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Canucks Won’t Exercise Club Option On Rick Tocchet

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The Canucks will not exercise their club option to keep head coach Rick Tocchet on his current contract for 2025-26, president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford told reporters today (including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet). Vancouver continues to work on a new deal to keep Tocchet behind their bench, Rutherford said, and the organization remains hopeful he’ll stay. They expect a decision on Tocchet’s future later this week, Friedman relays.

Tocchet is the only coach in the NHL on an expiring contract this offseason, and even then the Canucks could have opted to keep him in Vancouver under the terms of his current deal. Thomas Drance of The Athletic indicated last month the Canucks were operating under the assumption Tocchet would continue as their head coach next year and would exercise their option if extension talks weren’t progressing. While that didn’t end up being the case, they continue to indicate a willingness to retain Tocchet and make him the highest-paid coach in franchise history. Whether he accepts the offer or opts to explore some of the other vacancies around the league remains to be seen.

The 61-year-old just completed his second full season and third overall as Vancouver’s head coach. Last season, he won the Jack Adams Award for Coach of the Year after guiding them to their first playoff appearance since 2020 and first division title since 2013. When he took over midway through the 2022-23 campaign, he was the Canucks’ third coach in two years. The club fired Travis Green and replaced him with Bruce Boudreau during the 2021-22 season, only to fire Boudreau for Tocchet one year later.

At present, there are five openings for Tocchet to explore. The Ducks and Rangers’ positions are completely vacant after firing Greg Cronin and Peter Laviolette over the weekend, while three teams, the Blackhawks, Bruins, and Flyers, ended the season with interim head coaches. There’s a clear speculative fit in Philadelphia, where Tocchet spent the bulk of his 18-year playing career, but interim coach Brad Shaw remains a legitimate contender for a full-time role after ending the year with a 5-3-1 record.

In nine years as a coach with the Lightning, Coyotes, and Canucks, Tocchet has a 286-265-87 (.516) record in 638 regular-season games. He’s only made the postseason twice (Arizona, 2020; Vancouver, 2024) and has an 11-11 (.500) record there. Since Tocchet took over in Vancouver on Jan. 22, 2023, the Canucks’ .608 points percentage ranks 11th in the league.

Rangers Notes: Kreider, Schneider, Edstrom

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Rangers winger Chris Kreider ended the season dealing with a hand injury that may require offseason surgery, he told reporters during today’s end-of-season media availability (via Peter Baugh of The Athletic). That’s on top of the known back troubles that bothered him earlier this season. Kreider also said an illness he developed shortly after the holiday break led him to develop vertigo temporarily.

Kreider said he sustained the hand injury in the first game following the 4 Nations break, so that ties into his six-game absence and injured reserve stint leading into the trade deadline. All of those ailments give some context to what was a disastrous season for Kreider, who was limited to 22 goals and 30 points in 68 games after topping the 30-goal and 50-point marks in each of the previous three seasons. That drop-off led to his name landing on the trade block for much of the campaign, and David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said last week he expects the Rangers to continue shopping him over the offseason.

Surgery to address his ailments could prove beneficial to his trade value with interested teams hoping his injuries were the principal reason for his steep offensive regression. He can block a trade to 15 teams and has two years left on a deal carrying a $6.5MM cap hit. He did still manage to score at a 27-goal pace this year while shooting slightly south of his career average, so if there are enough teams high on the 33-year-old’s rebound potential, there may not be a need for Blueshirts general manager Chris Drury to retain a portion of his salary. Kreider did end his season on a high note with a goal, three assists, and a plus-four rating in his final two outings.

On the back end, Braden Schneider has already undergone surgery to repair the torn labrum that caused him to miss the final two games of the regular season (via Baugh). Schneider said he’s been playing through the partial tear for the last two seasons but felt it impeded his physicality in 2024-25, influencing him to go under the knife. Those procedures can carry fairly lengthy recovery times, so his decision to undergo surgery as soon as the Blueshirts were eliminated from playoff contention could be the difference in determining whether he’s available when training camp begins in September.

Schneider, 23, scored a career-high 6-15–21 this year and played all 80 games up until undergoing surgery. He tied his career-high plus-nine rating and saw the most minutes of his career at 17:52 per game, seeing increased deployment after the Rangers traded ex-captain Jacob Trouba to the Ducks in early December. Now the team’s de facto No. 3 defenseman behind Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller, he’ll garner a considerable raise on his current $2.2MM AAV after he becomes eligible to sign an extension on July 1.

Depth winger Adam Edstrom said he underwent surgery to address his lower-body injury and should be fully healthy in time for training camp this fall (via Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today). The Rangers announced in early February that Edstrom would miss 10 to 14 weeks with a lower-body injury, and Edstrom reaffirmed today he would have been an option at some point in the postseason had New York qualified. The 6’6″ 24-year-old ended his rookie season with 5-4–9, a minus-five rating, and 27 PIMs in 51 appearances while averaging 9:16 per game.

Predators Reassign Marc Del Gaizo, Fedor Svechkov

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The Predators reassigned defenseman Marc Del Gaizo and center Fedor Svechkov to AHL Milwaukee on Monday, according to a team release. The pair will aid the Admirals in their Calder Cup quest after logging significant NHL ice time in 2024-25.

Del Gaizo was eligible for reassignment after clearing waivers last week. He split the season rather evenly between Nashville and Milwaukee and spent three distinct stints on the NHL roster, including from Feb. 27 onward to the end of the year aside from a brief demotion to the Admirals on March 7 to make him eligible to suit up for them in the postseason. It’s his first season requiring waivers after signing a two-way deal last September ($775K NHL/$125K AHL) following a lengthy stint on the restricted free agent market. Nashville won’t have the opportunity to retain his signing rights via a qualifying offer this summer because he’s eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency as a player with at least three professional seasons and fewer than 80 career NHL games while also being 25 years old.

Whether Del Gaizo stays with the Predators next season remains to be seen. It’s looking unlikely after they extended Andreas Englund last week, meaning Del Gaizo is the only Nashville defenseman who ended the season on IR or the active roster who’s not signed for 2025-26. The 2019 fourth-round pick made a career-high 46 appearances for the Preds this year, posting two goals and seven assists for nine points and a minus-three rating while averaging 16:45 per game. Down in the minors, the 5’11” lefty posted 8-4–12 and a +10 rating in 30 regular-season games.

As for Svechkov, the Preds hope he’ll remain in Nashville for years to come. The 2021 No. 19 overall pick somewhat unexpectedly saw significant NHL usage this year after a strong start to the campaign in Milwaukee, posting 12 points in 13 games while spending the vast majority of the season up with the Predators. The 6’0″, 187-lb pivot played third-line minutes, scoring 8-9–17 while averaging 12:53 per game across 52 appearances. He needs some work in the faceoff dot, winning just 36.7% of his 335 draws, and had underwhelming possession impacts for his offensively sheltered usage at even strength (50.0 CF%, 47.0 xGF%). There’s no guarantee he’s on Nashville’s opening night roster in the fall, but a strong playoff run with Milwaukee could boost his chances.

Examining Summer Buyout Candidates

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The NHL salary cap is increasing dramatically this summer, but that won’t stop teams from looking to cut inflated cap hits from their salary ledgers. The buyout remains an option that NHL teams will regularly use to move out a player who has underperformed relative to their NHL salary. Teams often swap struggling players in a change-of-scenery trade, but they will use the buyout as a last resort if they can’t find a market. Let’s examine this summer’s buyout candidates, beginning with the forwards.

Andre Burakovsky cashed in on a Stanley Cup-winning year in Colorado, signing a five-year, $27.5MM deal with the Seattle Kraken in free agency, including a modified 10-team no-trade list. Since signing the agreement in July 2022, Burakovsky’s performance has declined, particularly last season, when he had just seven goals and nine assists in 49 games. The 30-year-old has bounced back this year, but still fell below the 40-point margin for the third consecutive season. He should be a trade or buyout candidate given his injury history and declining performance.

A modified no-trade clause will limit a small trade market and might force Seattle to relinquish an asset to move Burakovsky or take back another undesirable contract. A buyout would be spread over four seasons and save Seattle $5.83MM over the next two seasons total, but leave them with a $1.458MM cap hit the two seasons after (as per PuckPedia). Given the bounceback this season, it seems likely that Seattle either hangs on to Burakovsky or tries to trade him rather than eating the cost of a four-season buyout.

Chris Kreider of the New York Rangers is another forward who could be moved this summer. While a trade is likelier, it’s not an impossibility that the veteran winger could be bought out. The 33-year-old’s play has fallen off a cliff this season as he hasn’t been able to generate the same level of shot production as in previous seasons. Kreider averaged 42 goals between 2021 and 2024, but couldn’t top 25 goals this season and finished with just eight assists.

Kreider carries a 15-team no-trade clause and has two years remaining on his contract at a cap hit of $6.5MM, which will be prohibitive regarding potential trade talks. With the trade market cut in half, the Rangers might have to eat some of the remainder on Kreider’s deal. Still, given that general manager Chris Drury has gotten out from under more undesirable contracts (Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba), he may find a creative way to shed Kreider’s contract without a buyout.

Under normal circumstances, Detroit center Andrew Copp would be a buyout candidate, but given that the 30-year-old will be out well into the summer after pectoral surgery, it won’t happen. Copp posted just 10 goals and 13 assists in 56 games this season, but barring a trade, he will return to Detroit next season if he is healthy enough to play by the opening of training camp.

Shifting back to defense, Ryan Graves is a prime candidate to be bought out; however, a significant caveat exists regarding moving on from the 29-year-old. The structure of Graves’ contract makes a buyout nearly impossible (as per PuckPedia) because any buyout would only move on from Graves’ salary and not include the $8MM in signing bonuses that Graves is due in each of the last four years of his contract. If Pittsburgh wants to buy Graves out, he will remain on the books for eight more years and save them just $2.58MM total over those eight years. A Graves buyout isn’t worth it for the Penguins, and the only significant cap savings would happen in the first year of the deal, the season in which the Penguins are the least likely to contend. The Penguins will have to keep Graves, trade him, or play him in the minors for the foreseeable future.

Marc-Édouard Vlasic is another veteran whose contract has become an albatross. Vlasic was once one of the top defensive defensemen in the NHL, but has fallen on hard times as he plays on a poor San Jose Sharks team. Vlasic has one year left on his contract with a $7MM cap hit and is owed $5.5MM in actual salary. He played just 24 games last year, and while he wasn’t unplayable, he’s not a good NHL defenseman anymore. Much of Vlasic’s decision will depend on what the Sharks hope to do next season; if they intend to add around their young core, they may buy out Vlasic to give themselves as much cap space as possible. If they opt to have one more year of rebuilding before adding to their lineup, they will likely burn the final year on the deal and let Vlasic walk as a UFA next summer.

A Vlasic buyout doesn’t do much to help the Sharks, saving them $2.333MM next season while adding a cap charge of $1.167MM the following year. The Sharks seem likely to keep Vlasic in San Jose for the final year and perhaps assign him to the AHL or use him as a seventh defenseman in the NHL.

Another notable defenseman who could be bought out is Jacob Trouba of the Anaheim Ducks. Trouba became a lightning rod for criticism in New York while he was a member of the Rangers, and many people didn’t think it was possible to move him and his entire $8MM cap hit. Anaheim stepped in, taking Trouba and his whole contract, and appeared excited to do so, as Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek was happy to have Trouba as a leader for a young Ducks team. Since Anaheim placed such a high value on Trouba’s intangibles, it seems unlikely that they will buy out the last year of his contract, even though he will be vastly overpaid for his play on the ice.

The top buyout candidate in net is Philipp Grubauer of the Seattle Kraken. Grubauer has been a shell of the version he was with the Colorado Avalanche and hasn’t come close to being an average NHL goalie during his time in Seattle. At the time of his signing four years ago, Grubauer had a career save percentage over .920 in seven NHL seasons, but since then, he hasn’t produced a single season over .899, and it has fallen to .875 this year. With two years remaining at $5.9MM per season, Grubauer would be incredibly difficult to trade, even in a goaltender’s market that favors the seller. His -14.6 Goals Saved Above Expected was the third worst in the NHL among all goaltenders, and his numbers in the AHL, while better, don’t indicate that he is ready to recapture his game.

Buying out the 33-year-old would save Seattle almost $4MM in cap space next year and nearly $3MM in the 2026-27 season. They would then face a charge of $1,683,333 in each of the following seasons after that (as per Puck Pedia).

The next goalie on our list is Tristan Jarry of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and while he feels like the most obvious candidate for a buyout this summer, goalies are in short supply, and anything is possible. Jarry has been better as of late, and with no actual workhorse starters available in free agency, a team may take a flier on the two-time NHL All-Star. Teams watched Los Angeles goaltender Darcy Kuemper bounce back this season after struggling last year, and with Jarry being just 29 years old, he could do the same. Jarry has the skillset to be a starting NHL goaltender, but has struggled with mistakes and letting in bad goals at inopportune times. He has also typically struggled the deeper he gets into a season, which will scare off teams with playoff aspirations.

It’s hard to imagine Jarry back in Pittsburgh next season, but they are transitioning, and many of their prospects are still a year or two away from being NHL-ready. Someone has to play goal for the Penguins, and Josh Yohe of The Athletic believes it could be Jarry going into next season. It’s hard to get a sense of what Pittsburgh will do, but none of the potential outcomes will be shocking given how the situation has played out over the last few years with the Penguins’ starting goaltender.

Photo by Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images.

Capitals Sign Bogdan Trineyev To Two-Way Extension

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The Capitals signed left-winger Bogdan Trineyev to a one-year, two-way extension on Sunday. He’ll earn the league minimum $775K salary if on the NHL roster next season and $100K when in the minors.

It’s Trineyev’s second contract with Washington. A fourth-round pick of the Caps in 2020, the 23-year-old has spent parts of the last four seasons with AHL Hershey after signing his entry-level contract in May 2022. He was set to be a restricted free agent this offseason with that deal expiring.

Trineyev was the first selection Washington made in that draft after selecting Hendrix Lapierre with the No. 22 overall pick. The 6’3″, 203-lb Russian was coming off a gold medal-winning performance at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and flashed his speedy power forward game at the junior level, eventually logging 31-52–83 in 113 MHL games across four seasons with Dynamo Moscow’s U20 club. While he remained mostly in the Russian juniors or minors (VHL) until signing his ELC with the Caps, Washington loaned him back to Russia for the first year of that deal in 2022-23. That gave him the opportunity to see extended professional minutes for the first time, posting 2-11–13 in 39 KHL games with Dynamo before the Capitals ended his loan and brought him over to Hershey.

After seeing a pair of regular-season and postseason games with Hershey over the prior two seasons, Trineyev skated full-time for the Bears in 2023-24. He was a capable bottom-six checking presence in the minors, recording 9-7–16 in 63 games with 18 PIMs and a +12 rating. He added four assists in 20 playoff games to help Hershey to its second straight Calder Cup championship. Here in 2024-25, Trineyev bettered his offensive output with a 14-8–22 scoring line in 62 games, adding 23 PIMs and a +13 rating, the latter of which ranked third on the team.

Trineyev is a deep cut in a high-end Capitals prospect pool that includes names like first-rounder Ryan Leonard and dynamic collegiate defenseman Cole Hutson near the top, but his promising two-way and physical play in a depth role in the minors suggests there could still be a fourth-line role for him on Washington’s NHL roster in a couple of years’ time. Extending him for 2025-26 gives Washington another chance to see how his offensive game grows in his third year playing in the pros in North America before considering him for his first NHL call-up.

The Caps now have 33 contracts signed for 2025-26, leaving them up to 17 slots to fill.

Five Key Stories: 4/14/25 – 4/20/25

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The regular season has come to an end with half the teams going home and half going on to the playoffs, which are now underway.  As a result, there was plenty of notable news over the past seven days, which is recapped in our key stories.

Hanging Them Up: A pair of veterans are calling it a career.  Sharks captain Logan Couture revealed that he will be ending his playing career after being unable to return from Osteitis Pubis.  He wasn’t able to play this season and was limited to six games in 2023-24 because of the issue.  Couture, who won’t officially retire until his contract expires in 2027, will hang up his skates with 701 points in 933 games, putting him fourth in franchise history in scoring.  Meanwhile, Canadiens blueliner David Savard indicated that he will retire after Montreal’s playoff run.  The 34-year-old was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer but will instead call it a career following 870 regular season appearances and a 2021 Stanley Cup title.

Jets Extend Two: Following winning the Presidents’ Trophy for the team with the best record in the regular season, the Jets took care of a pair of pending unrestricted free agents.  First, they re-signed winger Alex Iafallo to a three-year, $11MM contract, representing a small cut in pay from the $4MM he made on his current deal.  The 31-year-old had 15 goals and 16 assists in 81 games during the regular season.  Second, they took one of the top pending UFA defensemen off the market, signing Neal Pionk to a six-year, $42MM extension.  The 29-year-old tied his career high in goals this season with 10 while surpassing the 30-point mark for the sixth straight season.  He had 39 points in 69 games while logging over 22 minutes a night, earning himself a raise from the $5.875MM he made since 2021-22.

Laviolette Fired: After winning the Presidents’ Trophy last season, the Rangers were widely expected to be a strong team again this year or at least be in the playoffs once again.  However, things went off the rails early and they never got back on track.  That has resulted in a coaching change as head coach Peter Laviolette was fired along with associate coach Phil Housley.  New York had 29 fewer points in the standings this season, ultimately missing the playoffs by six points.  Laviolette departs the Rangers after just two years behind the bench but he has plenty of head coaching experience as his 1,594 regular season games coached rank ninth in NHL history.

Ducks Also Make A Change: Despite a 21-point improvement from last season, the Ducks are making a coaching change as they’ve dismissed head coach Greg Cronin after just two years with the franchise.  This was Cronin’s first NHL head coaching job after a long career at the college and AHL levels along with time as an assistant with the Islanders and Maple Leafs.  Brought in to work with a young roster, Anaheim struggled mightily last season, recording just 59 points but jumped to 80 this season, good for sixth in the Pacific Division.  But goals were hard to come by with the Ducks ranking 30th each season in that department; GM Pat Verbeek listed improving the offense as a priority in searching for his new bench boss.

Injury Updates: A pair of Central Division rivals received injury updates on their wingers.  In Colorado, Gabriel Landeskog was recalled from his conditioning stint and has been cleared to play in their first-round series against Dallas.  The 32-year-old hasn’t played in an NHL game since June 2022 due to continued knee trouble.  On the other side of the series, the Stars will be without winger Jason Robertson on a week-to-week basis due to a lower-body injury.  That’s a key loss for Dallas with the 25-year-old leading the team in goals with 35 while finishing second in points with 80.  They at least got Tyler Seguin (hip) back from LTIR for the final game of the regular season.  Meanwhile, Pittsburgh blueliner underwent successful surgery to repair a hole in his heart, a procedure that carries a recovery time of four to six weeks.  Letang has missed time due to strokes in the 2013-14 and 2022-23 seasons and the hope is this procedure will help reduce the risk of more moving forward.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images.

Offseason Checklist: San Jose Sharks

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The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs.  Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  First up is a look at San Jose.

As expected, it was another tough year for San Jose.  They integrated two of their top prospects into the lineup in forwards Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith while acquiring their goalie of the future in Yaroslav Askarov.  From a long-term prospect standpoint, they’re doing well.  But the on-ice product this year didn’t yield many points with the Sharks finishing last in the standings once again.  That means that GM Mike Grier has a big checklist to take care of this summer.

Add A Veteran Goalie

While Askarov is their goalie of the future, their goalie of the present has been in flux in recent years.  Mackenzie Blackwood, Kaapo Kahkonen, Vitek Vanecek, and Alexandar Georgiev all had opportunities over the last couple of seasons but none of them were able to get the job done.  The first three have since been traded or let go in free agency while Georgiev won’t be retained either.  Meanwhile, although Georgi Romanov has shown some promise, he’s far from being ready to take on a full-time role in the NHL.  As a result, they’re going to need to look outside the organization to fill this spot.

Askarov will be starting a two-year, $4MM bridge contract next season and while he’s their long-term solution between the pipes, he only has 16 games of NHL experience while injuries have limited him to 35 games so far (though that will go up at least a bit more in the AHL playoffs).  With that in mind, he may not be getting penciled in as their undisputed number one goalie.  That means that they’ll enter free agency as one of the teams potentially looking for a short-term starter.

The good news for the Sharks is that there shouldn’t be too many teams looking for that type of goaltender.  The bad news is that there aren’t many, if any, of those players out there.  Consider that there is just one pending UFA who played more than 41 games (half the schedule) this season.  That was Georgiev and we know he’s not coming back.

Someone like Jake Allen would make sense for the Sharks.  He’s used to being in a rebuilding environment already from his time with Montreal and could theoretically be the strong-side platoon goalie next season before flipping roles with Askarov the following year.  Ilya Samsonov didn’t have a great market last summer but if there’s a shot at a short-term path to being a starter, he could be intrigued by the Sharks while if they want a bit of potential upside, Daniel Vladar is the youngest UFA goalie on the market as he won’t turn 28 until August.  It’s not a deep list to choose from by any stretch but Grier should be able to land a short-term partner for Askarov to get through the next year or two.

Eklund Extension Talks

If it feels like William Eklund has been around for a while, he has.  He saw close to the maximum NHL time without starting his contract in his first two seasons so he already has 174 career appearances at the top level under his belt.  He still has one year left on his deal which means he will be eligible for an extension on July 1st.

In 2023-24, the 22-year-old had his first full NHL campaign and did pretty well, notching 16 goals and 29 assists in 80 games.  Had he been eligible, he likely would have received some down-ballot Calder Trophy voting but by virtue of playing more than six games in the previous two seasons, he was no longer eligible for the award.  He improved on those numbers this year, tallying 17 goals and 41 helpers in 77 appearances, finishing second to Celebrini in team scoring.  Drafted seventh overall in 2021, the hope was that Eklund could become a core center for the Sharks.  Things haven’t gone well when he has played down the middle but he has settled in nicely as a core winger and is someone Grier will likely look to get locked up now.

While there are some big-ticket contracts coming in a couple of years from now, San Jose’s cap situation is about as clean as they come; only one player is signed past the 2026-27 campaign.  In other words, there’s ample room for Eklund and the two rookies (Celebrini and Smith) to ink long-term deals without needing to be worried about complicating things cap-wise down the road.

Finding the right price tag will be interesting.  The projected increases to the salary cap for the next few years bring a new element into play that we haven’t seen before and it’s one that’s going to make contracts like this go higher than they have before.  Under the older system that didn’t have projections, an AAV starting with a seven on a long-term deal would seem like a reasonable range for Eklund.  But with the quicker increases, it wouldn’t be surprising to see his camp aim higher than that to get him to put pen to paper on a new deal early.

Leverage Cap Space

Let’s dig into their cap situation a little further.  Per PuckPedia, the Sharks have nearly $44MM in cap room for next season.  Their most expensive pending restricted free agent is Klim Kostin ($2MM) but he’s a non-tender candidate.  Most of their other RFAs are coming off entry-level deals and are likely heading for bridge contracts that won’t be too cost-prohibitive.  They only have a handful of spots to fill on their roster and a lot of spending to do simply to get to the spending floor of $70.6MM, a number they’re nearly $20MM below at the moment.

Unfortunately for San Jose, acting as a third-party retainer in a trade is probably off the table.  Two of their three retention slots are encumbered through 2026-27 (Tomas Hertl’s runs through 2029-30) and while the Brent Burns one will come off the books, that will only happen on July 1st.  The bulk of the heavy trade activity tends to happen before free agency opens up so they probably won’t be able to use it early.  Additionally, they probably will want to keep a spot available to help facilitate a trade in-season closer to the trade deadline as they’re likely to be sellers once again next season.

But teams looking to offload a pricey contract should be calling the Sharks.  They can easily absorb a big-ticket expiring contract or two and pick up some future assets (likely draft picks) for doing so.  They could also look to take on a multi-year deal like they did with Barclay Goodrow last spring if they feel the player can be part of their medium-term plans.  Again, in most of those instances, they’d be compensated for alleviating the other team’s cap concern.  It’s low-hanging fruit, so to speak, but utilizing some of their cap space to take on some unwanted deals will garner them some future assets and assuming the player isn’t injured, the moves would also upgrade their roster as well.

Add A Bridge Center

One area that they might have to turn to free agency to try to fill is center.  Mikael Granlund logged heavy minutes for them to take some pressure off Celebrini while allowing Smith to ease in on the wing.  Following his trade to Dallas, Smith stayed away from his natural position with Alexander Wennberg taking on a bigger role.  Wennberg isn’t a true top-six option at this point while it appears that they weren’t comfortable putting Smith there yet.  We also know Eklund has settled in on the wing so they’d likely prefer to keep him there as well.  Accordingly, there’s a top-six opening to be filled.

The challenge here for the Sharks will be selling themselves in a market where a lot of teams, including some very competitive ones, will be trying to fill that particular role.  This is where their cap space can be an asset as they can comfortably overpay on a shorter-term offer or if they find someone they like longer-term, they’ll be more comfortable than most adding a year or two if it helps get something done.

In terms of who they’d likely consider, the top veterans are probably out of reach.  Granlund makes a lot of sense and he didn’t close the door on a return following his trade to Dallas.  Sam Bennett is one they’d likely be interested in but it would be surprising to see San Jose be the top bidder there if he makes it to the open market.  Ryan Donato could be more of an upside swing if they think his breakout year with Chicago could be repeatable.  Brock Nelson is one they could afford but they might have to overpay on term to get something done.  There are some options out there but they won’t be the easiest to get.

On top of trying to fill that spot, adding a bottom-six option as well would be useful with both Nico Sturm and Luke Kunin being shipped out at the deadline.  Ty Dellandrea and Zack Ostapchuk finished out the year in those spots but it wouldn’t be shocking to see them try to upgrade on the third line at a minimum.  This one could be filled via the trade route but it’s a bit easier to land these types of players in free agency.  Either way, while the Sharks are still in a spot where they don’t need to be loading up with several additions, they will want to look for some help down the middle in the coming months.

Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images.

Snapshots: Shore, Jets, Cull, Devils

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The Wild announced that they’ve recalled center Devin Shore from AHL Iowa.  It’s the seventh recall of the season for the 30-year-old who actually spent the bulk of the regular season with Minnesota.  Shore got into 55 NHL games this season, his highest total since the 2018-19 campaign.  However, production was hard to come by as he was limited to just one goal and four assists in those outings while logging just 8:39 per contest of ice time.  Shore was more productive in the minors, picking up two goals and eight assists in 15 appearances with Iowa.  With Iowa not making the AHL playoffs, more recalls will likely be coming in the next few days.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Jets winger Gabriel Vilardi returned to practice in a non-contact jersey, relays TSN’s John Lu (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has missed the last four weeks with an upper-body injury, bringing a career year offensively to an early end.  Vilardi had 61 points in 71 games this season but may still be a few days away from returning.  That’s also the case for center Rasmus Kupari.  Murat Ates of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that he has been cleared to return from his concussion but will need a few practices with contact before being an option to suit up.  Meanwhile, Ates adds that defenseman Ville Heinola is also dealing with a nagging injury.  That has been a familiar refrain for the blueliner who was limited to just 18 games this season due to injury trouble.
  • The Flames announced that interim assistant coach Trent Cull is returning to AHL Calgary and will return to his duties as head coach of the Wranglers heading into the playoffs. Cull was moved behind the bench with the Flames following assistant coach Brad Larsen’s indefinite leave of absence due to family reasons.  Joe Cirella had been serving as interim head coach of the Wranglers and will now resume his assistant coach duties while Martin Gelinas, who was named as an interim assistant with them following Cull’s promotion, will remain in that role for the playoffs.
  • It would be a surprise to see defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler suit up for the Devils in their series against Carolina, relays team reporter Amanda Stein (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has missed the last two-and-a-half months with a lower-body injury and had initially been ruled out for the rest of the regular season.  Clearly, Siegenthaler, who logged nearly 20 minutes a night before being injured, will need more time to recover.  Meanwhile, Stein relays in a separate tweet that defenseman Brenden Dillon was eager to return to play today after exiting in the second period but was held back by team doctors.  Nonetheless, that’s an encouraging sign for his availability heading into Tuesday’s second game.  However, there was no update on center Cody Glass who exited the game after taking a slash from teammate Jacob Markstrom.

Maple Leafs Recall Artur Akhtyamov

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The Maple Leafs added some goaltending depth before puck drop in Sunday’s series opener against Ottawa.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they recalled netminder Artur Akhtyamov from AHL Toronto to serve as their third goaltender for the time being.

The 23-year-old was a fourth-round pick by the Maple Leafs back in 2020, going 106th overall.  He spent the next three seasons primarily playing at the VHL level (one tier below the KHL) with his 2022-23 performance being a stellar one that saw him post a 1.73 GAA and a .943 SV% in 39 regular season games with Neftyanik Almetievsk before improving on those in six postseason outings.

That was enough for Toronto to sign Akhtyamov to a three-year, entry-level deal back in July 2023 although they loaned him back overseas last season.  That allowed him to see some regular KHL action, getting in 17 games with Ak Bars Kazan along with 19 outings with Neftyanik before coming to North America this season.

This year, Akhtyamov played in 26 games for the Marlies, second among their goalies with the team largely running through three netminders this season.  In those outings, he posted a 2.81 GAA along with a .901 SV%.  The other two goaltenders – Dennis Hildeby and Matt Murray – will remain with the Marlies for their playoff run which gets underway on Thursday in Cleveland.

Avalanche Sign Zakhar Bardakov To Entry-Level Deal

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The Colorado Avalanche announced that they have signed forward Zakhar Bardakov to a one-year, entry-level deal, per a team release.

In 53 games this season for SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL, Bardakov posted 17 goals and 35 points. The 24-year-old set career highs in goals and assists this season (while nearly doubling his previous career high in points) and served as an alternate captain. He added two points in six KHL playoff contests. In 209 regular season games in the KHL, he scored 79 points. The Russian native also spent three seasons in the MHL, scoring 70 points in 104 games.

Bardakov plays center and utilizes his 6’2, 210-pound frame to fend off defenders. He was originally drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the seventh round in the 2021 draft, but acquired by the Avalanche in a trade with the Devils last season.

While the Avalanche continue with their Stanley Cup aspirations, the club’s prospect pool has quite a few promising forwards, including Maxmilian Curran, Cooper Gay, and Taylor Makar, younger brother of superstar Cale Makar. There is also forward Christian Humphreys, whose rights belong to Colorado although he remains unsigned. After 10 games at the University of Michigan this previous season, Humphreys joined the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL, where he posted 33 points in 28 games.

For Bardakov, he appears to have the physical traits to break camp with the Avs to start next season, although he’ll likely start in the AHL as he acclimates to a North American style of play.

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