No Progress In Extension Talks Between Anaheim Ducks, Jacob Trouba
A little over a year ago, the Anaheim Ducks acquired defenseman Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers in what appeared at the time as a salary dump for the latter. He was embroiled in the worst season of his NHL career, and looked more like a placeholder for the Ducks as their prospects made their way to the NHL ranks.
However, a year later, Trouba has become a fixture on Anaheim’s blue line, helping the Ducks to their first postseason appearance since the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. Unfortunately, as much as they would like to keep Trouba, the two sides haven’t gotten close to finalizing a contract extension.
Speaking on The Fan Hockey Show, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said, “They’ve been negotiating with [Jacob] Trouba on and off, and to this point they haven’t been able to close it.” The 13-year veteran will see his seven-year, $56MM contract expire on July 1st in a few weeks.
Much of that likely has to do with the price point. Trouba and his camp are likely trying to capitalize on a resurgent 2025-26 campaign, and the Ducks may view it as a flash in the pan, though they would still like to retain him at a digestible rate. Essentially, since the 2021-22 campaign, Trouba’s performance had been declining across the board.
This season, however, he made a big comeback. Throughout the 2025-26 season, Trouba scored 10 goals and 35 points in 81 games with a -1 rating, averaging nearly 23 minutes of ice time per game. Additionally, he led the team in blocked shots, finished third in hits, and had the sixth-most takeaways on the team.
Diving deeper, his 51.8% CorsiFor at even strength is the second-highest mark of his career, and better than any season he had with the Rangers. Still, heading into his age-32 season, especially with how he plays the game, it’s a fair question from the Ducks if he can keep this up for several more years.
In all seriousness, Anaheim is likely in the driver’s seat in the negotiations, despite Trouba’s impressive season. The team has a solid opportunity this summer to re-work its defensive core for the future, without having a stark drop-off in talent. Trouba is joined by captain Radko Gudas and trade deadline acquisition John Carlson as projected unrestricted free agents this summer. If the Ducks keep only one of the trio, they’ll have a balanced right side of the blue line with Drew Helleson and Tristan Luneau in tow.
According to AFP Analytics, Trouba is projected to land a three-year, $9.25MM contract should he hit the open market this summer. Although he will assuredly earn less than his current $8MM salary, an approximately $3.1MM salary feels remarkably low for the season he just had. If Trouba does make it to the open market, he’ll likely land a deal similar to the extension Adam Larsson signed with the Seattle Kraken last year, a four-year, $21MM ($5.25MM AAV) pact, if not a little bit more.
Danila Klimovich Expected To Sign In KHL
Canucks prospect winger Danila Klimovich is set to have his entry-level contract end next month. However, instead of re-signing with Vancouver, it appears he has other plans. Sport-Express’ Mikhail Zislis reports that Klimovich is set to sign a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow of the KHL.
The 23-year-old was a second-round pick by Vancouver back in 2021, going 41st overall. He was selected out of the Belarusian Vysshaya (their second-tier league) but somewhat surprisingly made the jump to North America right away, signing his entry-level deal a month after being selected.
While that allowed the Canucks to get immediate control of Klimovich’s development, it was a case of exposing him to quite a jump in difficulty right away. He responded relatively well as an 18-year-old with AHL Abbotsford in 2021-22, picking up 18 points in 62 games. He followed that up with a 27-point effort the following year before injuries derailed his 2023-24 campaign, limiting him to just 24 games.
Klimovich found a way to be a bit more productive over the last two years, however. In 2024-25, he notched 25 goals and 13 assists in 65 games but wasn’t able to secure a recall to the big club. This season, he had 18 goals and 16 helpers in 67 outings but again, a promotion to Vancouver never came, despite their struggles down the stretch.
While the Canucks probably would prefer Klimovich to remain in North America and keep working on his game in Abbotsford, it’s certainly understandable that the forward would prefer a different opportunity after five seasons at the AHL level. Assuming a deal is ultimately finalized, Vancouver will be able to retain Klimovich’s NHL rights by tendering him a qualifying offer next month, one that will ultimately be declined.
East Notes: Bruins, Korpisalo, Power, Charron
Jonathan Aspirot was certainly a feel-good story for the Bruins this season, going from a journeyman minor leaguer to a fixture on the top defense pairing alongside Charlie McAvoy. However, Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe argues that Boston’s top priority this summer should be upgrading McAvoy’s partner on the left side. Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, and Mason Lohrei have all been attempted with varying degrees of success to the point where Aspirot was given a chance and made the most of it. But with the Bruins looking to build on their return to the playoffs, adding a player who could help McAvoy find another gear would certainly help their fortunes considerably.
Elsewhere in the East:
- Still with the Bruins, com’s Conor Ryan examined some potential cap casualties should the team decide to make some bigger swings that they can’t fit into their roughly $16MM of cap room this summer. Chief among those is goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who has two years left on his deal with Boston responsible for $3MM of his cap hit. With Michael DiPietro winning AHL MVP this season, he could plausibly become Jeremy Swayman’s backup next season, allowing them to move Korpisalo to open up a bit of cap space. With several teams likely looking to shake things up between the pipes, there could be a market for his services.
- Facing elimination tonight, the Sabres should have one of their top blueliners available. Owen Power was banged up late on Thursday but head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters today including Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the defenseman should be good to go. In his first taste of playoff action at the NHL level, the 23-year-old has five assists through 11 games and is averaging 20:44 per game of ice time, down just a tad from his season ATOI of 21:39. Ruff wouldn’t comment on any potential lineup changes for Buffalo for tonight’s game.
- Earlier this week, Penguins prospect Jordan Charron announced that he was committing to UMass-Amherst. However, it appears he won’t be making the jump to the college ranks right away. His former GOJHL team, the Ayr Centennials, noted (Twitter link) that the commitment is for 2027-28, meaning that he’ll stay with OHL Soo for one more year. The winger was a fifth-round pick last year and moved to the OHL level this season. He had a solid first year with the Greyhounds, notching 25 goals and 22 assists in 66 games and finished up on a tryout in the minors with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. However, since he didn’t play a game on that agreement, he retains his NCAA eligibility.
Offseason Checklist: Florida Panthers
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those who have already been eliminated. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Florida.
Coming off back-to-back Stanley Cup victories (and three straight Final appearances), expectations were high for the Panthers this season. Instead, an older roster with a lot of extra games over the past three years caught up with them and they wound up with an injury-riddled year where next to nothing went right. That resulted in them missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019. GM Bill Zito will have some work to do this summer to get his team back into the thick of things.
Another Bridge For Samoskevich
Last offseason, the top item on this list for Florida was a bridge deal for Mackie Samoskevich. With the winger not eligible for an offer sheet and the Panthers needing cap flexibility, it was a certainty that Samoskevich would be receiving a low-cost, short-term contract. Still, one year at the league minimum salary of $775K came as somewhat of a surprise.
Samoskevich opting to do so gave Florida extra cap room and in return, he gets to be in a much more favorable situation this summer. On top of taking one for the team on the contract front, Samoskevich is now eligible for both an offer sheet and salary arbitration. While the former seems rather unlikely to happen, the latter is particularly notable as it will set him up for a nice raise moving forward.
After putting up 31 points in 72 regular season games last season, the 23-year-old produced at a similar clip this year, recording 32 in 77 contests. That’s still not a particularly long track record but it’s enough for AFP Analytics to project a two-year contract worth over $3.1MM per season, effectively quadrupling his current agreement. He still has four seasons of team control remaining, so another bridge deal isn’t as risky.
Florida’s cap situation is better off this summer than the year before, which we’ll look at a bit closer shortly. That affords them the flexibility to work out a long-term contract but given that he hasn’t established himself as a full-time top-six player yet, doing so probably isn’t justifiable for either side. Accordingly, this year’s checklist starts the same as last year’s with the youngster needing a bridge deal.
Sign A Goalie Tandem
When the Panthers decided to move Spencer Knight as part of the Seth Jones trade last season, they moved out their future between the pipes as part of the process. With Jones playing an important role in their 2025 Cup title, they’re probably not too upset about it. But now, that decision is really going to be felt.
Sergei Bobrovsky has been entrenched between the pipes for Florida for the past seven years after signing the richest deal given to an unrestricted free agent goalie in NHL history. (Pricier deals were given as contract extensions, not open-market agreements.) But now, Bobrovsky is set to return to the open market while heading into his age-38 season in 2026-27 on the heels of his worst season of the seven.
Given his age, it would seem at first glance that a short-term deal would make sense. However, with Brad Marchand landing a six-year contract in the same situation last summer, there have been suggestions that Bobrovsky could be looking for something like that or close. On a short-term agreement, a price tag closer to half of his most recent cap hit makes sense and might even be high given the year he just had. But a four or five-year pact would almost certainly lower the AAV as it would be expected that he’d be transitioning to a backup or platoon role in the later seasons. That could push the price tag to a number starting with a four. That would give them some extra flexibility this summer but even a medium-term agreement for Bobrovsky wouldn’t be without its risks.
Meanwhile, it’s not as if Florida is in a position where their backup is ready to take on the starting workload. Daniil Tarasov didn’t have a great year himself and is only a year removed from being demoted to third-string status in Columbus. On top of that, he’s also a pending unrestricted free agent so there’s no guarantee he’ll be back either.
The UFA market is not particularly deep for teams looking for a starter. There aren’t likely to be too many starters available on the trade market, either, with question marks surrounding those who may be in play. Zito is going to have to find a way to navigate that to find a starter for next season, be it Bobrovsky or someone else, while adding a backup to the mix as well. They have around $15MM in cap room next season per PuckPedia and may need half of that or more to fill out their tandem.
Upgrade Defensive Depth
It’s reasonable to think that Florida’s offense, one that was near the middle of the pack this season, will bounce next year with a much healthier group. So while there might be a temptation to try to pursue an upgrade up front and really deepen the lineup, there’s a more compelling case to try to shore up their defensive depth.
By the time they sign two goalies and re-sign Samoskevich, they’re probably going to have around $5MM or so to play with. That’s not enough to sign a top-four defender but that’s okay as Florida’s top four is set. It’s the bottom end that could be upgraded on and fortunately for the Panthers, the UFA market has decent depth among depth defenders.
As things stand, Florida’s fifth through seventh options are Dmitry Kulikov, Uvis Balinskis, and Donovan Sebrango. Kulikov had an injury-riddled year that saw him miss 63 games due to injuries and he’ll turn 36 in late October. It’s likely they’ll want to manage his minutes on the last two years of his deal. Balinskis is a capable sixth option but could certainly be upgraded on, while Sebrango, a pending RFA, is a non-tender candidate thanks to his arbitration eligibility. He’s a capable depth piece but not someone who can’t be replaced.
Plausibly, one or even two additions would be beneficial. They could take a swing on a bonus-laden deal for Brent Burns, similar to the deal he’s currently on with Colorado if they want a possible top-four fit. Ian Cole, Connor Murphy, and Jamie Oleksiak are the gritty stay-at-home players to anchor a third pairing and penalty kill. If they want to add another right-shot player to the mix, a reunion with Radko Gudas could make sense while Timothy Liljegren or Andrew Peeke would be younger options compared to the others on this list who could still upgrade the third pairing. There are quite a few available this summer.
This would be a prudent, though quiet, way to improve this summer. It wouldn’t be surprising to see this be the route that Zito takes, unless he has something more drastic in mind, something like this:
Dangle Number Nine
No, this isn’t a section about dangling center Sam Bennett in trade talks, even though he’s coming off a career year and the Panthers could leverage a strong return for his services in a weak center market. They’d also still be well-set with Aleksander Barkov returning and Anton Lundell anchoring the second line.
Instead, this is about their draft pick, which is slotted ninth overall. While Florida could obviously benefit in the long run from adding an impactful prospect to the mix, one whose early cost control could really pay dividends in a few years when he’s ready to make the jump to the NHL. But the Panthers aren’t the typical team with a top-ten pick. They’re a perceived contender coming off a season where basically anything that could go wrong did go wrong.
Despite the poor finish this season, the expectation is that Florida will be back in the playoffs next season. The composition of their roster remains in win-now mode. With that in mind, the ninth pick next month may very well be their best trade chip to utilize to get a win-now piece to try to quickly vault them back to contention. And if there isn’t a viable trade over the next six weeks, they can always make the pick and use the player as a potential trade chip later in the season.
Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke-Imagn Images.
Wild Tried To Acquire Robert Thomas At Trade Deadline
An impactful top center has been atop Minnesota’s wish list for many years now. While Joel Eriksson Ek is a quality top-six middleman, they haven’t been able to find the pivot to help round out their top six. It appears that they attempted to do so before the trade deadline, however, with Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic reporting (subscription link) that the Wild made a pitch to acquire Robert Thomas from the Blues. Included in the proposed package were goaltender Jesper Wallstedt and center Danila Yurov.
Back in March, the expectation was that the Blues were seeking at least three top-15-level assets (players, prospects, or draft picks) plus maybe more if they were going to part with Thomas. Wallstedt and Yurov, though both picked just outside the top-15, probably would meet the criteria, but it’s unclear what else Minnesota was offering in their package. Their 2026 first-round pick was moved in the Quinn Hughes trade earlier this season, making their 2027 first a logical piece, although it’s unlikely that the Wild will be in the back of the lottery next summer.
Thomas would certainly have been a needle-mover for Minnesota. The 26-year-old surpassed the 80-point mark in 2023-24 and 2024-25 and would have had a chance to do so this season had he not missed 18 games due to injury. Still, Thomas put up 64 points in 64 outings. He also took a regular turn on the penalty kill and would have given Minnesota an all-around impactful center, one who is signed through 2030-31 at an $8.125MM AAV that will become even more team-friendly in the coming years.
That said, it’s understandable that the Blues wouldn’t view Wallstedt and Yurov as being viable centerpieces of a trade for their best forward. It’s not that neither is a quality player but rather that the fit on the roster is less certain.
Wallstedt’s first full NHL season was a successful one. He worked his way into a platoon with Filip Gustavsson, getting into 35 games during the regular season where he had a solid 2.65 GAA with a .915 SV% along with four shutouts. He then took over as the starter for Minnesota’s playoff run, compiling a 2.77 GAA and a .909 SV%, numbers that are skewed by the opening game of the Colorado series that saw him allow eight goals. But while he’s certainly a quality young goaltender, St. Louis has Joel Hofer in the mix already and are likely envisioning him as their goalie of the future. He and Wallstedt would make for an enticing tandem, but moving a top center for a tandem piece might not be the most practical for them.
As for Yurov, he had a decent first season in North America. The 22-year-old potted 12 goals and 15 assists in 73 games, playing primarily in the bottom six. He also stuck down the middle all season although there are some questions about his ability to stay there long-term. That’s where the fit with the Blues becomes less certain. Yes, he’s a promising player but if St. Louis is going to move their top center, they’d probably prefer a youngster coming back who is more of a safer bet to be a top-six middleman down the road.
Given that Minnesota’s need still exists and Wallstedt’s value is likely higher now than it was back at the deadline based on his playoff performance, it wouldn’t be entirely shocking to see GM Bill Guerin circle back on this. And if it doesn’t pan out, the two youngsters represent intriguing trade chips to try to bring in a quality center to make their roster that much more dangerous.
Juuso Valimaki In Talks With SHL Brynas
For several years, defenseman Juuso Valimaki was a regular at the NHL level. However, he didn’t see any time at the top level this season, playing exclusively in the minors. A pending unrestricted free agent, it appears he’s not waiting to see what options await him on the open market. Instead, Expressen’s Mattias Persson and Johan Svensson report that the blueliner is in extended discussions to join SHL Brynas next season.
The 27-year-old was a first-round pick by Calgary back in 2017, going 16th overall. He saw action in parts of three seasons with the Flames and after a 49-game showing in 2020-21, they saw fit to sign him to a $1.55MM per season bridge deal. That contract wound up helping him clear waivers the following season but in 2022, he wasn’t able to sneak through, instead being claimed by Arizona.
With the Coyotes, he became a full-timer on their back end, playing in 78 games after being picked up, earning himself a one-year extension in the process. Then, after logging over 19 minutes a night in 2023-24, Valimaki received a two-year, $4MM pact and it looked as if he was finally going to get some stability.
Instead, Utah (after the Coyotes moved) bolstered its back end, pushing Valimaki down to the seventh spot last season and off the roster altogether in 2025-26. History repeated itself with the blueliner being waived in training camp and clearing, sending him off to AHL Tucson where injuries limited him to three games in as many months. Then, the Hurricanes acquired him in January to give themselves some extra defensive depth although he has yet to see action with Carolina. Instead, his regular season ended with 23 points in 27 games while he has four points in six playoff contests with AHL Chicago so far.
It appears that Valimaki will be taking quite a pay cut on this eventual deal. Persson and Svensson note that he was seeking a EUR300K deal initially (worth around $349K in USD) but that the contract is expected to come in for considerably less. Given his NHL experience and AHL success, it stands to reason that he easily could have been that on even a two-way deal in North America this summer. Accordingly, it appears that Valimaki will be leaving some money on the table to play closer to home.
Golden Knights Make Black Ace Recalls
It has certainly been a whirlwind few days for the Golden Knights, who are off to the third round but down a second-round pick in the process. With their AHL affiliate in Henderson being eliminated last weekend by Colorado, Vegas has made its Black Ace recalls. Per the AHL’s transactions log, they’ve recalled forwards Tanner Laczynski, Raphael Lavoie, Jonas Rondbjerg, and Kai Uchacz, along with defensemen Jeremy Davies and Jaycob Megna.
Laczynski was the leading scorer for the Silver Knights this season, potting 22 goals and 42 assists in 62 games, setting a new benchmark in points by far as his previous high was 44 points. He could have added to that total had he not made ten appearances with Vegas where he was relatively productive in a limited role, adding five assists despite playing less than 11 minutes per game of ice time. While he has just 56 games of NHL experience, he has seen time at the top level in five of the last six seasons.
Lavoie’s journey to the Golden Knights last season was a bit of an adventure, featuring near-daily stints on the waiver wire at the end of training camp as he landed in a tug of war between them and Edmonton. He played almost exclusively in the minors this season aside from one game with Vegas and was quite productive with Henderson, recording 30 goals and 26 assists in just 45 appearances. He is still looking for his first NHL point and has 17 career appearances at the top level.
Rondbjerg has seen action with the Golden Knights in five straight years, spanning 80 games, where he has three goals and eight assists. However, he only got into four outings with them this season as he dropped a little lower on the depth chart. The 27-year-old had 13 goals and 13 assists in 43 games with the Silver Knights and has been remarkably consistent at that level. Over his past five AHL seasons, he has ranged between 25 and 28 points.
Uchacz is the one prospect out of this group. He made his NHL debut late in the season with three appearances and had a strong sophomore campaign in the minors. In 68 games this season, he finished third on Henderson in scoring with 20 goals and 31 assists, besting his rookie-year point total by 21.
Among the blueliners, Davies hasn’t seen NHL action since the 2022-23 campaign. However, he has been a productive player in the minors in recent years, checking in just shy of the 50-point mark in each of the last two seasons. This year, Davies had nine goals and 38 assists in 72 games to tie for the team lead in points by a blueliner.
Megna is the oldest of the group at 33. He has seen NHL action in five straight seasons, spanning five different organizations as he has bounced around as a depth defender. He played in just four games for Vegas in 2025-26, bringing his career total to 197. With the Silver Knights, Megna had 11 points in 64 games.
It’s unlikely any of these players will be called on to suit up in the third round against Colorado, barring a significant run of injuries. However, they’ll keep skating in the meantime to be ready if their number ultimately gets called.
Blackhawks’ Teuvo Teravainen To Miss Remainder Of World Championship
Winger Teuvo Teravainen will miss the remainder of the 2026 IIHF World Championship with an undisclosed injury, Team Finland announced on Saturday. Teravainen recorded two assists in Finland’s win over Team Germany to start the tournament.
This will be an irreplaceable loss for the Finns. Teravainen led the team in scoring at the 2025 World Championships with 11 points – including a tournament-leading 10 assists – in seven games. He failed to keep that hot scoring rolling in the 2026 Winter Olympics, with just one point in six games. Still, Teravainen’s two-way, veteran presence has proved to be a reliable part of Finland’s top-six.
That is the same role he has brought to the Chicago Blackhawks over the last two seasons. He reached 58 points in the 2024-25 season, his first year back on the middling Blackhawks lineup. Those numbers fell to 35 points in 76 games this year, though Teravainen still seemed to stand out on a nightly basis while supporting Blackhawks youngsters Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar.
Teravainen’s summer focus will now turn towards working back to full health before returning to that spot in Chicago’s lineup next season. It will be the final year on his current contract and should go better than last season, thanks to the addition of Anton Frondell and Roman Kantserov.
Timo Meier Has Been A Massive Disappointment For The Devils
When the New Jersey Devils acquired forward Timo Meier in 2023, they hoped to land a power forward who could reshape their top six and provide 40 goals a season. At the time, Meier looked like that player, and New Jersey gave up assets to the San Jose Sharks, believing he would become a core member and ride shotgun alongside Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. In addition to trading away significant assets, the Devils committed financially to Meier long-term with an eight-year contract worth $70.4MM ($8.8MM annually). The results weren’t great to start. Meier had just 14 points in his first 21 games with the Devils and just four points (two goals and two assists) in 11 playoff games. Now, just three years into that contract, Meier has been less of a top-end power forward and more of a streaky depth scorer who struggles with turnovers.
New Jersey has been a major disappointment over the past two seasons. While Meier has been relatively consistent, he hasn’t lived up to the expectations when he was brought in and signed long-term. In the five years prior to the trade, Meier had topped 30 goals three times and had become a 65-75-point player. Since the trade, he’s been a 25-goal scorer and a 50-point player. These numbers, while respectable, aren’t what the Devils were hoping for when they made the moves.
The Devils obviously want to get back to the playoffs with their current roster, but many of their top-paid players have struggled to live up to their price tags. Meier is hardly alone in his struggles, but he just finished fourth in Devils scoring, despite being the highest-paid forward.
Now, you could point to some of the injuries and to the inconsistency hampering Meier’s production, but the cause is likely much deeper and involves both individual and team issues.
For Meier, he simply has not elevated his play since the trade to New Jersey and has not been as physically imposing as he was with the Sharks. Many predicted that Meier would become the Devils’ net-front presence and use his size to score many goals in front of the net, but Meier hasn’t become that player despite playing through his prime over the past few years.
Meier also hasn’t built chemistry with his teammates or settled into his role. Some of that can be blamed on his lack of momentum on his own, but there have also been lineup and coaching changes, along with other external factors that could be keeping Meier from getting comfortable with the Devils.
While Meier’s offensive numbers have been respectable, perhaps the most troubling aspect of his game is on the defensive side, where he lacks attention to detail in his own end and is often guilty of turning the puck over. These warts in his game would be forgivable if Meier were producing more offense, but unfortunately for New Jersey, that has not been the case.
Meier was brought in to help change the Devils’ trajectory, but, unfortunately for New Jersey, it appears the trajectory has gone the other way, which, given the talent on the roster, seems to be a shock to most people. It’s hard to label Meier a disaster, but when compared to the costs to acquire and retain him, there is little doubt that the Devils would love to have both the trade and the contract back as a do-over, and it’s likely a series of moves they wouldn’t repeat.
At this point, it’s unlikely that Meier takes the next steps that the Devils were hoping he would take when they acquired him. And with the failed trade, among other failed moves, New Jersey has brought in a new management group, and it should be interesting to see how they assess the fit with Meier and whether or not they see him as a long-term fixture. There could be an interesting dynamic with a new GM and management team: a possible trade, or they could see him in a different role with the Devils. Back with San Jose, Meier was often a focal point of the Sharks’ offense; however, in New Jersey, that is less often the case, as the Devils have better forward depth and more offensive players than the Sharks did 3-4 years ago.
There is also the possibility that Meier re-captures his offensive game this year after a tumultuous season off the ice last year. Meier took a personal leave of absence mid-season after posting 10 goals and 12 assists in his first 26 games (a 70-point pace). After returning from his leave, Meier tallied eight goals and three assists in 34 games, roughly a 26-point pace over a full season. Curiously, Meier’s shooting percentage dropped from 11.9% in those first 26 games to 5.9% in the 34 games following his return. There are many reasons that could happen (bad luck, for one), but it’s hard to imagine him shooting that poorly over another stretch of play.
With a new management group in place and five years left on his contract, it will take some time before Meier’s fate is ultimately decided. For now, given his contract status, it’s hard to imagine the Devils moving him to another team. But this summer could be one of urgency in New Jersey, with Hischier’s contract entering its final season and a lot of disappointment surrounding the team. What that means for Meier remains to be seen, but if he does become a trade chip, he would be a buy-low candidate who should generate some interest among teams looking for help in their top six.
Jay Woodcroft Expected To Interview For Other Opportunities
Last offseason, Anaheim Ducks assistant coach Jay Woodcroft interviewed for multiple head coaching positions, and is expected to do the same this summer. According to Eric Stephens of The Athletic, Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek won’t hold him back, nor block any team from interviewing Woodcroft once those requests come his way.
In Stephens’ update, he shared a quote from Verbeek, saying, “I would never hold a coach back from getting a head coaching job. There’s only 32 of them. That’s the pinnacle of his profession so I would never hold him back from that.”
A year ago, Woodcroft had confirmed interviews with the Ducks, Boston Bruins, and Pittsburgh Penguins, and likely had others. Despite progressing significantly with the Bruins, Woodcroft became an assistant coach in Orange County for the 2025-26 season.
This all came after taking a one-year break from coaching in the 2024-25 season. His last time as a head coach came with the Edmonton Oilers, before he was fired early into the 2023-24 season. By the time he was let go, Woodcroft had managed a 79-41-13 record (.594 W%) with the Oilers, advancing as far as the Western Conference Final in 2022.
Luckily for Woodcroft, there will be no shortage of opportunities this summer. The Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking for new head coaches over the next few weeks. Additionally, the Vegas Golden Knights could be another suitor if they don’t sign John Tortorella to an extension after the season. Although the Oilers are again looking for a new head coach, it’s unlikely that the team would circle back to Woodcroft.