Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Newsstand

Blackhawks Activate, Reassign Artyom Levshunov

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Blackhawks have taken 2024 second-overall pick Artyom Levshunov off of season-opening injured reserve and assigned him to AHL Rockford, per a team release today. The move signals that he’s ready to return from a right foot injury that kept him out of rookie camp, preseason, and the first two weeks of the regular season.

Levshunov, 19 next week, should get a fair amount of runway with the IceHogs before being considered for NHL minutes – if he’s called up at all this season. The Belarus native did dominate the collegiate ranks last season, posting 35 points and a +27 rating in 38 games with Michigan State. That performance earned him multiple Big 10 honors, including an All-Rookie Team nod, the Defensive Player of the Year award, as well as Rookie of the Year. He was the Spartans’ nominee for the NCAA-wide Hobey Baker Award for the top collegiate player, and his freshman year showing helped Michigan win the Big 10 regular season title and the tournament championship.

Jumping from USHL to NCAA directly to NHL play is a tall task for anyone, though, especially for a teenage defenseman. Plopping him into a still-rebuilding environment likely isn’t the best thing for his development, and it’s unlikely the Blackhawks’ front office envisions doing so. They’ve been tentative with their defense prospects in recent years and making efforts to shield them from tough NHL minutes before they’re ready, including sending recent top-10 pick Kevin Korchinski down to Rockford after he spent all of last year on the Blackhawks roster.

If Levshunov fails to play 10 NHL games this season, his entry-level contract will slide to the 2025-26 campaign.

Erik Gudbranson Had Shoulder Surgery, Out Indefinitely

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson underwent successful surgery yesterday to address the shoulder injury he sustained last week against the Panthers, the team announced. He was already placed on injured reserve. There’s no timeline for his return to the ice.

Unfortunately for Columbus, they’ll be without another veteran leadership fixture for most of the season. Captain Boone Jenner also underwent shoulder surgery earlier this month, which could cost him the entire campaign, general manager Don Waddell said at the time.

While frequently on IR earlier in his career, the 32-year-old Gudbranson has largely managed to stay healthy since inking a four-year, $16MM deal with the Jackets in free agency in 2022. The stay-at-home defender has been severely overtaxed in largely top-four minutes, though, posting a -38 rating and a poor 43.4 CF% at even strength in 151 appearances as a Jacket while averaging north of 20 minutes per game.

Through three games this season, Gudbranson had no points, an even rating, four hits, and three giveaways while also taking a minor penalty. While a relative non-factor on the ice thus far, he’s an invaluable part of Columbus’ leadership team and was the third-oldest player on the active roster behind newcomers Jack Johnson and James van Riemsdyk.

The right-shot blue-liner’s long-term absence surely means that 2022 No. 6 overall pick David Jiříček will see more minutes than he has to begin the season. The 20-year-old has sat in the press box for most of the campaign thus far and only just made his season debut over the weekend against the Wild, paired with Johnson and recording an assist and a +1 rating in 11:23 of tice time.

Rangers To Activate Ryan Lindgren From Injured Reserve

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren will make his season debut tonight against the Canadiens, head coach Peter Laviolette told reporters, including Peter Baugh of The Athletic. He’ll need to be taken off injured reserve in the coming hours, but since he was already counting against the salary cap and the Rangers have an open spot on the 23-man roster, there’s no corresponding transaction necessary.

Lindgren won’t be entering the lineup in his usual top-pairing role, however. Laviolette added that he’ll pair Lindgren with rookie Victor Mancini, who’ll be playing in just his sixth career game tonight. The 2022 fifth-round pick out of Nebraska-Omaha was a surprise inclusion on the opening night roster after a strong training camp and has a goal, an assist and a +3 rating through five appearances this season. He’s averaged 15:03 per game, playing a third-pairing role alongside either Zachary Jones or Chad Ruhwedel.

It’s not entirely surprising to see Lindgren taken off his usual top-pairing home, even if it’s just temporary until he gets back up to speed. The 26-year-old is coming off a difficult season that saw him log the worst possession impacts of his career, posting a 47.8 CF% and 48.6 xGF%. Meanwhile, K’Andre Miller has flourished early on this year after being bumped up to first-pairing duties alongside Adam Fox. The two have controlled 71.3% of expected goals when deployed together, per MoneyPuck, and he’s got a goal and an assist to his name thus far.

Lindgren had been out with an upper-body injury he sustained in a preseason game against the Islanders nearly a month ago. It’s a delayed start to what will be an important season for the injury-prone defender, who narrowly avoided arbitration this summer with a one-year, $4.5MM agreement to walk him to unrestricted free agency next year. With Miller’s continued emergence and Lindgren’s declining defensive impacts, it’s unlikely he’ll be brought back if he can’t turn things around quickly.

While a 2016 second-round pick of the Bruins, Manhattan is the only NHL home Lindgren’s ever known. He was part of the return that sent Rick Nash to Boston at the 2018 trade deadline, and he’s since scored 10 goals and 70 assists for 80 points with a +99 rating in 333 games for the Blueshirts.

Blues Sign Jake Neighbours To Two-Year Extension

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Blues will avoid restricted free agency next summer with young winger Jake Neighbours. He’s put pen to paper on a two-year, $7.5MM extension, per a team release.

It’s a solid bridge deal for the 2020 26th overall pick. Now 22, Neighbours emerged as a top secondary goal-scoring option for St. Louis last season. He tied with Pavel Buchnevich for second on the team in goals with 27, although he only added 11 assists for a more pedestrian 38 points in 77 games. He averaged 15:42 per game, sixth among Blues forwards, and shot at a team-high 18.6%. The 6’0″, 201-lb winger was also one of their more physical players, registering 138 hits.

Neighbours serves in a top-six role, most recently at right wing alongside Buchnevich and sophomore Zachary Bolduc. But last season’s showing demonstrated that the ingredients are there for Neighbours to remain an effective second-line piece or even a complementary first-line one if the Blues return to routine playoff contention soon.

The Calgary native got off to a slow start this season without a point through his first four appearances but rebounded over the past few days with two goals and an assist in wins over the Islanders and the Hurricanes. He’s averaging 15:48 per game so far this season, up slightly over last year’s usage, and has a -2 rating with 12 shots on goal. His luck should continue trending upward – his possession metrics thus far are pristine (59.6 CF%, 50.0 xGF%) compared to last year’s underwhelming totals (45.1 CF%, 46.7 xGF%).

Neighbours is in the final season of his entry-level contract, which counts $835,834 against the cap and pays him just $832.5K in base salary this season. He won’t receive any performance or signing bonuses this year. PuckPedia reports his extension breaks down to a $3.5MM base salary in 2025-26 and a $4MM base salary in 2026-27 with no bonuses included, working out to a cap hit of $3.75MM.

The Blues now have roughly $8.14MM in cap space for next season, with only four roster spots to fill. That’s assuming the upper limit rises to $92.5MM, as expected. They still need to extend or replace a few depth pieces, namely pending RFA netminder Joel Hofer, but there’s no genuinely groundbreaking offseason business left in 2025 for the Blues’ front office.

The base salary breakdown means Neighbours will be due a $4MM qualifying offer upon expiry in 2027. He’ll be an RFA at that time with one year remaining under team control before becoming eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2029.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Juraj Slafkovský Out At Least One Week With Upper-Body Injury

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovský will miss at least the next week with an upper-body injury, the team announced today. He hasn’t been placed on injured reserve but can be if needed. He’ll be absent for the team’s next four games at a minimum before being re-evaluated.

Slafkovský is dealing with a suspected shoulder injury sustained while practicing late last week, but he played through it and recorded two assists in a contest against the Islanders on Saturday. They’re shutting him down for now, though – whether that’s due to a setback or just purely for precautionary reasons remains to be seen.

It puts a damper on what had been a decent start to the campaign for the 2022 first-overall pick. Slafkovský wasn’t shooting the puck with nearly as much aplomb as last season, lighting the lamp once on seven shots through six games, but had added five assists to click at a point-per-game pace alongside Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. They’ve really struggled to defend as a unit, though, allowing an eye-popping 4.41 xGA per 60 minutes, per MoneyPuck.

Enforcer Michael Pezzetta will draw into the lineup and make his season debut tonight against the Rangers, the team said. But it’s highly unlikely he’ll shoulder Slafkovský’s vacated first-line minutes. If head coach Martin St. Louis’ deployment last season is any indication, that honor will likely go to Josh Anderson. He logged over 77 minutes alongside Caufield and Suzuki, second to Slafkovský’s whopping 751 minutes.

Slafkovský’s earliest potential return will be against the Capitals on the last day of the month.

John Marino Still “Months” Away From Returning, Sean Durzi’s Timeline Uncertain

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

New Utah Hockey Club defender John Marino must wait significantly longer before making his season debut. After being listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury at the beginning of camp and later upgraded to day-to-day, he was placed on IR at the start of the regular season. Now, it’ll be “months” before he can return to play, Utah head coach André Tourigny told reporters today, including Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Utah has still managed to get off to a 3-1-1 start without Marino, who they acquired from the Devils shortly after officially being established out of the ruins of the Coyotes. The 27-year-old right-shot defender was expected to serve as their top shutdown option and stabilize their top four while averaging over 20 minutes per game, but instead, he’s yet to even skate with the team a month after their first training camp began.

It’s an even more difficult blow to a new-look Utah blue line that’s also set to be without last year’s No. 1, Sean Durzi, for quite some time. The team confirmed yesterday that he’ll be out “for the foreseeable future” with an upper-body injury. Some reports, including one from Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli yesterday, indicated he needed surgery and could be out for four to five months. But Tourigny declined to verify that today and only said Durzi’s injury wasn’t season-ending, per Fraser. It’s still unclear what the specific injury is, but he was seen wearing a sling earlier this week after taking an awkward hit from Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler on Monday.

A sixth-round pick by the Oilers in 2015, Edmonton traded his signing rights to the Penguins in 2019, shortly before they expired following his final season of collegiate hockey at Harvard. Marino unexpectedly cracked Pittsburgh’s opening night roster and hasn’t looked back, immediately cementing himself as a top-four defender and holding that role throughout his five NHL seasons to date. He spent the last two seasons in Newark after a 2022 offseason trade sent him to the Devils, where he had 43 points and a +15 rating in 139 games while averaging 21:01 per game.

Initially expected to comprise Utah’s bottom pairing to begin the season, veteran signing Ian Cole and Michael Kesselring have stepped into top-four roles on the right side alongside Juuso Välimäki and Mikhail Sergachev, respectively, to offset the losses of Durzi and Marino. Fringe NHLer Vladislav Kolyachonok and late-summer signing Robert Bortuzzo comprise the bottom pairing for now.

With Utah’s hot start and general manager Bill Armstrong’s recent aggressive streak, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them pursue a right-shot defender on the trade market or waiver wire in the coming days now that Durzi and Marino’s long-term absences are confirmed, even without a specific return timeline.

Flames Looking To Add Center Depth

at CDT | by 8 Comments

The Flames’ 4-0-0 start to the 2024-25 season is unexpected, to say the least. After finishing 24th in the NHL last year, many expect them (and still do) to drop further down the standings now that they’ve firmly cemented themselves in teardown mode, trading away a pair of key pieces in Andrew Mangiapane and Jacob Markström this past summer.

But that hot start has created a renewed sense of optimism in Calgary for a few reasons. One is Jonathan Huberdeau, who’s in the second year of an eight-year, $84MM extension that looked like an albatross after he failed to hit 20 goals or 60 points in each of his first two seasons with the Flames. He’s on fire out of the gate, recording three goals and three assists for six points in four appearances and is averaging 18:40 per game, his heaviest usage since arriving in Calgary.

The other is the play of 23-year-old Dustin Wolf. He’s arguably the sport’s top goaltending prospect, and he was always going to be the biggest storyline in Calgary this season. While he’s split starts evenly with Daniel Vladař thus far, he’s been the far superior option with a .944 SV%, 2.02 GAA, and 3.5 GSAA.

Their performances and flawless record so far have Flames general manager Craig Conroy considering restocking the cupboard instead of continuing to sell off pieces in a retool. A middle-six center is high on the list of desires, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff said Thursday.

There’s not usually much trade activity to start a season, but I’m told Flames GM Craig Conroy has been working the phones in recent days to try and find a center to add to the Calgary Flames in their middle six, preferably someone that fits their age scheme… and a right-shooting center, at that. 

The Flames have multiple injuries up front at the moment, but only one plays center: depth piece Kevin Rooney. Captain Mikael Backlund and sophomore Martin Pospisil have anchored Calgary’s second and third lines to start the year behind Nazem Kadri on line one. Veteran AHLer Justin Kirkland has done well filling in for Rooney in fourth-line duties since he landed on IR last week.

While Backlund is still an excellent, defensively responsible pivot and more than capable of centering a second line, his offensive numbers dipped sharply to just 39 points in 82 games last year. For a 35-year-old, there isn’t much hope for a rebound. Pospisil is a natural center with a goal and four assists thus far, but he struggles to win draws with just a 44.1% career win rate through 67 NHL appearances. He was primarily utilized on the wing last season and would likely shift back there should Conroy accomplish his goal.

But while Calgary may be signaling the end of their brief retool on the backs of a resurgent Huberdeau and strong showings from youngsters like Pospisil, Wolf, and Connor Zary, they haven’t done nearly enough to put themselves firmly in buyer territory. That means Conroy pursuing the usual crop of pending UFA pivots who are likely to be trade deadline rentals doesn’t make much sense – nor would a pending UFA fit the “age scheme” Seravalli referred to.

That means he’s likely willing to pay a bit more for a younger center with term (or at least a few years of team control), assumingly one with more offensive upside than either Backlund or Pospisil project to offer at this stage. Could that come from a divisional rival like the Ducks, who still have Trevor Zegras to offer after he was embroiled in trade rumors for most of the summer? He’s a left-shot, but at 23 years old, he fits Calgary’s likely timeline for a return to playoff contention. After dealing with injuries for much of last season, he has two points through three games this year and is under contract through next season at a $5.75MM cap hit.

Over in the East, there’s a more expensive and, at this stage, riskier option likely available, but he checks all of Conroy’s reported boxes as a right shot. Like Zegras, checking in at 23 is Sabres pivot Dylan Cozens, who’s struggled to do much of anything in 2024-25. The 2019 seventh-overall pick has just one assist and a -3 rating in six appearances under head coach Lindy Ruff.

Cozens signed a seven-year, $49.7MM extension midway through a breakout 2022-23 campaign that saw him record 31 goals and 37 assists for 68 points in 81 games, finishing fifth on Buffalo in scoring. But last season, the first one covered by that extension, he regressed to 18 goals and 47 points in 79 games. If the start of his season is any indication, he may see his total output drop by another magnitude in 2024-25.

There’s legitimate upside, but a $7.1MM cap hit through the end of the decade is an incredibly risky bet for a team that’s arguably making a snap judgment about their future over a week-and-a-half hot stretch. Realistically, things still need to play out until Conroy makes notable swaps.

Jared Spurgeon Still Dealing With Effects From Last Season’s Surgeries

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Wild captain Jared Spurgeon is still experiencing “soreness and stiffness” following back and hip surgeries that ended his 2023-24 season in January, which general manager Bill Guerin told reporters yesterday is why he’s missed their last two games (per Michael Russo of The Athletic). Guerin said he’ll miss their next three games at least but could join the team midway through their road trip and suit up by their Oct. 26 game against the Flyers. As such, defenseman Daemon Hunt has been brought back up from AHL Iowa ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Blue Jackets, Russo reports.

It’s not an entirely unexpected absence, and Guerin says it’s “part of the healing process.” Team doctors confirmed this week that while Spurgeon isn’t 100%, he hasn’t experienced a proper setback and isn’t in danger of missing an extended period, Russo relays. He’s expected to start skating again next week after staying off the ice for a few more days to “let things calm down.”

Spurgeon’s unavailability to start the year has given Wild head coach John Hynes a lack of right-shot defensemen to work with. Zach Bogosian and Brock Faber are the only two righties on the blue line on the roster with Spurgeon out, and Hunt, their only legitimate NHL recall option from Iowa, is a left-shot. His absence isn’t sustained enough to persuade Guerin and Hynes to pursue an acquisition. However, that will change if Spurgeon still needs load management in the back half of the season.

The 34-year-old is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, so he’s likely dealing with more ill effects from the hip procedure than the back one. Regardless, it’s been a brutal stretch for Spurgeon, who finished top-15 in Norris Trophy voting in 2021-22 and 2022-23. The 2008 sixth-round pick of the Islanders has emerged as one of the league’s premier two-way defenders over the past decade. Over that recent dominant two-year stretch, he posted 21 goals and 74 points in 144 games, averaging 21:31 per night with a sparkling +64 rating. That last mark trailed only Devon Toews (+91) and Matt Grzelcyk (+68) for best in the league during that time.

For the 22-year-old Hunt, it’s already his third recall of the season. He’s only played in one out of Minnesota’s four games, though, and there’s no guarantee he’ll draw into the lineup against Columbus tomorrow with six other defenders available. The 2020 third-round pick had two shots on goal and two blocks while playing 8:01 against the Blues earlier this week.

Stars Extend Jake Oettinger

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Stars have signed star goaltender Jake Oettinger to an eight-year, $66MM extension, the team confirmed. He’ll count $8.25MM against the cap starting next season through the 2032-33 campaign.

Per PuckPedia, Oettinger’s deal is nearly a photocopy of the one Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman signed earlier this month, only affording him a no-move clause for an additional year because of his age. The full breakdown is as follows:

2025-26: $6MM base salary + $4MM signing bonus
2026-27: $6MM + $4MM SB, full no-move clause
2027-28: $5.5MM + $2MM SB, NMC
2028-29: $5MM + $3MM SB, NMC
2029-30: $5.5MM + $2.5MM SB, NMC
2030-31: $5.5MM + $2.5MM SB, NMC
2031-32: $5MM + $2.5MM SB, 10-team yes-trade list
2032-33: $4.5MM + $2.5MM SB, 10-team no-trade list

Oettinger, 25, has firmly established himself as one of the league’s top young netminders over the past four years. After Dallas made him the 26th overall pick of the 2017 draft, he made his NHL debut during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. He’d taken over as the Stars’ No. 1 by the following year and hasn’t looked back, finishing as high as fifth in Vezina Trophy voting in 2022-23.

Through his first 196 NHL appearances, Oettinger boasts a sparkling 116-48-23 record – due significantly in part to having one of the deepest skater corps in the league in front of him during that time. He’s logged a .914 SV%, 2.49 GAA, 11 SOs, and a cumulative 44.2 GSAA. The Minnesota native has yet to post below-average numbers in a single season, although he came close last year with a .905 SV% and a 2.7 GSAA in 54 games. He responded well with a .913 SV% in 19 postseason games, though, quieting most concerns about any long-term regression.

He’s also burst out of the gates this year with a .948 SV%, 1.63 GAA, and a shutout in three showings. That’s helped Dallas to a 4-0-0 record that has them tied for first in the league with the upstart Flames. That hot start may have urged the Stars to get a contract signed before Oettinger increased his market value even more – Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports the two sides had been negotiating this extension for less than a week.

The former Boston University standout is a core piece of a Stars club that’s firmly in a championship contention phase after making the Western Conference Final in back-to-back seasons. Getting his extension done now allows them to keep the momentum going and give two-time general manager of the year Jim Nill more time to plan for extensions for some big-name forwards, including captain and pending UFA Jamie Benn and pending RFA Wyatt Johnston. Dallas has almost $25MM in projected cap space next season after the deal, assuming a salary cap of $92.5MM, with 10 roster spots to fill.

It’s also not surprising to see Oettinger put pen to paper on a long-term deal. They’ve prioritized term on extensions whenever financially possible, inking roster staples like Miro Heiskanen and Roope Hintz to eight-year deals over the past few years. They haven’t shied away from bridge deals when need be, though, such as Jason Robertson’s four-year, $31MM contract and Thomas Harley’s two-year, $8MM deal.

Oettinger was undoubtedly the top pending RFA in terms of netminders on next year’s market. Without many NHL options remaining on that list, that honor now likely goes to Buffalo’s Devon Levi.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report the contract and its terms.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Pittsburgh Penguins Assign Rutger McGroarty To AHL

at CDT | by 24 Comments

Rutger McGroarty won’t be able to suit up against the organization that drafted him later this week, after all. The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have assigned McGroarty to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins without a corresponding roster move.

It’s the logical step forward for McGroarty who was originally supposed to begin the year in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had it not been for a few injuries to the Penguins’ forward core. He’s been left off the scoreboard over three games in Pittsburgh to start the year with two shots on net and four hits. He’s posted strong possession numbers over those three games with the Penguins but his healthy scratch on Tuesday night indicated a move might be on the horizon.

It shouldn’t take too long for McGroarty to get going offensively with the AHL Penguins who are currently tied for the league lead in goals scored over two games to start the season. They should be able to slot him next to the likes of Emil Bemstrom, Samuel Poulin, Ville Koivunen, or Jimmy Huntington to make his transition to professional hockey much easier.

He’s still only one year removed from being one of the better scorers in the NCAA at the University of Michigan. McGroarty’s 16 goals and 52 points in 36 games make him one of, if not the best prospect in the Penguins organization and he should be on the receiving end of another call-up at some point during the 2024-25 regular season.

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

scroll to top