Evening Notes: Gavrikov, Marchand, Hedman, Jokiharju
Los Angeles Kings general manager Rob Blake spoke in-depth about his efforts to extend defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov in a post-Trade Deadline media availability. Blake shared that keeping Gavrikov around is a top priority for the team, but finding a new deal could take some time after Gavrikov changed agents in February. But even with the flip, Blake reiterated that both the team and the player are confident a deal can get done.
Gavrikov has been a top defender for the Kings. He has averaged nearly 24 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis, good for second on the team behind Drew Doughty‘s average of 25:32. Gavrikov has brought a shutdown presence to those premier moments. He leads the team with 117 blocked shots, to go with 21 points, 14 penalty minutes, a plus-eight, and 34 hits in 60 games. He’s averaged north of 20 minutes of ice time in every season since his 2021-22 campaign with the Columbus Blue Jackets. That season stands as Gavrikov’s career-year, headlined by a career-high 33 points and 68 penalty minutes in 80 games. The 29-year-old defenseman has slowed his scoring since those days, but looks capable of carrying his brick wall style well into his 30s. The Kings will look to bank on that growth on his next extension, which will likely carry Gavrikov to the sunset years of his career.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Boston Bruins offered captain Brad Marchand a three-year extension before opting to trade him to the Florida Panthers, per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. Kaplan goes on to add that Boston’s original extension offers to the 36-year-old Marchand were stuck at two years, but that the team expanded their offer in the waning minutes to try and secure a deal. Ultimately, the money wasn’t right for Marchand – and he opted to pursue a move to the Panthers instead. Marchand will have a chance to sign a more preferable deal when he enters unrestricted free agency this summer. The Bruins lost their second-highest scorer in dealing away Marchand, who has 21 goals and 47 points in 61 games on the year. He’ll be a major addition for the Florida Panthers, but will first need to overcome a shoulder injury that’s expected to hold him out for a few weeks.
- Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman missed the team’s Saturday night matchup against the Boston Bruins and has been listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Hedman has made a major impact on the Bolts lineup over his recent stretch, with five points in his last five games and seven points in his last 10 games. J.J. Moser elevates to the top line in Hedman’s absence, while Emil Martinsen Lilleberg draws back onto Tampa Bay’s third pair. Moser has 10 points and a plus-13 in 35 games this season, while Lilleberg has 14 points, 85 penalty minutes, and a minus-seven in 58 games.
- The newest Boston Bruins defenseman Henri Jokiharju told reporters that he had requested a trade away from the Buffalo Sabres prior to his deadline-day move. He also clamored about his positive relationships with new Boston teammates Casey Mittelstadt and Joonas Korpisalo. Jokiharju joins the Bruins after six tough seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. He earned top-pair minutes at points during his Sabres tenure, as the team struggled to staff a hardy right-defense corp – but Jokiharju could never make much of his minutes. He set a career-high of 20 points in 74 games last season, but had just six points in 42 games with Buffalo this year. Jokiharju should fill a much more manageable bottom-four role in Boston, playing behind shutdown defender Andrew Peeke at least.
Minor Transactions: 3/8/25
The NHL Trade Deadline has finally passed, pulling teams into the late stages of their seasons. The transaction wire has stayed hot as teams continue to sort out their lineups for the remainder of the year. As always, Pro Hockey Rumors will track the minor moves here:
- The Anaheim Ducks have reassigned goaltender Ville Husso to the AHL. Husso was recalled to be Anaheim’s third-string goalie behind Lukas Dostal and John Gibson on Friday, after news that Gibson had suffered a day-to-day, lower-body injury. Husso has played in three games with the San Diego Gulls since joining Anaheim’s system. He won the first with a 34-save shutout, but split his last two while allowing 10 goals on 59 shots. With this move, Husso will look to build on his 2-1-0 record and .892 save percentage with the Gulls.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have reassigned defenseman Jack St. Ivany. Pittsburgh recalled St. Ivany under emergency conditions and used him as a healthy scratch in Friday’s game against Vegas. He has been a fixture of the minor leagues since November, netting six points, eight penalty minutes, and a minus-two in 21 games. Before that, St. Ivany appeared in 19 NHL games and recorded one assist, 17 penalty minutes, and a minus-three. He could find a tougher time earning another call-up, after Pittsburgh acquired longtime Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins at the deadline. Timmins has eight points in 51 NHL games this season.
- The Vancouver Canucks have swapped emergency netminders, assigning Arturs Silovs to the minor leagues and utilizing an emergency recall on Nikita Tolopilo. Silovs played in two NHL games in late February. He lost them both while allowing six goals on 56 shots. He’ll return to the minors sporting a dismal .858 save percentage and 1-6-1 record at the NHL level. He’s been far more productive in the AHL, where he has a .906 Sv% and 10-4-0 record. Meanwhile Tolopilo could be in store for his NHL debut after posting a .890 Sv% and 12-14-2 record as the AHL starter in Silovs’ absence. Tolopilo is in just his second season of North American pros after two years in the HockeyAllsvenskan. He posted a .912 Sv% and 39-38-0 record across 79 games in Sweden’s second-tier league.
- Defenseman Calen Addison has been traded from the Henderson Silver Knights to the Springfield Thunderbirds in exchange for future considerations. Addison played in 49 games and recorded 33 points, 55 penalty minutes, and a minus-24 with Henderson. He is expected to initially report to Springfield’s ECHL affiliate, the Florida Everblades. Addison was once a second-round pick in the NHL Draft and managed a single-season high of 29 points across four NHL seasons. His career totals at the top level stand as 50 points and 96 penalty minutes in 152 games.
Hurricanes, Leafs Couldn’t Agree On Swap Of Mikko Rantanen And Mitch Marner
The fallout from the Trade Deadline is starting to settle, revealing more about the Carolina Hurricanes attempt to flip star winger Mikko Rantanen. The Dallas Stars ultimately won the sweepstakes, landing Rantanen and an eight-year extension in exchange for top young forward Logan Stankoven, two first round picks, and two third round picks. But Carolina had multiple other fish on the line, including getting well down the path to send Rantanen to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The deal ultimately fell apart because Toronto wasn’t willing to send winger Mitch Marner back the other way, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Like Rantanen before he signed in Dallas, Marner is a pending free agent who’s likely to demand a serious payday when he hits the open market. But Marner wasn’t willing to discuss an extension mid-season, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic. A long-term commitment was a prerequisite for the Hurricanes, leading to Toronto’s big splash falling to land. Johnston adds that the deal officially fell apart when Marner refused to waive his full no-movement clause.
Without Marner involved, Toronto’s final offer is said to have been top prospects Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan, and two first round picks per Nick Kypreos on Sportsnet 590. When that package was turned down, Toronto opted to instead send Minten, a first-round pick, and a fourth-round to the Boston Bruins for top defenseman Brandon Carlo. Carlo is under contract through the 2026-27 season at a manageable $3.625MM cap hit, after Boston retained 15 percent in the trade.
The implications of this deal would have been transformative. Marner has been deeply engrained on Toronto’s top line since making his NHL debut in 2016-17. He scored 61 points in 77 games as a rookie, and two seasons later scratched the century mark with 94 points in 82 games. Injuries and a shortened season held Marner to just 67 points in the next two seasons, but he found new heights when the NHL returned to full after the pandemic. Marner scored 35 goals and 97 points in 2021-22 and topped it with 99 points in 2022-23. Two years later, he’s on pace to confidently clear the 100-point mark this season, with 77 points in 61 games so far.
Marner would have certainly matched with Carolina’s top-end. He plays a high-skill, downhill style that could have fit well between the aggressive forechecking of Seth Jarvis and poised playmaking of Sebastian Aho. Instead, Carolina lands 22-year-old Stankoven to fill that role, after the latter scored 29 points in 59 games with Dallas. Stankoven brings a wave of hard-working grit and future stability to a Hurricanes program that’s earned a confident playoff spot in each of the last six seasons.
Through the thick of what could have been, Marner has doubled down on his commitment to the Leafs with this news. Presented with a chance for a short-term trip to Carolina before entering free agency, Marner has instead decided to hold true to the blue-and-white. He is set to enter unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career this summer, and has emphasized his desire to save contract talks for after the season. With plenty of time before Toronto plays their last games, Leafs fans can stand by this bode of confidence as an indication that Marner could be looking to stick around for even longer.
Hurricanes Recall Scott Morrow, Reassign Riley Stillman
The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled top defense prospect Scott Morrow and reassigned defenseman Riley Stillman. Stillman will head to the AHL sporting a minor injury after taking a skate to the face in his first shift of Thursday night’s game. He received stitches on the inside of his mouth but continues to practice per Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal.
This move returns Morrow to the NHL after a recent hot streak in the minors. He has 10 points in 10 games since Carolina reassigned him on February 8th. Morrow is now up to 39 points in 51 AHL games, the third-most of any rookie defender in the AHL behind San Jose’s Luca Cagnoni and Anaheim’s Tristan Luneau who each have 42 points. Despite that hot scoring, Morrow hasn’t yet found his way onto an NHL scoresheet. He has no scoring and a minus-four through four career games in the NHL, with the appearances split evenly between last year and this year.
Morrow’s spot in the lineup on Sunday will depend on the availability of Dmitry Orlov, who missed Thursday’s game with a minor injury. Orlov returned to Carolina’s Saturday morning practice in full per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. He seems good to go, but Morrow will be the quick fill-in should the Hurricanes need an extra hand.
This move also returns Stillman to the minor leagues for the second time in two days. Carolina successfully waived Stillman and assigned him to the minor leagues on Friday, but he was brought back to the NHL roster before Saturday’s practice. But it seems that was only for the extra skate, and Stillman will head back to the Chicago Wolves to build on his five points, 41 penalty minutes, and minus-three in 20 games. Stillman has also stepped into three NHL games this season, setting no scoring, five penalty minutes, and a minus-one.
Islanders Activate Mike Reilly And Matt Martin
The Islanders made a pair of roster moves leading into tonight’s game against San Jose. Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News relays that defenseman Mike Reilly was activated off LTIR while winger Matt Martin was activated off injured reserve.
Reilly has been out since the beginning of November when he suffered a concussion. However, that hasn’t been what has kept him out this long. While undergoing testing as a result of the concussion, it was discovered that the 31-year-old had an undiagnosed heart defect. Fortunately, Reilly told reporters including Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link) that the issue has been corrected and there are no long-term concerns. He has been skating with the team lately but despite the activation, he’s not expected to play against the Sharks.
Reilly has played in 11 games this season and had been playing a regular role before suffering the concussion. He didn’t record a point in those outings while averaging 15:45 per game. For his career, he has 122 points in 411 appearances over parts of 10 NHL seasons.
As for Martin, he last played in mid-January and had been dealing with a lower-body injury. The 35-year-old eventually earned a contract off an extended PTO but his role has been quite limited this year when he has played. Through 24 games, he has just one assist along with 68 hits in less than eight minutes a night of ice time.
Sonny Milano Suffers Setback In Injury Recovery
Friday was a fairly quiet day for the Capitals on the trade front with their only move being the acquisition of winger Anthony Beauvillier from Pittsburgh. There’s another winger that they were hoping to get back soon but that’s no longer the case for Sonny Milano. Speaking with reporters Friday including Sammi Silber of The Hockey News, GM Chris Patrick indicated that the winger suffered a fairly significant setback in his recovery from an upper-body injury.
The 28-year-old has been out since early November and has played in just three games with Washington this season, being held off the scoresheet. However, he had been a capable depth scorer in recent years, reaching the double-digit goal mark in three straight seasons, the last two of which came with the Caps.
It looked as if Milano was well on his way toward returning as he had been skating for several months and participating in non-contact drills but Patrick noted that it’s back to the drawing board in terms of a plan for his recovery. Given how long he has been out for, his availability for the rest of the season is certainly now in question.
Milano is currently on LTIR with his $1.9MM AAV contributing to more than half of their current LTIR room which stands at $3.175MM, per PuckPedia. Washington is likely to use a good chunk of that when Ryan Leonard’s season comes to an end as it’s widely expected they’ll try to bring him in for the stretch run and playoffs so even if Milano was cleared to return before the playoffs, it’s likely they’d keep him stashed on there anyway for cap compliance purposes. Regardless, it’s fair to say that the second season of Milano’s three-year deal has not gone the way anyone would have hoped.
Metropolitan Notes: Gudbranson, Gritsyuk, Stillman
Columbus wasn’t overly active as expected leading into Friday’s trade deadline but they’re close to getting an addition on the back end. Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets’ team site relays (Twitter link) that defenseman Erik Gudbranson has been fully cleared to practice. While that means he’s still probably at least a few days away from returning, his looming return will be a welcome one. Gudbranson has been out since suffering a shoulder injury in the third game of the season back in October. He was originally expected to be out until sometime in April but instead, it appears that he’ll be available to return several weeks ahead of schedule, effectively serving as a deadline addition. Once he’s activated in the coming days, Columbus will have nine blueliners on its active roster.
More from the Metropolitan Division:
- Speaking to reporters yesterday at his post-deadline press conference, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald told reporters including James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now that he’s actively trying to sign Russian forward Arseni Gritsyuk. The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick in 2019 but has become a productive forward in the KHL, notching 38 points in 45 games this season while also missing time due to a knee injury. His deal expires on June 1st but if his club team – SKA St. Petersburg – were to release him before then at the conclusion of their regular season and playoffs, he’d be free to sign with New Jersey before then. If that were to happen early enough, Gritsyuk could conceivably burn a year of his contract right away and potentially suit up in the playoffs for the Devils.
- After assigning him to the minors yesterday upon clearing waivers, the Hurricanes announced that they’ve once again recalled Riley Stillman from AHL Chicago. Despite being promoted on numerous occasions, the 26-year-old has only played in three NHL games this season along with 20 outings with the Wolves where he has five points. Stillman is likely to continue to serve as a depth defender but with recall limits now in effect, it’s unlikely he’ll be shuffled down daily as he was earlier this season. Accordingly, while yesterday’s demotion keeps him playoff-eligible in the minors, he’ll probably have to pass through waivers again later to get back down there as he’s likely to remain on Carolina’s roster for 30 days, the threshold in which he’ll become waiver-eligible again.
Devils Recall Daniel Sprong, Assign Seamus Casey To AHL
The Devils have done some roster shuffling in advance of their game on Sunday against Philadelphia. The team announced that they’ve recalled recently-acquired winger Daniel Sprong from AHL Utica while they’ve also assigned defenseman Seamus Casey to Utica.
Sprong is joining his third NHL team of the season. He started with Vancouver after inking a one-year, $975K contract over the summer but after struggling in limited action to start the season, he was flipped to Seattle in November for future considerations. Things weren’t much better there either and in early January, he passed through waivers unclaimed and had been in the minors since.
On the season, the 27-year-old has two goals and three assists in 19 NHL outings while averaging just over 12 minutes a night. Sprong has been much more productive in the minors, however, tallying 11 goals and 14 assists in 19 games with AHL Coachella Valley. New Jersey will now get to see if that can translate to being more of a contributor for them down the stretch.
As for Casey, the team’s release indicates that his demotion came before Friday’s trade deadline, keeping him eligible to play down the stretch for the Comets. He has played in 10 games with the Devils this season and has been productive in limited minutes, notching four goals and an assist in a little under 12 minutes a night of playing time. He also has 15 points in 22 appearances with Utica and should go back to playing a prominent role for them for their stretch run as they look to try to make a late run to sneak into a playoff spot in the North Division.
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.