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Blackhawks Hire Jeff Blashill, Michael Peca

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11:12 a.m.: Chicago had made Blashill’s hiring official. They’re also bringing in Rangers assistant Michael Peca to serve in the same role on Blashill’s staff, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports. Peca, 51, had been working under Peter Laviolette in New York for the past two years. He’s also worked as a development coach for the Capitals and an assistant coach for AHL Rochester. Sorensen will be on Blashill’s staff as an assistant as expected, while Penguins assistant Mike Vellucci is a strong candidate for the third and final assistant job on Blashill’s bench, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.

10:26 a.m.: The Blackhawks will announce Lightning assistant Jeff Blashill as their next head coach later today, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

Blashill was the only name to be publicly linked to Chicago’s vacancy throughout their search aside from University of Denver bench boss David Carle, who opted to stay in his NCAA role. The Hawks have had nearly a month to explore other options after Carle withdrew his name from consideration for the position, and while there were some other unknown candidates they were considering as recently as a few days ago, Blashill has been positioned as the favorite for the role ever since his name first emerged.

Chicago will be Blashill’s second stop as an NHL head coach. His first, a seven-year run as head coach of the Red Wings, was a tough assignment as the team slowly entered a full teardown with him at the helm. That understandably led to a poor record – a 204-261-72 (.447) mark in the regular season with just one playoff series and one playoff win to his name, coming in Game 3 of the 2016 first round against the Lightning in his first season behind the Detroit bench.

There are legitimate reasons for optimism that Blashill can be a more effective head man with a Blackhawks club in the latter stages of their rebuild rather than with a Detroit club in the early stages. Since being let go by the Wings in 2022, he’s served as Jon Cooper’s top assistant in Tampa for the last three years. He also put together a strong minor-league resume with Detroit’s AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids before being promoted to the top role there, guiding the Griffins to a Calder Cup championship in 2013 and being named the league’s Coach of the Year the following season.

Blashill will take over for interim head coach Anders Sorensen, who was behind the Chicago bench for most of this year after the team dismissed Luke Richardson in early December. Sorensen, who coached the team to a 17-30-9 (.384) record in the season’s final 56 games, is expected to remain with the Blackhawks in some capacity.

The 51-year-old Blashill will likely have a significantly bolstered roster to manage come opening night compared to how the Hawks are beginning the offseason. Not only do they have the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft that could potentially slot into Blashill’s first-year lineup, they’re expected to be one of the most aggressive clubs in free agency this summer with nearly $31MM in cap space and no high-priced pending RFAs to re-sign.

While Blashill may not be the person behind Chicago’s bench when they’re a consistent playoff team again, he’ll at least be tasked with helping the club exit its years-long rebuild. He’ll do with a stacked group of under-25 players that includes forwards Connor Bedard, Oliver Moore, and Frank Nazar, defensemen Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, and Alex Vlasic, as well as goaltender Spencer Knight.

With Chicago making Blashill’s appointment set in stone, only three head coaching vacancies remain: the Bruins, Kraken, and Penguins.

Image courtesy of Kim Klement-Imagn Images.

Sabres Gauging Bowen Byram’s Trade Market

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After his name sat low on trade burners throughout the 2024-25 campaign, the Sabres are now more seriously gauging what might be available on the trade market for pending restricted free agent defenseman Bowen Byram, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on yesterday’s 32 Thoughts podcast.

Byram, acquired from the Avalanche in exchange for Casey Mittelstadt at the 2024 trade deadline, is coming off his first full season in Buffalo. The 23-year-old had, by basic metrics, the best season of his five-year NHL career. While injury concerns had plagued the 2019 No. 4 overall pick’s likelihood of becoming an everyday top-four piece in recent years, he managed a full 82-game season in 2024-25 in career-high usage. Byram averaged 22:42 of ice time per game, second on the team behind No. 1 defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, and recorded a career-high 31 assists, 38 points, and a +11 rating.

But with fellow lefties Dahlin and Owen Power in the mix, the Sabres have struggled to find the right fit for Byram in their depth chart. As a result, he spent most of the season playing top-pair minutes on his offside with Dahlin. He also had some more unfavorable possession metrics than one would expect, given his plus-minus mark tied for the third-highest on the team. The Sabres only controlled 49.3% of shot attempts and 47.8% of expected goals with him on the ice at even strength. Those are far worse numbers than he had when skating with Dahlin (53.1 xGF%, per MoneyPuck). His possession numbers nosedived when paired with Power or Connor Clifton, his two other usual linemates in 2024-25.

With Byram recently switching representation as his previous two-year, $7.7MM contract expires, Buffalo may have some hesitancy around the likelihood of being able to agree on a long-term contract. While he told reporters during his year-end media availability that he sees a long-term fit with the Sabres, his poor two-way showings away from Dahlin this year may mean the feeling isn’t mutual, especially amid an organizational logjam among left-shot defensemen.

That could lead to Byram, who also co-led the team with 116 blocked shots, landing on his third team in as many seasons in 2025-26. AFP Analytics projects a longer-term extension for the British Columbia native to come in north of $7MM per season with a five-year term. If Buffalo were to pay that, they would have three defenders over a $7MM cap hit and five players in total – a somewhat eyebrow-raising number for a club amid a 14-year playoff drought.

Blue Jackets Shopping First-Round Picks

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The Blue Jackets have made both of their first-round picks in the 2025 draft available for trade, general manager Don Waddell told Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers.

Columbus enters the draft with the No. 14 and No. 20 overall selections, the latter of which they acquired from the Wild in last November’s David Jiricek trade. It’s the first time since 2022 that the Jackets haven’t held a top-five pick, and the first time since 2020 that they haven’t held a top-10 selection.

Their lower draft position comes as a result of their ninth-place finish in the Eastern Conference, narrowly missing out on the final wild card spot to the Canadiens by two points. Under new head coach Dean Evason, many of the pieces Columbus has assembled with their wealth of top draft picks over the past few years took significant strides in 2024-25 and fueled the club to its first 40-win season since 2018-19. That was the year the Jackets upset the 128-point Lightning in a first-round sweep to win the first of two playoff series in franchise history.

Just two players, Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski, remain from that club. A full rebuild has gone on since, started by former GM Jarmo Kekalainen and guided nearly over the finish line by Waddell. After spending much of 2024-25 in a playoff position despite multiple core pieces missing significant chunks of the season with injuries, a playoff spot will be the expectation for the Jackets next season.

That, plus the fact that they’ve already assembled one of the best prospect pools in the league with their wealth of draft picks so far this decade, makes one – if not both – of this year’s first-round selections expendable, especially since they’re mid-round picks in a weaker draft class. Waddell has plenty of financial flexibility to augment his young core in free agency this summer, boasting $41.3MM in cap space with only six roster spots to fill, but it makes sense he’d consider leveraging his draft capital for a trade pickup amid a thin free agent class outside of the top few names.

If Waddell manages to agree to terms on an extension with pending UFA defenseman Ivan Provorov, the back end won’t be an area of concern for the Jackets entering next year, aside from some depth pickups. An impact top-line forward will be the main goal for the Jackets this summer, ideally to help push the aging Jenner down to a more comfortable middle-six role, as well as taking some pressure off of No. 1 center Sean Monahan to have a repeat performance of his unexpectedly resurgent 2024-25. Nikolaj Ehlers and Mitch Marner are the only two UFA options this summer who are under the age of 30 and are coming off seasons in which they operated at a 60-point pace.

They’ll face fierce bidding competition on both targets on the open market. While they have the cap space to match any offer they receive elsewhere, banking on certain UFA pickups – or even the assumption they’ll reach free agency – is never 100%. Leveraging what Columbus views as a redundant asset for a trade pickup is an understandably attractive workaround.

If there’s a legitimate starting goaltender to be had on the trade market as the offseason progresses, expect Columbus to make those picks available in a trade framework there as well. 23-year-old Jet Greaves likely solidified an opening-night spot in the fall after posting a sterling .938 SV% and 1.91 GAA in third-string duties last year, but they could look for an upgrade on veteran starter Elvis Merzlikins (26-21-5, .892 SV%, 3.18 GAA in 53 GP) to partner with him.

Islanders Obtain Permission To Interview Brendan Shanahan

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1:45 p.m.: The Leafs have granted New York’s request and made Shanahan available for interview, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

12:57 p.m.: The Islanders have asked the Maple Leafs for permission to interview Brendan Shanahan for their vacant president of hockey operations role, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports Monday. It’s still unknown whether that permission was granted, Pierre LeBrun of TSN relays.

Shanahan, who’s served as Toronto’s president since the 2014-15 season, is on an expiring contract. After another Game 7 defeat and no Conference Finals appearances during his 11-year tenure, few expect him to receive an extension offer from the Maple Leafs.

While Toronto’s ownership group doesn’t “want to make any knee-jerk or emotional decisions,” Johnston writes, their blown 2-0 series lead to the Panthers in the second round and 6-1 losses in Games 5 and 7 at home “has left ownership disappointed and embarrassed,” per league sources. If they opt not to renew Shanahan’s contract, it’s likely they’ll move forward with general manager Brad Treliving as their top hockey operations decision maker and not replace Shanahan’s president role.

As for the Islanders, they’re looking for both a president and general manager after parting ways with Lou Lamoriello, who held both of those roles, a month ago. Their search is reportedly down to Kings senior advisor Marc Bergevin and Lightning assistant GM Mathieu Darche. While they may consider giving dual POHO/GM duties to Bergevin, who had experience pulling double duty during his time with the Canadiens, Darche would be a GM-only hire as he steps into the chair for the first time. Toronto’s willingness to let Shanahan get involved in the Islanders’ search could thus influence their decision between Bergevin and Darche.

Shanahan’s role with the Leafs was the Hall-of-Fame winger’s first with an NHL club. His previous executive experience came with the league offices as their VP of hockey and business development from 2009 to 2011 and then VP of player safety from 2011 to 2014.

Daly: NHL, NHLPA Have Made “Good Progress” On CBA Talks

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The 2025-26 NHL season is the last one under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which has been in place since the 2012 lockout and was extended/modified in 2020. The relationship between the league and the NHLPA has been on solid footing since the latter appointed former U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh as its executive director, and reporting throughout the past few months indicated negotiations on a new CBA were expected to go smoothly, avoiding the fourth work stoppage of commissioner Gary Bettman’s tenure.

CBA talks started at the beginning of April and are “well underway,” NHL deputy commissioner told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic in a recent phone interview (article link). Daly added waiting until the expiry of the current agreement in September 2026 to announce a new CBA is “well beyond the window that I’m thinking… I would like to think that we’ll have a successful conclusion at some point in the not-too-distant future.”

Unsurprisingly, Daly wasn’t eager to divulge too many details about what the agreement will actually look like. However, he did highlight some areas in which to expect significant changes from current operations when pressed by LeBrun.

The storyline dominating this round of CBA talks was always going to be the future of rules regarding long-term injured reserve usage, particularly teams being able to add notable injured players to the postseason roster after they spent the entire regular season giving their club cap relief while on LTIR. Daly confirmed that it’s been a central point of discussions with the NHLPA and that “we’ve made progress toward getting to a good resolution on that issue.” What that resolution looks like – either a playoff salary cap or postseason roster eligibility restrictions based on regular-season LTIR stints – is unclear.

On the topic of expansion, Daly clarified the league’s position that they’re not close to adding a club and don’t plan on opening a formal expansion process. While the league isn’t soliciting bids, the current approach is “much more of a one-on-one conversation and relationship we have with various potential owners,” Daly said. He also called the watering down of talent by adding too many clubs “not even a minor concern” in the league’s eyes, given the game’s skyrocketing registration numbers in the United States and in Europe.

And while the league hasn’t officially put pen to paper on the agreement to send its players to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, that’s purely been due to timeline and procedural issues. Daly reiterated “definitively” that NHL players will participate in the event for the first time in 12 years, and the plan to run World Cups of Hockey every two years between Winter Olympics remains in place.

Bruins, Don Sweeney Agree To Two-Year Extension

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The Bruins announced today they’ve signed general manager Don Sweeney to a two-year contract extension, keeping him in Boston’s front office through the 2027-28 season.

Sweeney’s deal was set to expire following the conclusion of the 2025-26 campaign, something that was reportedly becoming a hurdle in their search for a new head coach. Over the weekend, RG’s James Murphy reported that Sweeney’s lame duck status partially influenced Rick Tocchet’s decision to spurn the Bruins’ interest in him for their vacancy and accept a role with the Flyers instead.

Bruins president Cam Neely had the following statement on Sweeney’s extension:

Don has navigated a disappointing period for our club with conviction, purpose, and a clear vision toward the future of the Boston Bruins. He made difficult decisions around the trade deadline with the confidence they will pay dividends as we craft a path back to contention. He is continuing to follow that track with a robust and thorough search for our club’s next head coach, while also preparing for the upcoming NHL Draft and free agent signing period. I am confident in the plan he has followed these past few months – and excited for what’s to come for our team. The expectations in Boston have always been clear. It’s about winning championships.

After being promoted midway through Boston’s last retool in the mid-2010s, Sweeney will now get the chance to, as the fanbase and ownership will hope, oversee one from start to finish. His extension comes after the Bruins missed the playoffs in 2025 for the first time since his first season as GM in 2015-16. During the last decade, Boston’s 458-233-91 (.644) regular season record is tied for the best in the NHL.

It’s not as if Sweeney’s tenure hasn’t come without playoff success, either. Boston has won a playoff series in five of its eight postseasons under Sweeney, including a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2019, their third of the decade. Sweeney even earned GM of the Year honors for building that roster.

However, shelling out assets to acquire supplementary pieces to remain in playoff contention always has a price. That downfall came this season – a few years later than some expected after the retirements of franchise centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, but it happened nonetheless. The reload process started in earnest at this year’s trade deadline with a trio of moves – shipping out Brad Marchand and Brandon Carlo for returns that included first-round picks, and making a swap with the Avalanche to get younger down the middle by exchanging Charlie Coyle for Casey Mittelstadt.

That doesn’t change the fact that the Bruins are left with a lone first-line offensive talent in star winger David Pastrnak. Getting him more help in the scoring department is Boston’s chief priority this summer, which Sweeney clearly understood during his end-of-season media availability. Remaining in line with ownership’s vision on how to execute a retool and return the Bruins to playoff contention in a matter of a couple of years, not five-plus, likely helped with his job security and needing front office stability to attract their desired coaching targets.

One factor that’s accelerated the Bruins’ regression is the lack of success with the first-round picks they’ve kept over the past few years. The most recent Boston first-round pick to crack 100 games with the team is fourth-liner John Beecher, selected six years ago. Hitting on mid-first-round picks is the key to executing any retool without a full teardown. Retaining the GM that’s failed to do so for the vast majority of his tenure will understandably raise eyebrows as a result.

As such, a two-year extension comes across as a rather short leash. He’ll almost certainly be let go upon expiry if Boston hasn’t made meaningful progress in restocking their cupboard.

Image courtesy of Eric Bolte-Imagn Images.

Capitals Unlikely To Hold Offseason Extension Talks With John Carlson

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When the Capitals signed Jakob Chychrun to a massive eight-year, $72MM extension in March, most thought he’d been locked in as their succession plan to John Carlson as the team’s No. 1 defenseman. That appears to be the case, as Capitals general manager Chris Patrick told reporters today they’re in no rush to begin extension talks with Carlson as he enters the final season of his deal, the AP’s Stephen Whyno relays.

Carlson will be 37 years old in the summer of 2026 after wrapping up the eight-year, $64MM extension he signed following Washington’s Stanley Cup win in 2018. He’s coming off another strong offensive campaign en route to a regular-season conference crown for the Caps, leading Washington defensemen and ranking seventh on the team in points with a 5-46–51 scoring line in 79 games.

But the two-time All-Star and the 2020 Norris Trophy runner-up still isn’t producing anywhere near his 2018-2022 peak, during which he averaged 0.91 points per game. While still a legitimate top-four threat, there’s understandable hesitancy about continuing to bill him as their leader in ice time among rearguards as the offensive-minded Carlson enters his 17th NHL season, all with Washington.

It’s likely the Caps remain intent on extending Carlson as long as he’s willing and effective, but they’ll want to get a glimpse of what he looks like to kick off the 2025-26 season before zeroing in on the money and term they’re willing to offer him. Patrick got a ton of long-term business done during the season, but they still have Martin Fehervary and Connor McMichael on expiring deals and due considerable raises when Carlson’s deal is up in the summer of 2026. Alex Ovechkin’s deal is up then as well, but he’ll presumably either retire or re-sign at a significantly lower price than his current $9.5MM cap hit.

Holding off on a Carlson deal allows the Caps a bit more peace of mind when making moves this summer too – they won’t limit their longer-term cap space when considering trade pickups or free agent signings. Regardless, their ability to be major players in free agency without some unanticipated pre-July 1 trades will be limited. They’ve got nearly their entire roster fleshed out for next season already with 21 of 23 roster spots filled. They do have $8.6MM to burn on those two spots, though.

Regardless, expect some of Carlson’s minutes (23:34 ATOI in 2024-25) to be shifted to Chychrun (21:04 ATOI) next season as the transition begins. It’s also worth noting that the Chychrun-Carlson pairing fared the worst defensively out of any Capitals regular defense pairing this year, allowing 2.85 expected goals against per 60 minutes (according to MoneyPuck).

Image courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.

Sharks Sign Egor Afanasyev

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May 19: Afanasyev is headed to the Sharks for next season. He’s signed a one-year deal worth $800K, the team announced.

May 15: After being traded to San Jose last summer, Egor Afanasyev surprised some people by inking a deal with CSKA Moscow of the KHL instead of joining the Sharks.  However, things could be changing on that front as the two sides reached an agreement on a mutual termination, per the KHL, paving the way for the winger to potentially join San Jose for next season.

The 24-year-old was a second-round pick by Nashville back in 2019, going 45th overall after a solid season with USHL Muskegon.  He went to the OHL the following year with Windsor before returning home for the 2020-21 campaign, spending time in three different levels in Russia.

Afanasyev spent three years in Nashville’s system, getting into 19 games with the Predators but didn’t have much success offensively, recording just a single goal.  He was, however, a steady performer in the minors and put up 27 goals and 27 assists in 56 games in 2023-24 with AHL Milwaukee which was enough for San Jose to part with Ozzy Wiesblatt to secure his rights.

Unfortunately for Afanasyev, he wasn’t able to match that level of success back home this season.  In 53 games, he notched just seven goals and 14 assists although he was a little better in the playoffs with four points in six outings.

Afanasyev is waiver-eligible moving forward so if he does wind up joining the Sharks, his time with them could be short-lived if he fails to crack the roster.  Alternatively, he could be looking to try his hand at a different league altogether but with some recent NHL experience under his belt, a return to North America would seemingly make the most sense.  Sport-Express’ Artur Khairullin suggests (Telegram link) that Afanasyev is expected to sign with San Jose so it looks as if he’ll give it another go to try to make the top level.

Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies To Play Game 7

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May 18: Knies took line rushes at morning skate in his usual spot alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner and is thus expected to remain in the lineup for Game 7 tonight, per Johnston. Head coach Craig Berube later confirmed he’ll be in the lineup with no restrictions, per Kristen Shilton of ESPN.

May 17: The Toronto Maple Leafs could be without a top-line winger in their must-win matchup against the Florida Panthers on Sunday. Matthew Knies has been dubbed questionable with an undisclosed injury, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic, after playing just 13 minutes in Friday night’s win. Knies didn’t play in the final seven minutes of Game 6 and seemed to be nursing his shoulder through his final few shifts.

Losing Knies would be a significant blow for the Maple Leafs at the worst time. The 22-year-old winger has locked in a role on Toronto’s top line and powerplay unit over the year’s second half. He’s tied for second on the team with five goals and ranks third among Leafs forwards in average ice time in 12 games this postseason.

The performance has come on the heels of a breakout year during the regular season. Knies scored 58 points, split evenly, in 78 games this season, while converting on 19.1 percent of his shots. He also ranked second among Toronto forwards with 182 hits. The performance was a significant stride forward from the 15 goals and 35 points he managed last year, and earned Knies as much as 24 minutes of ice time through points in the year.

Filling Knies’ shoes would have to be a group effort for Toronto. His absence would likely push Nicholas Robertson back into the team’s bottom-six, after he served as a healthy scratch for Game 6, despite scoring the Leafs’ sole goal in Game 5. It’d also push Max Pacioretty further up the lineup and into an upgraded powerplay role, rewarding his eight points in 10 postseason appearances. But in a must-win game, boosting two slight-frame wingers likely wouldn’t make up for Knies’ imposing physical presence.

That could spark more ice time for a bruiser like Steven Lorentz, or push Toronto to lean heavier on the hard-nosed play of a star like William Nylander. The shift in strategy and approach with those moves will make Knies’ match readiness one of the league’s top storylines as Monday’s decisive matchup looms.

Ken Holland Accepts Kings GM Position

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May 16: According to a report from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Holland’s contract with the Kings will run for three years.

May 13: After days of anticipation, it has been released that Ken Holland has accepted the Kings’ general manager role, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press (paywalled content). St. James covered Holland for many years during his extensive career with the Detroit Red Wings. Holland will become the 10th GM in Kings’ history.

May 12: It appears that the Kings are making progress with Holland.  Friedman reports that indications are that Los Angeles is closing in on landing Holland as their next GM.

May 10: Former Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland recently met with the Los Angeles Kings to discuss their open GM position, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted in his 32 Thoughts podcast.

As Friedman notes, the Kings are surveying both internal and external options, but Holland is firmly in the mix. On the podcast, Friedman said, “One of the names that is starting to circulate a little bit right now for the Kings is Ken Holland. He was in the mix for the Islanders and I am reserving judgment for where I think the Islanders could be going here,” Friedman said. “But I’ve heard Holland’s name with the Kings and if they go external, he may have a shot here.”

The longtime general manager of the Red Wings, Ken Holland, led the team to four Stanley Cup championships. In 2019, he was promoted to senior vice president to make way for Steve Yzerman to take over as general manager. Soon after, Holland was named general manager of the Oilers and tasked with leading a young, talented roster to championship success—just as he had done in Detroit. Despite several deep playoff runs, including falling just one win short last season, he was ultimately unable to deliver a title. With his contract expiring at the end of the season, Holland and the team mutually agreed to part ways. Holland has also been rumored for other teams this hiring cycle, including the New York Islanders.

As Pierre LeBrun notes, Holland met with Kings president Luc Robitaille to discuss the position. But as Lebrun adds, the expectation is the team will meet with several more candidates before any decision is made. On May 5, the Kings and former GM Rob Blake mutually agreed to part ways, with Robitaille tasked to lead a search for Blake’s successor. Blake leaves his successor with a favorable salary cap structure. The Kings have over $23MM to spend this summer with just four roster spots to fill, per PuckPedia.

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