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Canucks Notes: Tocchet, Pettersson, Chytil, Höglander

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Confirming a report from last week, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes that the Vancouver Canucks are firmly committed to Rick Tocchet for the 2025-26 NHL season and beyond. Friedman asserts that Vancouver will extend Tocchet this off-season or utilize their team option for another year.

Tocchet wants to keep his upcoming extension negotiations private, stating, “I am so focused on making the playoffs that I really don’t want to make it about me right now.” In a similar vein, Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor prodded Tocchet about his situation with the Canucks, and he articulated that his only focus was beating the Seattle Kraken tomorrow night. Unless something drastically changes over the next few weeks, it’s all but a guarantee that Tocchet will be back behind the bench for Vancouver next season. 

Despite winning the Jack Adams Award last season, Tocchet will have a difficult time guiding the Canucks back into the postseason for a second consecutive season. Vancouver is six points removed from the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference and has significant injury concerns mounting.

According to Harman Dayal of The Athletic, Tocchet shared that Elias Pettersson has skated ’once or twice’ since succumbing to an upper-body injury against the New York Rangers on March 22nd, and there’s no guarantee he’ll return for the regular season. Tocchet appeared hopeful regarding Pettersson’s injury status, but they’ll find it increasingly difficult to catch the St. Louis Blues without their top center and third-highest scorer.

Pettersson isn’t the only center the Canucks won’t have either. Batchelor reported earlier that Tocchett believes the “odds are against” Filip Chytil returning this season due to having little consistency in his concussion recovery process. Chytil, who was limited to 10 games last season due to a concussion, hasn’t played for Vancouver since March 15th after receiving a dangerous hit from behind by Chicago Blackhawks’ Jason Dickinson.

Per Tocchet’s suggestion, it’s likely Chytil will finish the 2024-25 campaign with 13 goals and 26 points in 56 games, with six of the points coming as a Canuck. He’s signed through the 2026-27 season with a $4.4375MM cap hit.

Still, it’s not all bad news on the injury front in Vancouver. Circling back to the report from Dayal, Tocchet believes Nils Höglander is the closest of the trio to returning. Höglander has been an effective secondary scorer for the Canucks this season, posting six goals and 21 points in 66 games. Höglander similarly exited Vancouver’s recent game against the Rangers in the second period due to an undisclosed injury.

Oilers Sign Damien Carfagna To Two-Year Contract

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Apr. 1: PuckPedia shared the terms of Carfagna’s two-year entry-level contract with the Oilers earlier today. He’ll earn a salary of $775K at the NHL level and  $85K at the AHL level. Additionally, Carfagna will receive an $87.5K signing bonus for each year of the deal and have access to $12.5K in performance bonuses for an unspecified number of games played. After including his signing bonus, Carfagna’s cap hit rises to $862.5K each year of the contract.

Mar. 31: The Edmonton Oilers have joined in on the race for college free agents. The team announced they’ve signed junior-year defenseman Damien Carfagna from The Ohio State University. Carfagna has agreed to a two-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2025-26 season. There has so far been no indication on if he will join the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors through the end of the season.

Carfagna becomes yet another undrafted college free agent to earn a pro deal. He just wrapped up a fantastic season with the Ohio State Buckeyes, ranking second in scoring on the team’s blue-line with seven goals and 28 points in 38 games. Carfagna transferred to OSU ahead of the 2023-24 season, after spending his freshman year at the University of New Hampshire. He posted a modest 16 points, two penalty minutes, and minus-15 in 35 games with UNH, then fell to just six points in 34 games with Ohio State last year. At a glance, it seemed Carfagna’s search for a bigger role at a bigger school had flunked – as he fell from UNH’s second pair to Ohio State’s third pair. But he regained plenty of ground this season, and had his feet planted on Ohio State’s top pairing by the end of the season.

Carfagna is a stout five-foot-11, 170-pound defenseman who excels at making plays over both blue-lines. He’s strong on the puck and has grown substantially in his ability to play through contact – though he’s still working on his ability to clear out the danger areas of the ice. His ascension to OSU’s top role was built on a stellar ability to move the puck, and his great stylistic compliment to fellow nimble puck-mover Aiden Hansen-Bukata. Carfagna will likely need a hardy runway to translate his smart plays and responsible positioning to the pro flight, but his ability to support the breakout and join the rush should soon stand out.

Mark LaForest Passes Away At Age 62

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In a heartfelt announcement, the Toronto Maple Leafs reported that former goaltender Mark LaForest, known as “Trees,” had passed away at the age of 62. 

The Welland, Ontario native began his major junior career with the OHL’s Niagara Falls Flyers for the 1981-82 season and stayed with the team through their relocation a year later, becoming the North Bay Centennials. Unfortunately, LaForest went undrafted in the NHL after a two-year stint in the OHL. Still, he managed to land a multi-year agreement from the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent.

His first two years in the Red Wings organization were spent in the minor leagues. LaForest appeared in 18 games for Detroit’s AHL affiliate at the time, the Adirondack Red Wings, and their then-IHL affiliate, the Kalamazoo Wings. It wasn’t until the 1985-86 season that LaForest got his start in the NHL with Detroit, posting a 4-21-0 record in 28 games with a 4.96 GAA and .845 SV%. With the arrival of Glen Hanlon the following season, LaForest was limited to five NHL contests for the 1986-87 campaign.

Without a path forward in Detroit, the Red Wings traded LaForest to the Philadelphia Flyers for a second-round pick at the 1987 NHL Draft. He earned the most playing time of his career with the Flyers, managing a 10-16-4 record from 1987 to 1989 with a 3.91 GAA and .873 SV%. Philadelphia traded LaForest across Lake Ontario from his hometown, joining the Maple Leafs for the 1989-90 season.

He began the campaign with Toronto’s AHL affiliate, the Newmarket Saints, contributing a .905 SV% in 10 games. Fortunately, the Maple Leafs recalled LaForest relatively quickly that season for a three-goalie tandem, and he finished the campaign with a 9-14-0 record, 3.89 GAA, and .886 SV%. LaForest spent several years in the New York Rangers’ organization before being selected by the Ottawa Senators in the 1992 NHL Expansion Draft.

Unfortunately, LaForest wouldn’t return to the NHL until the 1993-94 campaign after spending a year with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, the New Haven Senators. He was featured in five games for the Senators that season, with his last start coming on March 15, 1994. The last goal scored against him was from Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Tony Granato.

LaForest spent another few seasons in the IHL and AHL before finally hanging up his skates after the 1996-97 campaign. He remained active in his community and appeared at several Flyers and Maple Leafs alumni events.

PHR sends our condolences to LaForest’s family, friends, and former teammates.

Penguins’ Emil Bemstrom Clears Waivers

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April 1: Bemstrom cleared waivers, Friedman reports. It’s unclear whether the Pens plan to immediately assign him to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or purely open up roster flexibility.

March 31: The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed depth winger Emil Bemstrom on waivers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Bemstrom served a fourth-line role in Pittsburgh’s last three games and didn’t manage any notable stat changes other than one shot on net.

Bemstrom has spent the bulk of his season with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – intercut by routine trips to support Pittsburgh’s bottom six. He’s recorded one assist, no penalties, and an even-plus minus through 13 NHL appearances this year while averaging just over eight minutes in ice time. Bemstrom’s looked far more comfortable in the minors, where he has 21 goals and 46 points in 43 games on the season. Those marks lead the AHL Penguins in goals and points on a per-game basis. They also make Bemstrom one of just 15 remaining AHL skaters scoring above a point-per-game pace in more than 20 games.

Bemstrom has adjusted well to the Penguins minor league ranks after spending the bulk of the last five seasons fighting for a role in the NHL. He made his NHL debut with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2019-20 season and recorded 20 points, split evenly, in 56 games as a rookie. He followed that foundational performance with a brief stint in Finland’s Liiga during the 2020-21 season, where he managed an encouraging 17 points in 16 games. But Bemstrom couldn’t hold onto that scoring when he returned to the NHL, with just five points in 20 games through the end of the year. He worked his way to a career-high 22 points in the 2022-23 campaign – but hasn’t been able to maintain the scoring across a full season. It seems Bemstrom has fallen firmly into the rut of top-end AHL scoring and minimal NHL scoring – and Pittsburgh will now take the step needed to reassign him to the minor leagues.

This news comes quickly after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s leading scorer, top prospect Ville Koivunen, made his NHL debut. Koivunen didn’t manage any scoring in his first shot at Pittsburgh’s lineup, but he could hang onto the mantle of bottom-six minutes as the Penguins approach their final seven games well outside of playoff contention.

It’s important to note that, should Bemstrom be claimed on waivers, he would not be able to return to an NHL roster. Post Trade Deadline roster rules would instead force his new team to assign Bemstrom to their minor leagues.

Bruins Sign Dans Locmelis To Entry-Level Contract

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The Bruins announced they’ve signed forward prospect Dans Locmelis to his entry-level deal. PuckPedia reports the three-year agreement, which starts next season, will pay him a $775K NHL salary, an $85K signing bonus, and an $82.5K minors salary each year for a cap hit of $860K.

Locmelis, 21, turns pro after Boston selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 draft. The 6’1″ center has spent the last two seasons in the area at UMass, where he totaled 15-32–47 in 70 games with a +23 rating. Twenty-five of those assists and 33 of those points came this season, ranking second on the team in the former category.

The Latvia native has had success for his country on the international stage, captaining their 2024 World Juniors team and posting five points in five games. He’s also suited up with the senior national team at the 2023 and 2024 World Championships, combining for 2-1–3 in 14 games and helped the country win its first bronze medal in Worlds history two years ago.

That résumé suggests more upside than what some public scouts have said to expect out of him. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic had Locmelis outside of his top 15 prospects in Boston’s nearly league-worst pool in January, although he did check in at No. 13 in the system in McKeen’s Hockey’s preseason rankings. His offensive breakout at UMass this year was a necessary step toward keeping his development on track toward having NHL upside, something Boston’s decided to reward with a contract and presumably a full-time role with AHL Providence next year. He’ll finish this year with Providence on a tryout.

Locmelis will be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2028. The B’s now have 23 contracts signed for next season.

Blackhawks Sign Taige Harding To Entry-Level Deal

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The Blackhawks announced they’ve agreed to terms with defenseman Taige Harding on a two-year entry-level contract for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons. His contract carries a cap hit of $880K and breaks down as follows, per PuckPedia:

2025-26: $775K NHL salary, $92.5K signing bonus, $57.5K games played bonus, $80K minors salary
2026-27: $800K NHL salary, $92.5K signing bonus, $32.5K games played bonus, $80K minors salary

While Harding won’t be eligible to make his NHL debut until the fall, he’ll get his first taste of professional hockey down the stretch on a tryout with AHL Rockford, the team confirmed. The Scotland native and Canadian national lands a deal after four seasons with Providence College, which also saw 2024 first-round pick Trevor Connelly sign his entry-level contract with the Golden Knights today.

Harding was a third-round pick by Chicago in 2021 from the Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The monster 6’6″, 235-lb lefty jumped to the Friars midway through the following season. While his ability to box out opponents, given his size, is the foremost aspect of his upside, he’s a good outlet passer and has had his point totals reflect that in college. He totaled a respectable 8-32–40 scoring line through 123 games at Providence, boasting a +20 rating. This year, Harding recorded a career-high 46 PIMs and posted 2-12–14 in 37 games with a plus-nine mark.

The 23-year-old isn’t among the top 15 prospects in an exceedingly deep Blackhawks prospect pool, and Scott Wheeler of The Athletic wrote in February that he most likely tops out as AHL depth. Nonetheless, he’s got the tools to peak as a bottom-pairing presence for Chicago someday after a quietly stable run of play in college. He’ll be an RFA in 2027; he also becomes the 31st player under contract for the Hawks next year.

Senators Holding Out Brady Tkachuk With Upper-Body Injury

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The Senators are scratching captain Brady Tkachuk tonight against the Sabres due to an upper-body injury, per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. He’s been dealing with a nagging lower-body issue since the 4 Nations Face-Off that’s threatened his availability but sustained a new injury when he was hit away from the play by Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves late in the second period of Sunday’s game, head coach Travis Green confirmed to Claire Hanna of TSN. Winger Angus Crookshank has been brought back up from AHL Belleville under emergency conditions and will replace Tkachuk in the lineup, the team announced.

Tkachuk did return to the game after the collision with Graves, who was assessed an interference penalty on the play. His ice time remained somewhat conservative, though, skating 15:41 in an overtime loss. While Tkachuk’s averaged north of 18 minutes per game on the season, he’s hit that mark just once in his last 11 games.

There’s no timeline for his return, and there will be understandable anxiety in Ottawa until the team gives their next update on Tkachuk’s status. The team’s leader in goals (29 in 71 GP) is a must-have in the lineup ahead of the Senators’ overwhelming likely return to the postseason before even considering his off-ice importance and intangibles as one of the league’s most antagonizing power forwards. Since he was able to return to the Pittsburgh contest over the weekend, there’s likely hope for a day-to-day timeline compared to anything threatening his playoff availability with just two weeks left on the regular season schedule.

The absence should provide a brief reset for Tkachuk, who’d gone without a point in his last three games but has 8-3–11 in 15 appearances since returning from the 4 Nations break. He only has 55 points (29 G, 26 A) in 71 games overall on the season, though, his worst points-per-game rate since the abbreviated 2021 season. Historically a mediocre finisher, he’s shooting right around his career average of 9.7%. He continues to generate loads of shot attempts, leading the team with 500 with a 96-attempt lead over second-place Thomas Chabot.

Crookshank will slot in for his second appearance of the season and first since Feb. 26. The 25-year-old winger was on hand for the loss to the Pens but was scratched and returned to the B-Sens yesterday before being summoned again today. He has 2-1–3 in 14 career NHL games, all with Ottawa over the last two seasons. The 2018 fifth-rounder also has 22-18–40 in 60 AHL games this season, down from last year’s pace but still leading the team in goals.

Golden Knights Sign Trevor Connelly To Entry-Level Contract

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The Golden Knights announced they’ve signed top prospect Trevor Connelly to a three-year, entry-level contract. While Vegas didn’t announce it as such, PuckPedia confirms his deal doesn’t begin until the 2025-26 season, so he won’t be making his NHL debut down the stretch. The deal carries a cap hit of $975K and will pay him an annual salary of $877.5K if he’s in the NHL, along with a $97.5K signing bonus each season. He’s eligible for up to $750K in Schedule ’A’ performance bonuses in 2027-28, the final year of the contract.

Connelly, 19, was selected with the 19th overall pick in last year’s draft from the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League. During his two years in the league, Connelly was among the best left-wingers in junior hockey, earning All-Rookie honors in 2022-23 and a Second All-Star Team nod in 2023-24. The 6’1″, 165-lb lefty led the USHL with 1.50 points per game last season (31-47–78 in 52 games).

Connelly committed to Providence College in 2023 and jumped to NCAA play after being drafted by Vegas. He dealt with a few injuries during his lone collegiate season, capping his availability for the Friars at 23 games. He was promising but far from dominant when he was in the lineup. He put up a scoring line of 4-9–13 with a -13 rating as Denver eliminated Providence in the regional semifinals of the national tournament last week. He was able to suit up for the United States at the midseason World Junior Championship, scoring 1-3–4 in seven games en route to a gold medal.

He’s still the clear-cut top prospect in a weak Vegas pool, especially after they traded 2020 first-rounder Brendan Brisson to the Rangers in the Reilly Smith deal last month. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked him as the No. 37 prospect in the league in his midseason rankings, fifth-highest among left-wingers.

A playmaker first and foremost, Connelly has top-six potential and will likely factor in on a team’s top power-play unit someday. Whether that’s in Vegas remains to be seen. The franchise has traded all of its first-round picks since its inception in 2017, aside from Connelly. He’ll need to add some muscle before getting an NHL look, but he could get a trial with AHL Henderson to finish the season before reporting to Vegas’ training camp in the fall.

Capitals Re-Sign Spencer Smallman To Two-Year Deal

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The Capitals announced they’re keeping depth winger Spencer Smallman around for the next two seasons on a two-way deal. The contract will pay him an NHL salary of $775K and an AHL salary of $380K each season, signifying a slight raise over his current $350K minors salary.

Smallman, 28, has never played an NHL game, yet this will mark his sixth NHL contract. A fifth-round pick by the Hurricanes back in 2015, he signed his entry-level contract with Carolina two years later. He signed consecutive two-way deals after that to extend his stay in the Carolina organization to five years. However, he became a Group VI unrestricted free agent in 2022 and moved to the Avalanche on a two-year, two-way deal that offseason. After failing to land an NHL call-up again, he signed a two-way contract with Washington last summer.

Despite his name, the Prince Edward Island native is of good size, 6’1″ and 200 lbs. He can play both center and right-wing, and while his point totals have never really taken off in the minors, he has solidified himself as a solid top-nine presence after a few years of ECHL assignments to begin his career. His production has taken off somewhat in 2024-25, recording a career-high 9-24–33 scoring line in 55 games with AHL Hershey. He’d put up three straight 10-goal seasons entering this year but has yet to cross the 30-point mark in his professional career.

Smallman won a Calder Cup with the Chicago Wolves in 2022 and has 47-81–128 in 299 career AHL games. The chances of him making his NHL debut seem slimmer than ever – he’ll be 30 by the end of this deal – but he’s shown enough in the Capitals’ farm system this season for them to view him as a valuable depth piece to complement their younger prospects.

Red Wings’ Trey Augustine Remaining With Michigan State For 2025-26

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The Red Wings will need to wait to see goaltending prospect Trey Augustine suit up for them in the professional ranks. The 2023 second-round pick informed the team he intends to return to Michigan State for his junior season of college play, per Mike McMahon of College Hockey News.

Augustine, 20, would be many teams’ top goalie in their system. He’s not in Detroit, which also has 2021 first-rounder Sebastian Cossa on the way. The latter is the No. 5 prospect in the Wings’ pool, while Augustine ranks sixth, per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. The Wings aren’t at risk of losing his signing rights until August 2027, so today’s news should be viewed more as Augustine’s desired development path rather than kicking the can down the road to free agency.

The 6’1″, 194-lb netminder has become a household name in the junior hockey world. He’s backstopped the United States in the last three World Junior Championships, winning a bronze and a pair of golds along the way. In their 2024 win, he led the tournament in GAA (1.75) and SV% (.936).

Mixed with a sparkling collegiate resume, it’s easy to see why optimism abounds about Augustine’s chances of being an NHL starter in a few years. As a freshman with the Spartans in 2023-24, he logged a 2.96 GAA, .915 SV%, three shutouts, and a 23-9-2 record in 35 games en route to winning both the Big Ten regular-season title and tournament championship while being named MVP of the latter. He also took home conference All-Rookie and Second All-Star Team honors.

Here in 2024-25, Augustine’s put up a repeat performance with even better stats. He led Michigan State back to a tournament championship and tied for the regular-season crown, putting up an improved 2.08 GAA and .924 SV% along the way. He made 30 appearances with a 19-7-4 record, although his Spartans were upset by Cornell in the regional semifinals of the national tournament.

Augustine remaining in school isn’t a huge concern for the Red Wings’ plans between the pipes in 2025-26. They have Petr Mrázek and Cam Talbot signed through next season to form their NHL tandem, with Cossa waiting in the wings as a high-end No. 3 option in case one of the veterans falters. 23-year-old Carter Gylander is their fourth goalie already signed for 2025-26. He’s having a good rookie season in the ECHL with Toledo and could be in line to serve as Cossa’s full-time backup in AHL Grand Rapids next season. They’ll likely be on the hunt for a cheap veteran name on the free agent market to stash in the minors, but there isn’t a gaping hole in the depth chart that Augustine would fill if he signed now.

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