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Utah To Sign Cameron Hebig To Two-Way Deal

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Utah HC is signing depth forward Cameron Hebig to a two-way deal for the remainder of the campaign, PuckPedia reports. He’ll earn pro-rated salaries of $775K in the NHL and $125K in the minors. Hebig will likely land on waivers at 1 p.m. CT, allowing Utah to reassign him to AHL Tucson on deadline day to make him eligible for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The 28-year-old Hebig is a seasoned pro, skating in parts of seven AHL seasons. He was initially an undrafted free agent signed by the Oilers in 2017, but he wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer upon expiry in 2020. He’s been solely on minor-league deals since then.

The vast majority of that time has been spent in Tucson, now Utah’s affiliate after serving as the Coyotes’ top developmental club for the rest of their history. The Saskatoon native first appeared for the Roadrunners during the 2020-21 campaign and has exclusively suited up there over the last four seasons. While usually a decent middle-six producer, Hebig’s broken out this season for 20-17–37 in 48 games. He’s tied for the team lead in goals, ranks third in overall scoring, and ranks third with a +10 rating. That’s enough for the 5’10” forward, who can line up at center or either wing, to earn his first NHL contract in five years.

Hebig will be returning to Tucson for now, but the NHL deal makes him a recall option down the stretch if injuries strike. He can also be added to Utah’s playoff roster as a black ace if they make the postseason. That’s certainly a possibility, sitting four points back of the Flames for the last wild card spot in the West. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer without an extension.

Devils Acquire Brian Dumoulin From Ducks

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11:48 a.m.: Both clubs have announced the trade as reported.

10:48 a.m.: The Devils have acquired defenseman Brian Dumoulin from the Ducks, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Anaheim receives the better of the Oilers’ or Jets’ 2025 second-round pick and the signing rights to winger Herman Träff in return, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic and Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. LeBrun adds the Ducks also retain 50% of Dumoulin’s $3.15MM cap hit. New Jersey had an open roster spot after placing Jack Hughes on long-term injured reserve yesterday following his season-ending shoulder surgery, so no corresponding move will be necessary.

As expected, the third-place Devils aren’t punting on their season following Hughes’ injury. They have a lot of work to do to hold onto their Metropolitan Division berth with defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler joining Hughes on LTIR and leading defense point-getter Dougie Hamilton out week-to-week, though. Dumoulin, coming in at an affordable $1.575MM price tag and on an expiring contract, is a short-term replacement down the stretch for the former. Meanwhile, Anaheim will finish the season with their three lefty rearguards under 25 – Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger.

Dumoulin, 33, has played all 61 games with the Ducks and turned in a very solid 2-14–16 scoring line with a plus-two rating while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game, although his possession numbers aren’t as encouraging. The stay-at-home defender’s 43.4 even-strength CF% is well below Anaheim’s 46.6% share without him on the ice, although he is starting a career-high 57.9% of his zone starts in the defensive end. His -12.9 expected rating is worst on the Ducks, though, and his 42.2 xGF% is his career’s worst possession quality control figure. Some positive regression on those numbers down the stretch is likely in a much more competent possession system in New Jersey.

Even with this year’s struggles, Dumoulin has a lengthy history of being a strong complementary top-four piece, spending most of his career in Pittsburgh alongside Kris Letang. He’s had above-average possession impacts as recently as last year with the Kraken, who signed him to his current two-year, $6.3MM contract in the 2023 offseason. He was a tad too expensive for their liking after loading up their blue line with Brandon Montour last summer, though, prompting them to trade him to Anaheim for a 2026 fourth-round pick. That’s a good bit of business for Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek, who upgrades that pick by two rounds and lands an additional prospect while getting 60-plus games out of Dumoulin.

New Jersey’s blue line wasn’t viewed as a priority area at the deadline a few weeks ago, but injuries to Hamilton and Siegenthaler evidently changed that. The latter was only expected to miss two to three weeks after undergoing a procedure over the 4 Nations break, but he’s already missed two and a half and hasn’t returned to practice.

Dumoulin will likely step into a bottom-pairing spot on the left side behind Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes in the interim, likely pushing youngster Seamus Casey back down to AHL Utica when Siegenthaler is ready to return. Whether Dumoulin remains in the regular lineup at that point remains to be seen. Siegenthaler has produced less individual offense this year when healthy with nine points in 55 games but has better relative possession impacts in more difficult minutes. That would presumably push Dumoulin to the press box short of someone shifting to their off side, making a second-rounder and a C-tier prospect a steep price to pay.

Träff, 19, was selected by New Jersey in the third round of last year’s draft. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic tabbed him as the No. 6 prospect in the Devils’ system in his 2025 rankings, but they acquired another big winger with a similar projection by picking up Shane Lachance from the Oilers in this week’s Trent Frederic three-team deal. That softens the blow of losing Träff, who’s posted a respectable 3-4–7 scoring line in 25 games with HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League as a teenager this year. The 6’3″, 216-lb winger will be buried a bit more in a deeper Ducks system but still has legitimate NHL upside.

He’ll remain with HV71 to close out the season. The Ducks will retain Träff’s signing rights through June 1, 2028. Notably, they’re down to one available retention slot after today’s move.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Predators Recall Ozzy Wiesblatt

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The Predators have recalled winger Ozzy Wiesblatt from AHL Milwaukee, Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game reports. No corresponding transaction is necessary since Nashville opened a roster spot in last night’s trade with the Penguins.

Wiesblatt, 22, earns his third recall of the season after a torrid stretch of play in the minors. The Sharks 2020 first-rounder has 2-5–7 in his last five games with Milwaukee and is now up to 14-18–32 in 51 games on the year.

The feisty 5’10” winger has seen his game take off in the Preds organization after they acquired him from San Jose last offseason in exchange for the signing rights to Egor Afanasyev. His development had stalled in the Sharks’ farm system, where he posted just 11-18–29 in 85 games with the Barracuda across three seasons. He’s now outperformed that total production in just months with Milwaukee.

That explosion has led to a pair of previous recalls this year, yielding his NHL debut. He’s yet to record a point in three appearances but has a plus-one rating while averaging 11:10 per game. He’s recorded a shot on goal and five hits, but the Preds have been shelled 45-16 in shot attempts in his even-strength minutes. Nonetheless, he’ll get another shot in the lineup tonight against Seattle with Thomas Novak dealt to Pittsburgh and pickup Michael Bunting still recovering from an appendectomy.

Kraken Recall Tye Kartye, Cale Fleury

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The Kraken announced they’ve reinstated winger Tye Kartye from his conditioning loan to AHL Coachella Valley, which managed to avoid us when it was announced on Feb. 27. They’ve also summoned defenseman Cale Fleury from the minors, filling the roster spot they opened in yesterday’s trade with the Lightning.

Kartye, 23, was an undrafted free agent signing by Seattle in 2022 and has quickly climbed up their depth chart. He burst onto the scene with a 57-point rookie season in AHL Coachella Valley that got him called up for the Kraken’s first-ever playoff appearance in 2023, making his NHL debut in the postseason and performing well with 3-2–5 in 10 games.

The center/winger has been a fixture on Seattle’s roster since. The 5’11”, 202-lb lefty was solid in a fourth-line role last year, contributing 11-9–20 in 77 games with a team-leading 229 hits. He shot with aplomb for his limited minutes too, ranking 10th on the team with 109 shots on goal with a good 10.1% finishing rate. This season has been far less successful. Kartye has just 3-4–7 through 49 games with a team-worst -16 rating and has been averaging fewer than 10 minutes per game. He was a healthy scratch in three games coming out of the 4 Nations break before his conditioning loan last week.

Kartye did well in his return to AHL play, posting 2-2–4 and a plus-one rating in three games for Coachella Valley. The Kraken hopes that bodes well for his confidence ahead of his expected return to the lineup down the stretch. They’re widely expected to deal pending UFA Brandon Tanev before tomorrow’s deadline, creating a spot for Kartye as their fourth-line right wing.

Fleury, meanwhile, continues his season-long shuffle between leagues. It’s his first recall since Feb. 24, and he’ll likely be sent back to the AHL tomorrow to make him eligible for the Calder Cup Playoffs. He’ll give Seattle injury insurance for their road game against the Predators tonight, although he’s not currently expected to draw into the lineup. The 26-year-old has an assist and a plus-two rating in seven showings with the Kraken this year, seeing brief NHL action in all four years of the team’s existence. He has 6-18–24 through 36 minor-league appearances this year.

Bruins Sign Tyler Pitlick To Two-Way Deal

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The Bruins announced they’ve signed forward Tyler Pitlick to a two-way deal for the remainder of the season, carrying the league-minimum cap hit of $775K. He was previously on an AHL contract with their affiliate in Providence. He’ll presumably end up on waivers today to be assigned to the AHL on deadline day to make him eligible for the Calder Cup Playoffs but will be a recall option for Boston down the stretch.

Pitlick, 33, was initially expected to head overseas last summer but ended up settling for a tryout with Providence in late September. His stock on the open market was the lowest it had been in quite some time after he cleared waivers the prior year with the Rangers and finished the season with just 3-4–7 in 22 games for AHL Hartford. As such, he was not extended NHL offers as an unrestricted free agent, and he stuck around in the minors.

The 10-year NHL veteran has looked rejuvenated with the P-Bruins, though. Boston was even considering a two-way deal for him at the beginning of the campaign, but ended up waiting until the trade deadline to get it done. The versatile 6’2″ forward is tied for fourth on the minor-league club in scoring with 16-17–33 in 43 games, leading Providence forwards with a +17 rating.

After trading away Trent Frederic earlier this week and a few more subtractions expected before tomorrow’s trade deadline, there will be increased opportunity for Bruins depth pieces down the stretch who’ve spent most of the year in Providence. Pitlick will be one of them as he looks to land an extension or a two-way deal elsewhere over the summer. If he’s waived today, he won’t count against the Bruins’ active roster or salary cap for today’s calculations.

Pitlick, who plays both center and wing (but mostly the latter), has 56-53–109 in 420 career NHL games with the Oilers, Stars, Flyers, Blues, Coyotes, Rangers, Flames, and Canadiens. The journeyman was selected by Edmonton with the first pick of the second round in the 2010 draft.

Utah Signs Karel Vejmelka To Five-Year Extension

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March 6: Utah has made Vejmelka’s extension official as reported.

March 5: A busy Wednesday for Utah continues.  After inking Alexander Kerfoot and Ian Cole to one-year extensions, the team has agreed to terms with its most prominent pending unrestricted free agent.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Utah has signed goaltender Karel Vejmelka to a five-year extension worth $4.75MM per season.

The 28-year-old was a late bloomer, only coming to North America at the age of 25 on a one-year, two-way contract.  But instead of being a depth option as expected, he wound up quickly becoming their starter, getting into 52 games.  While his overall numbers weren’t great on a rebuilding team (a 3.68 GAA and a .898 SV%), he did well enough to secure a three-year, $8.175MM extension less than 11 months after getting that entry-level pact, a deal that kept him off the trade block leading into the 2022 trade deadline.

The first two seasons of that contract were similar to the first while last year, he started to cede playing time to Connor Ingram who effectively took over as the strong side of the platoon in goal.  Along the way, his numbers largely stayed the same with a save percentage a little below .900 and a GAA well above the 3.00 mark.  On a team that wasn’t particularly focused on getting to the playoffs, those numbers were fine but there were some questions as to whether he could elevate his game when the time came for the club to start to try to emerge from that rebuild.

Those questions have been answered in a big way this season.  Vejmelka has reclaimed the number one nod in a big way, shaving more than a full goal off his GAA compared to his first three years with this year’s number checking in at 2.45 through 38 appearances.  His save percentage is up 15 points from last year, landing at .910, well above league average.  On top of that, he has cracked the top 10 in goals saved above average, per MoneyPuck.  He has played a big role in Utah hanging around the periphery of the playoff chase; they came into play today sitting just four points behind Calgary for the final Wild Card spot in the West.

This contract falls in line with some of the more recent deals signed for netminders.  Seattle’s Joey Daccord received $5MM per season for five years on his extension earlier this season while Kevin Lankinen’s five-year extension signed last month carries a $4.5MM cap charge.  Clearly, those two deals served as comparables to help get this deal across the finish line.

With the signing, Utah now has its goalie tandem signed through at least the 2026-27 season at a more-than-reasonable combined cap hit of $6.7MM.  Meanwhile, they now have 20 players signed for next season so while there’s an expectation that GM Bill Armstrong is going to try to make a splash, it doesn’t appear as if their roster is going to have a lot of turnover for 2025-26.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Panthers Reassign Chris Driedger, Place Matthew Tkachuk On LTIR

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March 6: Driedger is back down to the minors today, according to the AHL’s transactions log. He backed up Sergei Bobrovsky for just one game before Florida traded for Vítek Vaněček to serve as their new No. 2.

March 2: The Florida Panthers have recalled goaltender Chris Driedger from the minor leagues. He will fill the Panthers’ backup goalie role after the squad dealt Spencer Knight to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. To clear cap space for the move, Florida has also placed star Matthew Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury, per PuckPedia.

Tkachuk sustained his injury in the second game of Team USA’s 4-Nations Face-Off tournament. It is believed to be a groin injury, though specifics haven’t been revealed. Tkachuk sat out of Team USA’s final round-robin game then made an effort to appear in the championship game against Team Canada, but only played 6:47 of the overtime loss. He has missed four games since Florida returned from the break. He was getting second opinions on his injury as recent as last week, but will now need to miss at least a month – per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.

Florida has won three of their four games back from break – but Tkachuk’s absence still leaves a glaring hole on the top line. He has continued to dominate across the board for the Panthers, with 22 goals, 57 points, 54 penalty minutes, and 84 hits in 54 games. He ranks second on the team in goals and points, behind Sam Reinhart in both categories.

The Panthers have promoted Mackie Samoskevich and Evan Rodrigues to hardier roles in Tkachuk’s absence. Rookie winger Samoskevich has found his stride as of late, with seven points in his last 11 games. That burst has brought him to 19 points in 52 games this season – a number that could soar with expanded minutes. Rodrigues had continued his consistent two-way impact on the other side, with 27 points in 61 games putting him on pace to just miss the 39 point mark he’s posted in each of the last two seasons.

The promotions continue through the offense and into the net. Driedger signed a one-year deal with Florida this summer and has spent the entire year in the minor leagues. He narrowly leads the Charlotte Checkers with 20 games played, one more than fellow pro veteran Ken Appleby. Driedger has posted the worst stat line of the two, with a .878 save percentage and 10-6-4 record.

Despite that, it was hard to imagine Florida would turn towards anyone else to fill their backup spot. Driedger has 67 games of NHL experience, with the bulk coming between 2020 and 2022 in tenures with Florida and Seattle. He has a stout .917 SV% and 31-24-5 record on his career. Florida will hope he can rediscover those numbers quickly after a down year in the minor leagues.

Maple Leafs, Stars, Kings, Golden Knights, Panthers Calling On Mikko Rantanen

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9:44 a.m.: Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic adds the Golden Knights and Panthers as teams who have made legitimate pitches for Rantanen in the last 24 hours, also moving the player to the top of his pre-deadline board. Vegas would need retention on Carolina’s part to get a deal done with $2.4MM in deadline cap space, with the Hurricanes likely targeting someone like 24-goal man Pavel Dorofeyev as part of the return. Florida wouldn’t need retention after placing Matthew Tkachuk on LTIR for what’s expected to be the remainder of the regular season, and might need to surrender top forward prospect Mackie Samoskevich to get it done. He’s recently been elevated to a top-six role in Tkachuk’s absence.

8:10 a.m.: The Maple Leafs, Stars, and Kings are three teams expressing high levels of interest in star right-winger Mikko Rantanen, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes. After reports first surfaced last month that the Hurricanes could flip Rantanen after acquiring him from the Avalanche in a January blockbuster if extension talks weren’t productive, Carolina has “opened the door” on trade talks late this week, Friedman said. There’s a long list of teams to display interest so far – including the Devils, James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now said Tuesday.

It remains to be seen how willing the Hurricanes are to move Rantanen, who will likely need to agree in principle to an extension with his new club for them to land the return they desire. Carolina isn’t a seller in any capacity – they’re nine points ahead of the playoff line and have a 99.6% chance at a playoff berth, per MoneyPuck – so they’re presumably not interested in futures as the primary value in a return.

The 6’4″ Finn hasn’t been what the Hurricanes expected when they surrendered Martin Nečas, Jack Drury, and three draft picks to acquire him and Taylor Hall in a three-team deal with the Blackhawks six weeks ago. Despite spending most of his time in the lineup stapled to star countryman Sebastian Aho’s wing as expected, he’s scored just 2-4–6 through 12 games in Carolina with a minus-two rating.

Rantanen’s brief but underwhelming showing outside of Colorado, where he’d torched the league for 1.28 points per game since 2020, will weigh on teams’ minds as they debate how many resources they’ll commit to acquiring and extending him. With an eight-year deal, he’s virtually guaranteed to become one of the four highest-paid players in the league, surpassing Oilers star Connor McDavid’s $12.5MM AAV and likely even former teammate Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6MM cap hit. AFP Analytics even projects an eight-year extension for Rantanen to cost $13.65MM per season, approaching $110MM in total value and making him the second-highest paid player in the league next season behind Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, who’ll be kicking off a mega-extension with a $14MM cap hit.

While there will surely be NHL players coming off the acquiring teams’ roster in a Rantanen return, the Maple Leafs are the only one of the above group who would need to make a money-in, money-out deal. Carolina, who has Rantanen on their books for $4.625MM against the cap after Chicago retained half his salary in January’s trade, can make him a $2.3MM player by retaining an additional 50%. That wouldn’t require additional shuffling on the Stars’ or Kings’ end.

Carolina will need an immediate replacement at wing in the deal. While it’s likely to be a downgrade in terms of overall reputation, they’ll still be asking for a bona fide top-six piece with other assets in the deal to make up the difference in trade value. For Toronto, that could mean parting ways with pending RFA Matthew Knies, shifting William Nylander to the left wing to replace him and casting Rantanen and Mitch Marner as their top two right wingers. Another bottom-six depth piece, potentially Calle Järnkrok, could also be out the door to help the Hurricanes replace the void left by William Carrier when he underwent lower-body surgery in late January.

The Kings have made their desire for a right-handed scorer public over the last few weeks and will pivot to second-line type names like the Islanders’ Kyle Palmieri if their efforts to land Rantanen are futile. Carolina likely demands someone like Trevor Moore in return, who erupted for 31 goals last year but has just 12 in 51 games this year. Breakout 23-year-old Alex Laferriere, who’s posted 15-16–31 in 56 games, is also an option as a centerpiece, but would require more additional assets from L.A. than Toronto would need to provide on top of the more highly-touted Knies.

Dallas, who’s already added Mikael Granlund to their forward group, has more appealing NHL-ready young talent to offer than their Western Conference rival. Either 2024 AHL MVP turned NHL full-timer Mavrik Bourque or 22-year-old Logan Stankoven could immediately slot into the Canes’ top-nine (or top-six, in Stankoven’s case), and are more in Knies’ territory in terms of long-term offensive ceiling than Laferriere and Moore.

Capitals Recall Alexander Alexeyev From Conditioning Loan

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March 6: Alexeyev is back up from his conditioning loan, the Caps announced. His reinstatement doesn’t affect their active roster count. He posted two assists and a plus-five rating in his successful three-game showing for Hershey.

March 1: The Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals are seeking more playing time for one of the team’s depth defensemen. Washington announced they’ve assigned Alexander Alexeyev to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, on a conditioning loan.

There should be an honest question about why this move didn’t happen sooner. Alexeyev has registered zero points in five games with Washington this season, averaging 13:13 of ice time per game, with his last contest coming on November 8th. Assigning him on a conditioning loan allows Alexeyev two weeks in the AHL without requiring waivers, although he does have to sign off on the assignment.

It would be difficult for the Capitals to find a better situation for Alexeyev. The Bears are again one of the top teams in the American Hockey League standings with a 31-14-5-0 record in 50 games played, just six points back of the league-leading Rochester Americans with three games in hand. Hershey could create quite the formidable duo on defense should they pair Alexeyev with Ethan Bear, who’s scored eight goals and 33 points in 46 games this season.

Due to a relatively healthy blue line, Washington hasn’t needed Alexeyev much this season. Still, even when their defensive core sustained a few injuries, the Capitals deployed veteran Dylan McIlrath more than the St. Petersburg, Russia native. Neither defenseman has played all that well in limited action, leading to speculation that the Capitals could add a more consistent depth option at the trade deadline.

Throughout his career, Alexeyev has scored one goal and eight points in 77 games for Washington since debuting in the 2021-22 season. He’s been relatively physical over that stretch with 117 blocked shots and 88 hits but still has a career Expected +/- of -5.7, according to Hockey Reference.

He’s understandably been more influential at the AHL level, scoring six goals and 44 assists in 142 contests with the Bears with a +26 rating. Alexeyev can play six games on the conditioning loan for AHL Hershey should he stay for the maximum of two weeks.

Jets Sign Jacob Julien To Entry-Level Contract

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The Jets announced today they’ve agreed to terms with center prospect Jacob Julien on a three-year entry-level contract. The deal, which goes into effect for the 2025-26 season, carries a cap hit of $925K if he’s in the NHL.

Winnipeg was set to lose the 20-year-old’s signing rights if they didn’t register a deal by June 1. The Ontario native, whom Winnipeg selected with their fifth-round pick in 2023, was certainly questionable to sign. That’s because his offensive production has taken a significant step back in his third and final season of major junior hockey with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights. After breaking out for a 29-49–78 scoring line in 67 games last season, he’s been limited to just 10-35–45 through 58 appearances in 2024-25.

Overall, the 6’4″ center has had an interesting development path. He was one of the youngest players eligible for selection in the 2022 draft thanks to his Sep. 12 birthday, and he was understandably passed over after spending the entire year in the Junior B-level Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. He even spent a good portion of the 2022-23 in that league before being promoted to the Knights, and his 16 points in 40 games were enough for Winnipeg to take a flyer on him as a young over-ager.

As such, Julien hasn’t received a ton of public attention. He wasn’t mentioned as one of Winnipeg’s notable prospects in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s 2025 organizational rankings, although McKeen’s Hockey tabbed him as the No. 10 prospect in the system last fall before his offensive regression. Regardless, he’ll now get the chance to show what he can do at the professional level within the Jets organization. Whether he ends up spending next season with AHL Manitoba or ECHL Norfolk remains to be seen, but he’ll have a three-year trial run in the minors to earn a longer stay in Winnipeg. He’ll become a restricted free agent upon expiry in 2028.

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