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West Notes: Ehlers, Portillo, Lerby

August 10, 2024 at 1:24 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

With Olympic Qualifying Tournaments beginning at the end of the month, several teams will have decisions to make about allowing their players to participate in the event just before training camps get underway.  Jets head coach Scott Arniel told Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun that Nikolaj Ehlers will indeed suit up for Denmark in their tournament, noting their hope is that this will serve as a jumpstart heading into camp.  Ehlers has been frequently speculated as a possible trade candidate in recent months and he’s coming into the final season of his seven-year, $42MM contract signed back in 2017.  After putting up the second-highest point total of his career last season with 61, Ehlers will be looking for another big performance to bolster his value ahead of his first crack at unrestricted free agency.

More from the Western Conference:

  • The Kings have two remaining restricted free agents in winger Arthur Kaliyev and goaltender Erik Portillo. Kaliyev is believed to be available on the trade market which could affect the timing of his next deal but Portillo is still in Los Angeles’ plans.  John Hoven of Mayors Manor recently examined some comparable netminders, suggesting that Portillo will likely ink a two-year deal around a $1MM AAV with the second season of that being a one-way agreement, similar to recent contracts given to Dustin Wolf (Calgary), Nico Daws (New Jersey), and Jet Greaves (Columbus) earlier this summer.  David Rittich and Pheonix Copley are on one-year deals so a good showing from Portillo with AHL Ontario in 2024-25 could put him in a good position to be Darcy Kuemper’s backup in 2025-26.
  • Flames RFA defenseman Carl-Johan Lerby is on the move in Sweden as Kalmar of the second-tier Allsvenskan announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year contract. The 27-year-old signed with Calgary as an undrafted free agent in 2019 but he spent limited time in North America, suiting up just 22 times with AHL Stockton before heading back overseas in 2021.  The Flames retained his rights by tendering a qualifying offer at that time.  Lerby split last season between the Finnish Liiga and the Allsvenskan, compiling 15 points in 45 regular season games between the two levels.

Calgary Flames| Los Angeles Kings| Winnipeg Jets Erik Portillo| Nikolaj Ehlers

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Hurricanes Expect To Have Alexander Nikishin Play For Them Late In 2024-25

August 10, 2024 at 11:37 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

Hurricanes prospect Alexander Nikishin has widely been viewed as one of the top blueliners outside the NHL for a couple of years now.  While he still has one year left on his KHL contract with SKA St. Petersburg, Carolina expects to have the youngster available to them at some point late in the season.

Speaking earlier this week with NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, GM Eric Tulsky indicated that they plan to sign him as soon as his deal in Russia expires and put him into their lineup right away.  KHL playoffs run through April and SKA is generally one of the better teams in that league so it’s quite possible that Nikishin won’t be able to make his Carolina debut until the end of April (if he’s let out of his contract early once the KHL playoffs end) or early May, meaning they’d have to have some playoff success of their own for this to happen.

The 22-year-old was the 69th selection back in 2020 and has squarely outperformed where he was picked.  He became a full-time player at the KHL level the following season with Spartak before being acquired by SKA in 2022 where things took off.

In his first season with them, Nikishin picked up 55 points in 65 regular season games which made him the highest-scoring KHL blueliner while also logging nearly 23 minutes a game.  Last season, he produced at basically the same clip, notching 17 goals and 39 assists in 67 contests, once again leading all rearguards in points while logging over 24 minutes a night.  While Carolina is surely intrigued by Nikishin’s offensive upside, Gulitti notes that they view him as a potential all-around fit.

With Nikishin turning 23 in October, his entry-level deal will have to be a two-year agreement, the first of which will be burned this coming season if he’s able to sign with and suit up for Carolina.  That would put him on pace for what many expect will be a pricey second contract in the 2026 offseason.

Carolina has had some turnover on the back end this summer with Brady Skjei (Nashville), Brett Pesce (New Jersey), and Tony DeAngelo (unsigned) all leaving via free agency.  Their replacements haven’t been as notable on paper with Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere signing on with the other spot going unfilled.  It appears they could be eyeing Nikishin for that position which could give their back end a boost in the playoffs, as long as they’re still playing when their top prospect becomes available to be signed.

Carolina Hurricanes| KHL Alexander Nikishin

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Free Agent Profile: Tyson Barrie

August 10, 2024 at 10:31 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

It wasn’t too long ago that free agent defenseman Tyson Barrie was one of the better power play threats from the back end in the NHL and while his defensive game was a weak spot, he still was counted on to play a notable role.  However, after a rough showing last season, the veteran still finds himself unsigned more than a month into unrestricted free agency.

Back in his prime with Colorado, Barrie was one of the top-end offensive blueliners but with them wanting a second center, they moved him to Toronto, the first stop where he struggled.  Expected to anchor a top power play, he instead struggled; while he still managed to put up 37 points, that was one of his lower full-season totals.

The Maple Leafs opted not to retain him the following year and Barrie found his way to Edmonton as a free agent where, once again, he was expected to anchor a top power play.  This time, he was more successful in that role for nearly three years before being salary-matching ballast in a move that brought the Oilers Mattias Ekholm, a much better fit for them with Evan Bouchard ready to take on the top offensive minutes.

While Barrie finished up the 2022-23 season relatively well after joining the Predators at that trade deadline, things went off the rails entirely last year.  The team gave him permission to talk to other teams in early December to try to facilitate a move but one never materialized.  At that point, Nashville simply decided to make him their seventh defender and once the calendar flipped to 2024, he played in just 12 games the rest of the way, including playoffs, meaning he hit the open market at the age of 33 coming off the worst season of his career.

Stats

2023-24: 41 GP, 1 G, 14 A, 15 PTS, -10, 16 PIMS, 65 shots, 18:19 ATOI, 46.0 CF%
Career: 809 GP, 109 G, 396 A, 505 PTS, -75, 259 PIMS, 1,755 shots, 21:07 ATOI, 49.6 CF%

Potential Suitors

At this point, there aren’t going to be too many options on the table for Barrie.  If he wants a top-six spot, he might have to go into camp on a PTO with a weaker team but if he’s open to having a similar role as he did last year as a seventh option, he could be an intriguing pickup for a team looking for a secondary power play threat.

In the East, the Rangers lost one of their power play threats when Erik Gustafsson went to Detroit in free agency.  Barrie would likely be in a battle for the sixth spot so while he wouldn’t be a regular, he’d give Peter Laviolette another option for games he’d be in the lineup for.  The Bruins can’t do much roster-wise at the moment until Jeremy Swayman signs but if they have room to add an extra rearguard, they don’t have a lot of natural power play fits on the back end so Barrie could fit in a limited role.  The Senators and Blue Jackets also feel like longer-shot landing spots depending on what happens between now and training camp.

Out West, if the Blues opt to look outside the organization for a Torey Krug replacement, Barrie fits that spot well as an offense-first player.  Meanwhile, the Wild don’t have many offensive threats on their back end beyond Brock Faber so adding Barrie would give them some more options on that front, though they would need to massage the salary cap to fit him in.

Projected Contract

Going into the start of free agency, it looked like Barrie could have a case for a deal around $1.5MM.  That still would have been a big drop-off from the $4.5MM he made in each of the last three seasons but it still would have been an improvement on what he’s likely to get now which is a contract around the minimum salary.  Depending on where he lands, he might have to go the PTO route to get a deal as well.  That’s quite the fall from grace for a player who is in the top ten among points by a defenseman over the past decade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2024 Free Agency Tyson Barrie

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Nicolas Meloche Signs Two-Year KHL Deal

August 10, 2024 at 9:25 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

After not getting much traction on a contract in North America last season, defenseman Nicolas Meloche opted to try his hand overseas in the KHL.  Things went well enough over there that he has elected to sign a two-year deal with Dinamo Minsk, per an announcement on their Telegram page.

The 27-year-old was somewhat of a late bloomer, not becoming an NHL regular until 24 with San Jose.  He did well enough that year to land a one-way agreement with Calgary in the 2022 offseason but after a tough showing in training camp, he wound up spending the entire year in the minors before heading to Russia.

Last season, Meloche played in 40 games with Salavat Yulaev where he was relatively productive, collecting five goals and 13 assists before chipping in with two assists in six playoff contests.  Salavat traded Meloche’s rights to Minsk last week, paving the way for this contract.

With 57 career NHL games and 257 AHL appearances under his belt, it’s certainly possible that Meloche could look to return to North America when this contract is up.  After being more of a limited point producer before going overseas, a continued good showing on that front could certainly get him back on the radar in 2026.

KHL| Transactions Nicolas Meloche

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Poll: Who Is The Early Favorite For The 2025 Calder Trophy?

August 9, 2024 at 7:20 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 11 Comments

The hockey world is in for a treat with the 2024-25 rookie class. A long list of top prospects seem destined for NHL roles, including former high-end draft picks and controversial prospects. Their pursuit of meaningful NHL ice time will be undercut by what’s sure to be an exciting race for the 2025 Calder Trophy. The NHL’s ’Rookie of the Year’ award stands as perhaps the most coveted and exclusive award in the league, having previously gone to franchise-defining talents like Connor Bedard this year, Kirill Kaprizov in 2021, and Cale Makar in 2020. With such a star-studded cast of contenders this year, the winner may have to reach the heights of that trio to win over voters.

That could prove an easy feat for the pair of Macklin Celebrini and Matvei Michkov – likely the leading favorites as things currently stand. Celebrini was the first overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft and is coming off a dazzling junior hockey career. After winning both the USHL’s ’Rookie of the Year’ and ’Most Valuable Player’ awards as a 16-year-old in 2022-23, Celebrini became the youngest player to ever win the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player this season. His prowess is undeniable. He’s a defiantly special playmaker, with all of the tools needed to match top speeds. Celebrini is set for a top-line role with the San Jose Sharks, while Michkov will fight for the same recognition from the Philadelphia Flyers.

Michkov is making the jump to the NHL a year earlier than expected, after being released from his contract with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg this summer. He makes the move to North America after proudly leading HK Sochi. Despite playing on a farm club to SKA, Michkov has still managed 61 points in 77 KHL games over the last two seasons. His 41 points in 47 games this year marked the most of any U20 KHL skater since Kaprizov, the record holder, potted 42 points in 49 games in 2017. Where Celebrini is a quick-thinking and quicker-moving playmaker, Michkov is an all-skill scorer, capable of using a mix of incredibly agile skating, great stickhandling, and a knockout shot to embarrass opponents in the offensive end. The sky is the limit for the Russian phenom, who should finally receive proper support after spending the last two seasons on muddling rosters.

Celebrini and Michkov will be challenged for their spot by a long list of high-end forwards, including Will Smith – who could find himself playing second-fiddle to Celebrini in San Jose. Anaheim Ducks center Cutter Gauthier could also break into the conversation – undermining yet another boost to the Flyers’ prospect pool. But of the many contenders, it’s the dynamic duo of Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque who seem most overlooked in early Calder talks.

Stankoven was a lightning bolt in his first taste of the NHL. The first-year pro fought his way to an NHL call-up with a then-league-leading 57 points in his first 47 AHL games. The scoring didn’t stop in Dallas, as Stankoven proceeded to score 14 points in 24 games – the highest scoring pace (0.58) of any first-year Star since Jason Robertson in 2021 (0.88) and John Klingberg in 2015 (0.58). Stankoven was just one game shy of losing rookie eligibility when Dallas’ season ended, though he was quickly slotted back into the lineup during the playoffs – which don’t count against Calder Trophy eligibility. He continued to hone his game in the race for the Stanley Cup, netting eight points in 19 games and earning a routine role in Dallas’ middle-six.

If not Stankoven, then it’ll be his electric centerman Bourque who wins the title for Dallas. The two forwards were unstoppable with the AHL’s Texas Stars last season, playing with a pace and chemistry that opponents simply couldn’t keep up with. Bourque stayed red-hot even after Stankoven’s call-up, ultimately leading the AHL in scoring with 77 points in 71 games and earning the Les Cunningham Award as the league’s MVP. That was despite last season being just the second pro year of Bourque’s career. He was impressive, and found a way to score consistently despite his oft-criticized frame.

Even with all of the acclaim of the aforementioned forwards, the award could still find its way to other hands. Shakir Mukhamadullin in San Jose, Lane Hutson in Montreal, and Olen Zellweger in Anaheim are all prime candidates from the blue-line, while Dustin Wolf in Calgary and Yaroslav Askarov in Nashville stand as favorites in net – though the latter will have to fight his way above Juuse Saros. It seems the Calder Trophy debate could go in one of countless directions when the first puck is finally dropped – but who do you think will win out? Will it be dazzling star prospects Celebrini or Michkov? Will defensive supports overtake the top scorers? Or will a player like Brad Lambert subvert everyone’s expectations? Let us know by voting in the poll below and discussing in the comments!

If the poll isn’t appearing, click here!

Dallas Stars| Philadelphia Flyers| Polls| Prospects| San Jose Sharks Brad Lambert| Cutter Gauthier| Dustin Wolf| Lane Hutson| Logan Stankoven| Macklin Celebrini| Matvei Michkov| Mavrik Bourque| Olen Zellweger| Shakir Mukhamadullin| Will Smith

11 comments

Stars Confident Thomas Harley Will Re-Sign Soon

August 9, 2024 at 4:15 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 6 Comments

The Dallas Stars are still mulling over contract details with defenseman Thomas Harley, the team’s final restricted free agent. Stars general manager Jim Nill isn’t fazed by negotiations carrying into August, sharing with Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas Morning News that he’s confident talks will ramp up soon and Harley will re-sign. Nill added, “We’re having healthy communication. We’re having talks… We’re going to get him signed. I’m not too concerned.”

Harley will be signing the first real contract of his NHL career, after doing more than enough to earn an NHL role on his three-year entry-level contract. Dallas selected Harley 18th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft and signed him to his first pro deal just three months later. He returned to the Mississauga Steelheads following the draft but found his way into an unexpected NHL debut during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, after joining Dallas’ taxi squad following the end of Mississauga’s season. Harley went without a point in the debut but impressively kept up with a high-tempo Colorado Avalanche offense. He spent the next three seasons finding his footing, and then a top-line role, with the AHL’s Texas Stars – though a pair of extended recalls in 2022 allowed him to play out his rookie NHL season, marked by one goal and four points in 34 games.

The Stars were patient with Harley’s development, keeping him in the minor leagues through 131 games despite promising production to the tune of 70 points. But the long wait paid off, and Harley exploded in his first full NHL season this year. The 22-year-old defenseman managed 47 points in 79 games – just seven points back from Miro Heiskanen, who led the Stars defense in scoring. What’s more, Harley’s 15 goals were the most from a Stars defender since Trevor Daley in 2015. Harley managed the impressive scoring while averaging 21 minutes of ice time every night, serving as the haymaker behind Heiskanen in Dallas’ lineup.

That breakout performance is likely what makes Harley difficult to extend. He entered this season with just 40 NHL games, and six points, under his belt – then joined the heights of players like Noah Dobson, Zach Werenski, and Justin Faulk with his U23 scoring. Both Dobson and Faulk continued on bridge deals, with cap hits around $5MM, after their breakout years, though they both had longer stints in the NHL than Harley’s been afforded. The lack of NHL games played could hold Harley back from the $5MM mark, though a bridge deal would give him a chance to prove his worth next season.

It’s hard to deny that Harley is set for a long and fruitful career – especially granted his cushy role behind Heiskanen. Dallas will have to put a figure to their confidence in the young defender in the next few weeks. If, and presumably when, he finally re-signs – Harley will return to a Stars lineup that looks like it could be dangerous for years to come, on the back of incredibly talented young stars like himself.

Dallas Stars Thomas Harley

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Michael Vukojevic Signs In Finland

August 9, 2024 at 1:21 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

After being non-tendered by the Devils earlier this summer, defenseman Michael Vukojevic has landed a one-year deal in Finland with Pelicans, per a team announcement. The contract comes with a second-year option.

Vukojevic was a third-round pick of the Devils in 2019 and turned pro early, beginning his career with the Devils’ AHL affiliate (then in Binghamton) in 2020-21 with the Ontario Hockey League pausing operations due to COVID-19. His pro career began in earnest when he signed his entry-level contract in March 2021, and he’s spent most of the past three seasons suiting up with New Jersey’s new affiliate in Utica. He never got an NHL call-up and didn’t establish himself as an AHL mainstay either, posting 10 points, 32 PIMs, and a -10 rating in 49 games last season.

The 6’3″, 216-lb left-shot defenseman now heads overseas, but at 23 years old, there’s still enough runway left in his development to attempt an NHL return somewhere down the line. He’s the second defender that Pelicans have plucked out of the AHL in the last two days, joining former Blackhawk Wyatt Kalynuk.

In 166 with the Devils’ affiliates in Binghamton and Utica over the last four seasons, Vukojevic totaled nine goals, 32 assists, 41 points, 116 PIMs, and a -10 rating. He also appeared in four games for the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder, New Jersey’s low-level affiliate, in 2021-22.

Liiga| Transactions Michael Vukojevic

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Snapshots: Bourque, Ohgren, Hurlbert

August 9, 2024 at 12:58 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

It’s becoming abundantly clear that Mavrik Bourque will be on the Stars’ opening night roster after being crowned the AHL’s Most Valuable Player last season.

The 22-year-old center is “ready for the NHL,” and it’s his “turn to start grabbing it,” Dallas general manager Jim Nill told NHL.com’s Tracey Myers. Bourque, a late first-round pick by Dallas in 2020, exploded to lead the AHL with 77 points (26 G, 51 A) in 71 games last season with the Texas Stars. It was just his second professional campaign after completing his final season of junior hockey with the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes in 2022, where he won a league championship and was crowned playoff MVP.

Bourque has just one regular-season NHL game under his belt, going without a point in 10:56 of ice time against the Blackhawks on April 6 last season. But he’ll likely get a crack in a top-nine role come opening night as the team attempts to replace veteran Joe Pavelski, who confirmed his retirement last month, by committee. The Stars hope Bourque will be the latest in a string of prospects that become impact players immediately upon landing NHL minutes, following Wyatt Johnston and the recent graduation of Logan Stankoven to a full-time role.

More notes from around the league:

  • Sticking in the Central, the Wild find themselves in a similar spot with recent first-round pick Liam Ohgren, who feels he’s ready to land a spot on the roster out of training camp. “I’m here to take a spot,” he said to NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. “I want to play in the NHL next year. Not only that, I want to make an impact so we can go on and win a Stanley Cup. That’s my main goal.” Ohgren, the 19th overall selection of the 2022 draft, signed his entry-level contract a while back but only arrived from his native Sweden near the end of last season. He played four games for the Wild down the stretch, scoring a goal and an assist while averaging 14:31 per game. It’s important for the cap-strapped Wild to get value out of players on entry-level contracts, something they could do this season by sticking Ohgren in a top-nine role.
  • It’s already time to start looking at some top names for the 2026 NHL Draft. One of the early top targets is 16-year-old forward JP Hurlbert, who announced on his Instagram today that he’s committed to Michigan. Hurlbert will spend the next two seasons in the U.S. National Team Development Program before heading to the Wolverines as a freshman in 2026-27. The Allen, Texas native has lit up the youth ranks with the Stars’ youth club, recording 76 points (40 G, 36 A) in 45 games with their U-16 squad last season.

Dallas Stars| Minnesota Wild| Snapshots JP Hurlbert| Liam Ohgren| Mavrik Bourque

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Avalanche Sign Matthew Phillips To Two-Way Deal

August 9, 2024 at 11:05 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 1 Comment

 The Avalanche have signed forward Matthew Phillips to a one-year contract, the team announced. PuckPedia reports it’s a two-way deal worth $775K in the NHL and $287.5K in the AHL.

Phillips, a diminutive 5’8″ winger who spent his junior days with the Western Hockey League’s Victoria Royals, was a sixth-round pick of the Flames in 2016. He signed his entry-level contract and turned pro with their AHL affiliate in Stockton two years later, quickly becoming one of the minor league’s top offensive players. In parts of five seasons with the Flames’ affiliates in Stockton and Calgary, Phillips totaled 237 points (103 G, 134 A) in 265 games. He was named to the league’s First All-Star Team in 2022-23, his final year in the organization, after leading the team in scoring with 76 points (36 G, 40 A) in 66 games.

But despite that strong production, Phillips never got much of an NHL chance in Calgary. He made only three big-league appearances spread over the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons, going without a point and averaging 10:48 per game. As such, he departed the organization in the summer of 2023 as a Group VI UFA, signing a one-year, one-way deal with the Capitals.

Phillips made Washington’s opening night roster and got an extended chance to produce, but he wasn’t up to the task. He was placed on waivers mid-season and was claimed by the Penguins, but only lasted a few weeks in Pittsburgh before being waived again and re-claimed by Washington. Overall, he managed just one goal in five points in 31 games between the Caps and Pens last year.

He also wasn’t the same player he was with Calgary in his brief time suiting up for the Capitals’ AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. Phillips did have six points in nine regular season games, but he went without a point and posted a -3 rating in six playoff games for this year’s Calder Cup champions. The 26-year-old became a Group VI UFA again this summer and wasn’t retained by Washington.

Phillips now looks to rediscover his offensive touch in Colorado, whether with the NHL club in Denver or the AHL club in Loveland. At worst, he’s a potential high-ceiling offensive option to stash in the minors with 34 games of NHL experience to use as a fourth-line call-up in a pinch.

Colorado Avalanche| Newsstand| Transactions Matthew Phillips

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Traded First-Round Picks For 2025 NHL Draft

August 9, 2024 at 9:57 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 3 Comments

Last updated 8/26/24, 8:25 a.m.

The 2025 NHL Draft may still be nearly a year away, but multiple teams have already traded away their first-round picks, and even more will change hands before the March 6, 2025 trade deadline.

This article will be used to monitor each team’s 2025 first-round pick, updating it as necessary throughout the year.

We’ve listed all 32 teams here, so even if a team hasn’t traded its first-round pick, that will be noted. We’ll also provide details on the protections for each traded pick, including what happens to the pick in 2026 if it doesn’t change hands in 2025.

Here’s the full breakdown of the status of each 2025 first-round pick:

Atlantic

  • Boston Bruins: Own pick.
  • Buffalo Sabres: Own pick.
  • Detroit Red Wings: Own pick.
  • Florida Panthers: Traded to Flames or Canadiens (top-10 protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Panthers would owe the Flames their 2026 first-round pick (unprotected). 
    • Flames/Panthers details are outlined below.
  • Montreal Canadiens: Own pick.
  • Ottawa Senators: Own pick.
  • Tampa Bay Lightning: Traded to Predators (top-10 protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Lightning would owe the Predators their 2026 first-round pick (unprotected).
  • Toronto Maple Leafs: Traded to Blackhawks (top-10 protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Maple Leafs would owe the Blackhawks their 2026 first-round pick (unprotected).

Metropolitan

  • Carolina Hurricanes: Own pick.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets: Own pick.
  • New Jersey Devils: Traded to Flames (top-10 protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Devils would owe the Flames their 2026 first-round pick (unprotected).
  • New York Islanders: Own pick.
  • New York Rangers: Own pick.
  • Philadelphia Flyers: Own pick.
  • Pittsburgh Penguins: Own pick.
  • Washington Capitals: Own pick.

Central

  • Chicago Blackhawks: Own pick.
  • Colorado Avalanche: Traded to Flyers (top-10 protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Avalanche would owe the Flyers their 2026 first-round pick (unprotected).
  • Dallas Stars: Own pick.
  • Minnesota Wild: Own pick.
  • Nashville Predators: Own pick.
  • St. Louis Blues: Own pick.
  • Utah Hockey Club: Own pick.
  • Winnipeg Jets: Own pick.

Pacific

  • Anaheim Ducks: Own pick.
  • Calgary Flames: Traded to Canadiens or own pick.
    • Flames/Canadiens details are outlined below.
  • Edmonton Oilers: Traded to Flyers (top-12 protected).
    • If this pick lands in its protected range, the Oilers would owe the Flyers their 2026 first-round pick (unprotected).
  • Los Angeles Kings: Own pick.
  • San Jose Sharks: Own pick or traded to Predators.
    • Details are outlined under the Golden Knights’ pick.
  • Seattle Kraken: Own pick.
  • Vancouver Canucks: Own pick.
  • Vegas Golden Knights: Traded to Predators or Sharks. (unprotected).
    • This pick was initially traded to the Sharks without protection. The Sharks later dealt this pick to the Predators, but San Jose can opt to retain Vegas’ pick and send their own 2025 first-rounder to Nashville if Vegas’ pick falls inside the top 10.

Details on Flames’ picks:

Remember all those complex conditions attached to the first-round pick the Flames sent to the Canadiens to take on the final season of Sean Monahan’s contract in 2022? Those will come back to bite draft-watchers this season. A full explanation of all the possible conditions can be found in this write-up from two years ago, but we’ll outline them briefly here.

In 2025, the Flames control three first-rounders:

  • Their own.
  • The Panthers’ first-round pick (top-10 protected).
  • The Devils’ first-round pick (top-10 protected).

Luckily for those trying to parse through the conditions of the trade, the Devils’ pick, which Calgary acquired in this offseason’s Jacob Markstrom trade, isn’t a factor here.

At the time of the Monahan deal, there were three possible scenarios to determine which first-round pick the Habs would receive. One of them can already be crossed off, as it involved the Canadiens opting to receive Calgary’s 2024 first-rounder if it fell between 20th and 32nd overall. It didn’t, so we moved on to the other scenarios.

With Calgary likely to be a bottom-feeder this season and Florida coming off a Stanley Cup championship, the most likely scenario is that the Flames’ first-rounder falls inside the top 10 and the Panthers’ does not. In that case, the Canadiens will receive Florida’s pick. The opposite would be true if the situation was reversed. If neither pick falls in the top 10, the Canadiens will receive the better of the two picks.

The write-up linked above details the third scenario, which involves both picks falling inside the top 10.

Information from PuckPedia was used in the creation of this post.

2025 NHL Draft| Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

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