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Rangers To Sign Justin Dowling To Two-Year Deal

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The Rangers are signing center Justin Dowling during free agency, as first reported by Brennan Klak on X. The contract is a two-year deal at league minimum salary, featuring a one-way structure for the 2025-26 season and a two-way structure for the 2026-27 season, according to PuckPedia.

Dowling comes to New York from their division rival, the New Jersey Devils. Despite spending the first year of his two-year arrangement with the Devils’ AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, Dowling received a larger opportunity at the NHL level this past season due to injuries.

In 52 games, the 34-year-old center scored two goals and seven points, averaging 10:13 of ice time with a 48.3% success rate in the faceoff dot. Although that’s tepid production, even for a fourth-line player, it was the best individual output of Dowling’s seven-year NHL career.

Even after a transitional year for the Rangers, it’s hard to imagine Dowling finding much playing time at the NHL level unless there are struggles with injuries. He would be better utilized with their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, especially considering he is two years removed from scoring 14 goals and accumulating 40 points in 57 games with AHL Utica. Given the nature of his contract, along with Dowling’s contract shifting to a two-way agreement in the second half of the season, it seems the Rangers share this perspective on his future potential.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article. 

Ducks Sign Mikael Granlund To Three-Year Deal

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One of the top remaining free agents is off the board. Center Mikael Granlund has signed a three-year deal with the Ducks, the team announced. The contract carries a $7MM cap hit, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports.

Granlund will earn a nice pay raise over the $5MM cap hit he carried over the last four seasons. His last deal, a four-year contract worth $20MM, was originally signed with the Nashville Predators in July of 2021, though it ultimately carried him across tenures with four different clubs He earned the deal on the heels of scoring 13 goals and 27 points in 51 games of the shortened 2020-21 season, and quickly made it look like a value contract with 11 goals and 64 points in the 2021-22 season. He carved out a clear role platooned between Nashville’s top-line wings and second-line center roles, but was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a second-round pick ahead of the 2023 Trade Deadline. Pittsburgh retained Granlund through the rest of the 2022-23 season, before including him in an August 2022 trade that sent Granlund alongside four other players, a 2024 first-round pick, and a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for Erik Karlsson, two other players, and a 2026 third-round pick.

Granlund instantly took to a lead role on a young Sharks lineup, and maintained his hot scoring through the transition. He recorded 12 goals and 60 points in 69 games with San Jose last season, then returned for 45 points in 52 games at the start of this year. But with such a red-hot veteran scorer in their mix, San Jose opted to trade Granlund and defender Cody Ceci to the Dallas Stars at this year’s Trade Deadline, in a deal that landed them a 2025 first-round pick (Joshua Ravensbergen) and a conditional second-round pick that wasn’t exercised. Granlund continued to produce in Dallas, with 21 points in 31 regular-season games and 10 points in 18 postseason games.

The Ducks will be landing a mobile, athletic forward with strong playmaking upside in Granlund. He likely projects into a second-line role, but could offer the team upwards of 40, 50, or even 60 assist upside with the right linemates. He could be an enticing veteran presence to play off of youngsters like Cutter Gauthier and Leo Carlsson, or offer the visionary passing to set up fellow newcomer Chris Kreider on line two. In either mix, Granlund’s speed and passing ability offer a refreshing boost to Anaheim’s bulky lineup.

Granlund has spent a collective 13 years in the NHL, and amassed 610 points in 902 career games. To boot, he’s also averaged north of 19 minutes in ice time in three of the last four seasons. He’ll be a toolsy addition to a Ducks’ top-end that’s looking to make a postseason run — though a three-year deal will carry him through his age-36 season.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.

PHR’s Gabriel Foley contributed significantly to this article.

Penguins Sign Connor Dewar, Philip Tomasino

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After opting not to issue them a qualifying offer yesterday, the Penguins have brought back forwards Connor Dewar and Philip Tomasino on one-year deals, the club announced. Dewar lands a $1.1MM commitment, while Tomasino will earn $1.75MM.

With very few guaranteed roster spots, it made sense for the Penguins to re-sign Dewar and Tomasino. Both players were acquired at different points last season and are young enough to be considered consistent options in Pittsburgh.

Already 26 years old, Dewar is a bottom-six forward through and through. He has played for three different organizations over three seasons, accumulating 21 goals and 47 points in 203 games, along with a -16 rating while with the Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Penguins. He’s spent some time down the middle, but he’s better used on the wing.

Similarly, Pittsburgh acquired Tomasino last season, hoping to get some value from the former 24th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft. He played fairly well for the Penguins after coming over from the Nashville Predators, scoring 11 goals and 23 points in 50 games, averaging 13:27 of ice time.

Tomasino’s offensive talents are well known at this point, but without his defensive capabilities improving, it’s challenging for the Penguins to give him increased opportunity. At any rate, given they haven’t qualified for the postseason in two years, and not being expected to in 2025-26, Pittsburgh quite literally has nothing to lose but giving Tomasino a shot at top-six minutes and see if he can live up to his draft billing and the talents that made him such a prized prospect to begin with.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report Dewar was returning to Pittsburgh.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article. 

Senators Sign Lars Eller

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The Senators announced they’ve signed center Lars Eller to a one-year deal worth $1.25MM.

Eller will once again step away from the Washington Capitals with this decision. He previously spent seven years with the club from 2016 to 2023, and filled a major role on the team’s 2018 Stanley Cup win. The Capitals traded Eller to the Colorado Avalanche for a 2025 second-round pick ahead of the 2023 Trade Deadline, though he’d only go on to play in 24 games with the Avalanche before signing with the Pittsburgh Penguins as an unrestricted free agent. Eller spent the full 2023-24 season with the Penguins, racking up 15 goals and 31 points while operating out of the team’s third-line center role. He also managed a 52.3 percent faceoff win rate that year.

He continued to win draws and provide impact away from the puck to start Pittsburgh’s 2024-25 season, but a dwindle in scoring led Eller to a mid-season trade back to the Capitals organization. Just two years after acquiring a second-round pick in return for Eller, the Capitals re-acquired him for only a 2027 third-round pick and 2025 fifth-round pick.

But his return to Washington only resulted in six goals and 15 points across 63 appearances. His intangible additions were a boost, but at 35-years-old, it was apparent that Eller was beginning to lose his stride. Still, he’s averaged 27 points per 82 games and a 52 percent faceoff percentage over the last three seasons. He’ll be a hardy, albeit slow, option to fill one of Ottawa’s bottom-two center roles.

PHR’s Gabriel Foley contributed significantly to this article.

Lightning To Sign Pontus Holmberg To Two-Year Deal

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The Lightning are picking up forward Pontus Holmberg after he went unqualified by the Maple Leafs yesterday, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. It’s a two-year deal worth $1.55MM per season, per Darren Dreger of TSN.

As expected, the Lightning are operating on the fringes of this year’s free agent market. In Holmberg, they have added a candidate with low risk and low reward, who can be easily placed in their bottom six.

Tampa Bay’s front office appears to value Holmberg’s potential for lineup flexibility. He’ll likely slot into a third or fourth‑line role, bringing speed at even strength and depth on the penalty kill. Despite scoring a lowly 19 goals and 49 points through 159 career contests, Holmberg averaged a 92.0% on-ice save percentage at even strength with Toronto.

The Lightning came into the offseason with a mandate to build up the team’s bottom-six, and adding Holmberg certainly helps. It’s an open debate whether he’s earned a consistent spot on the roster over a player like Mitchell Chaffee, but Holmberg could replace him if necessary.

Should Holmberg fail to capitalize during his new two-year agreement with the Lightning, it very well could spell the end of his playing career in North America. It likely wouldn’t take him long to find a landing spot overseas, as Holmberg spent much of his professional career with the SHL’s Växjö Lakers HC before coming to the Maple Leafs organization.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article. 

Sabres Sign Justin Danforth, Tyson Kozak

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Forward Justin Danforth is heading to the Sabres on a two-year deal worth $1.8MM per season, Bob McKenzie of TSN reports. They also re-upped RFA forward Tyson Kozak on a three-year deal worth $775,000 per season, carrying a two-way structure in 2025-26 and a one-way structure in 2026-27 and 2027-28.

Danforth’s addition to the Sabres’ lineup addresses a need that the team has been trying to fulfil for several years. Last summer, the team added Beck Malenstyn and Ryan McLeod to their bottom six, and this summer, they have brought in Josh Doan and Danforth.

He’s coming off a fairly successful run with the Columbus Blue Jackets, playing in a similar role. Throughout the last two years, Danforth has scored 19 goals and 47 points in 132 games with a -16 rating, averaging 14:19 of ice time per night. His scoring output should slightly dip with the Sabres, assuming the team plays him in a fourth-line role.

The most important part of Danforth’s game is his physicality. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with 126 hits, which would have ranked fifth on the Sabres and fourth among forwards. In an odd move at the time, Buffalo traded away one of their most physical players, Dylan Cozens, to the Ottawa Senators at last year’s trade deadline.

Meanwhile, Kozak returns to the only organization he’s ever known. The former 193rd overall selection debuted with the Sabres last year, scoring three goals and five points in 21 games. His track record is better known with their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, where Kozak has scored 18 goals and 36 points in 127 games with a -3 rating.

Like Danforth, Kozak is expected to be a physical presence for the Sabres to plug into their bottom-six. Given that the first year of the deal begins as a two-way contract, it seems the Sabres would like Kozak to have another year of seasoning with Rochester before making the full-time jump to the NHL level.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article. 

Wild Sign Nico Sturm To Two-Year Deal

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3:10 p.m.: It’s a two-year deal for Sturm at $2MM per season, the team announced.

11:45 a.m.: According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, the Minnesota Wild are closing in on a reunion with free agent center Nico Sturm. The seven-year veteran recently won the second Stanley Cup championship of his career with the Florida Panthers.

The last time Sturm played for the Wild was back in 2021-22. Minnesota traded him to the Colorado Avalanche during that year’s trade deadline, allowing him to win the first Stanley Cup championship of his career. Shortly thereafter, Sturm signed a three-year contract with the San Jose Sharks, only to take a similar path with the Panthers at last year’s deadline.

Throughout his previous four tenures in Minnesota, of which only two he spent most of his time in the NHL, Sturm scored 20 goals and 36 points in 111 contests with a +7 rating. Additionally, he was a net positive in the faceoff dot, securing a 51.3% success rate in over 500 draws.

He’ll likely return to a fourth-line role with the Wild, especially after the team jettisoned Frédérick Gaudreau to the Seattle Kraken a few days ago. Sturm won’t bring as much offense to Minnesota’s bottom-six as Gaudreau, but he’s as defensively sound. Unlike several of his peers in Minnesota, Sturm has Stanley Cup experience, which is significant for an organization that has never reached the finals.

Image courtesy of  Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Sharks Sign John Klingberg, Philipp Kurashev, Adam Gaudette

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The Sharks have signed center Philipp Kurashev to a one-year, $1.2MM contract, per PuckPedia. He was a UFA after being non-tendered by the Blackhawks. They have also signed defenseman John Klingberg to a one-year deal worth $4MM, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Additionally, the Sharks will bring in center Adam Gaudette on a two-year, $4MM contract per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. All three signings were first reported by Brennan Klak on X.

San Jose has confirmed Klingberg’s deal.

This pair of moves most notably features a pay-raise for Klingberg after he played through last season on a one-year, $1.76MM deal with the Edmonton Oilers. Klingberg didn’t sign that deal until mid-January, limiting him to just 11 games played before the end of the regular season. He recorded four points, eight penalty minutes, and an even plus-minus in those appearances — showing signs of rust after only playing 14 games of the 2023-24 season, but still able to hold up to 17 minutes a night. With his legs under him, Edmonton moved Klingberg into a nightly role during the postseason. He again recorded four points, though this time added a plus-three and one penalty, through 19 appearances.

Klingberg looked capable of the nightly role, even despite a bilateral hip surgery limiting him to just 44 games over the last two seasons combined. He’s scored 13 points in those appearances, though handled a clear-cut top-pair role pre-injury and a third-pair role after returning. A lofty price tag in San Jose could push him up the team’s depth chart on a very shallow right-shot side. He should fill a second-pairing role alongside Henry Thrun, Shakir Mukhamadullin, or Sam Dickinson. All three youngsters have the mobility to help cushion Klingberg as he looks to transition from an injury to a battered role with San Jose.

Boosting the offense will be Kurashev and Gaudette, who each filled minor roles on their NHL squads this season, though through very different paths. Gaudette is coming off of his first full season in the NHL since the 2021-22 campaign, when he played 50 games for the Ottawa Senators. He scored just 12 points that season, prompting an assignment to the minor leagues that took two seasons of strong scoring to work out of. In what was the first full AHL season of his career, Gaudette managed 51 points in 65 games during the 2022-23 campaign, split between the Toronto Marlies and Springfield Thunderbirds. He returned for Springfield last season and exploded for 44 goals and 71 points in 67 games. That was good enough to earn a call-up back to the Senators that he took full advantage of, with 19 goals and 26 points in 81 games.

Meanwhile, Kurashev took a hard fall from grace last year after managing a career-season in 2023-24. He recorded 54 points in 75 games in a top-line role with the Chicago Blackhawks that year, but tumbled all the way down to just 14 points, split evenly, in 51 games this season. The steep drop in scoring coincided with concerns about Kurashev’s two-way game, and calls for his assignment to the minor-leagues. The 25-year-old winger has shown flashes of scoring upside throughout his career, with 130 points in 317 games. He’ll look to rediscover his flash of scoring as he joins a similarly skilled-and-speedy Sharks lineup.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro-Imagn Images.

Sabres Sign Alex Lyon To Two-Year Deal

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The Sabres announced they’ve signed goaltender Alex Lyon to a two-year contract worth $1.5MM per season.

After backstopping the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup playoffs during the 2022-23 campaign, Lyon earned himself a two-year, $1.8MM agreement with the Detroit Red Wings the following offseason. Despite being ultimately usurped by Sergei Bobrovsky during the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, Lyon concluded the season with a record of 9-4-2 over 15 games, achieving a .912 SV% and a 2.89 GAA.

At first, his performance resembled that of the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately, the Red Wings didn’t qualify for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, but it wasn’t Lyon’s fault. The netminder procured a 21-18-5 record in 44 games throughout his first year in Detroit with a .904 SV% and 3.05 GAA.

That quality performance was quickly forgotten this past season. Like many of his peers with the Red Wings, Lyon disappointed during the 2024-25 campaign, earning a 14-9-1 record in 30 games with a .896 SV%, 2.81 GAA, and -2.5 Goals Saved Above Average.

Given the one-way deal for Lyon, the Sabres will either have three netminders on next season’s roster, or the team is again expecting Devon Levi to begin the year with the AHL’s Rochester Americans. Despite showing limited growth at the NHL level, it’s unclear what the Sabres expect from Levi to consider promoting him.

During his last two years with AHL Rochester, Levi achieved a record of 41-19-10, with a .922 SV% and a 2.28 GAA, including seven shutouts. Aside from proving his case for another year in the AHL, Levi will now have to compete with Lyon for the backup role in Buffalo for the next two years.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article. 

Kraken Sign Matt Murray

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The Kraken have signed goaltender Matt Murray to a one-year, $1MM contract, per a team announcement.

This move will stand as a vote of confidence in Murray, as he works his way back to a full-time role after undergoing bilateral hip surgery in 2023. Murray missed the entirety of the 2023-24 season and all but two games of the 2024-25 season, as a result of the injury. Murray’s last extended action came in the 2022-23 season, when he appeared in 26 games as Toronto’s backup to Ilya Samsonov. Murray recorded a .903 save percentage and a 14-8-2 record in those appearances.

When thinking of Murray, it’s hard not to think of his incredible run to the Stanley Cup as a rookie in 2016. With only 13 regular-season games under his belt, Murray was able to usurp future Hall-of-Famer Marc-Andre Fleury as the starting netminder for the team’s 2016 postseason. With that confidence to boost him, the rookie Murray managed an incredible .923 save percentage and a 15-6-0 record for the Penguins, helping propel the team to a Stanley Cup win. He earned Pittsburgh’s backup role full-time in the wake of that win, and supported the team with an improved .937 save percentage in 11 games during their 2017 Cup win as well.

For the most part, Murray’s hot hand in Pittsburgh carried over to the regular season. He managed a collective .914 Sv% and a 117-53-19 record in 199 games with the Penguins. He also totaled a .921 save percentage in 51 playoff games — a team record among goalies to appear in multiple postseason runs. But on the back of faltering play in 2019, the Penguins traded Murray to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward Jonathan Gruden and the 2020 second-round pick used on goaltender Joel Blomqvist. Murray fell to Ottawa’s backup chair, behind Anton Forsberg, by the 2021-22 season, and fell into his rut of injuries soon after.

Now, Seattle will look to revive Murray’s career in a backup role behind starter Joey Daccord. Murray posted one win, one loss, and one relief loss over the course of three games with Toronto this season. Next season will be his first true test at a comeback, and an early summer deal will provide a full summer of motivated fitness training.

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