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Oilers Acquire Jake Walman From Sharks

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3/7: The Edmonton Oilers have confirmed the acquisition of Walman, documenting the return as a conditional 2026 or 2027 first-round pick and minor-leaguer Carl Berglund. Berglund has 12 points in 45 AHL games this season.

3/6: According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers are working on a trade that would send defenseman Jake Walman north to Alberta. Pagnotta later shared that the trade is nearly complete, and there are rumblings that a first-round pick is headed to San Jose. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug added that Edmonton is expected to send a prospect back to the Sharks as a part of the deal, and the pick will have conditions on it.

The deal may take some time to finalize. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported that the Oilers have some roster constraints, meaning the trade may not be completed until later tonight or early tomorrow morning.

In another master class move with one of his assets, general manager Mike Grier continues to collect future assets for the Sharks. Remaining one of the more baffling moves of the summer, San Jose acquired Walman and a 2024 second-round pick from the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations last off-season. He’s now added two picks in the top 64 at no cost.

Walman has thrived in his new environment, too. He leads all San Jose defensemen in scoring with six goals and 32 points in 50 games, averaging 23:11 of ice time per night. He hasn’t been a drain on their possession metrics either, as Walman has maintained a 49.4% CorsiFor% at even strength, which is good for fourth on the team.

To put this season into perspective, Walman is only seven points away from matching his total point production with the Red Wings. Granted, he’s averaged nearly four minutes more a night, but it’s still a noteworthy development for the Toronto native.

He should fit seamlessly into the Oilers’ lineup. Although Edmonton could have used a right-handed defenseman, Walman isn’t a stranger to playing his off-side. He’ll join Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, and Darnell Nurse in the Oilers’ top four, giving them flexibility to build their bottom pairing with Brett Kulak, John Klingberg, Ty Emberson, and Troy Stecher.

Unfortunately, Walman doesn’t have much postseason experience. Despite the 2024-25 campaign being his seventh year in the NHL, Walman has one postseason contest to his name, coming back in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs with the St. Louis Blues. Walman can rely on his teammates for that, given that much of the roster made it to Game Seven of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final less than a year ago.

The last major benefit to Edmonton is that Walman is signed to an affordable $3.4MM salary through next season. The team still has to figure out a new contract for Bouchard, but Walman gives them more clarity on their blue line, at the very least.

Avalanche Acquire Brock Nelson From Islanders

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The Colorado Avalanche have acquired forward Brock Nelson and AHL winger William Dufour from the New York Islanders. In return, the Islanders have received top prospect Calum Ritchie, a conditional 2026 or 2027 first-round pick, a conditional 2028 third-round pick, and depth defenseman Oliver Kylington. New York has retained half of Nelson’s $6MM cap hit, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The deal was first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

In a corresponding move, the Islanders have sent Kylington to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for future considerations. Nelson’s retained $3MM cap hit will take Colorado up to the cap ceiling. Moving Kylington opens $1.05MM in cap space for the Avalanche. The Islanders opt to flip the defender rather than add to their heap of recent blue-line additions, including Scott Perunovich and Adam Boqvist.

The Avalanche have landed a big fish on the eve of the Trade Deadline. Nelson has been with the Islanders for all 12 years of his career and continues to stand as a pillar of the lineup through this season. He was tied for the Islanders scoring lead this season, with 20 goals and 43 points in 61 games. Nelson also made Team USA’s 4-Nations Face-Off roster, though he didn’t post any scoring in four games. The Islanders were said to be working on finding an extension for Nelson up until the final moments. Instead, they opt to send him across the league in a deal that will likely price Colorado out of any further deadline moves. The Avalanche will carry just $1.337MM in cap space after this move, per PuckPedia.

New York originally drafted Nelson 30th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft. He played through his first pro season two years later and instantly stood apart from the rest. Nelson led the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in scoring with 52 points in 66 games as an AHL rookie. He followed that standout performance by carving out an NHL role in the 2013-14 season, stamped by 14 goals and 26 points in 72 games. With his feet under him, Nelson broke out with 42 points in his sophomore year – and quickly became one of the league’s most consistent and reliable second-line forwards. He played in 81 or 82 games in all five season between 2014 and 2019 – rivaling 20 goals and 40 points in every season.

It was Nelson who succeeded star John Tavares’ role as the Islanders’ top-line center after the latter left ahead of the 2018-19 season. Nelson’s scoring has only grown since he took over the top-line role. He scored 53 and 54 points in 2018-19 and 2019-20. The shortened 2020-21 season slowed him down a bit – with 33 points in 56 games, or an 82-game pace of 48 points. But Nelson has made up for the slump by finding an extra gear over the last four seasons. He scored a career-high 37 goals and 59 points in 72 games of the 2021-22 season. That was followed with 36 goals and a career-high 75 points in 2022-23. And he stayed at his new standard with 34 goals and 69 points last year.

Nelson has hit his stride as he enters his mid-30s. He’s on pace for 26 goals and 58 points this season, and should only find a greater boost in what’s sure to be a top-six role with the Avalanche. Colorado ranks eighth in the league with a 3.24 goals-per-game average. Their second line is flanked by Valeri Nichushkin and Jonathan Drouin on the wings, who should support Nelson’s slowing style well. Nelson will likely step ahead of Casey Mittelstadt in the lineup, bumping Mittelstadt to the third-line after scoring 11 goals and 34 points in 62 games this season. That’s exactly the depth Colorado will need to push for another long run in what’s shaping up to be a tough postseason.

Joining Nelson in the move to Colorado is AHL winger William Dufour. Dufour has 18 points in 45 games with Bridgeport this season – continuing his gradual decline in scoring since his rookie AHL season. Dufour broke into the minors in the 2022-23 season and scored a hot 21 goals and 48 points in 69 games. That scoring earned him his NHL debut, though he didn’t manage any scoring. Dufour fell to 15 goals and 25 points last year, and is now on pace for just 22 points this year.

Meanwhile, the Islanders will land a heap in return. Calum Ritchie was confidently Colorado’s top prospect and made the NHL roster out of training camp at the start of this season. He scored one goal in seven games to start the season, but was returned to the OHL before Colorado burned a full year of his contract. He’s been fantastic ever since, with 14 goals and 67 points in 41 games as the Oshawa Generals captain. Colorado drafted Ritchie with the 27th-overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, after he posted 59 points in 59 OHL games in his draft year. He followed it with a confident 80 points last year, and is on narrow pace to beat that total this year.

Ritchie could enter the Islanders system with a very clear path towards NHL minutes as soon as he’s ready. Nelson’s departure opens nearly 19 minutes of nightly ice time. The Islanders can distribute that between Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Casey Cizikas, and Kyle MacLean through the end of the regular season, but they’ll need a much hardier depth option to stay competitive next year. Ritchie could be exactly that, after getting a taste of the NHL next to stars like Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar earlier this year. Ritchie has sturdy size at six-foot-three and 190-pounds – and he had a few flashes of upside in his brief NHL minutes. A clear opportunity could be exactly the set up he needs to work towards a strong pro breakout.

If not, the Islanders will be able to lean on a first-round selection in either the 2026 or 2027 drafts. Both classes are expected to be strong through the first round, headlined by seemingly generational talents Gavin McKenna and Landon DuPont respectively, each backed by their own string of other strong prospects. It could prove lucrative holding Colorado’s future draft capital, as they age up significantly with this Nelson deal. It’s clear the Avalanche are pushing for competition this year Nelson will fill the strong top-six role Colorado is looking for, while New York makes a clear and confident bet towards their future.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Rangers Acquire Carson Soucy

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6:30 PM: The trade has been made official by both teams.

5:15 PM: The New York Rangers have reportedly acquired veteran defenseman Carson Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks, per TSN’s Darren Dreger. In return, the Vancouver Canucks will receive the San Jose Sharks’ third-round draft pick, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, which New York acquired in an earlier trade that sent winger Reilly Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Vancouver reportedly asked Soucy to waive his full no-trade clause earlier in the day, per Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic, who adds that Soucy took his time and fielded a call from fellow former-Canuck and now-Ranger J.T. Miller.

For much of the season, Soucy has been the focal point of trade rumors. He’s in his second year with the Canucks after signing a three-year, $9.8MM contract with the team in 2023. Soucy recorded six points, 12 penalty minutes, and a plus-10 in 40 games with Vancouver last season, while filling roles on both sides of the lineup. But a lower-body injury earned him a spot on injured reserve from November to January – and a hand injury shelved him for another month in February. The routine absences ate into Soucy’s ability to earn a top-four lineup role in Vancouver. He’s spent this season confined to bottom-pair minutes, with 10 points, 42 penalty minutes, and a dismal minus-13 in 59 games.

Soucy has been a routine depth defenseman since he earned his first three NHL games in 2017-18. Originally a 2013 fifth-round selection, Soucy played through his rookie season with the 2018-19 Minnesota Wild, netting 14 points, 18 penalty minutes, and a plus-16. That was enough to earn Soucy Minnesota’s oft-rotating seventh-defender role, and he showed signs of comfort with 17 points, 51 penalty minutes, and a plus-22 in 50 games of his sophomore season.

Soucy’s signs of stout depth defense were enough to convince the Seattle Kraken to select him from Minnesota in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. A move out West brought with it a chance at more ice time that Soucy relished in. He recorded 10 goals, 21 points, 47 penalty minutes, and a plus-seven in 64 games with the inaugural Seattle Kraken while averaging 17:40 in ice time. Each of those stats still stand as Soucy’s career-highs. He struggled to maintain the scoring in his second year with Seattle – netting just 16 points in 78 games. That led to a move north in free agency, where Soucy again struggled to plant his feet in the daily lineup.

He’ll now head out East to join a Rangers blue-line that’s seen plenty of change this season. New York has parted ways with Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren, and Victor Mancini in favor of adding Urho Vaakanainen, Erik Brannstrom, and Calvin de Haan. Those new faces haven’t quite filled the lineup holes they were tasked with, which could open the door for Soucy to finally land a consistent role. Each of New York’s new additions have flashed upside in their short minutes with the Rangers, and will battle for at least two vacancies on the team’s bottom pair.

Bruins Taking Calls On Brad Marchand

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Despite Bruins captain Brad Marchand’s desire to stay with the team past the deadline even if they don’t have an extension in hand, the Boston front office has other plans. They’re now listening to calls on trade inquiries for the star winger while continuing extension dialogue, according to Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic.

Moving Marchand would mark a seismic shift in Boston’s organizational identity in myriad ways. A post-4 Nations break skid and injuries to top defenders Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy had the Bruins resigned as deadline sellers for the first time in a decade. Naturally, the assumption was they’d take a cautious approach to retooling their roster and move out some of their depth pending free agents. They already accomplished a deal for one of them, sending Trent Frederic to Edmonton earlier this week.

That’s not the case. Reports over the past week indicate they’re also open to moving players with term, namely top-six forwards Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha and top-four defenseman Brandon Carlo. Shipping out their captain, though, even as a pending UFA, removes the Bruins’ longest-tenured player and only remaining member from their 2011 Stanley Cup championship and indicates something closer to a rebuild than a retool as they consider their offseason plans.

While the Bruins are only three points out of a playoff spot, they have negative games in hand and are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. That has their playoff odds down to 5% amid a crowded Eastern playoff picture, per MoneyPuck, and the likelihood of a surge up the standings is limited significantly by an upper-body injury to Marchand himself. He’s listed as week-to-week after he was on the receiving end of a huge hit from Penguins defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph last weekend, so he wouldn’t be able to play for a new team immediately after a trade.

The possibility of a Marchand move is only starting to spike in real-time. He was left off The Fourth Period’s most recent trade board entirely, and Johnston had Marchand listed as the 37th and final player on the board he released just this morning.

But given this year’s market for rental pieces, it’s clear to see why Bruins general manager Don Sweeney would at least listen to offers. Boston could very well land multiple first-round picks or similarly-valued assets for his services, even without an extension agreed to. They still have two retention slots remaining and could slash his already palatable $6.125MM cap hit in half to make a trade to a cap-strapped contender easier. For a team with one of the worst prospect pools in the league, it’s an appealing thought for their odds of being championship contenders again by the end of the decade.

Golden Knights Acquire Reilly Smith From Rangers

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2:23 p.m.: The Knights and Rangers have made the trade official as reported.

12:58 p.m.: The Golden Knights are acquiring winger Reilly Smith from the Rangers in exchange for the Sharks’ 2025 third-round pick and forward prospect Brendan Brisson, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports. Vegas doesn’t have the space to accommodate Smith’s already-reduced $3.75MM cap hit, so New York is retaining 50% of his salary, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The Golden Knights have an open roster spot and won’t need to make a corresponding transaction.

It’s a reunion for Smith and Vegas, where he was a top-six fixture from the Knights’ inception through their run to the 2023 Stanley Cup championship. Cap constraints following the championship run influenced Vegas to deal Smith, who turns 34 next month, to the Penguins for a third-round pick. His tenure in Pittsburgh was underwhelming, limited to 13-27–40 in 76 games – halving his goal production from his final season with the Knights despite seeing consistent second-line deployment with the Pens alongside Evgeni Malkin.

Multiple reports indicated Smith wasn’t pleased with the move, which he couldn’t block with only a 12-team no-trade list. In addition to coming off a championship and playing a formative role in Vegas’ development as a franchise, he’d signed a three-year, $15MM extension with Vegas the prior offseason. The Penguins, content to find someone else to replace Smith’s minutes, flipped him to the Rangers last summer for a second- and fifth-round pick while retaining 25% of his salary.

Smith’s production didn’t rebound at all in the Big Apple. He’s scoring goals at the exact rate per game, and his point-per-game pace has dropped from 0.53 with the Pens to 0.50 with the Blueshirts. The veteran has 10-19–29 through 58 games and is on pace to register his fewest shots on goal in a season since his rookie year with the Stars in 2012-13.

During his first six-year tenure in Vegas, Smith averaged 26 goals and 59 points per 82 games. It’s unlikely he captures quite that much production on a per-game basis down the stretch given his recent decline, but he adds a familiar name to a bit of a hodgepodge group of wingers in Nevada. The team turned to the bargain bin on the free agent market last summer after losing Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault, center Chandler Stephenson, and serviceable depth scorer Michael Amadio to free agency, picking up names like Victor Olofsson and Tanner Pearson on the cheap. They also inked veteran Brandon Saad mid-season after he mutually terminated his contract with the Blues.

They’ve gotten solid showings out of Olofsson and Pearson. They are enjoying a 24-goal breakout campaign from Pavel Dorofeyev, but depth on the wings remained the Golden Knights’ most enormous hole on paper heading into the trade deadline. They’ll address it here instead of a more significant, complex acquisition like star Mikko Rantanen, who they were linked to this morning. That aligns with what general manager Kelly McCrimmon predicted for his club earlier this week.

Dealing Smith continues the Rangers’ unloading of pending UFAs for futures ahead of the deadline, but that will mark the extent of their selling as they remain in the Eastern Conference wild card race. They also shipped out defenseman Ryan Lindgren and winger Jimmy Vesey to the Avalanche over the weekend.

The most intriguing part of their return lies in Brisson, whom Vegas selected 29th overall in the 2020 draft. The 23-year-old winger was expected to compete for a roster spot out of camp this season amid the Knights’ aforementioned turnover. While he landed the gig, he had no points in nine games before being sent to AHL Henderson. His minor-league performance this season has been nothing short of disastrous, limited to 5-14–19 in 45 games with a team-worst -24 rating. His trade value was slashed as a result.

New York hopes Brisson can rebound to his 2023-24 form with their affiliate in Hartford. He looked promising with 38 points in 52 AHL games last year and even tallied a respectable 2-6–8 scoring line in 15 games of NHL action, the first of his career. With the move, the Golden Knights have now traded all of their first-round selections in franchise history outside of last year’s pickup, Trevor Connelly.

Smith’s absence will also continue an expanded youth movement in New York, which really started when the Rangers began scratching Smith for trade protection a few days ago. There’s more guaranteed ice time for names like Brett Berard and Brennan Othmann, and potentially even Brisson depending on his first impression in the AHL, down the stretch.

As for Vegas, they now have just roughly $500K in cap space, per PuckPedia. Unless they determine William Karlsson’s or Shea Theodore’s injuries will hold them out for the rest of the regular season, there’s no LTIR flexibility for them to dip into.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Blues’ Colton Parayko Out Six Weeks After Knee Operation

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In a massive blow to their defensive core, the St. Louis Blues announced Colton Parayko will miss the next six weeks after undergoing a scope on his left knee. Given that six weeks from today is two days after the Blues’ final regular season matchup, it likely means Parayko is done for the regular season.

The knee procedure was required after the team’s shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings last night. During the overtime period, Parayko fell awkwardly after an offensive zone faceoff, leading to his removal from the game for the remainder of the action.

It’s an unfortunate end to what was becoming a career year for the St. Albert, Alberta native. Parayko was, and still is, leading all Blues defensemen in goals, assists, points, even-strength goals, shots on goal, average time on ice, blocked shots, hits, and takeaways. He had already matched his career-high of 35 points in 18 fewer games.

Still, it wasn’t a completely perfect season for Parayko. Although his possession metrics have improved from last year, he’s still averaging a 47.1% CorsiFor% at even strength, slightly below his career average of 48.3%. Meanwhile, his defensive metrics have taken a hit, as evidenced by his career low 89.8% on-ice save percentage at even strength, but much of that can be explained by his 59.0% defensive zone starts percentage.

Regardless of the moderately depressed defensive metrics, it’s hard to define Parayko’s 2024-25 campaign as anything short of an impressive rebound. He’s raised his On-Ice Goals % at even strength from 40.7% in 2022-23 and 46.2% in 2023-24 to a solid 53.2% in 2024-25, notably driving the Blues’ offense.

After appearing as a net loss contract a few years ago, Parayko’s $6.5MM salary through the 2029-30 season is becoming more of an ideal contract for St. Louis. Parayko had been floated as a potential trade candidate leading into Friday’s deadline, but interested teams will likely revisit in the offseason once he’s recovered from the knee injury.

Devils Acquire Brian Dumoulin From Ducks

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11:48 a.m.: Both clubs have announced the trade as reported.

10:48 a.m.: The Devils have acquired defenseman Brian Dumoulin from the Ducks, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Anaheim receives the better of the Oilers’ or Jets’ 2025 second-round pick and the signing rights to winger Herman Träff in return, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic and Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. LeBrun adds the Ducks also retain 50% of Dumoulin’s $3.15MM cap hit. New Jersey had an open roster spot after placing Jack Hughes on long-term injured reserve yesterday following his season-ending shoulder surgery, so no corresponding move will be necessary.

As expected, the third-place Devils aren’t punting on their season following Hughes’ injury. They have a lot of work to do to hold onto their Metropolitan Division berth with defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler joining Hughes on LTIR and leading defense point-getter Dougie Hamilton out week-to-week, though. Dumoulin, coming in at an affordable $1.575MM price tag and on an expiring contract, is a short-term replacement down the stretch for the former. Meanwhile, Anaheim will finish the season with their three lefty rearguards under 25 – Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger.

Dumoulin, 33, has played all 61 games with the Ducks and turned in a very solid 2-14–16 scoring line with a plus-two rating while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game, although his possession numbers aren’t as encouraging. The stay-at-home defender’s 43.4 even-strength CF% is well below Anaheim’s 46.6% share without him on the ice, although he is starting a career-high 57.9% of his zone starts in the defensive end. His -12.9 expected rating is worst on the Ducks, though, and his 42.2 xGF% is his career’s worst possession quality control figure. Some positive regression on those numbers down the stretch is likely in a much more competent possession system in New Jersey.

Even with this year’s struggles, Dumoulin has a lengthy history of being a strong complementary top-four piece, spending most of his career in Pittsburgh alongside Kris Letang. He’s had above-average possession impacts as recently as last year with the Kraken, who signed him to his current two-year, $6.3MM contract in the 2023 offseason. He was a tad too expensive for their liking after loading up their blue line with Brandon Montour last summer, though, prompting them to trade him to Anaheim for a 2026 fourth-round pick. That’s a good bit of business for Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek, who upgrades that pick by two rounds and lands an additional prospect while getting 60-plus games out of Dumoulin.

New Jersey’s blue line wasn’t viewed as a priority area at the deadline a few weeks ago, but injuries to Hamilton and Siegenthaler evidently changed that. The latter was only expected to miss two to three weeks after undergoing a procedure over the 4 Nations break, but he’s already missed two and a half and hasn’t returned to practice.

Dumoulin will likely step into a bottom-pairing spot on the left side behind Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes in the interim, likely pushing youngster Seamus Casey back down to AHL Utica when Siegenthaler is ready to return. Whether Dumoulin remains in the regular lineup at that point remains to be seen. Siegenthaler has produced less individual offense this year when healthy with nine points in 55 games but has better relative possession impacts in more difficult minutes. That would presumably push Dumoulin to the press box short of someone shifting to their off side, making a second-rounder and a C-tier prospect a steep price to pay.

Träff, 19, was selected by New Jersey in the third round of last year’s draft. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic tabbed him as the No. 6 prospect in the Devils’ system in his 2025 rankings, but they acquired another big winger with a similar projection by picking up Shane Lachance from the Oilers in this week’s Trent Frederic three-team deal. That softens the blow of losing Träff, who’s posted a respectable 3-4–7 scoring line in 25 games with HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League as a teenager this year. The 6’3″, 216-lb winger will be buried a bit more in a deeper Ducks system but still has legitimate NHL upside.

He’ll remain with HV71 to close out the season. The Ducks will retain Träff’s signing rights through June 1, 2028. Notably, they’re down to one available retention slot after today’s move.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Utah Signs Karel Vejmelka To Five-Year Extension

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March 6: Utah has made Vejmelka’s extension official as reported.

March 5: A busy Wednesday for Utah continues.  After inking Alexander Kerfoot and Ian Cole to one-year extensions, the team has agreed to terms with its most prominent pending unrestricted free agent.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Utah has signed goaltender Karel Vejmelka to a five-year extension worth $4.75MM per season.

The 28-year-old was a late bloomer, only coming to North America at the age of 25 on a one-year, two-way contract.  But instead of being a depth option as expected, he wound up quickly becoming their starter, getting into 52 games.  While his overall numbers weren’t great on a rebuilding team (a 3.68 GAA and a .898 SV%), he did well enough to secure a three-year, $8.175MM extension less than 11 months after getting that entry-level pact, a deal that kept him off the trade block leading into the 2022 trade deadline.

The first two seasons of that contract were similar to the first while last year, he started to cede playing time to Connor Ingram who effectively took over as the strong side of the platoon in goal.  Along the way, his numbers largely stayed the same with a save percentage a little below .900 and a GAA well above the 3.00 mark.  On a team that wasn’t particularly focused on getting to the playoffs, those numbers were fine but there were some questions as to whether he could elevate his game when the time came for the club to start to try to emerge from that rebuild.

Those questions have been answered in a big way this season.  Vejmelka has reclaimed the number one nod in a big way, shaving more than a full goal off his GAA compared to his first three years with this year’s number checking in at 2.45 through 38 appearances.  His save percentage is up 15 points from last year, landing at .910, well above league average.  On top of that, he has cracked the top 10 in goals saved above average, per MoneyPuck.  He has played a big role in Utah hanging around the periphery of the playoff chase; they came into play today sitting just four points behind Calgary for the final Wild Card spot in the West.

This contract falls in line with some of the more recent deals signed for netminders.  Seattle’s Joey Daccord received $5MM per season for five years on his extension earlier this season while Kevin Lankinen’s five-year extension signed last month carries a $4.5MM cap charge.  Clearly, those two deals served as comparables to help get this deal across the finish line.

With the signing, Utah now has its goalie tandem signed through at least the 2026-27 season at a more-than-reasonable combined cap hit of $6.7MM.  Meanwhile, they now have 20 players signed for next season so while there’s an expectation that GM Bill Armstrong is going to try to make a splash, it doesn’t appear as if their roster is going to have a lot of turnover for 2025-26.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Maple Leafs, Stars, Kings, Golden Knights, Panthers Calling On Mikko Rantanen

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9:44 a.m.: Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic adds the Golden Knights and Panthers as teams who have made legitimate pitches for Rantanen in the last 24 hours, also moving the player to the top of his pre-deadline board. Vegas would need retention on Carolina’s part to get a deal done with $2.4MM in deadline cap space, with the Hurricanes likely targeting someone like 24-goal man Pavel Dorofeyev as part of the return. Florida wouldn’t need retention after placing Matthew Tkachuk on LTIR for what’s expected to be the remainder of the regular season, and might need to surrender top forward prospect Mackie Samoskevich to get it done. He’s recently been elevated to a top-six role in Tkachuk’s absence.

8:10 a.m.: The Maple Leafs, Stars, and Kings are three teams expressing high levels of interest in star right-winger Mikko Rantanen, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes. After reports first surfaced last month that the Hurricanes could flip Rantanen after acquiring him from the Avalanche in a January blockbuster if extension talks weren’t productive, Carolina has “opened the door” on trade talks late this week, Friedman said. There’s a long list of teams to display interest so far – including the Devils, James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now said Tuesday.

It remains to be seen how willing the Hurricanes are to move Rantanen, who will likely need to agree in principle to an extension with his new club for them to land the return they desire. Carolina isn’t a seller in any capacity – they’re nine points ahead of the playoff line and have a 99.6% chance at a playoff berth, per MoneyPuck – so they’re presumably not interested in futures as the primary value in a return.

The 6’4″ Finn hasn’t been what the Hurricanes expected when they surrendered Martin Nečas, Jack Drury, and three draft picks to acquire him and Taylor Hall in a three-team deal with the Blackhawks six weeks ago. Despite spending most of his time in the lineup stapled to star countryman Sebastian Aho’s wing as expected, he’s scored just 2-4–6 through 12 games in Carolina with a minus-two rating.

Rantanen’s brief but underwhelming showing outside of Colorado, where he’d torched the league for 1.28 points per game since 2020, will weigh on teams’ minds as they debate how many resources they’ll commit to acquiring and extending him. With an eight-year deal, he’s virtually guaranteed to become one of the four highest-paid players in the league, surpassing Oilers star Connor McDavid’s $12.5MM AAV and likely even former teammate Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6MM cap hit. AFP Analytics even projects an eight-year extension for Rantanen to cost $13.65MM per season, approaching $110MM in total value and making him the second-highest paid player in the league next season behind Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, who’ll be kicking off a mega-extension with a $14MM cap hit.

While there will surely be NHL players coming off the acquiring teams’ roster in a Rantanen return, the Maple Leafs are the only one of the above group who would need to make a money-in, money-out deal. Carolina, who has Rantanen on their books for $4.625MM against the cap after Chicago retained half his salary in January’s trade, can make him a $2.3MM player by retaining an additional 50%. That wouldn’t require additional shuffling on the Stars’ or Kings’ end.

Carolina will need an immediate replacement at wing in the deal. While it’s likely to be a downgrade in terms of overall reputation, they’ll still be asking for a bona fide top-six piece with other assets in the deal to make up the difference in trade value. For Toronto, that could mean parting ways with pending RFA Matthew Knies, shifting William Nylander to the left wing to replace him and casting Rantanen and Mitch Marner as their top two right wingers. Another bottom-six depth piece, potentially Calle Järnkrok, could also be out the door to help the Hurricanes replace the void left by William Carrier when he underwent lower-body surgery in late January.

The Kings have made their desire for a right-handed scorer public over the last few weeks and will pivot to second-line type names like the Islanders’ Kyle Palmieri if their efforts to land Rantanen are futile. Carolina likely demands someone like Trevor Moore in return, who erupted for 31 goals last year but has just 12 in 51 games this year. Breakout 23-year-old Alex Laferriere, who’s posted 15-16–31 in 56 games, is also an option as a centerpiece, but would require more additional assets from L.A. than Toronto would need to provide on top of the more highly-touted Knies.

Dallas, who’s already added Mikael Granlund to their forward group, has more appealing NHL-ready young talent to offer than their Western Conference rival. Either 2024 AHL MVP turned NHL full-timer Mavrik Bourque or 22-year-old Logan Stankoven could immediately slot into the Canes’ top-nine (or top-six, in Stankoven’s case), and are more in Knies’ territory in terms of long-term offensive ceiling than Laferriere and Moore.

Utah Signs Alexander Kerfoot To One-Year Extension

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After signing Olli Maatta to an extension back on Monday, Utah HC has taken another pending UFA off the market for this summer.  The team announced that they’ve signed center Alexander Kerfoot to a one-year contract extension.  While the financial terms weren’t disclosed by the team, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the deal will pay Kerfoot $3MM.  GM Bill Armstrong released the following statement about the signing:

We are very pleased for Alex to remain in Utah. Alex is an important leader for our group with his versatility on the ice and leadership off the ice, and we look forward to having his continued contribution as we fight down the stretch to make the playoffs.

The 30-year-old is in his second year with the organization going back to his time in Arizona.  But those two seasons have had considerably different trajectories.  Last year with the Coyotes, Kerfoot had the second-best offensive season of his career, tallying 13 goals and 32 assists in 82 games while logging a career-best 17:26 per night.  It looked like he’d be well on his way toward a long-term deal on his next contract if he could even match that level of performance.

But instead of producing at a similar level in 2024-25, Kerfoot’s output has dipped to the lowest levels of his eight-year NHL career.  Through 61 outings this season, he has just seven goals and nine assists while his playing time has dropped by more than two minutes a game.  While he is winning more than 50% of his faceoffs for the first time since his sophomore season, it’s fair to say his stock around the league has taken a hit.

To that end, it shouldn’t come as much surprise that Kerfoot opted to take just a one-year deal now, giving himself a chance at rebuilding some value before potentially taking a run at the 2026 free agent market when another big jump in the salary cap is expected.  He’s also taking a small cut in pay in the process to stick around; next season will be the first time since the 2018-19 campaign that he hasn’t carried a $3.5MM charge against the salary cap.

With the signing, Utah now has $73.5MM in commitments for next season to 18 players, per PuckPedia.  Those numbers could go up soon enough if they’re able to get goaltender Karel Vejmelka locked down on an extension, an outcome he’s known to be seeking.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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