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Dallas Stars, Jamie Benn Agree To One-Year Extension

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10:04 a.m.: The Stars have confirmed the signing. Johnston expanded on the bonus structure, reporting that Benn would receive a $500K bonus for 20, 30, 50, and 60 games played, $500K for a Western Conference Final win, and $500K for a Stanley Cup Final win.

9:05 a.m.: According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Dallas Stars are close to re-signing their captain, Jamie Benn, on a one-year contract. LeBrun added that the contract should be completed today, while TSN’s Darren Dreger shares that the contract is bonus-heavy. According to Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff, Benn’s contract will be a one-year deal worth $1MM, featuring performance bonuses similar to other contracts for players over 35. TSN’s Chris Johnston reports that the contract can become a $4MM deal, meaning Benn will have $3MM available to him in performance bonuses.

Once completed, the new deal will leave the Stars with under $1MM in cap space entering the offseason. It effectively eliminates any chance Dallas will retain trade deadline acquisitions such as Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci, or forward Evgenii Dadonov. Still, there was little expectation the Stars would pursue extensions with those players anyway, and they have effectively brought back the team’s core with some shrewd moves from General Manager Jim Nill over the last week. 

Benn may no longer be a high-scoring power forward who can contend for the Art Ross Trophy, but he remains a crucial leader in the Stars’ locker room and a valuable secondary scorer. His scoring has declined significantly in recent years, dropping from nearly a point-per-game average in 2022-23 to 60 points in 2023-24 and 49 points in 2024-25.

Like any aging player, Benn’s foot speed has also declined in recent years. Although he has never been known for his speed, Benn ranked in the 76th percentile with 504 bursts of 18-20 mph during the 2021-22 season, while the average was 300. In comparison, he recorded 383 bursts in the 2024-25 season, with the average at 326, according to NHL EDGE data.

Still, what he’s lost in offensive capabilities and speed, he’s made up for on the defensive side of the game. For the first time since the 2021-22 campaign, and only the fourth time of his career, the Stars deployed Benn in the defensive zone more than the offensive zone. He responded as well as he ever had, earning a 90.6% on-ice save percentage at even strength, while maintaining an 11.7% team on-ice shooting percentage while he’s on the ice at even strength, the second-best output of his career regarding the latter category.

Effectively, even with the potential of the contract becoming a $4MM agreement, Benn’s new contract appears to be a steal if he continues his defensive prowess. The bonus structure of the contract allows Dallas to push most of the overtures to their 2026-27 salary cap table, when the salary cap rises to $104MM.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.

Detroit Red Wings Re-Sign Antti Tuomisto

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A few hours ago, the Detroit Red Wings announced that they’ve re-signed pending restricted free agent defenseman Antti Tuomisto to a one-year contract. Detroit has yet to share Tuomisto’s salary for the 2025-26 season, but it’ll likely be a $775K, league minimum deal.

It wasn’t all that long ago that Tuomisto was regarded as one of the better prospects in the Red Wings’ pipeline. Detroit drafted the Pori, Finland native with the 35th overall selection of the 2019 NHL Draft from Ässät U20 of the U20 SM-liiga. One year after being drafted, Tuomisto scored 15 goals and 49 points in 48 games for the same team with a +18 rating.

The noise he created overseas earned him some recruitment offers from the NCAA, and he eventually committed to the University of Denver for the 2020-21 season. Unfortunately, injuries and limited ice time led to a disappointing college experience. Despite winning the National Championship with the Pioneers in the 2021-22 NCAA season, Tuomisto finished his collegiate career with eight goals and 44 points in 117 games with a +6 rating.

Leaving after his sophomore year, Tuomisto returned home to Finland, this time with the Liiga’s TPS. He rebounded well, scoring five goals and 20 points in 60 games with a -6 rating. Feeling he had turned a corner after spending another year in Finland, the Red Wings signed Tuomisto to a two-year entry-level contract after his season concluded.

His first year with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, wasn’t nearly as poor as his time in the NCAA, but Detroit was likely hoping for more. He scored five goals and 17 points in 50 games, and even spent some time with the organization’s ECHL affiliate, the Toledo Walleye. In Tuomisto’s defense, the Griffins were a relatively low-scoring team during the 2023-24 campaign and didn’t generate much offense from the blue line.

Fortunately, he took multiple steps in the right direction this past season. Leading the team’s defense in scoring, Tuomisto finished the 2024-25 campaign with three goals and 27 points in 67 games. Still, if Tuomisto expects to make the jump to the NHL anytime soon, he’ll want to increase his scoring efficiency.

In the NHL, defensemen typically have a shooting percentage ranging from 4% to 7%, though some may fall outside this range. Given that Tuomisto finished the 2024-25 AHL season with a 2.8% shooting percentage, that won’t be enough to cut it at the top level if he continues shooting at such a high volume. The Red Wings are expected to have some turnover on their blue line this summer, but it remains to be seen if Tuomisto will be a part of that transition.

Mammoth Acquire, Extend J.J. Peterka

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The Buffalo Sabres are reportedly close to finalizing a deal that would send winger JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for forward prospect Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. It’s been further announced that Peterka has agreed to a five-year, $38.5MM extension with the Mammoth, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The Mammoth later confirmed the trade and signing. It’s a late-night blockbuster, and a rare three-player swap with no additions.

Utah has now completed the franchise’s biggest trade under its new moniker. In Peterka, the Mammoth have acquired a consistent goal-scorer they can plug into their top six without having to part with too many quality assets. Kesselring and Doan filled important needs for the team last season, but they didn’t replicate what Peterka can bring to their offense.

The German-born winger was selected by the Sabres as the 34th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, coming from EHC München in the DEL. A year later, after scoring nine goals and 20 points in 30 DEL contests and 10 points in only five World Junior Championship games, the Sabres knew that it wouldn’t be long before Peterka debuted in North America.

He did just that the following season. Primarily playing for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, Peterka gave an impressive rookie performance, scoring 28 goals and 68 points in 70 games. Despite being named to the All-Rookie Team and finishing 10th in AHL scoring, Peterka lost out on the Dudley “Red” Garrett Memorial Award as the league’s most outstanding rookie to teammate Jack Quinn.

Despite playing in two games during the 2021-22 campaign, Peterka made the full transition to NHL hockey in 2022-23 and never looked back. Being a capable tertiary scorer during the 2022-23 campaign with limited ice time, Peterka became a full-fledged top-six winger the last two seasons, scoring 55 goals and 118 points in 159 games played.

Peterka has some defensive shortcomings to work on, which is to be expected of any young winger. Still, he brings a wealth of offensive capabilities and possession quality to plug into a similarly styled offense in Salt Lake City. Peterka will join the likes of Logan Cooley, Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Dylan Guenther, and Barrett Hayton and the Mammoth’s top-six, with every player falling under the age of 30.

Meanwhile, Buffalo adds a young, right-handed defenseman whom they’ve been coveting for some time. The team was oversaturated on the left side last season, with all four of the team’s highest-paid blue liners shooting from the left. Even at 25 years old, Kesselring has already proven to be a capable puck-moving defenseman who can hold his own in the defensive zone.

It’s hard to imagine the Mammoth thought Kesselring would become the player he is. The Arizona Coyotes acquired Kesselring from the Edmonton Oilers in 2023 as part of the Nick Bjugstad trade, whom they later re-signed the following offseason. They quickly assigned him to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners.

Since then, Kesselring has scored 12 goals and 50 points in 147 NHL contests, jumping into a top-four role with the formerly named Utah Hockey Club last season. The scoring totals may not stand out, but his possession and defensive metrics are impressive. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 53.7% CorsiFor% at even strength, and a on-ice save percentage of 92.2%. His positive possession quality should help the Sabres dramatically, as they finished the 2024-25 campaign as the league’s 17th-best possession team.

Lastly, Doan, the son of former Coyotes icon Shane Doan, comes to the Sabres organization without having made his mark on the NHL level. The former 37th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft has been a productive AHL scorer since his draft year, accumulating 40 goals and 78 points in 104 games.

Still, that talent hasn’t yet translated to the NHL level, and much of that can be explained by a lack of ice time. Doan finished the 2024-25 campaign with seven goals and 21 points in 51 games, averaging 13:31 seconds of ice time in a third-line role. Unfortunately, given the talent that the Sabres have on the wing in their top-six, Doan is likely destined for the same role in New York.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

Goalie Jake Allen May Command $5MM Annually

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Pending free agent Jake Allen could be the top goalie available in this year’s free agent class, and he’s certainly approaching it as such. According to Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff, Allen is believed to be seeking a multi-year deal in the “$5MM AAV range.”

As Di Marco notes, Allen and the New Jersey Devils continue to discuss a potential extension ahead of free agency. However, it appears Allen is seeking at least a two-year deal and a large raise on his previous $3.85MM AAV deal. With the clock ticking and Allen set to be the top available goalie, the Devils will need to act quickly if they hope to retain him.

Allen, 34, is coming off a solid showing during the 2024-25 season. Despite his 13-16-1 record, Allen produced a .906 save percentage and 2.66 goals against average. His save percentage actually exceeded that of starter Jacob Markström, who posted a .900 mark, and the two goalies finished tied with four shutouts each, despite Markström starting 20 more games.

The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun also recently made note of Allen’s strong position given the limited availability at the position in free agency. While Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald has expressed interest in re-signing last year’s backup, Allen is already drawing interest from other teams, with the Flyers, Oilers, and Sharks having been linked to the netminder.

While Allen was previously projected to land a two-year deal worth $3.5MM per season on the open market, according to AFP Analytics, both the term and annual value could exceed those expectations as teams scramble to secure his services. With this in mind, it will be interesting to see where Allen ends up next season. With the Devils holding just over $14MM in cap space (per PuckPedia), they may not be inclined to sign Allen for an AAV much higher than his last deal.

If the Devils are unable to come to an agreement with Allen, they could look to pair Markström with Nico Daws next season. While the 24-year-old Daws only appeared in six contests last season with the Devils, he impressed with a .939 save percentage.

Pacific Notes: Kane, Demko, Turcotte

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Although recently traded Evander Kane has just one year remaining on his four-year, $20.5MM contract, the Canucks are eyeing him as a potential long-term asset beyond this season.

Per Thomas Drance of The Athletic, GM Patrik Allvin stated that in his estimation, Kane has matured over the past few years in Edmonton and is a candidate for a long-term deal in Vancouver. NHL.com’s Chris Faber adds that Allvin believes Kane’s physical presence will make the Canucks hard to play against.

“Every team is looking to be harder to play against and for us, with the group we have here, when a player like this comes available [at this] cost, we felt we have a chance to upgrade our top-nine [and] middle-six, and become a harder team to play against,” said Allvin.

The 33-year-old winger put up 24 goals, 44 points, and a staggering 250 hits in 77 games for the Oilers last season. He currently ranks 20th all-time with 2,216 career hits.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

  • The Canucks are interested in extending goalie Thatcher Demko, and TSN’s Darren Dreger said on Toronto 1050’s Overdrive that he believes an extension is more likely than a trade at this point. While Demko is coming off his worst NHL season (due in large part to injuries), posting an .889 save percentage in 23 games, he carries a career .910 save percentage and is still on the right side of 30. Demko has one year remaining on his $5MM AAV deal and is set for unrestricted free agency next year. While the Canucks extended goalie Kevin Lankinen to a five year, $22.5MM deal, Dreger believes the team is still interested in getting a deal done with Demko. “It made sense until recently that they would have to consider trading Demko. But I was told by a couple teams today that Demko is more or less off the market,” he said. While Dreger said he wouldn’t call a deal close or imminent, he does feel both sides are getting closer on a multi-year extension.
  • Multiple teams are interested in trading for Los Angeles Kings’ forward Alex Turcotte, per Mayors Manor. While speculation has been ramping up surrounding defender Jordan Spence and forward Trevor Moore, Turcotte is an interesting name to monitor. While Turcotte, a former first-round pick, has underperformed so far in his career, he’s coming off a career-high 68 games played and 25 points, and he’s still just 24. The fifth-overall selection in the 2019 draft could benefit from a change of scenery.

 

Bruins, Henri Jokiharju Having Extension Talks

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The Bruins are making an attempt to sign right-shot defenseman Henri Jokiharju to a new deal before he hits the open market next Tuesday, general manager Don Sweeney told reporters (via Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub).

“We have a need on the right side, no doubt about that,” Sweeney said. Boston acquired Jokiharju, 26, from the Sabres at the trade deadline for a 2026 fourth-round pick. It was a peculiar move for a team selling off high-priced assets at the time, but they simply needed NHL-experienced bodies on their blue line to make it through the last few weeks of the season after dealing away Brandon Carlo and losing Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy to injuries, robbing them of their top three rearguards.

While this offseason will ideally provide enough time for Lindholm and McAvoy to be 100% entering training camp and lead to a reset for the rest of the roster, it makes sense the Bruins would want to at least entertain the idea of retaining Jokiharju after surrendering an asset for him just a few months ago. While the 6’0″ Finn would typically be too young to test unrestricted free agency under non-Group VI status, he came into the league as a teenager with the Blackhawks in 2018-19 and has thus accrued seven years of service time. That puts him to UFA status this summer, regardless of his age.

Jokiharju had a tough year offensively, producing 10 points in 60 games. That tied for the worst points-per-game output of his career at 0.17. He’s more of a two-way threat, though, and the 29th overall pick of the 2017 draft wasn’t projected as a big point-getter in the NHL. Defensively, Jokiharju showed a lot to like after the trade. He closed the year with a plus-seven rating in 18 games for Boston, backed up by a strong 50.7 CF% on an understaffed team in difficult deployment. He averaged 21:22 per game, which would have been the second-highest mark of his career over a full season.

There’s a clear fit for him as a fine second-pairing option to help anchor youngster Mason Lohrei or in more sheltered third-pairing minutes if Boston can make a more notable addition on the right side, too, bumping Andrew Peeke to the press box or waivers. There won’t be many options to replace him on the open market if he walks, unless the Bruins make themselves a legitimate contender for a name like Aaron Ekblad or Dante Fabbro (assuming either even gets to the market). That will give Jokiharju some leverage in talks, though. If he hits the open market, AFP Analytics projects he’ll earn a three-year deal worth $3.6MM per season. That’s a little pricey for a player who struggled to hold down a role on an underperforming Buffalo roster in the past couple of years, but he has shown top-four competency in flashes and might still have some room for growth in his game, unlike his older UFA peers.

Golden Knights To Extend Reilly Smith

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Pending UFA winger Reilly Smith will sign an extension with the Golden Knights instead of testing the market, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Wednesday. It’s a one-year deal worth $2MM, half of which will be paid via signing bonus, according to PuckPedia. The contract also includes a full no-trade clause.

The 34-year-old’s second stint in Vegas will last longer than a few months. The Knights reacquired the familiar face, who played for the club in its first six seasons and won the Stanley Cup with them in 2023, from the Rangers at the trade deadline in exchange for prospect Brendan Brisson and a third-round pick.

It’s been rough for the veteran winger since the Knights made him a cap casualty in the days following their Cup win. Vegas had signed him to a three-year, $15MM extension the year prior, but they needed to make room for new deals for goaltender Adin Hill and the younger and more productive Ivan Barbashev on the wing. Smith had limited trade protection, so he was dealt to the Penguins, not one of his preferred destinations, for a third-rounder.

While Smith’s 40 points in 76 games for Pittsburgh were fine, it was a sharp decline from his 56 points the year prior. He only had 13 goals, tied for his lowest tally in a season since establishing himself as a full-time NHLer with the Bruins in 2013-14. The Penguins, looking to get younger and shed salary, traded Smith to the Rangers last summer while retaining some of his contract. His point totals were similarly middling in New York as the team struggled in general, posting a 10-19–29 scoring line in 58 games before getting traded back to Vegas. He finished the year with 11 points and a +11 rating in 21 games for the Knights, although only three of those points were goals. He was also limited to three goals and an assist in 11 postseason outings.

Aside from a blip in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign, Smith was a routine 20-goal, 50-point scorer in his heyday with Vegas. Barring what would be a surprising resurgence given his age, those days are behind him. He’s still a useful depth scorer on a team that needs them, but it would probably benefit both sides if his ice time dropped from the 15 minutes per game he was still seeing last year to give him more favorable matchups. He also didn’t see much power-play time for Vegas after his reacquisition; that could change in 2025-26, depending on how aggressive a makeover the Knights’ forward group receives in the coming weeks.

Clearly, Smith’s priority was staying in Vegas. He leaves some money on the table in exchange for contractually guaranteed team stability, unless he struggles and ends up on waivers. Vegas now has $7.615MM in cap space remaining with Nicolas Hague as their only super notable RFA to re-sign, and he’s on the trade block. They’ve got five roster spots to fill, though, so that might be a tight fit barring a cap-clearing trade. There’s also the potential of defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, signed through 2026-27 at an $8.8MM cap hit, starting the season on long-term injured reserve after playing injured last year.

Image courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

2025 Composite NHL Preseason Schedule

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The Capitals, Blackhawks, Stars, Wild, Blues, Jets, Flames, Oilers, Kraken, and Canucks are the teams who have still yet to announce their preseason rosters. For everyone else, we’ve compiled their announcements into a composite schedule here. All times are in CT.

* – denotes split squad game

Sunday, Sept. 21

TBD: Avalanche* at Mammoth*
TBD: Mammoth* at Avalanche*
12:00 p.m.: Rangers at Devils
2:00 p.m.: Panthers* at Predators*
2:00 p.m.: Maple Leafs at Senators
4:00 p.m.: Blues at Blue Jackets
4:00 p.m.: Capitals at Bruins
5:00 p.m.: Ducks at Kings (Toyota Arena, Ontario, Calif.)
6:00 p.m.: Flyers at Islanders
6:00 p.m.: Panthers* at Predators*
7:00 p.m.: Golden Knights at Sharks

Monday, Sept. 22

6:00 p.m.: Lightning at Hurricanes
6:00 p.m.: Sabres at Blue Jackets
6:00 p.m.: Penguins at Canadiens
9:00 p.m.: Mammoth at Ducks

Tuesday, Sept. 23

6:00 p.m.: Blue Jackets at Sabres
6:00 p.m.: Islanders at Devils
6:00 p.m.: Bruins at Rangers
6:00 p.m.: Flyers at Canadiens
6:00 p.m.: Blackhawks at Red Wings
6:00 p.m.: Lightning at Predators
6:00 p.m.: Senators at Maple Leafs
9:00 p.m.: Kings at Golden Knights

Wednesday, Sept. 24

5:00 p.m.: Panthers at Hurricanes
6:00 p.m.: Penguins at Blue Jackets
9:00 p.m.: Kings at Ducks

Thursday, Sept. 25

6:00 p.m.: Islanders at Rangers
6:00 p.m.: Flyers at Capitals
6:00 p.m.: Sabres at Red Wings
6:00 p.m.: Maple Leafs at Canadiens
9:00 p.m.: Mammoth at Golden Knights

Friday, Sept. 26

6:00 p.m.: Hurricanes at Lightning
6:00 p.m.: Devils at Islanders
6:00 p.m.: Red Wings at Penguins
9:00 p.m.: Golden Knights at Sharks

Saturday, Sept. 27

2:00 p.m.: Red Wings at Sabres
4:00 p.m.: Bruins at Flyers
5:00 p.m.: Ducks at Kings (Dignity Health Arena, Bakersfield, Calif.)
6:00 p.m.: Blue Jackets at Penguins
6:00 p.m.: Canadiens at Maple Leafs
6:00 p.m.: Predators at Lightning
6:00 p.m.: Stars at Avalanche

Sunday, Sept. 28

2:00 p.m.: Devils* at Senators (Videotron Centre, Quebec City, Que.)
2:00 p.m.: Capitals at Devils*
6:00 p.m.: Predators at Hurricanes

Monday, Sept. 29

5:00 p.m.: Hurricanes at Panthers
6:00 p.m.: Rangers at Islanders
6:00 p.m.: Flyers at Bruins
6:00 p.m.: Penguins at Red Wings
9:00 p.m.: Sharks at Ducks

Tuesday, Sept. 30

6:00 p.m.: Capitals at Blue Jackets
6:00 p.m.: Panthers at Lightning (Kia Center, Orlando, Fla.)
6:00 p.m.: Canadiens at Senators (Videotron Centre, Quebec City, Que.)
7:00 p.m.: Red Wings at Blackhawks
7:00 p.m.: Golden Knights at Avalanche
8:00 p.m.: Kings at Mammoth (Idaho Central Arena, Boise, Idaho)

Wednesday, Oct. 1

6:00 p.m.: Penguins at Sabres
8:00 p.m.: Avalanche at Golden Knights
9:00 p.m.: Ducks at Sharks

Thursday, Oct. 2

6:00 p.m.: Devils at Rangers
6:00 p.m.: Islanders at Flyers
6:00 p.m.: Bruins at Capitals
6:00 p.m.: Red Wings at Maple Leafs
6:00 p.m.: Panthers at Lightning
7:00 p.m.: Senators at Blues
8:00 p.m.: Kings at Mammoth

Friday, Oct. 3

6:00 p.m.: Sabres at Penguins
9:00 p.m.: Sharks at Golden Knights

Saturday, Oct. 4

1:00 p.m.: Rangers at Bruins
2:00 p.m.: Devils at Flyers
3:00 p.m.: Hurricanes at Predators
3:00 p.m.: Ducks at Kings
5:00 p.m.: Avalanche at Stars
6:00 p.m.: Blue Jackets at Capitals
6:00 p.m.: Maple Leafs at Red Wings
6:00 p.m.: Lightning at Panthers
6:00 p.m.: Senators at Canadiens
8:00 p.m.: Sharks at Mammoth

AHL Notes: Pitlick, Gibson, Utica

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The Oilers’ AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, announced Wednesday they’ve signed forwards Rem Pitlick and Rhett Pitlick to one-year and two-year contracts, respectively. Both are still free agents in the NHL’s eyes, but will have a secure playing role in the pros in Edmonton’s system next season.

Rem, 28, is the older of the two brothers and has the NHL experience to show for it. He’s produced quite well in limited minutes when given the chance but has never found a stable home, suiting up for the Predators, Canadiens, Wild, and Blackhawks in parts of five seasons from 2018-19 to 2023-24. He’s managed a 21-33–54 scoring line in 132 career games, but despite that solid production, he didn’t land an NHL contract for 2024-25. He didn’t sign anywhere until February, when he inked an AHL contract with the Sharks’ affiliate. He finished the year with two goals and 13 points in 18 games, a diminished output from the point-per-game rate he’s hovered around in the minors over the past few years.

He’s joined by his younger brother, Rhett. The 24-year-old was a fifth-round pick by the Canadiens in 2019, but they relinquished his signing rights last offseason. Instead of turning pro following three years at the University of Minnesota, he transferred to Minnesota State for his senior season. He led the Mavericks with 27 assists, 40 points, and a +32 rating in 39 games en route to a CCHA regular-season and tournament championship. He was also named to the conference’s First All-Star Team and was dubbed CCHA Forward of the Year. He finished the season on a tryout with Bakersfield, notching six assists in six games with a plus-eight rating. Both are strong candidates to get NHL contracts from the Oilers at some point next season if they perform well and move up their list of potential call-ups.

Other notable news out of the AHL:

  • It’s unclear if the Capitals plan on issuing a qualifying offer to pending RFA goalie Mitchell Gibson, but the depth netminder will be staying in the organization next season regardless. He’s agreed to a one-year contract with the Hershey Bears, per a club announcement. Gibson, 26, was a fourth-round pick by the Caps in 2018 and turned pro in 2023 following four seasons at Harvard. He’s spent the vast majority of his pro career down a level with ECHL South Carolina but has made three appearances for the Bears in the past two years, recording a 1.95 GAA and .920 SV% in the process. He also did quite well in limited ECHL action this past season with a .933 SV% and 1.75 GAA in 14 games for the Stingrays. That may be enough to land him a full-time AHL job as a backup with Hershey in 2025-26 without taking up a contract slot on Washington’s books, particularly if the club doesn’t plan on re-signing UFA Hunter Shepard.
  • The Devils announced that the coaching staff for their affiliate, the Utica Comets, is set in stone for next season. Ryan Parent will stay on as head coach after taking over for Kevin Dineen on an interim basis early last year. They had a 31-33-6-2 record after the coaching change following a 0-8-1 start under Dineen. The club also promoted player development coach Mark Voakes to an assistant role under Parent and hired former NHL defenseman Matt Carkner as his other assistant. Utica’s goaltending coach, Brian Eklund, remains in his post.

Offseason Checklist: Edmonton Oilers

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The offseason has arrived with the draft and free agency fast approaching.  Accordingly, it’s time to look at what each team needs to accomplish this summer.  Next up is a look at Edmonton.

Like usual, the Oilers were one of the league’s streakier teams in the regular season. They had a couple of ruts, and although they weren’t as offensively dominant as they were in years past, they still managed third place in the Pacific Division with a 101-point season. That didn’t mean much as the Oilers dominated their way to the Stanley Cup Final, going 12-4 in the first three rounds before losing the championship series to the Panthers for the second season in a row. General manager Stan Bowman now has to navigate another offseason of limited spending flexibility in Edmonton while having some must-needed improvements to make.

Lock Up Bouchard

The Oilers haven’t had many impact players arrive through the draft since Connor McDavid ended their string of high-end picks (for the most part) in 2015. They have hit on one of them, though, selecting defenseman Evan Bouchard 10th overall back in 2018.

Bouchard became a full-time NHL player in 2021-22 and had a good rookie season with 12 goals and 43 points, averaging nearly 20 minutes per game. He took a small step back offensively in his sophomore campaign, putting up 40 points in 82 games, but found a new gear in the postseason as he posted 17 points in just 12 games to lead the 2023 postseason in scoring among defensemen despite Edmonton being eliminated in the second round. That was a sign of things to come, but the cap-strapped Oilers opted to bridge him upon expiry of his entry-level contract that summer, signing him to a two-year, $7.8MM deal instead of freeing up space to commit to Bouchard long-term.

That’s a decision that may come back to haunt them. Now an RFA again, Bouchard has finished top 11 in Norris Trophy voting each of the last two seasons and, while he has some visible defensive faults, plays an elite possession game and has established himself as one of the league’s top offensive rearguards. He’s scored 149 points in his last 163 games, averaged a career-high 23:28 per game in 2024-25, and he’s one of the most productive playoff defensemen in league history. Among D-men with at least 50 postseason games, his 1.08 points per game are second only to Bobby Orr’s 1.24.

There’s no other option here besides a max-term extension for Bouchard, and they need to do it quickly to avoid the threat of a short-term offer sheet with a high AAV that would be too prohibitive to match. According to AFP Analytics, that deal is projected to cost the Oilers in the high $10MM range per season. They did themselves a favor today by opening up $5.125MM in cap space by trading Evander Kane to the Canucks with no salary retention. Still, they likely need to make another cap-clearing move, too – potentially underperforming winger Viktor Arvidsson and his $4MM cap hit – to be able to sign Bouchard and make some other roster alterations comfortably.

Work On McDavid Extension

There’s been little doubt in the past few seasons that this summer would result in a max-term extension for McDavid to avoid any talk of a free-agency departure in 2026 and restore his place as the league’s highest-paid player. After a second straight Cup Final loss, though, doubt has crept into public opinion. Those fires were stoked more over the weekend when Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported that no deal was expected to come across the wire in the near future and that it may not be an eight-year deal if it gets done. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug added that informal negotiations will begin this week, but they’re not close to a position of exchanging initial numbers.

Those talks come after somewhat of a down season for the 28-year-old. He dealt with injuries and a suspension that limited him to 67 games, his lowest total in an 82-game schedule since a collarbone fracture limited him to 46 appearances in his rookie campaign. Of course, a “down season” for the best player in the world still means 74 assists and 100 points, even if his 0.39 goals per game were his lowest total since the 2016-17 campaign. 2024-25 also marked the first time McDavid went without a First Team All-Star selection in back-to-back seasons.

Nonetheless, he will assuredly eclipse teammate Leon Draisaitl’s $14MM cap hit and once again become the league’s highest-paid player sometime in the next 12 months, no matter the team and no matter the length of the contract. Draisaitl signed his extension for 14.67% of the salary cap – if McDavid signs for 15% at the projected $104MM for 2026-27, that would mean a $15.6MM cap hit. He’ll likely get even more – AFP Analytics’ extension projection is a four-year deal at $16.35MM per season, a reasonable bet if he opts for a bridge deal to maximize his career flexibility, particularly if the Oilers enter next season with a weaker roster.

It all comes down to how soon and for how long McDavid is willing to commit to Edmonton. They’ll almost certainly write him a blank check, so the ball will be in his court throughout extension talks. Winning a championship, not cash, will be his top priority. While that gives the Oilers some leverage, they at least need to provide McDavid with the hope/promise that Edmonton is his best chance of winning a Stanley Cup.

Improve Goaltending Situation

Saying goaltending has been an issue for Edmonton in recent years would be an understatement. They haven’t had a legitimate No. 1 netminder since Cam Talbot’s brief peak from 2015 to 2018. Stuart Skinner has been a high-ceiling option at times, but at least so far, simply doesn’t have the game-to-game consistency to get Edmonton to their first Cup win since 1990.

He’s also coming off an exceptionally difficult 2024-25 campaign. His .896 SV% in the regular season was a career-low among his seasons as a full-timer, and that figure dropped to an .889 mark in the postseason. The Oilers faced enough high-profile offensive clubs that Skinner was actually still a league-average goalie compared to the quality he faced, but the last team to win a championship without high-end playoff goaltending was the Avalanche in 2022.

Skinner is still an extremely cost-effective option for the club at a $2.6MM cap hit, though, as is backup Calvin Pickard for $1MM. They’re both entering the final year of their contracts and will be UFAs in 2026. Neither warrants entering extension discussions now with much bigger fish to fry in Edmonton. It might make sense for the Oilers to trade away one of them – either in an in-kind trade for an upgrade or to help open space to pursue the top UFA option in veteran Jake Allen. Either way, it’s hard to imagine Edmonton running things back with the same tandem in 2025-26.

Look At Depth Scoring Upgrades

The Oilers were one of the more active teams in free agency last summer, at least in terms of the volume of signings meant for the NHL roster. They were all veteran wingers on short-term deals, namely Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, while also retaining Corey Perry. Aside from the last name, those pickups didn’t work out. Both Arvidsson and Skinner were healthy scratches in the playoffs, and neither one had more than 30 points in the regular season.

Their cap situation dictates they’ll need to take a similar approach this summer. They’ll need to be better at identifying who has the upward mobility to play with McDavid or Draisaitl, though, and should be open to younger reclamation projects as well. They’ve already added some cheap insurance in the form of reigning SHL scoring leader David Tomasek on the open market, but will look for NHL-experienced options too as cap space allows. There’s an extension in the works for deadline acquisition Trent Frederic, which should go a long way toward solidifying their middle-six group if he can rediscover his 40-point ceiling.

Image courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

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