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Maple Leafs Camp Notes: Domi, Roy, Benoit

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The Toronto Maple Leafs received a wave of positive injury updates on Sunday morning. The good news kicked off when winger Max Domi stepped onto the ice for the first time in training camp, captured by TSN’s Mark Masters. Domi joined the Leafs’ non-playing group, indicating that he won’t be a part of the team’s first preseason game later in the day.

Domi has been dealing with a lower-body injury sustained during off-season training. The injury has been dubbed minor, with Domi designated as day-to-day, but its nonetheless become a focal point of camp as many expect Domi to take on a top-six role. With Sunday’s practice, he’ll take the first step towards vindicating those expectations – and break camp in a top-line wing role vacated by Mitch Marner earlier this summer. Domi scored eight goals and 33 points last season, though he also managed 47 points in his first year with the Leafs in 2023-24.

Other notes from Toronto’s camp:

  • Also returning to the practice sheet was recently-acquired forward Nicolas Roy, who sat out of the team’s Saturday skate with a lower-body injury, per Masters. Roy is another candidate for a growing role in the Toronto lineup, after being acquired as the sweetener in Toronto’s sign-and-trade of Marner with the Vegas Golden Knights. Roy scored 15 goals and 31 points with Vegas last season, and 41 points in the year prior. He’s a toolsy forward who can fill a role at center or right-wing. That standing could help him earn a pivotal role behind Auston Matthews and John Tavares, or an important grinder role beside them.
  • Away from the positives, defenseman Simon Benoit was absent from yet another practice on Sunday. He is facing an upper-body injury, per David Alter of The Hockey News. Head coach Craig Berube shared that the Leafs will be taking all of their injuries day-by-day, though he didn’t mention Benoit’s injury or prognosis directly, per Alter’s colleague Nick Barden. Benoit played through 78 games in a Leafs uniform last season. He tied his career-high in scoring with 10 points, to go with 59 penalty minutes and a plus-12 on the full year. Benoit is a strong candidate to fill a daily, bottom-pair role this season – though an extended injury at camp will give newcomers like Henry Thrun and Dakota Mermis a chance to catch up. Both Thrun and Mermis will take the ice for Toronto’s first preseason game on Sunday.

Summer Synopsis: Ottawa Senators

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With training camps now almost upon us, 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 Ottawa.

After missing the playoffs for seven straight years in the midst of a long-term rebuild, the Senators finally got over the hump last season, making the postseason and finishing only one point behind Florida for the third seed in the Atlantic Division; the Panthers, of course, went on to win the Stanley Cup again last season.  GM Steve Staios opted to largely keep his core group intact, believing that continued growth from their top players will allow them to take another step forward in 2025-26.

Draft

1-23 – D Logan Hensler, Wisconsin (Big 10)
3-93 – F Blake Vanek, Stillwater (USHS-MN)
4-97 – G Lucas Beckman, Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)
5-149 – F Dmitri Isayev, Yekaterinburg (MHL)
6-181 – F Bruno Idzan, Lincoln (USHL)
7-213 – G Andrei Trofimov, Magnitogorsk (MHL)

The Senators didn’t make any big splashes at the 2025 draft, outside of trading down slightly in the first round in order to pick up the third-round pick they would send to Los Angeles for Spence. The club didn’t have a second-round pick as a result of the Zetterlund trade with San Jose, but nonetheless managed to put together a draft class that should produce an NHL player or two.

Hensler was widely regarded as a polished defenseman by scouts, one who capably handled the rigors of NCAA hockey as a freshman and grew more comfortable as the season progressed. While most public-facing scouts do not credit Hensler with a standout single tool, he’s widely seen as a likely long-term NHL player. The team at Elite Prospects recently ranked Hensler as the club’s number-two prospect behind 2024 top pick Carter Yakemchuk.

The Senators began the second day of the draft by adding Vanek, a Minnesota high school prospect who is the son of longtime NHLer Thomas Vanek. Vanek offers an intriguing package of physical tools and was ranked 18th in the team’s system.

In the later rounds, Beckman represented a solid bet as the club added one of the QMJHL’s more promising netminders. Isayev is an undersized Russian winger who was point-per-game in the MHL in his draft season, while Idzan dazzled fans of the USHL’s Lincoln Stars with his offensive skill last season. He became the first Croatian selected in the NHL Entry Draft and will play at the University of Wisconsin next season.

Trade Acquisitions

D Jordan Spence (from Los Angeles)

The Senators’ lone trade acquisition from the summer was Spence, a 24-year-old blueliner. Spence is an undersized blueliner who brings real offensive talent in his game, and had two quality, near point-per-game AHL seasons after turning pro in 2021-22. Spence already has 180 NHL games to his name, and is coming off of a season where he scored 28 points in 79 games. The arrival and emergence of 2021 top pick Brandt Clarke in a similar offensively-focused right-shot role appears to have pushed Spence out of Los Angeles, and the Senators look poised to benefit.

At the moment, Spence appears to sit third on the team’s right-shot defensive depth chart, behind established veterans Artyom Zub and Nick Jensen. He’ll have to compete with Nikolas Matinpalo for the team’s third-pairing right-side spot, but Spence is notably more experienced than Matinpalo and should be viewed as the favorite for that role.

If Spence can further establish himself as an NHL regular in Ottawa and perhaps find a way to get minutes on the power play (not the easiest task with Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot on the roster) Spence will likely provide a strong return for the Senators’ investment of a third-round pick.

Beyond adjusting to a new environment, it’s an important year for Spence due to his contract situation. His $1.6MM AAV contract is set to expire this summer, when he’ll in all likelihood receive a qualifying offer and become a restricted free agent. He already has an argument for a decent pay raise over the value of his last deal, but breaking into the 30-point range could strengthen his case even further.

UFA Signings

F Wyatt Bongiovanni (one year, $775K)*^
F Nick Cousins (one year, $825K)^
F Lars Eller (one year, $1.25MM plus $1MM in bonuses)
F Claude Giroux (one year, $2MM plus $2.75MM in bonuses)
F Hayden Hodgson (two years, $1.55MM)*^
F Arthur Kaliyev (one year, $775K)*
F Olle Lycksell (one year, $775K)*
G Hunter Shepard (one year, $775K)*

*-denotes two-way contract
^-denotes re-signing

The Senators didn’t do any major free agent shopping this past summer – the largest deal they signed was to re-sign veteran Claude Giroux for another campaign. Their most significant UFA addition from outside the organization was Eller, a veteran center signed to a one-year deal. Eller, now 36, has long been one of the NHL’s better third-line centers, though age is beginning to catch up to him. The 2018 Stanley Cup champion saw his offensive production decline from 15 goals, 31 points in 2023-24 to 10 goals, 22 points in 2024-25.

The Senators didn’t sign Eller for his offense, though. What they’re likely seeking is for Eller to serve as a quality fourth-line defensive center. With Tim Stutzle, Dylan Cozens, and Shane Pinto entrenched as the team’s three top centers moving forward, there isn’t a need for Eller to play as big a role in Ottawa as he did in during his peak years with the Washington Capitals. His contract from this past summer reflects that.

The Senators’ other UFA external additions were made more with an eye to depth and their AHL affiliate than anything else.

They picked up Kaliyev after his stint with the New York Rangers failed to generate momentum. He’s a player Senators management is familiar with from his days in the OHL: Senators president of hockey operations Steve Staios was Kaliyev’s GM back during Kaliyev’s successful stint with the then-Hamilton Bulldogs. One has to think this is a big year for the enigmatic 24-year-old winger to prove he has what it takes to be an NHL player.

Lycksell and Bongiovanni are quality AHL scorers, and Lycksell’s $450k AHL salary indicates he’ll likely be relied upon as one of the top offensive weapons in Belleville. Hodgson is a bigger winger with a more physical profile who could end up seeing an NHL recall should the Senators need a player to fill a fourth-line role for a short period. Shepard, a two-time Calder Cup champion, will likely play a big role for the AHL Senators after receiving a $400k AHL salary to sign in Ottawa.

RFA Re-Signings

F Xavier Bourgault (one year, $775K)*
D Cameron Crotty (two years, $1.625MM)*
F Jan Jenik (one year, $775K)*
D Tyler Kleven (two years, $3.2MM)
D Nikolas Matinpalo (two years, $1.75MM)
G Leevi Merilainen (one year, $1.05MM)
D Donovan Sebrango (one year, $775K)*
D Lassi Thomson (one year, $775K; returns from SHL)
D Fabian Zetterlund (three years, $12.825MM)

*-denotes two-way contract

The Senators’ most significant RFA re-signing was undoubtedly that of Zetterlund, their mid-season trade acquisition from the San Jose Sharks. They didn’t elect to sign the Swedish winger to a long-term extension, which is understandable after he struggled to produce in his 20-game run in Ottawa last season.

In San Jose, Zetterlund showed quite a bit of promise, and has now scored at least 40 points in back-to-back years. Zetterlund plays a unique style in that he has a power forward’s game despite being 5’11. Now earning a shade over $4MM, Zetterlund will have to build some chemistry with one of the team’s existing scorers in order to justify the club’s level of investment in him.

Kleven and Matinpalo are the other two major skaters in the club’s RFA cohort, both likely to be on the team’s NHL roster for 2025-26. Kleven is a rangy defensive defenseman likely to resume his role as the team’s third-pairing left-shot blueliner for this upcoming season – and his $1.6MM AAV reflects that role. Matinpalo, 26, impressed last season as he broke into the NHL and even earned a role on Finland’s Four Nations Faceoff team. He got into 41 games last season and the addition of Spence means he’ll have to really compete to earn a regular role on Ottawa’s defense. But at minimum, it looks like he’ll be the club’s seventh defenseman and be first to step in should any injuries strike.

Merilainen, the lone goalie in that grouping, played in 12 NHL games last season and will be Ottawa’s backup behind starter Linus Ullmark for the upcoming season, provided he can fend off a challenge from the big Mads Sogaard.

Bourgault, Crotty, Jenik, Sebrango, and Thomson are each long-shots to make the team’s NHL roster, but were nonetheless re-signed with an eye to AHL Belleville. It’s a big year for Bourgault in particular, as the 22-year-old forward is just one of a small handful of 2021 first-round picks who have yet to appear in an NHL game.

Departures

F Angus Crookshank (signed with New Jersey, two years, $1.55MM)*
F Philippe Daoust (non-tendered but signed AHL deal with Belleville)
D Jeremy Davies (signed with AHL Henderson)
G Anton Forsberg (signed with Los Angeles, two years, $4.5MM)
F Adam Gaudette (signed with San Jose, two years, $4MM)
D Dennis Gilbert (signed with Philadelphia, one year, $875K)
D Travis Hamonic (signed with Detroit, one year, $1MM)
F Matthew Highmore (signed with NY Islanders, one year, $775K)*
F Jamieson Rees (non-tendered but signed AHL deal with Belleville)
F Cole Reinhardt (signed with Vegas, two years, $1.625MM)
F Tristen Robins (signed in Czechia)
D Filip Roos (signed in Sweden)

*-denotes two-way contract

The Senators lost a few NHLers this offseason, but nobody who is likely to leave a big void in the club’s roster. Gaudette scored 19 goals last season and the Senators didn’t bring in anyone with that kind of goal-scoring record, but an improved year from Zetterlund could help cover for the loss of Gaudette. The Senators could very well have been skeptical that Gaudette, who shot 21.1% last season, would be able to repeat his performance, hence their decision not to re-sign him.

In the departure of Anton Forsberg, the Senators lost an experienced NHL backup – but if Merilainen’s 2024-25 performance is something he can build on, the Senators will be fine. Right-handed veteran Hamonic’s spot on the team’s defensive depth chart was filled by the addition of Spence, and while Reinhardt was a useful, scrappy depth winger, he’s not a departure that will make a major difference in the Senators’ fortunes.

Salary Cap Outlook

The Senators enter training camp with a little over $3.5MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.  However, the team is operating as a cash-over-cap team, something that owner Michael Andlauer acknowledged would likely mean they won’t spend right to the $95.5MM ceiling.  Between that, wanting to keep some flexibility open for injuries, and keeping some money available for the bonuses to Giroux and Eller, the actual amount of that cap room that’s available to be spent right now would appear to be quite limited.

Key Questions

Who Will Be Ottawa’s Backup Goalie?

Although the Senators have one of the NHL’s top veteran netminders in Ullmark, the 32-year-old Swede is not known for an ability to shoulder a heavy workload. Ullmark played in just 44 games in 2024-25, and even in his Vezina Trophy-winning season, he played in just 49 games. In other words – the backup goalie spot in Ottawa is more important than for other teams, because the club’s other netminders are in line to play a greater workload than backups see in other markets. Offseason RFA signing Merilainen looks like the front-runner to be the backup goalie after the departure of Forsberg, but he’ll be pushed by Sogaard, who has 29 games of NHL experience. The dark horse here would be Shepard, a veteran who struggled with the AHL’s Hershey Bears in 2024-25 but was downright elite in 2023-24.

Can the Senators Expect More From Their Stars?

The Senators are led by a talented core group of in-their-prime players, but that’s not to say each player played up to his potential in 2024-25. Franchise center Stutzle led the team in scoring, but he’s finished in the 70’s in terms of point production in back-to-back years. After scoring 90 points in his third NHL campaign, it would be fair to expect a little bit more from the highly talented German. The same can be said for captain Brady Tkachuk. Tkachuk is a highly coveted, unique talent, and so one would be forgiven for not realizing he had only 55 points last season. For the Senators to become the kind of dominant force they have the talent to be, they’ll need him to produce the way he did in 2022-23, when he put up 83 points to go alongside 35 goals. The Senators have a collection of players that, on paper, are more than good enough to claim a divisional playoff spot. But they’ll need a few big names to step up and play up to their potential in order to do so.

How Will Zetterlund Do In His First Full Senators Season?

The Senators’ roster is largely settled, with big names under contract and few existential roster questions. As the above question alluded to – the pieces are largely in place, the main element needed now is execution. The most notable still-unsettled piece of the Senators puzzle is Zetterlund. The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie indicated before training camp that the expectation would be for Zetterlund to begin the year on the team’s first line alongside Stutzle and Tkachuk, which would be a huge opportunity for Zetterlund to potentially set new career highs in production. Whether he’s able to actually do so – and justify the Senators’ investment in him – will be a key storyline to watch in Ottawa this season.

PHR’s Ethan Hetu also contributed to this column.

Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

East Notes: York, Persson, Rangers Coaches

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Despite his tumultuous 2024-25 season, Cam York was cemented as a key part of the Philadelphia Flyers’ future when the club signed him to a $5.15MM AAV contract extension that runs through the 2029-30 season. Today at training camp, new Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed the importance of York to the club’s short and long-term plans, stating that York “has been keeping that pattern pretty high” in terms of the consistency of his performance. As relayed by The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz, Tocchet added that he hopes York will be able to “can carry his own pair” for the club this season.

Tocchet’s point about York potentially carrying his own defensive pairing is notable as York spent significant time paired with Travis Sanheim in 2024-25. Sanheim is the Flyers’ top defenseman, and separating York from Sanheim would be a large show of faith in York’s abilities. York has so far spent time in camp paired with young blueliner Helge Grans, who has played in just six career NHL games. Being the steady veteran a rookie partner can rely on is a large responsibility for an NHL defenseman, and should Tocchet elect to deploy York in that matter, it would further underline just how dramatically York has elevated his stock in Philadelphia since he was benched for a full game under interim coach Brad Shaw.

Some other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • Training camp is the setting where aspiring NHLers look to make their mark and steal a spot on an NHL roster, and each year there are young players who come out of nowhere to leave a strong impression on their team’s management, even if they don’t ultimately land an NHL role that year. That exact scenario could end up playing out in Washington, where 2022 third-round Capitals draft pick Ludwig Persson has, per The Hockey News’ Sammi Silber, really “stood out” in the early portion of camp. The Swedish winger turns 22 in October and spent last season in the Finnish Liiga, scoring 16 points in 52 games for Jukurit. Persson got the chance to skate with established NHLers Connor McMichael and Tom Wilson at camp on Saturday, and while it’s difficult to see him ultimately making the team’s opening-night roster (he has just one game of professional experience in North America), his early camp performance could make him a prospect to watch moving forward for Capitals fans.
  • The Athletic’s Peter Baugh and Vince Z. Mercogliano reported from New York Rangers training camp today that head coach Mike Sullivan has revealed how his staff of assistant coaches will split their responsibilities this upcoming season. Sullivan told the media that assistant David Quinn, the former Rangers head coach, will work with the team’s defensemen and run the club’s power play. Quinn ran Sullivan’s power play with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season and managed a strong sixth-place leaguewide finish in success rate. Assistant Joe Sacco, the former Boston Bruins interim head coach, will run the club’s penalty kill and work with Rangers forwards. The Bruins’ penalty kill ranked 24th in the NHL last season, killing penalties at a 76.3% rate.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/20/25

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The preseason officially gets underway tonight and that will usually spur a round of training camp cuts around the league with players typically getting loaned back to their respective junior or international clubs.  We’ll keep tabs on today’s cuts here.  The remaining players can be found on our Training Camp Rosters page.

Anaheim Ducks (per team announcement)

F Emil Guite (to Chicoutimi, QMJHL)
F Maxim Masse (to Chicoutimi, QMJHL)
D Alexis Mathieu (to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
F Ethan Procyszyn (to North Bay, OHL)
F Noah Read (to London, OHL)
D Tarin Smith (to Everett, WHL)
F Brady Turko (to Brandon, WHL)
D Darels Uljanskis (to Flint, OHL)

Calgary Flames (per team announcement)

F Nathan Brisson (to Val-d’Or, QMJHL)
F Mael Lavigne (to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)
F Kadon McCann (to Medicine Hat, WHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

D Nicklas Andrews (released from PTO to Toledo, ECHL)
F Kevin Bicker (to Frankfurt, DEL)
F Vincent Collard (released from ATO to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)
D Maxim Dirracolo (released from ATO to Kitchener, OHL)
D Wyatt Kennedy (released from ATO to Windsor, OHL)
F Liam Kilfoil (released from ATO to Halifax, QMJHL)
D Carl-Otto Magnusson (released from ATO to Moncton, QMJHL)
G Landon Miller (to Soo, OHL)
D Will Murphy (to Cape Breton, QMJHL)
G Michal Pradel (to Tri-City, USHL)
F Grayden Robertson-Palmer (to Moncton, QMJHL)

New York Rangers (per team release)

F Raoul Boilard (to Shawinigan, QMJHL)
D Artyom Gonchar (to Sudbury, OHL)
F Gavin Hain (to Hartford, AHL)
F Kyle Jackson (to Hartford, AHL)
F Zakary Karpa (to Hartford, AHL)
D Tim Lovell (released from PTO)
F Sullivan Mack (to Hartford, AHL)
D Chris Merisier-Ortiz (to Hartford, AHL)
D Cooper Moore (to Hartford, AHL)
G Hugo Ollas (to Hartford, AHL)
D Evan Passmore (to Barrie, OHL)
G Callum Tung (to Hartford, AHL)
D Corbin Vaughan (released from ATO)

Toronto Maple Leafs (per team announcement)

D Rylan Fellinger (to Flint, OHL)
F Matthew Hlacar (to Kitchener, OHL)
F Tyler Hopkins (to Kingston, OHL)
D Nathan Mayes (to Spokane, WHL)
F Sam McCue (to Brantford, OHL)
F Harry Nansi (to Owen Sound, OHL) 

Snapshots: Canadiens Defense, Steeves, Burns

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The Montreal Canadiens made one of the offseason’s biggest trades when they acquired top-pairing blueliner Noah Dobson in a trade with the New York Islanders. After the deal, most had pencilled in Kaiden Guhle as Dobson’s likely partner, often citing Guhle’s defensive reliability as a factor that would hypothetically allow Dobson to play a more aggressive offensive style, perhaps one that would help him reach the scoring heights he hit in 2023-24, when he notched 70 points. Today, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu reported that Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis appears likely to stick with his current training camp defense pairings at least until he can see how they fare against regular season competition, which would mean Dobson is slated to begin the season paired not with Guhle, but instead veteran Mike Matheson.

The move would allow Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson to remain paired with Guhle, the player he finished 2024-25 paired with. The idea of pairing Matheson with Dobson is one that has merit, even though Matheson can sometimes garner harsh criticism from Canadiens fans. Although he can sometimes be mistake-prone, Matheson has shown a real, highly valuable ability to log heavy minutes: he averaged 25:05 time-on-ice per game in 2024-25, despite losing his role as first-unit power play quarterback to Hutson. While he’s not as highly regarded as a defensive force compared to Guhle, he is the Canadiens’ most experienced defenseman, so it’s not unreasonable for St. Louis to expect Matheson to be a solid partner to help Dobson settle in with his new team.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Outside of star David Pastrnak, the Boston Bruins don’t have the NHL’s most standout collection of forwards. But where there is a lack of established talent, there is also opportunity for less-experienced players to establish themselves, and that’s exactly what 25-year-old AHL standout Alex Steeves appears to have the opportunity to do. The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa reports that Steeves, who has been playing on a line with Casey Mittlestadt to start training camp, “should have a better chance to stick” on Boston’s NHL roster than he did with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he was generally an AHL scorer. According to Shinzawa, playing with Mittlestadt has been “a good spot” for Steeves, who had 36 goals and 62 points across 59 AHL games last season. While it’s unwise to put too much stock into early training camp deployments, one thing is clear: this preseason is perhaps the largest opportunity for Steeves to become a full-time NHLer as he’s had in his entire pro career thusfar.
  • Veteran defenseman Brent Burns won’t play in the team’s preseason contest as he’s currently dealing with a “minor tweak,” reports Colorado Hockey Now’s Aarif Deen. Deen added that the injury is “nothing serious” but that the club felt it would be best to hold him out of the upcoming contests. Burns, 40, has been remarkably healthy throughout his NHL career, and has logged 82 games played across four consecutive NHL seasons. So while Burns may not play in the club’s upcoming games due to injury, one should not expect this development to impact his readiness to contribute in the regular season.

Metro Notes: Fabbri, Gauthier, Schneider

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Three days ago, we covered news that the Pittsburgh Penguins were bringing veteran winger Robby Fabbri to their training camp on a PTO. Today, Fabbri spoke to the media in Pittsburgh and divulged new details on his offseason and how he came to sign his PTO with the Penguins. Fabbri told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Matt Vensel that his decision-making process “came down to the very last day,” adding that there were “a handful of teams circling ever since July 1” but he ultimately could not land a full contract offer.

That Fabbri had to settle for a PTO should not come as a huge surprise, as despite the winger’s clear talent, he has struggled immensely to stay healthy throughout his 442-game NHL career. As Vensel explained in his piece, Fabbri “has a history of knee issues” and the combination of knee troubles alongside a broken hand limited Fabbri to just 44 games and 16 points last season. But the year before, in 2023-24, Fabbri was a solid contributor, scoring 18 goals in 68 games played. Still just 29 years old, Fabbri offers the Penguins an experienced veteran option to occupy a winger spot should one of their young players struggle in training camp or the preseason, and it would be difficult to imagine Fabbri going the entire preseason process without eventually landing a permanent place to play the 2025-26 season.

Some other notes from across the Metro Division:

  • Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported today that Penguins minor-league goaltender Taylor Gauthier will be sidelined “longer-term” due to an undisclosed injury. Gauthier, 24, is signed to an AHL contract and was expected to serve as depth for the club’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. The 24-year-old turned pro in 2022-23 and got into 20 AHL games, going 8-3-6 with a .907 save percentage. For the last two seasons, Gauthier has been largely an ECHL goalie who has played sporadically in the AHL – he posted a strong .928 save percentage in 30 ECHL games in 2024-25 and got into one AHL game – a 32-save shutout. In addition to Gauthier, the Penguins also have Kazakh netminder Maxim Pavlenko signed to an AHL deal to provide further depth.
  • New York Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider has been cleared for contact, reported the New York Post’s Mollie Walker. The 24-year-old defenseman is dealing with a shoulder ailment, and it had been previously reported that Schneider’s hope is to be ready to play in the team’s final few preseason contests. This injury won’t play any major role in the Rangers’ roster-building calculus as Schneider’s spot in the club’s lineup is guaranteed. He’s been a steady defensive force for the Rangers since making his NHL debut in 2021-22, and logged almost 18 minutes per game, including time on the penalty kill, last season.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Utah Mammoth

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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, next up are the Mammoth.

Utah Mammoth

Current Cap Hit: $88,817,857 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Logan Cooley (one year, $950K)

Potential Bonuses
Cooley: $3.5MM

As expected, Cooley took a big step forward in his sophomore season while clearing all four of his ‘A’ bonuses ($1MM in total).  GM Bill Armstrong hasn’t hesitated in trying to sign some of his young core pieces to long-term deals and it makes sense he’ll try to do so here.  But with the cap projections that are available, the cost of that pact should break past the $8MM ceiling of many of his comparables and even jump ahead of the $9MM mark.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

F Michael Carcone ($775K, UFA)
D Ian Cole ($2.8MM, UFA)
G Connor Ingram ($1.95MM, UFA)
F Barrett Hayton ($2.65MM, RFA)
F Alexander Kerfoot ($3MM, UFA)
F Nick Schmaltz ($5.85MM, UFA)
F Kevin Stenlund ($2MM, UFA)
D Juuso Valimaki ($2MM, UFA)
G Vitek Vanecek ($1.5MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses
Cole: $200K

The backloaded nature of Schmaltz’s contract made him a speculative trade candidate before the team was sold and moved to Utah which took that idea off the table.  He has been quite consistent offensively in recent years, ranging between 58 and 63 points in each of the last four seasons, solid second-line production.  He hasn’t played center too frequently over that stretch but has spent enough time down the middle that teams on the open market will be willing to pay the premium to get a top-six center.  He’ll make $8.5MM this season between his salary and signing bonus and while matching that on his next contract could be difficult, landing in the $7.5MM area seems doable.

Kerfoot’s offensive production has been a little volatile over the past few years but he still has a floor of a third-line center who can play up and down the lineup when needed.  That profile should appeal to a lot of teams and another multi-year deal (three or four years) should be doable with a price tag pushing past the $4MM per season mark.  The second bridge deal given to Hayton has gone better than the first and this will be a big year.  If he can have another 40-plus-point campaign, that will be three years out of four, giving him a much better case in his final arbitration-eligible year.  If they work out a long-term deal, it could land past $6MM per season while if they opt for another shorter-term pact that buys just a couple of years of control, it might land more in the $5MM range.

Stenlund landed more than some expected last summer for a player who had only been a full-time player for one year but he wound up playing a bigger role than expected and won over 59% of his draws.  Another season like that could have him closer to $3MM while a step back could keep him around where he is now.  Carcone wasn’t planning on coming back to Utah after spending a lot of the year as a healthy scratch but after the market didn’t go his way, he accepted the minimum to return.  At this point, he’s likely to stay around the minimum moving forward.

Cole, who will max out his bonuses at 65 games played, is now on his fifth straight one-year contract.  He has logged a fourth or fifth role for the bulk of that time and at this point, barring a big drop in ice time or efficiency, it seems same to think he’ll stay around this price tag next summer, probably on another one-year pact when he’ll be 37.  Valimaki is coming off a tough year, one that saw him scratched at times before suffering a torn ACL which will cost him the first couple of months of this season as well.  At this point, he’ll be hard-pressed to match this price tag on his next deal and a one-year pact to try to rebuild some value might be the way to go.

Ingram took over the number one job in 2023-24 but wasn’t able to sustain that success last season and entered the Player Assistance Program in March but was cleared last month.  However, he won’t be returning to Utah, putting his short-term situation into question.  If he can stay in the NHL, another deal in this price range could be doable.  But if he winds up in the minors for a big chunk of next season, he could find himself closer to number three money, around half of his current AAV.  Vanecek was brought in as additional insurance this summer and is coming off a rough year, his second straight with numbers well below average.  Unless he turns that around, he’s unlikely to command any sort of significant raise next year.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Lawson Crouse ($4.3MM, UFA)
D John Marino ($4.4MM, UFA)
F Liam O’Brien ($1MM, UFA)

After a couple of 40-point seasons, it looked like Crouse was turning the corner and becoming a legitimate top-six piece.  But things went sideways last season as he only managed 18 points.  If last year was an aberration, then Utah should still get decent value over these final two years while Crouse will be in line for a small raise.  But if last season is the new sign of things to come, his value is going to take a big blow, putting his next deal closer to half of his current deal.  O’Brien was the NHL’s leader in penalty minutes in 2023-24 while playing a regular role but he was scratched more often than not last season.  Still, there remains enough of a market for enforcers that he could still best this contract two years from now.

Marino’s first season in Utah was injury-riddled as he only played in 35 games.  Still, in those outings, he showed that he can hold down a top-four role and kill penalties.  Add that to being a right-shot defender and you have the profile of a player who should be able to push past $5MM per season on his next contract on what’s likely to be another long-term deal.

Signed Through 2027-28

D Sean Durzi ($6MM, UFA)
F Clayton Keller ($7.15MM, UFA)
D Olli Maatta ($3.5MM, UFA)
D Nate Schmidt ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Brandon Tanev ($2.5MM, UFA)

Keller hasn’t always received a lot of fanfare but over the past four seasons, he has found that extra gear and has become a legitimate top-line producer, averaging just shy of 80 points per campaign over that stretch.  As the market value for top-line wingers is set to go up over the next couple of years, Keller should be in a spot to surpass $10MM per season on a long-term pact in 2028.  Tanev isn’t as impactful as he was a few years back but he can still add some grit and defensive acumen to the Mammoth.  He’ll be 37 when this deal ends so he’ll likely be going year-to-year from there and if his role resembles that of his time in Winnipeg down the stretch, he will be hard-pressed to make this on that next contract.

Durzi is an interesting case.  After showing some offensive promise in Los Angeles, his first year with this organization (back when it was in Arizona) saw him take another step forward, earning this contract and suggesting he can be a core piece for Utah.  But injuries limited him last season to just 30 games and with some of the defensive additions they made following the change in cities, his role wasn’t as substantial, particularly his power play time.  He’s likely to get similar usage moving forward.  If he can get back to being a 40-point player, his value on the open market could push more towards the $8MM range on a long-term pact while if he remains in the role he had last season, the goal might be more along the lines of matching this price tag.

Maatta fit in nicely after being acquired in an early-season trade to give them some help with their injuries.  Still, the decision to give him this contract as an early extension was a little odd, especially since his role when everyone is healthy is lower on the depth chart than where he played for a lot of last year.  This is a little on the high side for someone who is best served as a third-pairing piece but they have the cap space to afford that premium.  The same can be said for Schmidt who was more of a sixth option with Florida but still landed this contract back in July.  He’ll also be entering his age-37 year on his next contract, one that should be a one-year pact closer to half of this amount.

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East Injury Updates: Maple Leafs, Panarin, Jensen

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The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Simon Benoit is dealing with an upper-body injury while center Nicolas Roy has a lower-body injury.  Neither player took part in practice today while goaltender Joseph Woll was also absent due to illness.  Benoit was a regular on Toronto’s third pairing last season while Roy is likely to break camp as their third-line center after being acquired from Vegas just before free agency opened up.

Meanwhile, there is some good news on injury front for the Maple Leafs as well.  Head coach Craig Berube told reporters including Nick Barden of The Hockey News that forward Max Domi is expected to rejoin the team for practice on Sunday.  He has yet to take part in training camp due to a lower-body injury.  This could be a big camp for Domi with a spot on Toronto’s top line up for grabs following Mitch Marner’s departure and as their roster stands, he’s one of the players who could have a shot at that spot.

Other injury news from around the Eastern Conference:

  • After exiting practice early on Friday, it appears the Rangers have dodged a significant injury to Artemi Panarin. Newsday’s Colin Stephenson notes (Twitter link) that while the winger didn’t take part in practice today, he’s listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.  It’s a contract year for the 33-year-old so he’ll be looking for a big year to help boost his market value.  Despite a 31-point drop in points to 89 last season, Panarin still led New York in scoring for the sixth straight year, comprising his entire tenure with the team.
  • Senators defenseman Nick Jensen took part in practice today but not the scrimmage game, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). The veteran underwent hip surgery back in May with the belief that he is a little ahead of schedule although his availability for the start of the season next month remains in question.  Jensen was a big contributor on Ottawa’s back end in 2024-25, notching 21 points in 71 games while logging over 20 minutes a night.

Ryan Suter Not Actively Pursuing A Contract

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One of the more prominent unrestricted free agent defensemen still on the open market is veteran Ryan Suter.  However, as Pierre LeBrun points out in his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link), Suter doesn’t appear to be actively pursuing a contract.  While he isn’t ready to say he has retired and would listen to an offer if it came in, he instructed his agent earlier this summer not to call teams to try to drum up a market for his services.

The 40-year-old has been an NHL regular for the past 20 years, suiting up in 1,526 regular season contests over that span, good for 19th all-time.  Even a partial campaign this year could put him in the top 15.  It’s also fair to say that he has logged some heavy minutes over that stretch with an average TOI at over 24 minutes per game, including two seasons with Minnesota where he averaged over 29 minutes a night.

In his prime, Suter was a steady offensive contributor from the back end as well.  He had a stretch of 13 straight seasons with at least 30 points with seven of those seeing him record at least 40.  The end result was 696 points, ranking him 33rd among all-time NHL rearguards.

Last season, Suter was a regular for the Blues after inking a one-year deal worth the league minimum of $775K plus $2.25MM in potential performance bonuses, many of which were simply tied to games played; the structure gave St. Louis some additional short-term cap flexibility.  While he only managed 15 points in 82 games, he still logged over 19 minutes a night while often playing on their top penalty kill pairing.  While he’s a year older now, his performance last season showed that he can still contribute at the NHL level.

At this point, Suter might be better served waiting into the season to sign to see if the right opportunity presents itself, either one with a contender or a chance to play close to home.  Going through the full rigors of an 82-game season may not be the best option so a spot where he can be in more of a depth or reserve role would make sense in theory.  But if that opportunity ultimately doesn’t present itself, it appears that Suter is content with calling it a career if it gets to that point.

Pacific Notes: McTavish, Doughty, Giles

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While both the Ducks and unsigned center Mason McTavish are believed to want a long-term deal, it appears they have very different opinions as to what that deal would cost.  The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that McTavish’s camp is opening to signing a seven or eight-year deal in the $7MM to $8MM range, a contract that would make the 22-year-old their highest-paid forward.  However, Anaheim’s preference appears to be a five-year pact around $5.5MM per year.  Curiously, that would only buy the team one extra year of club control but the price tag would make it a team-friendly contract right away while allowing veteran Troy Terry to remain their top-paid attacker.  Clearly, the two sides still have a long way to go to bridge the gap.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • Kings defenseman Drew Doughty missed most of last season after undergoing ankle surgery but returned in late January and was a regular from there. However, Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider notes that the veteran underwent a second surgery on the ankle after the playoffs, one that kept him sidelined for eight weeks.  Doughty feels the second procedure will allow him to feel more like he did a couple of years ago and given how much Los Angeles relies on him, a healthier version of himself would give their back end a nice boost to start the season.
  • Sharks winger Patrick Giles recently underwent surgery on a lower-body injury and is at least a couple of weeks away from returning to the ice, relays Sharks Hockey Digest’s Max Miller (Twitter link). The 25-year-old split last season between Florida and San Jose, getting into 17 NHL contests combined between the two teams where he had a goal and 11 shots in a little over nine minutes a night of playing time.  If Giles isn’t healthy to start the season, the Sharks can place him on season-opening IR and have a reduced cap hit relative to the number of days he spent on an NHL roster in 2024-25.

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