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East Notes: Barnhill, Guimond, Bohlsen, Mayer

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One of the New York Rangers’ quality defensive prospects has changed his collegiate commitment. According to Mike McMahon of College Hockey Insider, instead of waiting until next season to join Northeastern University, defenseman Sean Barnhill will join Michigan State University for the upcoming campaign.

This summer’s 70th overall selection, the Scottsdale, AZ native recently completed his first and only season with the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints. It was a modest offensive output for Barnhill, scoring four goals and 12 points in 54 games with a +9 rating, adding another assist in seven postseason contests.

What he lacks in offensive talent, he makes up for on the defensive side of the puck. Standing at 6’5″ and 214 lbs, Barnhill uses his reach effectively and has the foot speed to keep up with smaller forwards. Despite transferring to the NCAA level a year early, opposing forwards will have difficulty finding their way to the net through Barnhill.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • Despite being drafted 169th overall by the Detroit Red Wings back in the 2023 NHL Draft, netminder Rudy Guimond has finally committed to a collegiate program for the upcoming season. Guimond announced on his Instagram that he will be attending Harvard University this fall, after playing the last two years with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats. He had an outstanding season in Moncton last year, finishing with a perfect 16-0-0 record in 16 games, a .940 SV%, a 1.73 GAA, and three shutouts.
  • The Hershey Bears, AHL affiliate to the Washington Capitals, have made a pair of free agent signings, according to a team announcement. Forward Kaden Bohlsen and defenseman Connor Mayer will join the Bears for the upcoming 2025-26 campaign. Bohlsen is coming off a quality season with Minnesota State University (Mankato), while Mayer spent a few games last season with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Carolina Hurricanes

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia.  We’re currently covering the Metropolitan Division, first up are the Hurricanes.

Carolina Hurricanes

Current Cap Hit: $84,855,709 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Jackson Blake (one year, $905.8K)
D Alexander Nikishin (one year, $925K)
F Logan Stankoven (one year, $814.1K)

Potential Bonuses
Nikishin: $3MM
Stankoven: $32.5K
Total: $3.0325MM

Blake and Stankoven will be on very team-friendly contracts for one more season before their long-term agreements kick in.  We’ll cover them in more detail at that time while noting that Stankoven’s bonus is tied to games played; as long as he stays healthy, that should easily be met.

Nikishin’s long-awaited NHL debut wound up taking longer than expected as he didn’t suit up for Carolina right away after joining the team, leading to some brief concern that a formal agreement wouldn’t be finalized.  But he ultimately signed and projects to be a regular for the Hurricanes this season.  Some of the $1MM of ‘A’ bonuses might be reachable but the $2MM of ‘B’ bonuses are highly unlikely.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

G Frederik Andersen ($2MM, UFA)
F Mark Jankowski ($800K, UFA)
F Tyson Jost ($775K, UFA)
D Mike Reilly ($1.1MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses
Andersen: $750K

Jankowski was a late-season pickup from Nashville and fared well with eight goals down the stretch.  However, he has largely been a depth piece in his career so while a small raise is coming his way no matter what thanks to the pending increase in minimum salary, his next deal might not land too much higher than that.  Jost was up and down last season and had a very limited role when he was in the lineup for the Hurricanes.  As things stand, he’s someone who’s likely to remain around the minimum salary.

Reilly missed most of the season while recovering from a procedure on his heart to correct an issue discovered while he was out with a concussion.  He has been more of a sixth or seventh defender in recent years and projects to land in that same range with the Hurricanes.  That should keep him around this range moving forward.

When healthy, Andersen has been a decent starter but staying healthy has been a big challenge.  He has failed to reach 35 games in three straight years and four of the last five.  That particular games played mark is notable as that’s the first threshold of his bonuses for $250K with another $250K coming at 40 games (plus $250K if Carolina makes it back to the East Final and he plays in half the games or more).  There isn’t much risk with this contract as if the injury issues return, he’s still a lower-cost second option while if he’s healthy and meets those bonuses, he’s probably going to provide a lot of value at that price.  Because of the injuries, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him going year-to-year from here on out with structures similar to this.

Signed Through 2026-27

D Jalen Chatfield ($3MM, UFA)
D Shayne Gostisbehere ($3.2MM, UFA)
G Pyotr Kochetkov ($2MM, UFA)
F Jordan Martinook ($3.05MM, UFA)
F Jordan Staal ($2.9MM, UFA)

Martinook was more of a depth player over his first few seasons with the Hurricanes but has become one of their more versatile forwards and is often deployed in the middle six.  The end result has been three straight seasons over 30 points.  But even with the cap set to jump, it’s hard to forecast a sizable raise on his next contract.  A few more years with a small raise might be doable though.  Staal, on the other hand, took a big pay cut on this deal to stick around.  He’ll be heading for his age-39 year in 2027-28 so a one-year deal with incentives is likely if he decides to keep playing with the combined value coming in around his current price tag.

Gostisbehere was brought back last summer for a second stint with the team to be a depth player at even strength but a power play specialist.  He was exactly that, notching 27 of his 45 points with the man advantage.  The even strength limitations and his smaller stature limit his earnings upside but this is a niche role he can fill for a few more years.  If he has a couple more years of 40-plus points, an AAV starting with a four next time is doable on a short-term deal.  Chatfield had largely been a third-pairing player until last season when he was trusted with a bigger role.  He isn’t a big point producer but if he gets through these next two seasons around the 18-19-minute mark at the level he played last season, he could push past $4MM as well in 2027 on a longer-term agreement than the three-year pact he inked last summer.

Kochetkov’s contract was a curious one.  Signed back in late 2022 with hardly any NHL time under his belt, it has aged pretty well so far as he has carried the bulk of the work for the first two seasons of the agreement.  While his overall consistency is a bit spotty compared to some netminders, the good outweighs the bad and if you have a strong-side platoon goalie at this price, you’re doing well.  If Kochetkov continues on this trajectory, his next deal could land around the $5MM mark.

Signed Through 2027-28

F Taylor Hall ($3.167MM, UFA)

Hall was the other part of the original Mikko Rantanen deal but unlike Rantanen, he decided he wanted to stick around.  The former Hart Trophy winner certainly isn’t that caliber of player anymore although he’s still a decent secondary scorer.  Even if he’s on the third line, if he stays around the 42 points he had last season, Carolina should do fine with this deal.  He’ll be almost 38 heading into 2028-29, however, so one-year contracts are likely beyond this one.

Signed Through 2028-29

F Eric Robinson ($1.7MM, UFA)
F Andrei Svechnikov ($7.75MM, UFA)
D Sean Walker ($3.6MM, UFA)

Svechnikov bypassed the bridge contract to sign a max-term agreement four years ago with the hope that he’d be providing surplus value in the back half.  He’s not quite there yet especially coming off a down year but his performance the previous two seasons suggests he can get to that level still.  At a minimum, he’s a second liner with good size and physicality and with the forecasted jumps coming to the cap, he could beat this deal four years from now, even if he stays at his 2024-25 form.  Robinson had a career year last season, fitting in extremely well in Carolina’s system for the first time, earning a four-year agreement in the process.  For someone who has reached double digits in goals in three of the last four years, there’s a good chance this deal works out well in the long run.

Walker’s career year in 2023-24 landed him a five-year deal last summer and it looked like he had established himself as a second-pairing blueliner.  His usage last season was a step back, however, ranking last out of their six regular defenders.  This price tag is on the high side for a sixth option but right now, it’s a luxury they can easily afford.

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West Notes: Oilers, Parekh, Nielsen

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While a significant chunk of extension speculation surrounding the Oilers involves Connor McDavid, there are other notables also entering the final year of their respective contracts, highlighted by defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Jake Walman along with their goaltending tandem.  Earlier this week in an appearance on Oilers Now (audio link), GM Stan Bowman indicated that there have been a couple of preliminary talks with the agents for some of their pending UFAs and that he feels those discussions will pick up over the next six weeks or so to see if there’s something that lines up for both sides heading into training camp.  Edmonton has around $45MM in cap room for 2026-27 per PuckPedia, with a big chunk of that earmarked for McDavid’s next contract.  However, there will still be ample space for them to re-up some of their other key expiring deals while still allowing for a bit of flexibility to reshape their roster next summer.

More from out West:

  • Earlier this week, the Flames announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Zayne Parekh wouldn’t take part in the World Junior Summer Showcase due to a lower-body injury. However, the injury isn’t believed to be significant and he’s expected to be a full participant in training camp.  The 19-year-old scored in his NHL debut back in April and has tallied 33 goals in each of the last two seasons at the OHL level while amassing 203 points between 2023-24 and 2024-25.  He’s still ineligible to play in the AHL but his offensive production with OHL Saginaw should give him a real chance to make Calgary’s roster in the fall.
  • The Avalanche’s AHL affiliate has announced the signing of forward Tristen Nielsen to a one-year deal. The 25-year-old became an unrestricted free agent after being non-tendered by Vancouver back in June.  Nielsen spent last season with AHL Abbotsford and was a capable secondary scorer, notching 15 goals and 13 assists in 67 regular season games while chipping in with nine points in 24 playoff contests on the way to their Calder Cup title.

Central Notes: Girard, Milota, Guskov

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While Colorado ultimately wasn’t able to re-sign defenseman Ryan Lindgren (who instead inked a four-year deal with Seattle), their efforts to do so called into question the future of Samuel Girard with the team.  Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now speculates that the Avalanche could be open to moving the blueliner.  While he was deployed as their third defender during the regular season, his usage dropped to third-pairing minutes in the postseason and if head coach Jared Bednar feels that’s the more optimal spot for him moving forward, he’d be a pricey third-pairing player at $5MM through the next two seasons.

Although the Avs are into cap compliance after some offseason shuffling, they could still use some more flexibility on that front, especially with Martin Necas eyeing a significant extension for 2026-27.  On the other hand, Girard is one of just two left-shot blueliners in the Avalanche’s top six so if they were to move him, it might be more of a player-for-player swap that would see them get another blueliner in return rather than a true cap-clearing move.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • Predators prospect Jakub Milota has been traded in the QMJHL as Cape Breton announced that they traded the netminder to Blainville-Boisbriand. The 19-year-old was a fourth-round pick in 2024, going 99th overall and is coming off a decent season with the Eagles that saw him post a 3.22 GAA and a .903 SV% while also earning a late-season ATO with AHL Milwaukee.  The Preds have until June 1, 2026 to sign Milota so it’s safe to say 2025-26 will be a key season for him.
  • Wild draft pick Matvei Guskov is on the move in the KHL as the league announced earlier this week that he has been traded from Traktor Chelyabinsk to Severstal Cherepovets. The 24-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2019 with Minnesota holding his rights indefinitely with no transfer agreement in place between the NHL and the Russian Hockey Federation.  Guskov is coming off a tough year that saw him record just one goal and three assists in 38 games between three different KHL teams.

Maple Leafs Re-Sign Nicholas Robertson

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There will be no arbitration hearings in the NHL this summer.  The last remaining case has settled as the Maple Leafs announced that they have re-signed winger Nicholas Robertson to a one-year, $1.825MM contract.

The agreement comes one day after the two sides made their submissions in advance of Sunday’s scheduled hearing.  Toronto filed at $1.2MM while Robertson’s camp came in at $2.25MM.  The midpoint of those numbers is $1.725MM so Robertson was able to beat that by $100K with this agreement while it represents a big raise on the $875K he received last season.

The 23-year-old has shown himself to be a capable depth scorer but that alone hasn’t been enough to stay in the lineup with much consistency.  After notching 14 goals in 56 games in 2023-24, Robertson was able to slightly beat that total last season, tallying 15 times while adding seven assists in 69 games.  He also averaged a career-high 12:00 per game of playing time.

However, while he was in the lineup more often than not during the regular season, that wasn’t the case in the playoffs.  Robertson played in just three games for the Maple Leafs during the playoffs despite picking up points in two of those outings, a goal and an assist.

The lack of consistent playing time led Robertson to request a trade last summer, an ask that wasn’t granted.  At this point, it doesn’t appear as if the request has been dropped either.  However, a $1.825MM price tag for a player who hasn’t been able to stay in the lineup on a regular basis might be on the high side for some teams although a swap of young forwards on similar contracts could be a viable path to a change of scenery for Robertson.

On the other hand, Toronto’s most prominent offseason addition up front to replace Mitch Marner was winger Matias Maccelli, acquired from Utah.  With the Maple Leafs looking to ice a more balanced lineup, there could be a chance for Robertson to get more of a look in a top-six or even top-nine role in 2025-26 and if that were to happen, he might be inclined to rescind his request to be moved.

With the signing, Toronto has all its NHL restricted free agents under contract but they still have a pair of prospects to re-sign over the coming weeks in goaltender Dennis Hildeby and defenseman William Villeneuve.  While Hildeby was arbitration-eligible, he declined to file for a hearing early last month.

Now that Robertson is signed, the cap picture for the Maple Leafs looks clearer.  Per PuckPedia, Toronto has around $1.1MM in flexibility, albeit with 24 players on its roster with the maximum being 23 healthy players.  That gives GM Brad Treliving a bit of wiggle room to work with while they’re believed to be looking to move winger Calle Jarnkrok ($2.1MM) and David Kampf ($2.4MM) to open up both cap and roster space.  Their ability (or lack thereof) to do so might ultimately dictate if they can make any other moves this summer.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the deal. 

Free Agent Profile: Luke Glendening

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While a 36-year-old forward coming off a seven-point season may not seem like much of an asset, veteran center Luke Glendening could still bring meaningful value in the right situation. Glendening suited up in 77 games last season for the Tampa Bay Lightning, posting just four goals and three assists while centering the team’s fourth line.

Despite limited offensive production, he remained defensively reliable, tallying 105 hits, 58 blocked shots, and a 57 percent faceoff win rate — impressively in line with his 55.8 percent career average. It marked the eighth consecutive season that Glendening posted a faceoff win rate of at least 55 percent, which could be a valuable asset for any team looking to win key draws in the defensive zone.

While he’s never been an asset in the offensive zone (as told by his 166 points in 864 games), Glendening has carved out an impressive 12-year career thanks to his grit, physicality, and defensive prowess. Over the course of his career — which began in Detroit and includes stops in Dallas and Tampa — Glendening has logged 10 seasons with at least 100 hits and 11 seasons with 50 or more blocked shots. He has also received Selke votes on three separate occasions, a testament to his defensive reliability.

2024-25: 77 GP, 4 G, 3 A, 7 PTS, -9, 10 PIMS, 51 shots, 10:47 ATOI, 57.0 FO%, 38.3 CF%
Career: 864 GP, 83 G, 83 A, 166 PTS, -84, 308 PIMS, 944 shots, 13:37 ATOI, 55.8 FO%, 36.4 CF%

Potential Suitors

While many teams could benefit from a veteran fourth-line center with faceoff expertise, it appears Glendening’s most recent club isn’t one of them. Despite being a nightly fixture in the Lightning’s lineup, it was reported prior to the start of free agency that the Bolts were going to let Glendening hit the open market, where he remains today.

As mentioned earlier, Glendening could fit with a number of teams, whether it’s a contender in need of bottom-six experience or a rebuilding squad seeking veteran leadership and a few niche skills.

Projected Contract

At this stage of his career, any contract offer Glendening receives is likely to be a one-year deal in the $775,000 to $800,000 range. While his defensive reliability and faceoff expertise still offer value, his limited offensive upside and advancing age significantly narrow his market. Glendening may also have to settle for a PTO and attempt to earn a roster spot by outperforming younger competition in training camp.

Photo credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Kings Sign RFA Alex Laferriere To Three-Year Deal

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The Los Angeles Kings have signed restricted free agent Alex Laferriere to a three-year, $12.3MM contract, per a team announcement. The deal comes with a $4.1MM cap hit per season. The deal includes a $3.5MM salary for year one and $4.4MM salaries for years two and three, per PuckPedia. The Kings extended a qualifying offer to Laferriere on July 1, and it took exactly one month for both sides to come to terms on a new deal.

Coming off of his second season in the league, the 24-year-old right winger posted a solid 19 goals and 42 points in 77 games. He also produced a plus-22 rating, 124 hits, and 43 blocked shots while averaging 16:22 of ice time per night. He added three assists in six playoff games.

A third-round selection in the 2020 draft (83rd overall), the New Jersey native quickly established himself as one of the franchise’s key prospects. After being drafted, Laferriere spent two seasons in the NCAA at Harvard University, where he put up 73 points in 69 games. He then made his pro debut in the AHL with the Ontario Reign at the tail end of the 2022-23 season.

That was all the minor league experience the 6’1″, 205-pound winger needed. The following season, he broke camp with the Kings and appeared in 81 games as a rookie, posting 12 goals and 23 points. He took a major step forward offensively this last season (doubling his point total), and it’s reasonable to expect continued growth.

Frank Seravalli was first to report the agreement.

Western Notes: Dostal, Jets, Garland

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The Anaheim Ducks face several key questions heading into the 2025–26 season, one of which is whether goalie Lukas Dostal can deliver a breakout campaign following the trade of veteran John Gibson, per NHL.com’s David Satriano.

Dostal appeared in a career-high 54 games with Anaheim last season, securing a 23-23-7 record and a .903 save percentage that aligns with his career average of .902. That performance allowed the Ducks to trade Gibson to the Red Wings at the draft for goaltender Petr Mrazek and two draft picks, as well as land Dostal a five-year, $32.5MM contract on July 17.

A 25-year-old native of the Czech Republic, Dostal is expected to lead one of the league’s only true three-man rotations in net, along with Mrazek and Ville Husso. But according to new head coach Joel Quenneville, Dostal possesses special traits that could help him take the next step in his career.

“Dostal had a tremendous year. I don’t know too many people that get a rave review at this age of their career about what a professional, what a competitor (they are), but everybody always says the greatest things about him. … I don’t know if this guy’s a stereotypical goalie, but at the same time, he’s got some different ways about him that makes him special,” he said.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference:

  • While the Winnipeg Jets added veteran leadership to their forward group this offseason by signing the likes of Jonathan Toews and Gustav Nyquist, NHL.com’s Darrin Bauming wonders if a few rising forward prospects could crack the lineup to start the season. Bauming lists both 22-year-old Nikita Chibrikov and 21-year-old Brad Lambert as being “on the cusp” of regular NHL time. Chibrikov appeared in four games for the Jets last season, recording three points. The 5’10”, 175-pound winger added 18 points in 30 games for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Lambert posted 35 points in 61 games last season for Manitoba, and 55 points in 55 points in 64 games for the squad the year before. The native of Finland has yet to appear in an NHL game but should break through at some point this upcoming season.
  • The road for Vancouver Canucks’ forward Conor Garland wasn’t always easy, which makes his six-year, $36 million extension he signed on July 1 all the sweeter, outlines Ben Kuzma of The Province. As Kuzma notes, Garland has faced adversity throughout his hockey journey (largely due to his small stature), which included not making the famed Shattuck-Saint Mary’s junior team in Minnesota that produced several NHL stars, including the aforementioned Toews. That adversity, however, has been a driving force behind the player Garland is today — one who has missed just two games over the past three seasons while tallying 143 points. Garland feels his extension was not just for prior results, but also for the continued growth he and the team expect. “I try to come back each year better, and I know I have to produce more. I’ve learned most about consistency. When the puck wasn’t going in, or I wasn’t making plays, I became a pretty responsible defensive forward on a shutdown line,” he said.

Red Wings’ Jonatan Berggren Set For Watershed Season

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There aren’t many holdovers from the Ken Holland era for the Detroit Red Wings. Even though the long-time General Manager is only six years removed from leading Detroit’s front office, Dylan Larkin, Michael Rasmussen, and Jonatan Berggren are the only three who have survived the transition to Steve Yzerman. Given that the former two already have concrete spots on the Red Wings’ roster moving forward, Berggren is gearing up for what could be a make-or-break season in HockeyTown.

It wasn’t all that long ago that Berggren was considered one of Detroit’s better prospects. The Red Wings selected the Uppsala, Sweden native with the 33rd overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft out of the SHL’s Skellefteå AIK program. It took a few years for Berggren to make the jump to professional hockey in his home country, but he capped it off with an impressive 12-goal, 45-point effort in 48 games for them in the 2020-21 SHL season.

Having a dire need for offense, the Red Wings brought Berggren overseas for the 2021-22 campaign, starting with their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. He rewarded Detroit for their confidence in his abilities, scoring 21 goals and 64 points in 70 games during his rookie season, finishing second in rookie scoring behind JJ Peterka, then of the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

Finishing as one of the worst offensive teams for the 2021-22 campaign, the Red Wings recalled Berggren for his NHL debut during the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately, despite a higher-than-normal shooting percentage and quality CorsiFor% at even strength, Berggren finished his rookie season with 15 goals and 28 points in 67 games with a -14 rating, averaging 13:28 of ice time per game.

Adding several forwards during the following offseason, Berggren quickly lost his spot on Detroit’s roster. He failed to make the team out of training camp and became the subject of trade rumors with the Red Wings looking to take a step toward contention. For some reason or another, no trade materialized, and Berggren finished the campaign with 24 goals and 56 points in 55 games at the AHL level, with another two goals and six points in 12 NHL contests.

The trade speculation regarding Berggren continued into the offseason before finally signing a one-year, $825K contract with the Red Wings a week before training camp. Unlike the previous campaign, he made the team out of camp and finished the 2024-25 season with 12 goals and 24 points in 75 games, averaging 12:59 of ice time per night. Although he had been known for his offense throughout his days as a prospect, Berggren was a defensive bright spot for Detroit last season, finishing with a 91.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength, one of the highest marks on the team considering his ATOI.

Still, with the Red Wings again looking to take a step toward contention, and Berggren becoming arbitration-eligible next offseason, his future in Detroit may rely on the quality of his 2025-26 campaign. Berggren acknowledged as much in a recent interview with team correspondent, Jonathan Mills, saying, “Last year was a good year for me. I feel like I got more opportunity after Todd [McLellan] became head coach, and I think I played better. This one-year deal is a prove-it-deal for me. I want to show what I can do.”

Putting more pressure on Berggren this season, Detroit has numerous forward prospects looking to make the full-time jump to the NHL level. Nate Danielson, Amadeus Lombardi, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, and Carter Mazur, to name a few, are pushing hard to get to the next level, and Berggren could be one of the first casualties.

There’s always a need for defensive-minded forwards at the NHL level. Still, there is a not-so-subtle expectation that Berggren will become more of an efficient point producer with the Red Wings. If he’s unable to do that this upcoming season, there’s a decent chance he’ll be removed from any of Detroit’s future planning.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

Metro Notes: Pyyhtia, Hunt, Lindstrom, Ritchie

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Outside of a pending trade request from winger Yegor Chinakhov, the Columbus Blue Jackets have already completed most of their heavy lifting this offseason. Still, on the fringes of their summer to-do list, restricted free agents Mikael Pyyhtia and Daemon Hunt are without contracts for the upcoming season.

According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, there is zero concern from the organization that deals won’t get completed with either player. Neither Pyyhtia nor Hunt has arbitration rights, so there’s no real fear of leaving them unsigned through August.

Furthermore, there’s little chance either player will be a huge factor for the Blue Jackets next season, anyway. Pyyhtia underwent a lengthy 47-game tryout with the team last season, but spent the second half of the year in the AHL after recording only four goals and seven points. Meanwhile, Hunt’s only game last season came with the Minnesota Wild before being moved in the David Jiříček trade.

Other notes from the Metro Division:

  • Staying in Columbus, the fourth-overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Cayden Lindstrom, expressed his appreciation for the organization last season despite not registering a game. In an interview with Craig Merz of NHL.com, Lindstrom spoke about staying in Columbus around the team after his back surgery last season, saying, “I took so much and learned so much from all the older guys and they gave me so many pointers and cues that I’ll remember forever.” Lindstrom will play for the NCAA’s Michigan State University Spartans next season.
  • Moving east in the Metro Division, New York Islanders youngster Calum Ritchie is hoping to make the team’s opening night roster out of training camp. In a recent interview with Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News, Ritchie said, “I’m going to come in here and work as hard as I can to show them what I’ve got.” Ritchie was one of the main pieces acquired by the Islanders last offseason from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for center Brock Nelson. The 27th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft scored 15 goals and 70 points in 47 games for the OHL’s Oshawa Generals last season.

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