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Rangers, Jonathan Quick Agree To Extension

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Rangers veteran backup Jonathan Quick will return for his 19th NHL season in 2025-26. The team announced they’ve agreed to terms on a one-year extension, which Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports is worth $1.55MM. Per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, that will be paid out via a $1MM base salary and $550K signing bonus. Quick can also earn up to $300K in performance bonuses as part of his 35+ contract and has a modified no-trade clause. His performance bonuses break down as follows:

20 starts with .915+ SV%: $75K
35 GP: $25K
40 GP: $50K
20 Ws: $50K
25 Ws: $100K

The 39-year-old netminder is in his second season in Manhattan as the No. 2 to Igor Shesterkin, posting a .896 SV%, 3.14 GAA and three shutouts in 17 starts and four relief appearances this year. He was extremely hot to start the campaign, going 5-1-0 with a .936 SV% in seven appearances in October and November, but has a .874 SV% and 4-5-2 record in his last 14. He’s started two of 10 games coming out of the 4 Nations break, a light workload he should be expected to replicate down the stretch with the Rangers in a battle for their playoff lives.

Quick’s career résumé needs no introduction. The three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Kings and Golden Knights ranks 14th all-time with 402 wins, a figure that leads American-born netminders. He also has 63 career shutouts, outpacing No. 2 Ryan Miller by 19 for first all-time among Americans. He’s never won a Vezina Trophy, but was the runner-up in 2012 and a finalist in 2016.

But on the whole, Quick hasn’t been nearly as valuable to the Rangers as last year. A UFA pickup in the 2023 offseason, Quick was one of the league’s better backups in 2023-24 with a .911 SV%, 2.62 GAA, and an 18-6-2 record in 27 showings. That showing was good for 9.8 goals saved above expected behind an average Rangers defense, per MoneyPuck, a figure that’s dipped to -2.6 this year. They could do far worse for a limited-use backup, though, and those year-to-year swings have become commonplace for Quick in the twilight of his career. He hasn’t posted a save percentage north of .900 in back-to-back years since doing so in 10 consecutive seasons to begin his career.

Quick was set to be a UFA this summer after signing a similarly-structured extension last March. This deal carries a higher salary guarantee and total earning potential than his current deal, which afforded him $1.275MM in salary and signing bonus with just one $25K performance bonus, which he won’t earn as it required him to make 20 starts with a SV% of at least .915.

If he declines further next year, pending RFA Dylan Garand would be his replacement on the roster pending any external additions. The 22-year-old has been called up on a few occasions from AHL Hartford over the past few years to back up either Shesterkin or Quick when the other is unavailable but has yet to make his NHL debut. In 30 minor-league games this year, he has a .912 SV%, 2.79 GAA, three shutouts, and a 16-7-7 record.

Out of the 23 players currently on the Rangers’ active roster, 17 are now signed through next season at a combined cap hit of $84.89MM, per PuckPedia. That leaves the Rangers with $10.61MM in cap space to fill six roster spots, nearly all of which could be swallowed up by new deals for pending RFAs William Cuylle and K’Andre Miller.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Sabres’ Rasmus Dahlin Refutes Trade Request Rumors

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While the public and rival teams may start speculating about the future of star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin in Buffalo, he has no desire to leave the Sabres.

Dahlin made himself available to reporters this morning to respond to a statement from TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette on today’s Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, who said he’d heard Dahlin informed Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams he’d submit a trade request if the team doesn’t get closer to competing for a playoff spot. The team posted the crux of what he had to say:

I don’t know what [Bissonnette]’s talking about. I have never said I want out of here. I’m not happy with where we’re at, I don’t want to lose. I’ve never said I want out of here, I thought that was pretty clear… That bugs me, actually. I get pissed off by that. I haven’t even mentioned the word ’leave.’ That’s just how it is.

Dahlin, of course, will miss the postseason for the seventh straight time to begin his career with Buffalo as part of a more extensive postseason drought for the Sabres that dates back to the 2011. The 2018 No. 1 overall pick, who turns 25 next month, is in the first year of an eight-year, $88MM mega-extension that affords him complete no-move protection beginning July 1.

After rebooting their core in the post-Jack Eichel era following another failure in a series of attempted rebuilds, the Sabres have again begun to retool their core. They swapped 24-year-old center Dylan Cozens, whom they selected No. 7 overall in the 2019 draft, for oft-injured but high-ceiling pivot Joshua Norris in a deal with the Senators on deadline day last week. Multiple reports suggested they were also listening to offers on under-25 defenders Bowen Byram and Owen Power, although neither came close to getting dealt. Adams also recently refuted pre-deadline rumors he was engaged in trade talks regarding 23-year-old winger JJ Peterka, who scored 28 goals last season and has a career-high 51 points in 61 games in 2024-25.

Buffalo’s 25-32-6 record places them last in the Eastern Conference, and their .444 points percentage is tracking to be their lowest since their disastrous 2020-21 campaign that saw them post an 18-game winless streak. Their continued porous team defense has rarely reared its head with Dahlin on the ice, though. He’s having another standout season that should get him a fair amount of Norris Trophy voting at season’s end, ranking second on the team in scoring with 11-40–51 in 55 games while controlling 55.5% of shot attempts at even strength.

Latest On The Mikko Rantanen Trade Saga

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It is a very rare feat that a player is traded in the middle of a 100-point season. One has to look as far back as Joe Thornton’s blockbuster move from the Boston Bruins to the San Jose Sharks in 2005, or Teemu Selanne’s move from the Winnipeg Jets to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 1995. It is near unprecedented that a 100-point scorer gets moved twice in the same year. But that’s exactly what transpired at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, after top winger Mikko Rantanen – pacing for 107 points before his first move – was dealt first to the Carolina Hurricanes and then to the Dallas Stars.

Both trades were groundbreaking. The first moved Rantanen away from the Colorado Avalanche after a decade with the organization; and the second marked the absolute peak of hurt feelings, poor fits, and extension negotiations. With the rare moves has come plenty of media attention, painstakingly scrutinizing the pair of deals from every angle. That has teased out plenty about the motivations and frustrations that drove Rantanen’s cross-country journeys.

The saga began when negotiations on a new contract extension between the Avalanche and Rantanen fell flat. The winger wanted a premium payment after posting career-years in each of the last two seasons – 105 points in 2022-23 and 104 points last year. But Colorado didn’t want to exceed their internal cap limit, and capped their offer to Rantanen at an eight-year, $93.2MM extension – or $11.65MM in per-season salary. But the Finnish wing wasn’t willing to dip that low. Rantanen conceded to take less than Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl, who earned $14MM on his own extension – but wouldn’t settle for too much lower than Avalanche co-star Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6MM salary.

Ultimately, it seems the Avalanche and Rantanen were roughly $1MM apart on a new deal. Rather than trying to continue sparring – or risk bending their internal cap – Colorado opted to flip their superstar without much second thought. Rantanen shared he was shocked by the sudden move, which moved him to the Hurricanes alongside Taylor Hall in exchange for Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a second-round pick, and a fourth-round pick. At the time, Rantanen told Corey Masisak of The Denver Post, “I was ready to take a significant discount for my market value. We had some chats, like a couple days before. Then they traded me. That’s what happened. That’s why I didn’t expect what happened.”

Apparently, Rantanen’s frustrations over the trade boiled into his first days in Carolina. To make matters worse, he left for the 4-Nations Face-Off tournament just over a week after playing in his first Hurricanes game – uprooting him as he tried to adjust to the new setting. With so much swirling around the move, it seemed Rantanen wasn’t ever going to be comfortable in Carolina. Canes head coach Rod Brind’Amour told Sportsnet that Rantanen laid it out flat from day one, telling him “There’s four teams I’ll go play for, but [Carolina] is not one of them.” Those are harsh words for an incoming addition – and made it clear that Rantanen had no indication of re-signing in his new destination. That held true even as Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky began his own negotiations, reportedly offering Rantanen as much as $12.6MM and showing the flexibility to go up to Draisaitl’s $14MM mark if need be.

With that, it was back to the open market for Rantanen. He had four landing spots top of mind but the Hurricanes received rich interest from across the league. The New Jersey Devils were the first team attached to the second market, and were quickly joined by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings, Florida Panthers, and Dallas Stars.

Negotiations stalled out at different points with each team, but were said to go well down towards completion with Toronto, Edmonton, and Dallas. The Leafs are said to have offered a compelling package of top prospects Fraser Minten, Easton Cowan, and draft capital for the 100-point scorer – but Carolina countered with a package involving Toronto’s own star winger Mitch Marner. Marner was unwilling to waive his full no-movement clause for the move – ultimately caving talks in.

With one Canadian club dissatisfied, Carolina moved on to talks with the Edmonton Oilers – who were able to better match Rantanen’s desires for an extension, but couldn’t put together a return strong enough to sway the Hurricanes brass. That’s certainly no surprise. Edmonton has just one pick in the top two rounds of the 2025 or 2026 drafts – a second in the latter year. Their prospect pool is also relatively scant, headlined by Matthew Savoie with little depth behind him.

Where one bed is too soft – banked on future assets and inter-conference matchups – and the other is too hard – stuffed with filler to make up for lacking future pieces – Carolina was able to finally land on a perfect middle-ground in Dallas. The Stars are quickly turning into a wagon, with star veterans Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn continuing to perform (when healthy) while youngsters like Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley plant their feet at the top of the lineup. With that momentum, and a clear path to the postseason, Dallas was able to shed some layers to land a big fish. They offered Carolina high-upside youngster Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks, and two third-round picks in exchange for Rantanen – an offer far more impactful in the short and long term than Toronto or Edmonton mustered up.

But the move to Dallas wasn’t immediately fruitful. The Stars formed the framework of the trade, but needed to land an extension with Rantanen before things could go through. Dallas wasn’t nearly as liberal with their wallets as some of Rantanen’s other options, and held firm to the $12MM-per-year mark on a new deal. That number came in $500K less than what Carolina had offered Rantanen, which initially put the winger off and seemed to push the deal towards falling flat. But diligent negotiating, and surely a desire to end this saga, ultimately forced Rantanen to cave. He signed an eight-year, $96MM extension with Dallas on the day of the Trade Deadline – finally (finally) landing him in a place where he could plant his feet.

On the organizational level, it seems everyone emerged from the jungle happy. Colorado landed a major contributor in Necas, who already has 17 points in 16 games as MacKinnon’s new right-winger. Carolina may have lost that point-per-game scoring, but they reeled back in one of the league’s top 23-year-olds, and the draft capital to be satisfied even if he doesn’t pan out. And Dallas added a 100-point scorer to an organization that’s only had one – 2022-23 Jason Robertson – since 1990.

But the deal gets murky as you dig deeper. After beginning the saga with a surprising move to Carolina, Rantanen now finds himself standing directly opposite of his old battery-mate MacKinnon. Colorado and Dallas have fought for majority control of the Central Division for years, intermittently upended by the Winnipeg Jets or Minnesota Wild. It’s not exactly a two-horse race, but Dallas’ success hinges on their ability to beat Colorado in the regular and post seasons – and vice versa. The two sides have already faced off twice this season, splitting the results. They have one more meeting – on Sunday, March 16th – which will give Rantanen a chance to test out facing his former club before they likely reconvene in the playoffs. While all of Rantanen’s matches with the Stars will be closely watched – it will be those meetings against Colorado that many find the most telling, after a trade saga that dragged through months of confusion and rumors.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

NHL Suspends Aaron Ekblad 20 Games For Performance Enhancing Substances

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Panthers star defenseman Aaron Ekblad will miss the remainder of the regular season and first two games of the postseason after being suspended 20 games for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program, the league announced today. The suspension is without pay is accompanied by “mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health for evaluation and possible treatment.”

Suspensions for PEDs are quite rare in the NHL, but based on previous precedent, the length is to be expected. Nate Schmidt, now Ekblad’s teammate in Florida, was the most recent player to be suspended under the program while he was with the Golden Knights in training camp in 2018. He was also handed out a 20-game ban to begin the regular season, during which time he inked a six-year extension with Vegas.

Ekblad is just the sixth player to be suspended for PEDs since the 2012 lockout. Unlike in Schmidt’s case, where he testified he “could not have received any performance enhancement benefit from the trace amount that inadvertently got into my system,” Ekblad will not appeal the suspension and released the following statement (via Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman):

The news that I had failed a random drug test was a shock. Ultimately, I made a mistake by taking something to help me recover from recent injuries without first checking with proper medical and team personnel. I have let my teammates, the Panthers organization and our great fans down. For that, I am truly sorry. I have accepted responsibility for my mistake and will be fully prepared to return to my team when my suspension is over. I have learned a hard lesson and cannot wait to be back with my teammates.

The 29-year-old will not carry a cap hit for the remainder of the regular season, PuckPedia confirms, although that’s somewhat moot with the trade deadline now in the rearview. He ends his regular season on a six-game point streak (seven assists, plus-three rating) and has 3-30–33 in 56 games on the year, a raucous return to form for the veteran. He’d seen his point totals drop steadily in the past few years as his power-play opportunities dwindled, bottoming out with a career-low 18 points in 51 games last year before Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup. He’s reclaimed top power-play minutes this year after Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour left in free agency, though, and his performance (and ice time) have benefitted as a result.

His top-pairing minutes alongside Gustav Forsling will now presumably go to fresh trade pickup Seth Jones down the stretch. The Cats still have plenty of meaningful games remaining as they try to battle out the Maple Leafs and Lightning for the Atlantic Division title and secure home ice through the first two rounds of the playoffs, simultaneously avoiding having to play both powerhouses in Tampa Bay in Toronto in back-to-back rounds as they attempt to gain a third consecutive Eastern Conference Final berth. Jones, who’s averaged 21 minutes per game since the trade while quarterbacking the Panthers’ second power-play unit, is still looking for his first point in a Florida uniform.

It’s worth noting Ekblad, the Panthers’ franchise leader in games played among defensemen, may have ended his regular-season tenure in South Florida on a sour note. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent and could head elsewhere on the open market in July.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Blackhawks’ Artyom Levshunov Recalled, Expected To Make NHL Debut

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The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled top prospect Artyom Levshunov to the NHL roster. This marks the second call-up of the 2024 second-overall pick’s young career. He is expected to immediately step into the Hawks lineup, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Levshunov’s last call-up came on February 3rd, in the days leading up to Chicago’s two-week break for the 4-Nations Face-Off. He stuck around the NHL roster for two days worth of practices, but was returned to the minor leagues before he had a chance to break into the Blackhawks lineup. Levshunov has nine points in 12 AHL games since being reassigned – a major uptick on his 13 points in 38 games prior. With 22 points in 50 games across the full season, Levshunov ranks ninth among AHL rookie defensemen in scoring.

The Blackhawks controversially opted for Levshunov’s stout defense over the dynamic scoring of winger Ivan Demidov and the physical presence of center Cayden Lindstrom with their top pick in last year’s draft. The decision came after Levshunov fought his way into the role of number-one defenseman for the Big Ten’s Michigan State University, after transferring from the USHL to college hockey late into the 2023 summer. The quick move was just one year after Levshunov moved from Belarus’ juniors league to the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers. He adjusted quickly to both junior hockey and collegiate hockey – and now seems to be bringing along his scoring at a pro level too.

Chicago will get a chance to bank on Levshunov’s hot streak with this recall. The Blackhawks have a glaring hole on right-defense after trading star defender Seth Jones ahead of the Trade Deadline. Jones’ minutes have been filled by Louis Crevier and Connor Murphy in the immediate wake of the deal, but have allowed an average of 37 shots-against in their four games since the Jones trade. That’s a ton of pressure for new acquisition Spencer Knight in net, and while he’s handled it well – finding a way to stop up the barrage of shots will be a top priority for Chicago’s remaining season. The stout two-way play of Levshunov could be exactly what Chicago needs, and gives the Blackhawks an even better chance to lean into their future amidst a punted season.

Utah’s Connor Ingram Enters NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program

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Utah goaltender Connor Ingram entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program today and will be out indefinitely, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports. In a corresponding move, the club recalled netminder Jaxson Stauber from AHL Tucson earlier Sunday.

Ingram, now 27, missed most of the 2020-21 season after entering the program while a member of the Predators organization. He later told NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin that he sought help after dealing with undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder throughout his career. After moving to the Coyotes in the 2022 offseason, he emerged as their starter for the 2023-24 campaign and won the Masterton Trophy for the “player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey” after a 23-win, six-shutout campaign.

Now the No. 2 option to Karel Vejmelka in Utah, Ingram missed over a month with the team initially termed an upper-body injury earlier in the season. Upon his return, he informed reporters his mother had passed away and, understandably, took extended time off (via Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune).

In 22 starts for the Club this season, Ingram has a 9-8-4 record, .882 SV%, and a 3.27 GAA. The 25-year-old Stauber has done quite well when called upon to elevate from his minor-league starting role, posting a .925 SV% and 2.23 GAA in four appearances earlier this season.

All of us at Pro Hockey Rumors wish Ingram the best as he takes time away from the lineup. He’ll be eligible to return to play upon the determination of program administrators.

Hurricanes, Leafs Couldn’t Agree On Swap Of Mikko Rantanen And Mitch Marner

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The fallout from the Trade Deadline is starting to settle, revealing more about the Carolina Hurricanes attempt to flip star winger Mikko Rantanen. The Dallas Stars ultimately won the sweepstakes, landing Rantanen and an eight-year extension in exchange for top young forward Logan Stankoven, two first round picks, and two third round picks. But Carolina had multiple other fish on the line, including getting well down the path to send Rantanen to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The deal ultimately fell apart because Toronto wasn’t willing to send winger Mitch Marner back the other way, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Like Rantanen before he signed in Dallas, Marner is a pending free agent who’s likely to demand a serious payday when he hits the open market. But Marner wasn’t willing to discuss an extension mid-season, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic. A long-term commitment was a prerequisite for the Hurricanes, leading to Toronto’s big splash falling to land. Johnston adds that the deal officially fell apart when Marner refused to waive his full no-movement clause.

Without Marner involved, Toronto’s final offer is said to have been top prospects Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan, and two first round picks per Nick Kypreos on Sportsnet 590. When that package was turned down, Toronto opted to instead send Minten, a first-round pick, and a fourth-round to the Boston Bruins for top defenseman Brandon Carlo. Carlo is under contract through the 2026-27 season at a manageable $3.625MM cap hit, after Boston retained 15 percent in the trade.

The implications of this deal would have been transformative. Marner has been deeply engrained on Toronto’s top line since making his NHL debut in 2016-17. He scored 61 points in 77 games as a rookie, and two seasons later scratched the century mark with 94 points in 82 games. Injuries and a shortened season held Marner to just 67 points in the next two seasons, but he found new heights when the NHL returned to full after the pandemic. Marner scored 35 goals and 97 points in 2021-22 and topped it with 99 points in 2022-23. Two years later, he’s on pace to confidently clear the 100-point mark this season, with 77 points in 61 games so far.

Marner would have certainly matched with Carolina’s top-end. He plays a high-skill, downhill style that could have fit well between the aggressive forechecking of Seth Jarvis and poised playmaking of Sebastian Aho. Instead, Carolina lands 22-year-old Stankoven to fill that role, after the latter scored 29 points in 59 games with Dallas. Stankoven brings a wave of hard-working grit and future stability to a Hurricanes program that’s earned a confident playoff spot in each of the last six seasons.

Through the thick of what could have been, Marner has doubled down on his commitment to the Leafs with this news. Presented with a chance for a short-term trip to Carolina before entering free agency, Marner has instead decided to hold true to the blue-and-white. He is set to enter unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career this summer, and has emphasized his desire to save contract talks for after the season. With plenty of time before Toronto plays their last games, Leafs fans can stand by this bode of confidence as an indication that Marner could be looking to stick around for even longer.

Dallas Stars Sign Wyatt Johnston To Five-Year Extension

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Saturday: The Stars officially announced the signing.  GM Jim Nill released the following statement:

Wyatt has established himself as one of the best young forwards in the NHL. His skill, maturity, and dedication to the game has already made him a valuable contributor and we believe he will be a huge asset for us moving forward.

Friday: According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Dallas Stars have agreed to a five-year, $42MM extension with forward Wyatt Johnston. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period provided Johnston’s extension details:

  • Year 1: $4.4MM base salary, $4MM signing bonus
  • Year 2: $5.4MM base salary, $3MM signing bonus
  • Year 3: $8.4MM base salary
  • Year 4: $8.4MM base salary
  • Year 5: $8.4MM base salary

It’s not the long-term eight-year deal Jeff Marek alluded to a few days ago, but it’s still a solid bit of work from general manager Jim Nill. The likely comparable to Johnston’s negotiations was Detroit Red Wings’ forward Lucas Raymond, who signed an eight-year, $64.6MM extension in mid-September. Johnston got a comparative salary bump with an $8.4MM AAV and can walk right into unrestricted free agency after the 2029-30 NHL season.

There’s no questioning he’s earned that salary. Since debuting with the Stars in 2022-23, Johnston has scored 79 goals and 165 points in 226 games, averaging 17:02 ice time per game. That point production is the highest of the 2021 NHL Draft class by a 29-point margin. Unlike many centers in his age group, Johnston has also demonstrated maturity in the faceoff dot with a career success rate of 48.5%.

Johnston has also been an important factor for the Stars come playoff time. He tied for the team lead in scoring during last year’s postseason run, scoring 10 goals and 16 points in 19 contests. His production has been indispensable for the Stars, and it should remain that way, considering he’s 21 years old.

Next summer, questions will likely be raised in Dallas regarding the Stars’ salary cap situation. The team has added $20.4 million to next year’s cap with the recent contract extension for  Mikko Rantanen. While this shouldn’t heavily impact the team in the upcoming season—aside from possibly losing their aging captain, Jamie Benn—the long-term implications for the 2026-27 season could be concerning. Jason Robertson, who will be a restricted free agent after the 2025-26 season, is just three years away from unrestricted free agency and has proven himself worthy of a raise from his current $7.75 million salary. This could pose a challenge for the Stars in fitting his new salary within the cap at that time.

Maple Leafs Acquire Brandon Carlo In Three-Team Trade With Bruins, Penguins

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7:15 PM: The Bruins announced their portion of the trade, confirming that they received Minten, a 2026 first-round pick (top-five protected), and a 2025 fourth-round selection for Carlo.

2:11 PM: The Maple Leafs have acquired defenseman Brandon Carlo from the Bruins, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports. The Leafs are sending center prospect Fraser Minten to the Bruins, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff adds it’s a three-team deal with the Penguins, who are receiving defenseman Conor Timmins and forward Connor Dewar from Toronto. The Leafs are sending a first-round pick to Boston in the deal as well, per Seravalli. Pittsburgh is sending a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Leafs in exchange for Timmins and Dewar, per the Maple Leafs. Additionally, Boston has retained 15 percent of Carlo’s $4.1MM salary, shares Joshua Kloke of The Athletic.

Through the mix of a three-team deal and hurdles over the cap space, Toronto lands an impactful shutdown defenseman in Carlo. He’s six-foot-five, 220 pounds and offers an invaluable right-hand shot. Those traits helped Carlo stamp out a daily lineup role almost immediately upon entering the league in 2016-17. Boston drafted Carlo in the second-round of the 2015 NHL Draft and promoted him to the pros at the end of the following season. He recorded just one assist in his first seven AHL games, but performed well enough at Boston’s following training camp to ditch the minor leagues entirely.

Carlo made the Bruins roster out of camp in the 2016-17 season. The team attempted to ease him into a lineup role, but one assist and a plus-five in 17 minutes of his NHL debut quickly showed Carlo’s impact would translate to the top flight. He was playing upwards of 24 minutes a night in just his third NHL game – and hung on to a top-pair role next to Bruins legend Zdeno Chara for the rest of his rookie season. Carlo managed 16 points, 59 penalty minutes, and a plus-nine while playing in all 82 games of his rookie year.

The top-pair conditioning continued to pay off through the next three seasons. Carlo never posted much scoring – netting his career-high of 19 points in 2019-20 – but he continued to average at least 20 minutes of ice time, on the pack of an imposing defensive presence. His role has dwindled in the years since, but his impact remains impressively consistent. Even through this season, the 28-year-old Carlo has managed nine points, 24 PIMs, and a plus-two in 63 games.

Toronto could confidently turn towards Carlo for top-pair minutes for the remainder of the season. He’ll be a shining replacement for the injured Chris Tanev, who Toronto placed on injured reserve on March 2nd. When Tanev returns, Toronto will boast a pair of high-impact, low-scoring defensive-defenseman on the right side – complimenting the more offensively-geared Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the left.

Carlo is notably signed through the end of the 2026-27 season at a manageable $3.485MM cap hit after Boston’s retention.

While the Leafs sort of their sudden heap of defensive talent, Boston will relish in the addition of a clear top prospect in Fraser Minten. Minten made the Maple Leafs roster out of camp to start the season, and recorded four points – split evenly – across the first 15 games of his NHL career.

Minten was assigned to the AHL to start the season but quickly made Toronto second-guess their decision. He was called up to the NHL in mid-November after posting four points in five games to start the AHL season. Minten continued the hot scoring into his first taste of NHL action, netting four points across his first five NHL games of the season. His scoring dried up after that – with no scoring in his last 10 NHL games – but Minten has stayed productive in the minor leagues, where he has 13 points in 26 games.

This is Minten’s first season of professional hockey. He spent the last four seasons with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and, briefly, Saskatoon Blades. Minten totaled 188 points in 187 career games in the WHL, including 55 points in 67 games of the 2021-22 campaign. That was enough to earn him a second-round selection in the 2022 NHL Draft – a divisive pick at the time. Minten also earned the honor of captaining Team Canada at the 2024 World Junior Championships, where he scored three points in five games. It was his first time representing Canada internationally.

Minten is still working on figuring out his pro footing but he’ll offer tantalizing upside once he’s level. He’s an impactful two-way centerman who is strong on the faceoff dot and smart with his positioning. Those traits could be tailor-made for a Bruins organization that’s already developed Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle into strong, top-six options.

The deal is rounded out by Toronto sending depth skaters Dewar and Timmins to the Penguins as a cap dump. That addition frees up $2.28MM in cap space for the Leafs, which will effectively be their only cap space for the remainder of the year. Both Dewar and Timmins could find a path to routine minutes for Pittsburgh, where they’ll play under former Leafs GM Kyle Dubas.

Dewar has served as Toronto’s fourth-line center for much of the year but has been fairly low-event. He has just three assists, five penalty minutes, and a minus-three through 31 appearances. That’s a far step down from the 19 points, 28 PIMs, and minus-eight he totaled in 74 games last season, split between time with the Minnesota Wild and Maple Leafs. He’s found a groove as a gritty, hard-nosed bottom-line option – which should fit right in with the makeup of Pittsburgh’s current fourth line. Dewar will challenge Blake Lizotte for routine ice time, but could be pushed to the flanks to challenge Bokondji Imama or Noel Acciari should Pittsburgh prefer to keep Lizotte in.

Timmins has landed in a similar rut. He’s been a bottom-pair option for the Leafs, with eight points, 24 PIMs, and a plus-two in 51 games this season. That is also a downtick in scoring form the 10 points Timmins managed in 25 games last year, and the 14 points he posted in 25 games of 2022-23. Pittsburgh has been searching for more defense depth after trading away Marcus Pettersson. Timmins could find a way into the vacant role, though he’ll first compete with Ryan Graves and newcomer Vladislav Kolyachonok for minutes.

Both Dewar and Timmins are set to enter restricted free agency this summer.

Panthers Acquire Brad Marchand From Bruins

at CDT | by 57 Comments

The Bruins are shipping out captain Brad Marchand to the Panthers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports the trade is happening, pending league call. Boston is receiving a 2027 second-round pick that will upgrade to a 2028 first-round pick if conditions are met, per John Buccigross of ESPN. The Bruins will retain 50 percent of Marchand’s $6.125MM cap hit, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now, alleviating any cap concerns Florida would have.

Both sides have made the deal official. The conditional second-round pick will upgrade to a first-round pick if Florida wins two rounds of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Marchand appears in at least half of the team’s playoff games.

Marchand is currently injured. He is expected to miss the next “couple of weeks” with an upper-body injury, Panthers general manager Bill Zito told media including David Dwork of The Hockey News. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney told Connor Ryan of the Boston Globe that Marchand should miss three-to-four weeks.

Just days after swapping top young goaltender Spencer Knight for top-four defenseman Seth Jones, the Florida Panthers are taking another swing at landing the blockbuster deal of the Trade Deadline. They’re able to take on Marchand’s reduced $3.0625MM cap hit after placing star winger Matthew Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve. Tkachuk is expected to likely miss the remaining regular season after suffering a lower-body injury at the 4-Nations Face-Off.

Marchand will fill Tkachuks’ role of getting under opponents’ skin perfectly. Tenacious forechecking and high scoring have been the defining attributes of Marchand’s 16-year career with the Bruins. He ranks fourth in Bruins franchise history in goals (422), games played (1,090), and penalty minutes (1,113). Marchand also ranks fifth in all-time points (976). Those are impressive records for a career-long player on an Original Six club, and they shape Marchand’s standing as one of the best Bruins of the 2010s.

Marchand’s legacy in Boston runs deep. The Bruins originally drafted him in the third round of the 2006 NHL Draft and awarded him with his NHL debut four years later. Marchand didn’t break out in 20 regular season games to start his career, but did explode as a high-impact, top-six forward as Boston entered the 2011 postseason. He recorded 11 goals, 19 points, 40 penalty minutes, and a plus-12 in 25 games of Boston’s playoff run, ultimately supporting the team to their first Stanley Cup win since 1972.

That postseason performance stapled Marchand to Boston’s top-six, and he didn’t give the team a chance to second-guess. He scored 21 goals and 41 points in 77 games in his first full NHL season. He went on to average 23.2 goals and 45.4 points each season through the first five years of his career. But Marchand had plenty more in store. He broke out with 37 goals and 61 points in the 2015-16 season, the start of seven-year streak of rivaling or breaking the 30-goal mark. Along the way, Marchand posted a career-high 100 points in the 2018-19 season – on the back of a dangerous duo with Boston’s David Pastrnak.

Marchand continues to produce into this season. He has 21 goals and 47 points on the year, good for second on the Bruins in goals and points – and an 82-game pace of 28 goals and 63 points. But his eight-year contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and Boston has opted to net assets for him while they can rather than let him walk in free agency.

The headache of playing against Marchand could only get worse for his opponents around the Atlantic Division. This move sends him to the reigning Stanley Cup champions, where the role of a top-line grinder and scorer is clearly carved out. The Panthers rank second in the Eastern Conference with a 39-21-3 record this season. They also rank eighth in the NHL with a 3.25 goals-per-game average – just over 1.5 goals more than Boston has averaged this season.

Moving to an improved offense, and likely set to fill a role next to superstar Aleksander Barkov, should give Marchand a major scoring boost. He managed 29 goals and 67 points last season, and could quickly rediscover those totals as the Panthers look for a hard-nosed finisher in front of the net.

While the Panthers work to make the most out of Marchand’s first move away from Boston, the Bruins will work to find a reasonable top-line replacement. Boston acquired forward Casey Mittelstadt from the Colorado Avalanche earlier on Deadline day, which could open up a chance for Elias Lindholm or Matthew Poitras to push for the top left-wing role. If not a converted center, Boston will likely need to turn towards spot scorers like Morgan Geekie or Riley Tufte.

The Bruins could also use this as a golden chance to recall top prospect Fabian Lysell. Lysell ranks third among active Providence Bruins in scoring with 30 points in 46 games this season. He received his NHL debut earlier this season, but was reassigned after one outing without any scoring. Many fans have yearned for Lysell’s call-up throughout most of the last two seasons – though it seems Boston is still wanting him to find another gear before they promote him full-time. Lysell scored 50 points in 56 AHL games last year – good for fourth on Providence in scoring.

Marchand took over Boston’s captaincy after star Patrice Bergeron retired in 2023. Dealing him away will be a monumental shift for the Bruins lineup, that will likely take years to fully heal from. The potential for a 2028 first-round pick will support that process, though Boston could still end up a top name in buyer’s markets to come as they look to redefine their future. Meanwhile, Florida will inherent Marchand’s expiring contract. The 36-year-old winger could reasonably sign a short-term deal this summer to round out the end of his career, but that interest could be gauged by how long of a postseason run Florida is able to achieve. The Panthers added two top-of-the-lineup pieces in Marchand and Jones, bolstering a roster that was already ranked near the top of the NHL. They’ll be a formidable foe as the postseason rolls around.

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