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Flames Sign Arsenii Sergeev To Entry-Level Deal

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The Flames announced they’ve signed goalie prospect Arsenii Sergeev to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal begins with the 2025-26 season, although he could report to AHL Calgary for the remainder of this year on a tryout. He’ll command a cap hit of $866,250.

Sergeev, 22, lands his first pro contract nearly four years after Calgary selected him in the seventh round of the 2021 draft. The 6’3″ Russian was playing in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the North American Hockey League in his draft year but has since risen up the ranks to become one of the better goalies in college hockey. He started his career at UConn in 2022, posting a 2.65 GAA and .913 SV% in 35 games across two seasons with one shutout and a 19-14-1 record.

After his sophomore season drew to a close last spring, Sergeev entered the transfer portal and landed with Penn State. He had a breakout with the Nittany Lions, posting a .919 SV% and 2.54 GAA in 33 games as he helped the program to its first Frozen Four appearance – defeating UConn in the process. While they were eliminated by Boston University in the national semifinals, Sergeev’s season may not be over.

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked Sergeev as the top goalie prospect in Calgary’s system and No. 10 in the Flames’ pool overall, with Calder Trophy hopeful Dustin Wolf graduating to a full-time role. He joins what looks to be a crowded minor-league crease in Calgary next season. The club has Devin Cooley under contract (although he could be Wolf’s backup next season after a strong AHL campaign) and recent undrafted free agent pickup Owen Say out of Notre Dame. That’s not including pending RFAs Waltteri Ignatjew and Connor Murphy, who could be back next year in minor-league roles.

Sergeev’s deal will run through the 2026-27 campaign, after which he’ll be a restricted free agent. Calgary maintains team control over Sergeev’s signing rights until 2030.

Oilers’ Mattias Ekholm Out For First Round

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April 14: Ekholm has been ruled out for the Oilers’ first-round series against the Kings, head coach Kris Knoblauch told broadcaster Bob Stauffer today. There’s still hope he could return later in the postseason if Edmonton manages to knock off L.A. without him.

April 12: The Oilers won’t have key two-way defenseman Mattias Ekholm available when they begin their first-round playoff series next weekend. He aggravated his undisclosed injury early in yesterday’s win over the Sharks and could even be ruled out for the season once testing is complete, Ryan Rishaug of TSN reports.

Ekholm had missed seven games with an undisclosed injury before returning against San Jose. Shortly before that, he’d missed six games with an illness. The stalwart Swede has only been available for five games since March 4. They’ve still managed to go 8-5-0 without him, though. It’s unclear when Ekholm sustained the injury against the Sharks, but he left after three shifts and only logged 1:52 of ice time.

There’s a strong argument to be made that Ekholm is Edmonton’s most crucial defenseman at even strength. He’s had another dominant season with his usual partner, Evan Bouchard, controlling 59.5% of expected goals as a pair (per MoneyPuck). When paired with Brett Kulak in Bouchard’s absence, their xG share drops to 57.1%. Offensively, he’s continued to hover above his career average as he has since the Oilers acquired him from the Predators at the 2023 trade deadline. With 9-24–33 in 65 games, he’s tied with Darnell Nurse for sixth on the team (and second among defensemen) in scoring. He’s averaged 22:12 per game, up by over a minute from last year. Most of that increase has come at even strength, although he’s also seen a small bump in his still-minimal power play deployment. He’s still managed seven power-play points (3 G, 4 A) despite averaging under a minute per game with the man advantage.

Even a best-case scenario will keep Ekholm out for “quite some time,” Rishaug writes. Reading between the lines, it’s plausible that Ekholm won’t be able to suit up against L.A. and will likely only be available to help them if they win at least one series without him.

That makes their deadline acquisition of Jake Walman from the Sharks all the more critical. Ekholm was a rock for Edmonton in last year’s run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, ranking fourth on the team with a plus-nine rating. He contributed 5-5–10 in 25 games and averaged nearly 22 minutes per game, third on the team behind Bouchard and Connor McDavid.

Of course, Walman doesn’t have the 112 games of postseason experience that the 34-year-old Ekholm has under his belt. He’s got just one, coming as a member of the Blues in their first-round loss to the Avalanche in 2021. He’s also missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury. With Ekholm’s absence confirmed to be longer-term, it’ll be interesting to see whether Walman gets slotted in top-pairing minutes with Bouchard when he’s ready to return or if he anchors a second pairing while Nurse slots in with Bouchard.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Snapshots: Avalanche, Squires, Ziemmer

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The Avalanche announced some heavy roster trimming after playing their final regular season game last night. Forwards Jere Innala, T.J. Tynan, Chris Wagner, and defensemen Wyatt Aamodt and Jack Ahcan were reassigned back to AHL Colorado after being called up recently to allow some lineup staples to rest. All the players listed saw limited action down the stretch, and all five appeared in last night’s win over the Ducks to give Colorado its fourth straight season with over 100 points. The Avs finished with a 49-29-4 record and will face the Stars in the first round as the lower seed. The group of five will now suit up for the Eagles in the Calder Cup Playoffs, with more experienced names like Wagner likely to be among the first added to the Avalanche’s postseason roster if injuries necessitate a recall.

Other minor moves from around the league this morning:

  • The Devils announced today that they’ve reassigned right-wing prospect Cam Squires to AHL Utica after he finished his major junior season with the Cape Breton Eagles of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Squires, fresh off his 20th birthday, led Cape Breton in scoring with 24-51–75 in 58 games this season and 15th overall in the QMJHL. A 2023 fourth-round pick, he signed his entry-level deal last summer and will kick off his first full professional campaign next season, presumably in Utica.
  • The Kings are also giving one of their prospects a taste of pro hockey to end the season, reassigning right-winger Koehn Ziemmer to AHL Ontario. The 2023 third-rounder is coming off a 37-goal, 71-point campaign in 61 games with the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League, but he’s still failed to break the career-high 89 points he scored in his draft year with the Cougars. With his 20th birthday behind him, as well as four seasons of WHL play, he’s eligible for a full-time assignment to Ontario beginning next season.

Oilers Sign Quinn Hutson To Entry-Level Deal

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April 14: The Oilers announced Hutson’s deal this morning, making it official. PuckPedia reports his deal carries a cap hit of $875K and breaks down to an NHL salary of $787.5K, an annual signing bonus of $87.5K, and a minors salary of $85K. Naturally, his 2024-25 figures are prorated.

April 13: The Oilers are signing undrafted free agent winger Quinn Hutson to a two-year entry-level deal out of Boston University after the Terriers’ loss to Western Michigan in last night’s national championship game, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet confirms. Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects was the first to report the deal. Hutson will join Edmonton immediately and burn the first year of his contract, although he’s ineligible to suit up for them in the playoffs.

The older brother of presumptive Calder Trophy finalist Lane Hutson and Capitals prospect Cole Hutson turns pro following three years of college play. While the 5’11”, 170-lb righty was a productive top-six presence out of the gate, he reached new heights in his junior season in 2024-25. The Illinois native finished two points ahead of Cole to lead BU in scoring, posting 23-27–50 in 38 games. NCAA-wide, Hutson tied for ninth in goals, 15th in assists, finished ninth outright in points and ranked fourth in the country in points per game.

Arguably the top college free agent available, Hutson provides a significant jumpstart to a 29th-ranked Oilers prospect pool (per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic), even if he’s at the older end of the scale at 23 years old. It’s not as if this year’s breakout was entirely unforeseen. He flirted with the point-per-game mark last season and finished his college career with 56-58–114 in 117 games, seventh in the NCAA over the last three years.

The Oilers’ pool is extremely light on wingers, making Hutson all the more of an important pickup. Their two first-round picks in the system (Sam O’Reilly, Matthew Savoie) are both natural centers, and their best wing prospect before Hutson’s signing was the oft-injured Roby Jarventie, who’s a question mark to receive a qualifying offer this summer after appearing just twice for AHL Bakersfield in 2024-25.

Hutson will push for a spot on Edmonton’s opening night roster next fall as a cost-effective tertiary contributor, presumably in a third-line scoring role. The Oilers enter the offseason with nearly $13MM in space to fill four roster spots, but a significant portion of that money will likely go to pending RFA defenseman Evan Bouchard. They’ll need multiple low-cost players to punch above their weight on offense as a result.

Atlantic Notes: Tkachuk, Demidov, Ratzlaff

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Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk is “not that far off” from a return, head coach Paul Maurice said on WQAM’s The Joe Rose Show Monday morning (via Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald). “This week is a really important week for him,” Maurice continued. “If he’s not [ready for Game 1], he’s very, very close. We’re not missing this by two weeks.” Tkachuk hasn’t played since sustaining a groin injury at the 4 Nations Face-Off and, as alluded to yesterday, will return to practice this week after skating on his own a few times recently. Having a fully healthy forward lineup out of the gate in their first-round series will be important, with top right-shot defenseman Aaron Ekblad unavailable for two games while serving the end of his 20-game suspension for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. Florida has rested many of its top forwards in recent games as a result and will continue to do so tonight against the Rangers.

Other notable items from the Atlantic Division:

  • Top Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov will make his NHL debut tonight against the Blackhawks with a playoff berth on the line, head coach Martin St. Louis confirmed this morning (via Eric Engels of Sportsnet). The winger will skate on a line with Joel Armia and Alex Newhook and see reps on the second power-play unit, Engels relays. The 19-year-old signed his entry-level contract last week after being released early from his commitment with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League. Barring any surprises, the 2024 No. 5 overall pick should be in Montreal’s playoff lineup – assuming they clinch – after leading SKA with 19-30–49 in 65 games this season and setting the KHL record for points in a season by a U-20 player.
  • The Sabres announced they reassigned goalie prospect Scott Ratzlaff to AHL Rochester to finish the season. Ratzlaff, 20, was also rostered for Rochester after his major junior season ended in 2023-24 but didn’t make his professional debut. It’s unclear if that will change this time around. The 2023 fifth-round pick capped off his fourth and final Western Hockey League season with a 3.16 GAA, .910 SV%, one shutout, and a 23-19-4 record in 49 games for the Seattle Thunderbirds. He’s now posted a save percentage north of .900 in four consecutive WHL seasons, a significant feat in the scoring-friendly league.

Bruins Recall John Farinacci, Frederic Brunet

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The Bruins announced they’ve recalled forward John Farinacci and defenseman Frederic Brunet from AHL Providence on an emergency basis. Both players could make their NHL debuts tomorrow against the Devils. The team returned fellow emergency call-ups Michael Callahan and Riley Duran to the P-Bruins in corresponding moves.

Farinacci arrives in Boston amid his second professional season. Initially a third-round pick of the Coyotes in 2019, he opted not to sign with Arizona upon finishing his collegiate career at Harvard in 2023. He signed an entry-level contract with the Bruins as an Aug. 15 free agent following an injury-shortened 2022-23 campaign with Harvard, still serving as team captain and notching 5-15–20 in 19 games.

The cousin of Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato hasn’t quite provided that level of offense in the AHL for Providence, but the 24-year-old is still making strides. After posting 12-26–38 in 71 games last season, he’s nearly matched that point total in 57 appearances this year (9-28–37). That puts him in a tie for seventh on the team in scoring, and the 5’11” center/right-winger also has a plus-nine rating.

He could directly replace Duran, who made his NHL debut in Boston’s last two games, as the Bruins’ fourth-line right wing in their final game of the season. Duran, 23, averaged 12:44 per game across the pair of contests and managed five shots on goal, although that effort didn’t result in his first NHL point. He recorded six hits and a minus-one rating, and Boston dominated play at even strength with a 78.1 CF% in his limited minutes. Few expected better from Duran, who has 12-4–16 in 58 games in his first full AHL season.

Brunet is the far younger of the two call-ups. The 21-year-old rearguard was selected in the fifth round of the 2022 draft by the Bruins and, so far, looks to be overperforming his draft slot. The 6’3″, 196-lb lefty has been a solid two-way presence with a physical edge over his first two professional seasons. He’s been one of Providence’s best defensemen in 2024-25, placing second on the team in scoring among blue-liners with 5-19–24 in 68 games. He also ranks third on the team with a +14 rating.

That’s good enough to make him the top U-23 defense prospect in Boston’s underwhelming pool, opines Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. While the No. 7 prospect overall, there’s legitimate third-pairing upside in his game in a few years, Wheeler writes. He could get that first chance to flash it as the Bruins conclude a disappointing season, potentially even making himself a dark horse for an opening-night job in 2025-26.

As for Callahan, he ends his first NHL season with one goal and a minus-five rating in 17 games. Boston first recalled the stay-at-home defender in January and has periodically given him time on the active roster since. The 25-year-old lefty averaged 14:09 per game and was a relative nonfactor, posting a 43.8 CF% and 43.3 xGF% at even strength in heavy defensive deployment. Despite checking in at 6’2″ and 200 lbs, he wasn’t an imposing factor physically, logging only 12 blocks and eight hits. The pending restricted free agent has 1-7–8 and a plus-four rating in 43 games with the P-Bruins this year.

Capitals Recall Clay Stevenson

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The Capitals announced they’ve recalled goaltender Clay Stevenson from AHL Hershey. Fellow netminder Hunter Shepard is headed back to the minors in a corresponding move.

The transaction amounts to a temporary backup swap for Washington over the season’s final two games while Logan Thompson nears a return from his upper-body injury. Shepard was recalled as Charlie Lindgren’s temporary No. 2 option and has been rostered for the Caps’ last five games. He only made one start, a fateful 7-0 loss against the Blue Jackets in which he stopped 19 of 26 shots for a subpar .731 SV%.

That was the 29-year-old Shepard’s fifth career NHL start. The other four came last season with Washington, posting a 2-1-1 record with a .894 SV% and 3.19 GAA. The spot start against Columbus was emblematic of a disappointing season for the Minnesota native in the minors. Coming off back-to-back Calder Cup championships with Hershey and AHL Best Goaltender honors in 2023-24, he’s floundered with a .891 SV% and 2.81 GAA in 37 appearances for the Bears. That’s still good enough for a 22-11-3 record behind one of the league’s strongest skater corps, but a disappointing result nonetheless on an individual level.

Now, the 26-year-old Stevenson gets a chance to start one of Washington’s final two games to allow Lindgren some rest in case he’s needed for Game 1 of their first-round series against either the Canadiens or Blue Jackets. While he was rostered briefly last season, he didn’t get into a game, so a start would mean his NHL debut. Like Shepard, his 2024-25 campaign with Hershey has been marred by individual regression. He’s posted a .888 SV% in 33 games after logging a .922 mark in his first full AHL season last year, adding a 2.94 GAA and two shutouts with an 18-8-5 record.

Shepard is a pending unrestricted free agent, although Stevenson is under contract for another two years after signing a three-year, $2.33MM extension midway through the 2023-24 campaign. He earns a one-way salary of $775K next year and in 2026-27, indicating the Caps had high hopes for him to assume an NHL roster spot. This year’s numbers plus extensions for Lindgren and Thompson have thrown a wrench into that plan, though, so he’ll instead serve as an expensive AHL option for the remainder of his deal.

Devils Recall Marc McLaughlin

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The Devils announced they’ve recalled forward Marc McLaughlin from AHL Utica. He’ll join the team on their road trip amid an expected suspension for Paul Cotter, who’s facing a hearing with the Department of Player Safety today for an illegal check to the head of Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech.

New Jersey already had a handful of extra forwards on hand for yesterday’s 1-0 loss to the Islanders, not including winger Stefan Noesen, who they scratched for rest. Adding McLaughlin to fold indicates they’re considering resting some other lineup staples at forward for their season-ending back-to-back against the Bruins and Red Wings. The Devils are locked into third place in the Metropolitan Division and a first-round date with the Hurricanes, so there are no seeding changes at risk from the results of their final two games.

McLaughlin played 12 games earlier this season and has 26 career appearances, although none with New Jersey. The Devils acquired him from Boston in exchange for depth defenseman Daniil Misyul at the trade deadline. He has six career goals, including two in 2024-25, but is still looking for his first NHL assist. The 6’0″, 200-lb pivot has averaged a shade under 10 minutes per game in the NHL and has won 24 of his 58 career faceoffs for a 41.4% win rate. The 25-year-old’s possession impacts are usually underwhelming, posting a CF% of 48.4 at even strength in parts of four seasons – 5.6% worse than Boston’s shot attempt share without him on the ice.

A defensive specialist, even in the minors, McLaughlin’s point totals are correspondingly solid but not eye-popping. He’s posted five assists in 14 games with Utica since the trade after starting the year with 5-9–14 in 34 games for the Bruins’ affiliate in Providence. He has 26-37–63 in 183 career AHL games since signing with Boston as an undrafted free agent out of Boston College in 2022.

Since McLaughlin has under 80 games of NHL experience with at least three professional seasons, he’ll be a Group VI unrestricted free agent when his two-way deal expires this summer. A return to New Jersey as a depth piece shouldn’t be ruled out if they like what they see from him in the minors.

Five Key Stories: 4/7/25 – 4/13/25

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The playoffs are almost upon us and we’re starting to see an uptick in activity around the hockey world, particularly on the signing front.  Several contracts are highlighted in our key stories.

Playoff Reinforcements? Several teams could be getting a boost to their late-season playoff push or for the postseason.  The Canadiens signed top prospect Ivan Demidov to an entry-level deal beginning this season.  The 19-year-old was the fifth pick back in June and had 49 points in 65 games with SKA St. Petersburg, who released him to accommodate the move.  SKA also released defenseman Alexander Nikishin, permitting him to join Carolina right away on an entry-level pact.  The 23-year-old has been viewed as the top defenseman outside the NHL for a few seasons now; he had his third straight year of at least 46 points this season.  Meanwhile, the Wild will add a top college defender to the mix, inking Zeev Buium to an entry-level deal that starts right away.  Buium, the 12th pick last June, collected 98 points in 83 games at the University of Denver in the last two years.  Lastly, the Avalanche could be getting some playoff help via a different route as captain Gabriel Landeskog has started a conditioning stint with AHL Colorado, getting into two games so far.  The Avs can’t activate him before the end of the season for cap reasons but this is a promising next step in Landeskog’s recovery; he hasn’t played since 2022.

Calling It A Career: A pair of players have announced their retirements but are on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of their career.  Veteran defenseman Alec Martinez revealed that Saturday was his final NHL game as he won’t suit up in Chicago’s final two contests.  The 37-year-old will hang up his skates with 862 career regular season appearances between Los Angeles, Vegas, and Chicago.  Martinez also won three Stanley Cup titles in 2012, 2014, and 2023.  On the opposite end is now-former Jets prospect Chaz Lucius.  He announced his retirement at the age of 21 following a diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.  Lucius was the 18th overall pick back in 2021 and his career ends with just 54 professional games, all at the AHL level.

Testing The Market: Canucks winger Brock Boeser is no stranger to the rumor mill.  After rejecting an extension offer believed to be worth five years and $40MM earlier in the season, he was in plenty of trade speculation but ultimately stayed at the trade deadline.  However, it doesn’t appear as if the extra time in Vancouver will help get a deal done as the 28-year-old indicated that it’s unlikely that he’ll return to the Canucks next season.  Boeser had a breakout effort last season, notching 40 goals and 33 assists, setting the stage for that extension offer from management.  But he hasn’t produced at a similar level this year, collecting 25 goals and 24 assists, numbers that are closer to his normal year-to-year output.  But even with the down performance this season, Boeser projects to be one of the top unrestricted free agents this summer which will have him well-positioned to benefit from the big jump coming to the salary cap.

Top Prospect Not Signing: For a while now, it was expected that the Lightning would sign prospect winger Isaac Howard knowing that it might have to wait until late in the year when they had the cap space to do so.  However, the two sides are not on the same page regarding Howard’s future so the 2022 first-round pick has decided to return to Michigan State next season.  The 21-year-old had a dominant year for the Spartans, notching 26 goals and 26 assists in 37 games, earning him the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s Player of the Year.  Now, Tampa Bay will have to decide if they want to try to sign him next season when he’ll be months away from being able to test unrestricted free agency or if they’d be better off trading his rights in the coming months.

Hockey World Loses Three: It was a tough week in the hockey world as two long-time NHL fixtures passed away.  First, Greg Millen died at the age of 67.  A 14-year NHL goaltender, Millen played in over 600 games across six different teams before beginning a broadcasting career that spanned more than three decades, spending time with Ottawa, Toronto, and Calgary while being on Hockey Night in Canada for nearly 30 years.  Just two days later, long-time NHL executive Ray Shero passed at the age of 62.  Shero was the former GM of Pittsburgh and New Jersey and had been working for an NHL team for every year but one since 1993.  Shero had been with Minnesota as a senior advisor for the past four seasons.  Lastly, former Toronto GM Gerry McNamara passed away at the age of 90.  He served as the GM for them for eight seasons after spending six previous campaigns with them in a scouting capacity.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

Oilers Hoping To Sign Maxim Berezkin

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Over the past few days, we’ve seen a couple of KHL prospects sign with their respective NHL clubs with more potentially still to come.  It appears that the Oilers are hoping they’ll be able to join in as GM Stan Bowman indicated on an appearance on Oilers Now (audio link) that they’re hoping to sign winger Maxim Berezkin once his club team finishes up in the playoffs.

The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Edmonton back in 2020, going 138th overall.  At the time, Berezkin had just finished up a solid junior season in Russia in Lokomotiv Yaroslavl’s system while also making his KHL debut.

Berezkin would bounce back and forth between the KHL and either the junior level or minor-league level for the next three seasons before finally becoming a full-time KHL piece last season.  That year, he notched eight goals and 22 assists in 62 games during the regular season before breaking out in the playoffs with 16 points in 20 appearances.

That set the expectations a little higher for Berezkin heading into this season and he delivered, tallying 15 goals and 27 assists in 62 games this season, good for second on the team in scoring.  He’s off to a solid start in the playoffs as well, collecting four points in five games so far to tie for the scoring lead.  With Lokomotiv the top seed in their conference, Bowman and the Oilers may have to wait a little longer before they can really kickstart negotiations about an entry-level contract for Berezkin.

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