Capitals Sign Charlie Lindgren To Three-Year Extension
The Washington Capitals have both halves of their goaltending tandem signed beyond this season. According to a team announcement, the Capitals have signed netminder Charlie Lindgren to a three-year, $9MM contract extension.
Although Lindgren’s salary will nearly triple on this deal, it appears to be a solid bit of work from Capitals’ general manager, Chris Patrick. Washington will pay a combined $8.85MM to Lindgren and Logan Thompson next season, equating to 9.26% of the 2025-26 salary cap ceiling.
However, it’s reasonable to assume Lindgren missed a bigger payday. His first season with the Capitals was fairly generic, sporting a 13-11-3 record in 26 starts with a .899 SV% and 3.05 GAA. According to MoneyPuck, his -3.9 goals saved above average was good for 80th in the league, while his goaltending partner at the time, Darcy Kuemper, ranked 16th in the NHL with an 8.8. 
Due to injuries and poor play from Kuemper last season, Lindgren became the de facto starting netminder in Washington. In one of the most unprecedented seasons from a goaltender in recent memory, Lindgren managed a 25-16-7 record through 48 starts with a .911 SV%, a 2.67 GAA, and a league-leading six shutouts. His 10.5 GSAA ranked 16th in the NHL, helping Lindgren to an eighth-place finish in Vezina Trophy voting and a 12th-place finish as the league’s MVP.
Still, the Capitals desired to lighten Lindgren’s load this season by acquiring Thompson from the Vegas Golden Knights last summer. His 48 starts from the 2023-24 campaign nearly matched his total starts from the previous seven years combined, split between the Capitals, Montreal Canadiens, and St. Louis Blues.
Returning to a share of the crease this year, Lindgren’s production more closely resembles his output from two years ago rather than last year. The Lakeville, MN native has a 13-10-3 record through 27 starts with a .896 SV%, 2.70 GAA, and a -2.2 GSAA. Washington’s patience in signing Lindgren to an extension likely saved the organization a few million dollars compared to pursuing an extension in the summer months after his incredible 2023-24 campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Sports Images.
Golden Knights Sign Kai Uchacz To Entry-Level Contract
In the other half of last night’s announcement, the Vegas Golden Knights signed forward Kai Uchacz to a two-year entry-level contract. Similarly to Braeden Bowman, Uchacz had been playing the 2024-25 campaign on an AHL contract with the Henderson Silver Knights.
Uchacz recently finished a five-year career in the Western Hockey League, split between the Seattle Thunderbirds and Red Deer Rebels. Unfortunately, his departure from the Thunderbirds wasn’t under good circumstances. The Calgary, Alberta native was removed from the Thunderbirds roster for the 2020-21 season due to making racially-charged comments toward one of his teammates.
After additional training and education, the WHL reinstated Uchacz for the 2021-22 season. The WHL’s announcement came shortly after the Thunderbirds traded Uchacz to the Rebels for a second-round pick in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft.
He finished his career on a three-year hot streak, scoring 106 goals and 199 points in 188 games for the Rebels. Much like Bowman, Uchacz went undrafted at the NHL level and had to settle for an AHL contract this season with the Silver Knights.
At the time of writing, Uchacz sits seventh on the team in scoring with 12 goals and 23 points in 51 contests. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been enough to help Henderson climb out of the Pacific Division basement.
Golden Knights Sign Braeden Bowman To Entry-Level Contract
The Vegas Golden Knights announced two two-year entry-level contracts shortly after last night’s game against the New Jersey Devils. The first player signed was forward Braeden Bowman, who had been playing on an AHL contract with the Henderson Silver Knights.
Bowman joined the Silver Knights out of training camp after four years with the OHL’s Guelph Storm. He had always shown a knack for putting the puck in the net, scoring 27 goals and 10 assists through his first two years with the Storm.
Like many quality goal-scorers at the OHL level, Bowman reached beyond a point-per-game average during his junior and senior seasons. The Kitchener, Ontario native scored 70 goals and 73 assists in 122 games, finishing second on the team in scoring in back-to-back campaigns. Unfortunately, Bowman’s production in Guelph never earned him a draft selection at the NHL level.
Still, his professional career has gotten off to a positive start. He’s scored 12 goals and 30 points in 52 games with AHL Henderson- good for third on the team in scoring.
Unless the Silver Knights go on an unprecedented win streak to end the 2024-25 season, Bowman will have to wait another year to compete for the Calder Cup. Henderson occupies last place in the AHL’s Pacific Division with a 22-30-3-0 record and 17 games remaining.
Five Key Stories: 2/25/25 – 3/2/25
The trade deadline is now less than a week away. Not surprisingly, several of the key stories from the past seven days are on the trade front with a handful of teams looking to get a jump on bringing in some help.
Wild Bring Back Nyquist: For the second time in just over two years, the Wild acquired winger Gustav Nyquist before the deadline. In 2023, they gave up a fifth-round pick to get him but this time, the cost was higher as they had to part with a 2026 second-round selection to get him from Nashville. As part of the move, the Predators are retaining half of the $3.185MM cap charge. The 35-year-old had a career year last season, tallying 75 points in 81 games but hasn’t been able to produce anywhere near the same level this year with 21 points in 57 contests before the swap. However, Nyquist had some success with the Wild in 2023 and he should be able to help give them some extra scoring depth for their playoff push.
Done For The Year: After missing almost all of last season after undergoing knee surgery, Canadiens center Kirby Dach will miss roughly the final two months of this year after once again having knee surgery on the same knee. The former third-overall pick had a quiet year, tallying 10 goals and 12 assists in 57 games and will now have lots of rehab on his knee for the second straight year. Meanwhile, the Red Wings will be without a key veteran for the rest of the year after Andrew Copp underwent surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. He had 10 goals and 13 helpers in 56 games this season while also seeing regular time shorthanded. Detroit, did, however, free up some cap space to replace him when they dealt Ville Husso to Anaheim for future considerations, opening up lots of flexibility for GM Steve Yzerman heading into Friday’s deadline.
Panthers Make A Splash: The Panthers decided to go big with their pre-deadline move, acquiring defenseman Seth Jones and a 2026 fourth-round pick from Chicago in exchange for goaltender Spencer Knight and a 2026 first-round pick (that could become a 2027 first). The Blackhawks are retaining $2.5MM of Jones’ $9.5MM AAV (through 2029-30) as part of the move. Jones recently indicated an openness to be moved to a contender and he gets his wish. He’s been in the number one role for Chicago for quite some time but will go to a club where he won’t be counted on quite as much which might work out well for both sides. Meanwhile, Chicago will get a look at Knight who was once viewed as one of the top young goalies in the league to see if he can be part of their long-term plans while adding another first-round pick and some future cap flexibility as their long rebuild continues.
Suspension Reduced: It’s not often that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will step in and reduce a suspension but he did so in Wild forward Ryan Hartman’s case. After initially receiving a ten-game ban, Bettman opted to lower that to eight games. In his ruling, he noted that despite a fairly lengthy recent history of supplemental discipline, an increase of seven games from his most recent suspension “is excessive in this case and that the quantum of increase should be reduced.” As a result of the reduction, Hartman will be eligible to return to the lineup on Tuesday and with the Wild dealing with some other injury woes on their active roster (suspended players count against the 23-player roster), it also may have made it easier to pull the trigger on the Nyquist deal now over waiting a few more days.
Avs Add A Blueliner: The Avalanche added some depth on the back end, acquiring blueliner Ryan Lindgren, winger Jimmy Vesey, and unsigned prospect Hank Kempf from the Rangers in exchange for winger Juuso Parssinen, blueliner Calvin de Haan, and 2025 second- and fourth-round picks. New York is retaining half of Lindgren’s $4.5MM cap charge in the move. While Lindgren is in the middle of a down season, he has a track record of being a quality defensive defender which should give Colorado a boost at the fourth or fifth slot on their blueline. Vesey also is a more experienced option for an Avalanche fourth line that has undergone plenty of turnover this season. As for New York, they add two more draft picks to the fold and a look at Parssinen, a 24-year-old who had 25 points in Nashville in 45 games just two seasons ago, to see if he can be part of their longer-term plans.
Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.
Oilers Examining Trade Market For Evander Kane
Friday was an important day for the Oilers when it comes to winger Evander Kane. Not when it came to an injury update but rather his no-trade clause. As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday (video link), Friday was when Kane’s full trade protection dropped to a partial no-trade clause. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector clarifies (Twitter link) that Kane can now block a trade to only 16 teams and his list has been submitted to Edmonton.
Now with a potential opening to try to trade him, both Friedman and Spector have noted that GM Stan Bowman is gauging the market with the 15 teams he can’t block a trade to.
Kane has yet to play this season. He was injured in last year’s playoff run and underwent abdominal surgery in the fall. He then had knee surgery in January with that injury popping up while recovering from the first procedure. In doing so, his timeline for his return was pushed back and remains murky.
As a result, Edmonton’s trade deadline approach remains up in the air. If Kane isn’t able to return, the Oilers can use his LTIR flexibility (presently around $5.1MM per PuckPedia) to try to add to their roster. But if it looks like he’s going to return or there remains uncertainty regarding his ability to return in the next seven weeks, then their hands are largely tied as they’re effectively capped out.
The 33-year-old is signed through next season at a $5.125MM cap charge so it’s not as if this is a situation where they’re looking at moving an injured player on an expiring contract. Given that and the injury uncertainty, it would be fair to say his market isn’t likely to be particularly robust.
On the other hand, Kane, when healthy, remains an effective power forward. He had 24 goals and 20 assists along with 250 hits in 77 games last season. The year before, he had 28 points in 41 contests in an injury-shortened campaign. When he’s in the lineup, Kane can be a quality contributor offensively while bringing plenty of physicality, attributes that are always appealing, especially at this time of year.
With that in mind, this likely isn’t a situation where Edmonton is going to be interested in paying a big premium to offload Kane’s contract and get out of LTIR. If he is able to return this season, it’s fair to say that they’d be counting on him to play a regular role right away and into the playoffs. But if there’s a way for them to get a lower-cost contributor back that opens up some options leading into Friday’s trade deadline, it’s something that Bowman will need to consider. Now that he knows which teams Kane be moved to, those conversations are underway.
Kraken Recall Philipp Grubauer, Assign Niklas Kokko To AHL
Late in January, the Kraken decided to place Philipp Grubauer on waivers to allow him to get some extended time with AHL Coachella Valley to try to get him back on track. It appears they’re content with how he performed as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled the veteran from the Firebirds. In a corresponding move, Niklas Kokko was assigned to Coachella Valley.
Grubauer struggled in his first three seasons with Seattle, failing to record a save percentage of .900. But this year, things went much worse. Prior to his demotion, the 33-year-old put up a 3.83 GAA and a .866 SV% in 21 outings, numbers that are dead last among netminders with at least 20 appearances. That’s hardly the type of performance they’re expecting from someone carrying a cap charge of $5.9MM through the 2026-27 season.
With the Firebirds, Grubauer was better but his numbers were still relatively pedestrian for a long-time NHL veteran. In seven appearances with them, he posted a 2.87 GAA with a .893 SV%. Now that he’s back with Seattle, his likely goal over the next seven weeks will be to try to play well enough to not be considered for a contract buyout this summer.
As for Kokko, he made his first career NHL appearance on Tuesday, making four saves on six shots in half a game against St. Louis. The 20-year-old is in the first season of his entry-level deal and has fared well in the minors, putting up a 2.44 GAA and a .909 SV% in 21 games with the Firebirds. With Coachella Valley in a three-way battle for the top spot in the Pacific Division, Kokko will now get into some meaningful action down the stretch.
PHR Mailbag: AHL Players, Wild, Blackhawks, Ducks, Extensions, CBA
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include what, if anything, is next for the Wild on the trade front, Chicago’s tough season, and much more. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in our last two columns.
nolesfan75: Do players like Matthew Phillips and Kailer Yamamoto have any realistic chance of getting another opportunity in the NHL? They both are having strong years at their respective AHL clubs.
It’s unfortunate but it’s hard for smaller offensive players to get any sort of significant opportunity in the NHL once they get labeled as more of a minor leaguer. You’re definitely correct in stating that Phillips and Yamamoto are having strong seasons in the minors but the problem they run into is this. They’re good enough to be impactful players in the AHL but not good enough to be a top-six piece consistently in the NHL. Meanwhile, they’re often viewed as too small to play regular minutes in the bottom six for an NHL team. So, where does that leave them? Basically, they have to hope for a short-term injury to an offensive forward to have an opportunity for a short-term recall and if things go well from there, maybe stick around for a bit.
To make things even harder for them, there might be an NHL team or two who would be willing to give someone like that a chance after the trade deadline to avoid needing to recall someone from their farm team (helping in a playoff push down there). But because Phillips and Yamamoto are big producers in the minors, their respective NHL teams are unlikely to just give them away and weaken their farm team to do right by the player. It’s a tough cycle to get out of which is why these players often move around in free agency each summer, trying to find a new opportunity that gives them a better chance at an NHL look at some point.
letsgonats: Related, do teams target AHL players? Folks like Phillips or Ethan Bear that are all stars at AHL but they are not 21-year-olds but 25–28-year-olds with some NHL experience and can serve as depth. Ethen Frank is “old” at 28 but obviously was buried and stuck in AHL. Do teams try to grab AHL folks and give them the job over existing NHL folks?
There is an annual shuffle of top AHL players that I think at least partially qualifies as a yes to this question. But it’s not necessarily with the idea of having that player displace an NHL regular although they typically promise that the player will get that opportunity at least in training camp. That’s the biggest driver of top AHL players in free agency, just trying to upgrade the AHL teams.
The next level of targets for teams looking at AHL players are young players coming off an AHL contract that a team wants to sign to an NHL deal. Since you’re a Washington fan, I’ll give you a Capitals-specific example, Pierrick Dube. He had a strong first pro year on a minor league deal and that was enough for Washington to have to give him an entry-level contract to secure his NHL rights. There are usually a handful of those moves each summer league-wide.
There aren’t many comparisons to Frank out there. Waivers allow players in his situation to be snapped up if there’s an NHL team that thinks an AHL regular is worthy of a look at the top level and usually, if they’re that confident about that player’s ability to be an NHL regular, they’ll typically try to acquire the player in a small trade beforehand. So while there are some AHL players who are targeted for various reasons, it’s not too often that they’re being looked at as pieces to join an NHL roster full time.
Zakis: What, if anything, will the Wild do? Or be able to do?
I was really hoping that I could get away with pushing this question into this column as I figured that Minnesota would wait until closer to the trade deadline when they might have more clarity on the status of injured forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek. Oh well.
Realistically, my logic still holds true today though. If one of them can’t return before the end of the regular season, the Wild will have the ability to spend several million to try to add another upgrade or two before Friday’s trade deadline. But if not, they’ll be in a spot where they need to cut down to close to the minimum-size roster to get back to cap compliance. At that point, they’re in a money-in, money-out situation which greatly affects what they’ll be able to do.
I don’t think they’re quite done yet up front beyond the Gustav Nyquist acquisition but that will probably be their biggest move of this stretch. With the struggles of their penalty kill, I suspect they’ll have their eye out for a fourth liner who can kill penalties. In a perfect world, that player would be a center but any shorthanded upgrade would be a welcome one.
It’s worth noting that Minnesota doesn’t have a first-round pick or a third-round selection this year, nor do they have second-rounders in 2026 and 2027 so their trade chips are somewhat limited here, assuming their top youngsters are off the table. But a mid-round pick for a checker making $1MM or less is something I still expect them to do regardless of what happens with Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek. Anything else will be dependent on one of them being out for the rest of the regular season.
Unclemike1526: When Brossoit makes it back to the Hawks, Soderblom will have played too many games to be sent down without passing through waivers. IMO, no player is more improved in the NHL this year than Soderblom. Last year whenever the other team crossed the red line, Soderblom would drop on his knees and wait for the other team to just shoot it over his shoulders. Now that he actually stays on his feet the change has been remarkable.
So, faced with having to keep three Goalies, is there any chance they can move Mrazek when he has next year remaining at $4 million bucks? Would a team need a G bad enough to take that on? Brossoit has no value having been hurt all year and Soderblom might be a keeper. One has to go IMO or we’ll have the same problem again next year as they’ll all have contracts. Thanks again.
I’m glad I got the Seth Jones question out of the way last week and as it turns out, that trade makes this question that much more important. With Spencer Knight now in the fold, Chicago has four netminders under contract for this season. Three are signed already for next year and Arvid Soderblom has done more than well enough to earn a contract for 2025-26 as well. For this year, I’m skeptical that Laurent Brossoit is going to return and they can just run with three goalies for the final seven weeks of this season so it’s not necessarily a problem just yet.
Petr Mrazek has a $4.25MM cap charge for next year which is on the high side but he’s also going to be on an expiring contract. I think it’s possible that there will be a team or two who doesn’t like the idea of signing a UFA to a multi-year deal but could afford an overpay on a short-term contract. If those are out there, then yes, I think Chicago can move him. And with two retention slots opening up on July 1st, the Blackhawks could use one to pay down part of that contract and actually get a bit of value in return (likely a mid-round draft pick). If it doesn’t happen, he’s probably on waivers and in the minors in October.
Assuming that Chicago intends to give Knight a long look, I suspect their ideal tandem for next year is him and Soderblom. Brossoit coming off an injury-riddled year has minimal value so he’d either be the third-string option or on waivers and in the minors himself assuming he’s healthy by training camp. If he and Mrazek were both in the AHL, I expect one would then be loaned to another team with the other partnering with Drew Commesso in Rockford. There’s a way to get through this with the four but if they can find a taker for Mrazek or Brossoit (which seems less likely given the injury trouble), that would certainly help things.
samwise1313: Are the Blackhawks going in the right direction?
From a longer-term standpoint, I think so. They already have one of the stronger prospect pools in the league and with nine picks in the first two rounds between the next two drafts (four first-rounders and five second-rounders), they’re set to make it even stronger pretty quickly. I think they’d be a bit disappointed with how things have gone in Rockford but they’re at least in a play-in spot so there’s a chance that young group gets a bit of a postseason taste. So as far as the long-term future goes, they’re doing alright.
But this season hasn’t been a great one. The results have been ugly under both coaches and even Connor Bedard’s sophomore year hasn’t seen him take a big step forward as expected. I didn’t have an issue with them getting some veterans to avoid having a bunch of young guys in spots they’re not necessarily ready for but they haven’t done well at moving the needle, so to speak. In terms of progression, there hasn’t been much which is not what you want to see from a rebuilding squad. In that sense, it feels like a bit of a wasted year but in the long run, they’re still on the right track when it comes to asset accumulation.
New Jersey Devils Activate Jacob Markström, Reassign Nico Daws
The New Jersey Devils are now only one defenseman away from a healthy roster. New Jersey announced they’ve activated goaltender Jacob Markström from the injured reserve and reassigned Nico Daws to their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, in a corresponding roster move.
Markström has been on the injured reserve for over a month due to a knee sprain. Boston Bruins’ forward Justin Brazeau accidentally crashed into Markström following a shot attempt in the teams’ matchup against each other on January 22nd.
Despite missing 39 days, Markström only missed 11 of the Devils’ games, thanks to the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Markström was originally supposed to play for Team Sweden during the international tournament but was precluded from doing so due to his sprained knee.
Regular backup netminder Jake Allen played well throughout that stretch, although the team did not. Allen managed a 3-5-0 record as the de facto starter with a .914 SV%. As mentioned, the team didn’t respond well to Markström’s absence, middling to a 6-5-0 record.
As respectably as Allen played, New Jersey had no internal options to replace Markström adequately. The Gavle, Sweden native has a 21-9-5 record in 36 starts this year with a .912 SV% and 2.20 GAA. He’ll look to maintain and even improve that production for the Devils throughout the final stretch of the 2024-25 campaign.
Meanwhile, Markström’s absence allowed Daws his first look in the NHL this season. He went undefeated in three starts with a .966 SV% and 0.88 GAA, far better than his production in Utica. He’ll return to a disappointing Comets’ roster where he’s managed a 6-15-2 record in 23 games with a .891 SV% and 3.37 GAA.
Ryan Suter Plans To Continue Playing After This Season
In this week’s episode of The Late Shift on the St. Louis Blues’ YouTube channel, veteran defenseman Ryan Suter expressed interest in playing beyond this season- with his wife’s blessing. More specifically, Suter mentioned he’s eager to sign an extension with St. Louis and wants to help the team return to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Despite being considered an active team leading up to Friday’s trade deadline, there hasn’t been much chatter regarding the Blues’ interest in retaining Suter beyond this season. The 20-year veteran is not even a year removed from being bought out for a second time throughout his career and is currently playing on a one-year, league minimum salary.
To put it bluntly, Suter is a shell of the defenseman he used to be during his tenure with the Nashville Predators and early on in his 13-year contract with the Minnesota Wild. Still, he hasn’t been a detriment to the Blues’ defensive core this year.
His scoring is understandably down with one goal and 12 points through 61 games this season, averaging 20:19 of ice time. Whatever speed he displayed earlier in his career has been put out to pasture, but he’s still on pace to block approximately 100 shots and has a 91.2% on-ice save percentage at even strength. The latter statistic is on par with his career average.
Unless St. Louis trades defenseman Nick Leddy before the trade deadline or during the offseason, the Blues likely won’t have room on their blue line for Suter beyond this season. The team recently signed depth defenseman Tyler Tucker to a two-year extension, and he should be expected to take over in the bottom-pairing for Suter next year.
Depending on how adamant Suter is about playing next season, he may have to reconcile with taking on a lesser role in St. Louis or elsewhere. His reduced foot speed and scoring will preclude him from playing in any team’s top four and may extend through the bottom pairing. Still, a handful of teams could give Suter another shot on a league-minimum deal or even allow him to try out during preseason action.
Wild Notes: Brodin, Bogosian, Deadline Plans
Another day, another longer-term injury for the Minnesota Wild. NHL.com writer Jessi Pierce shared that defenseman Jonas Brodin is expected to miss the next few weeks with a lower-body injury. One can reasonably assume that Brodin will be placed on the injured reserve relatively soon, but Minnesota didn’t announce any such roster move, despite confirming the news.
The 13-year veteran for the Wild exited the team’s recent game against the Colorado Avalanche after playing in only 15:47 of action. He earned a -2 rating while blocking four shots and putting one on the net. As one of the better defensive-minded players on the roster, Brodin’s exit from Minnesota’s lineup won’t help the team improve upon the 3.75 GA/G average they sustained throughout February.
Brodin, who’s dealt with multiple injuries the last few years, joins forwards Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov as Wild players out with longer-term injuries. Thankfully, there is some positive news on the injury front. Pierce also mentioned defenseman Zach Bogosian will return today from his minor lower-body injury. The former third-overall pick of the 2008 NHL Draft missed Minnesota’s intra-divisional matchup on Friday against the Avalanche.
Although this is a perfect time to replace injured players in the NHL calendar, the Wild aren’t expected to do much else. Pierce later shared that Minnesota is expecting back Brodin, Eriksson Ek, and Kaprizov before the regular season’s conclusion, which will have some financial limitations.
The Wild made one addition yesterday by acquiring Gustav Nyquist (50% retained) from the Nashville Predators for a 2026 second-round pick. Still, they later had to reassign forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Liam Ohgren to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, to make the money work.
Because of the salary cap burden, general manager Bill Guerin shared with The Athletic’s Michael Russo that any further trade before Friday’s deadline must be “penny in, penny out.” Normally, Bogosian’s, Jonathon Merrill‘s, or Declan Chisholm‘s contracts would be reasonable trade fodder in a money-in, money-out deal. Unfortunately, the numerous injuries on Minnesota’s blue line should preclude them from moving out additional depth. The quote from Guerin likely means the Wild are done making moves for the deadline season.