Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Luke Haymes

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Toronto Maple Leafs have again tapped into the collegiate free-agent market. Yesterday evening, the Maple Leafs announced they’ve signed center Luke Haymes to a two-year contract while also announcing he’ll finish the 2024-25 campaign on an amateur tryout agreement with their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

Haymes recently wrapped up a three-year career with Dartmouth College of the NCAA’s ECAC Hockey Conference. He finished his collegiate career with 41 goals and 70 points in 83 games and a -17 rating. Haymes had begun drawing NHL interest last season after his breakout sophomore campaign.

In all fairness to Haymes, his career -17 rating can be inferred as a team statistic rather than an individual one. Dartmouth finished with a record of 5-24-1 in Haymes’s rookie year during the 2022-23 NCAA campaign, finishing last in the conference by a healthy margin. The team finished remarkably better in his sophomore season, finishing fourth in the conference with a 13-10-9 record. The better team finish was evidenced in Haymes’s stat line, scoring 18 goals and 18 assists in 31 games with a +2 rating.

Dartmouth continued to improve this season, finishing with an 18-13-2 record. Unfortunately, Haymes lost a few games due to injury, finishing the year with 12 goals and 18 points in 22 games. The Big Green made another ECAC Hockey tournament push but failed to reach beyond the semifinals for another consecutive season.

Haymes can play in meaningful hockey once he plays his first contest with the Marlies. The team is poised for playoff positioning in the AHL’s North Division with a 32-20-3-6 record through 61 contests. They’ll have a competitive battle with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters for third place in the division over the last handful of games in the regular season.

Ottawa Senators Reassign Stephen Halliday

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Mar. 25: Halliday’s first call-up was short-lived, as the Senators announced they’ve reassigned him to AHL Belleville. The roster move indirectly confirms that Tkachuk should be in the Senators’ lineup tonight when they match up against the Buffalo Sabres.

Mar. 24: The Senators announced they’ve recalled center Stephen Halliday from AHL Belleville. It would be his NHL debut if he enters the lineup tomorrow against the Sabres. That’s a distinct possibility as captain Brady Tkachuk was absent from today’s practice, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports, after logging only 13:23 of ice time against the Devils on Saturday.

It’s been a huge year for Halliday, who the Sens selected in the fourth round (No. 104 overall) in the 2022 draft. Selected after being passed over in the 2020 and 2021 drafts, the 6’4″, 212-lb pivot headed to Ohio State immediately following his selection after four years in the United States Hockey League. The big, playmaking pivot averaged nearly a point per game across two seasons for the Buckeyes, posting 19-58–77 in 78 appearances and finishing as a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award in 2023-24. Ottawa signed him to his entry-level contract last March, paving the way for him to jump to the pros.

Here in 2024-25, Halliday has flourished in Belleville. After impressing with nine points in seven Calder Cup Playoff games to end last season, he leads the B-Sens in scoring with 15-28–43 in 59 games. He has some work to do defensively; his -19 rating is the worst on the team by a significant margin. It’s nonetheless an impressive step for the 22-year-old, who’s tied for fifth in AHL rookie scoring.

That impressive offensive performance will, at the very least, get him his first appearance on an NHL roster, even if he doesn’t play. If he does, the left-shot forward could slot in on the wing instead of down the middle with Tkachuk absent. The captain has seen his minutes managed carefully since returning from the lower-body injury he sustained at the 4 Nations Face-Off, only seeing more than 19 minutes in a game twice this month. He’s clearly still nursing the injury, so with a five-point cushion on a playoff spot with 13 games to go, they may opt to give him some rest against a Buffalo squad that’s slated to finish last in the conference.

Halliday still has another year left on his ELC, which carries a $950K cap hit. Ottawa has just $130K in cap space after the recall, even while using Nick Cousins’ LTIR placement to stay compliant. The Sens, who haven’t been carrying an extra forward for a while now, will presumably send Halliday back to Belleville once Tkachuk is ready to play again.

Red Wings Activate Jeff Petry, Assign Prospect Emmitt Finnie To AHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After missing the previous 31 games with an undisclosed injury, Detroit Red Wings’ defenseman Jeff Petry has been removed from injured reserve and is in the lineup tonight against the Utah Hockey Club, per a team release. Petry, who last played Jan. 2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, had recently returned to practice. He is skating with Simon Edvinsson on the team’s second defensive pairing. In his first full season in Detroit, Edvinsson has impressed with 26 points, 126 blocked shots, and a plus-4 rating in 65 games.

Although Petry has had just six points in 34 games to begin the year and a minus-seven rating, he has displayed offensive upside throughout his career. The 37-year-old veteran of nearly 1,000 career games has registered 383 points in the NHL and has added an additional 13 points in 48 career playoff tilts. Petry is in the final year of his contract and will be a free agent at season’s end. He had a $6.25MM cap hit this season.

While head coach Todd McLellan noted today that Petry can provide solid puck-moving abilities and a veteran presence for the team, he added the difficulty Petry will face in returning after such a lengthy absence. The Red Wings find themselves five points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card spot in the east.

The team also announced today that they reassigned forward Emmitt Finnie to the AHL from the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. He has captained the Blazers this season while recording 37 goals and 84 points through 55 games. The team’s seventh round selection in 2023 draft is shooting up Detroit’s prospect rankings thanks to his lofty numbers on the season. Finnie, 19, appeared in three AHL contests last season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, but didn’t record a point.

Oilers’ Connor McDavid And Leon Draisaitl To Miss More Time

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Edmonton Oilers’ superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will not play this week, meaning they’ll miss an additional three games with injury, per team reporter Tony Brar.

McDavid suffered a lower body injury during last Thursday’s lost to the Winnipeg Jets after taking a cross check to the midsection, while Draisaitl has missed the team’s last two games with an undisclosed injury. On Friday, it was reported that both Draisaitl and McDavid were headed for further testing on help determine the severity and duration of their injuries.

Also on Friday, head coach Kris Knoblauch stated both players would be day-to-day moving forward. Knoblauch added it’s important to preach caution at this stage of the season, and that is especially true when it comes to the team’s two best players. However, today’s news seems to reset the timeline for their return. The Oilers next three games will be against the Stars on Wednesday, the Kraken on Thursday, and the Flames on Saturday.

If possible, Draisaitl has risen his game to an even higher level this season. He currently leads the league in goals with 49 and his 101 points are second behind Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (105). He also leads the league in power play goals and game-winning goals. Meanwhile, McDavid has continued to produce at an MVP-candidate-level, posting 90 points in 63 games.

With the playoffs right around the corner, it goes without saying a full return to health for both players will be paramount to Edmonton’s hopes at another deep run. Last season, the two stars combined for an astonishing 73 points in 25 games, with McDavid securing the Conn Smythe Trophy despite coming up short of hoisting the Stanley Cup. The Oilers currently sit third in the Pacific with 87 points but are tied in points with Kings for second place.

 

 

Blue Jackets’ Sean Monahan And Erik Gudbranson Return

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After activating both center Sean Monahan and defender Erik Gudbranson from injured reserve earlier today, both players are in fact the lineup tonight against the Islanders, per a team release.

Both veterans return after lengthy absences. Gudbranson has missed the last 66 games with a shoulder injury that required surgery, while Monahan (upper body) returns following 28 games out of the lineup. The return of both should support Columbus’ attempt to secure a playoff spot, and their returns are particularly timely given the team’s recent six-game winless streak. The Blue Jackets currently find themselves four points out of the final wild card spot in the east.

Gudbranson has suited up in just three games on the season, his third in Columbus. A veteran of 792 games, Gudbranson has registered 133 points during his 13-year career, but his true calling card is in the defensive zone where he has carved out a solid career by utilizing his 6’5, 222-pound frame to play a physical and defensively responsible style. Gudbranson is paired with Denton Mateychuk on the team’s third defensive pairing tonight. The veteran also adds 31 games of playoff experience to his resume.

Meanwhile, Monahan is slotted back on the team’s first line between wingers Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko in his first game action since Jan. 7. In 41 games on the season, Monahan has posted 14 goals, 41 points, and a plus-17 rating. Monahan was a key part of Columbus’ early-season success, and his return should help the team’s offense as they make a run at the playoffs. Monahan has registered eight seasons with at least 20 goals during his 12-year career and was well on his way to hitting that mark again this season before his injury. In 805 career games, the 30-year-old has registered 258 goals and 579 points. He has added 22 points in 35 career playoff games.

Central Notes: Brodin, Bolduc, Predators

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Minnesota Wild have opted to pull defenseman Jonas Brodin back out of the lineup with three games over the next four days, per Joe Smith of The Athletic. Brodin returned from a month-long absence on Friday, after recovering from missing 12 games with a lower-body injury. Head coach John Hynes told Smith that Brodin’s absence was precautionary, and that the defender hadn’t re-aggravated his previous injury.

The news that Brodin’s health hasn’t gotten worse will be a silver lining for Wild fans. But missing the top defender is still a tough pill to swallow. Brodin has played in just 39 games this season, but he’s looked strong when he’s on the ice – marked by 19 points and a plus-11 on the season. Brodin seemed to jump right back into play in Friday’s game, playing through 20 minutes of ice time and recording one assist and one penalty. But Minnesota will opt to be cautious with their top-pair guy – opting to not tempt fait with each of Marcus Foligno, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Kirill Kaprizov still out of the lineup. Jon Merrill and Declan Chisholm will man the minutes opened up by Brodin’s absence.

Other notes from the Central Division:

  • Top St. Louis Blues youngster Zachary Bolduc is continuing to reach new milestones in his young NHL career. The Department of Player Safety has penalized Bolduc with the first fine of his career, after he cross-checked Nashville Predators defenseman Nick Blankenburg in Saturday night’s game. Bolduc will forfeit $2,248.26 for the incident – the max allowable under the CBA. The young winger has been a focal point of the Blues’ league-best 12-2-2 record since the 4-Nations Face-Off break. He has four points in his last five games, and 11 points in 16 games since the league returned. Bolduc has managed those totals despite averaging just 13 minutes of ice time each night. With that in mind, St. Louis will breathe a sigh of relief that Bolduc was fined rather than suspended. He’ll continue to contribute on a nightly basis, as the Blues look to continue blazing their path to the playoffs.
  • The Nashville Predators have announced a four-year extension with AHL affiliate the Milwaukee Admirals per Predators beat reporter Brooks Bratten. The deal will run through the 2028-29 season and will mark 30 years of partnership between the two sides when it next expires. Nashville announced Milwaukee as an IHL affiliate immediately upon joining the NHL in 1998. The Admirals moved to the AHL three years later and have made the playoffs in 19 of 21 seasons since then. That includes winning the Calder Cup in 2oo4 and making the Finals in 2006. Milwaukee currently ranks second in the AHL’s Central Division and is one of just three minor league clubs to already clinch a postseason berth. Their success comes in part thanks to top Predators prospects such as Ozzy Wiesblatt, Joakim Kemell, and Ryan Ufko.

Canucks’ Elias Pettersson, Nils Hoglander Out At Least Four Games

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks will be without star centerman Elias Pettersson and top-six winger Nils Hoglander for the remaining four games of their current road-trip per NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. Both players missed Vancouver’s team practice on Sunday after each leaving Saturday night’s game with injury. Pettersson exited with roughly five minutes left in the second period. He didn’t appear to sustain an injury, though none of his final five shifts lasted longer than 30 seconds. Hoglander exited with under two minutes left in the second and also didn’t appear injured, though he did get in a choppy stick battle in his final shift. Both players are out with undisclosed injuries.

The Canucks were two games into their second six-game road trip of the season. Pettersson and Hoglander were both pivotal pieces of the lineup in the road trip’s kickoff game against St. Louis on Thursday. Pettersson led all forwards with 20 minutes of ice time and recorded two assists, while Hoglander scored one assist in 17 minutes of ice time. Neither scored in their limited action on Saturday, and Vancouver will now be forced to fill two glaring holes in their top-six.

Rookie Aatu Räty is expected to earn an immediate promotion to the lineup. Räty hasn’t played since January 31st, which was itself a one-off start after not receiving routine NHL minutes since December. He’s appeared in 21 NHL games in total this season, netting just four points split evenly. Räty has been far more productive in the minor leagues, where he leads the Abbotsford Canucks in both total and point-per-game scoring with 39 points in 41 games. The Canucks recalled Räty ahead of Saturday’s game, and he’ll now have a golden chance at hardy minutes with Vancouver away from home for another week.

The Canucks are also carrying rookie Jonathan Lekkerimaki, who has rotated into the NHL lineup throughout March. He’s managed seven appearances and one assist through the month, bringing his season-long totals up to four points in 18 NHL Games. Lekkerimaki has also scored 19 goals and 28 points in 32 AHL games this year. He’s received as little as nine minutes of ice time through his recent stretch in the top flight, though Hoglander’s absence should break open at least a third-line role. Räty and Lekkerimaki could also be beneficiaries of the large chunk of power-play minutes that both Pettersson and Hoglander leave behind.

This will be a great chance for Vancouver’s top prospects to show they can shine. The Canucks will need all the support they can get, as they find themselves five points away from a Western Conference Wild Card with two games in hand. They’ve posted a menial 5-4-1 record over their last 10 games – not enough to get ahead the red-hot, 8-1-1 St. Louis Blues or the productive 5-2-3 record of the Calgary Flames. Even with opportunity at hand, it’s hard to imagine the rookies will live up to Pettersson’s 45 points in 64 games this season, which leads all Canucks forwards. Hoglander’s 21 points in 66 games, and gritty middle-six role, will likely be a bit more acheivable to match.

WHL To Add Penticton Vees, Initiate Application For Chilliwack Chiefs

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Western Hockey League (WHL) has announced their first formal expansion in 18 years in a formal press release. They will absorb the BCHL’s Penticton Vees in 2025-26 and have begun the application process for the Chilliwack Chiefs to join in 2026-27.

Penticton will maintain their majority owner, Graham Fraser, but they will also add Winnipeg Jets star Mark Scheifele, former New York Ranger Mike Richter, and businessmen Joe Walters and Gord Kovacik as minority partners. In a ceremony welcoming the Vees to the WHL, Fraser shared that they began the process of moving leagues last season. He added that the move also required a unique lease agreement between the Vees and the city of Penticton, captured by Chelsea Powrie of the local Casanet. It did not necessitate any rink renovations. The BCHL has added that Penticton’s BCHL rights will be relocated with existing ownerhsip, including Fraser.

The Vees are will maintain head coach, general manager, and team president Fred Harbinson through the move. Harbinson has been Penticton’s coach and GM since the 2007-08 season. He led the club to a BCHL championship in his very first year at the helm. He’s appeared in the postseason in every season since, and added five more championship rings.

For all intents and purposes, the Vees are formally a WHL as of this announcement. They will participate in a WHL Expansion Draft on May 7th, as well as the upcoming WHL Prospects Draft and WHL U.S. Priority Drafts. Penticton is already recruiting for their 15-player list. Fraser mentioned that the Vees will try to maintain current players whose WHL rights aren’t currently owned, though only nine players on the current roster meet eligibility requirements. Penticton will need to expand that to a full 50-player list by May 7th.

Meanwhile, Chilliwack will return to the BCHL for one season while they entertain WHL expansion. The city of Chilliwack were a part of one of the WHL’s most recent expansion waves in the early-2000s, getting awarded a club in 2005 and relocating to Victoria in 2011. Since then, Chilliwack has appeared in two BCHL Finals and consistently ranked as a top-five team in the Coastal Conference. The Chiefs’ home arena, Chilliwack Coliseum, is city-owned and is also approved for a WHL club. Still, the city has announced plans to invest $3.7MM in upgrades to the arena before joining the WHL in 2026-27, as shared by Fraser Valley Today. These upgrades will include improvements to the scoreboard, lighting system, and dasher boards among other upgrades.

The Chiefs will next have to go through an official franchise application process that will be reviewed by the WHL Commissioner and Executive Commission. The outcome of this process is expected to be announced before the start of the 2025-26 season. Meanwhile, the BCHL has announced no further plans for the Chilliwack franchise at this time – pointing towards their commitment to the league for the foreseeable future.

This news would theoretically grow the WHL from 22 to 24 teams within the next two years. Penticton will likely join the B.C. Division of the WHL’s Western Conference. Integrating Chilliwack could be more of a challenge. The city is a bit too far from the league’s Eastern Conference, which could lead to 13 teams in the Western Conference and 11 in the Eastern Conference.

The news of BCHL clubs joining the WHL is substantial. The CHL recently agreed to a partnership with the NCAA that would allow CHL players to commit to American colleges – something previously outlawed by the NCAA’s professional sports policy. This news has allowed the CHL to become a pipeline for players with collegiate aspirations, a perk that used to only belong to non-CHL Canadian junior leagues like the BCHL, AJHL, and OJHL. Penticton and Chilliwack’s moves could be the start of the growing snowball that is CHL hockey, though it’s likely to be slowed down by eligibility concerns and logistical red tape. Still, the news will give hockey fans at all levels some action to anticipate as the WHL, and other CHL leagues, approach key dates this offseason.

Rangers Recall Nicolas Aubé-Kubel

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Per a team announcement, the Rangers have recalled winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel from AHL Hartford. He could make his Blueshirts debut tomorrow against the Kings, but it’s far likelier he’s an extra body for injury insurance on their California road trip.

Aubé-Kubel, 28, was acquired from the Sabres in the trade that sent defenseman Erik Brännström to Buffalo before the deadline. After being waived by the Sabres on Jan. 27 and subsequently reassigned to the minors, he’s posted a combined 5-4–9 scoring line in 15 games between the two organizations’ AHL affiliates this year, including one goal in three games with Hartford since the swap.

A second-overall pick by the Flyers back in 2014, Aubé-Kubel was an NHL regular on a championship-winning team with the Avalanche three years ago. His stock has tumbled since, though, leading to multiple waiver placements and a handful of AHL stints for the first time since the pandemic.

He was a strong piece on the Capitals’ fourth line last season, posting 6-10–16 in 60 games with a plus-four rating and 159 hits. That landed the grinder a $1.5MM commitment from the Sabres on a one-year deal last summer, but he wasn’t nearly as effective in Buffalo. Injuries limited him to a goal and an assist in 19 games for the Sabres before he landed on waivers.

The 6’0″, 207-lb winger still counts $350K against the cap when he’s in the minors because of his salary checking in above the maximum buriable threshold, so the Rangers only add $1.15MM to their books with the recall. New York now has an active roster of 25 players, including the injured Arthur Kaliyev, who’s done for the year. Aubé-Kubel is a pending unrestricted free agent.

Jets’ Gabriel Vilardi Out Week-To-Week

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Jets head coach Scott Arniel told reporters today that Gabriel Vilardi is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury (via the team’s Mitchell Clinton). While Arniel declined to say what exactly is ailing the winger, he confirmed it’s unrelated to the puck he took to the ear in yesterday’s loss to the Sabres. The injury will leave Vilardi out of the lineup for the first time this season and will lead to either David Gustafsson or Rasmus Kupari re-entering the lineup.

Who moves up to Vilardi’s spot on the top line with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele remains to be seen, especially since the line has barely been touched this year. Vilardi’s appeared with Connor and Scheifele in all 71 of his appearances this season, and their 907 minutes together makes them the most frequent forward line combination in the league, per MoneyPuck. No other forward unit has more than 650 minutes together.

A week-to-week designation could presumably end Vilardi’s regular season. Winnipeg has 11 games remaining, and even a two-week absence – likely optimistic – means he’ll return with only four games left. Without a firmer timeline, it’s possible he may remain unavailable for a portion of their first-round playoff series as well.

That’s bad news for a Jets team that didn’t land a big fish at the trade deadline, instead opting for depth pickups Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev. The 25-year-old Vilardi has set career-highs across the board with his 71 appearances, 27 goals, 34 assists and 61 points. Averaging over 18 minutes per game, he seemed to have finally overcome his career-long injury bug that caused him to average just 40 games per season over the first five years of his NHL career.

He’ll now miss significant time again as the Jets teeter on the verge of clinching a playoff spot. They’re almost certainly slated for a Central Division title and a first-round matchup against the second wild-card team in the West, whoever that may be, but doing so without a player who accounts for 11% of their goals this season is a significant blow. Vilardi is humming at a 20.8% shooting rate but, as per usual for Winnipeg’s top line, has struggled to control possession at even strength. They’re all underwater in their shot-attempt numbers but have managed to control 52.6% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck.

Vilardi’s season hits pause amid a cold streak. He’d gone without a point in his last four games, compiling a minus-three rating during that stretch. Nonetheless, he’s a huge loss during the final month of the regular season as Winnipeg looks to seal the deal on their best regular season in franchise history.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top