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Blue Jackets’ Martin Rysavy Signs In Czech Extraliga

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Blue Jackets left wing prospect Martin Rysavy has signed a two-year deal with Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czech Extraliga, per a team release. It’s a significant return home for the 2021 seventh-round pick, who will see his exclusive signing rights with Columbus expire next summer should he honor the second year of his deal.

Rysavy, 21, spent most of his development in the Czech system and was drafted out of HC Vítkovice, although he spent most of the 2020-21 season on loan to second-tier club HC Přerov. After his selection, Rysavy took his talents to North America, but not under contract with Columbus. He’s spent the last three seasons in junior hockey, suiting up for the Western Hockey League’s Moose Jaw Warriors.

In Moose Jaw, the 6’3″, 210-lb winger was a solid secondary scorer with good size but not a game-breaking talent. His best year offensively came in 2023-24, finishing seventh on the club in scoring with 44 points (25 goals, 19 assists) in 63 games. He added a more respectable 16 points in 20 playoff games as the Warriors took home their first WHL championship in franchise history, also sending them to the Memorial Cup for the first time.

Unless Rysavy has a major breakout in Liberec, his draft rights will likely expire on June 1 next year, and he will become unaffiliated with the Blue Jackets. He does have an intriguing blend of physicality and goal-scoring ability that could have him resurface on the international free-agent market eventually, though. It’s a small damper on an otherwise strong 2021 class for the Jackets, who’ve already had four players (Kent Johnson, James Malatesta, Cole Sillinger, Stanislav Svozil) log NHL minutes.

Wild Sign Graeme Clarke To Two-Way Deal

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The Wild have re-upped RFA forward Graeme Clarke on a one-year, two-way deal, per a team announcement. It’ll carry an $800K cap hit and NHL salary this season with a minors salary of $105K.

Clarke, 23, made his NHL debut with the Devils last season, going without a point in three games. He posted a -2 rating while averaging 11:23 per game and struggled to control possession in heavy defensive usage, posting below-average shot-attempt and expected goal shares of 41.4% and 28.6%.

But the New Jersey third-round pick in 2019 has done quite well in the AHL, even if he hasn’t demonstrated he can be effective yet at the game’s highest level. He led AHL Utica in goals last year with 25 in 67 games and led them in scoring outright by a wide margin the year prior, posting 25 goals and 58 points in 68 games in 2022-23. He’s totaled 68 goals, 81 assists and 149 points in 218 AHL games in parts of four seasons. He was tabbed the fifth-best prospect in the New Jersey system by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler back in February.

The Wild hope he can more aggressively challenge for NHL minutes next season, as hinted at by his higher-than-league minimum salary. They picked up his signing rights in a June trade, sending the rights to similarly buried prospect Adam Beckman to the Devils. If not, he’ll at least be an impact piece on an AHL Iowa club that was one of the worst in the league last season, limping to a 27-37-8 record while averaging 2.56 goals per game. He would have been their lone 20-goal scorer.

Clarke will remain an RFA upon expiry next summer.

Maple Leafs, Connor Dewar Avoid Arbitration

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The Maple Leafs have avoided arbitration with RFA forward Connor Dewar. He’s inked a one-year deal worth $1.18MM, the team announced today.

Arbitration hearings began yesterday with Predators defenseman Spencer Stastney and will run as late as Aug. 4. The NHLPA will not release a schedule of hearing dates this year. Stastney’s case is the only one that’s needed a hearing thus far, with most others settling their cases in advance. Dewar is the second one to do so today, joining Sabres winger Beck Malenstyn.

Dewar, 25, was arbitration-eligible for the first time this year after completing a two-year, $1.6MM deal signed with the Wild in 2022. He earns a modest raise over his previous $800K cap hit, but it’s cheaper than the two-year, $1.44MM cap hit deal that Evolving-Hockey projected him to land this summer. He’ll be eligible for arbitration again as an RFA in 2025 before becoming a UFA.

He’s coming off a career-best season offensively, finishing with 11 goals and 19 points in 74 games split between Minnesota and Toronto. A third-round pick of the Wild in 2018, he was traded to the Leafs for a 2026 fourth-round pick and prospect Dmitry Ovchinnikov, who has since become a UFA. He also averaged a career-high 11:39 per game, including 12:54 in 17 games after the move to Toronto. His 14.3% shooting rate suggests some regression next year, though. Still, the 5’10” Manitoba native is an effective physical presence in a fourth-line role and was used heavily on the penalty kill after arriving with the Leafs, averaging 2:24 per game shorthanded.

Dewar is expected to be ready for camp after undergoing shoulder surgery in May. He projects to start the season in a fourth-line role on the wing at even strength alongside David Kämpf at center, who routinely made up their top penalty-killing unit down the stretch last season.

Canucks’ Dmitri Zlodeyev Signs With KHL’s Avangard Omsk

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It was a short stay in North America for Canucks center prospect Dmitri Zlodeyev. After spending last season on an AHL contract with their affiliate in Abbotsford, he’s returning to his native Russia with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League on a two-year deal, per the club.

Zlodeyev, 22, was a Vancouver sixth-round pick back in 2020. The 5’11” pivot had middling offensive numbers in Russian juniors during his draft year, posting 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 42 games. But he was still viewed as high as a second-round-caliber pick by some, including TSN’s Craig Button.

He slowly worked his way up the Russian professional ranks over the following few seasons but never cemented himself as a full-time KHL talent. Zlodeyev instead plied his trade in the VHL, Russia’s second-tier pro league. In 2022-23, Zlodeyev played his first full season of professional hockey, recording 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 33 games for VHL side Khimik Voskresensk. He also played 18 games on a call-up to the KHL’s Spartak Moscow, where he had one assist – his lone KHL point to date.

It was enough to convince the Canucks to bring him over, but not on an entry-level contract. He instead signed a minor-league pact with their affiliate in Abbotsford, but Zlodeyev failed to make an impact. He was a frequent scratch and dealt with injuries, appearing in just 21 games throughout last season. He scored once and had a -5 rating and also went pointless with a -3 rating in four playoff games.

Outmatched at the AHL level, it’s not surprising to see Zlodeyev head back overseas. As a draft pick out of a Russian league, the Canucks will hold his exclusive signing rights indefinitely should he ever attempt to make the jump to the NHL. He joins the Predators’ Semyon Chistyakov, the Avalanche’s Mikhail Gulyayev and the Hurricanes’ Alexander Perevalov as NHL-affiliated prospects on Omsk’s roster this season.

Hockey Canada Adds Julien BriseBois, Kyle Dubas For 4 Nations Face-Off, Olympics

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Hockey Canada has added Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois and Penguins GM Kyle Dubas to its management group for both the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and 2026 Winter Olympics, they announced today. BriseBois will serve as an assistant GM, while Dubas will serve as director of player personnel.

For the 4 Nations Face-Off next February, BriseBois and Dubas round out a management group that already includes Bruins GM Don Sweeney and Stars GM Jim Nill, the latter of whom is serving as an associate under Sweeney. The following year, they’ll join Nill and Sweeney for the Olympics, who are serving as assistant GMs under Blues GM Doug Armstrong for the event.

BriseBois, 47, receives his first call to the Canadian national team in any capacity. The longtime Lightning exec has served as Tampa’s GM since 2018, meaning he was at the helm for both of their Stanley Cup wins in 2020 and 2021. Before taking over the top hockey ops position, he’d served as an assistant GM in Tampa while managing their AHL affiliate from 2010 to 2018. His first job in the NHL came with the Canadiens, where he served as their director of hockey operations and later VP of hockey operations from 2003 to 2010 under GM Bob Gainey.

Dubas, 38, is also inexperienced on the international stage, but he does have one tournament under his belt as an assistant GM. He was part of the Canadian front office at the 2024 World Championship, building a squad that reached the bronze medal game but lost to Sweden. It was Canada’s first time without a medal at the Worlds since 2018.

The Ontario native is coming off his first season as GM and president of hockey operations of the Penguins. Before that, he’d served in the Maple Leafs front office since 2014, first as an assistant GM before taking over the top job in 2018.

Red Wings May Reconsider Justin Holl Buyout Next Offseason

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Last month was busy on the buyout front. Cam Atkinson, Adam Boqvist, Jack Campbell, Nate Schmidt, Jeff Skinner and Ryan Suter were all cut loose from their former teams and became UFAs and have since landed deals for this season.

Few would have been surprised to see Red Wings defenseman Justin Holl added to that list. Holl, 32, landed a three-year, $10.2MM contract with the Wings in free agency last summer after operating as a serviceable top-four option for the Maple Leafs for the previous four seasons.

But Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde didn’t even utilize him as an NHL regular last season, let alone one worth a $3.4MM cap hit. Holl stayed mostly healthy but was scratched for over half of the campaign, limited to 38 appearances. In those games, he recorded five assists, a +8 rating and 22 PIMs while averaging 15:05, his lowest since an 11-game stint in Toronto in 2018-19.

Detroit entered the summer with ample cap space, but most expected general manager Steve Yzerman to use whatever he had available. New deals are still needed for cornerstone RFAs Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, while the Wings were also expected to be one of the most active players on the UFA market to propel them to end their eight-year playoff drought in 2025.

That didn’t really happen. Their highest-profile addition to the roster was two-time Stanley Cup champion winger Vladimir Tarasenko, who’s really just a direct replacement for David Perron, who left for the Senators in free agency. They did manage to retain Patrick Kane on a one-year, $6.5MM deal and swapped James Reimer for Cam Talbot between the pipes on the open market, but they also dealt top-pair defenseman Jake Walman to the Sharks in a cap-dump move. As it stands, you could argue that their roster has taken a step back from last year’s club that lost out on the second wild-card spot in the East thanks to a tiebreaker with the Capitals.

To that end, some were puzzled when Yzerman opted to attach a second-round pick to get rid of Walman, who was quite effective in his role alongside Seider at even strength for the last two seasons, instead of upping their cap space by simply buying out Holl. But with two years remaining on Holl’s contract, a buyout would have translated to a dead cap hit of $1.13MM for the next four seasons. That’s likely something they didn’t want to be on the hook for as they inch toward contention, The Athletic’s Max Bultman writes.

Still, Lalonde was warranted in his limited usage of Holl. Despite giving him more advantageous usage than he faced in Toronto, Holl returned the favor with the worst possession quality results of his career, controlling just 42.6% of expected goals. He’d been over 50% in all of his four seasons as a regular with the Leafs.

With Walman out of the picture and more pressure on youngsters like Simon Edvinsson to take on minutes this season, though, Holl could find himself relied upon a bit more as an insurance policy. Bultman “doesn’t get the sense from Yzerman that he thinks Holl is a lost cause,” at least for now. After all, he did ink him to a multi-season, eight-figure contract just 12 months ago.

But a repeat of last year’s performance would likely lead Detroit more aggressively explore a buyout the final season of Holl’s contract when the window opens next June, says Bultman. It would still result in a $1.13MM dead cap charge, per PuckPedia, but only for the following two seasons. Holl would come off the books on July 1, 2027, only one year after his contract was due to expire.

Doing so would open up over $2MM for the Wings to drop in free agency in 2025. They’ll have their entire core locked up long-term after the Raymond and Seider deals eventually come across the finish line this summer. No true core players are up for new deals in 2025, and they’ll also have goalie Ville Husso’s albatross $4.75MM cap hit and $5.34MM worth of Olli Määttä and Jeff Petry coming off the books.

Sabres, Beck Malenstyn Avoid Arbitration

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9:37 a.m.: The Sabres have confirmed Malenstyn’s deal as reported.

7:58 a.m.: The Sabres and left winger Beck Malenstyn have avoided arbitration, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The winger lands a two-year, $2.7MM pact with a $1.35MM cap hit.

Malenstyn, 26, spent the last seven seasons in the Capitals’ organization after being picked in the fifth round of the 2016 draft. This wasn’t his first time being eligible for arbitration – he could have filed back in 2022 after completing a one-year, two-way deal but agreed to a two-year extension before reaching RFA status. The longtime minor league fixture broke into a full-time NHL role last season, playing a career-high 81 games and logging significant penalty kill time, but Washington decided not to retain him. The Sabres acquired his signing rights on Day 2 of the 2024 draft, with their second-round pick (No. 43 – D Cole Hutson) going the other way.

It’s unclear when Malenstyn’s arbitration hearing was slated for, although it was sometime in the next two weeks. Unlike past seasons, the NHLPA did not release a schedule of each player’s hearing date; instead, they only opted to confirm the range of dates for all hearings (July 20 – Aug. 4). Only one case out of the 14 players who filed, Predators defenseman Spencer Stastney, has made it to a hearing thus far. His was Monday, so a decision will be issued by tomorrow.

Malenstyn, who often struggled with injuries throughout his development and assumed a checking role on the farm with AHL Hershey in parts of four seasons, solidified himself as an effective bottom-of-the-lineup presence last season. Averaging 14:15 per game, Malenstyn contributed six goals and 15 assists for 21 points while leading the Caps in hits (241). He could conceivably be called the purest shutdown forward in the league – over 90% of his even-strength zone starts came in the defensive end last season, per Hockey Reference. He also led Washington forwards in shorthanded usage at 2:37 per game.

After trading away captain Kyle Okposo at the deadline and losing Zemgus Girgensons and Eric Robinson to free agency, the Sabres needed some depth wingers to anchor their bottom six as their young talent progresses. They paid a premium on the trade market to get the 6’3″, 200-lb Malenstyn, but he does fit the bill. In fact, Buffalo will likely ice two-thirds of the Caps’ fourth line from last season come opening night after landing Nicolas Aubé-Kubel, who played opposite Malenstyn at right wing for much of the season, in free agency. Malenstyn will also challenge for first-unit penalty killing duties as he did in Washington.

Malenstyn will be 28 years old when this deal expires, making him eligible for unrestricted free agency for the first time in 2026. The Sabres have $13.2MM in projected cap space remaining (PuckPedia) and still need new deals for RFAs Peyton Krebs and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, the latter of whom filed for arbitration.

Morning Notes: Red Wings, Hakanpää, Smith

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The Red Wings may have the third-most projected cap space in the league three weeks into free agency (PuckPedia), but that’s an artificially high number. That’s because left winger Lucas Raymond and right-shot defenseman Moritz Seider, each the top RFAs remaining at their respective positions, still need new deals and could take up almost all of their $17.65MM left to spend. In a Tuesday morning mailbag, The Athletic’s Max Bultman examined why the duo remain unsigned.

Long-term deals are likely the preferred outcome for both, Bultman writes, but a lack of solid recent comparables could be plugging up the works. That’s because many of their peers signed long-term extensions in a flat-cap environment, while Raymond and Seider are presumably pushing for increased cap hits with more certainty regarding a rising upper limit over the life of their deals. Bultman writes there’s “still some potential for sticker shock on the team side,” a reasonable prediction considering Evolving Hockey projects eight-year deals for both to fall in the $8MM range.

Other things worth keeping an eye on as the NHL’s offseason continues:

  • Out of the flurry of signings reported on July 1, a notable one has yet to be made official. That’s defenseman Jani Hakanpää, who presumably has a two-year, $3MM deal agreed upon, per multiple reports. But the Finnish blue-liner is still dealing with the effects of a knee injury that sidelined him for the last month of the regular season plus the entirety of the Stars’ playoff run. It required arthroscopic surgery, which Dallas general manager Jim Nill confirmed the defender underwent before reaching the open market. There hasn’t been anything new on the Hakanpää front since a report from TSN’s Darren Dreger two weeks ago that there were “growing concerns” about his health. Expect more clarity on his contractual situation closer to training camp.
  • After a tough season with the Penguins, veteran winger Reilly Smith could find himself in a top-line role with the Rangers come opening night, writes NHL.com’s David Satriano. The defending Presidents’ Trophy winners have a demonstrable hole at right wing in their top six and were on the hunt for a more offensively-inclined partner for Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad at even strength. Smith, 33, was limited to 13 goals and 40 points in 76 games last season in Pittsburgh. That’s likely not the high-octane punch the Blueshirts are looking for, but it would be an upgrade over the rotating cast of Kaapo Kakko, Jack Roslovic and Blake Wheeler that held the role last season. Smith “probably will be given the first chance” to fill that vacancy after being acquired via trade, Satriano posits, but it could end up being their top trade deadline wish list item should he fail to make an impact.

Snapshots: Jarry, Flames, Zadorov

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Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now poured cold water on the trade rumors circulating around Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry. The 29-year-old Jarry has seen his name being floated in trade rumors since he sat on the bench for the final 13 games of the regular season. Jarry had an uneven season in Pittsburgh after he signed a five-year $26.875MM contract last summer and eventually lost the net to backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.

Many expected the Penguins to try and trade Jarry this summer, but a deal never came to fruition. Jarry’s trade value isn’t particularly high at the moment and the Penguins have a likely goalie of the future in the AHL in Joel Blomqvist. The Athletics’ goaltender rankings don’t look too kindly on Pittsburgh’s goaltending situation, and at nearly $8MM annually for Jarry and Nedeljkovic for the next two seasons, it’s easy to see why the trade rumors around Jarry have been so popular.

In other news around the league:

  • Wes Gilbertson of The Calgary Herald wonders if the Calgary Flames will be a contender when their new arena opens. The Flames are going through a dramatic roster overhaul that has seen them move Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, and Jacob Markstrom out for future assets. The Flames haven’t gone through a change like this since the early 2010s when they moved on from veterans Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester and they seem better equipped for this rebuild off the ice as they have a larger management team and development staff than they had a decade ago.
  • Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov sat down with RG.org’s Daria Tuboltseva to discuss free agency and his move to the Eastern Conference. Zadorov said that returning to the Vancouver Canucks was his first choice in free agency, but ultimately, he went to Boston because it gave him the best chance to win and the best situation for his family. Zadorov also revealed that the Canucks and Bruins made offers and one of his former teams, the Colorado Avalanche entered the fray as well. Zadorov signed a six-year $30MM deal with the Bruins on July 1st and figures to play in their top four alongside either Charlie McAvoy or Brandon Carlo.

Evening Notes: Flames, Demidov, Strome

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The Calgary Flames announced today that their new arena will be called Scotia Place. The downtown building and culture and entertainment district will replace the aging Scotiabank Saddledome which has been the Flames home since 1983. The Flames released a first look at the new building today, showing drawings of the building that is expected to house the team beginning in the 2026-27 season.

The Scotia Place arena deal is expected to keep the Flames in Calgary for the next 35 years and will include upgrades to the infrastructure in the surrounding areas. The design plans currently show a capacity limit between 18,000 and 18,400 fans which will mark a small downsize from the current capacity limit of 19,289 at the Saddledome.

In other evening notes:

  • Stu Cowan of The Montreal Gazette believes that Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov will play out the final season of his contract with St. Petersburg but concedes that there is a slim chance he will make the jump to the NHL this season. The fifth overall pick in this year’s entry draft is contractually bound to the KHL for this season but if SKA opts not to hold onto him, his situation could mirror that of Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov. However, Szymon Szemberg the Managing Director of the Alliance of European Hockey Clubs doesn’t believe that is a possibility. Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes has been non-committal about where Demidov will play next season, saying simply that the KHL would be a good place for him to play for the upcoming season and that the team would keep their options open if he doesn’t play there.
  • Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey is reporting that forward Matt Strome has re-signed with the Hershey Bears. Strome signed a two-year AHL contract with the Bears that will keep him with the reigning Calder Cup champions through the 2025-26 season. Strome scored the championship-clinching goal in the AHL finals to help Hershey secure their second consecutive AHL title. The 25-year-old is the brother of NHLers Ryan Strome and Dylan Strome and was a fourth-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers back in 2017. The two-time AHL champion posted seven goals and 13 assists in 50 games last season and is expected to play a depth role again next year.

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