Bruins Sign Tanner Jeannot, Jordan Harris
The Bruins have signed winger Tanner Jeannot to a five-year deal worth $3.4MM per season, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Friedman has also announced that the Bruins are nearing a contract with defenseman Jordan Harris, who played his collegiate hockey at Northeastern University. Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff reports that it’ll be a one-year, $825K agreement for Harris.
In one of the most surprising additions of the day, the Bruins have inked a long-term deal with a power forward who has disappointed greatly over the past three years. Still, there was a time when Jeannot was regarded as one of the better up-and-coming power forwards in the league. During the 2021-22 campaign, Jeannot scored 24 goals and 41 points in 81 games with the Nashville Predators, adding 318 hits.
Despite getting off to a slow start the following season, Jeannot commanded quite a haul at the following deadline. The Predators traded Jeannot to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a package including defenseman Cal Foote and five draft picks. Unfortunately, the trade immediately became a net loss for the Lightning, and Jeannot hasn’t been the same player since his breakout season.
Over the past three years, Jeannot has scored at a dismal pace compared to the 2021-22 campaign, scoring 20 goals and 45 points in 198 games between the Predators, Lightning, and Los Angeles Kings. Still, he’s maintained his physicality by throwing 712 hits in that time frame, but his shooting percentage has cratered to 9.0%.
He’s regarded as a quality defensive forward, but shouldn’t be considered for a higher role than any team’s third line, making this commitment by Boston all the more peculiar. At any rate, they’ve added considerable physicality to their bottom-six to a team whose entire brand is built around physical hockey.
Meanwhile, Harris joins the third organization of his career after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Haverhill, MA native returns home after spending the last four years with the Montreal Canadiens and Blue Jackets.
Still, he’s coming to Boston on the heels of a down season. In a depth role, Harris scored one goal and five points for Columbus in 33 games last season, averaging 11:23 of ice time per game. There is some reason for optimism, however, as Harris’s most recent season with the Canadiens saw him produce one goal and 14 points in 56 contests, when he averaged more than 17 minutes of ice time.
PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article.
Rangers To Sign Vladislav Gavrikov To Seven-Year Contract
As expected, the New York Rangers are finalizing a contract for unrestricted free agent defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to announce the news. Shortly thereafter, LeBrun shared that it’ll be a seven-year, $49MM agreement for Gavrikov in the Big Apple.
PuckPedia was quick to report the financial breakdown of Gavrikov’s new deal with the Rangers:
- Year 1: $1MM salary, $8MM signing bonus
- Year 2: $1MM salary, $8MM signing bonus
- Year 3: $1MM salary, $6.65MM signing bonus
- Year 4: $1MM salary, $5.55MM signing bonus
- Year 5: $1MM salary, $5MM signing bonus
- Year 6: $3.4MM salary, $2MM signing bonus
- Year 7: $5.4MM salary
Additionally, PuckPedia shared that Gavrikov will have a full no-movement clause in the first five years of the deal, before transitioning to a 20-team modified no-trade clause in the sixth year, and a 15-team modified no-trade clause in the seventh season.
Due to the contract being paid out mostly in signing bonuses, it explains why Gavrikov signed for nearly $11MM less than comparable defenseman Ivan Provorov. He’ll now move to the third organization of his career and become the top-four shutdown defenseman that the Rangers have coveted for some time. And he’s one of the better shutdown blue liners, at that.
Over the past three years, Gavrikov has scored at a moderate pace, managing 22 goals and 105 points in 311 games between the Blue Jackets and Kings. Averaging over 22 minutes a night over that stretch, Gavrikov also totalled 507 blocked shots and 303 hits.
Although he maintained quality defensive metrics throughout his tenure in Columbus, Gavrikov improved dramatically upon his move to Los Angeles. During his two-and-a-half-year run with the Kings, Gavrikov managed a 53.5% CorsiFor% at even strength and an on-ice save percentage of 91.4% at even strength.
Gavrikov’s signing looks even better for the Rangers, considering they already employ one of the league’s top netminders. Last season, the Rangers produced the sixth-worst shots against total, but were able to finish around the mid-way point of the league in GA/G. Similarly, New York finished with the 11th-best penalty kill, meaning Gavrikov will help the team dramatically at even strength with a man disadvantage.
PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article.
Flyers, Dan Vladař Agree To Terms On Two-Year Deal
The Flyers have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with UFA goalie Daniel Vladař worth $3.35MM per season, per a team announcement.
After Jake Allen was taken off the market earlier this morning, Vladař became the best available option for the Flyers to fulfill their goaltending needs. He’s unlikely to take over the starting role outright in Philadelphia, but he should create a better tandem than they previously had with Samuel Ersson.
The shorter-term deal is likely some insurance for the Flyers, as it’s challenging to predict exactly what version of Vladař they’ll get. From 2022 to 2024, Vladař served as a backup and achieved a record of 35 wins, 21 losses, and 9 ties with the Flames, posting a SV% of .894 and a GAA of 3.05. Furthermore, his advanced metrics look even worse, considering his -20.1 Goals Saved Above Average in the same time frame.
Still, Vladař seemingly corrected many of his flaws this past season playing behind rookie Dustin Wolf. In the best season of his career, Vladař managed a 12-11-6 record in 30 games with a .898 SV% and 2.80 GAA, while securing a .586 quality start percentage.
Although those numbers wouldn’t typically generate much excitement, they’re far superior to anything the Flyers had available last season. Ersson recorded the highest save percentage on the team with a .883 line, while the team itself finished with a measly .879.
At the very least, Vladař should bring more stability to Philadelphia’s crease. Furthermore, the two-year arrangement gives the Flyers more breathing room to wait until their competitive window completely opens to add a bigger fish between the pipes.
PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article.
Kings Sign Corey Perry, Joel Armia
The Kings are signing winger Corey Perry, TSN’s Bob McKenzie said on the network’s TV coverage of free agency today. It’s a one-year, bonus-laden contract for the 40-year-old, per McKenzie. Furthermore, Frank Seravalli adds that the Kings are also expected to sign Joel Armia. It’s a two-year deal for him, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. LeBrun adds it’s a $2.5MM cap hit for Armia. The team confirmed both deals and a $2MM cap hit for Perry with an additional $2MM in potential performance bonuses.
This news will be headlined by Perry’s journey to yet another Pacific Division team. He was a legendary feature of the early-2000s Anaheim Ducks, even joining the squad on their run to the 2007 Stanley Cup. Perry was the gut punch backing Ryan Getzlaf‘s jab – a role he filled for 14 seasons behind the Ducks captain. Perry recorded multiple impressive seasons across that span, routinely rivaling north of 30 goals and nearly 100 penalty minutes even through challenges with injury.
His career year stands proudly as the 2010-11 campaign, when he amassed 50 goals and 98 points, to go along with a staggering 104 penalty minutes. Perry led the NHL in goals, ranked fifth in total points, and was one of 43 players to record over 100 penalty minutes. He also led the league in even-strength goals, with 32. That red-hot season was enough to earn Perry the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Rocket Richard Trophy as top scorer. It was one of many dominant seasons that led him to 372 goals, 776 points, and 1,110 penalty minutes over the course of 988 games in Anaheim. He remains the club’s all-time leader in penalty minutes, and top-three in all-time goals and points.
But while Perry will long be remembered for his time in Anaheim, he’s blazed an impressive career since leaving the club in the 2019-20 season, at the age of 34. That year kicked off a string of short-term stops across the league, including one year in Dallas, Montreal, and Chicago, as well as two years in Tampa Bay. He was never able to rediscover his flashy mix of goals and penalty minutes. He instead leaned heavily on the grinder role, even amassing 95 penalty minutes in 81 games of the 2021-22 season with the Lightning.
Perry seemed set on filling a stout, bottom-end role through the remainder of his career, until an unexpected split with the Blackhawks opened the door for him to join the Edmonton Oilers partway through the 2023-24 campaign. He finished that season with fairly quiet totals – 13 points in 38 games with the Oilers – but found a much stronger stride back to offense this season. Perry finished the year with 19 goals and 30 points in 81 games. He finished the year ranked fifth on the team in goals and eighth in points. He then climbed to fifth on the team in scoring during the 2025 playoffs, where he filled a pivotal role en route to 10 goals and 14 points in 22 games.
Perry will enter the 2025-26 season at 40 years old. He’s shown a persistent ability to contribute to the lineup and showed no signs of slowing down in Edmonton’s recent run to a Cup Final elimination. Even then, he doesn’t seem to be an assured bet for more than lofty penalty minutes and a third-line role. His grit could be exactly what the Kings need behind a skilled top-six.
The same can be said for Armia, who joins the team as a stout bet for bottom-six center after filling that role for the last seven years in Montreal. Armia challenged his career-high in scoring this year, with 11 goals and 29 points in 81 games, falling just shy of the 30 points in 58 games he managed in 2019-20. He added to his stat line this season a comfortable minus-two and only 16 penalty minutes. Armia stands at an imposing 6-foot-3, 216 pounds, but his 87 hits this season didn’t rank in even the top-1o of Canadiens players. Instead, Armia earned his keep through fluid plays and a drive into the low slot on both ends of the ice. He’s a diligent forward who has amassed 586 career appearances across 11 years in the NHL. He’s scored 103 goals and 207 points in those appearances. That should be hardy enough to command a bottom-end role, likely rotating through the third and fourth line, in the Kings’ system.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports.
Canucks Re-Sign Brock Boeser To Seven-Year Contract
In a surprising swing, scoring winger Brock Boeser is remaining with the only organization he’s ever known. According to Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy, the Canucks are signing Boeser to a seven-year, $50.75MM contract, with an AAV of $7.25MM. Shortly thereafter, the Canucks made the signing official.
After months of trade rumors and a speculated separation, Boeser will make the surprising decision to stick around in Vancouver. He was shopped around heavily at the 2025 Trade Deadline, with Vancouver asking for as much as a first-round pick in return. No deal came together, though multiple teams were reportedly interested in offers, including the Carolina Hurricanes. A looming trade was enough to kick contract negotiations between Boeser and Vancouver to the summer – but Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin emphasized that the team remained interested in re-signing the scoring winger. That emphasis came in the midst of many other teams expressing interest in signing Boeser – including the Anaheim Ducks, who viewed him as a potential backup to signing Mitch Marner.
Instead, Boeser will commit to staying a Canuck through the bulk of his career. He joined the club with the 23rd-overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, following a standout season with the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks. Boeser followed his draft with two seasons as the University of North Dakota, where he became renowned for his ability to score goals in the big moments. His freshman year was headlined by 27 goals and 60 points in 42 games, though unfortunate circumstances and battles with injury held him to just 34 points in 32 games as a sophomore. Boeser curbed that misfortune by signing his entry-level contract at the end of the 2016-17. He was granted the first nine games of his NHL career shortly after, and quickly broke out with the first four goals and five points of his career.
With that, Boeser stamped the presence he brings to the lineup. He flashed as a volume shooter capable of taking advantage of slight openings and momentum in the rush. Those are the exact traits that led him to an impressive 29 goals and 55 points in 62 games of his rookie season – good for second in goals, and fifth in total points, among a loaded rookie class that also featured Kyle Connor, Alex DeBrincat, Clayton Keller, and Mathew Barzal. But Boeser’s flashy 2017-18 rookie campaign didn’t come without misfortune. He sustained a foot injury in just the first few games of the season, then again partway through the year with what was ultimately diagnosed as a bone bruise — in addition to a hand injury in February.
Boeser pushed through the injury, but his rookie season was ultimately cut short just a couple of months later when he fractured his back on an attempted hit. It derailed what could have been a Calder Trophy-winning campaign, but Boeser made an impressive surge back to health in the following season. For the string of injuries that he faced, Boeser’s on-ice product remained surprisingly consistent. He scored 26 goals and 56 points in 69 games of his sophomore year in the NHL, then scored 45 points in 57 games – a 65-point pace across 82 games – in year three.
Continued injuries held Boeser below 75 games played through the 2022-23 season, even as his scoring remained consistent. Injuries appeared to be a perennial issue, until Boeser surged back to full health and appeared in all but one of Vancouver’s games in the 2023-24 season. Good health brought with it a breakout year – underlined by Boeser netting 40 goals and 73 points during the regular season, and 12 points in 12 postseason games. It was his first time breaking the 30-goal ceiling.
But Boeser recorded a lofty 19.6 shooting percentage in his career-year – a mark that seemed far from sustainable given his career-long 12.7 shooting percentage entering that season. As expected, Boeser’s shooting percentage and stat line fell accordingly this season — with him finishing the year on 50 points, split evenly, and a 17.2 shooting percentage in 75 games played. That’s a hardy decline, but it could be closely coupled to Vancouver’s sharp decline in total goals scored. The team ranked sixth in the league with 279 goals, but fell all the way to 23rd in the league with just 233 goals this year. Their season was marred by challenging questions surrounding Boeser, J.T. Miller, and Elias Pettersson. It’s hard to ensure that all of those questions have been ironed out, but a hardy extension for Boeser should give the squad a reinforced focus on offense heading into the 2025-26 campaign.
Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports.
Sharks Sign William Eklund To Three-Year Extension
The Sharks have signed winger William Eklund to a three-year extension worth $5.6MM per season, the team announced. He was entering the final year of his entry-level contract as a pending RFA. It’s a total value of $16.8MM for Eklund on his first standard NHL contract. He’ll be due a $5.8MM qualifying offer on expiry, per PuckPedia.
Eklund, 22, was one of the first cornerstone draft picks of San Jose’s rebuild. Selected No. 7 overall in 2021, he’s had a productive run in a top-six role out of the gate for the Sharks. He’s played two full NHL seasons after seeing a nine-game trial in 2021-22 and an eight-game one in 2022-23. In 174 career games, he has 35 goals and 110 points. That includes a 17-goal, 58-point showing in 77 games for the Sharks this year, finishing second on the team in scoring behind rookie Macklin Celebrini and averaging 19:33 per game.
It’s a shrewd deal, particularly for Eklund. He’ll take a bridge deal now with the chance to likely double his salary upon becoming an RFA again in 2029 at age 26 if he continues on his current development path. For the Sharks, it’s a tad peculiar to see them not go long-term with Eklund or pay him a higher salary on his bridge. It’s worth pointing out that Eklund’s deal doesn’t affect their ability to reach the cap floor this season since it doesn’t go into effect until 2026-27.
In a vacuum, though, it’s an exceptional value over the next few years for the star potential Eklund provides. As the team around him develops, he’s on track to be a surefire 70-to-80-point producer for the Sharks as Celebrini’s wingman for the foreseeable future. He’s maintained his draft slot well, currently ranking seventh in scoring among 2021 draftees. He’s played fewer games than everyone ahead of him except for Mammoth winger Dylan Guenther.
Image courtesy of D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images.
Stars Hire Glen Gulutzan As Head Coach
July 1: Dallas has announced Gulutzan’s appointment.
June 29: The Stars have offered their head coaching vacancy to Oilers assistant Glen Gulutzan, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports. They’ve yet to agree on a contract but are expected to announce him as their new bench boss in the near future.
The hiring will kick off Gulutzan’s second stint in the Stars organization. They’re the team that gave him his first NHL head coaching gig back in 2011, promoting him after he served as the head coach of AHL Texas for two seasons. His two-year run with Dallas was forgettable – a 64-57-9 record (.527) and no playoff appearances led to his dismissal after two seasons. He then joined the Canucks’ bench as an assistant for three years before resurfacing as head coach of the Flames, where he posted a 82-68-14 record (.543) before again being let go after two years. Calgary made the playoffs under Gulutzan in 2017 but was swept by the Ducks in the first round.
Gulutzan, 53, returns to Dallas hoping for better results this time around. He’ll have a much better roster to help him out. While he bounced from team to team for much of the 2010s, the now-53-year-old caught on as an assistant coach in Edmonton after being fired by the Flames and has remained there until today. He’s helped the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances on Kris Knoblauch’s staff, beating the Stars in the Western Conference Final on both occasions.
The former ECHL Coach of the Year with the Las Vegas Wranglers will take over for Peter DeBoer, who was a surprise firing after Dallas was bounced in this year’s WCF. Reports indicated the relationship between DeBoer and starting goaltender Jake Oettinger had rapidly deteriorated after DeBoer pulled him from their Game 5 season-ending loss early.
His new staff in Dallas remains to be seen. They already lost assistants Steve Spott to the Bruins and Misha Donskov to a role with Hockey Canada. It’s unclear if the lone remaining assistant, Alain Nasreddine, will return under Gulutzan.
Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports.
Flyers Sign Christian Dvorak, Noah Juulsen, Dennis Gilbert
12:32 p.m.: The Flyers have confirmed those signings and also announced a one-year deal for defenseman Dennis Gilbert worth $875,000. Gilbert, 28, had six points and 63 hits in 29 games last year with the Sabres and Senators.
11:04 a.m.: According to Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic, the Philadelphia Flyers are expected to sign defenseman Noah Juulsen. PuckPedia quickly followed up, indicating it’ll be a one-year, $900K investment by Philadelphia. Furthermore, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the Flyers have also signed center Christian Dvorak to a one-year, $5.4MM contract. PuckPedia added that Dvorak will earn a $4MM base salary with Philadelphia and a $1.4MM signing bonus.
Juulsen will be following his former head coach, Rick Tocchet, with the Vancouver Canucks, to the Flyers organization. He was only afforded a quick trip through unrestricted free agency after a disappointing year with the Canucks. Limited by injuries, Juulsen concluded the 2024-25 campaign with no points over 35 games, averaging 16:17 of ice a night in a bottom-pairing role.
Already carrying quality depth on the right side of their defense, the Flyers are likely expecting Juulsen to fit into a depth role this season. He’s a fairly physical blue liner, averaging nearly three hits per game throughout his career. Furthermore, he earned a 90.3% on-ice save percentage at even strength throughout his tenure in Vancouver.
Meanwhile, the Flyers have also added one of the best remaining free-agent options at center in Dvorak. He’s coming off a quality season with the Canadiens, scoring 12 goals and 33 points in 82 games with a -5 rating. He’ll be a boon for Philadelphia in the faceoff dot, managing a 53.1% success rate throughout his 534-game NHL career.
Still, it’ll be interesting to see how the Flyers utilize Dvorak. He’s a natural center, best deployed in a third-line role. However, if the team hopes to use freshly acquired Trevor Zegras down the middle, Dvorak could move to either wing. It’s a high cap-hit for a third-line forward, but he’ll give Philadelphia some stability toward the bottom of their forward core, especially with an influx of young talent expected next season.
Furthermore, if the Flyers are unable to compete for a playoff spot down the stretch, Dvorak could become a quality trade piece come deadline season. Contending teams are scouring the market for potential centers nearly every season, and Dvorak would be a valuable trade candidate considering his tertiary scoring capabilities and strength in the faceoff dot.
Devils To Sign Jake Allen To Five-Year Extension
Jake Allen won’t be the top goaltender on today’s free agent market after all. He’s signing an extension with the Devils, Kevin Weekes of ESPN reports. It’s a five-year deal worth $9MM, paying him $1.8MM per season, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Allen, 35 in August, leaves significant money on the table but gains long-term financial stability on what will presumably be the last contract of his NHL career. He’ll be 39 years old when the deal runs out following the 2029-30 campaign. Still, he likely could have landed a multi-year commitment worth nearly $5MM annually on the open market, per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now.
It’s evident that term was the priority for Allen as he enters his 13th NHL season. It looked like there may be a resolution this morning when reports indicated the Devils were aggressively trying to keep Allen.
Allen isn’t a starter at this stage of his career – he was never more than a tandem option anyway – but he was the most established of the UFA group of goalies and was coming off a good platform campaign. Acquired from the Canadiens at the 2024 trade deadline, he finished the year with a .900 SV% in 13 games and entered 2024-25 as the backup to Jacob Markstrom, whom New Jersey paid a pretty penny to acquire from the Flames last summer.
While he didn’t receive Markstrom’s workload, he was still the Devils’ best goalie by the numbers. He posted a .906 SV% in 31 games compared to Markstrom’s .900 mark, and analytics paint a picture of an even wider chasm. Allen saved 18.4 goals above expected compared to Markstrom’s more conservative 3.4, per MoneyPuck.
New Jersey now gets to run back one of the league’s better one-two punches in goal at a combined price tag of $5.925MM against the cap, thanks to Calgary retaining salary on Markstrom, who’s a free agent next summer. They have $12.59MM in cap space left to spend with three open roster spots, according to PuckPedia.
Notably, it looks like young No. 3 netminder Nico Daws will hit the waiver wire during training camp. The 24-year-old is entering the final year of his contract at a cap hit of $812,500 but is due $850,000 in actual salary on a one-way deal, which may dissuade a claim.
Image courtesy of Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images.
Hurricanes Sign Logan Stankoven To Eight-Year Extension
The Hurricanes weren’t able to get Mikko Rantanen to agree to a long-term contract but they got one done with the player they acquired for him. The team announced that they’ve signed forward Logan Stankoven to an eight-year, $48MM contract extension.
The 22-year-old was a second-round pick by Dallas back in 2021, going 47th overall. Quite quickly, it’s fair to say he has outperformed his draft stock. Stankoven made a mark late in the 2023-24 campaign, notching six goals and eight assists in 24 games with the Stars, earning himself a regular spot in their playoff lineup where he chipped in with eight points in 19 contests.
That was enough to have Stankoven as a regular for Dallas to start last season but the per-game offensive production tapered off a bit. That said, he still put up a respectable nine goals and 20 assists in 59 games with them before being one of the key parts of the Rantanen trade back at the trade deadline.
Following the swap, Stankoven’s point production continued at a similar clip as he tallied five goals and four assists in 19 games during the regular season with Carolina while continuing to hover just above 15 minutes a night in playing time. He carried that into the playoffs as well as a secondary offensive contributor, tallying five goals and three helpers in 15 postseason contests.
Stankoven has one year left on his entry-level contract, one that carries a cap charge of just over $814K along with $32.5K in games-played bonuses. That means the extension will begin in 2026-27. He had four RFA-eligible years remaining so Carolina will gain four seasons of team control at that time. Those four UFA years are the only ones in which he’ll be eligible for trade protection.
While Stankoven isn’t the same caliber of player that Rantanen is, the Hurricanes will still get a long-term core piece out of that series of trades. In the long run, while they took a short-term loss in talent compared to the original trade that saw them acquire Rantanen from Colorado, getting Stankoven locked up long-term and adding a pair of first-round picks was a solid rebound for GM Eric Tulsky.
John Matisz of The Score was the first to report that a long-term deal was close. Frank Seravalli was first with the terms of the agreement.