Brock Boeser Unlikely To Stay With Canucks This Summer
The Canucks have been mathematically eliminated from the postseason. For the fourth time in the last five years, they’ll end their season with more focus on exit interviews than must-win games. In the case of this year’s Canucks squad, an early end will also bring tough questions about star players back to the surface.
Trade rumors swirled around the team’s offense for much of the season, with winger Brock Boeser at the forefront of a lot of speculation. Boeser was believed to be a top name at the Trade Deadline after failing to agree on an extension with Vancouver. But a rich asking price kept the former 40-goal scorer in place past the deadline. Now, a few months later, Boeser shared that a return seems unlikely when asked about his next contract by Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre:
Honestly, it’s unlikely at this point. It sucks, it’s unfortunate. I’m just trying to play good hockey, and then I’ll worry about everything after that. We all know it’s been a roller coaster of a year. There’s been a lot of different things.
News that Boeser is headed out of Vancouver isn’t necessarily a surprise given that contract extension discussions didn’t yield much traction throughout the season even as those talks were held close to the deadline. But still, likely losing a long-term core player for no return in a year that saw Vancouver also miss the playoffs has to sting for GM Patrik Allvin.
Barring an unlikely change of heart over the next two-plus months, Boeser will test unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career. He’ll be doing so on a bit of a down year relative to his performance a year ago when he had 40 goals and 33 assists, both career highs. Through 71 games this season, Boeser has 25 goals and 24 helpers, numbers that are closer to his career norms.
Back in late February, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that Boeser declined a five-year, $40MM extension, an offer that would have given him a $1.35MM raise compared to his current deal. Had he been able to replicate his 40-goal effort from 2023-24, he’d have been well-positioned to beat that on the open market.
But last season is also the only time that Boeser reached the 60-point mark, let alone 70. In previous years, his point totals have ranged from 45 to 56 with some of those coming in shortened seasons between injuries and a shorter schedule in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Even with some significant increases coming in the salary cap, how much more could Boeser realistically command when his track record of production is more of a high-end second liner most years? That question will be answered in a few months and it doesn’t appear that the Canucks will be the team to provide it.
PHR’s Gabriel Foley contributed to this post.
Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.
Golden Knights Recall Alexander Holtz
After spending the last two months in the minors, Alexander Holtz is getting another NHL shot. The Golden Knights have recalled the winger according to the NHL’s Media Portal while Danny Webster relays (Twitter link) that Holtz was on the third line in the morning skate.
The 23-year-old was acquired at the draft last year from New Jersey with Vegas hoping that a change of scenery could help unlock things for the 2020 seventh overall selection. However, that didn’t exactly happen. Holtz had a limited role with the Golden Knights in the first half of the season, notching just three goals and eight assists in 49 games while averaging 11:31 per night. That playing time was similar to last season with the Devils when Holtz put up 16 goals and 12 helpers while playing all 82 games. Instead of taking a step forward, he took a step back offensively.
That resulted in the Golden Knights taking a step back with Holtz when they assigned him to AHL Henderson in early February. He certainly had more success with the Silver Knights, tallying seven goals and six assists in 16 appearances to earn this promotion.
It’s one that could be short-lived, however. Webster notes (Twitter link) that winger Victor Olofsson was held out of the game day skate due to illness but could still play tonight against Seattle. In that case, emergency conditions would no longer apply, meaning Holtz would either have to be returned to Henderson or be converted to one of their four post-deadline regular recalls.
In other Vegas news, Webster adds that center Jack Eichel remains listed as day-to-day and won’t suit up against the Kraken. However, center Tomas Hertl was a full participant in the morning skate and appears to be set to play on the second line so they will at least get one impact center back for this one as they look to get one spot closer to clinching the Pacific Division title. Hertl missed a little more than two weeks with a shoulder injury but still sits second on the Golden Knights in goals with 33 and third on the team in points with 59 in 70 games.
Sharks Assign Igor Chernyshov To AHL
The San Jose Sharks have assigned top wing prospect Igor Chernyshov to the AHL following the end of his season with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. Chernyshov signed his entry-level contract on August 1st, just over one month after the Sharks drafted him with the 33rd-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Chernyshov underwent surgery to address a shoulder injury soon after signing his entry-level contract. The procedure forced him to sit out until January 30th. In that time, Chernyshov moved from Russia’s Dynamo Moskva to the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit – where he quickly made up for lost time. He scored two goals in his OHL debut, then followed it up with a jaw-dropping 19 points in his first six games in the league. Chernyshov was a scoring machine on the OHL’s second-highest-scoring offense, and posted seven different games of at least four points versus just five games with no scoring. His OHL season ended with an incredible 19 goals and 55 points in 23 games – or an average of 2.39 points-per-game. That scoring pace was the highest in the CHL this season, and ranks as the fourth-highest in the OHL since 2000, just behind Chicago Blackhawks legend Patrick Kane.
Chernyshov’s scoring output ranks him among some of the best scorers in OHL history – but his game is far less flashy than many of his contemporaries. He’s instead an aggressive and cerebral forechecker who earned his points on the back of tireless pressure and smart positioning. Chernyshov didn’t shy away from contact after undergoing surgery either – and his muscular six-foot-three, 205-pound frame clearly stood out in the junior league. He seemed poised for immediate pro games after splitting last season between 34 games in the KHL and 22 games in the MHL. An OHL stint helped cushion him after an injury emerged, and Chernyshov took full advantage. He’ll enter North American pros with plenty of momentum behind him, and look to use his feisty style and cerebral scoring to support the San Jose Barracuda to a deep playoff run.
Kyle Dubas Named Team Canada GM For 2025 World Championship
Hockey Canada has announced that Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas will fill their role of general manager for the upcoming World Championship. The tournament is set to take place from May 9th to May 25th in Sweden and Denmark. Dubas will be supported by former Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf and Team Canada’s senior vice president of hockey operations Scott Salmond.
The management team will be joined in their evaluation of NHL talent by a selection committee featuring four NHL executives and former players. They are Dennis Bonvie (Boston Bruins Director of Professional Scouting), Gregory Campbell (Florida Panthers assistant general manager), Andrew Cogliano (Colorado Avalanche special assistant), and Jason Spezza (Penguins assistant general manager). The management team and selection committee were selected by Doug Armstrong, executive director of Canada’s National Men’s team.
Much of the management team was also part of Team Canada’s gold medal win at the recent 4-Nations Face-Off tournament, the first in-season international competition featuring NHL talent since 2014. The winning Canadian squad was dominated by talent headed for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Only Sidney Crosby, Travis Konecny, and Travis Sanheim will be available to return to the World Championship lineup when the 2024-25 season ends. Additional players could become eligible as teams are eliminated from the postseason. Crosby notably hasn’t taken part in a World Championship since 2015, when he scored 11 points in nine games while captaining Canada.
Dubas and his team will begin making decisions on their coaching staff and roster immediately, with a full announcement expected in the coming weeks. Canada kicks off the tournament with an early morning game against Team Slovenia on May 10th.
Predators Sign Navrin Mutter To One-Year Extension
The Nashville Predators have signed forward Navrin Mutter to a one-year, two-way, league-minimum contract for the 2025-26 season. Mutter was set to become a restricted free agent this summer, after completing his three-year, $2.3MM entry-level contract signed in 2022.
Mutter played four seasons in the OHL prior to signing his entry-level deal. His junior career started with the Hamilton Bulldogs in the 2017-18 season, where he quickly found a knack for gritty and antagonistic hockey. Mutter recorded 231 penalty minutes in 155 games through his first three OHL seasons, leading up to the cancelled 2020-21 campaign. He made his pro debut during the cancelled year – spending three games and recording no stats, other than a minor penalty, with the Stockton Heat. But Mutter opted to return to Hamilton for the 2021-22 campaign, and was traded to the Kitchener Rangers mid-season. Between the two squads he recorded a career-high of 22 points and 108 penalty minutes in just 62 games – good enough to convince Nashville to sign him as an undrafted free agent the following summer.
Mutter spent his entry-level contract finding his footing in the minor leagues. He played through his rookie AHL season in 2022-23 and immediately carried over his hard-hitting, dirty-area style of hockey. Mutter recorded eight points, 72 penalty minutes, and a minus-11 in 53 games as a rookie. That was enough to maintain his spot in the AHL for the start of the 2023-24 campaign, though Mutter was demoted to the ECHL in December after recording just two points in the first 12 games of the season. He went on to find a scoring streak in the third-tier league – netting five points in his first eight games. That mark rose to 11 points and 63 penalty minutes in 33 games before Mutter was recalled back to the AHL, where he finished the year with six points and 63 penalty minutes in 26 games.
With his legs under him, Mutter held onto the important role of depth enforcer for the Milwaukee Admirals this season. He only managed four points in 37 games, but did tally 87 penalty minutes – the second-highest PIMs-per-game on the team behind Kyle Marino‘s 150 PIMs in 63 games. This extension will return Mutter to his bruising role in the minors with likely little upside as an everyday NHLer. But should the Predators need a hard-hitting, tough-nosed fighter to boost their lineup – winger Mutter will carry the two-way flexibility to join the NHL camp.
Maple Leafs Sign Blake Smith To Entry-Level Deal
The Maple Leafs announced they’ve signed defenseman Blake Smith to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2025-26 season. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Smith arrives in Toronto as an undrafted free agent through the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League. The 20-year-old lefty has been passed over in two straight drafts but is coming off an offensive breakout campaign in Flint, posting a career-high 10-22–32 scoring line with a +15 rating in 64 games in his final season of junior hockey.
Standing at 6’5″ and 225 lbs, Elite Prospects described Smith as an “overpowering physical presence” with good skating ability. Evidently, he didn’t do enough with the puck on his stick until this season to warrant NHL interest. Across his first 180 OHL games from 2021-22 through 2023-24, Smith had just three goals and 22 assists for 25 points with a -10 rating.
Now, the Leafs take a flyer on the Oshawa native following his fourth junior season. He turns 21 in October and is ticketed to spend 2025-26 either with AHL Toronto or ECHL Cincinnati, depending on how his training camp performance rubs the Leafs’ front office. He’s the second foray Toronto has made into undrafted free agency in the past few weeks out of the CHL, joining 21-year-old forward Borya Valis.
Smith is too old for his entry-level deal to be slide-eligible, so the contract will run from 2025-26 through 2027-28, regardless of how much NHL action he sees. He will be a restricted free agent upon expiry. Toronto now has 30 of their 50 contract slots filled for next season.
Avalanche Notes: MacKinnon, Lindgren, Girard, Coyle
The Avalanche will be giving franchise center Nathan MacKinnon some rest as the postseason nears. He’s dealing with a minor injury and may not play again in the regular season, Corey Masisak of the Denver Post was first to report. Head coach Jared Bednar confirmed MacKinnon won’t play tonight against the Canucks and called him doubtful for their other two remaining contests (via Masisak).
That will mean extended rest for MacKinnon ahead of the first round. Colorado is the first team in the league to end their regular season schedule, playing Game 82 on Sunday. They’ll have at minimum six days of rest before Game 1 of their first playoff series.
It’s virtually confirmed that MacKinnon will be ready to go when the postseason starts, and today’s absence is more precautionary. Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now wrote, “It sounds like he’d be playing if the Avs were still fighting for something to close out the regular season.”
If that’s the case, MacKinnon ends his season with 32-84–116 in 79 games, along with a +25 rating. On a goals-per-game basis, it’s his worst showing in eight years, and his 1.47 points per game are his lowest since the 2021-22 season. That doesn’t mean much in a season where high-end scoring has regressed heavily. MacKinnon still enters game action tonight leading the league in assists and points, and could very well capture his second straight Hart Trophy in a few weeks’ time.
Unfortunately, there’s a more legitimate upper-body injury holding defenseman Ryan Lindgren out of tonight’s game, Bednar told Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports. The 27-year-old complementary defender, acquired from the Rangers in March, had gone without a point in his last eight games and has 2-1–3 in 18 contests since the swap, averaging 19 minutes per game with a minus-one rating. His second-pairing role will be filled by Samuel Girard, who Bednar confirmed returns tonight after a four-game absence due to an undisclosed injury (via Deen).
Also playing is pivot Charlie Coyle, who was banged up while recording two assists in Tuesday’s shootout win over the Golden Knights. That’s important with MacKinnon out to reduce the load increase on names like Jack Drury and Brock Nelson down the middle. Coyle has 1-7–8 in 16 games since being acquired from the Bruins for Casey Mittelstadt at the trade deadline.
Islanders Recall Tristan Lennox On Emergency Basis
The Islanders are tracking to be without star netminder Ilya Sorokin as they try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive tonight against the Rangers. Head coach Patrick Roy told reporters today that Sorokin sustained a lower-body injury in Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Predators. The team announced they’d recalled Tristan Lennox from AHL Bridgeport on an emergency basis; he’ll back up Marcus Högberg tonight (via Stefen Rosner of NHL.com).
Sorokin sustained the injury when Nashville forward Michael McCarron fell onto him while scoring a goal in the second period. He stayed in the net but didn’t come out for the third, relieved by Högberg. Roy declined to confirm whether the team expected Sorokin back for its four remaining games after tonight’s tilt (via Rosner).
If it’s the end of the year for Sorokin, he closes the book on a mixed 2024-25 campaign. He recorded a career-low .905 SV% over 59 appearances, logging a 29-23-6 record. He still performed quite well compared to the quality of the team defense in front of him, with MoneyPuck estimating he’s saved 13.7 goals above expected. That’s a major improvement on last year’s 1.4 figure.
While the recall is unlikely to yield Lennox’s NHL debut, it’s still his first stint on an NHL roster. The Islanders’ 2021 third-round pick is in his second professional season but has made just 17 total appearances at the ECHL and AHL levels since the beginning of 2023-24. He started this season on the non-roster list with an undisclosed injury and was only sent to Bridgeport to begin his campaign in early February. Since making his AHL debut for the B-Isles, he’s yet to record a win and has a 4.44 GAA and .832 SV% in four showings, uninspiring numbers behind the worst club in high-level minor hockey.
The 22-year-old has faced an uphill battle, losing his draft year to the COVID-19 pandemic at a crucial time in his development. He looked solid in ECHL action last year, putting up a .909 SV% in 13 games for the Worcester Railers, something both he and the Isles will hang their hat on as they try to assess his long-term ceiling.
Bruins Recall Riley Duran
The Bruins announced they’ve recalled forward Riley Duran from AHL Providence while sending depth veteran Patrick Brown down in a corresponding transaction. Duran will make his NHL debut if he enters the lineup tonight against the Blackhawks.
Boston selected Duran, now 23, in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. The Boston-area native is in his first full season of professional hockey after signing out of Providence College last year. The 6’1″, 174-lb forward can play both center and wing and revolves his game around physicality, although he does have an intriguing release. He’s scored 12 goals in 58 games with the P-Bruins but has managed only four assists for 16 total points.
Given what Duran managed in college, it’s a slightly underwhelming offensive performance on the whole. He scored 27-28–55 in 102 games for the Friars over four seasons, including a career-high 20 points in 29 games in his junior season. He still has more room to grow in the minors, but he’ll need to carve out a niche as a bottom-six role player if he wants a long-term NHL role with Boston. He’s the No. 9 prospect in a weak Boston pool, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic opines, writing he has “the tools to become a call-up option/bottom-line forward” but that his game “lacks dimension.”
Nonetheless, Duran could get a chance here to taste NHL action with one season still to go on his entry-level contract. While a long shot at best for next fall’s opening night roster, there’s an opening for him to prove initial value in a fourth-line role and vault him up the list of potential call-ups next year.
The 32-year-old Brown heads back to Providence after spending the last month on the NHL roster. Boston passed him through waivers in late March but declined to reassign him immediately. Since that was less than 10 games and 30 days ago, they can still send him down without having to waive him again. He’s been scratched for the Bruins’ last three outings and has one assist and a minus-two rating in 15 NHL games this year as he hurtles toward unrestricted free agency.
Penguins Recall Emil Bemström, Vasiliy Ponomarev, Valtteri Puustinen
The Penguins announced today they’ve recalled forwards Emil Bemström, Vasiliy Ponomarev, and Valtteri Puustinen from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis. Their roster size now stands at 28 ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Devils, including a remarkable 19 forwards.
Recalling three players indicates they’re dealing with more new injuries on offense than just rookie Rutger McGroarty, who did not return to Tuesday’s win over the Penguins after blocking a shot with his left foot in the second period. He was in a walking boot postgame, per Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The team has yet to update his status, but Vensel adds that McGroarty is absent from today’s practice. Veteran winger Matthew Nieto was also not practicing today after being promoted from WBS on an emergency basis Tuesday and suiting up against the Blackhawks. It’s unclear if he sustained an injury in the win or was returned to the minors in a corresponding transaction.
Injuries are taking a significant toll on the Penguins, who are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, in the season’s final weeks. In addition to McGroarty and Nieto, they’re also without Bokondji Imama (biceps surgery, out for the season), Blake Lizotte (lower body, day-to-day), Thomas Novak (lower body, indefinite), and Philip Tomasino (concussion, day-to-day).
Up comes reinforcements from the Baby Pens, who have already clinched their place in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The 25-year-old Bemström has been a key part of their success, checking in as the only WBS player with over a point per game (21-25–46 in 45 GP). His availability has been limited due to a few late-season NHL call-ups, resulting in him posting one assist in 13 games for Pittsburgh since making his season debut in February.
The former Blue Jacket continues to serve as a dominant minor-league force without being able to force his way into a consistent NHL role. While he posted 10 goals and 20 points in only 56 games for his rookie season in Columbus back in 2019-20, his offense has been spotty since – especially since Pittsburgh acquired him last season. He’s posted just 3-3–6 in 37 NHL appearances since the swap.
Ponomarev, 23, was a key piece of the return from the Hurricanes when Carolina acquired Jake Guentzel at last year’s trade deadline (along with Ville Koivunen, who has three assists in his first five NHL games since being called up late last month). He’s appeared in four games for Pittsburgh this year across a pair of call-ups in November and February but has yet to record a point while averaging 9:13 per game. His lone career goal and assist came during his NHL debut with the Hurricanes in January 2024. The Russian pivot ranks fourth on WBS in scoring, posting 15-25–40 in 54 games with a plus-six rating.
Puustinen splits the difference between Bemström and Ponomarev in terms of big-league experience. The 25-year-old frequently participated in NHL matchups for the Penguins last year, recording 5-15–20 in 52 games in a primarily bottom-six role. However, he’s not commanded the same deployment this year and has spent most of the campaign in the minors. He has a goal and an assist in 10 showings, all of which came in the season’s first two months. He’s done well in Wilkes-Barre, posting 16-19–35 in 47 games, but he’s undoubtedly disappointed not to see more NHL minutes after signing a two-year, one-way extension worth $1.55MM last May.