Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

NHL

Rangers To Send 12th Overall Pick To Penguins

at CDT | by 17 Comments

The New York Rangers have decided to send the 2025 12th overall pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The Rangers were on the hook for sending either their 2025 or 2026 first-round pick to the Penguins to complete a mid-season trifecta of trades. New York originally traded the pick to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for J.T. Miller, as part of a multi-player trade. The Canucks then flipped the pick to the Penguins in a move that landed them defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor in another multi-player deal.

The Rangers landed on this decision after finding more value in holding onto their 2026 first, per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. It’s not necessarily a statement on New York’s behalf that they’re resigned to missing the postseason again in 2026 after falling out of the playoff frame this past season. Even an early elimination and a pick in the 16-20 range in 2026 likely holds equal or more value than this year’s No. 12 selection due to an anticipated deeper class of prospects to choose from next year.

Pittsburgh’s own pick is No. 11 overall, so they’ll have the opportunity to make back-to-back selections to add depth to a middle-of-the-pack prospect pool amid their retool. The Penguins’ system was labeled 20th in the league by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler in January. However, they’ve since added 2024-25 SHL Rookie of the Year Melvin Fernström and 2021 first-rounder Chase Stillman to their pool in separate trades, although the latter has really struggled to adjust to the pro game.

Now equipped with two picks in the top 15, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Pittsburgh at least consider packaging the two selections or parting ways with one of them to move higher up in the draft order. They’ve got a fair amount of depth in their pool in the form of a few mid-to-late first-round choices and some high-value second-round picks, but lack a true blue-chip piece. While there likely won’t be one available to them at 11th or 12th overall, they could snag one if they manage to sneak into the top seven or eight selections.

Blues Notes: Krug, Lindstein, Buyouts

at CDT | by 10 Comments

St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong confirmed that defenseman Torey Krug won’t play next season after undergoing ankle surgery this year, shares Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic. It will be Krug’s second-consecutive missed season. The news was previously reported in early May, but now comes with official word behind it. Krug’s surgery was to address a diagnosis with pre-arthritis in his left ankle. The injury stemmed from a fractured ankle sustained in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Krug has played in 360 games, between the regular season and playoffs, since sustaining that ankle injury at age 27 in 2018. For better or worse, he looked no worse for wear in the years to follow. He posted a career-high 47 assists in 64 games of the 2018-19 season, and continued to pace-for or top 40 points all the way through his last season in 2023-24. He was mobile and effective for the Blues, bringing a puck-moving energy and snappy offense that the team lacked since moving away from Vince Dunn and Alex Pietrangelo. With Krug out, the Blues were forced to rediscover that spark through the brazen play-driving of Colton Parayko and breakout season of Philip Broberg. Both players will continue to be leaned on, while Krug eyes retirement after 778 games, and 13 seasons, in the NHL.

Other notes out of St. Louis:

  • The Blues will get reinforcements for Krug’s absence in the form of SHL prospect Theo Lindstein, who Armstrong says will play in either the NHL or AHL next season per Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Lindstein grew into a hardy role with the SHL’s Brynas IF this season – netting nine points, six penalty minutes, and a plus-nine through 44 games. He also contributed five points in 17 games to Brynas’ postseason run. His stat linen may not jump off the table, but Lindstein’s ability to handle responsibility away from the puck was strong enough to warrant a first-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft. He followed that draft selection by winning an SHL championship with Brynas in 2024. Now, Lindstein will take the stride to North America – where his jumpy skating, poised positioning, and quick reactions should all lead to a solid role. Fans should expect the 20-year-old to begin the year in the minor leagues.
  • Armstrong also shared with DeFranks that the Blues will not be utilizing any buyouts ahead of July 1st. There aren’t many aged and costly contracts on the team, especially with Krug’s $6.5MM deal set to be placed on long-term injured reserve. Perhaps the most unreasonable contract would be the $4MM due to Nick Leddy this season, though Armstrong has emphasized Leddy’s guaranteed role in next year’s lineup. Leddy scored five points in 31 games last season. With no contracts set to be cut, the Blues will enter the postseason with an estimated $5.03MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.

Flyers Recap Trevor Zegras Trade, Eyeing More Moves This Off-Season

at CDT | by 5 Comments

As has become custom in the wake of big roster trades, Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Brière sat down with the media to discuss the team’s acquisition of Trevor Zegras on Monday morning. Brière most notably shared that the Flyers had already engaged the Ducks in talks around a trade for Zegras, shares ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski. Brière went on to share that previous talks fell through because of Philadelphia’s lack of assets and Anaheim’s lack of desire to rush a move.

That sentiment will ring loud as the Flyers spark their off-season with a big swap. Ryan Poehling – the only skater featured in the return package – filled an important third-line role for the Flyers this season. He scored a career-high 31 points in 68 games and was often the champion of the simple tasks, supporting Philadelphia’s jump up the ice or surge to regain possession. It’s possible that the team couldn’t be pried away from their impactful depth forward until after the season concluded, and they had a full summer to properly assimilate Zegras into his new role.

But what that role will look like still remains a glaring question mark. Brière spoke candidly about the team’s lack of depth down the middle and shared that he hopes Zegras can eventually return to his role at center. But he made sure to note that the final decision will rest with new head coach Rick Tocchet, per Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports.

Zegras looked more comfortable on the wing in the time leading up to his first-round selection in the 2019 NHL Draft, but Anaheim invested significant development into shifting the skillful forward over to the middle lane. The center role supported Zegras to the two highest-scoring seasons of his career, when he combined for 46 goals and 126 points in 156 games. But the Ducks had to bear through his dismal 40.6 percent faceoff success rate in that span – a mark that ultimately landed him back on the flanks in the last two seasons.

Brière acknowledged that Zegras’ dip in scoring is why he was available on the open market. The recently turned 24-year-old winger fell to just 32 points in 57 games this season, far off his career-high mark of 65 points set in the 2022-23 campaign. In the end, Brière says that the bet on Zegras returning to strong scoring is a risk the Flyers are willing to take, even if it was difficult to give up Poehling.

Even more exciting, Brière went on to say that the acquisition of Zegras is meant to be just one piece of a big puzzle this summer, shares O’Connor. The team wants to improve through shrewd additions on the trade or free agent market. But they’ll make those decisions with caution, and particularly don’t want to part with any of their three first-round picks in Friday’s 2025 NHL Draft, per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The club could land an impactful player in each of the three position groups in this year’s first round, and was predicated to draft center Jake O’Brien, defender Kashawn Aitcheson, and goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen in PHR’s 2025 Mock Draft. All three players have warranted plenty of attention for their explosive and reliable performances this season.

It’s not clear the exact extent to which Brière wants to build up the Flyers this summer. They ranked dead last in the Eastern Conference last season and have already undergone multiple layers of change this summer. It may be overeager to push the team towards playoff contention next season, though a few more high-upside and young additions like Zegras could go far towards catapulting Philadelphia’s rebuild forward. That momentum, spurred by a trio of top prospects, could push the Flyers into closer contention with future standouts like the San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Wild Hire Greg Cronin To AHL Head Coach Role

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Minnesota Wild have announced they’ve hired Greg Cronin to be the next head coach of the AHL’s Iowa Wild. Cronin will move to the role after spending the last two seasons as the coach of the Anaheim Ducks. The move was made official by Iowa general manager Matt Hendricks, who shared that the club is eager to add Cronin’s thorough hockey experience into their minor-league ranks.

Cronin is no stranger to minor-league roles. Prior to his time in Anaheim, all seven of Cronin’s years as a pro head coach came in the NHL – through a two-year stint with the Bridgeport Islanders from 2003 to 2005, and a five-year stint with the Colorado Eagles from 2018 to 2023. He intercut those tenures with prolonged roles as a college head coach or NHL assistant coach. In almost every year since 1995, Cronin has found coaching experience at one of those levels. His journey has taken him through time behind the bench at the University of Maine and Northeastern University, as well as with the New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs.

For all of his years at the helm, Cronin has yet to take a team to much postseason success. A second-round exit in the 2021 and 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs marked the furthest playoff runs of Cronin’s coaching career at either a collegiate or professional level. He has posted a cumulative record of 107-117-31 in the NCAA, 242-165-51 in the AHL, and 62-87-15 in the NHL.

Five Key Stories: 6/16/25 – 6/22/25

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Stanley Cup has been awarded with the Florida Panthers taking home the prize for the second straight year.  With the trophy now handed out, the offseason is in full effect and as is often the case, there was an influx of activity around the hockey world soon after that; the most notable news is recapped in our key stories.

Extensions: Some players have elected to not test free agency and instead signed new deals.  Among those was Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato who accepted a four-year, $16MM contract on the heels of a career year.  He entered the year with a career best of 31 points and finished it with a 31-goal, 31-assist campaign.  Rather than hit the open market, Donato decided to stay where things are going well and if he even comes close to this production moving forward, Chicago will do quite well here.  Meanwhile, Senators pending restricted free agent Fabian Zetterlund inked a three-year, $12.825MM pact.  Acquired from San Jose at the trade deadline, he reached the 40-point mark for the second straight season.  The deal buys Ottawa one more year of club control while Zetterlund will be able to hit the open market as a 28-year-old in 2028.

Coming Home: After missing the last two seasons due to Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, veteran center Jonathan Toews is returning to the NHL.  He’ll be doing so with his hometown team as he signed a one-year deal with the Jets.  The deal carries a $2MM base salary along with $5MM in potential performance bonuses based on games played and Winnipeg’s playoff success.  Notably, he’ll receive $550K for reaching the 20, 40, 60, and 80 games mark while making $500K for 50 games played and Winnipeg making the playoffs.  Toews spent the first 15 seasons of his career with Chicago, winning three Stanley Cups along the way while notching 883 points in 1,067 games.  It would be unrealistic to expect Toews to be a top point-producer at the age of 37 after being off for two years but he might be able to give Winnipeg a boost on the second line, a spot they’ve continually tried to find someone to fill in recent years.

Staying In Dallas: Another prominent pending UFA center took himself off the market as the Stars re-signed Matt Duchene to a four-year, $18MM contract.  The 34-year-old is actually coming off one of the best seasons of his career after putting up 82 points in 82 games this season, including a career-best 50 assists.  Had he gone to the open market, he was likely to land offers of several million more per year but he also would have priced himself out of what the Stars can afford.  Instead, Duchene got the long-term security he was seeking after playing on two straight one-year deals while the Stars get to keep the veteran on a below-market deal.  Technically, Duchene will be making more than that over the life of the contract as he’s still owed $1.55MM per season from Nashville for each of the next four years following the buyout of his contract with them back in 2023.

Winger Swaps: Needing to open up money following the Duchene re-signing, the Stars quickly moved winger Mason Marchment to Seattle for a 2026 third-round pick and Dallas’s 2025 fourth-round pick (previously acquired).  Marchment has two years left on his deal worth $4.5MM per season and has put 100 points over the last two years so the Kraken get some solid secondary scoring and some physicality at a pretty low price.  Meanwhile, to make room for him on the wing, the Kraken then flipped winger Andre Burakovsky to Chicago for center Joe Veleno.  Burakovsky has two years on his contract at $5.5MM per season and will look to rebound offensively after failing to notch 40 points in any of his three years with the Kraken.  Veleno, meanwhile, joins his third team in less than four months and is likely to play in Seattle’s bottom six next season if he’s still with them at that time.

First Players Named For Olympics: While the start of the next Winter Olympics is more than seven months away, the first six players for each country needed to be named this week.  Seven of the top ten NHL scorers from this season were among those named with the notable omissions being Canada’s Mitch Marner and USA’s Kyle Connor (Nikita Kucherov led the NHL in points but Russia will not be taking part in the event).  This will be the first time that NHL players play in the Olympics since 2014 and the tournament will begin on February 11th.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports.

Connor McDavid In No Rush To Sign Max-Term Extension With Oilers

at CDT | by 27 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers have turned their sights towards July 1st following the end of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They face a loaded plate, with top defender Evan Bouchard in need of a new contract and franchise superstar Connor McDavid eligible for an extension when July rolls around. Both tasks will be top-list items for the Oilers, but it doesn’t seem McDavid is in the same rush to solidify his long-term future. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that McDavid will want to hear out Edmonton’s plans for the future before signing a new deal. When that deal does come, LeBrun adds that there’s no certainty it’s an eight-year contract, pointing towards the four-year contract that Auston Matthews signed last summer.

Matthew and McDavid are both represented by Judd Moldaver and Wasserman Hockey. Moldaver also represents Columbus’ Zach Werenski and New Jersey’s Brett Pesce, who are each on six-year contracts with their clubs. In fact, Moldaver’s only client on an eight-year deal is Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi, who made a point about staying in Music City for life when he signed his extension in 2019.

This news may seem like a wrench in Edmonton’s machine, but it’s little more than McDavid doing his due diligence before signing a deal that will likely carry him through the majority of his remaining career. Winning a Stanley Cup is a luxury afforded to only a few NHL legends, and McDavid is coming off the heels of back-to-back squandered opportunities.

The connection between McDavid and the Oilers franchise is as strong as any bond across the league. His name has become synonymous with all-time great Wayne Gretzky, whom McDavid routinely chases in both the regular season and playoff scoring records. With 1,082 points in 712 games, McDavid’s 1.52 points-per-game clock in as the third-most in NHL history, behind only Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. He’s a true great, who any team would make a dire effort to keep when faced with any chance of losing him.

But then again, Gretzky’s career spanned tenures with four separate clubs, even after he won four Cups and set all-time scoring records with the Oilers. His move away from Edmonton – and to the West Coast – was perhaps the greatest news to ever hit the league, and reports connected to McDavid suggest a similar pattern could emerge should the modern great ever want to change clubs. LeBrun shares that the Los Angeles Kings and former Oilers general manager Ken Holland are closely monitoring McDavid’s status up North. If any signs of a move shine through, the Kings could once again snatch a perennial superstar from under Edmonton’s nose. LeBrun further adds that the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, and New York Rangers could join what’d likely be a small-group race to steal McDavid from the Oilers.

The Oilers are, luckily, just about as far from a decision as they can be. McDavid still has one year left on his current contract. He’s already scored 826 points in 503 games of his current deal, including an incredible 64-goal, 89-assist, 153-point performance in the 2022-23 season. A lot can happen in a year’s time, especially with the talent and assured scoring that McDavid brings to the lineup. Strong lineup additions and a return to the depths of the Stanley Cup Playoffs could go far in swaying McDavid’s confidence in sticking with the Oilers through the end of his career. But, another early exit on the back of a lineup that’s not full strength could sever the ties. The NHL will be entering near-unprecedented territory as McDavid eyes the structure, price tag, and location of his next contract – a deal almost guaranteed to set the new record in league salary.

Maple Leafs, Kraken To Pursue Andrew Mangiapane

at CDT | by 10 Comments

The 2025 free agent market is beginning to wear thin. That could push teams to take aggressive runs at the few impactful lineup pieces available. One name already generating interest is Washington Capitals winger Andrew Mangiapane, who both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Seattle Kraken are expected to pursue if and when he reaches the open market, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. The rumor was later confirmed from a Leafs perspective by Sporstnet’s Nick Alberga, who points out Mangiapane’s past relationship with Leafs general manager Brad Treliving.

The winner of the growing Mangiapane sweepstakes will be landing a very interesting player. Mangiapane has played far above his 5-foot-10 frame for much of the last seven seasons. He earned his place in the league with a pair of 32-point performances in 2019-20 and 2020-21, then broke out in a big way with 35 goals and 55 points in 82 games of the 2021-22 season. Even as he fell back to Earth in the wake of a career-year, Mangiapane continued to post strong numbers, reaching or crossing the 40-point mark in both 2022-23 and 2023-24.

All five of Mangiapane’s strong scoring seasons came in a Calgary Flames jersey. He seemed to have secured a career role in the team’s middle-six, but that thought was extinguished when Mangiapane was traded to the Washington Capitals for a 2025 second-round pick last summer. The move instantly sparked questions of if and how Mangiapane could maintain his scoring with a new club. Those concerns were warranted when he posted just 28 points, split evenly, through 81 games of Washington’s season this year. He fell to a clear bottom-six role that continued on through the postseason, when he scored two points in 10 games.

But such a drop-off in scoring could indicate a return to admirable play could come with the a change of scenery. Mangiapane is one of the best value draft picks in Treliving’s managerial career, having gone from a sixth-round selection in 2015 to nearly-500 games in the NHL a decade later. That connection could make a move to the Toronto Maple Leafs – who are desperately in need of a scoring punch down their left-wing side – a natural next step. If not the Leafs, Mangiapane could also move to Seattle, who already have a track record of supporting his undersized, shoot-first style.

Mangiapane carried a lofty, $5.8MM cap hit through the last three years on his last deal. That mark is likely far north of what he’s set to earn this summer, but it could be enough to pull his price tag higher than expected – especially if a bidding war begins. Mangiapane’s final deal will be interesting to follow, and could precede the role he earns in his next team’s top-nine.

Rangers Sign Matthew Robertson To Two-Year Extension

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The New York Rangers have signed defenseman Matthew Robertson to a two-year contract extension. The deal will carry two-way status in year one, and one-way status in year two. Both years will have a league-minimum, $775K cap hit at the NHL level.

This move is a tidy piece of business, and checks one of the 14 pending restricted-free agents off of New York’s to-do list. Robertson spent the majority of last season with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. He graduated into a top-end role with the club as the year went on, and finished the season with a defense-leading 25 points in 60 games played. Interestingly, only one of those points was a goal – scored just four games into the season in a comeback win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Robertson went on to lean into a defense-first role, and earned the first two games of his NHL career in New York’s final two games of the regular season.

Robertson’s NHL debuts didn’t come with any scoring, but nonetheless stood as two promising performances. He posted a plus-three across the two matchups, and earned 20 minutes of icetime in the latter of the two: a 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Robertson looked capable of handling NHL tempo and speed, using his full-size frame and lengthy reach to control opponents into the boards and knock the puck loose. Those will be the traits that headline his game, and potentially earn him NHL reps, as soon as the start of next season.

Predators Acquire Erik Haula From Devils

at CDT | by 18 Comments

The New Jersey Devils have traded winger Erik Haula to the Nashville Predators in exchange for defense prospect Jeremy Hanzel and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

In largely a surprise move, Nashville will take the stride to become just a bit older – and shore up their center depth in the process. They’ll do it with a familiar name, returning Haula to Tennessee four years after he spent the shortened 2020-21 season with the club. They were one of many clubs he stopped at for a year-or-less as part of a three-year journey across the NHL. That wandering came to an end when Haula was traded from the Boston Bruins to the Devils in exchange for Pavel Zacha in July 2022.

Haula was coming off a great year in the 2021-22 campaign, when he scored 44 points in 78 games. He continued to look sharp in his first year with the Devils, netting 41 points in 80 games while operating down the team’s lineup. His depth scoring was exactly what New Jersey needed behind Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, though Haula fell to just one point in five games of the Devils’ run to the second-round.

His slide in scoring continued through the last two seasons. He scored 16 goals and 35 points in 76 games last season, then dropped to 11 goals and 21 points in 69 games this year. He was hindered by day-to-day injuries in 2023-24, and an ankle sprain earlier this year.

Haula has fallen firmly into the rut of depth scorer late in his career. He was once a hot shooter for the Vegas Golden Knights, and managed a career-season in the club’s inaugural season. Haula scored 29 goals and 55 points that year, but again slid to just nine points in 20 postseason games. Throughout his career, he’s tallied up 153 goals and 337 points in 759 games. He’s also averaged an 11.5 shooting percentage. Nashville has had a knack for adding shooters to their lineup in recent years, and will find another for a cheap price in this move.

On the other side, the 22-year-old Hanzel will make yet another move before even playing in his first NHL game. The Predators previously acquired Hanzel alongside a 2025 third-round pick in the 2024 move that sent Yakov Trenin and Graham Sward to the Colorado Avalanche. Hanzel played in his first pro season in the Predators’ organization this year. Much of it was spent in the ECHL, where he totaled 22 points and a minus-24 through 61 games. Hanzel spent the four seasons prior playing with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, where he carved out a top-pair role and supported a 2023 championship run despite never scoring at-or-above point-per-game pace. He is a stocky, physical defender who is still adjusting in his ability to use size and strength against pro opponents. As those traits come along, Hanzel’s standing in the New Jersey pipeline could improve.

Oilers To Ramp Up Negotiations With Evan Bouchard, Connor McDavid

at CDT | by 21 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers have been thrust towards a stressful off-season after their Game 6 defeat. They face multiple contract situations in need of sorting-out with just under $12MM in projected cap space. Top of list will be re-signing star defender Evan Bouchard before he becomes a restricted free agent. Edmonton will turn their attention towards negotiations on what is expected to be an eight-figure deal later this week, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Pagnotta adds that next on the list will be signing captain Connor McDavid to an extension when he becomes eligible on July 1st.

Both contracts will break ground when they’re signed. Bouchard has hit impressive heights for only being 25 years old. His 238 points in 347 career games ranks sixth in the league among defenders his age or under. Rasmus Dahlin, who ranks second with 360 points, is the only player above Bouchard to have signed recently. He inked an eight-year, $88MM deal with the Buffalo Sabres last summer. Bouchard’s cap hit would likely land under Dahlin’s $11MM, though the cap’s projected growth could keep the two close.

That will make projecting a new price for superstar McDavid all the tougher. He already carries the fourth-highest cap hit in the league – $12.5MM on a deal signed in 2017. No one else came close to making as much until Nathan MacKinnon signed for $12.6MM in 2023, Auston Matthews’ signed for $13.25MM last summer, and Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl signed for $14MM shortly after.

McDavid’s prowess is hard to deny. He’s reached legendary scoring heights in both the regular season and playoffs. There seems to be no one number that’d sound right to award the 826 points he’s (so far) scored in 503 games of his current contract. Draisaitl’s record-holding cap-hit will be Edmonton’s only guide. He did top McDavid in scoring by six points this season but even then – the younger McDavid is likely to warrant a slight pay boost. His new deal could land in the realm of $14.5MM or even $15MM.

The importance of getting both deals done can’t go understated. McDavid and Bouchard were Edmonton’s most-used forward and defender respectively, and have ranked in the top-three of team scoring in each of the last two seasons. Edmonton will be locking up their top defenseman ahead of his prime, and the core of their franchise through his golden years, with these deals. They’ll also be defining their future budget – namely what they’ll be willing to spend on their 13 pending free agents in 2026, including goaltender Stuart Skinner.

McDavid and Bouchard will land as the league’s most expensive top-forward, top-defender tandem in the NHL before July 1st with this news. The two – and their phenomenal supporting cast – have already pushed Edmonton to back-to-back appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals. With long-term deals, the Oilers could be guaranteeing the structure needed to make at least a few more runs for the title, especially as they find value deals for goaltending or depth improvements.

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

scroll to top