Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Newsstand

Sabres Hire Jarmo Kekäläinen As Senior Advisor

at CDT | by 9 Comments

The Sabres have named former Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen as a senior advisor to GM Kevyn Adams, per a team release.

Kekäläinen “will be involved in all areas of the hockey department,” the club said. This is Kekäläinen’s first NHL job since Columbus relieved him of his duties as GM in February 2024. He’s been working in his native Finland since then as a senior advisor to Helsinki’s HIFK. Still, he’s interviewed for multiple NHL GM vacancies in the meantime, including the Hurricanes’ last year and the Islanders’ earlier this month.

It’s no secret the Sabres were looking to hire a more established NHL executive to work with the much younger Adams this summer as the franchise navigates a turning point amid their league-record 14-year playoff drought. They’ve been linked to recently-fired Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello and Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan at points over the last few weeks, but opted for Kekäläinen instead.

“As we navigated the process of hiring for this role, it very quickly became apparent that Jarmo was an ideal candidate to augment our front office,” Adams said in a statement. “From his extensive history in scouting, his long tenure as an NHL general manager and his vast experience at the international and European pro levels, Jarmo has a remarkable resume and a long history of success in this league. I spoke with a number of candidates about this role and it’s clear to me that Jarmo is a perfect fit for our team. I couldn’t be more excited to add another significant piece to our front office as we continue the process of adding to our staff.”

Kekäläinen will advise Adams as the duo determines whether to trade or extend a slate of pending restricted free agents that includes defenseman Bowen Byram and winger JJ Peterka. Also on the team’s offseason checklist is a new deal for center Ryan McLeod and opening extension talks with winger Alex Tuch.

The 58-year-old Kekäläinen hopes today’s appointment is a stepping stone back to an NHL GM role, whether that ends up being in Buffalo or elsewhere. He was one of the league’s longest-tenured GMs until his firing in Columbus, which hired him midway through the 2012-13 campaign. Before that, he spent three years as the Senators’ director of player personnel (1999-2002) and eight years with the Blues as their director of amateur scouting and assistant GM (2002-2010).

Kraken Hire Lane Lambert As Head Coach

at CDT | by 13 Comments

After a long search, the Kraken have found their new bench boss.  The team announced that Lane Lambert has been hired as the third head coach in franchise history.  GM Jason Botterill released the following statement:

After conducting an extensive search, we’re thrilled to announce Lane as our new head coach. We cast a wide net for suitable candidates. What impressed us throughout the interview process was Lane’s strategy and vision for this team. He was an integral part of the Capitals winning the Cup and the Islanders advancing to two straight Eastern Conference finals. We have full confidence in Lane to lead this team behind the bench.

Lambert will be taking over behind the bench from Dan Bylsma who was let go after just one year.  He had previously replaced Dave Hakstol who served as the head coach for the franchise’s first three seasons.  The hire shouldn’t come as too much surprise as earlier this week, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Lambert had emerged as the frontrunner for the position.

This will be Lambert’s second stint leading a team.  The 60-year-old spent 127 games in charge of the Islanders but was let go partway through the 2023-24 season and replaced by Patrick Roy.  Over that time, the Isles put up a 61-46-20 record while making the playoffs in 2022-23 where they lost in the first round.

The playoff success Botterill alludes to in his statement came when Lambert wasn’t in the top job.  He spent four years with Washington as an assistant including 2018 when the Capitals won the Stanley Cup.  Lambert followed Barry Trotz to the Islanders the following year while receiving a promotion to associate coach; their two Eastern Conference Final appearances came while he was in that role.  This past season, Lambert was an associate coach with Toronto who now has an opening to fill on their staff.

Lambert will now be tasked with turning around a Kraken team that impressed considerably in its sophomore season when they amassed 100 points in the regular season but has struggled since, putting up 81 and 76 over the last two.  One area of focus will undoubtedly be on the back end as they went from allowing the eighth-fewest goals in 2023-24 to 24th in that category this season while their possession game took a big hit as well.

With this hiring, there are now just two head coach vacancies remaining across the NHL: Pittsburgh and Boston.  The belief is that the Penguins are looking to finalize a hire before the end of the month while the Bruins have been whittling down their shortlist in recent days as well so it may not be much longer before all 32 spots are spoken for.

Photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports.

Flyers Sign Tyson Foerster To Two-Year Extension

at CDT | by 4 Comments

2:16 p.m.: Foester’s two-year extension is official as reported, the club announced Thursday afternoon.

12:13 p.m.: The Flyers are closing in on a two-year extension with pending RFA winger Tyson Foerster, according to Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff. It’s a $7.5MM contract worth $3.75MM per season, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Foerster will earn $3.5MM in base salary next season and $4MM in 2026-27 with no signing bonuses, per Kevin Kurz of The Athletic.

Philadelphia’s decision to bridge Foerster instead of giving him a long-term deal is an interesting one that bucks the league-wide trend. Foerster, 23, just finished a strong sophomore season after an impressive rookie campaign, particularly considering his defensive play. The right-shot winger posted 33 points, an even rating, and 102 hits for the Flyers in 77 games in his first year, placing him seventh in Calder Trophy voting for the league’s top rookie and even earning him some outside consideration for the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward. He got heavy deployment, averaging over 17 minutes per game, and controlled 54.1% of shot attempts at even strength – this after recording seven points through his first eight NHL games the year prior.

Things only improved for him in 2024-25. He was healthy scratched once early in the season by former head coach John Tortorella after a slow start, but quickly regained his top-nine role and didn’t miss a game the rest of the way. He scored 25 goals and 43 points in 81 appearances, the former of which ranked second on the team behind star rookie Matvei Michkov’s 26 tallies. While his possession numbers took a small hit, his on-ice shot suppression impacts were still third on the team at 24.19 SA/60 at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Foerster had not accrued enough NHL experience to be eligible for salary arbitration if he didn’t have a new deal by July. His deal comes across as slightly shorter and a tad pricier per season than the three-year, $3.3MM AAV deal AFP Analytics projected him to receive. The 2020 23rd overall pick will be an RFA again with one year of team control left when his extension expires in 2027.

The Philadelphia forward group remains lacking outside of the high-end offensive upside that Michkov, Travis Konecny, and, to some degree, Owen Tippett offer. Strong two-way play from their secondary forwards has always been a hallmark of the club’s identity, though, and it’ll presumably stay that way with head coach Rick Tocchet now at the helm. Foerster fits that bill expertly with an above-average finishing touch as well, and he’s also one of their stockier forwards at 6’2″ and 214 lbs.

Bridging Foerster does leave some more financial flexibility for the Flyers now to be aggressive on the trade and free agency markets in an effort to end their five-year playoff drought. The club still has nearly $23MM in cap space after Foerster’s deal, per PuckPedia, but there are still notable RFAs to sign in Noah Cates, Jakob Pelletier, and Cameron York.

Image courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.

Jonathan Toews Will Pursue NHL Contract In Free Agency

at CDT | by 8 Comments

Four-time All-Star center Jonathan Toews informed his agent yesterday he’s “100 percent committed to coming back to the NHL next season,” reports The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. Toews, who hasn’t played since 2023 due to Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and long COVID, opened up about his absence last December and said he remained hopeful about making an NHL return. He’s been working out in Arizona for the past few months as he determined whether he could handle a return.

Toews turned 37 last month. He’s only played two of the last five years, as his health issues also caused him to sit out the entirety of the 2020-21 campaign. Upon returning, he was understandably nowhere close to the elite two-way center he’d been for most of his career. He scored 68 points in 124 games with a -45 rating across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons before stepping away from the game when his contract expired two summers ago.

The earlier stages of his career need no introduction. The third overall pick of the 2006 draft was named Chicago’s captain in just his second year in the league and led them to three Stanley Cups in six years, scoring 383 points in 419 games with a +148 rating across the Hawks’ six-year championship window from 2009-10 to 2014-15. He was one of the league’s top faceoff men, winning 57.3% of his draws over his 15-year career, and won the Conn Smythe trophy in Chicago’s first Cup win in 2010 after leading the playoffs with 22 assists in 22 games.

While Toews’ most recent seasons on a rebuilding Chicago roster were underwhelming, there are still reasons for optimism in a potential return to play. The extended time off and altered rehabilitation schedule likely have him in better physical shape than he was in his last comeback in 2021. Despite the gnarly plus/minus rating, his raw possession impacts were still positive in those 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns as well. He posted Corsi shares of 48.5% and 44.4% at even strength on clubs that posted Corsi shares of 46.0% and 43.9% on the whole, respectively. He remained elite on draws, too, including a career-best 63.1% win rate in his most recent season.

He’ll almost certainly receive one-way offers as a result. Since he’s not currently under contract, he doesn’t need to wait until July 1 to sign a contract for 2025-26 and can start talking with teams now. Given his age, he’s eligible for performance bonuses in his deal. That’s certainly an important consideration for a cap-strapped team, which could acquire him at a low cap hit initially and not take a big financial risk if he can’t be a full-time contributor.

Likely to be the most aggressive among his suitors are his hometown Jets, especially after they received news that captain Adam Lowry will miss the beginning of next season after undergoing hip surgery. Winnipeg was linked to Toews back in January when he alluded to making a comeback for 2025-26. While there’s no guarantee Toews will be able to handle anything above fourth-line deployment next year, he would at least give Winnipeg some added depth at a position of weakness down the middle, especially with Lowry unavailable for a stretch.

Sharks Re-Sign Shakir Mukhamadullin

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Sharks announced they’ve re-signed defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin to a one-year, $1MM contract. He was set to become a restricted free agent this summer.

Mukhamadullin, 23, just wrapped up his second full season in the Sharks organization. He was a first-round pick (No. 20 overall) by the Devils in 2020 but was traded to San Jose in the 2023 Timo Meier deal before he could make his NHL debut. He’s split the following two years between the NHL and AHL as he climbs up the organizational depth chart.

He has 33 games of NHL experience, 30 of which came this past season. The lefty has always carried intrigue based on his high-end skating ability coupled with his 6’4″, 200-lb frame, and he’s flashed his upside as a potential long-term top-four piece in San Jose. He averaged over 21 minutes of ice time across a three-game stint to open his NHL career in January 2024 amid a strong debut season in the North American minors with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, whom he led in scoring among defensemen in 2023-24 with 27 assists and 34 points in 55 games.

His 2024-25 campaign started on the non-roster list due to a lower-body injury, and he was returned to the minors when cleared to play in late October. He’d get his first NHL recall of the season in early December, and he stuck with the big club for the majority of the balance of the campaign. Mukhamadullin put up a 2-7–9 scoring line with a minus-seven rating while averaging 18:04 per game, also contributing 51 blocks and 25 hits. He graded out quite well defensively, sitting near the high end of the Sharks’ Corsi leaderboard at a 48.0 CF% at even strength. San Jose also allowed 2.7 goals against per 60 minutes with Mukhamadullin on the ice at even strength, the best figure among Sharks defensemen with at least 10 games played. It’s worth noting that Mukhamadullin also averaged north of a minute per game on the penalty kill.

The Sharks still have Mario Ferraro, Henry Thrun, and Marc-Édouard Vlasic penciled in as their three left-shot defenders for 2025-26, but there’s still upward mobility there for Mukhamadullin. Ferraro could end up as a trade candidate, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the 38-year-old Vlasic, who played just 27 games in 2024-25, relegated to the press box more consistently. There’s also the possibility that fellow lefty Sam Dickinson, whom San Jose drafted 11th overall in 2024, lands an opening-night role next fall after being named the OHL’s Most Outstanding defenseman in 2024-25.

A seven-figure commitment certainly indicates the Sharks plan on Mukhamadullin making the opening night roster and playing more of a regular NHL role as he continues on what’s been a promising development path thus far. He’ll start requiring waivers next year if San Jose wants to send him to the minors anyway, something they won’t be willing to expose him to.

Capitals Walk Back Message Regarding Alex Ovechkin’s Retirement

at CDT | by 12 Comments

11:44 a.m.: Silber clarified for DC Backcheck that the team alleges no email was sent at all, not just that Ovechkin’s decision was unconfirmed. “An email was sent from an individual with the corporate sales department that mistakenly alluded to next year being Alex Ovechkin’s final year,” the team later said in a statement.

11:03 a.m.: The Capitals indicated in an email to season ticket holders that the upcoming 2025-26 season will be Alex Ovechkin’s last in the NHL, relays Tony Wolak of The Hockey Writers. The organization relayed to Sammi Silber of The Hockey News that no official decision has been made on his future, but Washington appears to at least be operating under a strong assumption that Ovechkin will announce his plans to retire from the NHL next offseason.

Next year is Ovechkin’s last one under the five-year, $47.5MM extension he signed in 2021. He told reporters during locker clean-out day earlier this month that he fully intended to honor the final year of his contract but was unsure of his future beyond that, saying he hadn’t given any thought to whether or not he’d be open to extension talks with the Caps as soon as he becomes eligible to sign one on July 1.

There’s not much left for the 39-year-old to accomplish in his career. He’ll walk away as the greatest left-winger of all time and one of the most impactful players in the league’s history, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record in the regular season’s final weeks. He now sits at 897 career tallies entering what should be his 21st and final NHL campaign, all spent with the Capitals.

Oilers’ Mattias Ekholm Expected To Return For Game 5

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm took line rushes in his usual top-pairing spot alongside Evan Bouchard at morning skate and is expected to make his 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs debut in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final tonight, Tony Brar of Oilers TV relays.

It’s huge news for the Oilers, who have a 3-1 series lead over the Stars and can lock in a Cup Final rematch against the Panthers with a win tonight. Ekholm has not played since reaggravating an undisclosed injury on April 11 against the Sharks. Due to that injury and an earlier illness, the 35-year-old blueline staple only played in five of Edmonton’s final 20 regular-season games.

After the re-injury against San Jose, the Oilers were quick to rule Ekholm out for the entirety of the first round. They made a similar announcement about his second-round status shortly after they dispatched the Kings in six games to advance. He resumed skating late in their series against the Golden Knights, though, indicating he’d likely be an option at some point during the West Final if they advanced. After they did, Ekholm was ruled out for Games 1 and 2, but his status for the remainder of the series was left open.

He’s been labeled as “close” by the team over the past few days, but never quite upgraded to game-time decision status. He may very well bypass that tonight and be declared as being in the lineup, depending on what head coach Kris Knoblauch has to say when practice concludes.

The veteran is a significant boost to an Edmonton blue line that’s overperformed expectations in his absence. While the trade deadline acquisition of Jake Walman from the Sharks has paid its expected dividends, it’s been an unheralded depth piece, Brett Kulak, getting the lion’s share of minutes alongside Bouchard at even strength in Ekholm’s absence. He’s stepped up to the task and then some. The Kulak-Bouchard pairing has controlled a staggering 65.1% of expected goals in 127 minutes of ice time together, per MoneyPuck, outscoring opponents 7-1. That plus-six goal differential is second among defense pairs at 5-on-5 this postseason behind the Panthers’ Niko Mikkola and Seth Jones, who are outscoring opponents 12-5 for a plus-seven differential.

After finishing 12th in Norris Trophy voting last season, Ekholm scored 33 points in 65 games this year with a +11 rating. He and Bouchard were similarly dominant together in last year’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, outscoring opponents 22-12 at 5-on-5 while controlling 61.3% of expected goals.

Kulak will get bumped down to second-pairing duties with Darnell Nurse while Troy Stecher heads to the press box, according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. The Oilers’ third pairing of Walman and John Klingberg, also one of the best duos of the playoffs thus far, will remain unscathed.

Islanders Fire Assistant Coaches John MacLean, Tommy Albelin

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Speaking to reporters this morning, new Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche confirmed the club will retain head coach Patrick Roy (via the team). The bench on Long Island will look different next season, though. Darche said the team won’t be bringing back assistant coaches John MacLean or Tommy Albelin, per Arthur Staple of The Athletic. The club has also relieved AHL Bridgeport head coach Rick Kowalsky of his duties, Darche said (according to Ethan Sears of the New York Post). It sounds like the entire minor-league coaching staff will be overhauled as well, per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News.

Roy’s status for next season was briefly doubtful after the Isles parted ways with GM Lou Lamoriello last month. However, after Darche’s hire, it became clear that the appetite for a coaching change wasn’t strong, especially with three years remaining on Roy’s contract. The Islanders may have missed the playoffs in 2024-25, Roy’s first full season behind the bench, but the team’s possession metrics indicated he deserved another shot. Poor special teams and finishing luck were the primary limiting factors regarding New York’s record last season, not overall 5-on-5 possession play. Under Roy, the team controlled a slight majority of shot attempts, scoring chances, and high-danger chances at even strength.

It’s unsurprising to see new ancillary voices brought in as the franchise aims for a fresher identity under Darche. The Islanders’ combined special teams success rate of 84.8% was the worst in the league, ranking 31st out of 32 clubs in both power-play and penalty-kill conversion rate.

MacLean was in charge of that power play. He’s been with the club as an assistant since the 2022-23 season, and only the Ducks and Flyers have performed worse with the man advantage than the Isles’ 16.4% success rate over those three years. The 60-year-old oversaw the NHL debut of his son, Kyle MacLean, on Long Island during his tenure.

Albelin’s time in New York ends after just one season. The longtime NHL rearguard oversaw the Isles’ defense and penalty kill, the latter of which actually saw a 0.7% improvement from their league-worst finish in 2023-24. The team’s 5-on-5 defense also improved from year to year under Albelin, ranking 21st in the league in scoring chances allowed at 5-on-5 after placing 28th last year. Nonetheless, they’ll look to get a new name in there that both Darche and Roy agree upon.

The Bridgeport coaching staff overhaul comes across the wire as one of the least surprising news items of the offseason. The Baby Isles made history as the worst home team in AHL history in 2024-25 with just four wins in 36 games. Overall, Bridgeport finished last in the league by a huge margin with a 15-50-4-3 record. Kowalsky, who’s worked closely with the outgoing Lamoriello throughout his coaching career in the Isles and Devils organizations, also oversaw a last-place finish in their division in 2023-24.

As for the NHL staff, the only returning assistant will be Benoit Desrosiers, whom Roy worked closely with as head coach of the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts. He joined the Isles’ staff shortly after Roy did, midway through the 2023-24 season.

Mammoth Sign Daniil But To Entry-Level Contract

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Defenseman Dmitri Simashev isn’t the only top Mammoth prospect to get his entry-level deal today. His teammate with Russia’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, winger Daniil But, also put pen to paper on his three-year entry-level contract, the club announced.

His deal includes a yearly base salary of $855K and a $95K signing bonus for a $950K cap hit, per PuckPedia. He’s eligible for up to $750K in Schedule “A” performance bonuses in 2025-26 and up to $1MM in 2026-27 and 2027-28. Unlike Simashev, it doesn’t appear that But’s contract contains a European Assignment Clause, meaning he could be stashed with AHL Tucson without being loaned back to the Kontinental Hockey League.

But, selected six spots after Simashev at 12th overall in the 2023 draft, lands his first NHL deal after landing a Gagarin Cup championship with Lokomotiv alongside Simashev earlier this month. The heavyweight 6’6″, 216-lb left-winger set career-highs in the regular season with 19 assists, 28 points, and a +13 rating in 54 games, ranking seventh on Yaroslavl in scoring.

His playoff performance was less impressive. He tallied just one assist in 13 games and was demoted to the press box as Lokomotiv’s postseason run extended. That small of a sample size won’t be much of a concern for Utah, though. His frame and his puck-handling skills mean he could be ready to step into the lineup as soon as next season. His more well-rounded skillset means he’s deployable up and down the lineup, although he’ll likely be most effective as a middle-six piece long-term.

But is the No. 4 prospect in the Mammoth’s system behind forward Tij Iginla, Simashev, and defenseman Maveric Lamoureux, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic wrote earlier this year. He comes over after posting a 21-30–51 scoring line in 124 KHL games in the past three seasons.

Mammoth Sign Dmitri Simashev To Entry-Level Contract

at CDT | by 2 Comments

11:31 a.m.: Simashev’s deal includes a base salary of $855K, a signing bonus of $95K, and up to $1MM of Schedule “A” performance bonuses each season for a cap hit of $950K, per PuckPedia. Notably, the contract includes a European Assignment Clause, meaning Simashev could trigger a loan back to Yaroslavl next season if he’s not on the NHL roster.

11:04 a.m.: The Mammoth announced today they’ve signed their top defense prospect, 2023 sixth overall pick Dmitri Simashev, to a three-year entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Simashev was technically selected by the Coyotes two years ago but had his signing rights transferred to Utah when Arizona’s hockey operations assets were sold to Smith Entertainment Group last summer to establish the Mammoth franchise. A 6’5″, 207-lb stay-at-home defender, he was widely expected to sign his entry-level deal with Utah shortly after his season in his native Russia ended.

This season was his second full professional campaign with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League, and it ended in a Gagarin Cup championship for the 20-year-old. He was a bottom-pairing fixture for Lokomotiv, averaging just under 16 minutes per game in the regular season, and suited up in all 21 postseason contests for them while recording one assist and a minus-one rating.

While Simashev may have a future in Salt Lake as a high-end shutdown piece in the top-four, he doesn’t have the offensive upside we’ve come to expect out of defensemen selected that high in the draft. Over the last two regular seasons in Yaroslavl, he’s been limited to a 5-6–11 scoring line in 122 games. His +19 rating during that time is promising, though, especially considering his limited minutes.

In his 2025 prospect pool rankings, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler labeled Simashev as the second-best prospect in Utah’s system and called him “a potential top-four defenseman who can play minutes and drive results with his defensive play, length and skating.” Whether the lefty makes the immediate jump to the NHL next season remains to be seen – but at his peak, he’s likely averaging north of 20 minutes per game for the Mammoth with heavy penalty-kill deployment.

At first glance, it seems likely he’ll start his professional career in North America with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. The Mammoth have their left side on defense locked in for next season with Mikhail Sergachev, Olli Määttä, and Ian Cole, with Juuso Välimäki still in the mix as a potential healthy extra as well. Cole and Välimäki are slated for unrestricted free agency in 2026, though, paving the way for Simashev to graduate to full-time NHL minutes a year from now after a season of adjustment in the minors.

“It feels amazing. I had a goal to win the Gagarin Cup and then go to the NHL and try to be the best player I can be,” Simashev told Utah freelance beat writer Craig Morgan. “I watched highlights of every Utah game. I know every player in Utah and how they play. Coming to Utah, for me, it’s basically like a dream.”

Simashev is too old to be slide-eligible, so his deal goes into effect next season regardless of how many NHL games he plays. He’ll be a restricted free agent following the 2027-28 campaign.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top