Lucas Carlsson Signs In Sweden
A Sharks pending unrestricted free agent has decided to forego testing the open market to head home instead. Djurgardens in the SHL announced that they’ve signed defenseman Lucas Carlsson to a four-year deal that begins next season.
The 28-year-old spent the last two seasons in San Jose’s organization although it didn’t amount to a lot of playing time at the top level. Carlsson played in 13 games down the stretch in 2024-25 and held his own while picking up four points in over 19 minutes per night of playing time. But after the Sharks overhauled their back end over the summer, he was on the outside looking in again. This season, he played exclusively with the AHL’s Barracuda, collecting 12 goals and 14 assists in 58 appearances.
Over his career, Carlsson has played in 73 NHL games between San Jose, Florida, and Chicago. He has spent the bulk of his career in the minors and has been quite productive down there, tallying 219 points in 359 games over parts of eight seasons.
With that in mind, Carlsson would almost certainly have received interest in another two-way contract this summer from teams looking for a quality veteran blueliner who can hold his own in a pinch in the NHL. But instead of seeing what offers might have materialized, he decided that it’s time to turn the page and head home. That likely will close the book on his time in North America unless a strong performance overseas yields one last opportunity down the road.
Offseason Checklist: New York Rangers
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at the Rangers.
It’s fair to say that this season didn’t go to plan for the Rangers. Sure, they were coming off missing the playoffs but the hiring of Mike Sullivan indicated that the expectation was a return to the postseason. Instead, they finished last in the Eastern Conference and released another letter to the fans before moving away Artemi Panarin for future assets. GM Chris Drury’s checklist this summer involves continuing in that direction although there remains a chance that they look for a quicker fix.
Re-Sign Or Move Schneider
When Braden Schneider was the 19th overall pick back in 2020, the Rangers were hoping that they had a core defender on their hands. But after some stagnation early in his career and a tight cap situation, the two sides worked out a bridge deal two summers ago. Since then, with their struggles, Schneider’s name has come up in trade speculation although they didn’t pull the trigger on a move.
Now, the time for kicking the can down the road should be over. Schneider’s contract is up this summer and he’ll be owed a $2.64MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights. They’ll tender the offer but what comes next is the harder decision.
If Drury feels that Schneider should be part of the post-rebuild core, this is the time to sign him. It’d take a long-term deal worth more than double that qualifying offer but if he’s one of the long-term building blocks, then that price tag is justifiable. If not, then this is likely the right time to move him. The acquiring team then works on the long-term pact and sends the Rangers what would likely be another young player of some significance (potentially a winger with some club control to help replace Panarin). Doing a short-term deal would allow them to kick the can down the road a little longer but at the risk of hurting his trade value.
There are multiple veterans for whom a trade makes more sense than keeping; we’ll get to one of those next. But Schneider is one of the few toss-ups. They need to pick a direction with him, either commit to him for the long haul or move him out for another piece who will be around for a while.
Make The Trocheck Move
Beyond Panarin whose exit from the team was telegraphed long before it happened, the Ranger whose name was in the rumor mill the most was center Vincent Trocheck. By all accounts, there were some big offers made before the trade deadline but Drury opted to hold him for now, presumably thinking better ones could be coming this summer when more teams are looking to buy. Frankly, there’s some logic to the idea.
Now, it’s time to see if that bet was the right one. In theory, New York should be poised to capitalize here on the trade front. The list of top-six UFA centers is rather small this summer. It starts with Charlie and ends with Coyle. The list of teams looking for a top-six center? More than ten times as long. One team can ideally fill that spot by signing Charlie Coyle while the rest will have to try to do so on the trade front where supply is limited and demand is extremely high.
Trocheck could very well be the best center that gets made available this summer. (We’ll see what Alex Steen’s plans are for Robert Thomas, who could ultimately stick around.) Granted, there is a 12-team no-trade list that could affect things and Trocheck himself noted before the deadline that Western teams are on that list. However, there are still plenty of Eastern Conference teams who will be looking to upgrade down the middle, certainly enough to drum up a bidding war.
While the East Coast limitation increases the odds that Trocheck could be moved within the Metropolitan Division, this should be about getting the best return regardless of where it comes from. It’s a package that should include a first-round pick, a high-end prospect, and at least one other element, potentially a roster player to help offset some of the money (although Trocheck’s $5.625MM for three more years should be affordable for a lot of teams). It certainly feels like it’s time to cash in on that high demand.
Make Room For Youth
One thing that the Rangers did down the stretch was start to use their youngsters more. Gabe Perreault got a bigger role while young forwards Adam Sykora and Jaroslav Chmelar made strong first impressions. Drew Fortescue got his feet wet on the back end as well. And with that extra speed and hustle in the lineup, they were a lot more respectable down the stretch, winning six of ten games to close the season.
This isn’t a situation of reading too much into what amounts to garbage time performance. But it’s an acknowledgement that the Rangers need to see what some of their youngsters can do. With the belief that they’d like this to be more of a retool than a long-term rebuild, it’s critical that the team finds out which of these youngsters are going to be part of the core group at that time. The only way to do that is to give them a chance to play at the NHL level.
That means that this summer, the focus shouldn’t be on re-signing or replacing Jonny Brodzinski or Conor Sheary up front; those spots can be left for some of those youngsters. Is Matt Rempe (still just 23) or Adam Edstrom (now 25) still in the plans or are they movable? Would Taylor Raddysh’s or Urho Vaakanainen’s role be better served by more of a prospect?
This isn’t a case of bringing in half a dozen youngsters. That will cause a different set of challenges. But having a few spots available at the start of the year to use for evaluation would give the team a lot more information about the future. To do that, they may yet still need to move out a veteran or two.
Add Goaltending Insurance
There is one other roster spot that appears likely to be turned over to a youngster, that being between the pipes. With Jonathan Quick retiring, prospect Dylan Garand appears to be in line to get a shot at the full-time backup spot behind Igor Shesterkin. While it’s not ideal that a soon-to-be-24-year-old will be looking at limited minutes behind one of the NHL’s top netminders, Garand has to pass through waivers next season and it’s not a guarantee that he’d pass through unclaimed should they try to sneak him down.
But even if the plan ultimately is to re-sign Garand (a pending RFA) and have him in the number two role, they need a Plan B. If he struggles mightily in training camp, turning to midseason signing Spencer Martin isn’t exactly a viable option as he has struggled in his limited action at the top level.
Accordingly, this is the one position where a veteran addition could be useful. The ideal fit would be a veteran who could cover the backup role if Garand struggles or pass through waivers himself if Garand is ready for the job and serve as insurance with Hartford. Basically, the type of role they once envisioned for Louis Domingue but someone perhaps a little more proven. Buffalo signed James Reimer for that role for 2024-25 (though he never made it through waivers for their plan to work). Someone around that caliber of player would be a worthwhile addition, even if it goes against the rest of the goal of getting younger.
Photo courtesy of Danny Wild-Imagn Images.
Nikita Zadorov Sustained Torn MCL Midway Through First Round
Boston’s season came to an end on Friday night as they lost to Buffalo, ending the series in six games. Following the outing, Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov revealed to reporters including Boston.com’s Conor Ryan that he sustained a torn MCL in the third game of the series.
Before last night, he had indicated that he was playing through something but hadn’t indicated what. It appears as if the injury is on the severe side, too, as Zadorov mentioned that the ligament was fully torn off the bone.
While MCL injuries aren’t generally as severe as ACL ones, a fully torn MCL may still require surgery with a recovery timeline pushing three months. That should have him fully recovered heading into training camp in the fall but his overall offseason training will certainly be impacted by this injury.
Although Zadorov was far from fully healthy, it didn’t seem to affect his playing time all that much. He logged 19:20 of playing time in Game 4, 23:11 in Game 5, and 21:52 last night, all around his regular season ATOI of 20:53.
Zadorov was the league leader in penalty minutes for the second straight season and after a 37-PIM performance in the opening round, he’s currently leading the way in that category as well. Beyond that, he chipped in with an assist and 17 hits in the series.
Evening Notes: Team Canada, Crosby, Ortmeyer
In a surprising announcement, Hockey Canada shared that it will not be participating in the 2026 Spengler Cup. The 2026 rendition of the tournament will be the first time since 1983 that Canada has not sent a team to the tournament.
Included in the announcement was a statement from Hockey Canada, saying, “Hockey Canada and the Spengler Cup organizing committee have announced that Canada’s National Men’s Team will not participate in the 2026 Spengler Cup. Hockey Canada’s long-term agreement expired following the 2025 Spengler Cup, and a new agreement to include Team Canada in the 2026 event could not be reached in time.”
There is no word on exactly why an agreement couldn’t be reached between the two sides, but the outcome remains the same. Typically carrying a roster full of AHL talent, Team Canada had been dominant in the tournament for the last three decades, winning 13 Spengler Cups since 1992 and appearing in 20 championship contests.
Additional evening notes:
- Eligible for a contract extension this summer, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was fairly non-committal on a new deal when asked today. According to Seth Rorabaugh of the Tribune-Review, Crosby stated that he is taking a “wait and see” approach regarding a new deal and has not given it much thought. In the midst of their rebuild, Crosby signed a new extension with the Penguins after being followed by extensive trade rumors. At this point, it doesn’t appear there’s much possibility of “The Kid” playing for a new team, and he will continue his career in Pittsburgh as long as he wants.
- According to Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic, the New York Rangers will not be retaining Jed Ortmeyer this offseason. Ortmeyer, 47, has been the Rangers’ Director of Player Development since the 2017-18 campaign. It’s a relatively obvious change as New York embarks on a retool, as the team has had a notoriously difficult time drafting and developing talent over the last several years.
Kings Notes: Smith, Fiala, Wright
Los Angeles Kings General Manager Ken Holland was relatively noncommittal when asked about the team’s head coaching position. According to Eric Stephens of The Athletic, Holland shared that D.J. Smith is already considered a candidate. Still, the Kings will also talk to other possibilities over the next few weeks.
Smith was named the Kings’ interim head coach on March 1st, after the team fired Jim Hiller. Although it can’t all be attributed to the head coach, Los Angeles found the spark to get into the playoffs. One of the biggest issues that the Kings faced under Hiller was the offense. This season, in 59 games under Hiller, Los Angeles averaged 2.6 goals per game, and 3.1 goals per game under Smith. Even with the improvement, over a full season, that would have been the 16th-best offense in the NHL.
Former NHL player Manny Malhotra has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the Kings’ head coaching position by some sources. However, considering that his current team, the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks, finished last in scoring this season, it seems unlikely that the Kings would consider him for a lateral move. For an increase in offense, Los Angeles may consider Peter Laviolette, who is known for his aggressive approach to offensive schematics.
Additional Kings notes:
- Still recovering from multiple fractures during his time with Team Switzerland at the Winter Olympics, Zach Dooley of the Kings shared that forward Kevin Fiala is progressing well in his rehabilitation. He is not only progressing well but also exceeding expectations, as Dooley indicated that Fiala could have been an option in Round Two of the playoffs. The leg fractures Fiala suffered typically take three to six months to fully recover, meaning he would have returned exceptionally quickly, potentially beating the shorter end of the expectation.
- According to Alexander Legget of Mayors Manor, Holland is expecting depth forward Jared Wright to have a full-time role with Los Angeles next season. Wright, 23, is a former sixth-round pick of the Kings, and debuted with the club this season. He should perform relatively well in a bottom-six role with Los Angeles as he registered four assists in 23 games at the NHL level, and 30 points in 54 games with the AHL’s Ontario Reign.
Maple Leafs Denied Permission To Interview Julien BriseBois
Although the reported group of final candidates doesn’t strike much inspiration, it’s now safe to say the Toronto Maple Leafs attempted to go big-game hunting for their GM vacancy. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Maple Leafs requested to interview Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Julien BriseBois, but were quickly denied.
Frankly, it’s not surprising at all that Toronto was denied permission to interview BriseBois. As Friedman put it, “I don’t think anyone is shocked to hear that the Lightning would say no. I do think they asked permission to speak to him and were rejected.”
BriseBois, 49, has been the front office leader for the Lightning since the 2018-19 season, after Steve Yzerman stepped down from the role. Inarguably, three of the most important players on the team were drafted by Yzerman: Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Brayden Point. Still, that’s not to say that BriseBois has only been coasting off Yzerman’s success. He was the one who acquired Brandon Hagel, Jake Guentzel, and J.J. Moser, among others.
Regardless of which General Manager ultimately had the bigger hand in the team’s success, BriseBois was the General Manager of the team during their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021. Because of that, he’s one of the most successful General Managers in the NHL, rivaled only by Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers. Given his track record, there’s no questioning why the Maple Leafs would be interested in bringing him on board.
Now, since they were rejected by the Lightning and potentially rejected by additional teams to speak with their front office leaders, the Maple Leafs appear headed for a split role. Reports suggest that Toronto is actively pursuing John Chayka and franchise legend Mats Sundin for higher management roles. Instead of having one man to lead the pack, the Maple Leafs may opt for a combined effort.
Injury Notes: Hayton, McBain, Paul, Ehlers, Nikishin
There could be some alterations to the Mammoth’s forward group as they look to stave off elimination at home in Game 6 tonight against the Golden Knights. Center Barrett Hayton returned to the lineup for Game 5 after missing over a month with an upper-body injury, but he’s been downgraded to a game-time decision for tonight as he continues to be on a pain management regimen, head coach Andre Tourigny said (via Cole Bagley of KSL Sports). Hayton played a minimal role in Wednesday’s double overtime loss, logging 12:49 of ice time as he shifted to the wing on the fourth line with Kevin Stenlund and Brandon Tanev. He had a -1 rating and went 6-for-14 (42.9%) on faceoffs. As for McBain, he missed time down the stretch with a lower-body injury before returning for Game 1, although he hasn’t played since. It’s unclear if he reaggravated that one or if it’s a different ailment keeping him out. The regular season saw McBain, 26, produce nine goals and 25 points in 75 games with a team-leading 271 hits in a bottom-six role.
More lineup notes from around the league as the first round nears a close:
- Lightning center Nick Paul was a late scratch for their Game 5 loss due to illness. However, his absence will end there as Renaud Lavoie of TVA reports he’s back in the lineup for Game 6. With Tampa trailing 3-2 and facing a fourth consecutive first-round elimination, Paul has yet to record a point in the series and has a -2 rating after a wildly disappointing regular season that saw his ice time slashed en route to posting a 7-8–15 scoring line and a -15 rating in 51 games.
- Nikolaj Ehlers wasn’t on hand for the Hurricanes when they dispatched the Senators in a sweep last weekend. After a long rest, Carolina’s second-round tilt against the Flyers will get underway tomorrow. Today, head coach Rod Brind’Amour said it “looks like” Ehlers will be available after missing Game 4 against Ottawa with a lower-body injury (via Walt Ruff of NHL.com) – along with defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who left that contest due to a concussion. Despite averaging over 20 minutes per game, Ehlers had been limited to one assist through his first three playoff outings as a Cane. His checking line with Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook was spectacular at controlling play, however, logging a 62.2% expected goals share, per MoneyPuck. Meanwhile, the rookie Nikishin was held without a point in the series but eked out a +1 rating while averaging 16:31 of ice time per game.
Devils Won’t Retain Dan MacKinnon, Chuck Fletcher
The Devils will not renew the contracts of assistant general manager Dan MacKinnon or senior advisor Chuck Fletcher for next season, the team announced Friday.
They’re the first changes instituted in New Jersey’s front office by Sunny Mehta, who was tapped as the franchise’s sixth general manager in team history last month after they fired Tom Fitzgerald 10 days prior. The moves, of course, come after the Devils limped to the finish line for their sixth playoff miss in the last eight years.
Mehta, who was hired without a president of hockey operations as oversight, will officially have virtually unfettered reign with Fletcher no longer serving as essentially a GM emeritus on staff. The 59-year-old had been working with Fitzgerald over the last two seasons after being fired as GM of the Flyers in 2023.
It likely won’t take very long for Fletcher to find some type of work if he wants to stay in the league. A Stanley Cup winner as the assistant GM of the Penguins in 2009, Fletcher has consistently worked in the league in some capacity since being tapped as an AGM for the Panthers at their point of inception in 1993. He got his first GM gig on an interim basis with Florida in 2001-02 before re-emerging as GM of the Wild from 2009-18 and again with the Flyers from 2018-23. Between jobs, he was an AGM with Anaheim and Pittsburgh while being in charge of their respective AHL franchises.
MacKinnon has had significantly more of a day-to-day impact in New Jersey in recent years. The 51-year-old also has oodles of experience, first joining the Predators as their director of scouting back in 2000. He was picked up by the Penguins in a similar role in 2007 – working with Fletcher there – and was part of their 2009 and 2016 wins before joining New Jersey as their director of player personnel. MacKinnon’s tenure, which began under Ray Shero’s administration, saw him promoted to AGM and senior VP of hockey ops in 2019, both titles he held up until today, before adding AHL GMing responsibilities in 2021.
It’s not clear what replacements, if any, Mehta intends to bring in yet. His inner circle now consists of executive vice president Martin Brodeur, advisor Andy Greene, and AGM Kate Madigan.
Blues Sign Dylan Holloway To Five-Year Extension
The Blues have agreed to terms with winger Dylan Holloway on a five-year extension, the team announced Friday. The contract carries an average annual value of $7.75MM for a total value of $38.75MM, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports. The deal will kick in next year and run through the 2030-31 season. Holloway was due to hit restricted free agency this summer and would have had arbitration rights.
Per PuckPedia, Holloway’s deal includes a 20-team no-trade clause in 2029-30 and a 15-team no-trade clause in 2030-31, the only two seasons of the deal in which he’s eligible for trade protection. The deal is paid entirely in base salary (no signing bonuses) and will earn him $10MM next season, $9MM in year two, $7.5MM in year three, $6.25MM in year four, and $6MM in its final season.
An article on the Blues’ site just yesterday expressed Holloway’s willingness to sign a long-term extension. His wish has come to fruition in short order. The contract buys up his remaining RFA years and takes him two seasons past when he would have initially been eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2029. He’ll be 29 years old upon expiry – likely at a point when his market value will never be higher – while joining a massive class of 2031 UFAs in St. Louis that includes Pavel Buchnevich, Jordan Kyrou, and Robert Thomas.
It was clear the Blues would be on the hook for a big payday as soon as he hit the ground running in the Show-Me State two years ago. Plucked from the Oilers alongside defenseman Philip Broberg on a two-year, $4.58MM offer sheet in August 2024, the 2020 first-round pick broke out to finish third on the Blues in scoring with 63 points in 77 games, posting a +21 rating while helping fuel the franchise to its first playoff experience in three years.
Things did not go nearly as smoothly for Holloway at the beginning of 2025-26. His offensive struggles were in line with those of the rest of his Blues teammates. By the time he sustained an ankle injury on Dec. 12, he had been limited to eight goals and 17 points in 33 games with a -11 rating. He would only play one more game before the Olympic break, re-aggravating his injury and virtually missing over two months.
The fully healthy version of Holloway that emerged, however, looked more like a perennial All-Star contender than the high-end middle-six piece he was drafted to be. He was easily St. Louis’ MVP down the stretch, but they ultimately failed to make a late push for a postseason berth. His 14 goals and 34 points through his final 25 games ranked t-12th and t-7th in the league, respectively, following the Olympic break, while no one had a better rating than his +26 mark in that span. Only Nikita Kucherov had more even-strength points (30) than Holloway’s 29. It was an absolutely dominant run of play for a new-look first line of himself, Thomas, and Jimmy Snuggerud that should be set to reprise itself in training camp next fall – assuming Thomas sheds the trade rumors that dogged him leading up to this year’s deadline.
That run brought Holloway’s season totals up to a 22-29–51 scoring line in 59 games – an even better points-per-game pace than last season despite his early struggles. He’s averaging 29 goals and 69 points per 82 games in a Blues uniform. The deal comes in a little north of AFP Analytics’ $7.2MM projection on a five-year deal, but as Dom Lusczyszyn of The Athletic relays, his superb 5-on-5 defensive impacts mean his deal should age quite well for the Blues, at least until he’s owed another sizable raise at the beginning of the next decade.
St. Louis doesn’t have much other roster management to do before the fall. Holloway’s extension already brings them up to 20 players on next season’s projected active roster with $15.85MM in cap space still available, per PuckPedia. The Blues’ list of notable remaining RFAs for this year starts and ends with Jonatan Berggren and Matthew Kessel.
Image courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.
West Notes: Flames Coaches, Rantanen, Karlsson
The Calgary Flames organization announced several news items related to their coaching staff today: head coach Ryan Huska’s entire staff of assistants, including Trent Cull, Dave Lowry, Cail MacLean, video coach Jamie Pringle, and goalie coach Jason LaBarbera, have been signed to two-year contract extensions. Additionally, it was announced that longtime AHL assistant coach Joe Cirella will not return to the organization for 2026-27.
This past season was a difficult one for the Flames, but it’s tough to pin that on their coaching staff. The team is undergoing a significant roster reconstruction, and management has elected to subtract considerable NHL talent from the lineup in order to build a sustainable contending team down the line. While that very well could lead to the Flames competing for Stanley Cups later in this decade or early in the next one, in the immediate term, it means Huska and his staff are coaching with a talent deficit on most nights. While some might still argue that they haven’t made the most of the talent they’ve had access to, however limited, it’s clear the Flames view this staff as the right one to lead the team forward.
Other notes from the Western Conference:
- Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen was fined $5K for cross-checking Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced today. The infraction came during last night’s contest between the two teams, one that saw the Wild end the Stars’ season. Rantanen had a strong campaign for Dallas, scoring 77 points in 64 games. He put up seven points in the team’s six-game series loss, but his overall impact left some, including Mark Lazerus of The Athletic, wanting more.
- Injured Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson hit the ice in a standard jersey for the team’s practice today, but that should not be viewed as a sign that his return is imminent. Per Sin Bin Vegas, head coach John Tortorella said that Karlsson’s inclusion was more about getting him around the team as he rehabs than anything else. Karlsson was limited to playing in just 14 games during the regular season as a result of his injury, which is of the lower-body variety. GM Kelly McCrimmon has already indicated that Karlsson is unlikely to return this year unless the Golden Knights have a deep run in the playoffs.