Dallas Stars Sign Wyatt Johnston To Five-Year Extension
Saturday: The Stars officially announced the signing. GM Jim Nill released the following statement:
Wyatt has established himself as one of the best young forwards in the NHL. His skill, maturity, and dedication to the game has already made him a valuable contributor and we believe he will be a huge asset for us moving forward.
Friday: According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Dallas Stars have agreed to a five-year, $42MM extension with forward Wyatt Johnston. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period provided Johnston’s extension details:
- Year 1: $4.4MM base salary, $4MM signing bonus
- Year 2: $5.4MM base salary, $3MM signing bonus
- Year 3: $8.4MM base salary
- Year 4: $8.4MM base salary
- Year 5: $8.4MM base salary
It’s not the long-term eight-year deal Jeff Marek alluded to a few days ago, but it’s still a solid bit of work from general manager Jim Nill. The likely comparable to Johnston’s negotiations was Detroit Red Wings’ forward Lucas Raymond, who signed an eight-year, $64.6MM extension in mid-September. Johnston got a comparative salary bump with an $8.4MM AAV and can walk right into unrestricted free agency after the 2029-30 NHL season.
There’s no questioning he’s earned that salary. Since debuting with the Stars in 2022-23, Johnston has scored 79 goals and 165 points in 226 games, averaging 17:02 ice time per game. That point production is the highest of the 2021 NHL Draft class by a 29-point margin. Unlike many centers in his age group, Johnston has also demonstrated maturity in the faceoff dot with a career success rate of 48.5%.
Johnston has also been an important factor for the Stars come playoff time. He tied for the team lead in scoring during last year’s postseason run, scoring 10 goals and 16 points in 19 contests. His production has been indispensable for the Stars, and it should remain that way, considering he’s 21 years old.
Next summer, questions will likely be raised in Dallas regarding the Stars’ salary cap situation. The team has added $20.4 million to next year’s cap with the recent contract extension for Mikko Rantanen. While this shouldn’t heavily impact the team in the upcoming season—aside from possibly losing their aging captain, Jamie Benn—the long-term implications for the 2026-27 season could be concerning. Jason Robertson, who will be a restricted free agent after the 2025-26 season, is just three years away from unrestricted free agency and has proven himself worthy of a raise from his current $7.75 million salary. This could pose a challenge for the Stars in fitting his new salary within the cap at that time.
Kings Sign Andre Lee To Two-Year Extension
The Kings have taken care of one of their pending restricted free agents up front early. The team announced that they’ve signed winger Andre Lee to a two-year contract extension that runs through the 2026-27 season. The deal will carry an AAV of $775K, the league minimum salary.
The 24-year-old was a seventh-round pick of the Kings back in 2019, going 188th overall. He has seen his first taste of NHL action this season, getting into 19 games with Los Angeles in five different stints with the big club, making him the sixth Los Angeles pick from that draft class to reach the top level. Over that stretch, he has a goal and two assists along with 36 hits in 9:10 per night of playing time.
Lee has spent the bulk of his professional career in the minors with Ontario, one that spans parts of four seasons. In 29 games this season, the 6’5 winger has three goals and six assists, bringing his career totals to 17 and 16 respectively across 134 contests.
This is Lee’s final season of waiver exemption so he will have to either stick with the Kings in the fall after training camp or be placed on waivers to return to the Reign in 2025-26. He’s playing on a one-year, two-way contract this year and while the team release doesn’t specify the terms, it wouldn’t be surprising if this extension carries a one-way salary, giving Los Angeles some capable back-of-roster depth at the lowest price possible.
Kings Recall Samuel Helenius
March 8: Helenius’ stint back in the minors was short-lived as the Kings announced that they’ve once again recalled him from the Reign.
March 6: Helenius took a minor penalty, recorded a hit, and went 0-for-3 on draws in last night’s shootout loss to the Blues, logging just 6:46 of ice time. He’s been returned to Ontario today, the team announced, making him eligible for participation in the Calder Cup Playoffs if he remains there through tomorrow.
March 5: The Los Angeles Kings have added some forward depth ahead of tonight’s matchup against the St. Louis Blues. Los Angeles announced they’ve recalled Samuel Helenius from their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.
Today’s roster move marks the fifth time Helenius has been recalled this season. Despite the frequent taxiing between Los Angeles and Ontario, Helenius has formally registered his rookie season with 27 games played at the NHL level.
He’s been an effective defensive presence over that stretch. The towering 6’6″ dual-citizen of America and Finland has averaged approximately three hits a game when he’s played for the Kings and has maintained a solid 93.8% on-ice save percentage at even strength. That’s quality physicality and defensive-mindedness from a forward averaging less than nine minutes of ice time per game.
Unfortunately, there’s little expectation that his offensive game will improve further. Helenius has scored one goal and three assists for Los Angeles and a similar two goals and four assists with AHL Ontario.
Outside his time in the Finnish Liiga, Helenius’s best offense came last year when he scored eight goals and 11 assists in 69 games for the Reign. Still, the Kings are unlikely to balk at the physicality Helenius brings to the bottom of the lineup, making a solid bottom-six fixture for the foreseeable future.
Rangers Activate Chris Kreider Off Injured Reserve
The Rangers were one of the more active teams around the trade deadline, moving out several veterans in recent days. But they’re getting one back in the lineup this afternoon against Ottawa as Mollie Walker of the New York Post relays (Twitter link) that winger Chris Kreider has been activated off injured reserve.
Kreider had been dealing with an upper-body injury sustained in the first game back after the 4 Nations Face-Off break. While his goal production has still been reasonably high, it has been a tough year for the 33-year-old overall. Through 48 games this season, Kreider has 17 goals but just four assists, putting him on pace for the lowest full-season point total of his career.
His early-season struggles had him placed on the trade market back in late November with GM Chris Drury looking to shake up the veteran core on his roster. The other veteran put on the block at that time (Jacob Trouba) ultimately was moved but a viable trade market never seemed to materialize for Kreider.
Kreider has two years left on his contract, one that carries a $6.5MM cap charge and a 15-team no-trade list. A strong finish to his season could help bolster his market on the trade front and potentially help New York sneak into the postseason as despite their recent moves as a seller, they enter play today tied for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Laurent Brossoit Not Expected To Return This Season
Laurent Brossoit’s first year with the Blackhawks hasn’t gone well, to say the least. Signed to a two-year, $6MM contract last summer to try to give Chicago some stability between the pipes, he has yet to play for them this season. It doesn’t look like he will either as Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times relays that goalie coach Jimmy Waite recently indicated that he doesn’t expect the netminder to be able to return this season.
The 31-year-old underwent meniscus surgery in late August that was initially expected to carry a five-to-seven-week recovery timeline. While that would mean he’d miss training camp, the thought was that he’d be ready to play early in the regular season and he was originally thought to be ready to debut partway through their opening road trip. Then in late October, he was supposed to begin skating and would need a few weeks to ramp up. Two weeks later, his timeline was changed to being out indefinitely.
Brossoit then underwent a second procedure on his knee at the end of November with no timeline for a return although GM Kyle Davidson was hopeful back in late January that his new netminder would be able to play this season. Clearly, that’s no longer the case although Brossoit recently expressed some optimism to Waite about his recovery which could be a good sign for next year.
Brossoit posted a 2.00 GAA and a .927 SV% in 23 games with Winnipeg in 2023-24, a solid bounce-back performance after being in the minors at times the year before. That made him one of the bigger wild cards heading into free agency but even with his inconsistent track record, he still landed the biggest financial commitment of his career and looked to be part of Chicago’s short-term plans at the very least.
But that fit is much less certain now. Arvid Soderblom, who Brossoit was likely signed to replace in the goaltending platoon, has bounced back quite well after a disastrous performance last season, upping his save percentage by 25 points along the way. In doing so, he’s back to being in at least the shorter-term plans in goal as well with prospects Drew Commesso and Adam Gajan not ready for full-time NHL duty just yet.
Meanwhile, Chicago also picked up Spencer Knight from Florida as a key part of the return in their trade for Seth Jones earlier this month. At 23, he’s now their goalie of the present and future so he figures to be the top option in their tandem with Soderblom as the backup.
Chicago was able to move Petr Mrazek on Friday to avoid an extended stretch of carrying three netminders but assuming Brossoit is able to play next season, they’ll be in that situation once more. But Davidson at least has some time to come up with a plan for how to handle that situation as now with Brossoit effectively ruled out for the rest of this season, it won’t be an issue until training camp in the fall.
Buffalo Sabres Recall Josh Dunne, Isak Rosen
According to a team announcement, the Buffalo Sabres have recalled forwards Joshua Dunne and Isak Rosen from their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Since there’s no longer a roster limit since the trade deadline has passed, the Sabres weren’t required to make a corresponding roster move.
Dunne is in his first season with the Sabres organization after spending the last four in the Columbus Blue Jackets’. The 26-year-old product of Clarkson University is a veteran of 14 games at the NHL level, all with the Blue Jackets, from 2021 to 2023.
In AHL Rochester and with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, Dunne has carved out a role as a solid middle-six forward with some physicality to his game. He won’t threaten to lead any team in scoring at the game’s highest minor league level, but he’s only two years removed from scoring 20 goals and 37 points in 65 games for the Monsters. He has eight goals and 16 assists in 54 contests for the Americans.
Meanwhile, Rosen is one of Buffalo’s top forward prospects, being four years removed from being the 14th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft. Unlike Dunne, Rosen has quickly become a capable top-six scorer at the AHL level since transitioning to North American professional hockey in 2022-23.
Since becoming a full-time player in Rochester three years ago, Rosen has scored 60 goals and 137 points in 184 games, with another six goals and four assists in 19 postseason contests. It wouldn’t be his first NHL game should he factor into the Sabres’ lineup tonight against the Florida Panthers, but a goal or assist would become his first NHL point.
Poll: What Was The Most Impactful Trade Of Deadline Day?
What a change a year can make. The 2025 NHL trade deadline was among the most exciting in recent memory, with several big names being moved. Last season, arguably the day’s biggest trade was the Vegas Golden Knights’ surprising acquisition of Tomáš Hertl from the San Jose Sharks for a high-end prospect and a first-round pick.
Yesterday put last year’s deadline day to shame. There were 23 total trades made on deadline day, with four first-round picks, eight top-six forwards, and one top-four defenseman changing hands. The excitement extended beyond March 7th, but we’ll isolate this list to yesterday’s events.
Earlier in the day, the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators engaged in a rare intra-divisional trade of magnitude. The Senators dealt Joshua Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker to the Sabres for Dylan Cozens, Dennis Gilbert, and Buffalo’s 2026 second-round pick. Norris and Cozens are quality top-six scorers when they’re playing to their fullest potential, but both represented change-of-scenery candidates. Norris is signed through the next five years with a $7.95MM cap hit, while Cozens is making $850K less with one fewer year remaining. They both play a similar style, with Norris having the edge defensively, but Cozens has been far more available than Norris over the last several years.
Then came the big one. Mikko Rantanen quickly became one of the day’s highest-valued trade candidates after failing to reach an extension with the Carolina Hurricanes. It had been less than two months since Carolina traded for Rantanen themselves, sending a package of Martin Nečas, Jack Drury, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche. The Hurricanes were reportedly willing to sign Rantanen to a rich extension, but nothing materialized in the following weeks.
Rather than lose him for nothing like they did with Jake Guentzel last season, Carolina began scouting the market for potential trades. The Dallas Stars eventually won the bidding war, trading top prospect Logan Stankoven, a 2026 first-round pick, a 2028 first-round pick, a 2026 third-round pick, and a 2027 third-round pick to Carolina. Dallas wasn’t done capturing headlines yet, as they quickly signed Rantanen to an eight-year, $96MM extension.
Much like they attempt to nearly every year, the Toronto Maple Leafs made some notable additions. The first one of the day was a long time coming. Toronto sent prospect Nikita Grebenkin and a 2027 first-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for Scott Laughton and a pair of late-round draft picks. Making the deal even better for the Maple Leafs, the Flyers are retaining 50% of Laughton’s salary this season and next, bringing his cap hit down to $1.5MM. Laughton immediately gives Toronto an effective third-line center while having the flexibility to play anywhere in the team’s lineup.
Shifting over to Toronto’s most fearsome playoff rival over the last several years, the Boston Bruins became an entirely different group. In three separate trades, the Bruins shipped Charlie Coyle to Colorado, Brandon Carlo to Toronto, and captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers. In total, Boston acquired Casey Mittelstadt, Fraser Minten, Will Zellers, Toronto’s 2026 first-round pick, a conditional 2027 second-round pick from Florida, and Carolina’s 2025 second-round pick.
It’s not an exhaustive list by any means, but it puts the magnitude of yesterday’s events into perspective. However, only one team can win the Stanley Cup every year, and it may not even be a team mentioned.
Now it’s time for you to choose — which trade from deadline day helps their new teams the most with that goal?
Mobile users, click here to vote!
Sharks Notes: Thrun, Giles, Gregor, Goaltenders
The Sharks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated defenseman Henry Thrun off injured reserve. He had missed the last week and a half after suffering an upper-body injury late last month against Montreal. The 23-year-old is in his first full NHL season and has played in 51 games with San Jose thus far, picking up a goal and nine assists while averaging just under 17 minutes a night, a full three minutes a night below his ATOI from last season after he was brought up from the Barracuda. However, with Jake Walman now in Edmonton, Thrun should be in line for a bigger role with San Jose down the stretch.
More from San Jose:
- The Sharks will get a look at one of their newcomers quickly as in the same announcement as Thrun’s, the team noted that forward Patrick Giles was recalled from the Barracuda. Acquired earlier this week from Florida in the Vitek Vanecek deal, the 25-year-old played in nine games with the Panthers this season but has spent most of the year in the minors. In 39 contests on the farm with AHL Charlotte, he has five goals and two assists.
- It would appear that part of the reason for Giles’ recall is the uncertainty with Noah Gregor’s availability, suggests Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). Gregor has to go through the immigration process before he’s cleared to play, a process that can sometimes take several days to get through. Gregor, acquired from Ottawa in a literal last-minute deal before the deadline, will be entering his second stint with the Sharks and his availability for Saturday’s game against the Islanders is in question.
- While San Jose did plenty of selling, they did try to make one small buyer move at the deadline. Speaking with reporters including Max Miller of The Hockey News (Twitter link), GM Mike Grier indicated that he tried to acquire a second goaltender to allow Georgi Romanov to remain in the minors but that the price to do so was too high. Instead, Romanov, who has just two career NHL appearances, will serve as Alexandar Georgiev’s backup with top prospect Yaroslav Askarov out due to a lower-body injury.
Jonas Siegenthaler Out For Rest Of Regular Season
It’s going to be a while before the Devils get some help on the back end. In his post-deadline press conference (video link), GM Tom Fitzgerald indicated that blueliner Jonas Siegenthaler (lower body) won’t be able to return for the rest of the regular season but does have a chance to return in the playoffs. Meanwhile, he declined to put a timeline on the reported week-to-week lower-body injury for Dougie Hamilton but confirmed that his top-scoring blueliner will be out for an extended period.
Siegenthaler has been out of the lineup for a little more than a month due to a lower-body injury and was moved to LTIR in recent days before Jack Hughes’ season-ending shoulder surgery. The 27-year-old isn’t a big point producer from the back end as he had just two goals and seven assists in 55 games before being injured; his nine points matched his total from last season.
But Siegenthaler has long been a capable defensive defender and his absence will be more felt on that end. He primarily played in a shutdown role while taking a regular turn on the penalty kill; all told, he finishes his regular season with 19:36 in ATOI. While that ranks fifth among New Jersey defenders, none of their rearguards are averaging 21 minutes a game on the season with their distribution being quite close, a rarity across the NHL.
New Jersey quickly moved to fill Siegenthaler’s role earlier this week when they acquired Brian Dumoulin from Anaheim while they picked up Dennis Cholowski from the Islanders today to add more defensive depth. But that’s all the help they’re going to have now for a while with no word on how long Hamilton will be out for while we now know that Siegenthaler’s set to miss the final six weeks of the regular season and potentially more.
Penguins Sign Ryan Shea To One-Year Extension
After a fairly busy stretch on the trade front in recent days, the Penguins quickly turned their focus to one of their pending unrestricted free agents. The team announced that they’ve signed defenseman Ryan Shea to a one-year, $900K contract extension.
The 28-year-old has been a full-timer on an NHL roster for the first time in his career this season, albeit being primarily in a reserve role. Shea has suited up in 28 contests for Pittsburgh so far in 2024-25, notching two goals and three assists while averaging 16:30 per night. His role has increased significantly since the 4 Nations Face-Off, however, as he has averaged nearly 21 minutes per game since then and he should be in line to keep playing that bigger role down the stretch.
Shea came to Pittsburgh through Group Six unrestricted free agency after spending three years in their system without getting an NHL opportunity. He got into 31 games with the big club last season, earning a two-way deal for his efforts and now, he gets his highest guaranteed salary as he looks to cement a full-time spot in their lineup for 2025-26.
The Penguins now have five blueliners under contract for next season with Shea joining Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Ryan Graves, and Vladislav Kolyachonok. Matt Grzelcyk wasn’t moved by today’s deadline and is UFA-eligible this summer while Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Conor Timmins, acquired earlier today from Toronto, will be restricted free agents with salary arbitration rights.