Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Newsstand

Flames, Flyers Swap Andrei Kuzmenko, Joel Farabee

at CDT | by 46 Comments

Jan. 31: Both teams officially announced the swap late last night. It’s the Flames’ own 2025 second-rounder and their 2028 seventh-rounder heading to the Flyers.

Jan. 30: The Flames and Flyers are working on a trade that will send winger Andrei Kuzmenko to Philadelphia, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet adds that winger Jakob Pelletier is heading to the Flyers as part of the swap. Heading Calgary’s way in return are forwards Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost, Seravalli reports. Friedman adds that the Flyers were on Kuzmenko’s 12-team no-trade list, but he waived the clause to make the move happen. Finally, Seravalli reports a second-round and seventh-round pick are headed to the Flyers along with Pelletier and Kuzmenko to complete the trade.

To put things plainly, Kuzmenko is a pending unrestricted free agent needing a change of scenery. The soon-to-be 29-year-old has struggled to stay in the lineup this season despite a $5.5MM cap hit. While he missed some time due to a lower-body injury in December, he was recently a healthy scratch for a three-game stretch and has been limited to 37 of Calgary’s 49 games overall. In those appearances, the Russian sniper is averaging just over one shot on goal per game and has converted at a career-worst 10.3% rate, working out to only four goals and 11 assists for 15 points.

That dip in production is evidence of the 5’11” winger’s inconsistency, but he’s shown flashes of proper top-six play since arriving in the NHL as an undrafted free agent signing by the Canucks in 2022. He erupted for 39 goals and 74 points in his rookie season while playing primarily on Elias Pettersson’s wing, shooting at a league-high 27.3% and averaging over 16 minutes per game with strong possession metrics (52.9 CF%, 55.2 xGF% at even strength).

Kuzmenko landed a rich two-year, $11MM extension midway through his rookie campaign as a result of his efforts, but it’s been marred by up-and-down play. His production dropped to eight goals and 21 points through the first 43 games of the 2023-24 campaign before he was sent to Calgary in the deal that sent Elias Lindholm to the Canucks. He rediscovered his sharp-shooting ways after the move to Alberta, ending the season with 14 goals and 11 assists for 25 points in 29 appearances. He was the second-most productive Flames forward after the swap on a per-game basis, trailing only Nazem Kadri (36 points in 33 games).

But as in Vancouver, Kuzmenko hasn’t been able to carry his production over into year two with his new club. His minus-seven rating ranks fourth-worst on the team, but possession metrics paint a much rosier picture. His 53.6 CF% at even strength is sixth on the team and fourth among forwards, while his expected +1.9 rating is fifth. He’s not generating nearly enough individual offense to make his strength as a scorer shine through, but he’s not been a meaningful liability away from the puck, either.

Philly picks up an inconsistent but high-ceiling option on the wing in Kuzmenko, and they pick up a similar but younger archetype in Pelletier. Selected in the first round by the Flames in 2019, he’s only just beginning to break through as an impact NHLer. The 23-year-old has only 10 points in 37 career appearances entering the season and even cleared waivers on his way down to the minors at the beginning of the season. He’s gotten more chances in the NHL lineup as the campaign has progressed, though, and has earned an everyday role in the lineup over the last six weeks.

Since first being recalled at the beginning of December, Pelletier is tied for sixth on the Flames in scoring with 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in 23 games. He also has a team-high +10 rating during that span despite averaging only 12:57 per game. There’s significant upside with both players, especially if thrust into consistent top-six roles.

The Flyers also open up some long-term flexibility by dealing Farabee, who’s had similar struggles to Kuzmenko this season, to Calgary. He costs slightly less than Kuzmenko against the cap – $500K, to be exact – but is signed through the 2027-28 campaign. Philadelphia will get out of Kuzmenko’s deal in a few months and also open up short-term cap space by swapping the $2.1MM Frost for a six-figure Pelletier.

Farabee has a much longer NHL track record than Kuzmenko despite being four years younger, but he’s also failed to flash the ceiling Kuzmenko has. His career-highs only check in at 22 goals and 50 points, both set last season while skating in all 82 games for Philadelphia. The 2018 first-rounder has 90 goals and 201 points in 383 career outings for the Flyers since entering the league six years ago.

At 24 years old (25 in a few weeks), Farabee fits the Flames’ retooling timeline better than Kuzmenko, and even if his $5MM cap hit is steep for his inconsistent production, he’s cost-controlled in the event he breaks out. This season has been difficult for Farabee, who’s shooting at a career-worst 8.1% and has eight goals with 11 assists for 19 points through 49 games. That’s the worst point-per-game pace of his career by a decent margin, and his possession impacts are also among the worst on the Flyers. While the cost control could be a gift if he returns to a 50-point pace in top-nine minutes, Calgary is taking on a significant amount of risk with three more seasons left on his contract.

They do pick up a promising young center in Frost, matching the type of player general manager Craig Conroy has been looking to acquire since their hot start to the season. Calgary was among the teams to check in with the Sabres on Dylan Cozens’ availability, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic said a couple of weeks ago, but Frost is a much lower-risk option contractually as a pending restricted free agent with a $2.4MM qualifying offer.

Frost, 25, was a first-rounder in 2017 and ranks fifth on the Flyers in scoring with 25 points (11 G, 14 A) through 48 games. He was an eyebrow-raising healthy scratch on a few occasions early in the season but has played every game since Nov. 23. He’s on pace to produce in the 40-50 point range for three years straight now, averaging north of 15 minutes per game and steadily improving in the faceoff circle. His 51.6% win rate on draws this season is a career-high and immediately ranks tops among Flames with at least 100 attempts this season.

The Flames ended up with a net cap gain of $800K in the swap, a negligible figure considering they entered the night with nearly $44MM in current space, per PuckPedia. No corresponding transactions will be required to execute the deal with an equal number of roster players changing hands, either.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period was the first to report the Flames were sending draft picks to the Flyers to complete the deal.

Blues Place Brandon Saad On Unconditional Waivers

at CDT | by 47 Comments

Jan. 30: Saad is on unconditional waivers today and will have his contract terminated assuming he clears Friday, Friedman confirms.

Jan. 29, 1:56 p.m.: The Blues and Saad are now heading toward a mutual contract termination, Friedman adds. The move will make him an unrestricted free agent, so he’ll be able to sign with any team down the stretch with new contract terms. However, he’ll be walking away from north of $5MM of cash he was still owed on his deal with St. Louis.

Jan. 29, 1:05 p.m.: Saad and Sylvegård cleared waivers Wednesday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Saad heads to the AHL for the first time in over a decade, while Sylvegård has had his contract terminated and is free to return to Europe.

Jan. 28: Blues general manager Doug Armstrong announced Tuesday that they’re placing veteran winger Brandon Saad on waivers, per Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic. St. Louis also placed winger Marcus Sylvegård on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Saad is in the fourth season of a five-year, $22.5MM contract he signed with the Blues as an unrestricted free agent in 2021. The deal carries a $4.5MM cap hit, but he’s only owed $4.375MM in salary this season and $3.625MM in 2025-26.

Saad, who has struggled to the tune of seven goals, nine assists, and 16 points in 43 games this season, was a speculative trade candidate before the deadline but carries a full no-trade clause until July 1. Placing him on waivers will allow interested clubs to acquire him even if he would have otherwise blocked a trade. Notably, the Blues can’t retain any salary on Saad if he’s claimed off waivers rather than traded.

Armstrong told reporters, including Lou Korac of NHL.com, that Saad will report to and play for AHL Springfield if he goes unclaimed tomorrow. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that Saad had told the Blues he was willing to waive his NTC, but no trade materialized. They won’t be making a corresponding recall after Saad is removed from the roster, Armstrong added (via Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

While things haven’t panned out for the 32-year-old Saad in St. Louis this season, he was a decent secondary scorer as recently as last season, when he turned in 26 goals and stayed healthy for all 82 games. It was Saad’s second-best goal-scoring season of his 14-year NHL career. However, his overall offense has continuously dropped off from his days of routinely producing around 50 points per season for the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets early on.

In Saad’s defense, a good portion of his struggles can be attributed to a significant dropoff in shooting percentage. He’s clicking at just 9.3%, the second-lowest rate of his career and down nearly 50% from last year’s 18.1% success rate. He’s due for regression, especially considering his 36 individual high-danger chances at 5-on-5 are tied for third on the Blues, per Natural Stat Trick.

A second-round pick by Chicago in 2011, Saad reached the NHL one year later and won championships with the Hawks in both 2013 and 2015. A salary cap crunch forced Chicago to trade him to the Blue Jackets for a package centered around Artem Anisimov following the second of those Cups, but the Blackhawks re-acquired him from Columbus two years later – unfortunately giving up superstar winger Artemi Panarin in the process.

But on the wrong side of 30 and with another year left on his deal, Saad finding a new home on waivers seems unlikely – especially if the Blues were previously willing to retain salary to facilitate a trade. Most teams interested in adding a veteran piece instead of subtracting likely won’t have the cap space for Saad at his full impact.

The Blues signed Sylvegård, 25, as an undrafted free agent from Sweden’s Växjö Lakers last offseason. He’s done well on assignment to Springfield, ranking fifth on the team with 21 points (10 G, 11 A) in 35 games, but has yet to receive an NHL recall. Evidently, both parties are satisfied with breaking ties early and allowing him to return to Europe. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent upon termination.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Kraken Reassign Philipp Grubauer

at CDT | by 10 Comments

Jan. 30: Grubauer cleared waivers and will be assigned to the AHL, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The Kraken recalled Ales Stezka from Coachella Valley earlier today to serve as their new backup.

Jan. 29: The Kraken announced Wednesday that they’ve placed goaltender Philipp Grubauer on waivers. He will be reassigned to AHL Coachella Valley if he clears.

Grubauer is the second high-profile veteran in as many days to hit the waiver wire, joining the Blues’ Brandon Saad (who cleared them today). He’s also the second big-money netminder to land on waivers recently after the Penguins’ Tristan Jarry cleared them earlier this month.

Grubauer’s contract is strikingly similar to his counterpart in Pittsburgh’s, except he’s further along. Seattle signed the German to a six-year, $35.4MM commitment in free agency before their inaugural season, tabbing him to serve as their first starter coming off a Vezina Trophy nomination with the Avalanche. He’s now in the fourth year of that deal, which carries a $5.9MM cap hit, and has yet to even sniff an average campaign.

Not once in Grubauer’s nine NHL seasons before arriving in Seattle had he posted a save percentage under .900. But since arriving in the Pacific Northwest, he hasn’t touched .900 in a single season and has averaged a .890 mark with a 3.10 GAA in a Kraken jersey. He hasn’t started north of 40 games since his first season in Seattle and has a cumulative 54-76-12 record with four shutouts.

While Grubauer isn’t playing behind the elite Capitals and Avalanche teams he had support from earlier in his career, he’s actively been a drag on the Kraken’s record over the life of the deal. He’s allowed 57.7 goals above expected since 2021, per MoneyPuck. 17.5 of those conceded goals have come this season, on track to put him last in the league in the stat after doing so already in 2021-22.

His recent run of play makes it easy to see why now is the moment Seattle’s patience has run out. He’s 0-5-1 in his last six appearances and has allowed 22 goals on 127 shots during that timeframe, working out to a .827 SV%. When compared to now-undisputed starter Joey Daccord’s numbers this season (17-12-2, .916 SV%, 2.45 GAA), there’s no questioning whether Grubauer’s struggles are individual or systemic.

There won’t be any takers on waivers as a result, and the likelihood of a trade is minimal – especially with his 10-team no-trade clause. All signs point to a buyout this summer, which would cost the Kraken $1.68MM against the cap for the next four seasons, per PuckPedia. For the rest of the season, Seattle can shave $1.15MM off Grubauer’s cap hit, so he’ll cost $4.75MM against the cap after being reassigned tomorrow.

Where Seattle goes for a new backup for Daccord in the interim remains to be seen. Next up on the depth chart is 28-year-old Ales Stezka, who’s been recalled a handful of times under emergency conditions since signing with the Kraken as an undrafted free agent in 2023 but has yet to make his NHL debut. The Czech goalie has a .902 SV% and 3.00 GAA with an 8-12-4 record in 24 appearances for Coachella Valley this season – not particularly inspiring numbers.

Instead, expect them to trade for a depth netminder from a team with more depth at the position to finish out the season. Third-stringers like the Islanders’ Marcus Högberg and Utah’s Jaxson Stauber have done well in limited action this season, although the former is still needed in New York with Semyon Varlamov on the shelf.

Long-term, Seattle’s set between the pipes with Daccord as the starter. The 28-year-old signed a five-year, $25MM extension in October to keep him off this summer’s free agent market.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Canadiens’ Kaiden Guhle Out Indefinitely With Quadricep Laceration

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

1:12 p.m.: Guhle sustained a lacerated quadricep muscle that was surgically repaired overnight, the team announced. He’s been released from the hospital but will be out indefinitely.

10:09 a.m.: In a corresponding move, defenseman Jayden Struble has been reinstated from his conditioning loan to AHL Laval. The 23-year-old lefty was held without a point and took two minor penalties with a plus-one rating in a pair of contests for the minor-league club.

8:10 a.m.: The Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Kaiden Guhle has suffered a lower-body injury and will need further evaluation. Guhle sustained the injury in the third period of last night’s 4-1 loss to Winnipeg when he fell into the corner awkwardly. He appeared to catch an edge on the play as he was trying to pinch in from the blue line, his right leg fell behind him and jammed into the boards, suffering the full weight of the impact. Guhle required assistance to get to the dressing room and did not appear to bear any weight on his right leg.

The 16th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft is in his third NHL season and has become a huge piece of Montreal’s back end, averaging over 21 minutes a night of ice team and seeing the third most deployment at even strength on the team. Guhle has also been tasked with taking on some of the most difficult minutes in Montreal, starting nearly 60% of his shifts in the defensive zone and taking on the toughest assignments.

Montreal does have some good young defensemen in the AHL right now, however, none will be able to make the jump up from Laval and handle the duties that Guhle has been taking on.

Montreal is in the thick of the Eastern Conference’s race for the Wild Card spots, and losing Guhle for an extended period would be a big blow to their playoff hopes. However, there is a break in February for the Four Nations Face-Off, which could allow Guhle some recovery time, should he need it.

Montreal could also look outside the organization for help as they have 12 draft picks in this year’s draft and will have almost $6.5MM in cap space to work with at the NHL Trade Deadline.

Kings Activate Drew Doughty From LTIR

at CDT | by 2 Comments

12:25 p.m.: Doughty is indeed off LTIR, per a team announced. As expected, Helenius was reassigned to AHL Ontario in a corresponding transaction.

10:15 a.m.: The Kings will have star defenseman Drew Doughty in the lineup for the first time this season when they face the Panthers on Wednesday, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. He’ll come off long-term injured reserve after missing just over four months with an ankle fracture sustained in preseason action.

Los Angeles is short about $84K in cap space to remove Doughty from LTIR, but they also have a full active roster. Opening up a roster space by assigning a player to AHL Ontario will also open the necessary cap space for his activation.

Doughty remains the anchor of the Kings’ blue line, even as he kicks off his age-35 season. The four-time Norris Trophy finalist is coming off a resurgent 2023-24 campaign in which he scored 15 goals, the second-highest total of his 16-season career, and secured a second straight 50-point year for the first time. Doughty also remained the Kings’ average ice time leader by a wide margin last season with 25:48, and he ranked second on the club with 142 blocks and seventh with 109 hits.

That made many believe Doughty’s long-term absence would spell doom for L.A.’s season, especially after they lost No. 2 righty Matt Roy to the Capitals in free agency. Not only are the Kings squarely in the playoff picture, but they’re on pace for 101 points and rank second in the league in goals against despite poor goaltending from backup David Rittich, who’s started 20 of their 47 games.

As expected, no one single player has filled in for Doughty. His absence has been shouldered by committee. 2021 eighth-overall pick Brandt Clarke emerged as their top offensive option in the interim with 24 points in 47 games, while Vladislav Gavrikov shifted to his off-side to replace Doughty alongside Michael Anderson on the top pair. While he’s got just a fraction of Doughty’s offensive upside, the 6’3″ Gavrikov has averaged a career-high 23:56 per game with strong defensive numbers. His 96 blocks lead the team, and his pairing with Anderson has controlled 56.2% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck.

The Kings are already carrying eight defensemen on their active roster, so one of them is likely destined for waivers. That won’t open up space quickly enough to activate Doughty for tonight’s game, though, so the waiver-exempt Clarke (or, more likely, depth center Samuel Helenius) will be sent down today to give the Kings time to do some roster shuffling.

Doughty returns with six games to go until the 4 Nations Face-Off, enough time to put himself in consideration to replace Alex Pietrangelo on Team Canada’s roster after the Golden Knight withdrew from the tournament over the weekend. He still has two years after this one left on his eight-year, $88MM mega-deal he signed with the Kings in 2018.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Nico Hischier Downgraded To Week-To-Week

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Devils captain Nico Hischier’s injury status has been downgraded to week-to-week, head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters Wednesday (including Gabriel Trevino of NJ.com). He has not played since sustaining an upper-body injury on a crosscheck from Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki last Saturday.

Keefe initially called Hischier day-to-day following the injury, which held him out of Monday’s loss to the Flyers. However, he left the team’s road trip to return to New Jersey to visit with team doctors for further evaluation. Evidently, it wasn’t positive news for the Swiss centerman, who will now miss another three games at minimum.

Past the halfway point of the season, Hischier leads the team in goals with 24 and has added 19 assists for 43 points in 51 games. He’s putting up career-highs in shooting percentage (17%) and average ice time (20:21), as well as winning 55.5% of his draws and logging a career-high 55.5 CF% at even strength. It’s been a dominant two-way campaign from the 2023 Selke Trophy finalist, one that could put him back in that conversation, assuming his absence doesn’t stretch out for too much longer.

It’s a difficult blow for the Devils, who are 4-5-3 since New Year’s and are already without starting goaltender Jacob Markström until around the trade deadline due to a sprained MCL. They’ve called to 28-18-6, decidedly third in the Metropolitan Division behind the Capitals and Hurricanes, and are now being chased by the red-hot Blue Jackets who are seven points back with two games in hand.

23-year-old Dawson Mercer shifts to center in Hischier’s absence with Erik Haula also on the shelf. The 2020 first-rounder has 23 points in 52 games, up only slightly from last year’s offensive pace.

Kirill Kaprizov To Undergo Lower-Body Surgery, Out Minimum Four Weeks

at CDT | by 12 Comments

1:34 p.m.: The Wild moved Kaprizov to IR to open up a roster spot, per a team announcement. They also shifted Brodin from IR to LTIR retroactive to Jan. 7 to open up the cap space for a forward recall, ruling him out of the team’s next two games at minimum.

10:35 a.m.: Wild star winger Kirill Kaprizov missed Tuesday’s practice and will undergo surgery to address his nagging lower-body injury, according to Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic. Russo and Smith report the surgery, which would address what’s believed to be a muscular issue in his groin and is scheduled for Friday, carries an expected recovery time of six weeks. General manager Bill Guerin handed down an official week-to-week designation with a minimum four-week window, per Jessi Pierce of NHL.com.

The loss of Kaprizov is less devastating than when he missed 12 games over the past month-plus, with most of his absence set to fall while the NHL schedule stops for the 4 Nations Face-Off. They still have six games left before the break, though, and their best player will join top shutdown defenseman Jonas Brodin and middle-six winger Marcus Johansson on injured reserve for that stretch. While the ageless Mats Zuccarello and breakout center Marco Rossi still form two-thirds of a formidable top line, there’s simply no replacement for Kaprizov as the Wild desperately try to hold onto their top-three spot in the Central Division heading into the break.

While second-line winger Matt Boldy is a top-line player in most markets and would likely do well with a bump in ice time, the 27-year-old Kaprizov has solidified himself as a top-three winger in the league this season. In 37 games, the 5’10” lefty has tallied 23 goals and 29 assists for 52 points with a +19 rating. His 1.41 points per game are fifth in the league, and tops among left-wingers, not a level of production Boldy or the other few high-upside offensive options in the organization can aim to touch.

Boldy slid into Kaprizov’s minutes during his previous absence, doing well offensively but causing the line’s two-way dominance to falter. He posted five goals and six assists for 11 points over the 12-game span, but the Boldy-Rossi-Zuccarello trio has conceded 3.61 expected goals against per 60 minutes compared to just 2.38 xGA/60 with Kaprizov on that line, per MoneyPuck. With Johansson also missing from the top nine, 2022 first-round pick Liam Ohgren is likely to get an extended run in increased minutes. It’s a shot in the dark, though – Ohgren has just two points in 13 NHL showings this season, both assists against the Avalanche on Jan. 20.

Kaprizov will be back shortly after the trade deadline if he undergoes surgery this week and the six-week recovery window holds true. That won’t allow Minnesota to keep Kaprizov’s cap hit on long-term injured reserve for the remainder of the regular season, but it should allow them additional options for short-term flexibility as they look to add to their roster. They’ve been linked to Islanders pending UFA pivot Brock Nelson, and The Fourth Period reports they’ve at least demonstrated loose interest in Canucks stars J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. But they currently project to have just $200K in deadline space, requiring them to move out salary in any deal they make, plus asking for maximum retention on the other end.

Capitals Sign Logan Thompson To Six-Year Extension

at CDT | by 5 Comments

3:03 p.m: Washington has made the signing official per a team announcement.

1:30 p.m: The Capitals are close to a multi-year extension with pending UFA netminder Logan Thompson, Kevin Weekes of ESPN reports Monday. It’s a six-year commitment with a price tag of $5.85MM per season, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet adds, working out to a total value of $35.1MM.

PuckPedia provided the breakdown of the contract as follows:

  • Year 1: $2MM salary + $5MM signing bonus – 15-team no-trade clause
  • Year 2: $4.85MM salary + $2MM signing bonus – 15-team no-trade clause
  • Year 3: $1.5MM salary + $5MM signing bonus – 15-team no-trade clause
  • Year 4: $3.5MM salary + $2MM signing bonus – 10-team no-trade clause
  • Year 5: $3MM salary + $2MM signing bonus – 10-team no-trade clause
  • Year 6: $2.25MM salary + $2MM signing bonus – 10-team no-trade clause

It’s a sizable commitment to the breakout 27-year-old, who’s quickly ramping up his case for his first career Vezina Trophy nomination. He’s broken away from Washington’s plan to alternate him and Charlie Lindgren between the pipes nightly, erupting for a .925 SV% and 2.09 GAA in 27 appearances with a near-spotless 22-2-3 record. Thompson earned seven straight starts earlier this month, allowing just eight goals on 179 shots.

Despite the tandem workload, Thompson has been among the Capitals’ most valuable players and ranks second in the league in goals saved above expected with 26.8, only slightly trailing Vezina favorite Connor Hellebuyck’s 27.5 mark, per MoneyPuck. It’s night and day compared to what Darcy Kuemper gave the Caps last year in a similar role, making the Washington front office’s decision to send him to Los Angeles for Pierre-Luc Dubois and give up a pair of third-rounders to snag Thompson from the Golden Knights one of the best of the summer.

As expected, the extension amounts to a stratospheric raise for Thompson, who will now earn more than twice per season than the entire value of his previous contract. He signed a team-friendly three-year, $2.3MM commitment with Vegas in January 2022 when he was beginning to emerge as an NHL option. During that time, he’s been arguably the most underpaid player in the league with a 68-29-11 record, .915 SV%, 2.53 GAA, and five shutouts in 110 games for the Knights and Caps over the life of the deal.

The raise is still jarring for a netminder who’s only started more than 40 games once in his career, but Thompson has already solidified his third consecutive 20-win season and will start north of 40 again this year, barring injury. Among the 29 goalies who have played more than 100 games since the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign, that .915 SV% ranks third – higher than clear-cut stars like Andrei Vasilevskiy, Ilya Sorokin, Igor Shesterkin, and Juuse Saros.

He’s now Washington’s present and future between the pipes as they look to end Alex Ovechkin’s career on a high note and keep the momentum going after he inevitably breaks the league’s all-time goals record. If he stays healthy, he should get the chance to also head into the playoffs as his team’s undisputed starter for the first time in his career.

Thompson’s deal runs through the 2030-31 campaign, after which he’ll be a UFA at age 34. The Caps now have $69.375MM tied up in 15 players for next season, not including pending UFAs Lindgren and top-four defenseman Jakob Chychrun. His $5.85MM cap hit will rank 15th among netminders next season as things stand.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Islanders Acquire Scott Perunovich From Blues

at CDT | by 6 Comments

The Islanders acquired defenseman Scott Perunovich from the Blues on Monday in exchange for a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick, both clubs announced.

Perunovich, 26, slots into the Islanders’ blue line after righty Ryan Pulock landed on injured reserve this morning. His acquisition signals the latter is expected to miss significant time, so he and recent free-agent signing Tony DeAngelo now slot in to relieve the void left by Pulock and Noah Dobson, who’s week-to-week with a right leg injury.

While the 5’10” puck mover is a left shot, he has experience playing on his offside. New York will rely on that experience and presumably utilize him on the right, giving them another offensive option in addition to the historically one-dimensional DeAngelo.

A 2018 second-round pick, Perunovich was once one of the most highly-regarded defense prospects in the game. But after winning the Hobey Baker Award with 40 points in 34 games for Minnesota-Duluth in 2019-20, he missed his entire rookie campaign with St. Louis after undergoing left shoulder surgery. Wrist surgery limited him to 19 games with the Blues the following year, and yet another shoulder injury cut into his 2022-23 campaign. Throughout those three seasons, injuries limited Perunovich to just 58 games with the Blues and AHL Springfield.

While wholly healthy for the first time since college in 2024-25, Perunovich hasn’t found much playing time. He’s been a healthy scratch for about half the season, including the last nine games, and has only averaged 14:37 per game when in the lineup. He has six points and nine shots on goal in 24 games, adding 21 blocks and nine hits. The acquisition of Philip Broberg via offer sheet this summer as a young puck-moving lefty largely made Perunovich a redundancy heading into the campaign, so seeing him on the move is not entirely surprising.

He’s far from being the two-way presence Pulock is for the Isles, but he more accurately fills the void left by depth defender Mike Reilly, who remains on LTIR after undergoing heart surgery. He has 29 points in his 97 career NHL appearances but will be in line for a bump in minutes on Long Island, which both sides hope will boost his production.

Perunovich signed a one-year, $1.15MM extension with the Blues last June to avoid hitting restricted free agency. He’ll be an RFA again at season’s end and is arbitration-eligible.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Penguins Place Evgeni Malkin On Injured Reserve

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Penguins placed Evgeni Malkin on injured reserve Monday, per a team announcement. He left Saturday’s game against the Kraken in the first period because of a lower-body injury. The team recalled winger Jesse Puljujärvi from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to fill his roster spot.

Malkin appeared to injure his left leg in a collision with Kraken center Chandler Stephenson at center ice. He took one shift after the play but departed for the locker room shortly thereafter. The team has not issued a timeline for his return.

Any long-term absence from a top-six forward is likely a season-ender for the Pens, who have gone 3-6-3 since the New Year and sit last in the Metropolitan Division with 48 points. Their above-average offense was the only thing keeping the club afloat – only the Sharks have allowed more goals than Pittsburgh’s 185 – and Malkin is still an extremely important contributor with 25 assists and 34 points through 47 games.

The all-time great missed four games with an unrelated upper-body injury earlier this month. Pittsburgh went 1-2-1 during that stretch and averaged 2.5 goals per game.

Malkin had been skating in his usual second-line center spot, most recently flanked by Michael Bunting and Philip Tomasino. Puljujärvi won’t slide in there as a direct replacement but is expected to see third-line duties while Cody Glass slides up to center Bunting and Tomasino, PuckPedia projects. While Pittsburgh has 14 forwards on the active roster without Malkin, Blake Lizotte and Bryan Rust are day-to-day with an illness and a lower-body injury, respectively, and won’t play Monday against the Sharks.

Puljujärvi, 26, comes back up after being reassigned to WBS nearly two weeks to the day. Prior to his clearing waivers and subsequent demotion, the 2016 fourth-overall pick had three goals and six assists for nine points in 25 games. He barely played in December, at one point going a month between games while sitting in the press box.

The big-bodied Finn logged a goal and two assists with a minus-two rating in a trio of appearances for the Baby Pens this month. He’s among Pittsburgh’s fastest skaters with a top speed of 22.66 mph this season, per NHL EDGE.

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