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Panthers Sign Rasmus Asplund To One-Year Deal

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During parade day for the 2024 Stanley Cup Champions Florida Panthers, the organization got a minor item of work completed. PuckPedia reports that the organization has signed forward Rasmus Asplund to a one-year, two-way agreement that will pay $775K at the NHL level and $400K at the AHL level. The reported deal was later confirmed by David Dwork of The Hockey News.

After being traded from the Buffalo Sabres to the Nashville Predators during the 2022-23 NHL season, Asplund became an unrestricted free agent last offseason after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Predators. A few days after free agency officially opened, Asplund signed an identical contract with the Panthers paying him $775K at the NHL level and $400K in the AHL.

As things would turn out, Asplund would never see a dime of his salary in the NHL as he spent the entire year with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. As an effective playmaker in the minor leagues, Asplund scored nine goals and 35 assists in 67 games which led the team in the latter category.

It will be interesting to see how high the Panthers play Asplund up the depth chart next season as the team could lose several players up front to unrestricted free agency in the next 24 hours. If Florida can bring back a generous amount of their forward depth from last year, expect Asplund to spend most if not all of his time back in the AHL.

Blues Re-Sign Hunter Skinner

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The Blues took care of one of their potential restricted free agents today, announcing that they’ve re-signed defenseman Hunter Skinner to a one-year, two-way deal.  The contract pays $775K in the NHL and $80K at the AHL level.

The 23-year-old was originally a fourth-round pick by the Rangers back in 2019 and joined St. Louis as part of the Vladimir Tarasenko trade back in February 2023.  Skinner split his playing time that season between their two AHL affiliates plus New York’s ECHL squad.

This past season, Skinner was a full-timer in the AHL, getting into a career-best 50 games with Springfield.  He picked up three goals and seven assists along with 94 penalty minutes, bringing his career totals at that level to 33 points and 151 PIMS in 132 contests.

Skinner will be waiver-eligible for the first time next season so he’ll have to pass through unclaimed during training camp to make it back to the Thunderbirds.

List Of Players Not Receiving A 2024 Qualifying Offer

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The window to issue a qualifying offer to pending restricted free agents closed at 5 pm CT today, making any player who did not receive an offer eligible to become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow. Below are the players who will not be issued a qualifying offer, listed by team. Players with an asterisk next to their name carry arbitration eligibility.

This is a complete list as of 6:00 a.m. CT, the morning after the deadline.

Anaheim Ducks

F Benoit-Olivier Groulx, F Max Jones, F Brett Leason, D Gustav Lindstrom, F Blake McLaughlin, F Brayden Tracey, D Urho Vaakanainen

Boston Bruins

F Joey Abate, F Jesper Boqvist, F Curtis Hall

Buffalo Sabres

D Jacob Bryson, D Calle Sjalin, D Riley Stillman

Calgary Flames

F Riley Damiani, F Dillon Dube

Carolina Hurricanes

F Max Comtois, F Tuuka Tieksola, F Blake Murray, D Griffin Mendel

Chicago Blackhawks

F Filip Roos, F Michal Teply, F Joey Anderson, F Reese Johnson, G Jaxson Stauber

Colorado Avalanche

(none)

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Tyler Angle, F Alexander Nylander, D Jake Bean

Dallas Stars

D Nils Lundkvist, F Sam Steel, F Max Ellis, G Matthew Murray

Detroit Red Wings

D Jared McIsaac

Edmonton Oilers

G Ryan Fanti, F Carter Savoie

Florida Panthers

(none)

Los Angeles Kings

F Blake Lizotte, F Tyler Madden, G Jacob Ingham

Minnesota Wild

F Mason Shaw, F Sam Hentges, F Dmitry Ovchinnikov, D Simon Johansson, G Hunter Jones

Montreal Canadiens

F Lias Andersson, F Filip Cederqvist, D Mattias Norlinder, F Jesse Ylonen

Nashville Predators

(none)

New Jersey Devils

F Michael McLeod, D Michael Vukojevic, D Callan Foote

New York Islanders

F Reece Newkirk

New York Rangers

(none)

Ottawa Senators

F Parker Kelly, F Boris Katchouk, D Erik Brannstrom

Philadelphia Flyers

G Carter Hart, D Mason Millman, D Will Zmolek

Pittsburgh Penguins

D Pierre-Oliver Joseph

San Jose Sharks

D Calen Addison, F Jacob Peterson, F Jack Studnicka, F Filip Zadina

Seattle Kraken

F Kailer Yamamoto

St. Louis Blues

F Keean Washkurak

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Logan Brown, F Felix Robert

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Noah Gregor

Utah Hockey Club

(none)

Vancouver Canucks

F Aiden McDonough, D Filip Johansson, D Nick Cicek

Vegas Golden Knights

F Ivan Morozov, F Mason Primeau, D Layton Ahac, G Akira Schmid

Washington Capitals

(none)

Winnipeg Jets

D Artemi Kniazev, G Oskari Salminen

Devils Acquire Johnathan Kovacevic

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The New Jersey Devils have acquired defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic from the Montreal Canadiens in return for a conditional 2026 fourth-round pick, per Amanda Stein of NHL.com. Both the Canadiens and Devils have confirmed the move.

The conditions on the draft pick have already been made public, as the Devils will send the best of the three fourth-round picks they currently own in the 2026 NHL Draft. New Jersey owns their fourth-round pick, the Winnipeg Jets’ fourth-round pick, and the Dallas Stars’ fourth-round pick for that draft.

It’s a low-risk move for the Devils as they’ve spent the last 48 hours re-working their defensive core. The team already shipped out defenseman John Marino to the Utah Hockey Club yesterday morning, and have been heavily linked to defensemen Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon heading into tomorrow’s action. By adding to a core group of Dougie Hamilton, Simon Nemec, and Luke Hughes, and factoring in new goaltender Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey is looking to improve upon their 3.43 GA/G average during the 2023-24 NHL season.

As the Canadiens look to graduate several prospects to the majors, Kovacevic became one of the odd men out even though he is set to make $766K for the 2024-25 NHL season. After being claimed from the Jets organization shortly before the 2022-23 NHL season, Kovacevic quickly became a flexible defenseman in Montreal. Effectively averaging 17 minutes of ice time per night during his tenure with the Original Six organization, Kovacevic scored nine goals and 28 points in 139 games while averaging an on-ice save percentage of 90.6%

Kovacevic is likely destined for a bottom-six role in New Jersey regardless of how much the team shakes up their defensive core. However, if the defensive core succumbs to injury for a second straight season, Kovacevic could always move up the depth chart.

Ducks Sign Isac Lundestrom To One-Year Extension

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The Anaheim Ducks have signed winger Isac Lundestrom to a one-year, $1.5MM extension, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).

Anaheim drafted Lundestrom 23rd-overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, taking him as part of what’s become a first-round to remember. He briefly returned to the SHL following his draft, before stepping into 15 games with the Ducks and 12 in the AHL in the year’s second half. That kicked off Lundestrom’s career in North American pros, though he wouldn’t earn an everyday role until the 2020-21 season when he tallied just nine points in 41 games. But with the everyday role came a bout of confidence, and Lundestrom would go on to score 16 goals and 29 points in 80 games in 2021-22.

But Lundestrom couldn’t maintain the growing scoring, falling back to just four goals and 14 points in 61 games last season. To make matters worse, he suffered a torn Achilles that required surgery last August, holding him out until January of this year. Lundestrom tallied five goals and 11 points in 46 games during the year’s second half, though his struggles were evident. He’ll now get a chance to work out of those struggles with a fully healthy season in 2024-25, though he’ll have to fight for his role among a crowded Anaheim bottom-six. He’ll be competing for a role with rookies Cutter Gauthier and Sam Colangelo, stout depth pieces like Ross Colton, and any potential free agents the Ducks choose to add. That could be a tall order – and one that Anaheim will be ready to judge when Lundestrom is eligible for a new deal next summer.

Utah Signs Sean Durzi To Four-Year Extension

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The Utah Hockey Club has signed defenseman Sean Durzi to a four-year contract extension (Twitter link). The new deal will carry a $6MM cap hit, per Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff (Twitter link), who also mentions that this term buys two years of UFA eligibility.

This move continues a busy weekend for Utah general manager Bill Armstrong, who’s already made moves to trade into the first-round and acquire both Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino. Armstrong will now solidify the top of his blue line by signing Durzi with term, just over one year after he acquired Durzi for the 2024 second-round pick used on Alfons Freij.

Durzi proceeded to have a statement year with the Arizona Coyotes, tallying a career-high 41 points in 76 games as the team’s top defenseman. He averaged nearly 23 minutes of ice time every night, serving on both special teams. The performance continued Durzi’s rise to fame over the last three seasons. Durzi, a 2018 second-round pick, made his NHL debut with the Los Angeles Kings in 2021 after three modest years in the AHL. But he showed up to southern California ready to play, ultimately recording 27 points in 64 games and pulling his way up to an average of 19 minutes a night as a rookie. He continued the growth as a sophomore, recording 38 points in 72 games while holding onto his strong role in the lineup.

Durzi’s growth didn’t slow down with a move to Arizona and the club is now betting it won’t slow in the move to Utah either. Durzi stands as Utah’s top right-defenseman and could be set for a prime role next to Sergachev, pending any summer additions. After this extension and their pair of trades, Utah is entering the summer with $22.265MM in cap space and five pending free agents, including Barrett Hayton. That should put them in a great spot to continue their run of strong additions when free agency opens up on Monday.

Maple Leafs Sign Timothy Liljegren To Two-Year Extension

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are continuing to chip away at their pending free agents, signing defenseman Timothy Liljegren to a two-year, $6MM extension, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). The deal will carry an annual average value of $3MM and carry Liljegren through his remaining years of RFA eligibility.

The Maple Leafs drafted Liljegren 17th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft, taking him as part of what’s turned into a first-round to remember. Liljegren moved to North American pros immediately following the draft, making his NHL debut in 2019 and earning a daily role by 2021. He recorded 23 points in 61 games as a rookie, though his two years since have been limited by a hernia and high ankle sprain respectively. Liljegren still managed a strong year this season despite missing games, tying his rookie scoring of 23 points in just 55 games. He also played in a much more commanding role, averaging 19:40 in ice time after spending the last two seasons on Toronto’s third pairing.

More ice time helped Liljegren avoid the traffic jam that formed at the bottom of Toronto’s depth chart. The Leafs leaned on a long list of depth defenders in the year’s second half, including Simon Benoit, the reacquired Ilya Lyubushkin, William Lagesson, Conor Timmins, and more. Luckily things should clear up quickly, with both Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson set to enter free agency. But Liljegren will feel the pressure of whoever wins out the role behind him. Now on a deal that will carry him to his UFA years, Liljegren can focus solely on establishing as much of a lineup role as he can.

Lightning Acquire Lukas Svejkovsky From Penguins

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The Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins have swapped depth forwards, with Pittsburgh receiving Bennett MacArthur and Tampa receiving Lukas Svejovsky (Twitter link).

MacArthur, 23, spent the season in the ECHL, totaling 32 points through 55 games. It was his second year in the league, after playing through his first pro season to the tune of 28 points in 53 games last year. Tampa signed MacArthur as an undrafted free agent in 2022, following the end of his season with the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan. MacArthur only played in parts of three seasons in the QMJHL, though he always found his way to strong scoring, recording 42 goals and 77 points in 54 games during his final year in the league. He’ll spend the final year of his entry-level contract pushing for a consistent role in the AHL, before setting his sights on the Penguins roster.

Meanwhile, Svejovsky, 22, was drafted by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, after a strong year in the WHL. He went on to play two more seasons in the WHL, potting 76 points in 57 games in his final year. Svejovsky totaled a stout 162 points in his 196 career WHL games – seeming like a potentially lucrative prospect for Pittsburgh when he signed his entry-level contract in 2022. But Svejovsky had a slow start in pros, with just 15 points in 47 AHL games last year followed by four points in 19 games this year. Those low totals contributed to Svejovsky’s move to the ECHL partway through this year. He was able to rediscover his spark in the third-tier pro league, scoring 37 points in 30 games. That should be enough to earn him a move back to the AHL, though he’ll have to keep up his scoring if he wants to push any higher.

Canucks Sign Jett Woo To One-Year Extension

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Jett Woo to a one-year, two-way extension. The deal will pay him a league minimum $775K at the NHL level and $150K at the AHL level, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News (Twitter link).

Vancouver drafted Woo in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft – among company like Alexander Romanov, Martin Fehervary, and Sean Durzi. But Woo still sits as one of 12 players from that round to not yet make his NHL debut, instead spending the last four seasons with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate. Woo had a slow start to his pro career, scoring just 10 points through his first two seasons, and 70 games, in the AHL. He’s picked up that scoring in the two seasons since, netting 21 points in 68 games last year and 31 points in 62 games this year. Woo has also picked up his intensity, also totaling 189 penalty minutes in the last two years.

The climb towards more high-event hockey earned Woo the first NHL call-ups of his career in February, though he couldn’t slot into Vancouver’s lineup. Still, he’s begun to grab the Canucks’ attention. With the team expected to move on from Nikita Zadorov, Woo could have a chance on this new deal to fight for his NHL debut, and a more confident contract next summer.

Sharks Sign Justin Bailey To One-Year, Two-Way Extension

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The San Jose Sharks have signed forward Justin Bailey to a one-year, two-way extension. The deal will carry a salary of $800K at the NHL level and $375K at the AHL level, with $400K guaranteed, per PuckPedia (Twitter link).

Bailey, 28, willed his way into a full-time NHL role this year, after kicking off the AHL season with 11 points in 16 games. He was recalled in late November and potted five points across his first eight games with the Sharks, earning another promotion to the team’s third line, where he’d spent most of the remaining season. Finally ahold of an everyday role, Bailey posted five goals and 14 points in 59 games – NHL career-highs in all three stats.

And while Bailey could be a candidate to work his way back on to the Sharks roster with this deal, the two-way clause likely sets him up for yet another year in the minors. That’s where Bailey has spent much of his career so far, totaling 241 points in 370 AHL games, across tenures with the Rochester Americans, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and Utica Comets. He’s proven a capable minor-league scorer, with at least 30 points in each of his last three full years in the league. Re-signing to a one-year deal should give Bailey a chance to prove his worth in the Sharks organization, and earn his way into a confident NHL future.

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