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Bruins Recall Patrick Brown, Vinni Lettieri, Riley Tufte

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The Bruins announced they’ve recalled forwards Patrick Brown, Vinni Lettieri, and Riley Tufte from AHL Providence – the second of whom comes up under emergency conditions. Defenseman Ian Mitchell is also back with the team after a paper transaction meant he wasn’t rostered for yesterday’s loss to the Predators. The club reassigned forwards Georgii Merkulov and Jeffrey Viel to Providence in corresponding moves to keep their active roster at the 23-player maximum.

Only two needed to be sent down because Boston opened an additional roster spot yesterday by trading Trent Frederic to the Oilers. While he comes up under emergency conditions, likely related to captain Brad Marchand’s upper-body injury, Lettieri still counts against the roster limit. The Bruins only have to worry about their granular maneuvering until Friday’s deadline, after which the cap on roster sizes disappears.

Brown, 32, returns to the roster for the first time since January. The veteran of parts of nine NHL seasons has spent most of the year in Providence, only suiting up twice for Boston over a pair of recalls. He averaged 11:02 of ice time across those contests and posted a minus-one rating while going 2-for-5 on faceoffs and taking three shots on goal. The Michigan native will return to the lineup tomorrow against the Hurricanes as the Bs’ fourth-line center between John Beecher and Mark Kastelic, per Scott McLaughlin of WEEI. He’s served as the P-Bruins’ captain this season and is tied for second on the team in scoring with 16-28–44 through 52 games.

Ahead of Brown in AHL scoring is Lettieri, leading the club with 20-28–48 in 46 appearances. The 30-year-old made eight appearances for Boston in January, scoring twice while averaging 12:05 per game and recording 19 hits. The versatile 5’10” forward has been a decently productive depth piece when called upon for NHL minutes, posting 14-15–29 in 137 career games. He’ll get a shot in the top nine against Carolina on a line with Cole Koepke and youngster Matthew Poitras.

Tufte comes back up after being sent down in favor of Merkulov and Viel last week. The 6’6″ winger has also been reasonably productive for the P-Bruins this year, racking up 18-13–31 in 42 appearances. The 26-year-old former Stars first-rounder has averaged just 8:05 per game in five showings for Boston, though, posting no points and a minus-three rating with six hits. He’ll somewhat surprisingly get a shot in a second-line role with Charlie Coyle and Elias Lindholm, Marchand’s usual spot in the lineup.

Merkulov had been the one receiving Marchand’s minutes over the last few games, but no points and three shots on goal weren’t enough to keep him on the roster. The 5’11” natural center heads back to Providence, where he remains one of the club’s most effective per-game producers with 44 points in 47 outings.

The 6’2″ Viel had suited up in each of Boston’s last three games, averaging 7:29 per contest with a minus-one rating and eight hits. The depth power forward has 8-18–26 in 51 AHL games with a team-high 130 PIMs.

Blue Jackets Unlikely To Extend Ivan Provorov Before Deadline

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The Blue Jackets don’t expect to have an extension done for pending UFA defenseman Ivan Provorov – or any pending free agent on the roster, for that matter – before Friday’s trade deadline, general manager Don Waddell told Jeff Svoboda of NHL.com on Wednesday.

That doesn’t mean the 28-year-old will be available for trade, though. “If I rip a guy out of this locker room right now that’s playing a role for us on this hockey club, I think that’s pretty devastating to our team,” Waddell told Svoboda. “I think it’s the wrong message from my end to the fans, the coaches and the players.” It’ll take a gargantuan package for Columbus, now firmly entrenched as a conservative buyer, to consider parting ways with Provorov this week amid a tight wild-card race.

It also doesn’t mean Provorov will hit the open market on July 1. The organization will resume contract talks with him and other pending UFAs like Dante Fabbro and Sean Kuraly when their offseason begins, whenever that is. With $43MM in projected cap space for 2025-26 and only eight open roster spots, per PuckPedia, they shouldn’t have much of an issue matching market-value offers for players they’re interested in retaining.

Provorov surely has to be part of the group that Columbus will aggressively try to keep in the fold past this season, even if efforts to date haven’t gotten across the finish line. The Russian lefty has fit nicely with the Jackets since they acquired him from the Flyers two summers ago, especially this season. He’s not producing at the 40-point heights of his early career, but he has a respectable 7-21–28 scoring line through 61 games and is munching significant minutes, averaging 23:28 per game. He’s obviously not getting premier power-play deployment with Zach Werenski starring in that role, but he logs heavy PK usage for the Jackets.

His possession metrics, however, remain underwhelming as they did in his Philly days. While his plus-seven rating stands to be his best since the 2019-20 campaign, the Jackets have been outchanced 512-434 with Provorov on the ice at 5v5, per Natural Stat Trick. His 46.4 xGF% ranks just 16th on the club as well. He earns some benefit of the doubt for starting in primarily defensive minutes at even strength, but the 2015 first-rounder has never shown the ability to be a truly dominant possession force over his nine-year career.

He’s still averaged top-four and top-pair minutes throughout his career, though, and his utility high up in the lineup will get him paid accordingly. AFP Analytics projects an extension in Columbus to cost $6.4MM per season with a five-year term. Columbus would likely be comfortable offering that deal, but if Provorov feels he could garner significantly more on the open market, it’s understandable why his camp would hold off an agreement until he gets a better sense of comparables.

Blue Jackets Sign Mathieu Olivier To Six-Year Extension

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March 5: It took slightly more than 24 hours, but Olivier’s extension in Columbus is done. It’s a six-year, $18MM deal with a $3MM cap hit, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports. It’s a slightly front-loaded contract with a base salary of $4MM in 2025-26 that drops to $2.4MM by the end of the deal in 2030-31, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA. The contract does not include any signing bonuses but has a 10-team no-trade clause, Lavoie adds.

March 3: The Blue Jackets are hoping to have an extension finalized with pending UFA winger Mathieu Olivier “in the next 24 hours or so,” general manager Don Waddell told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. A team source tells Portzline that Olivier’s deal will be for at least four seasons.

Olivier isn’t the most notable of Columbus’ pending free agents, but he has been the topic of the most discussion in the last few weeks. Darren Dreger of TSN reported back in December that the two sides had opened negotiations, adding last week that talks were heating up.

Now in his third season with the Blue Jackets, the 28-year-old is flourishing. The first player in NHL history from Mississippi has set career-highs with 12 goals, 21 points, 99 PIMs, 76 shots, and 228 hits, all while seeing legitimate top-nine usage for the first time in his career.

Olivier’s professional career began with the Predators’ AHL affiliate in Milwaukee. They signed him to a minor-league deal after he went undrafted over five Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League seasons with the Moncton Wildcats, Shawinigan Cataractes, and Sherbrooke Phoenix. He posted a 4-8–12 stat line with 91 PIMs in 54 games in his rookie year, enough to earn him an entry-level deal with Nashville the following offseason.

The 6’1″, 226-lb righty bounced between Tennessee and Wisconsin over his two-year rookie deal, but he did see a more regular NHL role in 2020-21. He spent a tad bit of time on the taxi squad but made 30 appearances in an enforcer role for the Preds after spending most of 2019-20 back in the minors, entering the 2021 offseason with six points and 74 PIMs in 38 career NHL games.

That was enough to earn him a two-year, one-way deal for the league-minimum $750K annually. Unfortunately, it didn’t signal a full-time job on the NHL roster like a one-way contract would typically yield. He suited up just 10 times for Nashville in 2021-22, instead relegated to Milwaukee for most of the year. Columbus still liked what they saw in his previous NHL minutes, paying a fourth-round pick to Nashville to acquire him before the 2022 draft.

Olivier hasn’t seen the minors since. He was only a healthy scratch twice in his first season with the Jackets, although an illness and a lower-body injury still limited him to 66 contests. He posted 5-10–15 that year – more offense than he provided in the minors the year prior – and finished third on the team with 178 hits. That earned him a two-year, $2.2MM extension, which is now in its final season.

Now on pace for 16 goals and 29 points this year, he’s bound to more than double his previous $1.1MM AAV. One limiting factor will be a recent three-year, $7.5MM extension for Keegan Kolesar in Vegas – a player historically cast in a similar role with a longer track record of offensive success. Seeing his AAV climb much higher than Kolesar’s $2.5MM would be a surprise.

Once Olivier’s extension is finalized, 15 of the Blue Jackets’ 23 players on the active roster will be under contract through next season.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Seattle Kraken Activate Yanni Gourde, Reassign Ben Meyers

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The Seattle Kraken have a healthy roster for the first time since the beginning of the season. Ahead of tonight’s contest against the Minnesota Wild, the Kraken announced they’ve activated Yanni Gourde from the long-term injured reserve. In a corresponding roster move, Seattle reassigned Ben Meyers to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

After undergoing surgery to repair a hernia on the last day of January, Gourde’s projected recovery timeline was approximately five to seven weeks. On the shorter end of the spectrum, it was believed Gourde would return on March 7th at the earliest possible time, but he’ll beat that projection by a few days.

Gourde has been an oft-mentioned trade candidate throughout deadline season, even through his surgery recovery. He’s on the last season of a six-year, $31MM contract and may come a lot cheaper should the Kraken retain 50% of his remaining salary in a hypothetical trade. Given that anything can change during this time of the NHL calendar, it’s also unsurprising that TSN’s Pierre LeBrun mentioned a few days ago that Seattle hasn’t shut the door on an extension for Gourde.

Unfortunately, Gourde will return to one of the worst offensive seasons of his career. The two-time Stanley Cup champion has six goals and 16 points in 35 games with the Kraken this year. The one-month absence won’t help him much in expanding those totals, but he still has plenty of value on the defensive side of the puck.

Since becoming a full-time player for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2017-18 campaign, Gourde has maintained a 48.9% success rate in the faceott dot. He’s mildly beating that performance this year with a 49.9% rate. Additionally, Gourde is again averaging approximately one blocked shot and two hits per game. His metrics are solid, too, with a 51.4% CorsiFor% at even strength and an impressive 97.9% on-ice save percentage at even strength. If any contending team is looking for a consistent bottom-six center — Gourde should be their target.

Meanwhile, Meyers returns to Coachella Valley after a brief call-up. He’s gone scoreless over seven games with the Kraken this season, averaging 8:10 of ice time per game. He’s been understandably better at the AHL level, scoring 19 goals and 40 points in 45 games for the Firebirds.

Evening Notes: Palmieri, Vejmelka, Blue Jackets

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A few weeks ago, on 32 Thoughts with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the analyst shared that the Los Angeles Kings would prioritize a right-handed scorer at the trade deadline. We opined that New York Islanders’ winger Kyle Palmieri would be the best fit for Los Angeles, given that he’s one year removed from a 30-goal campaign.

It appears the Kings are thinking similarly, as Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News mentioned earlier that Los Angeles had checked in on Palmieri’s availability. Still, there’s some speculation the Islanders will keep Palmieri through the deadline, given they’re only five points back of the final wild-card position in the Eastern Conference.

Fortunately for the Kings and other interested teams, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that the Islanders’ reality has settled in, and the team is now engaged in trade negotiations for Palmieri and center Brock Nelson. Palmieri has 19 goals and 40 points through 60 games this year and should command plenty of interest at the deadline, especially if New York is willing to retain some money from his $5MM cap hit.

Additional notes from this evening:

  • Exactly 10 days ago, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the Utah Hockey Club was engaged in extension negotiations with netminder Karel Vejmelka. There weren’t any meaningful updates regarding an extension until today, when Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune quoted Vejmelka saying, “For sure. I don’t have reasons to change anything. It’s the first thing on my mind to be part of the team…we’re like a big family.” There’s no questioning Utah’s interest as Vejmelka sits 10th in the league with 14.3 goals saved above expected, according to MoneyPuck.
  • As the top wild-card team in the Eastern Conference, the Columbus Blue Jackets could be sneakily active leading up to the trade deadline. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period asserts the team is targeting a middle-six forward, albeit without specific names. Pagnotta mentioned the Blue Jackets were interested in Gustav Nyquist before he was traded to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Assuming Nyquist’s archetype is a reasonable mold to work from, Columbus is likely involved in several wingers on the rental market.

Pacific Trade Notes: Golden Knights, Canucks, Tanev

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Despite being tepidly mentioned in some trade rumors leading up to the deadline, don’t expect much activity from the Vegas Golden Knights this week. Vegas dominated the headlines during last year’s deadline but are taking an increasingly mild-mannered approach to the market this season.

In an interview with Daren Millard and Ryan Wallis of the VGK Insider Show, Golden Knights’ general manager Kelly McCrimmon was quoted saying, “We’ve sort of said from the outset that we don’t anticipate being real busy this week, I still maintain that. That was the position we felt we were in right from the beginning of the season.”

If they maintain that approach through this year’s deadline, it would be a notable deviation from years past. Much to the dismay of many fans around the league, the Golden Knights have infamously acquired Tomáš Hertl, Noah Hanifin, Anthony Mantha, Jonathan Quick, Teddy Blueger, and Ivan Barbashev over the last two deadlines. It would remove a consistent buyer from the market if they’ve preemptively decided to sit this deadline out.

Other trade notes from the Pacific Division:

  •  Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre shared a quote from the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, Patrik Allvin, saying, “You’re always trying to make the team better. But I think we’re in the position this year where. . . I don’t envision any (rental) pickups like last year. We’re just going to continue to build and get better.” This would have been a confusing quote as recently as a few weeks ago given the Canucks acquired then-rental Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor from the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, Vancouver quickly extended both players. Allvin’s quote doesn’t necessarily mean the Canucks are done trading but it likely indicates most of their heavy lifting is complete.
  • According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Seattle Kraken have indicated they’re willing to retain 50% of Brandon Tanev’s $3.5MM cap hit. If Tanev’s market wasn’t already robust, the news should open up his market to most, if not all, of the contending teams this season. The 10-year veteran would instantly improve any team’s bottom six and should command a second-round pick in a strong seller’s market.

New Jersey Devils Have Expressed Interest In Mikko Rantanen

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Per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now, the New Jersey Devils have expressed interest in Carolina Hurricanes’ winger, Mikko Rantanen. Nichols added that their interest wholly depends on Jack Hughes’ status, but it’s an interesting development nonetheless.

Despite rumored interest from the Devils, it doesn’t appear as a likely hypothetical landing spot. Carolina and New Jersey would play in the first round of the postseason if the season ended today, and neither is expected to catch up to the red-hot Washington Capitals. Theoretically, the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers are within striking distance of a divisional playoff spot, although it’s not all that likely.

Meanwhile, the Devils and Hurricanes don’t have a long history of trading with each other. Since the 2019-20 season, the pair have connected on two trades, the first being the deal sending defenseman Sami Vatanen to Carolina in 2020 and the other being a minor league swap of Zack Hayes and Jonathan Dugan in 2023.

Still, it’s hard to dislike Rantanen’s fit in the Devils lineup if the purported interest is accurate. Despite their need for a third-line center, Rantanen would objectively prove a massive upgrade over Ondřej Palát or Dawson Mercer in New Jersey’s top six. Rantanen has more points this season alone than Palát and Mercer combined. Although he doesn’t register many body checks, Rantanen is a physical forward who can put the puck in the net, which would benefit New Jersey’s 14th-ranked offense in terms of GF/G.

Unless the Hurricanes believe they have no realistic opportunity to win the Stanley Cup this season, it’s difficult to imagine a trade of this magnitude happening between the organizations. Even if the Devils maximize their cap space by placing Hughes on their long-term injured reserve, and they’re able to put together a compelling offer, it would make little sense for Carolina to improve a team they’re likely to face in the playoffs.

Vancouver Canucks Recall Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Reassign Arshdeep Bains

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According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have recalled top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki from their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Vancouver shared in the same announcement that they’ve reassigned forward Arshdeep Bains in a corresponding roster move.

It’s a familiar transaction for both players. Today’s roster move is the sixth time Lekkerimaki has been recalled from Abbotsford this season, and it’s the ninth reassignment for Bains. Each player is waiver exempt, although Lekkerimaki makes approximately $100K more at the NHL level.

Lekkerimaki is arguably the best prospect in Vancouver’s pipeline. Still, he hasn’t gained much traction in the NHL this year due to the frequent taxiing between Vancouver and Abbotsford. The Tullinge, Sweden native has recorded two goals and one assist in 11 contests, averaging 13:47 of ice time per game. His 49.8% CorsiFor% at even strength and 12.5% shooting percentage are solid, but it’s not a large enough sample size to make any concrete judgments about his development.

He’s played far more promisingly with the AHL Canucks. In his first full year in North American professional hockey, Lekkerimaki is nearly a point-per-game player in the AHL with 19 goals and 28 points in 32 contests. It won’t be enough to earn the Red Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s top rookie, but it’s an impressive season nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Bains has been less productive in a fourth-line role. Despite four games separating him from losing his rookie status, Bains has looked somewhat lost at the NHL level, scoring one goal in 21 career games. He is a physical player with 24 career hits in limited action, but he doesn’t play well enough on the defensive side of the puck to overlook his offensive shortcomings. He’ll return to Abbotsford, where he’s collected seven goals and 20 assists in 32 games this season.

Sharks Not Playing Vítek Vaněček For Trade-Related Reasons

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The Sharks won’t be starting goaltender Vítek Vaněček tonight against the Sabres in their penultimate game before the trade deadline, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports. He’ll dress as Alexandar Georgiev’s backup, but presumably won’t enter the game unless an injury forces Georgiev out. Since he’s dressing, San Jose doesn’t yet need to recall a goalie from AHL San Jose in his place.

It’s worth noting if they trade Vaněček and don’t recoup a goalie in return, they won’t be able to recall top prospect Yaroslav Askarov for the minors, at least not right away. He’s been out of the lineup for the last couple of weeks with a lower-body injury and remains day-to-day.

Where Vaněček could end up amid a general lack of interest in goalies this week remains to be seen. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period speculates the Panthers could be a fit as they look to add a veteran name to back up Sergei Bobrovsky after they traded away young No. 2 option Spencer Knight to the Blackhawks in last weekend’s Seth Jones trade.

If a team can’t accommodate Vaněček’s $3.4MM cap hit, they’ll need to find a third dance partner for a trade. The Sharks are using all three of their salary retention slots on Brent Burns, Tomáš Hertl, and Erik Karlsson and will only have Burns’ opening up this summer.

Vaněček, 29, is on an expiring deal. San Jose acquired him from the Devils at last year’s deadline in the deal that sent Kaapo Kähkönen eastward, but he didn’t play down the stretch due to various injuries. His Sharks debut had to wait until this season. It’s been a tumultuous one for the Czechia native, who missed a chunk of time with a cheekbone fracture and has been underwhelming when dressed. Even behind a San Jose defense that allows a league-high 32.1 shots per game, his 3.88 GAA and .882 SV% aren’t inspiring. He has a 3-10-3 record in 18 outings and has allowed nine goals above expected, per MoneyPuck.

Teams interested in him are either banking on a return to form in a more insulated environment or desperately need even a marginal upgrade at their backup position. Vaněček was a fine tandem option at his peak, recording a career-high 33 wins in 52 appearances with New Jersey in 2022-23 along with a .911 SV% and 2.45 GAA. His numbers have nosedived since then, though, and the 2014 second-rounder now has a .903 career SV% with a 2.82 GAA across 181 NHL games since making his debut with Washington in the 2020-21 campaign.

If the Sharks trade Vaněček, don’t receive a goalie back, and can’t recall Askarov, 25-year-old Georgi Romanov is their only other minor-league goalie under contract. He allowed one goal on 30 shots faced in two appearances in his NHL debut last year, and the Russian has a .905 SV% and 3.10 GAA in 21 AHL appearances in 2024-25.

Bruins Open To Moving Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha

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For the first time in recent memory, the Bruins have made the call to sell at the trade deadline in earnest. After trading pending UFA forward Trent Frederic to the Oilers earlier today and following previous reports that defenseman Brandon Carlo and forward Morgan Geekie are available for the right price, they’re now open to hearing offers for centers Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.

Their availability adds some depth to a relatively thin center market ahead of Friday’s deadline, although neither are rental pickups. Coyle is signed through 2026-27 at a $5.25MM cap hit and carries a full no-movement clause for the duration of his deal, per PuckPedia, so the Bruins’ options for moving him will be extremely limited. Meanwhile, Zacha is under contract through 2027-28 with a $4.75MM cap hit and has a 10-team no-trade list until July 1.

Neither has had a season to write home about, especially Coyle. Fresh off his 33rd birthday, the hometown kid has churned out just 14-7–21 through 62 games after recording a career-high 25 goals and 60 points last season. It’s not for a lack of usage – he’s averaging 17:39 per game, the second-highest mark of his career behind last year. He’s shooting at a strong 15.6% but not generating nearly as many chances. His 1.45 shots on goal per game mark the second-lowest rate of his 13-year run in the NHL, ahead of only his rookie season with the Wild 12 years ago. He’s also tracking to post a career-worst -13 rating.

That doesn’t paint a rosy picture in terms of the likelihood of a trade. He only has a three-team no-trade list if he waives his no-movement clause, but whether or not he’d even waive his NMC to depart his home city is uncertain, even as Boston enters sell-off mode. His $5.25MM cap hit is also immovable given his performance this season without retention, and it’s unlikely Boston would be willing to do so for a contract that runs past this season as they look to reload for 2025-26.

The 27-year-old Zacha is thus a far more intriguing candidate. His offensive totals have dropped too, but not as much. He’s still third on the team in scoring with 12-25–37 in 62 games, all while averaging 19:23 per game and serving as the Bs’ de facto No. 1 center for the second year in a row. He’s averaged 0.69 points per game in a Bruins uniform since they acquired him from the Devils in 2022 and wouldn’t command any retention to move. Limited trade protection also increases his market, and at his cap hit, he’s a better value proposition – especially with two years left on his deal – than most other centers out there.

The 6’3″ Zacha is also a full-time pivot with good faceoff numbers, more than what can be said about names like Ryan Donato or Scott Laughton. After spending most of his career below 50%, he’s won 54.2% of his draws since the beginning of 2023-24.

Moving either would represent a more aggressive retooling than most would have expected out of the Bruins. Still, their names floating into rumors at least signal an openness to moving out some of their lower-ceiling offensive talents in hopes of landing a top-six impact piece (or multiple) this summer.

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