Miller has a clear lane to being the undisputed No. 1 in Kalamazoo – last year’s starter Hampton Slukynsky has turned pro after two years in college and incoming freshman Owen Lepak hasn’t been a team’s starter since 2023-24, when he led the NAHL’s Maryland Black Bears to the Robertson Cup Final.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Former Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils defenseman Nikita Okhotyuk signed a three-year contract extension in the KHL, keeping him in Russia through May 2029. The Flames still hold Okhotyuk’s signing rights since they qualified him when his last NHL contract expired. The 25-year-old defenseman played in nine games as a Flame and has played in 67 career games at the NHL level, split between Calgary, New Jersey, and San Jose. Over the last two seasons with CSKA Moscow, Okhotyuk has skated in 129 contests and scored 23 points.
- Former San Jose Sharks prospect Tristen Robins plans to sign in North America for 2026-27, according to an official announcement from his former club Rytíři Kladno. Robins was a second-round pick of the Sharks in 2020 and skated in a total of 150 AHL games while a member of the organization. Robins looked to be pushing for an NHL role as recently as 2023, when he scored 38 points in 62 games as an AHL rookie. He earned three NHL games that season and was ranked as the organization’s No. 7 prospect by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. He wasn’t able to build on that rookie campaign and ended up dealt from the Sharks organization in 2025. Playing on a one-year deal in the Czech league, Robins scored 18 goals and 35 points in 45 games, and will hope to earn another shot in an NHL organization this fall.
Snapshots: D’Astous, Varlamov, Posch, Malinoski
Lightning defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous exited tonight’s game against Montreal and did not return, relays team reporter Benjamin Pierce (Twitter link). The 27-year-old took a hit from Josh Anderson and Jake Evans simultaneously; Anderson was called for a charging minor on the play. D’Astous has been a bright spot on Tampa Bay’s back end this season. Signed out of Sweden, he has played exclusively with Tampa aside from a brief stint in the minors to start the year. He had 29 points and 110 penalty minutes in 70 games during the regular season, a nice find for an undrafted free agent.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- The Islanders have recalled Semyon Varlamov from his LTIR conditioning stint, per the AHL’s transactions log. He got into two games with AHL Bridgeport, winning both while stopping 46 of 49 shots in his first game action since November 2024. While Varlamov would normally be eligible for a two-game extension, that’s not the case here as he is not eligible to play in the AHL playoffs. Varlamov has one year left on his contract and the team will now have to decide if they think he’s going to be good to go as their backup in 2026-27 or if they’ll want to add extra depth in case he’s not able to get through a full year.
- The Avalanche have recalled Isak Posch to serve as their emergency third goaltender, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 24-year-old spent most of the year with AHL Colorado, posting a 2.78 GAA with a .891 SV% in 28 games in his first full professional season. Posch, who signed as an undrafted free agent last spring, was briefly called up in January but didn’t see any action.
- Maple Leafs prospect Hudson Malinoski will have a new team for his final NCAA season. Brad Elliott Schlossmann of the Grand Forks Herald reports that the center has transferred to the University of North Dakota for the upcoming season. A fifth-round pick by Toronto back in 2023 (153rd overall), the 21-year-old spent the last three years at Providence College. Malinoski’s output dropped this season, going from 23 points to 15 while he found himself in the bottom six as the year went on. He’ll look to play a bigger role for the Fighting Hawks in the hopes of landing an entry-level deal next spring.
Jets First Rounder Sascha Boumedienne Transfers To Ohio State
With the NCAA season now over, the transfer window is open and with a much shorter period this year, moves have been happening quickly. (Instead of 45 days, it’s now just 15, running through April 28th.) Quite a few NHL prospects have found new places already but those players have been later-round selections; there hadn’t been a top-round draft pick moving in the opening days.
However, that has now changed. Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports (Twitter link) that Jets prospect Sascha Boumedienne is transferring from Boston University to Ohio State University.
The 19-year-old defenseman was the 28th overall selection last June after Boumedienne’s first season at BU, one that saw him put up 13 points in 40 games. He was much more productive at the World Under-18s, however, tallying 14 points in just seven appearances to give his draft stock a boost after it has slid during the season.
Unfortunately, Boumedienne didn’t progress too much in his sophomore year. His output actually dipped slightly to two goals and eight assists in 35 appearances while playing a little lower on the depth chart at times as well. He had a decent showing at the World Juniors with Sweden though, notching four points in seven games while averaging 22:13 per game of ice time.
With this move, Boumedienne is banking on having an opportunity to have a more prominent role in the hopes of sparking a big year from a development perspective. If that happens, he’d be a strong candidate to turn pro and sign with the Jets next season, foregoing his final year of eligibility.
Blue Jackets Sign Boston Buckberger
The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed two-time NCAA national champion defenseman Boston Buckberger to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal will start next season. He attended development camp with the Blue Jackets in 2025.
In the official team announcement, president of hockey operations and GM Don Waddell said of Buckberger:
Boston Buckberger is a smart, skilled defenseman who can play in all situations and has a championship pedigree. He was among the top scoring defensemen in college hockey this year and a big part of Denver’s championship team. We are very excited that he is now part of the Blue Jackets organization.
As Waddell mentioned, Buckberger made a name for himself on a national stage at Denver. He was an instant-impact defenseman for head coach David Carle, scoring 27 points in 44 games. He was able to build on that strong freshman campaign the following year, potting nine goals and 30 points in 41 contests. This season, he scored 10 goals and 28 points in 42 games.
While Buckberger has never been the Pioneers’ top offensive option from the blueline (Zeev Buium held that honor the first two seasons, and Eric Pohlkamp this year) he has nonetheless been able to consistently deliver value in whatever role he played. We named him as a player to watch in this year’s NCAA free agency class earlier this month, noting that “there might not be big upside” in Buckberger “returning for his senior season.”
That’s something Buckberger appears to have agreed with, as he elected to sign his entry-level deal and forgo returning to the Pioneers.
Columbus does have a track record to point to when it comes to developing top NCAA blueliners. They signed then-University of Michigan captain Nick Blankenburg in 2022, and he quickly became an NHLer for the Blue Jackets. He also impressed with the Nashville Predators and was a trade deadline addition of the Colorado Avalanche.
While Buckberger isn’t an exact one-to-one stylistic comparable for Blankenburg (he’s a bit bigger, for example), he’ll nonetheless likely hope to have an early career that resembles how Blankenburg’s has gone.
Predators Sign Aiden Fink To Entry-Level Deal
The Nashville Predators have signed 2023 seventh-round pick Aiden Fink to a three-year, entry-level contract. Fink began his pro career earlier in the month, signing an AHL tryout contract after the end of his junior season at Pennsylvania State University. He has since scored three goals and 10 points in his first six AHL games. Fink’s entry-level deal will begin this season, offering him a chance to make his NHL debut in the coming days.
On the heels of a red-hot start, Fink could now get the call to the NHL. The Predators have two games left in their season, just enough opportunity to give the young winger his first shot at NHL ice time. While Fink’s pro start has been exciting, it is far from a surprise to see him scoring at a top rate. The 21 year old scored 10 goals and 38 points in 30 NCAA games this season, good for third on the Penn State Nittany Lions in scoring. He racked up 23 goals and 53 points in 40 games of the 2024-25 season, finishing the year with the fourth-most points in college hockey. Through three seasons at Penn State, Fink’s confidence while driving the puck and ability to make fast-moving plays spoke volumes. In a small sample, it seems that hot scoring has continued into the pro level.
A breakout collegiate career has raised the attention around the Predators’ right winger. He flew under radars during two years in the AJHL, even after posting an impressive 97 points in 54 games during his draft season. Entering the draft class with proven scoring, two AJHL championships, and one AJHL MVP title wasn’t enough for the undersized winger, who had to wait until one of the final picks of the 2023 NHL Draft to hear his name. Now, an entry-level contract will give him a chance to prove that Nashville found a diamond in the rough. Fink becomes Nashville’s sixth 2023 draftee to sign his first NHL contract.
Blue Jackets Sign Joshua Eernisse To One-Year, Entry-Level Contract
The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed college free agent Joshua Eernisse to a one-year, entry-level contract set to begin in the 2026-27 season. The University of Michigan winger will finish the 2025-26 season on a professional try-out contract with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.
Eernisse’s senior season in college hockey came to a close with Michigan’s double-overtime loss to the University of Denver in the Frozen Four. He scored one of Michigan’s three goals in the semifinal matchup and totaled 25:48 in ice time, the third-most on Michigan’s offense. Eernisse filled a reliable role for the Wolverines all season long. His high-energy motor and ability to play through contact was invaluable to a Michigan team built around young, skilled forwards.
Eernisse’s quick passing and drive towards the net helped him rack up 19 points in 38 games, the most he’s scored in three years with the Wolverines. He did reach 21 points in 36 games of his freshman season at the University of St. Thomas. That production was an exciting spark after two quiet seasons in the USHL and earned Eernisse a transfer to the Big Ten. There, his 6-foot-3 and 210-pound frame helped cement a checking role in the Wolverines’ middle-six. Eernisse will lean on his ability to stand up to puck battles and win space in the slot as he transitions to the pro flight.
The Cleveland Monsters have clinched a spot in the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs. Much of their success has come from a fortified top-six, where Mikael Pyyhtia, Luca Pinelli, and Owen Sillinger have clawed out spots as three of Cleveland’s top-five scorers. Their standing could push Eernisse into a third-line role as he sets up for his pro debut. He will likely step in for hard-nosed winger Tate Singleton, who graduated from Michigan’s rival Ohio State University in 2023. Singleton has 11 points and 54 penalty minutes in 39 AHL games, and 10 points in 10 ECHL games, this season. Eernisse could top Singleton’s scoring and physicality – a potential X-factor addition as the Monsters eye their first championship since 2016.