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Injury Notes: Sharks, Power, Seguin

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There was some concern for Sharks up-and-comer William Eklund’s health over the summer after he sustained a wrist laceration while playing in a pre-tournament game for Sweden at the World Championship. He needed surgery, and while the skate cut didn’t damage any vital nerves, it did carry a lengthy three-month recovery window. During that time, he also inked a three-year, $16.8MM extension.

Since Eklund’s injury occurred in May, the expectation was that he’d be ready for training camp. That looks to be the case as he was on the ice for an informal skate Monday and was taking contact, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now relays. That’s great news ahead of what could be even more of a breakthrough season for Eklund. He turns 23 next month and carried a 17-41–58 scoring line through 77 appearances in his sophomore year in 2024-25, up from 45 points in 80 games as a rookie (with a horrifying -45 rating) the year prior.

With the 2021 No. 7 overall pick on the mend, another first-rounder in their system also skated after ending last season on injured reserve. Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin was on the ice yesterday “without obvious limitation,” Peng wrote. The 23-year-old had shoulder surgery in the closing days of the regular season after logging nine points and a -7 rating in 30 regular-season appearances, a career-high. The 2020 first-rounder, previously acquired from the Devils, will be in a tight battle with fellow first-rounder Sam Dickinson and depth righty Jack Thompson for a roster spot in camp. He’ll need waivers to head to AHL San Jose, likely a matter of high concern to the Sharks’ front office.

Other injury updates as players begin to return to their team bases for training camp:

  • Sabres defender Owen Power is fully healthy after rehabbing a lower-body injury that ended his 2024-25 season prematurely, telling the team’s Justin Alpert he’s “back to doing everything” and is “ready to go.” He said he’s looking forward to how the increased time in the gym over the summer due to his rehab affects his game as he heads into his fourth full NHL season. The 2021 top pick hit a career-high in points with 40 last year, but also saw career lows in plus/minus (-13) and time on ice (21:19 per game).
  • After telling reporters following the Stars’ playoff elimination that he was dealing with a shoulder injury, Tyler Seguin is 100% after some “relatively easy” rehab, he tells Robert Tiffin of D Magazine. He told Tiffin the injury was caused by a hit from Oilers defender Darnell Nurse in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final. Seguin had 29 points in 38 combined regular-season and playoff games last year, losing most of his regular season to a significant hip procedure.

2025 Professional Tryout Tracker

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Pro Hockey Rumors will be keeping a running list of all players attending training camps on professional tryouts. A came back in August, and many more will be announced in the coming weeks as unsigned veterans look to find homes and free agent up-and-comers look to get some stability in the lower levels of an organization.

This tracker can be found at any time under the Flame menu for mobile users and under the “Pro Hockey Rumors Features” menu on the right-hand desktop sidebar. It will be updated as new PTO signings come in, as well as when players are released or signed.

This list will not include players already under contract with their club’s respective AHL affiliate who need a PTO to skate in NHL camp or other tryouts that are clearly targeted for a club’s minor-league team. Click the date of the PTO signing to read our full breakdown.

July 25: Conor Sheary, Rangers – Result: TBD
August 11: Jack Johnson, Wild – Result: released Oct. 3
August 19: Milan Lucic, Blues – Result: TBD
August 19: Brendan Smith, Blue Jackets – Result: TBD
August 27: Oliver Kylington, Hurricanes – Result: released Sep. 30
August 27: Givani Smith, Hurricanes – Result: SIGNED to two-way deal Oct. 3
September 5: Brett Leason, Wild – Result: released Sep. 30
September 5: Luke Glendening, Devils – Result: TBD
September 5: Georgi Romanov, Devils – Result: TBD
September 5: Kevin Rooney, Devils – Result: TBD
September 7: Kevin Labanc, Hurricanes – Result: released Sep. 30
September 8: Dylan Gambrell, Predators – Result: TBD
September 9: Noah Gregor, Panthers – Result: TBD
September 10: Tyler Motte, Panthers – Result: TBD
September 10: Ben Harpur, Panthers – Result: released Oct. 2
September 10: Kevin Mandolese, Canadiens – Result: released to AHL camp Sep. 28
September 10: Adam Erne, Stars – Result: TBD
September 10: Antoine Bibeau, Stars – Result: released to AHL camp Sep. 28
September 12: Andrej Sustr, Rangers – Result: TBD
September 12: Brett Murray, Penguins – Result: released to AHL camp Sep. 27
September 12: Josh Lopina, Panthers – Result: released to AHL camp Sep. 23
September 12: Daniel Walcott, Panthers – Result: released to AHL camp Sep. 23
September 12: Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins – Result: TBD
September 16: Matt Grzelcyk, Blackhawks – Result: TBD
September 17: Robby Fabbri, Penguins – Result: TBD
September 17: Scott Harrington, Predators – Result: released Sep. 26
September 17: Isaac Ratcliffe, Predators – Result: released to AHL camp Sep. 29
September 26: James Reimer, Maple Leafs – Result: TBD

Ducks, Rodwin Dionicio To Terminate Contract

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Sep. 9: Unsurprisingly, Dionicio has returned home. He essentially resumed his previous contract with EHC Biel-Bienne, which runs through the 2026-27 campaign, the team announced.

Sep. 3: Dionicio has cleared waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He will now have his contract terminated.

Sep. 2: The Ducks placed defense prospect Rodwin Dionicio on unconditional waivers Tuesday, per PuckPedia. It’s for the purpose of a mutual contract termination, which can occur tomorrow if he clears.

Dionicio, 21, only has one season of professional experience and still had two years left on his entry-level deal, which he signed with Anaheim in May 2024. The Swiss rearguard was a fifth-round pick in 2023 from the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and had a spectacular final junior season in 2023-24, erupting for 73 points (and 108 PIMs) in just 60 games split between Windsor and Saginaw en route to a Memorial Cup championship.

Things quickly turned sour for Dionicio upon beginning his professional career, though. He struggled to land a regular role for Anaheim’s AHL affiliate in San Diego and managed nine points in 24 games for the Gulls. By the time January rolled around, the Ducks and Dionicio agreed that a return to Europe was in his best interests, and they loaned him to EHC Biel-Bienne of the Swiss National League. He only got into nine regular-season games with the club, recording six assists and a +2 rating.

Given the offensive ceiling he displayed just one year ago, it’s surprising to see him now headed for unrestricted free agency. The Ducks only have 13 other defenders in the organization under contract, so it’s not like there was a huge logjam for him to work through again to win a roster spot in San Diego.

Usually, a mutual termination precipitates a move to Europe. In Dionicio’s case, though, there’s a higher likelihood than normal of someone making a claim and picking up the remainder of his entry-level deal, considering his offensive upside.

Flames Notes: Wolf, Andersson, Parekh

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The Flames announced a seven-year, $52.5MM extension for premier young netminder Dustin Wolf this morning ahead of the final season of his entry-level contract. The deal, which carries a cap hit of $7.5MM, will make him among the league’s 10 highest-paid goalies when it takes effect in 2026-27.

Now, PuckPedia has the full breakdown of the contract. The deal will be paid out almost entirely in base salary, with only one up-front $2MM signing bonus in the first year. That will be paired with a $6MM base salary to give him $8MM in total compensation out of the gate. From 2027-28 through 2031-32, he’ll earn an even $7.5MM per year. The difference between his first-year compensation and the $7.5MM average annual value will be made up in the contract’s final year in 2032-33, when he’ll take a small pay cut to $7MM.

Wolf’s deal also includes relatively limited trade protection. He’s not eligible for it until 2028-29, when he’d otherwise be eligible for unrestricted free agency. From that point forward, he’ll have a 10-team no-trade list, but no full movement protection is included in the deal.

There’s more out of Calgary today:

  • While all parties have acknowledged pending UFA Rasmus Andersson will be traded at some point this season, the defender rebuked claims over the offseason that he was only willing to extend with one team – believed to be the Golden Knights. That would obviously have handcuffed Calgary from moving him elsewhere or even landing market value from Vegas, something Andersson said he’d never do, according to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960.
  • Top defense prospect Zayne Parekh isn’t fully recovered from the lower-body injury he sustained earlier this summer, general manager Craig Conroy told Steinberg. “The hope is that he’ll be ready for training camp,” Conroy said, indicating he likely won’t participate in any rookie camp activities in the days leading up to full camp beginning at the end of next week. He did skate today, Conroy confirmed, a welcome sign ahead of a pivotal camp that could lead to him carving out a roster spot. The 2024 No. 9 overall pick scored in his NHL debut last year and has led the OHL in scoring among defensemen in back-to-back years, although he’s still ineligible for a full-time assignment to AHL Calgary.

Oilers Cleared Of Wrongdoing Regarding Last Season’s LTIR Usage

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The NHL’s investigation into the Oilers’ usage of long-term injured reserve last season regarding winger Evander Kane has been closed, deputy commissioner Bill Daly tells Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News. The league found Edmonton did not circumvent the salary cap, and the organization will not face any resulting penalties, either retroactive or for the upcoming 2025-26 season.

Back in June, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported the league was extending its inquiry regarding Kane’s eligibility for long-term injured reserve. The league routinely examines teams’ manipulation of the cap-offsetting outlet to ensure that all placements are medically valid and aren’t solely being used as vehicles to allow the club to carry over-the-cap rosters in the postseason – a ’loophole’ that’s getting closed this year anyway.

It’s never been formally reported as to why the league was unsatisfied with the initial documentation they’d received from Edmonton about Kane’s LTIR placement. There may have been scrutiny about the timing of the multiple procedures he underwent, both during last offseason and in-season, that forced him to sit out the entirety of the 2024-25 regular season. The Oilers and Kane waited until days before training camp to have him undergo a wide-ranging surgery to repair a sports hernia and hip/abdominal issues that had plagued him the previous year, and he then had an initial knee surgery in January to repair a congenital defect that delayed his recovery timeline past the end of the regular season.

Yet, Edmonton only barely dipped into the additional flexibility Kane’s LTIR placement afforded them. They didn’t move him there from standard IR until just before the trade deadline, and he wasn’t cleared to return at the very beginning of the playoffs. His 2025 postseason debut for Edmonton had to wait until Game 2 of their first-round win over the Kings.

That last stipulation could be why the league is coming away satisfied with their assessment – either that, or they’re now assured the reasons for the seemingly delayed timing of his surgeries were medically valid.

Kane had six goals and 12 points in 21 playoff games for the Oilers. The team parted ways with him days later, dealing the final year of his contract at a $5.125MM cap hit to the Canucks for a mid-round pick.

Panthers To Sign Noah Gregor To PTO

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Free agent left-winger Noah Gregor will attend Panthers camp on a professional tryout, according to his dad, Jason Gregor of Edmonton’s Sports 1440.

The 27-year-old Gregor adds another name to the competition for bottom-six jobs in Florida, a group that will be stretched a tad thinner to start the season thanks to the domino effect of Matthew Tkachuk’s recovery from adductor surgery. They’ve been active in shoring up that depth after getting their trio of big-name extensions done for Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand in the days before free agency began. Center Tomas Nosek was also given a one-year extension hours before the market opened, while they picked up right-winger Luke Kunin on a league-minimum contract last month.

Gregor split the 2024-25 season between the Senators and Sharks, working primarily in a fourth-line role and making 52 appearances. He totaled a 4-3–7 scoring line with a -21 rating, the worst offensive production of his career on a per-game basis since entering the league with San Jose six years ago.

Gregor’s calling card has always been his speed, but that took a hit last year. NHL EDGE data shows Gregor averaged 2.0 speed bursts over 20 mph per game, down significantly from 2.75 the year before. He also had 0.52 fewer hits per game and took 0.6 fewer shots on goal per game than he did in 2023-24, when he turned a PTO with the Maple Leafs into a one-year contract and had 12 points in 63 showings. Possession metrics also weren’t kind to Gregor, who controlled only 43.6% of shot attempts at even strength, despite receiving a significantly more sheltered workload defensively compared to his deployment with Toronto.

For his career, Gregor has 70 points in 293 NHL games. He had semi-productive stretches in San Jose’s top nine earlier in his career, averaging nearly 15 minutes per game for them in 2021-22 while recording a career-high 23 points in 63 games, but has now produced 0.20 points per game or fewer in four of his six NHL campaigns.

Gregor faces an uphill battle to earn a roster spot ahead of a known commodity internally like Nosek or a higher-ceiling offensive option in Kunin, especially with a larger group including Jesper Boqvist, Jonah Gadjovich, A.J. Greer, and Mackie Samoskevich also jockeying for position on Florida’s depth chart. There’s still no harm in seeing if he’s rediscovered his skating, an element that would fit well into the Cats’ heavy-checking system, where he’d be a speedier option than Kunin and Nosek.

If Gregor makes the club, it’ll likely be in a press-box role to start. He could also sign a deal and land on waivers, with the hope that he can either rebuild his stock with AHL Charlotte or be claimed by a team in need of experienced forward depth. After being non-tendered for three years in a row, he’s now old enough to be eligible for unrestricted free agency outright next summer.

Agent Comments On Sidney Crosby’s Future With Penguins

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The agent for Penguins franchise icon Sidney Crosby, Pat Brisson of CAA Sports, spoke to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic about his client’s future in Pittsburgh ahead of a season that has the Pens positioned as one of the few true sellers in the league. While LeBrun stressed that Crosby “for sure only sees himself as a Penguin for life” entering his 21st NHL season, his camp is giving him plenty of room to change his mind if Pittsburgh’s showing this season is as poor as expected.

When asked directly if a Crosby trade before the end of his deal in 2026-27 is possible, Brisson had this to say:

I mean, I’m answering something that … let’s put it this way, it’s always a possibility, you know? It’s been three years they haven’t made the playoffs. It all depends on how Sid is going to be and how the team is going to do. I maintain the same position that I do believe that he should be playing playoff hockey every year. In my opinion.

There remains virtually no chance of a surprise Crosby blockbuster before the start of the season. The Penguins haven’t even managed to trade one of their three major trade chips, wingers Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust and defenseman Erik Karlsson, in the six-plus months they’ve been available dating back to last season’s trade deadline. Crosby could have both those forwards as his wingmen to open the season, either to squeeze as much production out of them as possible to boost their trade stock or simply to give this Penguins team a fighting chance at being in the mix for the playoffs.

As Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas told LeBrun, that remains the organization’s goal – whether that’s via resurgent veterans or ahead-of-schedule growth from the young talent they’ve been busy accumulating over the past several months. “Our focus is on returning the Pittsburgh Penguins to perennial contender status as urgently as possible, “Dubas said. “Taking away our focus from that task would only slow down from a job that requires our full attention and nothing less.”

Crosby himself gave a more in-depth quote on where his mindset is at entering the season to Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin:

It’s not something you want to discuss. You’d rather be talking about who we’re getting at the (trade) deadline or, you know, where we’re at as far as, are we one or two or three in the division?. But you know, it’s one of those things. That’s the hard part about losing. I think everybody thinks that the buzzer goes and you lose a game and that sucks, but there’s so much more than that. It’s the (roster) turnover. It’s the unknown, the uncertainty, the question marks — that’s the stuff that’s tough. It makes you appreciate all those years that we were competing and going after the big acquisition every single trade deadline. I don’t think I took it for granted, but I definitely appreciate it that much more now.

Flames Sign Dustin Wolf To Seven-Year Extension

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The Calgary Flames have signed reigning Calder Trophy finalist Dustin Wolf to a seven-year, $52.5MM extension, per a team release. The deal will carry a yearly cap hit of $7.5MM. That price tag will pull Wolf into the upper echelon of goalie contracts, making him the eighth-highest-paid goalie in the NHL.

Calgary is clearly confident after Wolf’s unprecedented play on his entry-level contract. He was once an overlooked goaltender, falling to the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft largely thanks to his slight 6-foot, 160-pound frame. Wolf was playing with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips at the time of his draft. He returned for a fourth season in Everett in the following year, and wrapped up his  WHL career with a staggering .935 save percentage in 149 games – the highest save percentage ever recorded across multiple WHL seasons.

Wolf moved to the AHL’s Stockton Heat in 2021-22 and earned the starter’s crease within just a few months. He was flashy and energetic, even as a first-year pro, and worked his way to a phenomenal 33-9-4 record and .924 Sv% in 47 games. That mark was enough to earn Wolf the AHL’s Baz Bastien award, handed out annually to the league’s top goalie. Not to be outdone, Wolf managed an even better record (42-10-2) and better save percentage (.932) in more games (55) in his second pro year, again taking home the Baz Bastien Award. With that, he became just the third goalie to ever win the award twice, and just the second to win it in back-to-back years.

That gave Wolf an incredible amount of momentum headed into last season. He played 18 games in the NHL between 2022 and 2024 – and managed a stout 8-7-1 record and .923 save percentage. But fans knew more was to come when Wolf finally broke into the Flames’ roster full-time. New Flames general manager Craig Conroy cleared the path for that to happen when he traded Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils in 2024. The lights were shining bright and trained solely on Wolf, headed into last season.

Wolf wasted no time proving he belonged in an NHL role. He won his first three games of the season with a .936 save percentage and managed his first shutout in his ninth game of the year. By the end of December, Wolf was touting an impressive 12-5-2 record and a .914 save percentage. Those numbers slipped slightly as Wolf worked his way up to 53 starts on the season – the 17th-most in the league. He finished his rookie season with a 29-16-8 record and .910 Sv% – tying Stuart Skinner, Pekka Rinne, and Andrew Raycroft for the eighth-most wins by a first-year starter.

It was a truly electric performance. Calgary’s chances to win rose significantly when Wolf took the net, and his athleticism and confidence were both unwavering. Advanced stat site Evolving Hockey estimates that Calgary received five wins-above-replacement (WAR) from Wolf – the fifth-most in the NHL, just narrowly behind Vezina Trophy finalist Darcy Kuemper and above Ilya Sorokin. That’s an incredible mark, and one that Calgary will quickly reward with a long-term extension. Teams have been duped in the past by strong rookie seasons. Hockey fans will surely remember the short-lived peak of Steve Mason. But Wolf seems well set to earn the starting role in every season of his new deal. He boasts all of the skill, speed, and sharp thinking to play at the top level, and will look to vindicate a great rookie year and hefty extension with a growing performance this season.

Photo courtesy of Brett Holmes-Imagn Images.

Summer Synopsis: Pittsburgh Penguins

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With training camps now just a couple of weeks away, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective.  Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled.  Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason.  Next up is a look at Pittsburgh.

The Penguins have been at a crossroads for a little while now but it appears that they’re now set to take a bit of a step back to focus on the future.  Dan Muse takes over from Mike Sullivan behind the bench with an eye on player development although Pittsburgh will be entering training camp with the oldest roster in the NHL.  That will likely change at some point during the season if the standings dictate a sell-off of players as expected.

Draft

1-11 – F Benjamin Kindel, Calgary (WHL)
1-22 – F Bill Zonnon, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL)
1-24 – F William Horcoff, Michigan (Big 10)
2-39 – D Peyton Kettles, Swift Current (WHL)
3-73 – D Charlie Trethewey, U.S. U18 (NTDP)
3-84 – G Gabriel D’Aigle, Victoriaville (QMJHL)
3-91 – D Brady Peddle, Waterloo (USHL)
4-105 – F Travis Hayes, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
5-130 – F Ryan Miller, Portland (WHL)
5-148 – D Quinn Beauchesne, Guelph (OHL)
5-154 – F Jordan Charron, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
6-169 – F Carter Sanderson, Muskegon (USHL)
7-201 – F Kale Dach, Sherwood Park (BCHL)

GM Kyle Dubas went into the draft with the most picks and was particularly active on the trade front, including trading down from 12 to 22 and then flipping one of the firsts acquired in that swap to move up to 24.  For good measure, he swung two more swaps on the second day of the draft.  Interestingly, at a time when a lot of teams mix in some international picks, all 14 of their selections played in North America last season.

Kindel was a surprising selection at 11th overall.  Viewed as likely to land more in the late teens or early 20s, he wound up nearly going in the top ten with Pittsburgh believed to have tried to move up to make sure they got him.  He plays with the type of pace that Dubas is hoping the Penguins will one day get to as their roster eventually gets younger and while he’s a little undersized, he profiles as a top-six piece for them.  Kindel has played down the middle at times and if he’s able to stick at that position in the pros, he’ll become that much more valuable.

Zonnon is another player who went a bit earlier than expected with most of his rankings ranging from the late 20s to the early 40s.  Like Kindel, he brings a lot of offensive creativity to the table as Pittsburgh’s early goal in the draft was clearly to increase their skill.  Horcoff was another player picked well above his rankings but as a six-foot-five center, that was bound to happen.  He wasn’t much of a difference-maker in the USHL but a midseason move to the University of Michigan helped his offensive game and certainly contributed to his rise on rankings lists.  He might ultimately pan out as a two-way third liner but those players can be quite impactful overall.  None of these three picks are likely to push for a spot with the big club for at least a couple of years.

In terms of their selections on the second day, they went in a different direction.  Kettles is a big shutdown defenseman who profiles as someone who might best fit in on the third pairing but whose size and reach should cause some havoc if he develops as planned.  Trethewey came into the season as a projected first-round pick, even slotting in with a lottery ranking in some preseason lists.  But his season with the US National Team Development Program wasn’t as impactful as hoped.  The raw tools are there to be a potential top-four selection but he’s someone who might wind up being a longer-term project.

D’Aigle was an interesting pick as he struggled mightily last year with QMJHL Victoriaville to the tune of a 4.53 GAA.  But the Tigres were a weak team and at six-foot-four, he has the size that teams covet between the pipes.  Peddle is a physical blueliner who wasn’t able to produce much in the USHL during the regular season although he flashed a little more upside in the postseason.  He’ll move to the QMJHL this season and then head to college; both of these players are longer-term picks as well, a theme that can be said for most of the rest of their selections.

Trade Acquisitions

D Connor Clifton (from Buffalo)
D Mathew Dumba (from Dallas)
G Arturs Silovs (from Vancouver)

While Clifton and Dumba are veteran right-shot defensemen (the side teams typically covet), their additions were more about the second-round picks that accompanied them than they were about adding the players.  Clifton will add some grit on the third pairing while Dumba may be in tough to simply crack the lineup.  Both players are pending unrestricted free agents and likely won’t be part of their plans beyond this season.

That isn’t the case for Silovs.  While he struggled considerably in limited action with Vancouver last season, he held his own when a pair of injuries pressed him into their starting role in the playoffs the year before.  He was the top goalie at the Worlds in 2023 and the AHL Playoff MVP this spring with Abbotsford and while it was widely expected that the Canucks would have to waive him with their veteran tandem now in place for several years, Dubas decided to jump the queue and swing a trade for him.  He’ll go into training camp as the likely backup goalie with a chance to push for a bigger role if he fares well early on.  He has a 3.13 GAA and a .880 SV% in his first 19 NHL regular season games.

UFA Signings

D Alexander Alexeyev (one year, $775K)
F Justin Brazeau (two years, $3MM)
F Connor Dewar (one year, $1.1MM after non-tender)^
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard (one year, $775K)*
F Bokondji Imama (one year, $775K)*^
D Caleb Jones (two years, $1.8MM)
D Philip Kemp (two years, $1.55MM)*
F Joona Koppanen (one year, $775K)*^
G Filip Lindberg (signed in Finland)
F Anthony Mantha (one year, $2.5MM plus $2MM in bonuses)
F Philip Tomasino (one year, $1.75MM after non-tender)^
D Parker Wotherspoon (two years, $2MM)

*-denotes two-way contract
^-denotes re-signing

Mantha was easily Pittsburgh’s most intriguing addition this summer.  At his best, he has been an impactful top-six forward but consistency has been a challenge.  Signed by Calgary last summer in effectively the same type of situation the Penguins are in now, he suffered a torn ACL barely a month into the season, making him eligible for performance incentives which are tied to games played.  A good showing could be enough to convince Dubas that he’s worth keeping around a little longer or he could ultimately find himself on the trade block a few months from now.  While most of their additions were of the depth variety, Mantha is one who brings a bit of upside if he stays healthy.

Tomasino and Dewar were both non-tendered to avoid salary arbitration but re-signed fairly quickly after the free agent market opened up.  Tomasino got off to a tough start in Nashville and was flipped to Pittsburgh in November for a future fourth-rounder.  He was able to hold down a regular role (when healthy) with the Penguins but still didn’t show the top-six upside he had at the beginning of his career.  He remains RFA-eligible moving forward but will remain a non-tender candidate because of the arbitration rights.  Dewar played sparingly with Toronto last season and was moved in a cap-clearing deal at the trade deadline.  The change of scenery allowed him to play a bigger role and with seven points in 17 games following the swap, he did well enough to earn another chance.  He and Tomasino should be in the mix for bottom-six roles.

Brazeau will also be a part of that mix.  He only played his first full NHL campaign last season, splitting time between Boston and Minnesota in largely a fourth-line role.  Given the later start to his NHL career, the 27-year-old still could have a bit of upside; otherwise, he’ll likely reprise that fourth-line role with the Penguins.  Wotherspoon also played his first full NHL season in 2024-25 at the age of 27.  He quietly logged 18 minutes a night for Boston and with the left side of Pittsburgh’s back end not particularly strong at the moment, he could have a chance to play a bigger role.  Jones and Alexeyev also have NHL experience and could find themselves in the mix for a spot in training camp.

RFA Re-Signings

None.  Pittsburgh non-tendered all of their restricted free agents except for one (who had already signed in the KHL).  Dewar and Tomasino were eventually retained but as UFAs as noted earlier.

Departures

F Raivis Ansons (signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL, NHL rights relinquished)
D Isaac Belliveau (trade with Buffalo)
F Emil Bemstrom (signed in Switzerland)
F Kasper Bjorkqvist (signed in Finland)
D Nathan Clurman (signed with Montreal, one year, $775K)*
G Taylor Gauthier (signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL, NHL rights relinquished)
D Matt Grzelcyk (unsigned)
D Mac Hollowell (signed in Russia)
F Jimmy Huntington (signed with San Jose, one year, $775K)*
D Vladislav Kolyachonok (trade with Dallas)
D Filip Kral (signed in Czechia)
F Marc Johnstone (signed with Toronto, AHL)
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph (signed with Vancouver, one year, $775K)
F Mathias Laferriere (signed in Slovakia)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (trade with San Jose)
F Matthew Nieto (unsigned)
D Colton Poolman (unsigned)
F Vasiliy Ponomarev (signed in Russia, Pittsburgh retains his RFA rights)
F Chase Stillman (trade with Vancouver)
D Conor Timmins (trade with Buffalo)

*-denotes two-way contract

Grzelcyk had to settle for a one-year deal last summer and responded about as well as he could.  He posted a career high in assists (39) and points (40) while logging over 20 minutes per game for the first time.  In essence, it looked as if he had shown that he can still be a legitimate top-four defenseman.  And yet, more than two months into free agency and training camps almost upon us, he’s still looking for a contract.  Speculatively, his camp aimed high coming off the year he had and the limited options on the open market but his smaller stature likely didn’t help his cause.  Now, another one-year deal might be what he has to wind up settling for.

Among the other blueliners who saw some NHL action last season, Timmins was the other part of the cap-clearing move from Toronto at the deadline.  He played a somewhat limited role for them down the stretch and will have a similar role with Buffalo.  Kolyachonok has been up and down in recent years and was a waiver claim back in February and likely would have been on the outside looking in at a roster spot had he stayed in Pittsburgh.  Joseph’s second stint with the Penguins didn’t go particularly well which made his non-tendering for the second straight year a pretty safe decision.

Nedeljkovic had his ups and downs between the pipes, briefly taking over as the starter at times while at others, he struggled considerably to the point of his lowest full-season save percentage, checking in at .894.  Considering their goal of getting a little younger, bringing Silovs into Nedeljkovic’s role carries a bit more risk but also more upside.

Among the forwards that moved on, Ponomarev is the most surprising given that he accepted a three-year deal in Russia at a time that the Penguins were hoping to see some prospects take a step forward and push for a roster spot.  They’ll have to wait a while for that to happen with him now.  Nieto dealt with more injury trouble last season and wasn’t anywhere near as effective as he was when he was last healthy in 2022-23.  At this point, he’s a PTO candidate at best.  Bemstrom’s stock had dropped in recent years, going from a roster regular with more than 200 games of NHL experience to someone who cleared waivers and spent most of last season in the minors.

Salary Cap Outlook

Even after taking on some pricey contracts for depth defensemen in Clifton and Dumba, the Penguins still have plenty of cap space, a little over $13MM, per PuckPedia.  Depending on how the roster is configured, that number could still go up.  They have all three of their retention slots remaining and although being a third-party retainer is out of the question following the early institution of the more restrictive rules on salary retention, Pittsburgh is well-positioned to try to utilize some of that flexibility, either through retention or taking on more unwanted contracts.

Key Questions

When Will The Trades Happen? Defenseman Erik Karlsson has been in trade speculation for a while now.  So have wingers Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell.  Even centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have seen their names out there although the likelihood of them moving is much less certain (only if they decide they want to move which is far from a given).  But as of yet, Dubas hasn’t pulled the trigger on a move, even though it has been a market featuring way more buyers than sellers this summer.  Will he look to try to get more leverage closer to the trade deadline or will something materialize earlier in the season?

Can Novak Bounce Back? Among the moves made last season was Dubas acquiring center Thomas Novak from Nashville near the trade deadline.  It was an odd move for a selling team to acquire a veteran middleman but it was an intriguing buy-low acquisition.  Novak came into last season with back-to-back years of 40-plus points with strong possession numbers.  Last season, the latter was still good but his point output dropped and he was injured two games after the trade.  If Novak can get back to that 40-point level, he’s someone who could plausibly become part of their plans beyond the end of his contract in 2027 or, alternatively, become an intriguing trade chip in a market that is lacking in center depth.

Will Jarry Provide Starting-Level Goaltending? When Dubas signed Tristan Jarry to a five-year deal after being hired, it was a vote of confidence that Pittsburgh’s goaltending was set for a while.  But the first two seasons of that deal have been up-and-down, to say the least, with last year being particularly rocky as he found himself clearing waivers and in the minors at one point.  It’s clear that the team views Silovs as a possible piece for the future while Joel Blomqvist is waiting in the wings as well.  If Jarry can get back to being a legitimate starter, things can settle down between the pipes for a bit.  If not, his future with the team could get murky in a hurry.

Photos courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel and Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Snapshots: Evangelista, Barzal, Jarvis, Luypen

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Predators winger Luke Evangelista is one of the few remaining restricted free agents with training camps on the horizon.  Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey relays that the two sides are focused on a bridge deal with the sides discussing contracts between one and three years but that there is still a gap to work through with more talks scheduled for this week.  The 23-year-old notched 10 goals along with 22 assists in 68 games last season and has 86 points in 172 career appearances with Nashville.  A short-term pact should carry a price tag in the $3MM range, one that they can easily afford with more than $9MM in cap room, per PuckPedia.  Kieser added that there has not been any talk about trading Evangelista so far.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Speaking at the NHL Player Media Tour today, Islanders forward Mathew Barzal provided reporters, including Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin (Twitter link), an update on his recovery from a knee injury that ended his season early. While he stopped short of declaring himself fully healthy (acknowledging he might not get back to that point), he will be ready to go in training camp.  Between this injury and one earlier in the season, the 28-year-old was limited to just 30 games last season where he had 20 points.
  • Hurricanes winger Seth Jarvis told reporters at the NHL Player Media Tour today, including Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin (Twitter link), that his rehab from a shoulder injury has gone great. He opted not to undergo surgery this offseason despite dealing with the issue for the second year in a row, calling it a pain tolerance situation.  Jarvis, who had 32 goals and 35 assists in 73 games last season, also signalled an openness to being tried at center again, an experiment that hasn’t gained much traction over the last two seasons.
  • After being non-tendered by Chicago back in June, unrestricted free agent winger Jalen Luypen has found a team for the upcoming season as ECHL South Carolina announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year deal. The 23-year-old spent most of last season in the AHL with Rockford, notching eight goals and six assists in 56 games.

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