Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Oilers Notes: Berezkin, Gregor, Nicholl

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Winger Maxim Berezkin is one of the more intriguing players in Edmonton’s prospect pool.  The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2020, going 138th overall but has become somewhat of a later bloomer after becoming a full-time KHL player three years ago.  He’s coming off his best season at that level, one that saw him produce 15 goals and 27 assists in 66 regular season games while adding 14 points in 21 playoff contests with KHL Lokomotiv Yaroslavl as they won the Gagarin Cup.

Berezkin signed a new one-year to remain in the KHL back in May but that shouldn’t be viewed as a sign that he doesn’t want to come to North America.  In an interview with Daria Tuboltseva for Vseprosport, he indicated that he still intends to sign with Edmonton but that he felt it would be best for his development to spend this season back home over potentially spending this year in the minors with AHL Bakersfield.  Now, whenever he ultimately signs, Berezkin will be capped at a one-year entry-level deal.

More from Edmonton:

  • There has been some speculation that the Oilers will be looking at some tryouts heading into training camp. One player who hasn’t had discussions with Edmonton on that front yet is winger Noah Gregor, according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.  An Alberta native, Gregor has had to go the PTO route to secure a full contract before and after putting up just four goals and three assists in 52 games last season between Ottawa and San Jose, there’s a good chance he’ll have to settle for a tryout in the coming weeks.
  • Prospect Will Nicholl won’t be starting his 2025-26 for quite a while. His junior team, the London Knights of the OHL, announced (Twitter link) that the forward underwent successful upper-body surgery earlier this summer and will miss four to six months.  The 19-year-old was a seventh-round pick back in 2024 and had a solid showing last season, picking up 21 goals and 36 assists in 66 games.  Edmonton must sign Nicholl by June 1st or relinquish his rights so it’s fair to say the few months he does play this season will be crucial.

Summer Synopsis: Utah Mammoth

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Now more than a month into the new league year, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective. Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled. Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason.  Next up is a look at Utah.

Utah’s first season in their new city didn’t see them make the playoffs but they took a big step forward in the standings, getting within seven points of a playoff spot while several of their young players made steps in their development.  Accordingly, GM Bill Armstrong continued to add to his group this summer with an eye on getting the Mammoth to the playoffs in 2025-26 and snapping their five-year drought.

Draft

1-4: F Caleb Desnoyers, Moncton (QMJHL)
2-46: D Max Psenicka, Portland (WHL)
3-78: F Stepan Hoch, Ceske Budejovice (Czechia Extraliga)
4-110: F Yegor Borikov, Dynamo (Russia)
5-142: G Ivan Tkach-Tkachenko, Ufa (Russia)
6-174: D Ludvig Johnson, Zug (Swiss National League)
6-182: D Reko Alanko, Jokerit (Finland)

Desnoyers worked his way up the draft rankings during the season as potential impact centers are hard to come by.  He was one of the top all-around players in this draft class and that defensive awareness looked like it might give him a chance of sticking with the big club at the start of the season.  However, recent wrist surgery that will keep him out for three months will put an end to that.  Desnoyers hasn’t signed his entry-level deal yet which keeps him NCAA-eligible but he’s expected to return to QMJHL Moncton and play a big role once again for the Wildcats.

Psenicka continues Utah’s recent trend of trying to add some size to their system, particularly on the back end.  He split last season between his native Czechia and WHL Portland, not bringing much to the table offensively.  Instead, he profiles as a true stay-at-home physical blueliner, the type of player who might not play big minutes in the NHL but could fill an important checking role on a third pairing for a long time.  Hoch was another big selection from Czechia, bringing Utah some size on the wing this time.  He hovered around the point per game mark in their junior league last season while also getting into 23 games at the Extraliga level.  He’s more of a longer-term project and with another year plus an option left on his contract overseas, he’ll have some time to develop before Utah needs to reassess in a couple of years.

Trade Acquisitions

F JJ Peterka (from Buffalo)

Peterka finished second in scoring for the Sabres last season, but a perceived lack of willingness to remain in Buffalo fueled plenty of trade speculation, which came to a head a little before the draft when the trade was made.  His 68 points also would have been second in Utah scoring and at 23, there’s reason to hope that he still has another gear to get to offensively.  After going and making a big splash to shore up the back end at the draft last offseason when they acquired Mikhail Sergachev, Armstrong basically did the same thing up front.  The Mammoth now have Peterka in his prime years and he should be a strong boost offensively to a team that finished 20th in goals scored last season.

UFA Signings

F Michael Carcone (one year, $775K)^
F Cameron Hebig (two years, $1.55MM)*^
D Scott Perunovich (one year, $775K)*
D Nate Schmidt (three years, $10.5MM)
F Brandon Tanev (three years, $7.5MM)
G Vitek Vanecek (one year, $1.5MM)
F Kailer Yamamoto (one year, $775K)*^

* denotes two-way contract
^ denotes re-signing

Beyond Peterka, most of Utah’s offseason activity revolved around improving their depth.  Tanev has had a solid run in recent years of being a physical bottom-six winger who can kill penalties and chip in a bit offensively and his addition should give the Mammoth some grit in their forward group which is something they could benefit from.  Carcone wasn’t planning to return to Utah next season, even going as far as saying so after the year.  However, no other offers to his liking materialized on the open market, resulting in the two sides reuniting.  He’s likely to hold the same depth role he had last season although he’s only a year removed from that improbable 21-goal campaign.

On the back end, Schmidt comes over from Florida after his one-year pact with them following his buyout from Winnipeg went about as well as possible.  He showed that he can still be a quality contributor on the third pairing and he should be in a spot to play a similar role in Utah.  Perunovich was once a touted prospect with offensive upside but has struggled to stay healthy and hasn’t been as productive as expected when he has played.  After splitting last season between the Blues and Islanders, he’ll be hoping to land a spot at the back of the roster but starting the season in the minors with the Roadrunners is a real possibility.

Vanecek is coming off a year that didn’t go so well for him.  He struggled in limited action with the Sharks before Florida brought him in at the trade deadline after moving Spencer Knight to Chicago as part of the Seth Jones trade.  Vanecek was only a little better with the Panthers but he was able to secure this contract as some insurance with, at the time, some uncertainty about Connor Ingram who was in the Player Assistance Program before being cleared earlier this week.  He’ll battle Ingram for the backup spot behind Karel Vejmelka.

RFA Re-Signings

F Jack McBain (five years, $21.25MM)
D Montana Onyebuchi (two years, $1.55MM)*
F JJ Peterka (five years, $38.5MM)

Peterka was signed as soon as he was acquired but interestingly enough, he signed a deal that bought Utah just one more season of club control than what they would have had if they went year-to-year with him.  Evidently, the price tag for tacking on more UFA years was higher than what Armstrong wanted to pay.  It does, however, set Peterka up to reach unrestricted free agency at 28 where he’ll be in good shape for a max-term deal at that time if he wants one.

McBain has been rather consistent in production over his first three full NHL seasons, ranging from a low of 26 points to a high of 27, that coming last season.  One of the most physical players in the league, he also made some strides at the faceoff dot last season and could be their checking center for the foreseeable future.  This price tag is a little high now given his production but as the salary cap continues to go up quickly, it should hold up fine.

Departures

F Travis Barron (unsigned)
F Nick Bjugstad (signed with Blues)
D Robert Bortuzzo (unsigned)
F Josh Doan (trade with Sabres)
D Michael Kesselring (trade with Sabres)
F Justin Kipkie (unsigned)
F Matias Maccelli (trade with Maple Leafs)
F Egor Sokolov (signed with CSKA Moscow, KHL)

Kesselring was the headliner in the package going to Buffalo for Peterka.  The 25-year-old took a step forward in his development last season while chipping in with 29 points.  Knowing that right-shot defensemen are always in high demand, Utah was able to sell high on him and could do so knowing that Sean Durzi and John Marino are still around.  Doan was the other part of that trade and has shown some upside over his first two professional seasons but hasn’t been able to establish himself as a full-time NHL player just yet.  With the strength of their prospect pool, he was someone who was relatively safe to move, especially getting a player like Peterka in return.

With Peterka coming in, Maccelli’s lineup spot was even more tenuous than it was last year when he slid down the depth chart and even spent a bit of time as a healthy scratch.  Considering that he had seasons of 57 and 49 points the previous two campaigns, they certainly sold low on him, only managing a third-round pick that could elevate to a second rounder depending on his production.  Bjugstad had a great first full year with then-Arizona in 2023-24, coming close to his personal best in points.  However, injuries and ineffectiveness limited him to just 19 points in 66 games a year ago and with the club having surplus center depth already, they didn’t need to go outside the organization to replace him either.  Bortuzzo, meanwhile, was limited to just 17 games last season largely due to injury and his ice time was minimal when he was in the lineup.  At 36, he might have to settle for a PTO heading into training camps next month.

Salary Cap Outlook

Utah was able to quietly offload Shea Weber’s contract at the trade deadline and in doing so, that allowed them to stay below the cap even with the additions of Peterka, Schmidt, and Tanev.  As things stand, they’re set to enter the season with a little under $6.7MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.  That gives them more than enough flexibility to add another piece now should one become available or bank enough in-season flexibility to be able to make a big splash or two at the trade deadline if they find themselves in the playoff hunt.

Key Questions

Will Cooley Sign Now? Young center Logan Cooley is entering the final season of his three-year, entry-level contract which makes him eligible to sign an extension.  We’ve seen several young players quickly sign long-term deals but he hasn’t done so just yet.  Cooley is coming off a strong sophomore season that saw him record 25 goals and 40 assists, finishing second to Clayton Keller in team scoring.  We’ve seen the market for post-entry-level top young centers hover around the $8MM mark in recent seasons which would seemingly serve as a realistic starting point in negotiations.  However, another jump offensively for Cooley could elevate him to an even higher asking price, especially in the context of the $8.5MM cap increase next summer.  Accordingly, some have wondered if he might be better off waiting but given Armstrong’s penchant for trying to sign players quickly, expect them to take a real run at getting something done in the coming weeks if they haven’t already done so.

Can Crouse Rebound? Winger Lawson Crouse signed a deal very similar to McBain’s three years ago with the expectation being that he had gotten to another level offensively.  That held true for the first two seasons of the contract but things fell off a cliff last year.  After putting up 23 goals in 2023-24, Crouse had just 19 points last season despite playing in 81 games.  At his best, he’s a legitimate top-six power forward but that was rarely the case last season.  He’s not in a position of being at risk of slipping out of the lineup altogether like Maccelli briefly was last season but if he can’t get back to form in the first half of the season, expect his name to come up in trade speculation leading into the trade deadline.

Will The Young Russians Make An Impact? In recent years, there haven’t been as many Russian players going early in the draft.  However, in 2023, the Coyotes (before their move to Utah) bucked the trend, selecting defenseman Dmitri Simashev and winger Daniil But with lottery selections, going sixth and twelfth, respectively.  Both players spent the last two seasons as teammates with KHL Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and have now signed their entry-level contracts to start their time in North America.  Both prospects are raw but could plausibly play themselves into NHL action at some point this season, particularly Simashev.  Getting quality NHL contributions at some point from them would certainly give them a boost and show that more pieces of their long-term plan are in place.

PHR’s Gabriel Foley also contributed to this post.

Photos courtesy of Nick Turchiaro and Rob Gray-Imagn Images.

Brad Hunt Receiving SHL Interest

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

For close to 15 years, veteran defenseman Brad Hunt has provided an offensive boost wherever he has played.  At times, he has been a high-producing offensive blueliner in the minors while at other times, he was a power play specialist (or even briefly a winger) in the NHL.  But it appears that he might be heading for a change of scenery as Mattias Persson of Sweden’s HockeyNews reports (subscription link) that Hunt is receiving interest from some SHL teams this summer.

The timing is a little curious given that a lot of teams in Sweden have already filled their import quotas but some are still trying to round out their roster with the season getting started in mid-September.

Hunt spent last season with AHL Hershey where he was limited to just 41 games where he had 19 points.  In 2023-24, the 36-year-old was one of the top-scoring blueliners in that league, tallying 16 goals and 33 assists in 70 games with Colorado.  He can certainly still be a productive player in the minors but as a veteran player and a limit on roster spots for veterans in the AHL, that likely isn’t helping his cause in a search for a contract in North America.

Hunt has played in 288 career NHL games over parts of ten seasons, tallying 26 goals and 60 assists along the way.  His last taste of action at the top level came back in 2022-23 with the Avalanche when he got into 47 games with them.  But in the minors, Hunt has been a key scoring threat, notching 84 goals and 214 assists in 422 contests spanning nine seasons.

While it’s possible that Hunt could try to catch on via a PTO deal for training camp and then try to land a full contract from there, it appears that he has at least one other viable option on the table with some interest in Sweden.  With their season fast approaching, he’ll need to decide if that’s the route he wants to take sooner than later.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Chicago Blackhawks

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia.  We’re currently covering the Central Division, first up are the Blackhawks.

Chicago Blackhawks

Current Cap Hit: $76,837,976 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Nolan Allan (one year, $825K)
F Connor Bedard (one year, $950K)
D Kevin Korchinski (one year, $918.3K)
D Artyom Levshunov (two years, $975K)
F Frank Nazar (one year, $950K)
D Sam Rinzel (two years, $941.7K)

Potential Bonuses
Bedard: $3.5MM
Korchinski: $1MM
Levshunov: $3.25MM
Nazar: $900K
Rinzel: $500K
Total: $9.15MM

Bedard’s second contract has long been a discussion point.  Frankly, it was already being speculated about before he even signed his first deal.  But while he has led Chicago in scoring in each of his first two NHL seasons, he hasn’t been as dominant as some thought he might be.  Still, he’s tracking to be worth $10MM or more on a long-term deal, an amount that could go up if he gets closer to the point-per-game mark this season.  However, knowing there are big jumps coming to the cap for at least the next two years, this might be a case where a bridge deal makes sense, setting him up to cash in a couple of years from now when he’s ideally more established as an elite player.  A bridge agreement would still likely run past the $7MM mark.  He should hit his $1MM in ‘A’ bonuses while the ‘B’ ones are unlikely.

Nazar earned himself a quick recall and never looked back as he got better as the second half of the season went on.  He just signed a new deal which we’ll get to later on but for here, some of his four ‘A’ bonuses should be achievable.

Levshunov played enough to officially burn the first year of his deal but not accrue a season toward UFA eligibility, meaning the Blackhawks still have seven seasons of club control.  Assuming they push him to play the full NHL season this time around, he should have a chance at a couple of his ‘A’ bonuses and could have him in a position to bypass a bridge deal and sign a long-term contract.  It’s a bit early to predict that one but we’ve seen post-ELC contracts for key blueliners push past $8MM in recent years.  Rinzel got his feet wet at the NHL level late last season and was quite impressive, putting him in line to have a full-time spot barring a rough training camp.  Like Levshunov, it’s too early to predict a deal (he’s only nine games into his pro career) but if he progresses as expected, his second contract could be pricey while his ‘A’ bonuses will be reachable.

Korchinski was a regular with Chicago in his first professional season but spent the bulk of last season with AHL Rockford.  He could go back to the IceHogs but if he stays with the Blackhawks, it’s likely to be in a third-pairing role.  If that happens, a short-term second contract would make sense for both sides, one that should check in below $2MM.  He has four A’ bonuses in his deal but it seems unlikely he’ll reach any unless he plays a bigger role than expected and is quite productive.  Allan split time between the NHL and AHL last season as well although he played twice as many NHL games as AHL ones.  He had limited minutes when he was in the lineup and projects to have a similar role this season.  That has him in line for a bridge contract in the $1.5MM range.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

G Laurent Brossoit ($3.3MM, UFA)
F Jason Dickinson ($4.25MM, UFA)
F Nick Foligno ($4.5MM, UFA)
G Spencer Knight ($4.5MM, RFA)
F Sam Lafferty ($2MM, UFA)
F Ilya Mikheyev ($4.038MM, UFA)*
D Connor Murphy ($4.4MM, UFA)
F Lukas Reichel ($1.2MM, RFA)
D Shea Weber ($7.857MM, UFA)

*-Vancouver is retaining an additional $712.5K on Mikheyev’s deal.

When Chicago re-signed Foligno to a short-term contract, they knew they were likely to be paying a bit of a premium for him.  But he wound up playing a fair-sized role while being reasonably productive.  He seems like a candidate to be moved by the trade deadline and if he wants to take one last chance at a Stanley Cup when he’s nearing the age of 39, it will need to be a much cheaper deal although some of that can be recovered with some reasonably achievable bonuses.  Dickinson was kept at a similar premium and after a couple of decent seasons, last year was a step in the wrong direction as he dealt with injuries while his output was closer to the other years in his career.  If he remains that type of player next season, his next deal might be closer to half of this amount.

It wasn’t always pretty for Mikheyev last season but he did put up a 20-goal performance and took a regular turn on the penalty kill, a reasonable showing for someone acquired as a cap dump.  It would be surprising to see him beat his current price tag next year but a multi-year agreement in the $3.5MM range wouldn’t be shocking.  Lafferty had a particularly rough season with Buffalo last year and a repeat of that performance could have him in PTO territory next summer.  Assuming he goes back to the level of previous seasons, a small dip in pay would be more realistic.  Reichel seems to be tracking in the wrong direction as his ice time dropped to under 12 minutes a night last season with middling offensive numbers.  With him not being UFA-eligible until 2029, another two-year bridge deal might be coming his way, one that would likely check in below $2MM per season if this season is similar to last.

Weber is with his fourth different organization since it was determined that his playing days were over back in 2021.  He’s LTIR-eligible but with how far Chicago is below the cap, they shouldn’t need to put him on there.  He’ll quietly come off the books next year and that will be that.

Knight was the centerpiece of the Seth Jones trade back around the trade deadline.  For a player who was touted as a future starter at the time he was drafted, he has less than 100 NHL appearances over parts of six seasons.  Still, he showed last season that he could still be on that trajectory.  He isn’t UFA-eligible until 2028 so another short-term deal is possible, one that should check in a little above his current price tag.  Meanwhile, a long-term agreement likely pushes past $6MM per season.  Brossoit didn’t play at all last season due to a knee injury.  Assuming he’s cleared for this year, he might have to start in the minors which wouldn’t bode well for his future earnings.  But if he’s able to stay healthy in the minors, he could still surpass the $1MM mark on a one-year deal next summer.  If he’s up in the NHL and fares well, something a little less than this might be doable.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Andre Burakovsky ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Louis Crevier ($900K, RFA)
F Landon Slaggert ($900K, RFA)
G Arvid Soderblom ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Teuvo Teravainen ($5.4MM, UFA)

Burakovsky was acquired from Seattle in a cap-clearing move this summer.  He isn’t the 61-point forward he was a few years ago with Colorado but they’ll be counting on him to be a floor-raiser in the middle six.  That’s a fair bit of money for someone in that role but they’re clearly comfortable paying it.  Teravainen was brought in to be a floor-raiser himself last summer and was one of the team’s top point-getters.  They have to be pleased with how the first year went and if Teravainen can stay around the same point total, he could probably land another three-year pact in this price range.  Slaggert has been up and down since turning pro but the one-way nature suggests he might be eyed as a regular in Chicago this season, albeit in a limited role.  If he can stick as even a fourth liner, arbitration eligibility could give him a shot at doubling this in 2027.

Crevier has shown some promise in his limited time on the third pairing over the past two seasons and his size (six-foot-eight) is something that few blueliners possess.  He may ultimately be someone with limited overall upside but if he can carve out a niche as a physical penalty killer and hold his own on the third pairing, he can carve out a reasonable career for himself.  If he does that over the next couple of years, he could land closer to the $2.5MM mark.

Soderblom bounced back relatively well last season after a 2023-24 campaign that was nothing short of a disaster.  Even though the overall numbers weren’t great (he didn’t have the greatest of teams in front of him, after all), Chicago saw fit to give him a longer look.  He should have the inside track on the backup spot over Brossoit and will need to take another step forward if he wants a shot at beating this contract two years from now.

Read more

NHL To Organize 2028 World Cup Without IIHF Involvement

at CDT | by 13 Comments

The NHL appears set to move forward with their plan on organizing a World Cup of Hockey. They’re ready to reach out to international clubs directly, rather than work with the IIHF, per TSN’s Darren Dreger. This news doubles down comments that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made in February.

The tournament will be an eight-country event and take place during the 2027-28 season – the year of the next summer Olympics – shares David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Pagnotta adds that preliminary matches will be split between one North American, and one European, city – while semi-final and final rounds will be hosted in North America.

This news answers the question of what the NHL will do in the Olympics’ off-years. The World Cup will feature a wider cast than the 4-Nations Face-Off that took place this February, though the exact list of countries isn’t quite clear. In addition to the four countries that suited up this winter, both Czechia and Slovakia seem like locked-in options. The NHL could also bring in any one of Germany, Switzlerand, Austria, and Latvia – who have each reached varying levels of international success over the last few years.

But Russia will stand as the big uncertainty. Both Russia and Belarus have been barred from participation in IIHF events since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The IIHF upheld that decision for the 2025-26 season and 2026 Winter Olympics. The NHL deciding to go around IIHF involvement does open the door to Russia – one of the world’s top hockey countries – getting back into the swing of best-on-best competition. That would likely give aging stars like Andrei Vasilevskiy, Igor Shesterkin, Nikita Kucherov, and Artemi Panarin a chance to show their might in their prime years. Commissioner Gary Bettman declined comment when asked, back in March, about if the NHL would entertain playing against Russia in the near future.

The World Cup tournament itself will serve as an exciting shove into the future for the world’s top hockey talents. High-potential young players like Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini, Lane Hutson, and Juraj Slafkovsky will be just entering their prime years in 2028, and certainly looking for a chance to prove their country’s might at the top stage. The event will be a great run-up to the 2032 Winter Olympics, where all four players seem ready to play big roles.

The NHL will intercut the World Cup with All-Star games. Bettman has shared that he knows the All-Star matchup will need to live up to high expectations, after the popularity garnered by the 4-Nations Face-Off earlier this year. In an interview with NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, Bettman said that everything will be on the table for the next All-Star event. That will set a high bar for the mid-season breaks next season, though many fans will be looking ahead to an even bigger best-on-best tournament only three seasons away.

Mitch Marner Didn’t Think Of Leaving Maple Leafs Until Summer

at CDT | by 11 Comments

Winger Mitch Marner was wrapped up in drama and rumors for the bulk of his final years with the Toronto Maple Leafs. A move at the end of the controversial six-year, $65.41MM contract he signed in 2019 seemed all but certain as the summer approached – but despite that, teammate William Nylander emphasized that Marner was focused on the Leafs until the very end. Nylander told NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger:

I actually asked him during the season and he said he was concentrating on Toronto. I didn’t want to press him on that and let him be because it was obviously on his mind, but his play was focused on helping us. Then I asked him after the season and he wasn’t sure.

Aside from wanting to avoid thinking of looming contract negotiations, it’s no surprise to hear Marner remained invested in Toronto. He was born in Markham and grew up playing for the Vaughan Kings and Don Mills Flyers AAA organizations. Marner moved right down the road for juniors hockey, joining the OHL’s London Knights for two superstar seasons, before being drafted by his hometown club with the fourth-overall pick in 2015. He stayed in London for one additional season, before diving into a career that would lead him through 657 games and 741 points in a Maple Leafs jersey.

Despite the fairytale matchup, Marner’s years in Toronto seemed to be clouded by stress. He was ridiculed for a lack of effort, poor results or attitude, and clashes with coaches or teammates. That includes one incident from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when Marner and Nylander exchanged heated words on the bench. Fans analyzed the event as signs of mounting tensions, but Nylander told Zeisberger that it was nothing to read into. He said that things happen in the heat of big games, and that it’s still tough to see Marner leave the club after nine years.

Nylander emphasized that Toronto will miss Marner both on and off of the ice. He leaves a monumental hole on the top line, after scoring a career-high 102 points in 81 games last season. That peak came after Marner rivaled the century mark for three straight seasons, even coming as close as 99 points in 80 games of the 2022-23 season. His breakthrough should provide the perfect ramp to another dazzling season among the Vegas Golden Knights’ star-studded lineup. After years of playing alongside Auston Matthews, Marner will now suit up next to Jack Eichel and Mark Stone, and should almost certainly provide the boost to help the former reach the 100-point mark as well.

Meanwhile, Nylander didn’t commit to filling Marner’s role on the top line next season. He said that he’ll be open to playing all throughout the lineup, and is only focused on dominating next season. Nylander also posted a career year last season, reaching a career-high 45 goals to round out 84 points, after he posted 40 goals and 98 points in 2023-24. It was Nylander’s third-straight year of playing in all 82 games. He’ll undeniably be the top bet to fill Marner’s impact, though Toronto may need to dig deep to fill the spot Nylander will vacate to step up in the lineup.

Matthew Tkachuk Underwent Surgery, Aiming For January Return

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk’s health entering the season has been a topic of conversation after he returned early from an adductor injury sustained at the 4 Nations Face-Off to suit up in Florida’s run to a second straight Stanley Cup. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period now relays that Tkachuk indeed opted for surgery to repair it, undergoing the procedure “a few weeks ago,” and could miss as much as the first four months of the campaign.

It’s still not clear what caused the right-winger’s injury during the 4 Nations tournament, but he missed the balance of the regular season and wasn’t cleared to return until Game 2 of the Cats’ first-round win over the Lightning. Opting for non-surgical rehab initially to accelerate his return timeline, he still managed to rattle off a point per game as he marched to his third straight Stanley Cup Final and second straight win, although his 17:24 average time on ice was a noticeable drop from his previous usage.

His projected return timeline makes him LTIR-eligible and offers the Panthers a pathway to cap compliance to begin the season, but it’s not that simple. They’re now $4.5MM over the cap and, on top of shuffling their roster to optimize his LTIR relief, they have to figure out a way to reinstate him on the active roster when he’s ready to return while staying below the $95.5MM upper limit. They likely won’t concern themselves with the first bit too much, as he’s not a season-long absence and their roster is full, but their roadmap to a compliant roster and a healthy Tkachuk is still murky.

Tkachuk, 27, has averaged 99 points per 82 games since arriving in Florida in 2022 via the blockbuster trade with the Flames that sent Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar the other way. He also has 25 goals and 69 points in 67 playoff games for the Panthers over the last three years, ranking fourth and third in franchise history, respectively.

In the interim, the Panthers can expect 2021 first-rounder Mackie Samoskevich to play a pivotal role in their early-season success. The 22-year-old winger filled in for Tkachuk down the stretch last year and finished his rookie campaign with a 15-16–31 scoring line in 72 games. He’ll now get more opportunity out of the gate after essentially being forced to sign a league-minimum contract this summer thanks to Florida’s cap crunch and his 10.2(c) status prohibiting him from signing an offer sheet.

Wild Sign Marco Rossi To Three-Year Deal

at CDT | by 11 Comments

1:36 p.m.: The Wild have made Rossi’s new deal official in a team release.

10:36 a.m.: After months of trade speculation, restricted free agent center Marco Rossi is signing a new deal in the State of Hockey. PuckPedia reports the forward will sign a three-year deal with the Wild worth around $15MM in total, working out to a cap hit around $5MM. The backloaded deal will pay Rossi $4MM in 2025-26 and increase by $1MM increments each season, giving him a $6MM qualifying offer when he can become an RFA again upon expiry in 2028, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic.

It’s a welcome increase for Rossi as he comes off his entry-level contract, but it’s still significantly less than he was hoping for. The 2020 ninth overall pick took major strides in his development last season, posting a career-high 24 goals and 60 points for Minnesota in first-line deployment despite missing star wingman Kirill Kaprizov for more than half the season. As a result, he entered talks this summer looking for a long-term deal in the $7MM range annually.

It was how Rossi ended the season that set the stage for a rather sour offseason. After cooling off down the stretch, posting nine points and a -11 rating in 20 games after the trade deadline, he was demoted to fourth-line deployment in their first-round loss to the Golden Knights. He still managed two goals and 11 shot attempts in the six-game battle, but averaged only 11:08 of ice time per game.

In most cases, that would be seen as only a minor roadblock for a high-potential pick. But Rossi, who was Bill Guerin’s first draft pick as the Wild’s general manager, had been the subject of trade speculation for some time – to the point where Guerin said outright last December that he was highly impressed with Rossi’s forward progress and wasn’t looking to move him. The Wild’s hesitancy to offer a long-term deal remained, though, leaving the two sides at an impasse for most of the offseason and forcing Guerin to explore trade packages, none of which were appealing enough to get a deal done despite wide-ranging interest.

The contract itself is likely bang-on for his market value. AFP Analytics projected a long-term pact for Rossi to come in at seven years at $7.4MM per season and a short-term one to be two years at $4.5MM annually. With an extra year thrown in on top of that shorter projection, it makes sense that the AAV comes up a notch as well.

After trade interest quieted in July, the Canucks and Kraken had reportedly resurfaced in talks in recent days, with Rossi’s contract situation still unresolved. Whether that was a significant impetus for Rossi’s camp to agree to a bridge remains to be seen – either to solidify his future in Minnesota or to make himself a more palatable trade asset with cost certainty.

Rossi’s long-term projection as a legitimate top-six center remains optimistic. After losing a good chunk of his development due to a serious bout with COVID, he’s steadily upped his offensive production each year since turning pro. He’s improved on draws as well, going from a 44.7% win rate in his rookie season to 46.8% last year. He was significantly more involved in the forecheck in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24, nearly doubling the amount of hits he laid, and he has had strong relative possession impacts in each of his two full NHL seasons.

The Wild now end up with a full roster and north of $4.4MM in cap space to open the season, per PuckPedia. The club projects to have much more financial flexibility to make in-season adds than they have in the last couple of years as a result. He’ll enter camp as the odds-on favorite to start next season alongside Kaprizov again despite how his minutes were cut in last year’s playoffs, firming up a familiar center corps of himself, Joel Eriksson Ek, Ryan Hartman, and Nico Sturm.

Image courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images.

Panthers Sign Luke Kunin

at CDT | by 11 Comments

The Panthers have signed versatile forward Luke Kunin to a one-year deal, the team announced. It’s a one-way, league minimum contract, according to PuckPedia.

This will be the fifth NHL stop for Kunin, who began his career as the 15th overall pick in the 2016 draft by the Wild. He turned pro the next year after two collegiate seasons at Wisconsin and got his first taste of NHL action after making Minnesota’s opening night roster in 2017-18. Over his first three years in the NHL with the Wild, he developed rather quickly and recorded a 23-29–52 scoring line in 131 games – including an optimistic 31-point showing in 63 games in 2019-20.

Minnesota traded Kunin to Nashville in the 2020 offseason in exchange for Nick Bonino. The move brought both an ice time reduction and injury troubles. He recorded a career-high 0.50 points per game in his first year with the Preds, scoring 10 goals and 19 points in the COVID-shortened 2021 season, but was limited to 38 games with a lower-body injury. His production pace dropped to 22 points over a full 82-game schedule the following year before he was traded during the offseason again, this time to San Jose for John Leonard.

Kunin returned to a regular top-nine role with increased penalty-killing responsibility for the rebuilding Sharks, but ACL surgery ended his first season in the Bay Area after recording 13 points in 31 games.

Since returning for 2023-24, Kunin has taken on more of a pure checking role with significantly decreased offensive success. He posted identical 11-7–18 scoring lines in each of the last two seasons, along with an eye-popping cumulative -58 rating, although playing mostly on the league’s worst team during that time will obviously exaggerate poor defensive impacts. San Jose understandably wasn’t keen on re-signing him this summer and instead flipped him to the Blue Jackets at the trade deadline for a fourth-round pick. He went pointless with a -5 rating in 12 games for Columbus before reaching the open market for the first time this year.

As such, a spot in Florida’s opening night lineup is far from guaranteed. He was receiving NHL interest, but he enters the Panthers organization after a tough stretch and now must compete with names like Jonah Gadjovich, A.J. Greer, and Tomas Nosek – each of whom has proven effective fourth-line pieces on a Stanley Cup champion – for ice time.

The Panthers already have a projected cap exceedance of $3.725MM, but with star winger Matthew Tkachuk likely headed for adductor surgery soon, he’ll be LTIR-eligible and allow the Cats to be compliant to begin the season.

Projecting Evgeni Malkin’s Future

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Penguins legend Evgeni Malkin is entering the final season of a four-year contract, and it could be his final season as a Penguin. Not only that, the 38-year-old could be closing in on the end of his NHL career, which will no doubt see him enter the Hockey Hall of Fame in due time.

Malkin is no longer the superstar center he once was and has seen his game decline since inking his extension in the summer of 2022. That being said, he is still a capable top-six contributor for the time being and produced 50 points in 68 games last season (16 goals and 34 assists).

Malkin’s underlying numbers have also dipped in recent seasons, but he is still a positive contributor on the possession front with a 50.1 CF%. If Malkin can produce results that are similar to the last couple of seasons, he could still be an NHLer beyond this season, but it might not be with the Penguins.

Malkin has previously stated that he only wants to play for the Penguins (as per Josh Yohe of The Athletic), and if that remains true, Pittsburgh would likely need to offer him an extension to keep him in the NHL. Recent reports suggest that the Penguins don’t plan to provide Malkin an extension beyond this year.

While that seems possible if Malkin’s performance continues to decline, it might not be the case if he has a strong offensive season. Josh Yohe has mentioned multiple times that he sees the summer of 2026 as the period when Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas will become more proactive in rebuilding the team, and securing a top-six forward at a reasonable cost would be a significant step toward those efforts – if Malkin is still a top-six forward at that time.

Malkin could opt to go year to year and will likely need to consider his age, but if he’s still around, he would make an excellent mentor for some of the Penguins’ prospects expected to make the jump to the NHL in the coming seasons.

Malkin’s body might struggle with the demands of an 82-game season, but if the Penguins acquire more depth through trades and free agency, they could better protect Geno and improve his chances to produce with less physical stress. Malkin could move to the wing, as he did last season, playing alongside Sidney Crosby.

He might also drop lower in the lineup, potentially taking on a third-line centre role or playing on the wing of the third line with Thomas Novak. There would be plenty of options available, but they depend on Malkin’s ability to keep producing; otherwise, it would just be a nostalgia trip, and that’s something Dubas and Penguins management want to avoid.

The flip side of that coin is that Malkin is struggling, and his play continues to decline. He has never been the most responsible defensively, and his play away from the puck leaves much to be desired.

Malkin also has a history of taking less-than-ideal penalties, which would all become glaring issues if he doesn’t offset those shortcomings with strong point production. If that happens, it’s hard to see them extending Malkin.

Dubas has made it clear he wants the team to get younger, and holding onto a 40-year-old in decline would go against everything he has been working towards. Sure, veterans are necessary to guide rebuilds and retools, but they need to be productive as well; if not, they just take up space and block a more promising option.

If the Penguins chose not to extend Malkin, he would have options. There would probably be a team willing to take a chance on him, even if his performance were declining.

It would most likely be on a one-year deal for league minimum plus bonuses, but that would give him the chance to stay in the NHL. The more likely option for Malkin would be to retire and go back to Russia for a final farewell game in the KHL. Many Russian players have jumped over to the KHL to finish out their careers, but Malkin has previously stated that he wants to wrap up his playing days in Pittsburgh and maybe play a single game in his hometown in Russia.

No matter where Malkin goes or how the rest of his time in the NHL unfolds, he will be cherished in Pittsburgh for winning three Stanley Cups and giving Penguins fans countless highlights and memorable moments. There was a time when he was the best player in the world, and although that was a brief window, Malkin stayed among the league’s top players for more than a decade.

This upcoming season in Pittsburgh might be tough for Malkin and his teammates. Still, if the Penguins don’t trade Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Erik Karlsson, they might surprise some people by getting a meaningful boost from younger players for the first time since early 2016.

Back then, the Penguins had an 18-month run that rivals some of the greatest ever, but with an aging core, that won’t happen again this time. Still, it could be exciting if Malkin can dial it back and produce a few more memorable moments before riding off into the sunset.

Photo by Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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