Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rangers Sign Anton Blidh To Two-Year Extension

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Rangers announced today they’ve agreed to terms with depth winger Anton Blidh on a two-year, two-way extension. PuckPedia reported yesterday the deal carries a league-minimum $775K NHL salary and cap hit with a $350K AHL salary and a $385K guarantee each season.

Blidh’s extension is identical to the two-year, two-way deal he signed to join the Blueshirts as an unrestricted free agent in 2023. The 30-year-old Swede was a sixth-round pick of the Bruins back in 2013 and is now in his 10th professional season in North America. He’s seen AHL action in nine of them, spending all of this year on assignment to AHL Hartford, aside from a brief emergency recall last month that didn’t result in any playing time.

A high-energy, defensively responsible winger, Blidh has 85 NHL games to his name. Seventy of those came with the Bruins, where he played a limited call-up role and appeared in six straight campaigns from 2016-17 to 2021-22. He has 4-8–12 with a -14 rating over his career, which also includes a brief stop with the Avalanche in 2022-23.

He’s never been a big point producer in the minors either, but Blidh has done well as a secondary scorer in Hartford this year while logging heavy shorthanded usage. He’s put together a career-high 17-13–30 scoring line in 66 games, sitting third on the club in scoring alongside 80 PIMs and a plus-one rating.

Blidh was set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer but will now wait until 2027 to test the open market again. He’s a likely candidate to pass through waivers next fall and return to Hartford.

Lightning’s Isaac Howard Returning To Michigan State

at CDT | by 8 Comments

The Lightning will not be signing top prospect Isaac Howard now or this offseason. The 2022 first-round pick plans to return to Michigan State University for his senior season, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports, opening the door for his signing rights to expire in August 2026.

Howard, 21, is coming off an outright dominant junior showing with the Spartans. The 5’11”, 190-lb left winger erupted for 26-26–52 in 37 games, tied for third in the NCAA in goals and sitting alone in fifth place in overall scoring. Most expected him to sign with Tampa after Michigan State was bounced in the national tournament a couple of weeks ago as a result, but there wasn’t much progress. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic relayed that was related to Howard’s desire to join the team immediately and burn a year off his entry-level contract, something the Lightning didn’t and still don’t have the cap space to accommodate.

However those discussions transpired, it’s now clear Howard and the Lightning aren’t quite on the same page regarding his immediate future, Friedman wrote. That will lead to Michigan State unexpectedly keeping their top scorer in the fold next year while he decides whether he still wants to sign with the Bolts. While Tampa could technically lose his signing rights next August and receive a compensatory pick from the league, it’s likelier they’d trade his signing rights for a richer return before things get to that point if he informs the Lightning he won’t sign with them.

The Lightning can ill afford to lose Howard without acquiring a comparable young asset to replace him. He’s ranked as the No. 55 prospect in the league and No. 2 in Tampa’s pipeline behind center Conor Geekie, Wheeler wrote midseason. They’re the only two forwards in the Lightning’s system with legitimate top-six upside.

A top-three finalist for this year’s Hobey Baker Award, any Howard trade would follow a similar framework to last year’s swap of Rutger McGroarty and Brayden Yager between the Jets and Penguins. They’d be getting another team’s top or second-best wing prospect in return. While it’s certainly disappointing to see a divide pop up between Howard and the organization, there’s little reason to think Tampa couldn’t leverage him to acquire a similarly projectable talent.

Image courtesy of Nick King-Lansing State Journal.

Ray Shero Passes Away

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Wild senior advisor and longtime Penguins and Devils general manager Ray Shero has passed away, Minnesota’s public relations department said Wednesday. He was 62 years old.

Shero, a St. Paul native, got his start as a player at St. Lawrence University in upstate New York after attending the New Hampton School in New Hampshire. He played four seasons for the Saints as a center from 1980 to 1985, scoring 58-77–135 in 125 games while serving as captain in his senior season. While drafted by the Kings midway through his collegiate tenure, he never turned pro.

Eight years later, Shero made the NHL in a front-office role. Hired by the Senators as an assistant general manager for the 1993-94 season, their second in franchise history, that move kicked off a lifetime’s worth of executive work at the game’s highest level. The son of Stanley Cup-winning head coach Fred Shero remained in Ottawa until the expansion Predators plucked him to serve in an AGM role in 1998. Working under David Poile in Nashville, the league’s all-time leader in wins overseen by a GM, he got a chance to lead his own staff nearly a decade later when the Penguins named him GM and executive VP of hockey operations ahead of the 2006-07 season.

His task: take a young core in Pittsburgh led by Sidney Crosby, Marc-André Fleury, and Evgeni Malkin to the next level. He accomplished that feat within just two years, swinging a blockbuster deal for star winger Marián Hossa at the 2008 trade deadline to help guide the Pens to the 2008 Stanley Cup Final. While they fell to the Red Wings, they set themselves up for a rematch the year later and emerged victorious. Three years after taking over a team that posted a 22-46-14 record in the season preceding his hiring, Shero was a Stanley Cup champion.

Shero remained in his post through the 2013-14 season, helping the Penguins extend their championship contention window. He was named the league’s General Manager of the Year in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign after helping Pittsburgh capture a regular season conference title and was also an AGM for the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

While the Pens fired Shero following a first-round elimination in the 2014 playoffs, he emerged a year later with the Devils. They brought him in ahead of the 2015-16 season to replace longtime GM Lou Lamoriello. He immediately began one of the most aggressive retools of the 2010s, signing or trading for names like Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, and P.K. Subban while drafting New Jersey’s current core three forwards in Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Jack Hughes. He was replaced by current GM Tom Fitzgerald midway through the 2019-20 campaign.

Shero had served as a senior advisor to Wild GM Bill Guerin, who he picked up from the Islanders at the 2009 deadline to help the Pens to a Cup, since the 2021-22 season. “Whenever we ran into each other at a rink when he was scouting, it was clear he loved what he was doing and I always marveled at his infectious enthusiasm,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “The entire National Hockey League family mourns his passing and sends our deepest condolences to the Shero family and Ray’s many friends throughout the hockey world.”

All of us at PHR extend our condolences to the Shero family and his numerous friends and colleagues throughout the league.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE.

Senators Considering Shutting Down Nick Jensen For Regular Season

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Senators are mulling shutting down defenseman Nick Jensen for their final few regular season games after clinching a playoff berth last night, general manager Steve Staios told Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia on Wednesday.

Jensen, 34, is still dealing with the mid-to-lower-body injury that’s cost him small stretches of games since late January. He last sat out a quartet of contests in mid-March but has made nine consecutive appearances since then.

Ottawa acquired the veteran righty last summer in the trade that sent Jakob Chychrun to the Capitals. He’s fit well into his usual second-pairing role, spending the season almost exclusively with Thomas Chabot. The duo has been paired in 68 of Jensen’s 69 appearances as a Senator and has controlled 49.2% of expected goals at 5-on-5 while outscoring opponents 44-36, per MoneyPuck.

Removing Jensen from his top-four spot would force either Travis Hamonic or Nikolas Matinpalo into extended minutes alongside Chabot for Ottawa’s final four games of the season before he presumably returns for Game 1 of the first round. With Matinpalo gelling well with Tyler Kleven on the Sens’ third pairing, it’ll likely be the former. Hamonic has arguably been Ottawa’s worst skater this season, resulting in him spending the last eight games in the press box. He’s posted just 1-5–6 in 56 showings with a team-worst -17 rating.

Jensen’s averaged over 20 minutes per game with the Sens, just the second time in his nine-year career he’s done so. The Minnesota native was a fifth-round pick by the Red Wings back in 2009 but didn’t debut with Detroit until the 2016-17 campaign after years of serving as a farmhand. He’s been a full-time NHLer ever since as a dependable two-way piece. He’s churned out 3-17–20 with a +19 rating this year, the second-highest points per game pace of his career (0.29).

Central Notes: Seguin, Middleton, Wagner

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Dallas Stars’ head coach Pete DeBoer stated today that alternate captain Tyler Seguin is “close to returning,” per Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas News. However, DeBoer added that Seguin has not yet been cleared for full contact.

Seguin’s season was derailed by a left hip injury that occurred in December and required two surgeries. Prior to the injury, the 33-year-old recorded 9 goals and 20 points and a plus-14 rating in 19 games.

Seguin’s eventual return should support Dallas’ Stanley Cup aspirations, especially with the additions of Mikael Granlund and Mikko Rantanen. Seguin, who remains on long term injured reserve, still has two years remaining on his deal with a $9.85MM cap hit. He has recorded 808 points in 988 career games.

With just five games remaining in the regular season, it will be interesting to see if Seguin can return before the playoffs begin. The Stars currently sit second in the Central Division with 105 points.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • Minnesota Wild defender Jake Middleton didn’t skate at practice today and has been ruled out of tomorrow’s game, per NHL.com reporter Jessi Pierce. Middleton sustained an upper-body injury was hit from behind during last Friday night’s loss to the New York Islanders by forward Bo Horvat and was originally listed as day-to-day. In 66 games on the season, Middleton has recorded eight goals, 20 points, and a plus-12 rating. He has also averaged 21:56 of total ice time per game, recorded 98 hits, and blocked 155 shots. His return will greatly support Minnesota’s hopes to clinch a playoff spot down the stretch. The team currently sits four points ahead of the Flames for the final wild card spot in the west.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have recalled forward Chris Wagner from the AHL, per a team announcement. Wagner, 33, has produced one goal and 51 hits in 24 games for the Avs this season. He has added 19 goals and 31 points in the AHL this season. A veteran of 397-career NHL games, Wagner is in the lineup tonight against the Golden Knights, skating on the fourth line with Jack Drury and Parker Kelly.

Evgeny Kuznetsov’s KHL Contract Terminated

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Ex-NHL staple Evgeny Kuznetsov has mutually terminated his contract with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL today, per a team announcement. The player and team agreed to part ways despite Kuznetsov signing a four-year deal with the club last summer. He put up 12 goals and 37 points in 39 games and led the team in points-per-game.

His return to Russia came after 11 years in the NHL. As a staple for the Washington Capitals, Kuznetsov put up 568 points for the team in 723 games. He added 73 points in 97 playoff games for Washington, including an incredible 32 points on their way to securing the Stanley Cup in 2018. As recent as the 2021-22 season, “Kuzy” put up nearly a point-per-game (78 points in 79 games). It was a rapid decline from that point on, and last season Washington dumped the last year and a half of his $7.8MM cap-hit contract on the Hurricanes at 50% retention in a deadline deal.

Before being traded to Carolina, Kuznetsov spent time in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and was placed on waivers, but no team claimed the full remainder of his contract. After appearing in just 20 games for the Canes, he had his contract terminated and became an unrestricted free agent, setting the stage for his return to his home country.

The news of Kuznetsov’s departure from his most recent contract comes on the same day that ex-teammate Ivan Demidov signed his three-year, entry-level deal with the Montreal Canadiens. Kuznetsov served as a De facto mentor for the young Demidov this season, and it will be interesting to see if he follows his fellow countryman back to North America for the return to the NHL.

At just 32, Kuznetsov may still have more left in the tank, especially after noting to Russian news outlet Sport-Express that he has learned how to better manage his rheumatoid arthritis that impacted his performance last season.

Utah Injury Notes: Marino, O’Brien

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Utah Hockey Club defender John Marino will miss tonight’s game against the Kraken due to an illness, per Brogan Houston of Desert News Sports. Houston adds that there is an illness circulating through the locker room, so it will be interesting to monitor if additional players are impacted to the point of missed time. Just yesterday head coach Andre Tourigny noted Marino would be day-to-day with an upper body injury after taking a puck to the head in Saturday’s contest against the Jets, also per Houston.

In 34 games on the year, Marino has recorded one goal and 14 points. It’s been a tough first season with the franchise for Marino, as he sustained an injury in training camp that eventually resulted in surgery in October. Marino didn’t appear in a game until January.

Utah acquired Marino, 27, from the Devils during the 2024 draft in exchange for a second-round pick. Marino burst onto the scene as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who then signed him to a six-year, $26.4MM contract in 2021. The Penguins then dealt the defender to the New Jersey Devils, where he established himself as an anchor on their back end, and Marino has slowly taken on that responsibility for Utah during the second half of this season. Although he’s missed more than half of the team’s games this season, his current average of 21:10 of ice time per night represents the highest average of his six-year career. While the club is all but assured to miss the playoffs this season, Marino will be a key piece for Utah moving forward.

Tourigny also provided an updated on injured forward Liam O’Brien, noting “there’s a chance” he returns before the end of the season, per Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune. The enforcer sustained a lower-body during a March 13 contest against Seattle, and the team announced his recovery time would be four-plus weeks, putting his return in question.

On the season, O’Brien has two points and 50 penalty minutes in 27 games. After recording a career-high 14 points and league-leading 153 PIMs in 75 games for the Coyotes last season, Utah signed O’Brien to a three-year, $3MM extension in June.

Jets’ Prospect Chaz Lucius Announces Retirement

at CDT | by 3 Comments

In an unfortunate announcement from Newport Sports Management Inc., Winnipeg Jets’ prospect Chaz Lucius is retiring from hockey due to medical concerns.

The announcement shared a statement from Chaz, where he openly shared his recent Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome diagnosis. In the statement, Chaz wrote,

“It is with great disappointment that I am announcing my retirement from playing professional hockey. Recently, I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) which is a hereditary disorder that affects the connective tissue that stabilizes and supports the joints and organs throughout the body. As I struggled with incurring and recovering from various joint injuries over the past several years, I had thought I was just unlucky. With this diagnosis of EDS, I now realize that my body impacted by EDS could not handle the physical nature of playing hockey. Given this condition, my injury history, and the physical nature of hockey, I have been medically advised not to continue to play.“

In response, the Jets put out an immediate press release saying,

“After much discussion and consultation with Chaz, his representatives, and medical professionals, the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club fully supports his difficult decision to retire. Chaz’s condition and struggles with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) put him at risk of injury if he continues to play at the professional level, so we understand his choice. We wish Chaz all the best in his efforts to be an advocate for those dealing with EDS and hope for a bright future in front of him.“

Winnipeg selected Lucius with the 18th overall selection of the 2021 NHL Draft after an impressive few years with the United States National Team Development Program (USNTD). During his draft season, Lucius scored 13 goals and 18 points in 12 games playing for the USHL’s USNTD program and another 13 goals and 20 points in 13 games with the U.S. National U18 team.

He spent one year with the heralded University of Minnesota, scoring nine goals and 19 points in 24 contests with a +5 rating. Unfortunately, the Golden Gophers were eliminated in the Regional Finals of the National Tournament to in-state rival, Minnesota State University.

That was the end of Lucius’s time as a top prospect with Winnipeg. As he alluded to in his statement, Lucius has suffered a string of injuries over the last several years that have limited him to only 54 contests with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose since the 2022-23 season. Still, when healthy, Lucius was an effective secondary scorer, managing seven goals and 27 points.

There should understandably be some grace for Lucius when it comes to his inability to stay healthy during that stretch. Had he remained healthy throughout his professional career, the generic wear-and-tear that comes with professional ice hockey could have led to some long-standing physical issues when it comes to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

Although it’s not the path he likely envisioned for himself, we at PHR send our congratulations to Lucius for being one of the rare few able to play even one game of professional hockey in North America and wish him the best for his next chapter.

Metro Notes: Hamilton, Hurricanes, Penguins

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Heading into the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, the New Jersey Devils will be without their top forward and defenseman. However, it may not be long before the latter returns. Earlier today, Peter Baugh of The Athletic relayed a note from the Devils’ head coach, Sheldon Keefe, indicating Dougie Hamilton could return for Round One.

Originally, Hamilton had been ruled out for the regular season in mid-March, with a projected return date of Round Two of the postseason. A week ago, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that Hamilton was recovering faster than expected, with the likelihood of a Round One return increasing exponentially now that he’s returned to skating.

There’s no question the Devils could use him. Hamilton scored nine goals and 40 points in 63 games for New Jersey this season, with 15 coming on the team’s powerplay. The Devils have slowed down since Hamilton and forward Jack Hughes exited the lineup, while their projected Round One opponent, the Carolina Hurricanes, have managed a 9-4-0 record since the trade deadline, meaning New Jersey will need every advantage available.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Speaking of Carolina, the Hurricanes are expected to welcome forwards Jordan Staal and Andrei Svechnikov back to the lineup for tonight’s contest against the Buffalo Sabres. Staal and Svechnikov had missed a handful of games for Carolina over the past week. Unfortunately, in the report from Chip Alexander of The Raleigh News & Observer, the Hurricanes are expected to be without center Jesperi Kotkaniemi for the next week. Still, Alexander did reiterate a sentiment from head coach Rod Brind’Amour indicating it’s not a serious ailment for Kotkaniemi.
  • Earlier today, Seth Rorabaugh of The Tribune Review contextualized Matthew Nieto’s emergency recall last night. Rorabaugh reports that forward Philip Tomasino has been diagnosed with a concussion, and forward Blake Lizotte is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Unfortunately, the concussion will likely result in the end of Tomasino’s 2024-25 season. Still, he’s had a promising run with the Penguins since being acquired from the Predators earlier in the year, scoring 10 goals and 20 points in 48 contests with the new organization.

Vancouver Canucks Reassign Jonathan Lekkerimaki

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Earlier today, the Vancouver Canucks announced they’ve reassigned forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Now that the Calder Cup playoffs are around the corner, Lekkerimaki may finish the year with Abbotsford.

Lekkerimaki has been rostered with the Canucks since the trade deadline. Before then, he had been a frequent call-up in November and January, scoring two goals and one assist in his first 11 contests. Unfortunately, he hasn’t broken out in any meaningful way with more consistency in the NHL, scoring one goal and two assists in 13 games between March 5th and April 5th.

To say the least, it’s been a difficult transition for a prospect Vancouver was understandably high on entering the 2024-25 campaign. The Canucks drafted Lekkerimaki with the 15th overall selection of the 2022 NHL Draft, and brought him to North America toward the end of last season.

Still, he’s performed up to par at the AHL level. Throughout the year, Lekkerimaki has scored 19 goals and 28 points in 32 games for AHL Abbotsford, which is good for 16th in points-per-game average among AHL rookies.

The transition to the NHL can be intimidating, and it’s clearly impacted Lekkerimaki’s performance this year. Hopefully, for Vancouver’s sake, Lekkerimaki will feel comfortable down the stretch with AHL Abbotsford and regain the confidence he’ll need to succeed at the NHL level.

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top