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Dallas Stars Activate Miro Heiskanen From LTIR

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Earlier today, Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News passed along a note from Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer, indicating defenseman Miro Heiskanen would return tonight if everything at practice went well this morning. A few hours later, the Stars announced they’d activated Heiskanen from their long-term injured reserve, indirectly confirming he’d be in the lineup against the Winnipeg Jets this evening.

Heiskanen has been out of the lineup since January 28th after suffering a lower-body injury against the Vegas Golden Knights. During the game, after being tripped up by Dallas forward Roope Hintz, Vegas captain Mark Stone collided headfirst with Heiskanen’s knee, necessitating his teammates to help him off the ice.

A few days later, on February 4th, Heiskanen underwent successful knee surgery for the injury. Still, DeBoer expressed optimism that Heiskanen would return before the end of the regular season. Dallas waited a month to place Heiskanen on LTIR, using the salary cap savings to acquire fellow countryman Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes.

Thanks to Rantanen, the Stars survived a hotly contested opening-round matchup against the Colorado Avalanche, defeating their Central Division rivals in seven games without Heiskanen or star forward Jason Robertson. Robertson returned for the Stars in Game 1 of their Round Two series against the Jets, and they’ll have a mostly healthy lineup tonight for the first time this postseason.

Although his offensive output was depressed this year, Heiskanen has been a premier player for the Stars, particularly in the Stanley Cup playoffs. During their run to the Final in the 2019-20 postseason, Heiskanen scored six goals and 26 points in 27 games. Throughout their back-to-back Western Conference Finals runs in 2023 and 2024, Heiskanen scored seven goals and 28 points in 38 contests, averaging 28 minutes of ice time.

NHL Sets Offer Sheet Thresholds For 2025

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From the beginning of the ’Salary Cap Era’ in the 2005-06 NHL season, offer sheets have been a mildly used tool by General Managers in the league, with most teams simply matching any given offer sheet. Since September 12, 2006, when Ryan Kesler signed a one-year, $1.9MM offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers to June 30, 2019, there had only been eight offer sheets signed, with Dustin Penner’s being the only one to go unmatched.

Since July 1, 2019, when the Montreal Canadiens signed Sebastian Aho to a five-year, $42.27MM offer sheet (which was subsequently matched by the Carolina Hurricanes), there has seemingly been more appetite for them from General Managers. This culminated in the wildly successful offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues last offseason, when they poached defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway from the Edmonton Oilers for a second-round pick and a third-round pick in 2025.

Still, some risk remains when considering worthwhile offer sheets. Teams must determine if the required compensation is worth the player in question, and the NHL recently released those compensation figures via Sportsnet:

AAV Draft picks required
$1.54MM or less No compensation
$1.54MM to $2.34MM Third-round pick
$2.34MM to $4.68MM Second-round pick
$4.68MM to $7.02MM First and third-round picks
$7.02MM to $9.36MM First, second and third-round picks
$9.36MM to $11.7MM Two firsts, a second and third-round picks
Over $11.7MM Four first-round picks

The most given up in the ’Salary Cap Era’ was the 2008 first, second, and third round pick awarded to the Anaheim Ducks for Penner’s offer sheet by Edmonton. No team has ever reached into the sixth tier of compensation, and that’s unlikely to change this offseason. Teams must use their own draft compensation, meaning they’d have to re-acquire any of their old draft selections should they need them for an unmatched offer sheet, similarly to what St. Louis had to do with the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer.

Evgeni Malkin Considering Retirement In 2026

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Penguins great Evgeni Malkin squashed any retirement rumors earlier this season, at least as it relates to this summer. With one year left on his contract, though, the tide is shifting toward Malkin ending his NHL career when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2026, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period wrote Monday.

If he does end up retiring, at least from the NHL, it shouldn’t be a drastic surprise. The 38-year-old center remains a surefire Hall-of-Famer whenever he’s up for election, but his point pace has steadily declined over the past four years. This season saw Malkin average just 1.84 shots on goal per game, down 41% from his career average.

Malkin’s 0.82 points per game in 2023-24 and his 0.74 mark in 2024-25 rank as the two lowest figures of his 19-year career. Nonetheless, that’s still a good clip for a player with a rather reasonable $6.1MM cap hit stemming from the four-year, $24.4MM extension he signed in 2022 to secure the end of his career in Pittsburgh after nearly reaching the open market.

As the team around him continues to enter aggressive retool mode, Malkin remained less of a second-line fixture than he has in years past – perhaps intentionally as the team prepares for life without him in the 2C role. He spent significant portions of the season at left wing with Sidney Crosby and finished fifth on the team in scoring with 16-34–50 in 68 games.

A three-time MVP finalist and one-time winner, Malkin remained steadfast earlier this year that he doesn’t plan on finishing his NHL career anywhere other than Pittsburgh. Depending on how strongly he still feels about that statement, the Penguins’ wish to accelerate their roster turnover next summer by not offering him an extension could play a significant factor in his decision to retire.

As for Malkin’s impact on the Penguins franchise and the league in general, it can’t be overstated. His 1,346 points in 1,213 regular-season games rank 31st in NHL history. Another 50-point year in 2025-26 could push him all the way up to 24th. Only Crosby and Mario Lemieux have tallied more points than him in a Penguins uniform. The 6’5″, 210-lb Russian also ranks first in franchise history with 1,202 PIMs.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Devils’ Jesper Bratt Undergoes Surgery To Address Multi-Season Injury

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The New Jersey Devils lineup is undergoing a wave of tune ups, check ups, and surgeries to get back to full health after the end of their postseason run. For star winger Jesper Bratt, the wave of medical attention has marked a chance to address a shoulder injury that’s plagued him for the last few seasons. General manager Tom Fitzgerald shared with reporters that Bratt has undergone successful shoulder surgery and is expected to return before training camp, per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. Fitzgerald adds that Bratt chose to get surgery now to help ensure he’s ready for next season and the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The extent of Bratt’s injury, or the pain it caused, isn’t quite clear – but his play on the ice hardly warranted the thought. Bratt has developed into a full superstar for the Devils organization and managed career-highs in scoring in each of the last three seasons. His breakout season came in the 2021-22 campaign, when the top left-winger totaled 26 goals, 47 assists, and 73 points in 76 games. That performance made him just the 30th Devils player to reach 40 assists since 2000 at the time.

Not to be outdone, Bratt matched his 73-point high in 2022-23 – but managed it with 32 goals and 41 assists while playing in all 82 games of the season. That year kicked off a string of unwavering appearances that carried through this season, and Bratt only grew with the nightly appearances. He tallied 27 goals, 56 assists, and 83 points last season; then lapped that total with 21 goals, 67 assists, and 88 points this year. His 67 assists this year mark a franchise record, taking the title from Scott Stevens who recorded 60 points in 1993-94.

It is on the heels of that record-breaking performance that Bratt will take the time to reach full health. He has four years remaining on an eight-year, $63MM contract signed after his repeat 73-point campaign in 2023. With the news that Bratt is expected to reach full health before the season starts, all focus will be on how he can continue to grow on top of a Devils lineup that’s dedicated to change this summer. Bratt’s involvement in the 2026 Olympics will be worth monitoring closely as well. He hasn’t yet joined Team Sweden at the Olympics, though he did appear with the Men’s Team at the 2019 World Championship and 2025 4-Nations Face-Off. Bratt scored four points in nine combined games between the two events.

Ducks Name Joel Quenneville Head Coach

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12:30 PM: The Ducks have made the hiring of Joel Quenneville official. He will man an NHL bench for the first time since 2021 next season.

10:00 AM: The Anaheim Ducks are expected to name veteran NHL head coach Joel Quenneville as the 12th head coach in franchise history, per TSN’s Darren Dreger. This will be Quenneville’s first coaching job since resigning form the Florida Panthers organization in 2021 due to his involvement in the Chicago Blackhawks’ 2010 sexual abuse case. Quenneville was barred from returning to the NHL until being reinstated late last summer. Dreger points out that Anaheim did extensive background checks on the sexual abuse case, and what Quenneville has done to reform his actions in the years since. He was the first candidate they interviewed after firing Greg Cronin.

There was only one head coaching vacancy by the time Quenneville was reinstated, limiting his options to return quickly to the league. He’ll find a path back in before the next summer hits, though – and join the sixth organization of his 27-year coaching career. Quenneville has racked up three Stanley Cup wins and the second-most wins in NHL coaching history, behind only Scotty Bowman – who he had a chance to succeed in roles with the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks. Quenneville is a whopping 275 wins behind Bowman’s record – and would need a healthy extension to his career, and a resurgence from the Ducks organization, to rival the mark.

Quenneville’s lengthy NHL career began as a player originally drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second-round of the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. He joined the NHL in the following season, and quickly found a rut as a bottom-of-the-lineup utility player routinely posting meager scoring and lofty penalty totals. Quenneville played two years with the Leafs, three years with the Colorado Rockies, and one year with both the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals – all split around spending the heart of his career with seven years with the Hartford Whalers. His career as an NHL player spanned 12 years and ended with Quenneville totaling 190 points and 705 PIMs in 803 games.

Quenneville operated as a player and assistant coach hybrid with the AHL’s St John’s Maple Leafs in 1991-92 – the final year of his playing career. Two years later, he was promoted to an assistant coach role with the Quebec Nordiques that continued on when the club became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995. After three seasons as a second-rank in Quebec and Colorado, Quenneville was awarded the head coaching role for the St. Louis Blues – where his prowess quickly became noticeable. Quenneville championed St. Louis to seven consecutive postseason appearances, though the club never made it beyond the Western Conference Finals. He was only fired when the team eyed a postseason absence in 2004. He took the lockout season of 2004-05 off of work, and returned as the Avalanche’s head coach in the 2005-06 season.

Colorado made the playoffs in one of two seasons with Quenneville at the helm. But after not gaining much ground, they opted to punt him to the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2008-09 campaign. It was in Chicago that Quenneville became a legendary coaching figure, joining hands with a young Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to form one of the most formidable clubs in the NHL. The Blackhawks took a run to the Conference Finals in Quenneville’s first year, then won the Stanley Cup in year two. That pair of seasons would spark a nine-year streak of postseason appearances for Chicago, headlined by two more Cup wins in 2013 and 2015.

Quenneville left Chicago after a missed postseason in 2018 and a poor start to the 2018-19 campaign. He found work with the Florida Panthers from 2019 to 2021, though couldn’t push the club beyond the first round of the postseason.

Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek made one thing clear in the club’s exit interviews: the goal of next season is to make the postseason. That’s a lofty goal for a club that finished with 80 points and a sixth-place divisional rank this season – but they’re looking to find a spark by bringing on the man with the second-most playoff games coached in NHL history (again behind Bowman). Quenneville will inherit a roster that features burgeoning youngsters like Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish (pending contract), Olen Zellweger, Lukas Dostal (pending contract), Trevor Zegras, and more. The young core are flanked by strong veterans in Troy Terry, Alex Killorn, Jacob Trouba, and John Gibson. That’s a hardy makeup for a pro club, but the Ducks still haven’t found a postseason berth since 2018. Following a thorough background check and multiple interviews, Anaheim will stake their playoff hopes in Quenneville beginning next season.

Photo courtesy of Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images.

Maple Leafs’ Anthony Stolarz Ruled Out For Game 2

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May 7th: According to a report from Sportsnet, Stolarz will unfortunately be absent from the Maple Leafs’ lineup in Game 2. There’s reportedly no timeline for his recovery, but this could be purposefully vague gamesmanship from Toronto.

May 6th: Anthony Stolarz’s status for Game 2 of the Maple Leafs’ series against the Panthers is uncertain, David Alter of The Hockey News relays from head coach Craig Berube.

That’s better news than most everyone was expecting after reports surfaced last night that Stolarz was taken to the hospital after leaving the game in the second period following multiple instances of head contact. Berube confirmed he was taken to the hospital but is doing well and had breakfast with the team after being discharged overnight. Stolarz was seen vomiting on the Leafs’ bench before being relieved by Joseph Woll, exiting the eventual 5-4 win after taking a puck to the mask in the first and an elbow/forearm from Panthers center Sam Bennett shortly before his departure. Bennett won’t face a suspension for the play, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic relayed this morning.

Berube wouldn’t confirm when asked if Stolarz had been diagnosed with a concussion. While Stolarz may be healthy enough to dress for Game 2, rushing him back from an otherwise exhausting ordeal to start seems unlikely. Woll is among the more formidable backups still alive in the postseason. He allowed three goals on 20 shots in relief but still has a sparkling .924 SV% in eight career playoff appearances for Toronto, including four starts. Woll started 41 of Toronto’s 82 regular-season games and, while his numbers weren’t in Stolarz’s stratosphere, still managed a .909 SV% and saved 16.8 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck.

In any event, simple news of Stolarz’s discharge and a long-term absence not guaranteed is great news after last night’s concern. The 31-year-old has a .901 SV% and a 2.19 GAA through seven games for Toronto in his first postseason (and regular season) as a No. 1 option.

Utah Hockey Club Announces Mammoth As Team Name

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The Utah Hockey Club has finally revealed their long-anticipated team name. For the 2025-26 season and onwards, they will be known as the Utah Mammoth, with a logo depicting the Wasatch Mountain range in the head of the Mammoth and a tusk that will also be used in other branding and logos. The club’s search for a team name involved a 13-month process and 850K fan votes, per ESPN.

Utah owners Ryan and Ashley Smith shared their excitement for the new name in an NHL.com press release. They shared, “When it came to naming the team, we did something unprecedented – going through four rounds of community voting, including getting feedback not only on potential names but also on potential logos. We love the passion of the people of Utah and the way they showed up for the team during its inaugural season and the energy they brought to voting on its permanent identity.” The Smith family will stay dedicated to bolstering the presence of Utah hockey throughout the summer, with plans to both renovate the Mammoth’s home arena, Delta Center, as well as hopes of building new ice rinks across the state of Utah.

Utah will maintain the same colors they rolled out in their inaugural season – Rock Black, Salt White, and Mountain Blue. They will also maintain the same Away jerseys, with ’Utah’ depicted across the chest in bold font. The home jerseys will have the same striping and details as the inaugural set, though they’ll now depict the Mammoth logo, as well as new secondary logos for each shoulder patch. Apparel and accessories with the Mammoth logo will go live at Noon M.T., or 2 P.M. E.T., on Wednesday.

Blues’ Torey Krug Not Expected To Resume Playing Career

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Blues defenseman Torey Krug isn’t expected to play again due to his ankle surgery last summer, general manager Doug Armstrong told reporters today (including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic).

Krug, 34, was diagnosed with pre-arthritis in his left ankle last summer. After several weeks of evaluation, the Blues and Krug agreed on season-ending surgery. His issues stem from a fractured ankle he sustained seven years ago in the second round of the 2018 playoffs while a member of the Bruins, ending his season and causing him to miss the beginning of the following campaign.

As with any form of arthritis, without surgical correction, Krug could have lost mobility in his ankle entirely. Even with the procedure, Armstrong said Krug had just recently resumed his normal day-to-day activities (via Puck Report on X).

Krug’s career will draw to a close after playing the first four seasons of the seven-year, $45.5MM deal he signed with the Blues in free agency in 2020. Brought in as a replacement for captain Alex Pietrangelo, who signed a much richer long-term contract with the Golden Knights that summer, he was coming off a lengthy run of play as a top-four fixture in Boston and had twice finished top 20 in Norris Trophy voting. At the time of signing, he’d averaged over 20 minutes per game for five straight seasons and recorded at least 40 points every year in that period.

While Krug kept up his consistent offensive production after the move westward, the defensive warts in the 5’9″ lefty’s game began to outweigh his benefits over the past couple of years. Krug’s combined -57 rating across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons was sixth-worst in the league and third-worst among defensemen, trailing only Cam Fowler and Mario Ferraro – minute-munchers on the worst defensive teams in the league (Ducks, Sharks) during that period.

Still, Krug averaged 40 assists and 47 points per 82 games as a Blue, with most of his production coming at even strength. That wasn’t quite the level he clicked at in Boston, but still legitimately helpful output from the back end.

An undrafted free agent signing out of Michigan State by the Bruins back in 2012, Krug burst onto the scene with four goals in 15 games in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs to help Boston to its second Finals appearance in three years, although they ultimately lost to the Blackhawks. In a couple of years, he was the team’s No. 2 left-shot rearguard behind Zdeno Chára and led their defense corps in scoring on multiple occasions, including a career-high 14-goal, 59-point season in 2017-18. Krug totaled 337 points in 523 regular-season games for Boston before leaving in free agency, ranking fifth in Bruins franchise history in points among defensemen.

Krug will likely remain on long-term injured reserve for the final two years of his contract at a $6.5MM cap hit before presumably officially retiring upon expiry in 2027. If St. Louis doesn’t want to deal with his contract, they could trade it to a team needing an LTIR cushion to stay cap-compliant.

The Michigan native steps away from his playing days after posting an 89-394–483 scoring line in 778 games, 14th in the league among defensemen since he debuted in the 2011-12 season. He was routinely an electric playoff performer for Boston, including posting 12 points in just 11 games in the 2018 postseason and leading them with 16 assists a year later in their loss to St. Louis in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. His career 0.70 points per game in the postseason matches Hall-of-Famers Nicklas Lidström and Chris Pronger.

All of us at PHR wish Krug a smooth, continued recovery as he looks to get back to normalcy.

Image courtesy of Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports.

Islanders Prefer Ken Holland For GM Vacancy

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Former Oilers and Red Wings general manager Ken Holland is the Islanders’ top choice to fill their GM vacancy, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports.

Holland hasn’t worked with a team since his contract with Edmonton as their GM and president of hockey operations wasn’t renewed following their run to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. He’s still been working with the league as a hockey operations consultant, though, so he hasn’t been out of work entirely.

The belief was that the four-time Stanley Cup-winning GM likely wouldn’t resurface in an everyday role – he will turn 70 in November. It’s still unclear whether he is interested in stepping back into the GM’s chair and if he’d entertain a role with the Islanders, but the job will likely be his if he wants it. They’re on the hunt for a GM and a POHO, as another elder statesman of managerial roles, Lou Lamoriello, was let go last month. They’d likely prefer Holland fills both of those roles.

Holland is far from the first candidate linked to the Isles’ vacancy in the past few weeks. The first was Devils assistant GM Kate Madigan, whom Andrew Gross of Newsday reported would at least get an initial interview. There hasn’t been much reporting on her in connection with the vacancy since.

Staple adds that the Islanders contacted the Canadiens requesting permission to speak to executive VP of hockey ops Jeff Gorton, although it’s unlikely it was granted. Kings senior advisor, Marc Bergevin, is the frontrunner to succeed Rob Blake in their GM role, but is “in the mix” for a role on Long Island as well, per Staple. Some other speculative targets in former Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen and Blues VP of hockey ops Peter Chiarelli don’t seem to have much of a chance.

Image courtesy of Gerry Angus-USA TODAY Sports.

Devils Sign Arseni Gritsyuk To Entry-Level Deal

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May 6: The team confirmed a one-year deal for Gritsyuk today. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

April 9: The Devils are expected to land 2019 fifth-round pick Arseni Gritsyuk out of Russia on an entry-level deal for the 2025-26 season, Daria Tuboltseva of Responsible Gambler reports. The 24-year-old winger remains under contract with Kontinental Hockey League club SKA St. Petersburg through May 31, so an official announcement could still be weeks away.

While closer in theory to a free-agent pickup than a prospect arrival, he’s still on the right side of 25 and tracks as an impactful addition to the New Jersey roster next year. The 6’0″, 194-lb right winger has quite the resume in his home country. He had a breakout year with Avangard Omsk in 2021-22, winning the KHL’s Rookie of the Year Award with 16-12–28 in just 39 games. That was enough for him to be included on the country’s roster for the 2022 Winter Olympics, where he posted three points in six games en route to a silver medal.

Gritsyuk transferred to SKA in the 2023 off-season and has spent the last two seasons there. He saved his best for last. If not for an injury that sidelined him for about a third of the year, he would have led St. Petersburg in scoring. He did lead the team with a +22 rating and recorded 17-27–44 in 49 games. His 0.90 points per game ranked 12th in the KHL among qualified skaters. Gritsyuk also added five points in six playoff games as SKA dropped their first-round series to Dynamo Moscow.

His pending departure adds to a mass exodus from one of Russia’s largest clubs. Their leading scorer, 19-year-old Ivan Demidov, has already terminated his contract and is on his way to Montreal to join the Canadiens for the remainder of the season. They’ve also mutually terminated their deal with ex-Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov and are widely expected to lose top defenseman and captain Alexander Nikishin to the Hurricanes, who drafted him 69th overall in 2020 – although whether that deal gets done in time for him to join Carolina this season remains to be seen.

As for New Jersey, they’re likely penciling Gritsyuk into a top-nine right-wing spot for opening night in October. It’s realistic to expect output in the 40-to-50-point range from the smooth-skating winger next season, potentially even higher if he’s given first-unit power play deployment. He should be a crucial cost-effective contributor for the Devils as they enter the 2025 offseason with under $14MM in cap space for next season and star defenseman Luke Hughes in need of a new deal.

Gritsyuk will pause his KHL career after recording 68-84–152 in 216 regular-season games over the past five seasons. He’ll be a restricted free agent next summer and the Devils maintain team control over his signing rights through 2028.

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