Islanders’ Bo Horvat Suffers Lower-Body Injury
According to an announcement from the New York Islanders, forward Bo Horvat sustained a lower-body injury for Team Canada during the IIHF World Championships. The team stated that Horvat is returning to New York for evaluation from the team’s doctors.
Horvat wraps up his first international tournament in seven years with four goals and eight points in six games for Team Canada. Canada will enter the playoff round as the highest-ranked seed from the ‘Group A’ Division.
While the Islanders were vague about Horvat’s injury, the team remains hopeful he can begin training camp on time. He’s been remarkably healthy since moving from Vancouver to Long Island during the 2022-23 season, appearing in 162 regular-season contests for the Islanders over the past two years.
In a separate announcement, Hockey Canada shared that they have already found Horvat’s replacement for the remainder of the tournament. Top prospect for the 2025 NHL Draft, Porter Martone, has joined Team Canada’s roster.
Martone is considered a safe top-five selection in this summer’s draft, and could even find his way into the top-three. He recently concluded his junior season with the Brampton Steelheads, recording 37 goals and 98 points in 57 games, along with an additional four goals and nine points in six postseason contests.
He’s no stranger to international hockey, either. Martone is only a year removed from an impressive showing at the U18 World Junior Championships for Team Canada, scoring five goals and 17 points in seven tournament games.
Maple Leafs Notes: Tavares, Marner, Matthews, Nylander
The head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Craig Berube, has addressed Mitch Marner and John Tavares‘ upcoming unrestricted free agency. According to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun, when asked if he’d like them to return, Berube said, “100%.”
The news comes with little surprise, as few coaches would want 176 points to walk away for nothing. Still, a report from TSN’s Chris Johnston a few days ago suggested there’s no guarantee Marner will re-up with the Leafs this summer.
There’s more room for optimism when it comes to Tavares. Aside from Berube’s desire to have him back, Toronto’s former captain shared with David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period today that he believes he’ll sign a new deal with the Maple Leafs, and has already spoken briefly to General Manager Brad Treliving.
Other notes from the Maple Leafs:
- In a vague comment passed along by Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun, Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews said he’s been dealing with a ‘mystery’ injury since training camp, and it flared up throughout the regular season and playoffs. Matthews played in fewer than 70 games for the first time since the COVID-19-shortened 2020-21 NHL season, and achieved his lowest goal total since his junior campaign in 2018-19.
- There’s a chance that host country of the 2025 IIHF World Championships, Sweden, could get a major boost to their roster before the playoff round begins. According to Chris Johnston, William Nylander is contemplating joining his home country for the remainder of the tournament. Nylander hasn’t played in the international tournament since 2022, when he scored three goals and two assists in three games.
Senators Sign Luke Ellinas To Entry-Level Contract
The Ottawa Senators announced they’ve signed forward Luke Ellinas to a three-year, entry-level agreement. The Toronto, ON native recently finished his second year with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers.
Ellinas’ second year in Kitchener ushered in notable improvements. After scoring 16 goals and 33 points in 67 games during his draft year, in which the Senators selected Ellinas with the 104th pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, he registered 20 goals and 37 points in 50 games this past season.
His real coming-out party came during the 2025 OHL Playoffs. He helped bring Kitchener to the Western Conference Final, in which he scored eight goals and 16 points in 14 contests with a +6 rating. It wasn’t enough to be one of the playoff scoring leaders, but it was enough to lead the Rangers in postseason scoring.
It was an unforeseen run for a grittier player. Ellinas is a workhorse in the offensive zone, but his offensive production hadn’t caught up to how hard he was working until now. The Senators have inked a playoff-style performer if Ellinas continues on his trajectory.
It’ll be interesting to see where the Senators place Ellinas to begin the 2025-26 season. Their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, could use the help in a hotly contested North Division. Still, Ellinas may benefit from another year in the OHL to wholly hone in his offensive game before making the jump to professional hockey.
Winnipeg Jets Notes: Connor, Morrissey, Schenn, Fleury
Although the Winnipeg Jets extended a few of their pending unrestricted free agents shortly before the end of the regular season, they still have a few to iron out. One of which is winger Kyle Connor, who’s eligible for an extension on July 1st.
According to Murat Ates of The Athletic, he’s fully expecting the Jets to make Connor’s extension a priority this summer. It would be the second contract extension that the University of Michigan alum has signed in Winnipeg, following the seven-year, $50 million deal that was signed in 2019.
Connor’s next deal is sure to include a substantial raise, considering his impressive average of over a point per game for the last seven years, along with multiple 30- and 40-goal seasons, and two campaigns with over 90 points. With the salary cap continually increasing, the Jets should face no financial issues. The only hiccup could be Connor’s desire to stay in Manitoba.
Other Jets notes:
- In a report from TSN’s John Lu, defenseman Josh Morrissey won’t require surgery on his injured knee from Game 6 of Winnipeg’s Round Two series against the Dallas Stars. Still, it wouldn’t have mattered to the Jets’ Stanley Cup aspirations, as Morrissey shared he would have been done for the postseason regardless. He’ll be ready in time for training camp in September, at any rate.
- Morrissey wasn’t the only injured player on Winnipeg’s blue line. According to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press, trade deadline acquisition Luke Schenn had been playing through the playoffs with a fractured rib. Schenn didn’t let the injury affect his physicality, as the veteran blue liner collected 47 hits in nine games after purportedly suffering the fracture.
- Staying on the Jets’ blue line, team color analyst Mitchell Clinton shared that depth defender Haydn Fleury would love to stay in Winnipeg for the foreseeable future. Fleury, the pending unrestricted free agent, appeared in 37 games for Winnipeg this year, tallying seven assists while averaging 15:56 of ice time per game.
Golden Knights Sign Tuomas Uronen To Entry-Level Contract
The Vegas Golden Knights have signed one of their lower-round selections from the 2023 NHL Draft. The Golden Knights announced they’ve signed forward Tuomas Uronen to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Vegas selected Uronen with the 192nd pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. At the time, he was playing for HIFK’s U20 program, but he quickly transferred to the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s after being drafted.
Despite having an extensive career in Finland’s junior leagues, Uronen only began making a name for himself in North America. Unfortunately, a lower-body injury limited him to 11 games during the 2023-24 season. Still, he made up for it in a major way with the Kingston Frontenacs this year.
Uronen scored 38 goals and 90 points in 63 games this year with a +28 rating, and another five goals and 13 points in 11 postseason contests. Internationally, Uronen scored two goals and three points in seven games for Team Finland during the 2024-25 U20 World Junior Championship.
Although it’s well known that the Golden Knights need more depth on the wing for next year’s roster, it’s more than likely Uronen will start the year with their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. Still, assuming Vegas remains tight to the cap next year, it would be unsurprising to see Uronen debut at some point during the 2025-26 campaign.
Capitals Reassign Andrew Cristall To AHL
While the Capitals’ season is over, their AHL affiliate in Hershey is still alive in the Calder Cup Playoffs. They’ll be getting a boost in the form of 2023 second-round pick Andrew Cristall, who the Caps announced has been assigned to Hershey and could make his pro debut in tomorrow’s win-or-go-home Game 3 against Charlotte.
Cristall, a left-winger, has far exceeded his 40th overall billing. The 5’10” forward slipped farther down the draft board than most expected – most had tabbed him as a surefire first-round selection after he recorded 95 points in 54 games with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets in his draft year, but his smaller stature was enough to tank his stock.
It’s obviously too early to make a true determination before he even plays an NHL game, but Cristall has been on a superstar-level tear over the past two seasons. He finished fifth in the WHL in scoring last season with 111 points in 62 games (1.79 per game) but has been on a new level here in 2024-25. While an injury and a midseason trade limited him to 57 games between Kelowna and Spokane, he was still good for a 48-84–132 scoring line (2.32 points per game) with a +59 rating. He captured the league’s scoring title despite playing 15 games short of a full schedule and tacked on another 21 goals and 41 points in 19 playoff games for good measure.
Cristall is clearly the Caps’ most dynamic scoring threat in their prospect pool and should get a legitimate shot to make the opening night roster in the fall. Whether he can overcome the natural weaknesses his smallish frame provides and become an everyday top-six fixture in short order remains to be seen, but his puckhandling ability and skating should make him an impact producer in short order.
Laurent Dauphin Remains In Canadiens Organization On Two-Year AHL Deal
Longtime farmhand Laurent Dauphin will remain with the Canadiens organization on a two-year contract with AHL Laval, the team announced. He’s still technically an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any NHL team, but if all goes to plan, the former Habs and Coyotes center will continue to provide a veteran presence to play with Montreal’s minor-league prospects.
Dauphin, 30, hasn’t suited up for an NHL game since making 21 appearances with Arizona in the 2022-23 campaign. He went to Switzerland the following year and, after a nice year with HC Ambri-Piotta, returned to North America on a minor-league deal with Laval for 2024-25.
Historically a strong offensive presence in the minors, Dauphin picked up where he left off in his return. He finished second on the Rocket in scoring with 26-30–56 in 63 games, along with a team-high +25 rating.
Extending on an AHL deal means Dauphin remains ineligible for a call-up to the Montreal roster, although they can easily sign him to a two-way deal if they want him up. He’ll need to clear waivers to return to Laval after they do so, however.
A 2013 second-round pick by Phoenix, Dauphin has spent most of his professional career with the now-defunct Coyotes franchise. His one season with NHL appearances in Montreal (2021-22) was the best of his career, though, making a career-high 38 appearances for the Habs in a depth role while scoring four goals and 12 points.
Blackhawks RFA Aku Raty Signs In Finland
Blackhawks pending restricted free agent forward Aku Raty won’t be returning to the club next season. He’s inked a two-year contract with Karpat of his native Finland’s Liiga, the club announced today.
Chicago acquired Raty from the Mammoth in a minor trade-deadline deal, headlined by retired defenseman Shea Weber‘s contract changing hands from Utah to the Hawks. The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick by the Coyotes in 2019 and made his NHL debut in the franchise’s final game in 2023-24, recording an assist. That stands as his only NHL appearance to date. While he made the trip to Utah with all of his former Arizona teammates, he was assigned back to AHL Tucson at the beginning of the season and never got a call-up.
Raty’s minor-league showing in 2024-25 was also a steep regression from the prior year, which was his first in North America. The 6’0″ winger was among Tucson’s top scorers in his first taste of AHL hockey with a 15-29–44 scoring line in 55 games, more than earning a brief look in the Coyotes’ lineup. But Raty posted just four goals and 15 assists for 19 points in 50 games for Tucson this year, combined with a -12 rating, before being dealt to the Blackhawks. A change of scenery with Chicago’s affiliate in Rockford helped somewhat, posting six points in 15 outings down the stretch, but that evidently wasn’t enough for him to consider remaining in the Chicago organization.
Raty will return to Karpat, where he played most of his youth hockey and spent three Liiga seasons from 2019-20 to 2021-22. His breakout campaign overseas in 2022-23 came after he transferred to Ilves. The Blackhawks can still retain his signing rights through 2029 if they opt to issue him a qualifying offer.
Daly: NHL, NHLPA Have Made “Good Progress” On CBA Talks
The 2025-26 NHL season is the last one under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which has been in place since the 2012 lockout and was extended/modified in 2020. The relationship between the league and the NHLPA has been on solid footing since the latter appointed former U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh as its executive director, and reporting throughout the past few months indicated negotiations on a new CBA were expected to go smoothly, avoiding the fourth work stoppage of commissioner Gary Bettman’s tenure.
CBA talks started at the beginning of April and are “well underway,” NHL deputy commissioner told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic in a recent phone interview (article link). Daly added waiting until the expiry of the current agreement in September 2026 to announce a new CBA is “well beyond the window that I’m thinking… I would like to think that we’ll have a successful conclusion at some point in the not-too-distant future.”
Unsurprisingly, Daly wasn’t eager to divulge too many details about what the agreement will actually look like. However, he did highlight some areas in which to expect significant changes from current operations when pressed by LeBrun.
The storyline dominating this round of CBA talks was always going to be the future of rules regarding long-term injured reserve usage, particularly teams being able to add notable injured players to the postseason roster after they spent the entire regular season giving their club cap relief while on LTIR. Daly confirmed that it’s been a central point of discussions with the NHLPA and that “we’ve made progress toward getting to a good resolution on that issue.” What that resolution looks like – either a playoff salary cap or postseason roster eligibility restrictions based on regular-season LTIR stints – is unclear.
On the topic of expansion, Daly clarified the league’s position that they’re not close to adding a club and don’t plan on opening a formal expansion process. While the league isn’t soliciting bids, the current approach is “much more of a one-on-one conversation and relationship we have with various potential owners,” Daly said. He also called the watering down of talent by adding too many clubs “not even a minor concern” in the league’s eyes, given the game’s skyrocketing registration numbers in the United States and in Europe.
And while the league hasn’t officially put pen to paper on the agreement to send its players to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, that’s purely been due to timeline and procedural issues. Daly reiterated “definitively” that NHL players will participate in the event for the first time in 12 years, and the plan to run World Cups of Hockey every two years between Winter Olympics remains in place.
Offseason Checklist: Columbus Blue Jackets
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those already eliminated through the first couple of rounds. Accordingly, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Columbus.
This past season for the Blue Jackets was a whirlwind, to put it lightly. After moving Patrik Laine to Montreal, they then lost Johnny Gaudreau who died after being struck by a car a little before training camp, resulting in them briefly being under the salary floor. Accordingly, expectations for on-ice success were quite low but instead, Columbus was in the mix for a Wild Card spot until the very end of the season. As a result, instead of escalating their rebuild, GM Don Waddell’s to-do list this summer will likely revolve around trying to upgrade his group.
Shore Up The D
Columbus cut down on their goals allowed by 31 this season, a nice improvement but one that still left them near the bottom in that department. Adding to that concern is that two of their better blueliners are eligible to hit the open market in July.
Heading into the season, it felt like a matter of when, not if, Ivan Provorov would be moved. Unable to come to terms on an extension at various times in the year, it seemed like the Blue Jackets would move him closer to the trade deadline. But with the team staying in the playoff mix, Waddell held onto him. Provorov is coming off a deal that paid $6.75MM per season (30% of which was being paid down by Los Angeles) and as one of the better blueliners available in this UFA class, it stands to reason that he’s going to be able to command more than that on the open market. Waddell is either going to have to find a way to bring him back or replace him with a similarly impactful defender and there aren’t going to be many of those available.
Dante Fabbro was an early-season waiver pickup and the fit couldn’t have been better. After struggling to crack Nashville’s lineup, he came in and logged over 21 minutes a night while setting new career highs in goals and points. Basically, he became the reliable top-four defender he was projected to be for years with the Predators. All of a sudden, instead of having his next deal come in close to the $2.5MM he was previously making, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him pass the $4MM mark, especially as a coveted right-shot player. Again, re-signing or replacing him will be necessary.
On top of those moves, Waddell would be wise to look for another upgrade at some spot on the roster. Jordan Harris appears likely to be non-tendered while it’s unlikely Jack Johnson returns. At least one of them could be replaced by an improvement, giving them better depth if nothing else.
There’s also the Damon Severson situation to potentially address. A big addition two years ago, he was a healthy scratch for the final nine games of the season. With six years left at $6.25MM, a buyout isn’t likely but is there a way to move him for another high-priced option to reshape the back end? That will need to be examined as well.
Early Extension Talks
In terms of this year’s restricted free agent class, Waddell only has one headliner to contend with, RFA Dmitri Voronkov. After a solid 23-goal, 47-point effort and having arbitration eligibility, he’s heading for a significant raise on his entry-level salary. But beyond that, there really isn’t much. As a result, the Blue Jackets can also turn their focus toward some extension-eligible players on July 1st.
The most prominent of those has to be Adam Fantilli. After an injury-plagued rookie year, his sophomore year was quite solid as he tied Kirill Marchenko for the team lead in goals without being highly used on the power play. The third-overall pick in 2023, Fantilli looks like he is going to become the legitimate high-end center that they envisioned. That means they’re going to be handing him a significant raise within the next year or so.
A lot of the comparables in recent years have ranged from the high $7MM range to the low $8MM range. However, with the salary cap going up by $7.5MM this summer and then a projected $8.5MM for 2026-27, those comparable price tags seem low. Similar players have a cap hit percentage in the 9% to 10% range which, in 2026-27, would put his possible price range on a long-term deal between $9.36MM and $10.4MM per year. If things are trending in that direction, it might make sense to try to do something now over running the risk of the price tag being even higher if Fantilli finds another gear offensively next season.
Another center of note will also be extension-eligible this summer, captain Boone Jenner. He has been playing at a team-friendly $3.75MM cap charge for the last eight years, one that he outperforms when he’s healthy. Of course, staying healthy has been a challenge for the 31-year-old who hasn’t played a full 82-game season since 2016-17. Still, if Jenner posted another season around the 0.6 points-per-game mark with his faceoff prowess, he’d be highly sought after on the open market in 2026. Given the injury history, his earnings ceiling might not be the highest but still could start with a five on a multi-year deal. If Jenner is willing to give Columbus a bit of a discount on that coming off a particularly injury-ravaged season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the two sides work something out this summer.
Add Veteran Firepower
Columbus ranked seventh in the NHL in goals this season despite having a group on paper that largely went under the radar. All things considered, they still have a very young group up front and a lot went right from a development perspective, there’s far from a guarantee that they’re all going to stay on that same trajectory in 2025-26.
There’s one way Waddell can try to hedge against that concern and that’s by making a big splash to add some proven firepower on the wing. Beyond adding James van Riemsdyk and Kevin Labanc in training camp, they didn’t really replace Laine or Gaudreau. They got better than expected production out of van Riemsdyk with 16 goals while Mathieu Olivier moved up to the third line and scored 18 after having a previous personal best of five. Those were great outcomes but whether they’re repeatable remains to be seen.
The Blue Jackets have pretty much the cleanest books in the league from a cap perspective. The team enters the summer with over $41MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. A good chunk of that will go to the back end re-signings or replacements but there’s more than ample room to work with, even if they are working on a budget closer to the $70.6MM floor than the $95.5MM Upper Limit.
With their center situation in good shape, they can focus strictly on adding wingers. If they want to really aim big, Mitch Marner would certainly add to this roster. If they want more of a first or second-liner, Brock Boeser and Nikolaj Ehlers are out there.
If they want to go with a shorter-term option knowing that Fantilli, Kent Johnson, and Marchenko (possibly Cole Sillinger too) are heading for expensive raises in the next few years, then there are players like Patrick Kane, Reilly Smith, and Kyle Palmieri that could either fit on the second or third lines. They could also take a pricey player on in a trade, the inverse of what they did with Laine last summer.
There are lots of options for the Blue Jackets to take and while they could rest on their laurels with how things turned around offensively under Dean Evason, they can also help their chances of staying at that level by making a key addition on the wing in the coming weeks.
Search For Goalie Upgrades
To say it has been a rocky tenure for Elvis Merzlikins in goal would be an understatement. There have been impressive flashes where he has played like a legitimate starter. Unfortunately for Columbus, there have been plenty more struggles where he has played like an AHL starter at best. He hasn’t been able to put up a save percentage starting with a nine in the last three years; he actually lost five points off his .897 mark from 2023-24 this season which also was a contributing factor to the Blue Jackets being near the top of the league for most goals allowed once again.
With two years at $5.4MM, this is around the time when a buyout could start to look more feasible. Doing so this summer would save them $3.9MM next season and $2.6MM in 2026-27 before adding $1.65MM to the books for two years after that. Cap space isn’t an issue for Columbus but as a team that typically operates with budgetary restrictions, freeing up some money in the short term doesn’t hurt.
Of course, for a buyout (or a trade where he’s included to balance the money) to be feasible, they’d have to secure another starting goalie first in a marketplace that doesn’t feature many starters available either in free agency or in a trade. But if one of those options don’t materialize, there could still be a way to upgrade their situation between the pipes.
Daniil Tarasov was once viewed as the goalie of the future for Columbus but he struggled mightily this season. Owed a $1.26MM qualifying offer, it’s far from a given that he receives one. Meanwhile, Jet Greaves was quite impressive down the stretch but he has just 21 career NHL appearances under his belt. Still waiver-exempt for another year, would they be better giving him one more year with AHL Cleveland and opening a spot for a backup upgrade?
This isn’t something that the Blue Jackets necessarily have to do. If the back end winds up getting reshaped to a more structured unit, that could allow Merzlikins to bounce back somewhat. But this is an avenue Waddell would be wise to explore either way.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.