Stars Acquire Mikael Granlund And Cody Ceci From Sharks
Earlier today, the Stars made a series of roster moves geared toward setting up and optimizing their LTIR pool. They wasted little time using it as they acquired center Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci from San Jose in exchange for Dallas’ 2025 first-round pick and Winnipeg’s 2025 fourth-round selection. That pick can elevate to a third rounder if Dallas reaches the Stanley Cup Final. Both teams have announced the swap. Stars GM Jim Nill released the following statement:
We are excited to welcome both Mikael and Cody to Dallas. We see both players as addressing immediate needs for our team — Mikael is a proven scorer who will bolster our forward group at both even strength and on the power play, and Cody will add a stabilizing and physical presence to our blueline. Both players will bring valuable postseason experience to our group, and we are looking forward to seeing their contributions to the Stars as the season continues.
The Stars have been missing a key middleman for the last two months when Tyler Seguin underwent hip surgery which is expected to keep him out for the remainder of the regular season. They’ve been trying to fill that spot internally with Jamie Benn spending some time down the middle while Sam Steel has been elevated to the third line at times as well but there has been a general expectation that Dallas would need to look outside the organization to fill that spot at some point.
Granlund certainly helps fill the void. The 32-year-old had a resurgence last season in his first year with San Jose, recording 12 goals and 48 assists in just 69 games. Granlund has shown that the improvement wasn’t a fluke as he has 15 goals and 30 helpers through 52 games this season, putting him on pace for 69 points which would tie his career-high set back in 2016-17.
That said, Granlund shouldn’t be counted on to produce at a similar rate with the Stars. With San Jose, Granlund has been an all-situations number one center, logging nearly 21 minutes a night for the second straight year. That won’t be the case with Dallas with them still having Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, Matt Duchene, and Benn all in the mix in the top-six. More likely is that Granlund would be counted on to anchor the third line with some secondary minutes on both the power play and penalty kill.
Granlund is in the final season of a two-year, $10MM contract. It’s worth noting that the Sharks have already used all three of their available salary retention slots (on Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, and Tomas Hertl) so they will not be able to retain any money to help facilitate a deal. Accordingly, either Dallas absorbs the full $5MM into their LTIR pool (one that’s around $12MM per PuckPedia at the moment) or they will need to get a third team involved to pay down some of the contract.
As for Ceci, he’s in his first season with San Jose after being acquired over the summer from Edmonton in what amounted to a cap-clearing move from the Oilers. The 31-year-old is playing a bigger role than he has been accustomed to in recent years but is holding his own with 15 points, 100 blocked shots, and 52 hits in 54 games while logging over 21 minutes a night.
Ceci has over 800 games of NHL experience over his 12-year career, largely spent ranging from being a second to a fourth defender. He may get the opportunity to remain in that role with his new club for the time being with Miro Heiskanen out on a longer-term basis while Nils Lundkvist‘s season has come to an end after undergoing shoulder surgery. Additionally, offseason signing Mathew Dumba hasn’t quite panned out as planned so there should be an opportunity for Ceci to play an impactful role in Dallas.
Ceci is also in the final season of his contract, one that carries a $3.25MM cap charge. If Dallas isn’t getting any third-party retention in this move, then they’ll be using about two-thirds of their LTIR pool in one move (barring any roster players going the other way) although they’ll also be filling a pair of important needs in one swap.
Dallas didn’t necessarily have to trigger using LTIR today as they still had enough regular cap space to operate outside of it. The fact they committed to using it now suggested they had a move in the works. This certainly qualifies as they give themselves a big boost in the highly competitive Central Division.
For the Sharks, while they’re losing arguably their two most prominent pending UFAs, they’re also adding a legitimate future asset with the first-round selection. Being able to add one of those in spite of not being able to hold back money is a solid piece of business for GM Mike Grier. He’ll now likely turn his focus toward trying to find new homes for his other expiring deals including forwards Luke Kunin and Nico Sturm along with defenseman Jan Rutta.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes first reported the two sides were discussing a Granlund trade. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first with Ceci’s inclusion. TSN’s Darren Dreger first had the return for San Jose while Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic first reported the conditions on the Winnipeg selection.
Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.
Vancouver Canucks Acquire Marcus Pettersson, Drew O’Connor
The Vancouver Canucks’ trading appetite hadn’t been satiated after sending J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers. In the early hours of the morning, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced they’ve traded defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor to the Canucks for forwards Danton Heinen and Melvin Fernström, defenseman Vincent Desharnais, and the conditional 2025 first-round pick previously acquired from the Rangers in the Miller swap.
Pettersson’s seven-year tenure with the Penguins ended with him scoring 16 goals and 141 points in 442 regular-season games and four assists in 21 playoff contests. He blossomed into a top-four defenseman in Pittsburgh, regularly logging more than 19 minutes of ice time per game.
The Skelleftea, Sweden should fit in quite well on the Canucks’ blue line. He’s totaled more than 130 blocked shots and 120 hits in each season since 2022-23 and averaged a 91.7% on-ice save percentage at even strength throughout his career. Furthermore, his possession metrics are well above average for a defenseman with a career 51.3% CorsiFor% at even strength. 
Vancouver is in the middle of the pack regarding CorsiFor% and goals-against-per-game average. Pettersson should help fill both of these needs with the Canucks and the glaring hole in the top four of the team’s defensive core behind Quinn Hughes.
The Canucks will also acquire a flexible middle-six option in O’Connor. The pending unrestricted free agent had spent his entire career with the Penguins up to this point scoring 30 goals and 66 points in 210 games.
O’Connor may have found his offensive ceiling last year with 16 goals and 33 points in 79 games but he still gives the Canucks a winger that can play in all situations. It’s unlikely he’ll find himself on either powerplay unit in Vancouver but O’Connor could find some staying power on the team’s penalty kill.
Outside of the conditional first-round pick, the Canucks primarily sent a collection of spare parts to the Penguins. Heinen and Desharnais are signed through next season but aren’t considered long-term pieces for the Penguins. Heinen had scored six goals and 18 points in 51 games for the Canucks while Desharnais had tallied three assists in 34 contests.
Fernström is in his first full season in the Swedish Hockey League with Örebro HK after being selected 93rd overall by the Canucks in last year’s draft. He possesses a strong hockey IQ and has already shown the ability to score against at a relatively young age with three goals and eight points in 35 contests.
The trade as a whole should answer several questions for both teams. The Penguins traded their highest-value rental well before the trade deadline, so we’ll see how active they are in the next few weeks before and after the 4 Nations Face-Off. In Vancouver, the team has acquired several pieces in the last 24 hours so we’ll see how the locker room responds to all the changes.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports images.
Rangers Acquire J.T. Miller From Canucks
Trade discussions between the Rangers and Canucks regarding J.T. Miller have been off and on in recent weeks but a deal is now complete. Per announcements from both teams, New York has acquired Miller along with defensemen Erik Brannstrom and Jackson Dorrington from Vancouver in exchange for center Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini, and a protected 2025 first-round pick. The pick is protected in the top-13 this year and if it doesn’t convey this year, the Canucks will instead receive New York’s unprotected 2026 first-rounder. Structuring the pick like that will encumber the Rangers from moving that 2026 selection in another trade later on.
Miller waived his no-move protection to facilitate the swap, ending what had been a rocky last several weeks for the 31-year-old. There has been speculation of an internal rift between Miller and center Elias Pettersson, something that team president Jim Rutherford confirmed earlier this week. As a result, Vancouver has been engaging in trade discussions involving both players for quite some time now.
Miller returns to his first NHL team with the Rangers having drafted him 15th overall back in 2011. He spent parts of six seasons with them, recording 172 points in 341 games before being moved to Tampa Bay in 2018. He spent parts of two years with them before Vancouver acquired Miller in the 2019 offseason and since then, his career has taken off.
After only recording more than 60 points just once in his career before joining Vancouver, Miller surpassed the point per game mark in four of his first five seasons with them; the only time he didn’t reach at least 70 points was the shortened 2020-21 campaign. Along the way, he signed a seven-year, $56MM contract that runs through the 2029-30 campaign, meaning New York will be adding another pricey contract to their books with an $8MM AAV; Daily Faceoff’s Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that Vancouver is not retaining salary on Miller’s contract.
But things haven’t gone quite so well for Miller this season. His offensive numbers – though still respectable – are down as he has nine goals and 26 assists in 40 games so far. He has just three tallies in his last 24 outings, however, and two of those came in one game. That drop in performance certainly didn’t help his trade value which likely contributed to the delay in getting this done.
Even with the drop-off in performance this year, Miller will still represent a sizable upgrade on Chytil in terms of role and production. He’ll give them a third veteran presence down the middle behind Mika Zibanejad, a duo that will be around for a while as Zibanejad is also inked through the 2029-30 campaign. Vincent Trocheck is also in the mix, signed through the 2028-29 season so they now have plenty of stability at that position for the foreseeable future.
As for the other pieces heading to New York, Brannstrom was once a highly-touted prospect after being a first-round pick for Vegas back in 2017. However, his offensive game – his calling card growing up – hasn’t quite materialized in the pros and he has bounced around since then; this will be his third team of the season after spending training camp with Colorado before being moved to Vancouver. Brannstrom has eight points in 28 NHL games this year but cleared waivers earlier this month and had been with AHL Abbotsford before the swap. The 25-year-old has a $900K cap hit (which wouldn’t count against the cap if he remains in the minors for New York) and will be a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights this summer.
Dorrington, meanwhile, was a sixth-round pick by Vancouver in 2022, going 176th overall. He has spent the past three seasons at Northeastern University and has 10 points in 23 games for the Huskies in 2024-25. Dorrington will have one year of college eligibility remaining after this season so he could be a near-term addition to New York’s farm system.
Chytil is the headliner of the swap for the Canucks in terms of the players they’re getting back. The 25-year-old was originally expected to be part of New York’s long-term plans down the middle after they made him the 21st pick in 2017. However, Chytil has dealt with considerable concussion issues throughout his career which has caused him to miss significant time, including 72 games just last season.
However, Chytil isn’t too far removed from his best offensive season when he collected 22 goals and 23 assists in 72 games back in 2022-23, solid second-line production. He’s not too far off that pace this year either as he has 11 goals and nine helpers through 41 appearances. He’s averaging less than 15 minutes a game this season but if he lands on the second line behind Pettersson, it’s possible that Chytil could be in line for a bit of a bigger role with his new team. For his career, he has 164 points in 378 games.
Vancouver will be taking on a multi-year commitment with Chytil as well although he isn’t signed quite as long as Miller. He has a $4.4375MM cap charge on his contract through the 2026-27 season and will be an unrestricted free agent at its expiration. Accordingly, a big portion of this trade for the Canucks will be some increased salary cap flexibility moving forward.
As for Mancini, the 22-year-old is in the first season of his entry-level contract after wrapping up his college career last season. He has played in 15 games with the Rangers this year, picking up a goal and four assists in a little over 15 minutes a night before being sent back to AHL Hartford last month to get more playing time. In 23 games with the Wolf Pack, he has three goals and seven assists. If he isn’t recalled directly to Vancouver, Mancini stands to be one of their top recall options whenever injuries arise.
From a salary cap perspective, the Rangers still have ample cap space to work with as PuckPedia puts them with a little over $3.5MM in projected cap room thanks to their early-season trade of Jacob Trouba. Meanwhile, PuckPedia pegs Vancouver with a little less than $2.7MM in space which gives them some breathing room to try to bank some extra flexibility between now and the trade deadline to try to add to their roster and turn around their recent struggles.
For the production and role that Miller has had for most of his time with Vancouver, this return is on the low side but the internal rift clearly became too much, resulting in the Canucks taking a below-market return. Nonetheless, if Chytil can do well with his new team and the Canucks properly use their extra draft, prospect, and cap capital, they could still come out of this in decent shape.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported that talks between the two sides about Miller were intensifying and was first with Brannstrom and Dorrington’s inclusions. TSN’s Farhan Lalji originally reported Chytil being in the swap. Larry Brooks of the New York Post was first with the details on the pick protection.
Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.
Golden Knights Sign Brandon Saad
The Golden Knights have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with winger Brandon Saad after he officially clears unconditional waivers and became a UFA at 1:00 pm CT, per a team announcement. It’s worth a prorated $1.5MM for the remainder of the season, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
Saad fills the veteran scoring winger need that Vegas was looking to address before the trade deadline. That need has been exacerbated in recent weeks with long-term injuries to William Karlsson and Cole Schwindt, forcing players like Raphael Lavoie and Keegan Kolesar to step into top-nine roles. They fill the hole without giving anything up aside from cap space, which they were tight on before today’s move with Karlsson and Schwindt on standard IR.
Unless they make a corresponding transaction, Karlsson will likely be transferred to LTIR if he’s not expected back before the 4 Nations Face-Off. If he is, Schwindt and his $800K cap hit have been out of the lineup longer, making a retroactive placement easier. Just Schwindt’s relief will likely be enough to accommodate Saad’s cap hit on the roster, especially with SinBin Vegas reporting they’ve returned Callahan Burke to AHL Henderson today.
Saad gives the Golden Knights immediate top-nine help, and they’re hoping a rebound in shooting percentage accompanies his arrival. Amid trade rumors for a good portion of the season, his underwhelming start to the 2024-25 campaign with the Blues included a career-worst -14 rating and a 9.3% shooting rate that he’s only underperformed once. The seven-time 20-goal scorer only had seven tallies through 43 games as a result, production he’ll look to jumpstart in Vegas after posting 26 goals just one season ago.
The Knights were likely one of a few teams interested in acquiring Saad from St. Louis via trade but couldn’t work out a deal. He had one season left after this one on his previous contract with a $4.5MM cap hit. With that obstacle out of the way following his mutual termination, Saad gets a fresh start – albeit on a significant discount on his previous price point – and the Knights get their desired piece.
A strong finish to the season could allow Saad to recoup his lost market value on the open market this summer, potentially even sniffing his previous AAV on a short-term deal if he can prove he can still produce at a 20-goal pace.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Kevin Weekes of ESPN was first to report the Golden Knights were signing Saad.
Islanders Claim Adam Boqvist Off Waivers From Panthers
Jan. 31: The Islanders claimed Boqvist off waivers from the Panthers on Friday, per Friedman. He’s the third puck-moving blue-liner they’ve added in the past few weeks, joining UFA pickup Tony DeAngelo and trade acquisition Scott Perunovich. He’ll add some needed depth to the team’s blue line as they deal with the long-term absences of Noah Dobson, Ryan Pulock, and Mike Reilly. They’ll need to open up a roster spot as Boqvist’s acquisition puts them over the 23-player limit.
Jan. 30: The Panthers placed defenseman Adam Boqvist on waivers Thursday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He will presumably be assigned to AHL Charlotte if he clears.
Boqvist, 24, has not played since Jan. 6 and was healthy scratched for an 11th straight game in Wednesday’s shutout win over the Kings. The 5’11” righty played in nine of Florida’s first 10 games of the season but has been a press box fixture since then, only suiting up 18 times among the Panthers’ 52-game slate thus far.
Once one of the league’s more highly-touted defense prospects, Boqvist was a low-risk pickup for the Panthers last summer on a one-year, league-minimum contract. He’d been bought out by the Blue Jackets with one season left on a three-year, $7.8MM deal, ending his tenure in Columbus prematurely after being brought in as the centerpiece of the return from the Blackhawks in the 2021 Seth Jones blockbuster.
Selected eighth overall by Chicago in the 2018 draft, Boqvist looked well on his way to becoming a top-four fixture soon after the trade to Columbus. He wasn’t logging a ton of even strength minutes but had worked his way up to a consistent power play role and, when healthy, notched 46 points in 98 games over his first two seasons in Ohio. His lack of physicality had always been a sticking point, though, and, paired with underwhelming possession quality numbers, he entered the 2023-24 campaign further down on the depth chart than in years past.
Healthy scratches and shoulder issues were the norm for Boqvist last season. He was limited to 35 appearances for the Jackets, scoring once and adding nine assists for 10 points. He averaged 18:17 per game when in the lineup, similar to the usage he’d had in years prior. However, he was an even less engaged checker with only 11 hits and fell behind as Columbus added veterans Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson to their ranks.
The Panthers were optimistic that Boqvist could regain a regular role in Florida, helping accommodate the departures of power-play fixtures, such as Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour, in free agency after winning the Stanley Cup. He also linked up with older brother Jesper Boqvist, who signed a matching league-minimum deal with the Cats. While Boqvist did get a long look on the power play, he was quickly overtaken on the top unit by Aaron Ekblad and averaged just 10:48 per game at even strength, the lowest among Florida defenders. His 3.4 GA/60 at even strength also ranked last among Panthers D-men, leading to his poor defensive impacts outweighing any offensive benefit.
Boqvist hits pause on his NHL career for now after recording six points (2 G, 4 A) in 18 appearances for the Panthers. If he suits up for Charlotte, it will mark his first AHL appearance since the 2019-20 campaign when he was still in the Blackhawks organization.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Utah’s Logan Cooley Out Indefinitely With Lower-Body Injury
Star Utah center Logan Cooley will be sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury, the team announced Friday. He’ll be re-evaluated when the league schedule resumes following the 4 Nations Face-Off.
It’s not clear when Cooley sustained the injury. He skated 19:50 against the Penguins on Wednesday, more than two minutes above his season average, and ended a three-game point drought in the process with a secondary assist on a Mikhail Sergachev power play goal.
Cooley, the third-overall pick of the 2022 draft by the Coyotes, has yet to miss a game since signing his entry-level contract with Arizona in the summer of 2023. He’ll now be held out of Utah’s next six games, the balance of their schedule until the 4 Nations tournament, at a minimum.
The 20-year-old’s absence will be felt immensely for a team with a bottom-10 offense already dealing with a lower-body injury to top-six winger Dylan Guenther. He’s broken out in a big way after an inconsistent rookie campaign, ranking second on Utah in scoring with 43 points (15 G, 28 A) through 50 games. His plus-four rating is tied for fourth on the club, and his 17:47 ATOI ranks third among forwards behind Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz. He’s also improving in the faceoff dot – while still subpar with a 44.2% win rate on over 500 draws, it’s up by a significant margin from last year’s 38% figure.
That jump in production comes despite Cooley logging most of his time at even strength away from Keller and Schmaltz, who Barrett Hayton has centered for most of the year. Instead, Cooley anchors the team’s second line between Guenther and Jack McBain, still tying for second on the team with 19 even-strength assists.
Cooley’s two-way game is still developing, but more concerning is the loss of Utah’s arguably most effective even-strength producer as they slide further out of the wild-card race in the Western Conference. It’s been an injury-fueled, inconsistent first year in Salt Lake City for the ex-Coyotes group, who have dealt with extended absences to Guenther and top-four defenders Sean Durzi and John Marino. It’s not all bad news, though – Marino returned earlier this month and has four assists through eight games, while Guenther and Durzi skated with the team today in non-contact jerseys, Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
In the meantime, Hayton will likely overtake Cooley’s job on the top power-play unit and will look to boost his production. The 2018 fifth-round pick has been a good two-way complement at even strength to Keller and Schmaltz, recording 26 points through 50 games with a second-place plus-seven rating. Hayton’s 11 even-strength goals are second on the team behind Keller’s 13, but he has just two power-play points this season while skating with the second unit.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
NHL, NHLPA Release Salary Cap Figures Through 2027-28
The NHL and NHLPA have released updated salary cap estimates for the next three seasons, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Friday. After initially being estimated to rise from the current $88MM ceiling to $92MM for the 2025-26 campaign, it’ll jump to a $95.5MM upper limit next season. Upper limit estimates for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons have been set at $104MM and $113.5MM, respectively. However, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that the memo sent to teams by the league today is indicative of a set agreement on figures for the next three years, not an estimate of projection, although they are still subject to “potential minor adjustments (up or down).”
In addition to this summer’s major jump, these numbers indicate a steady escalation in year-over-year increases in the cap ceiling. There will be a $7.5MM difference in upper limits between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 campaigns, an $8.5MM difference between 2025-26 and 2026-27, and $9.5MM between 2026-27 and 2027-28. That’s around a 9% jump per year on average, up significantly from the roughly 5% jump we’re used to in recent seasons outside of the COVID-related cap freeze.
Increases in cap ceilings also mean big jumps in the minimum a team can spend while still being compliant. The cap floor will rise from $65MM this season to $70.6MM in 2025-26, $76.9MM in 2026-27, and $83.9MM in 2027-28. The lower limit is tied directly to the upper limit – the floor is always set at 85% of the midpoint, with the ceiling always equaling 115% of the midpoint.
The league minimum salary, currently set at $775K, is independent of the salary cap and will need to be set during CBA negotiations, which are set to begin next month. It will remain at $775K for next season, the last under the current CBA.
As agents continue to negotiate new deals for their players based on cap hit percentage at the time of signing instead of actual dollar value, both elite and mid-range free agents in the coming seasons stand to benefit massively. A $5MM cap hit today is 5.68% of the $88MM upper limit, which will be equivalent to $5.4MM, $5.9MM, and $6.4MM over the coming three years. For higher-priced talents, a $10MM AAV deal today will work out to $10.9MM in 2025-26, $11.8MM in 2026-27, and $12.9MM in 2027-28.
The early confirmation and unprecedented move to issue official cap numbers multiple years in advance means more negotiating power for top UFAs-to-be, whether that’s Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen on this year’s market, Connor McDavid and Kirill Kaprizov in 2026, or Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar in 2027. Next year’s immediate $7.5MM jump will be the largest year-over-year increase in the salary cap era, breaking the record set by the $6.4MM jump between the 2007-08 and 2008-09 campaigns.
Flames, Flyers Swap Andrei Kuzmenko, Joel Farabee
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
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.
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Kraken Reassign Philipp Grubauer
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.
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