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Sharks Sign William Eklund To Three-Year Extension

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The Sharks have signed winger William Eklund to a three-year extension worth $5.6MM per season, the team announced. He was entering the final year of his entry-level contract as a pending RFA. It’s a total value of $16.8MM for Eklund on his first standard NHL contract. He’ll be due a $5.8MM qualifying offer on expiry, per PuckPedia.

Eklund, 22, was one of the first cornerstone draft picks of San Jose’s rebuild. Selected No. 7 overall in 2021, he’s had a productive run in a top-six role out of the gate for the Sharks. He’s played two full NHL seasons after seeing a nine-game trial in 2021-22 and an eight-game one in 2022-23. In 174 career games, he has 35 goals and 110 points. That includes a 17-goal, 58-point showing in 77 games for the Sharks this year, finishing second on the team in scoring behind rookie Macklin Celebrini and averaging 19:33 per game.

It’s a shrewd deal, particularly for Eklund. He’ll take a bridge deal now with the chance to likely double his salary upon becoming an RFA again in 2029 at age 26 if he continues on his current development path. For the Sharks, it’s a tad peculiar to see them not go long-term with Eklund or pay him a higher salary on his bridge. It’s worth pointing out that Eklund’s deal doesn’t affect their ability to reach the cap floor this season since it doesn’t go into effect until 2026-27.

In a vacuum, though, it’s an exceptional value over the next few years for the star potential Eklund provides. As the team around him develops, he’s on track to be a surefire 70-to-80-point producer for the Sharks as Celebrini’s wingman for the foreseeable future. He’s maintained his draft slot well, currently ranking seventh in scoring among 2021 draftees. He’s played fewer games than everyone ahead of him except for Mammoth winger Dylan Guenther.

Image courtesy of D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images.

Avalanche Sign Parker Kelly To Four-Year Contract

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According to a team announcement, the Colorado Avalanche have signed depth forward Parker Kelly to a four-year contract. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that it’ll be a $6.8MM deal for Kelly with an AAV of $1.7MM.

There’s no questioning the length of Kelly’s new contract, given he played last season on a one-year, $825K agreement with Colorado. Still, due to several injuries throughout the season in Denver, Kelly received a larger opportunity than expected with the Avalanche.

He spent much of his time on the team’s fourth line, but snuck into the third line when needed. He wasn’t the best fill-in option at center, given his 43.0% success rate in the faceoff dot with over 700 opportunities. Still, he provided quality scoring in his role, putting up eight goals and 19 points in 80 contests.

Despite the lack of success down the middle, he was a net positive toward the bottom of Colorado’s forward core. He managed a 51.5% CorsiFor% at even strength, the highest mark of his career, and a 91.5% on-ice save percentage at even strength, also being the highest of his career.

He made well on his tryout with the Avalanche, and the team rewarded him by making him a mainstay in their bottom-six for the next several years. Still, the team has several other additions to make this summer if they want to put together a complete and sustainable fourth line.

Stars Hire Glen Gulutzan As Head Coach

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July 1: Dallas has announced Gulutzan’s appointment.

June 29: The Stars have offered their head coaching vacancy to Oilers assistant Glen Gulutzan, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports. They’ve yet to agree on a contract but are expected to announce him as their new bench boss in the near future.

The hiring will kick off Gulutzan’s second stint in the Stars organization. They’re the team that gave him his first NHL head coaching gig back in 2011, promoting him after he served as the head coach of AHL Texas for two seasons. His two-year run with Dallas was forgettable – a 64-57-9 record (.527) and no playoff appearances led to his dismissal after two seasons. He then joined the Canucks’ bench as an assistant for three years before resurfacing as head coach of the Flames, where he posted a 82-68-14 record (.543) before again being let go after two years. Calgary made the playoffs under Gulutzan in 2017 but was swept by the Ducks in the first round.

Gulutzan, 53, returns to Dallas hoping for better results this time around. He’ll have a much better roster to help him out. While he bounced from team to team for much of the 2010s, the now-53-year-old caught on as an assistant coach in Edmonton after being fired by the Flames and has remained there until today. He’s helped the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances on Kris Knoblauch’s staff, beating the Stars in the Western Conference Final on both occasions.

The former ECHL Coach of the Year with the Las Vegas Wranglers will take over for Peter DeBoer, who was a surprise firing after Dallas was bounced in this year’s WCF. Reports indicated the relationship between DeBoer and starting goaltender Jake Oettinger had rapidly deteriorated after DeBoer pulled him from their Game 5 season-ending loss early.

His new staff in Dallas remains to be seen. They already lost assistants Steve Spott to the Bruins and Misha Donskov to a role with Hockey Canada. It’s unclear if the lone remaining assistant, Alain Nasreddine, will return under Gulutzan.

Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports.

Stars Sign Colin Blackwell To Two-Year Deal

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The Stars are bringing forward Colin Blackwell back to Dallas on a two-year deal worth $775,000 per season, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Blackwell, 32, returns to Dallas as cost-effective depth for a cap-strapped club. The versatile 5’8″ center won a career-high 151 draws for the Stars last year while providing solid depth scoring in a four-line role, posting six goals and 17 points and a plus-four rating in 63 appearances.

After spending the first few years of his pro career in the minors, the high-energy Blackwell has carved out a nice role for himself as a depth scorer, even in a bit of a journeyman role. He’s recorded 91 points in 298 career games with the Predators, Rangers, Kraken, Maple Leafs, Blackhawks, and Stars. If he plays out this deal with Dallas, it’ll be his longest run with a single team.

Dallas now has a cap-compliant roster that they could theoretically roll into next season with no changes. Blackwell brings their roster count up to 21 – 11 forwards and eight defensemen, with $205,084 in space, per PuckPedia. They’ll still likely pursue a cap-clearing trade if possible, but there’s now officially an avenue toward starting the season with a full 20-man roster and at least one injury replacement.

Flyers Sign Christian Dvorak, Noah Juulsen, Dennis Gilbert

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12:32 p.m.: The Flyers have confirmed those signings and also announced a one-year deal for defenseman Dennis Gilbert worth $875,000. Gilbert, 28, had six points and 63 hits in 29 games last year with the Sabres and Senators.

11:04 a.m.: According to Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic, the Philadelphia Flyers are expected to sign defenseman Noah Juulsen. PuckPedia quickly followed up, indicating it’ll be a one-year, $900K investment by Philadelphia. Furthermore, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the Flyers have also signed center Christian Dvorak to a one-year, $5.4MM contract. PuckPedia added that Dvorak will earn a $4MM base salary with Philadelphia and a $1.4MM signing bonus.

Juulsen will be following his former head coach, Rick Tocchet, with the Vancouver Canucks, to the Flyers organization. He was only afforded a quick trip through unrestricted free agency after a disappointing year with the Canucks. Limited by injuries, Juulsen concluded the 2024-25 campaign with no points over 35 games, averaging 16:17 of ice a night in a bottom-pairing role.

Already carrying quality depth on the right side of their defense, the Flyers are likely expecting Juulsen to fit into a depth role this season. He’s a fairly physical blue liner, averaging nearly three hits per game throughout his career. Furthermore, he earned a 90.3% on-ice save percentage at even strength throughout his tenure in Vancouver.

Meanwhile, the Flyers have also added one of the best remaining free-agent options at center in Dvorak. He’s coming off a quality season with the Canadiens, scoring 12 goals and 33 points in 82 games with a -5 rating. He’ll be a boon for Philadelphia in the faceoff dot, managing a 53.1% success rate throughout his 534-game NHL career.

Still, it’ll be interesting to see how the Flyers utilize Dvorak. He’s a natural center, best deployed in a third-line role. However, if the team hopes to use freshly acquired Trevor Zegras down the middle, Dvorak could move to either wing. It’s a high cap-hit for a third-line forward, but he’ll give Philadelphia some stability toward the bottom of their forward core, especially with an influx of young talent expected next season.

Furthermore, if the Flyers are unable to compete for a playoff spot down the stretch, Dvorak could become a quality trade piece come deadline season. Contending teams are scouring the market for potential centers nearly every season, and Dvorak would be a valuable trade candidate considering his tertiary scoring capabilities and strength in the faceoff dot.

Blackhawks Acquire Sam Lafferty From Sabres

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The Blackhawks have acquired forward Sam Lafferty from the Sabres in exchange for their 2026 sixth-round pick, the team announced.

The move begins the 30-year-old’s second tenure in Chicago. The Hawks previously acquired him from the Penguins for Alexander Nylander in January 2022. He spent parts of two seasons with the club before getting dealt to the Maple Leafs in the 2023 Jake McCabe deal. He suited up 97 times in that span, posting 15 goals and 32 points – the most offensive he’s provided for any of his five NHL teams – and averaged nearly 15 minutes per game.

Chicago had Lafferty back in the organization for a few days last year, acquiring him from the Canucks in the trade that brought Ilya Mikheyev to the Hawks. He was a pending UFA, though, and instead decided to test the open market. He promptly signed a two-year, $4MM deal with the Sabres.

After scoring 13 goals and 24 points with Vancouver last year, it seemed like a worthy bet on Buffalo’s part. Instead, Lafferty struggled to be effective even in a fourth-line role. He averaged just 9:53 per game, making 60 appearances and scoring seven points with a -15 rating. Needless to say, both Lafferty and the Sabres likely preferred a move this summer if possible.

Lafferty now gets to return to the environment where he’s had the most success in Chicago, while the Sabres open up a roster spot and $2MM in cap space. He’ll look to compete for a spot in Chicago’s bottom six with young forwards like Oliver Moore and Landon Slaggert.

As for the Sabres, who hope to be more aggressive in free agency than Chicago today, they now have nearly $23MM in space with a roster size of 17, per PuckPedia. In addition to freeing up a space for a young player like Noah Ostlund or Isak Rosen to make the team out of training camp, they open up even more spending flexibility and shed an undesirable salary.

Sabres Re-Sign Ryan Johnson, Jack Rathbone

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July 1: The Sabres confirmed Rathbone’s deal and also announced a three-year, $2.325MM deal for defenseman Ryan Johnson worth $775,000 per season. It’s a two-way contract in 2025-26 and a one-way deal for 2026-27 and 2027-28. The 2019 first-round pick only saw three games of NHL action last season after making 41 appearances in 2023-24, but he did post 13 points and a +13 rating in 66 games with AHL Rochester. Assuming he reaches 80 career NHL games by the time his new deal expires, he’ll be an RFA upon expiry. If not, he’ll be eligible for Group VI UFA status.

June 29: Eligible to test free agency in less than 48 hours as a Group Six unrestricted free agent, defenseman Jack Rathbone has instead decided to re-sign with the Sabres.  PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that Rathbone has signed a two-year deal to remain with Buffalo.  The deal will pay $800K in the NHL, $525K in the minors, and has a guaranteed salary of $550K per season.

The 26-year-old came to the Sabres last summer as a Group Six UFA, inking a one-year, two-way pact that guaranteed him $500K, meaning he gets a small pay bump on this new agreement.  Rathbone didn’t see any action with the Sabres this season but was a regular with AHL Rochester, tallying 23 points in 63 regular season games while adding three assists in eight playoff contests.

Rathbone looked like a legitimate NHL prospect a few years ago.  He held his own in eight games with the Canucks in 2021-22 and notched 40 points in just 39 games with their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford that same season.  However, Rathbone hasn’t been able to come anywhere close to those offensive numbers since then and has now spent time with three different organizations over the last year and a half.

Rathbone shouldn’t be adding to that new team total next season, assuming he once again clears waivers in training camp and starts with Rochester.  Instead, he’ll serve as a valuable experienced player for the Amerks while being a possible recall option should injuries strike during the season in Buffalo.

Canadiens Acquire Zachary Bolduc

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The Canadiens and Blues have swapped young players.  Montreal has acquired winger Zachary Bolduc from St. Louis in exchange for defenseman Logan Mailloux.  Both teams have announced the deal.

Bolduc was a first-round pick of the Blues back in 2021, going 17th overall.  Mailloux, meanwhile, was also a first-round selection in that same draft class, going 14 picks later.

Bolduc is the more experienced player of the two at the NHL level.  After getting into 25 games in 2023-24, the 22-year-old was a regular in the lineup for St. Louis last season, chipping in with some solid secondary scoring.  He notched 19 goals and 17 assists in 72 games along with 108 hits in a little under 13 minutes a night of ice time during the regular season while adding an assist in seven playoff outings in their first-round loss to Winnipeg.

As for Mailloux, he has been productive in the NHL in very limited action.  He got into seven games with the Canadiens last season, notching two goals and two assists.  Meanwhile, the 22-year-old played in 63 games with AHL Laval, tallying 12 goals and 21 assists after putting up 47 points in 72 games in his rookie professional campaign.  Mailloux also had six points in 13 playoff outings with the Rocket in their run to the final four.

Both players have one year left on their respective entry-level contracts.  Mailloux has an AAV of $894K with no performance bonuses in his deal while Bolduc checks in with an AAV of $1.276MM, including $425K in bonuses for the upcoming season.  They’ll be restricted free agents next summer.

This is a move where both teams are using their surplus depth to fill a hole.  With the Canadiens acquiring Noah Dobson last week, Mailloux’s future with the organization came more into question with Montreal also having top prospect David Reinbacher in the mix on the right side of the back end.  Meanwhile, St. Louis has a pair of right-shot veterans on the back end but Justin Faulk only has two years left on his deal, creating an opening for Mailloux to try to play his way into over the next couple of years while also potentially providing them with some extra firepower from the back end.  On the other side, St. Louis uses their forward depth to fill their hole on the back end while Montreal picks up a player who can add some grit and skill to their bottom six, replacing Emil Heineman who went to the Islanders in the Dobson trade.

Boston Bruins Acquire Viktor Arvidsson

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10:51 a.m.: The Oilers have announced the trade.

10:15 a.m.: The Bruins are set to add some extra depth on the wing.  Irfaan Gafaar reports (Twitter link) that Boston will be acquiring Viktor Arvidsson from Edmonton; David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period adds (Twitter link) that the veteran has waived his no-trade clause to facilitate the move.  TSN’s Ryan Rishaug relays (Twitter link) that Edmonton will receive a 2027 fifth-round pick in return.

The 32-year-old was brought in last summer by team president Jeff Jackson who was serving as interim GM at the time in a move to try to shore up their secondary scoring.  Given Arvidsson’s track record, the move made some sense on paper although it helped put the Oilers in the cap bind that ultimately cost them Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg to offer sheets from St. Louis soon after.

While Arvidsson was productive in limited action after returning from injury in 2023-24 with 15 points in 18 games, he wasn’t able to produce at that same level with Edmonton.  He notched 15 goals and 12 assists in 67 regular season games with Edmonton while adding two goals and five helpers in 15 playoff contests while also spending time as a healthy scratch.

With Arvidsson having one year left on his contract with a $4MM cap charge, it was widely expected that the Oilers would be looking to move him to open up some much-needed cap flexibility on their end.  They’ve done just that and the Bruins are taking on the full contract without any salary retention.

Given the low-cost return, this is an interesting move for Boston.  GM Don Sweeney hasn’t hidden his expectation of getting the Bruins back to the playoffs but with a UFA market that’s thinning quite quickly, taking a flyer on a one-year add over a multi-year addition works from a flexibility standpoint.

While Arvidsson is coming off a down year, he has five seasons of at least 20 goals under his belt.  With Boston being a team that was 27th in goals scored last season, adding someone with a decent track record of production certainly makes sense.  And if the Bruins aren’t able to get back into the playoff mix, he’d make sense as a late-season trade candidate for a team looking to add some winger depth, putting Boston in a position to get back what they gave up to get him (or perhaps even more, depending on the state of the market).

From a cap perspective, Edmonton went from having barely $550K in cap space before the swap, per PuckPedia, to $4.55MM at their disposal.  That will give GM Stan Bowman some flexibility to work with on the open market as he looks to add an upgrade or two.  Meanwhile, Boston came into the day with around $12.7MM in room, per PuckPedia, with that amount being cut to $8.7MM with this swap.  Sweeney has a few roster spots that still need to be filled with that money but that’s still ample flexibility to try to do so.

Devils To Sign Jake Allen To Five-Year Extension

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Jake Allen won’t be the top goaltender on today’s free agent market after all. He’s signing an extension with the Devils, Kevin Weekes of ESPN reports. It’s a five-year deal worth $9MM, paying him $1.8MM per season, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Allen, 35 in August, leaves significant money on the table but gains long-term financial stability on what will presumably be the last contract of his NHL career. He’ll be 39 years old when the deal runs out following the 2029-30 campaign. Still, he likely could have landed a multi-year commitment worth nearly $5MM annually on the open market, per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now.

It’s evident that term was the priority for Allen as he enters his 13th NHL season. It looked like there may be a resolution this morning when reports indicated the Devils were aggressively trying to keep Allen.

Allen isn’t a starter at this stage of his career – he was never more than a tandem option anyway – but he was the most established of the UFA group of goalies and was coming off a good platform campaign. Acquired from the Canadiens at the 2024 trade deadline, he finished the year with a .900 SV% in 13 games and entered 2024-25 as the backup to Jacob Markstrom, whom New Jersey paid a pretty penny to acquire from the Flames last summer.

While he didn’t receive Markstrom’s workload, he was still the Devils’ best goalie by the numbers. He posted a .906 SV% in 31 games compared to Markstrom’s .900 mark, and analytics paint a picture of an even wider chasm. Allen saved 18.4 goals above expected compared to Markstrom’s more conservative 3.4, per MoneyPuck.

New Jersey now gets to run back one of the league’s better one-two punches in goal at a combined price tag of $5.925MM against the cap, thanks to Calgary retaining salary on Markstrom, who’s a free agent next summer. They have $12.59MM in cap space left to spend with three open roster spots, according to PuckPedia.

Notably, it looks like young No. 3 netminder Nico Daws will hit the waiver wire during training camp. The 24-year-old is entering the final year of his contract at a cap hit of $812,500 but is due $850,000 in actual salary on a one-way deal, which may dissuade a claim.

Image courtesy of Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images.

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