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List Of NHL-Affiliated Prospects In The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League

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The Canadian Hockey League trade deadlines are in the rearview mirror. That makes it a good time to take stock of where NHL teams have their prospect pool skating ahead of the big league deadline. We’re taking a look at how many prospects each team has in the world’s top junior association, moving onto the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. You can find the list of Ontario Hockey League players here.

Anaheim Ducks

F Alexandre Blais (Rimouski Océanic)
F Maxim Massé (Chicoutimi Saguenéens)

Boston Bruins

D Loke Johansson (Moncton Wildcats)

Buffalo Sabres

D Simon-Pier Brunet (Drummondville Voltigeurs)

Calgary Flames

F Matvei Gridin (Shawinigan Cataractes)
D Étienne Morin (Moncton Wildcats)

Carolina Hurricanes

F Justin Poirier (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Tyler Peddle (Saint John Sea Dogs)

Detroit Red Wings

G Rudy Guimond (Moncton Wildcats)

Florida Panthers

D Luke Coughlin (Rimouski Océanic)

Montreal Canadiens

G Mikus Vecvanags (Acadie-Bathurst Titan)

Nashville Predators

D Dylan MacKinnon (Moncton Wildcats)
G Jakub Milota (Cape Breton Eagles)

New Jersey Devils

F Matyas Melovsky (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
F Cam Squires (Cape Breton Eagles)

New York Rangers

F Raoul Boilard (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)

Philadelphia Flyers

D Spencer Gill (Rimouski Océanic)
D Matteo Mann (Saint John Sea Dogs)

Seattle Kraken

D Alexis Bernier (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)

St. Louis Blues

F Antoine Dorion (Québec Remparts)
F Juraj Pekarcik (Moncton Wildcats)

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Ethan Gauthier (Drummondville Voltigeurs)
D Dyllan Gill (Moncton Wildcats)
D Jan Golicic (Gatineau Olympiques)

Utah Hockey Club

D Tomas Lavoie (Cape Breton Eagles)
F Gabe Smith (Moncton Wildcats)

Vancouver Canucks

D Basile Sansonnens (Rimouski Océanic)

Vegas Golden Knights

F Mathieu Cataford (Rimouski Océanic)

Washington Capitals

F Eriks Mateiko (Rimouski Océanic)

Predators’ Jeremy Lauzon Out For Season With Lower-Body Injury

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The Predators announced Tuesday that defenseman Jeremy Lauzon will miss the next four to six months with his lower-body injury, putting him out for the remainder of the season. He hasn’t played since leaving their Dec. 31 game against the Wild.

Lauzon initially exited the lineup with the LBI around Thanksgiving, leaving a game against the Devils on Nov. 25 prematurely. He missed 10 games before returning to the lineup, appearing in six straight before aggravating the issue against Minnesota. While the team didn’t confirm, today’s announcement likely indicates he’ll need or already has undergone surgery.

Lauzon is in his fourth season with the Predators, who paid a second-round pick to acquire him from the Kraken at the 2022 trade deadline. Initially drafted by the Bruins in 2015, he spent parts of three seasons in Boston before being claimed by Seattle in the 2021 expansion draft. He’d played in 60-plus games for three consecutive seasons leading into 2024-25, a streak that obviously won’t continue.

Over the past three years, Lauzon has been a serviceable bottom-pairing defenseman. He consistently posts below-average possession numbers with few offensive merits, but he does one thing quite well – hit. The 6’3″, 225-lb lefty set an all-time record in 2023-24 with 383 hits in a single season, although Vancouver’s Kiefer Sherwood has 294 in 51 games this season and could surpass that figure. His void on the Preds was filled last week when they claimed Andreas Englund off waivers from the Kings.

Lauzon has one year left on his four-year, $8MM contract, so he’ll assumedly be fully healthy for training camp next fall if his timeline doesn’t stretch past six months. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2026.

Predators Acquire Grigori Denisenko From Golden Knights

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The Predators have acquired winger Grigori Denisenko from the Golden Knights in exchange for future considerations, the latter club announced. He was previously on assignment to AHL Henderson and will now report to Nashville’s affiliate in Milwaukee. He does not need to clear waivers.

Denisenko, 24, is best known for his time in the Panthers system as a top prospect. His professional career never got off the ground after being selected 15th overall in 2018, though, and after failing to make Florida’s roster out of camp last season, he was waived and claimed by the Golden Knights. He’s appeared in just seven games with Vegas since the beginning of 2023-24, spending nearly all of his time in Henderson instead. Only one of those games came this season. He’s yet to record a point in a Knights uniform and has a minus-three rating while averaging 10:30 per game and recording five shots on goal.

This season, Denisenko cleared waivers in September and returned to Henderson. After recording a respectable 56 points in 65 games there last year, 2024-25 hasn’t been nearly as productive for the Russian forward. He’s posted 10-14–24 in 42 games with a -21 rating, although that was still good enough for sixth place on the scoring-challenged Silver Knights. His lone NHL appearance this year came on Nov. 13 against the Ducks, taking a minor penalty and recording five hits with no shots in 8:27 of ice time.

Now in the Nashville organization, Denisenko will look to get his AHL scoring numbers back up in search of another NHL recall. He doesn’t have a lot of runway to do it with two months left in the regular season, though. He’s also due to reach Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer as a result of him playing fewer than 80 NHL games while being at least 25 years old on July 1 with at least three seasons of professional experience. That makes him ineligible for a qualifying offer, and he’ll hit the open market without an extension.

With the move, the Knights open up a contract slot ahead of the trade deadline. They now have three with 47 out of a maximum 50 on the books.

Maple Leafs Recall Alex Steeves

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The Maple Leafs announced today they’ve recalled winger Alex Steeves from AHL Toronto. They had an open roster spot after assigning defenseman Dakota Mermis to the Marlies before the 4 Nations Face-Off break, which Steeves now fills.

Steeves, 25, was an undrafted free agent signing by Toronto out of Notre Dame in 2021 and has since emerged as a star minor-leaguer. He’s operating over a point per game for the first time this season and has already set a career-high in goals, notching 29-17–46 in 40 games. He now sits atop the Marlies’ franchise leaderboard in goals (98) and points (200) since their inception in 2005. That production has never translated to the NHL, though, only notching one assist in 11 career appearances.

Four of those games came earlier this season. In a November call-up, he averaged 11:01 per game and went without a point, although he did record five shots on goal and 11 hits. He also posted strong possession metrics in primarily defensive usage, still controlling 51.5% of shot attempts at even strength.

Despite those pedestrian offensive numbers, his decent defensive showings in limited minutes and his AHL dominance make it easy to see why the Maple Leafs are interested in giving Steeves another look at the NHL level. He leads the AHL in goals and ranks third in points, trailing only Bridgeport’s Chris Terry and San Jose’s Andrew Poturalski.

Whether Steeves enters the lineup versus the Hurricanes on Saturday likely depends on the health of captain Auston Matthews. The team’s top center is skating with Team USA at the 4 Nations tournament and missed the final round-robin game against Sweden with upper-body soreness, although he’s expected back for the championship game against Canada on Thursday. He’s missed 15 regular-season games already with recurring upper-body issues.

Senators Recall Cole Reinhardt

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Feb. 18: Reinhardt is back up with the NHL club today, per a team announcement. He had a goal and two assists in four games for the B-Sens over the break with a plus-three rating and six shots on goal. He’ll likely suit up in Ottawa’s return to action against the Canadiens this weekend.

Feb. 9: The Ottawa Senators announced that they’ve loaned forward Cole Reinhardt to the Belleville Senators of the AHL. With the 4 Nations Face-Off set to get underway, the Senators don’t play again until February 22nd and have likely assigned Reinhardt to Belleville to get the 25-year-old some playing time.

Reinhardt has seen 16 games of NHL action this season; however, his usage has been very light, averaging just 7:58 of ice time per game. Reinhardt has used the limited minutes to make his presence known, throwing 30 hits, however, his name has rarely appeared on the scoresheet as he has just one goal and a single assist in the NHL. He hasn’t exactly been put in a spot to provide much offense, as he has started 61.9% of his shifts in the defensive zone.

In the AHL, the Calgary, Alberta native has had a bigger offensive impact but hasn’t been much more than a depth scorer for most of his professional career. However, this season, he has been a point-per-game player, tallying seven goals and ten assists in 16 games, which nearly matches the 23 points he had in 56 games last season.

Reinhardt could very well be recalled in less than two weeks when the NHL break ends, but in the meantime, he should see significant minutes with Belleville.

Minnesota Wild Recall Liam Öhgren, Devin Shore, Dylan Ferguson

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10:42 a.m.: The Wild confirmed the recalls in a team announcement and also said they’ve summoned goaltender Dylan Ferguson to serve as a practice exception until Filip Gustavsson returns to the club following his performance for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Ferguson won’t count against the 23-player limit, which is good since they have a full complement with Öhgren and Shore back up. He’ll return to the minors before the weekend.

8:00 a.m.: With many players returning to practice today for their respective teams, a few previously reassigned before the 4 Nations Face-Off break will be recalled. The Minnesota Wild are starting early, as the AHL transactions page confirms they’ve recalled forwards Liam Öhgren and Devin Shore from their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild.

There was no question the Wild would need to recall a pair of forwards. Aside from the few players on the roster still participating in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, injuries to Kirill Kaprizov and Jakub Lauko will likely prohibit them from skating while Ryan Hartman is dealing with the ramifications of a 10-game suspension.

Neither Öhgren nor Shore has been a game-changing talent for Minnesota this year but they’ve each played more than a handful of games. Öhgren has scored one goal and four points in 19 games for the Wild this season averaging 11:02 of ice time per game. The former 19th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft is only six games away from officially registering his rookie campaign.

While Öhgren has typically played on the team’s third line when on the roster, Shore has been limited to a fourth-line role. He’s scored one goal and three points in 34 games this year averaging 8:28 of ice time per night. Minnesota sent Shore through waivers shortly before the 4 Nations Face-Off started giving them a fair amount of flexibility with him for the foreseeable future.

Dominik Kahun Signs Three-Year Deal In Switzerland

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Swiss National League club Lausanne HC has signed veteran winger Dominik Kahun to a three-year deal, per a team announcement. While he spent the beginning of the season with rival SC Bern, he’s been released from his deal there and will join Lausanne immediately.

The news all but rules out an NHL return for Kahun, who’s played exclusively in Switzerland since his three-year run in the NHL from 2018 to 2021. In 186 games with the Blackhawks, Penguins, Sabres, and Oilers, Kahun produced a solid 34-49–83 scoring line in bottom-six minutes. After going non-tendered by Edmonton in the 2021 offseason, Kahun opted for a starring role overseas instead of a depth one in the NHL and inked a three-year deal with Bern.

That contract started off on a high note. Kahun immediately led Bern in scoring with 16-28–44 in 42 games during his first season in the NL, and the move overseas allowed him to pot a goal and two assists at the 2022 Winter Olympics for his native Germany. The performance led Bern to sign Kahun to another three-year extension with two years remaining on his current deal, set to keep him with the club through the 2026-27 season. Injuries limited him to four goals in 23 regular-season games in 2022-23, but he still managed 21 points and scored six times in nine postseason games. A healthy Kahun took things to new heights last season, leading the league with 35 assists in 47 games.

Unfortunately, he’s fallen off the map in 2024-25. He last played for Bern in late January, ending his tenure there with 2-7–9 with a minus-seven rating in 24 games. The 5’11” winger, who won three straight DEL titles before coming over to the NHL and was a member of Germany’s silver-medal winning effort at the 2018 Olympics, now hopes to revitalize his career on a league-leading Lausanne club that’s the only NL side so far to clinch a postseason berth. They also recently added ex-NHLer Brendan Perlini and are captained by 590-game NHL veteran Michael Raffl.

Detroit Red Wings Recall Marco Kasper, Elmer Söderblom

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Although a formal announcement never came from the team, the Detroit Red Wings reassigned youngsters Marco Kasper and Elmer Söderblom to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, before the 4 Nations Face-Off break for cap-related reasons. As expected, the AHL transactions site confirms Kasper and Söderblom have been returned to the NHL roster.

It’s been a tale of two seasons for Kasper during his first full year in the NHL. The Innsbruck, Austria native only mustered two goals and seven points through the first 35 games with an -11 rating averaging 14:06 of ice time per night. His possession metrics were uniquely good (approximately 50.0% CorsiFor% at even strength) for a poor possession team like Detroit, however, his 3.8% shooting percentage had many wondering if he should return to AHL Grand Rapids to continue developing.

New head coach Todd McLellan moved Kasper to the first line in early January and the former eighth overall pick has run with the opportunity. He’s scored seven goals and 13 points in his last 15 games for Detroit playing next to Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond with his shooting percentage jumping off the page at 23.3% in that stretch. Kasper has inarguably benefited from being next to the Red Wings’ top two forwards but his newfound confidence could prove a boon to his overall development.

Söderblom has primarily been relegated to AHL minutes this season having received his call-up in mid-January. The physically imposing 6’8″, 246lbs Sweden has added more size and offense to the Red Wings bottom-six throughout the call-up with two goals, three assists, and 20 hits in nine games.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Florida Panthers

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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 that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR is looking at every NHL team and giving a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 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 Atlantic Division, next up is the Canadiens.

Florida Panthers

Current Cap Hit: $87,250,999 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Mackie Samoskevich (one year, $925K)

Potential Bonuses
None

This is Samoskevich’s first full NHL season (aside from a brief cap-related stint in the minors).  He’s holding down a regular spot in the bottom six but players in that role can’t command a long-term second contract.  A two-year bridge deal in the $1.5MM to $1.75MM range feels like the right fit for him.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

F Sam Bennett ($4.425MM, UFA)
F Jesper Boqvist ($775K, RFA)
D Aaron Ekblad ($7.5MM, UFA)
F Tomas Nosek ($775K, UFA)
D Nate Schmidt ($800K, UFA)

Bennett is arguably Florida’s biggest decision to make when it comes to their upcoming free agents.  He’s on pace for a career year offensively which certainly doesn’t hurt his cause but that’s only a part of his game.  After splitting time at center and the wing in Calgary, he has become a full-time middleman with the Panthers.  And, of course, his physicality makes him stand out at a position that doesn’t have a lot of power forwards.  Bennett will hit the open market at 29 so a long-term deal will carry some risk but that’s unlikely to act as a deterrent for a lot of teams.  If he signs elsewhere, a max-term seven-year agreement isn’t out of the question while adding at least $2MM to his current price tag.

Boqvist has rebounded nicely after a tough year in Boston that saw him get non-tendered.  He already has set a new benchmark in goals and is close to matching his career high in points.  That could allow him to double his current price tag with arbitration rights but that eligibility could work against him if the Panthers need to keep their end-of-roster spots at or near the league minimum.  Nosek has largely stayed healthy this year which helps but he’s not as impactful at the faceoff dot as he used to be while his production is quite limited.  A small raise could happen but if Florida wants to keep him, it wouldn’t be shocking if they tried to bring him back at the minimum.

Ekblad is the other free agent of significance that GM Bill Zito will need to try to re-sign.  The 29-year-old has been an anchor on their back end for 11 years already after being the top pick in 2014.  He hasn’t been able to get back to the top offensive level of a few years ago but he’s still a top-pairing, right-shot blueliner.  A big raise might not be likely as the contract will have some of his declining years but a near max-term deal around this price point could be doable.  Schmidt quickly caught on with the Panthers after Winnipeg bought him out and he has held down a spot on the third pairing.  If a team still views him as a second-pairing piece, he could get back into the $2.5MM range or so but if he’s valued in a fifth or sixth role, his market value might be closer to $2MM.

Signed Through 2025-26

D Uvis Balinskis ($850K, UFA)
G Sergei Bobrovsky ($10MM, UFA)
F Jonah Gadjovich ($775K, UFA)
F A.J. Greer ($850K, UFA)
G Spencer Knight ($4.5MM, RFA)
D Niko Mikkola ($2.5MM, UFA)

Greer has become a capable fourth line energy winger in recent years but doesn’t provide much offense to go along with that which limits his market to a point.  Still, now that he’s a bit more proven in that role, he could make a case to push past $1MM on his next deal.  Gadjovich has had to take a minor league deal before and with the limited role he has, he’s quite likely to stay at the minimum moving forward.

Mikkola has been counted on more since joining Florida, playing regularly in their top four while playing more of a throwback shutdown role.  While he’s not much of a point producer, his defensive play and physicality should give him a much stronger market in 2026 which could push his cost past $4MM per season.  Balinskis is Florida’s sixth defender and has even played up front a bit.  His limited playing time will likely keep him viewed as a sixth or seventh blueliner which will probably keep him at least close to this price tag.

Bobrovsky has been hit or miss throughout his tenure in Florida with last season being one of the high points.  But he’s the highest-paid active netminder in the league (until next season) and that type of volatility isn’t the most ideal.  Notably, Bobrovsky will be entering his age-38-year on his next deal.  If he’s still a full-fledged starter then, he could land around $6MM or so but a lot could change between now and then.  Knight, meanwhile, is back up after spending last year in the minors, hardly great value for his price tag.  He’s done well so far and is starting to make a push for more playing time.  Florida’s hope will be that he can be their starter of the future and the limited action the last two years might keep the cost a little lower.  Still, he’ll be owed a $4.5MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights so if the Panthers want to keep him around, it will likely cost $5MM to do so, more if he’s the full-fledged starter by then.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Eetu Luostarinen ($3MM, UFA)
F Evan Rodrigues ($3MM, UFA)

After his run through free agency in 2022 didn’t go as planned, Rodrigues jumped at the stability of a four-year offer from Florida the following summer, one that looked pretty team-friendly then and that hasn’t changed.  A versatile player who can play up and down the lineup for this price is a good deal.  Rodrigues should be able to command more on the open market next time out but there was a case for that to happen on his last two trips on the open market too.  Luostarinen has worked his way up the depth chart which helped secure this extension last season.  If he can get back to being a 40-point player as he was a couple of years back, he could add another million or so on his next deal.  If not, the raise could be a bit smaller for him.

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Snapshots: Ullmark, Milano, Utah

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While Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark was supposed to get the start in tonight’s 4 Nations Face-Off finale for Sweden, that’s no longer the case.  Aftonbladet’s Hans Abrahamsson first reported that the netminder is sick and won’t suit up versus Team USA.  With Filip Gustavsson leaving Saturday’s game early with an illness as well, it will be Samuel Ersson who gets the nod.  Ullmark was widely expected to be Sweden’s starter for this event but will wind up playing in just two periods overall, taking the overtime loss versus Finland.  The outcome of this game will have no bearing on Thursday’s final as that will be a matchup of Canada and Team USA after Canada won their game in regulation this afternoon over Finland.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Sammi Silber of The Hockey News relays that while Capitals winger Sonny Milano was skating in a non-contact jersey before the 4 Nations break, he’s still a ways away from returning to the lineup. The 28-year-old suffered an upper-body injury in his third game of the season and hasn’t played since.  Assuming he’ll see some time with AHL Hershey on a conditioning assignment, it’s possible that Milano won’t be back until after the trade deadline when roster maximum sizes are no longer in effect.
  • In an interview with Craig Morgan on Utah HC’s team site, GM Bill Armstrong indicated that there’s a chance that they could have all their injured players back coming out of the break. Center Logan Cooley suffered a lower-body injury at the end of January while blueliner Sean Durzi (shoulder) has been out since mid-October; getting both of them back would be a big boost for their attack.  Meanwhile, defenseman Robert Bortuzzo (lower body) has missed more than a month while goalie Connor Ingram left the final game before the break with an upper-body issue so it appears they’re close to returning as well.
  • From that same interview, Armstrong suggested that Utah has already done most of its team building already from the summer and early-season trade activity so the team is “already built to some degree”. They have six games left before the trade deadline and are six points out of the final Wild Card spot so being buyers would be a bit of a surprise.  With that in mind, instead of team building, they could be doing some trimming with centers Alexander Kerfoot and Nick Bjugstad, blueliners Ian Cole and Olli Maatta, and goaltender Karel Vejmelka among the long list of pending unrestricted free agents this summer.

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