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Lightning, Conor Sheary To Mutually Terminate Contract

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June 30: Sheary has cleared unconditional waivers and will have his contract terminated, per Friedman.

June 29: Lightning winger Conor Sheary hit unconditional waivers Sunday after asking for a contract termination, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

While it may initially come across as a favor done by Sheary to the Lightning to not force the team to buy out the final season of his contract at a $2MM cap hit, it’s not that cut and dry. Sheary was due $1.5MM in base salary for 2025-26, which would have resulted in a $503K cap hit for the Lightning in each of the next two seasons if he was bought out. That’s barely any cap savings compared to if they buried Sheary in the minors (a cap hit of $850K), so they likely would have pursued that option instead of being on the hook for an additional season with a buyout.

Sheary, understandably, desires a chance to crack an NHL roster and wasn’t particularly amenable to that solution. Instead, he’ll walk away from $1.5MM in guaranteed money and become an unrestricted free agent while the Lightning clear his cap impact from next season’s books completely. In return, Sheary gets the chance to return to a full-time NHL role next season.

The 33-year-old has been a rare free-agent bust for Tampa general manager Julien BriseBois. He was signed to a three-year, $6MM contract in 2023 in the hopes that the diminutive winger could provide some affordable depth scoring and perhaps even flex into a top-six role. Instead, Sheary was relegated to the press box by the end of 2023-24 and spent most of this past season on assignment to AHL Syracuse after clearing waivers a few weeks into the campaign.

Sheary ends his two-year run in Tampa with a 4-11–15 scoring line in 62 games, logging a minus-five rating while averaging 11:07 of ice time per game. Only five of those appearances came this season, and he didn’t record a point in any of them. The veteran of nearly 600 NHL games took his minor-league assignments in stride and was an extremely important player for Syracuse, ranking among the AHL’s top producers with 61 points (20 G, 41 A) and a +15 rating in 59 games.

That showing demonstrated the Massachusetts native may still have the chops to be a third-line scoring piece at the NHL level, even if the fit in Tampa wasn’t a good one for whatever reason. Even with his recent poor run of production, he still averages 17 goals and 37 points per 82 games over his NHL career. That’s a resume a scoring-needy team will take a flyer on, even if he isn’t in a position to command much more than a league minimum salary. His two Stanley Cup rings with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017 will certainly help his case, too.

Once Sheary’s contract officially comes off the Lightning’s books tomorrow, the Bolts will have nearly $5.5MM in cap space with four open roster spots to fill, according to PuckPedia. Their only notable RFA to re-sign is forward Gage Goncalves, who AFP Analytics projects will land a one-year deal at $1.2MM. That leaves a roughly $4MM budget for Tuesday’s free agent frenzy, in which they’ll look to add a few depth skaters, considering no core pieces are on expiring deals.

Image courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images.

Kraken Buy Out Joe Veleno

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June 30: Veleno has cleared unconditional waivers and will be bought out, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

June 29: The Kraken announced Sunday they’ve placed newly acquired center Joe Veleno on unconditional waivers for a buyout.

If a team wants to pick up the final year of Veleno’s contract at a $2.275MM cap hit, they can do so over the next 24 hours, in which case the Kraken would not be on the hook for the salary cap implications of a buyout. Waiver priority is still determined by reverse standings order from the 2024-25 season. In the more likely event he clears waivers, the 25-year-old’s buyout won’t carry as much of a salary cap penalty as usual. Players under 26 years old receive only one-third of their remaining base salary in a buyout, instead of two-thirds.

Veleno was due to earn $1.775MM in base salary in 2025-26, so the total cost of the buyout will be $592K spread over the next two seasons. He was owed a $500K signing bonus on July 1 that is protected from a buyout, though. That means the Kraken will carry a $796K cap charge in 2025-26 and a $296K cap charge in 2026-27, according to PuckPedia. Even with the increased buyout penalty next season, they’re still opening roughly $1.5MM in space compared to his initial cap hit.

Seattle acquired Veleno from the Blackhawks in a one-for-one swap for winger André Burakovsky last weekend. They initially opened $3.225MM in cap space for 2025-26 with the move, but that number jumps to $4.7MM with Veleno’s pending buyout. The 2018 first-rounder seemed like he may have been an awkward fit on a Seattle roster already teeming with natural centers, particularly after they also acquired Frédérick Gaudreau from the Wild a few days ago.

It’s clear now he wasn’t in their plans moving forward and was only taken back in the deal to take a contract off Chicago’s books. Assuming he’s indeed bought out, he’ll hit unrestricted free agency for the first time following one of the more underwhelming seasons of his brief NHL career. 2024-25 was the fourth season for Veleno as a full-timer with the Red Wings, who drafted him 30th overall seven years ago, but he only managed 10 points and a -14 rating in 56 games as their fourth-line center before being traded to the Blackhawks at the deadline for Petr Mrázek and Craig Smith.

Veleno had a decent end to the campaign in Chicago. He put together a 3-4–7 scoring line in 18 games, ranking eighth on the team in scoring from the trade deadline until the end of the season. All of that production came at even strength while averaging a relatively conservative 12:38 per game. His historically underwhelming possession impacts remained in the gutter, though. He posted a 41.1 CF% and 37.9 xGF% at even strength, along with a minus-nine rating for the Hawks, although it’s worth noting he did face a difficult workload with 64.2% of his zone starts coming in the defensive end.

That end to the season, combined with his draft pedigree, means it won’t be surprising if Veleno lands an NHL contract as a UFA. It won’t be in the neighborhood of his previous $2.275MM cap hit, though. Players of that caliber who get bought out – think defenseman Adam Boqvist last offseason – usually settle for a league-minimum contract in hopes of landing in the best environment to get their career and development back on track.

Seattle now has just over $18MM in cap space with six open roster spots, according to PuckPedia. Three of those spots will presumably be filled by pending RFAs Ryker Evans, Kaapo Kakko, and Tye Kartye. That trio will likely consume between $8.5MM and $10.6MM of cap space, depending on whether it’s a long-term or bridge deal for Evans, per AFP Analytics’ projections.

Image courtesy of David Banks-Imagn Images.

Oilers Re-Sign Kasperi Kapanen, Noah Philp

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10:46 a.m.: Edmonton has confirmed Kapanen’s new deal as reported.

8:46 a.m.: The Oilers are expected to re-sign pending UFA winger Kasperi Kapanen, PuckPedia reports Monday. It’s a one-year contract worth $1.3MM, PuckPedia adds. The club also announced a two-way extension for center Noah Philp that carries a $775,000 cap hit. His AHL salary is $250,000 with a $300,000 guarantee, per PuckPedia.

Kapanen, 29 in July, gets a small pay bump after signing a one-year, $1MM contract with the Blues in free agency last summer. That commitment didn’t result in the speedy but inconsistent winger landing a regular role in St. Louis’ lineup, though. He was a frequent healthy scratch to begin the season, scoring one goal with a minus-six rating in 10 games before landing on waivers in mid-November.

Considering Kapanen’s offensive ceiling – he has five 30-point seasons under his belt – it’s still fair to characterize his tenure in Edmonton as disappointing. He achieved more consistent deployment, appearing in 57 games, but only managed five goals and eight assists for 13 points, with a -16 rating, in 12:01 of ice time per game.

It was during the playoffs that he made a more significant impact. He wasn’t in the lineup to begin the postseason and didn’t enter the lineup until Game 4 of the second round against the Golden Knights, but once he played, he remained in the lineup for 12 of 13 games. He scored three goals and three assists for six points, including the overtime winner to clinch their series in Game 5 against Vegas, and averaged 13:28 per game.

Getting depth scoring options on cheap contracts is crucial for an Oilers team that faces a cap crunch with star RFA Evan Bouchard still in need of a new contract. They’re likely losing veterans Connor Brown, Corey Perry, and Jeff Skinner to free agency with no deals yet in place and could be set to part ways with Viktor Arvidsson in a cap-dump trade as well. While Kapanen’s most recent regular-season showing wasn’t the most impressive, there’s still a 15-goal, 30-point ceiling there that makes him an attractive re-signee at that price point.

Philp, 27 in August, was an undrafted free agent signing by Edmonton out of the University of Alberta in 2022. After going unsigned for 2023-24 and taking a leave of absence from the game for personal reasons, he returned to the Oilers organization on a two-way deal for last season. He earned his NHL debut in the process, recording two assists and a plus-one rating in 15 games over multiple call-ups in the latter half of the season. He averaged 9:05 per game and won 40 of 102 faceoffs (39.2%).

The 6’3″, 198-lb forward will get a chance to build on those numbers next season, but is best suited as a middle-six AHL option with occasional call-up potential. He put together a 19-16–35 scoring line with a +11 rating in 55 games for AHL Bakersfield this past season.

Free Agent Notes: Marchand, Gavrikov, Provorov, Granlund, Faksa, Pezzetta

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If the Panthers can’t get a deal done to keep Brad Marchand in Florida before the market opens tomorrow, Darren Dreger of TSN expects the Bruins, Mammoth, and Maple Leafs to be his most aggressive suitors in free agency.

A Boston reunion would be surprising given there’s been no change in the front office that wasn’t willing to match Marchand’s cheaper requests for an extension during the season, resulting in the Bruins trading their captain to the Panthers at the deadline. Nonetheless, it’s a financially feasible move for them and one that would address their rather significant need for top-six forwards. The club still has $12.74MM in cap space after getting extensions done for names like John Beecher, Morgan Geekie, and Henri Jokiharju in the last 24 hours, per PuckPedia. Marchand would likely command a contract in the $8MM range annually if he hits the open market.

While Utah has seemed to dial back its rhetoric of making a significant free agent splash, instead placing complete trust in its young core and opting for more youthful pickups via trade, like JJ Peterka, Marchand might make more sense on a shorter-term contract. They still have nearly $15MM in cap space and enter 2025-26 with one of the youngest forward groups in the league – their only forwards 30 or older are Alexander Kerfoot and Liam O’Brien.

The Leafs also have their cap flexibility for Tuesday dialed in after getting rather affordable extensions done for Matthew Knies ($7.75MM) and John Tavares ($4.38MM AAV) in the last few days. They’d presumably be one of the more appealing fits for Marchand to remain both with a contending team and in a top-six role, potentially even seeing top-line minutes in place of the departing Mitch Marner.

Here are a few more rumors from around the NHL ahead of the official start of free agency on Tuesday:

  • Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic relays that the Kings are making a last-ditch effort today to reach an extension with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. While general manager Ken Holland said over the weekend he expects Gavrikov to test the market, L.A. still hasn’t heard back from Gavrikov’s camp on their final offer.
  • While things were quiet on extension talks between the Blue Jackets and defenseman Ivan Provorov for weeks, they re-engaged in negotiations yesterday, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. They presumably decided getting yesterday’s extension for Dante Fabbro done, ensuring they retain depth on their weaker right side of the blue line, was a priority over Provorov’s talks.
  • Center Mikael Granlund and the Stars continue to have mutual interest in an extension, according to LeBrun. It still looks unlikely something will get done before tomorrow with the Stars having just $980K in projected cap space for next season, but they could reach a handshake agreement if Dallas is confident they can move out other contracts to make Granlund’s money work. They’ve already been successful in retaining vets Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene on below-market-value deals.
  • Depth pivot Radek Faksa will have plenty of options tomorrow if he reaches the market, given the lack of centers available, but there’s still the possibility he stays with the Blues. The two sides remain in extension talks, says Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic.
  • The Maple Leafs are among the teams expected to have interest in Canadiens enforcer Michael Pezzetta, assuming he hits the market tomorrow, reports LeBrun.

Penguins Hire Mike Stothers As Assistant Coach

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Coaching veteran Mike Stothers is joining Dan Muse’s coaching staff with the Penguins, the team announced Monday.

After ending a playing career that included brief NHL stops with the Flyers and Maple Leafs in the 1980s, Stothers transitioned into coaching as an assistant with the AHL’s Hershey Bears in 1991. That was before Hershey’s days as the Capitals’ affiliate – they were affiliated with the Flyers at the time – and Stothers stayed with the Flyers organization as an AHL assistant when they reached a new affiliation with the Philadelphia Phantoms in 1996. He then landed his first NHL job, serving as an assistant on the Flyers’ bench under Craig Ramsay and Bill Barber for the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.

Stothers has since made more than his fair share of coaching stops in both the professional and junior ranks. He spent time as a head coach with OHL Owen Sound (2002-07), AHL Grand Rapids (2007-08), WHL Moose Jaw (2011-14), and AHL Manchester/Ontario (2014-20). He also worked as an assistant in the NHL with the Thrashers in 2010-11 and most recently with the Ducks from 2021 to 2023.

The 63-year-old is a two-time Calder Cup champion as a coach and will serve as the veteran presence on an extremely young Pittsburgh coaching staff. It’ll be a big bench with four assistants instead of the standard three to help Muse, 42, as a first-time NHL head coach. The Penguins also have former player Nick Bonino on their staff in his first coaching role, following his retirement announcement.

Predators Acquire, Extend Nicolas Hague

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June 30: Both clubs have made the trade official. The Predators announced they’ve retained half of Sissons’ salary, opening up an additional $1.43MM in cap space for the Knights. Vegas is also sending its 2027 third-round pick to Nashville, although it can upgrade to their second-round choice if the Knights win at least two rounds in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

June 29: The Nashville Predators have acquired Nicolas Hague from the Vegas Golden Knights and signed the defenseman to a four-year, $22MM contract extension, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. In return, the Golden Knights will receive forward Colton Sissons and defender Jeremy Lauzon, per TSN’s Darren Dreger. Hague was set to become a restricted free agent on Tuesday, but will now carry a $5.5MM cap hit for the Preds. Lauzon and Sissons each have one year remaining on their contracts.

While it’s no surprise to see Hague traded, the destination isn’t expected. Nashville wasn’t one of the few clubs linked to Hague’s services earlier this month, and Hague’s name was then tossed into speculation for his potential involvement in a Mitch Marner sign-and-trade with the Maple Leafs. That Marner deal may still happen, but Hague’s rights won’t be a part of it.

Hague, while an effective piece for the Knights since they drafted him in the second round in 2017, has been deployed almost exclusively on their third pairing. He’s been good while doing it, posting 83 points and a +20 rating in 364 career games while averaging 17:33 per night, but his market value exceeded what Vegas was going to be able or willing to pay him on a new contract this summer, especially with Noah Hanifin and Brayden McNabb ahead of him on the left side.

It didn’t help matters that the Kitchener, Ontario, native is coming off something of a down year in 2024-25. His 12 points in 68 games weren’t too far south of his career average pace. It’s his career-worst possession numbers that caused concern. Hague posted a relative Corsi share of -4.9% at even strength as well as a career-low 48.3 xGF%, and there wasn’t an increase in difficulty in his minutes to explain it. He received an even 50/50 split of offensive and defensive zone starts at 5-on-5 and even saw a lower workload than usual at 17 minutes per game.

That makes Nashville’s steep commitment to the 26-year-old a risky one. A similarly-sized lefty in Kevin Bahl just received an extension at a $5.35MM cap hit from the Flames after a platform year in which he averaged north of 21 minutes per game, provided more offense, and had comparable possession impacts. He’s a year younger than Hague and received a six-year term. It makes it even more of a confusing fit when considering Hague will presumably slot in as Nashville’s No. 3 lefty as well, with Roman Josi and Brady Skjei ahead of him.

There’s now an added logjam amid left-shot depth defenders in Nashville. Andreas Englund is under contract on a one-way deal for 2025-26 and will presumably serve as a healthy extra when everyone is available. Where does that leave waiver-eligible players on two-way deals like veteran Jordan Oesterle or, far more importantly, 24-year-old Adam Wilsby, who showed solid defensive upside in a 23-game call-up last year while averaging over 18 minutes per game?

That’s the question general manager Barry Trotz will need to answer in the coming months before training camp opens. Meanwhile, Vegas immediately addresses the need for a Hague replacement in Lauzon, who fills the role for a price tag that’s $3.5MM cheaper than what Hague ended up signing for. The 28-year-old is less of an adept two-way defender than Hague but is among the most physical rearguards in the league, recording 987 hits in 240 games over the last four seasons.

Last season was a tough one for Lauzon, though. He now enters the final season of his contract after missing most of 2024-25 with a lower-body injury. He recorded one assist, a minus-four rating, and 127 hits in 28 games while averaging 17:58 per night before being shut down in January. While it’s a slight downgrade at the position for the Knights, Lauzon not only costs far less than what Hague was going to make, he also costs less than what Hague made on his expiring contract by $294K.

Not to be overlooked is Sissons, whose 13-year run in the Predators organization ends with this trade. The 31-year-old was a second-round pick in 2012 and has since grown into a quintessential middle-six checking center, ranking seventh in Predators franchise history with 690 games played. Nonetheless, he’s moved out as he enters the final season of the seven-year, $20MM contract he signed as a restricted free agent in 2019.

Sissons is also coming off something of a down year, limited to seven goals and 21 points in 72 showings in 2024-25 after back-to-back 30-point seasons. He also saw a reduction in ice time as well, going from well north of 16 minutes per game in 2023-24 to 14:22 nightly in 2024-25. He’ll get moved out as the Preds look to make more room in their lineup for their younger forwards, 2021 first-rounder Fedor Svechkov chief among them as he looks to serve as a direct replacement for Sissons in the top nine, particularly after the club also brought in center Erik Haula from the Devils earlier this month.

He’ll now serve as bottom-six depth for Vegas, a particularly necessary pickup if Nicolas Roy is moved to Toronto in the Marner sign-and-trade as rumored. That would save Vegas about $140K in cap space at the position – not much, but something for a team for which every cent counts.

As for Vegas, they’re now officially up against it cap-wise after taking on Lauzon and Sissons in this deal. They have a “full roster” at 21 of 23 players with roughly $750K in space, per PuckPedia. That projection has defenseman Alex Pietrangelo on standard injured reserve instead of LTIR, though. He’s now likely to miss the entire campaign, which would give them an additional $8.8MM in spending flexibility if his LTIR placement is executed perfectly. That, plus dealing Roy to Toronto, would leave Vegas with closer to $12.5MM in cap space – potentially enough to accommodate a Marner extension.

PHR’s Josh Erickson contributed significantly to this article.

Images courtesy of Brett Holmes-Imagn Images (Hague) and Steve Roberts-Imagn Images (Sissons).

Bruins Extend Henri Jokiharju, John Beecher, Michael DiPietro

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The Bruins announced a trio of extensions Monday, keeping defenseman Henri Jokiharju and goaltender Michael DiPietro away from UFA status and forward John Beecher away from RFA status. Jokiharju’s contract is a three-year deal at $9MM for a $3MM cap hit, Beecher’s deal is a one-year, one-way contract at $900,000, while DiPietro’s deal is a two-year contract worth $1.625MM in total and $812,500 annually.

Boston retains Jokiharju after general manager Don Sweeney said last week they were working on an extension with the right-shot defender. He would have been among the youngest options on the open market after turning 26 two weeks ago, but instead, he stays with the Bruins on a multi-year deal. Addressing their absence of depth on the right side of the blue line was a priority for Boston this summer, and absent from making a big splash for top UFA Aaron Ekblad, there weren’t a ton of upgrades available at the position on the UFA market. Dante Fabbro may have been one, but he extended with the Blue Jackets yesterday.

The Bruins acquired Jokiharju, who had spent most of his NHL career with the Sabres, from Buffalo at the 2024 trade deadline for a 2026 fourth-round pick. The 6’0″ Finn was a good fit in Boston after a tough year with the Sabres, posting four assists and a plus-seven rating in 18 games to end the season while averaging north of 21 minutes per game. His defensive impacts were admirable as he had to play far more than he usually would with Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy both injured. As a result, he likely left some earnings on the table with this extension. AFP Analytics projected Jokiharju to receive a three-year deal at $3.6MM per season.

He won’t receive that kind of deployment again with McAvoy presumably back in the fold to start next season, but he should slot in as No. 2 on the depth chart on a pairing with either Lindholm or Nikita Zadorov. The Bruins still have $12.7MM in cap space after today’s moves with no notable RFAs to re-sign, according to PuckPedia. They could still pursue an additional righty in addition to a forward pickup or two, but for now, Jokiharju looks set to replace the top-four role that Brandon Carlo held for so many years until his trade to the Maple Leafs at the deadline.

Jokiharju’s contract will pay him a $2.5MM base salary and a $500,000 signing bonus in 2025-26, a $3MM base salary and a $250,000 signing bonus in 2026-27, and a $2.75MM base salary in 2027-28, according to PuckPedia. He also lands an eight-team no-trade clause for next season.

Beecher, the Bruins’ first-round pick in 2019, returns on a deal that comes in slightly north of his $874,125 qualifying offer. The 6’3″ pivot firmly established himself as a full-time bottom-six forward last season after appearing in 52 regular-season games in 2023-24. He’s put together a 10-11–21 scoring line in 130 games across his two NHL seasons, posting a -15 rating while averaging 11:01 of ice time per game. He flexes between center and wing but has been great on draws, winning 53.2% of faceoffs over a decently large sample.

His possession impacts leave something to be desired, but that’ll happen when a player receives as pure a shutdown role as Beecher has. He’s seen a dZS% of 83.6 at even strength for his career, including 82.3% in 2024-25. While the 24-year-old isn’t on track to realize his first-round potential, he is a perfectly serviceable fourth-line piece, particularly at a sub-$1MM price tag.

As for DiPietro, their No. 3 netminder would have had multiple offers on the open market, but instead stays with Boston. While there isn’t an immediate pathway to an NHL role for him, there could be one if the Bruins opt to trade backup Joonas Korpisalo. He has three seasons left on his contract at a $3MM cap hit, which could be an appealing deal for teams looking to add a goalie amid a weak free agent market.

It’s the first one-way deal of DiPietro’s career, although it’s equivalent to a league-minimum one. He’ll earn $775,000 in 2025-26 and $850,000 in 2026-27, per PuckPedia, the latter of which is expected to be the new league-minimum salary when the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is officially ratified. The 26-year-old hasn’t yet seen NHL action for Boston but was exceptional for AHL Providence in 2024-25, posting a .927 SV%, 2.05 GAA, four shutouts, and a 26-8-7 record in 40 games.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Five Key Stories: 6/23/25 – 6/29/25

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With the NHL condensing the bulk of its offseason activity in a matter of just a few days this summer, this past week promised to be a busy one and it was.  The annual entry draft was held with the Islanders selecting Matthew Schaefer first overall while the Hockey Hall of Fame announced its annual induction class.  Meanwhile, some big trades and contract extensions highlight the rest of our key stories.

A Mammoth Acquisition: Pun aside, Utah made a splash on the trade front for the second straight offseason, acquiring winger JJ Peterka from Buffalo in exchange for winger Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring.  Additionally, Peterka signed a five-year, $38.5MM contract as part of the move.  Peterka’s point total increased by 18 for the second straight season as he collected 68 in 77 games, good for a share of second in scoring for the Sabres.  Meanwhile, Kesselring gives Buffalo the right-shot defender they’ve long been coveting at a club-friendly $1.4MM price tag next season while Doan has shown some upside over his first 62 games of NHL action.  He has one year left on his entry-level deal at a $925K price tag, meaning that Buffalo also opened up a lot of cap flexibility for next season with this move.

CBA Extension: While the current CBA doesn’t expire until September 2026, there will be labor peace beyond that.  The NHL and NHLPA announced that they’re in agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding that, once ratified by both sides, would constitute a four-year extension to the CBA.  Full details haven’t been disclosed yet but among the changes are a change to LTIR rules (including in the playoffs), a more streamlined system for draft rights, an increase in the minimum salary, the elimination of paper transactions (a player will have to play in a game in the AHL before being eligible for recall in the new deal), the elimination of salary deferrals, and a 75-day minimum timeframe before a player who was traded with salary retention will be eligible to be traded with retention for a second time.  More changes are expected beyond these as well.

Dobson Dealt: The biggest trade of the draft was one that happened well before the draft started (even if they waited until the middle of the first round to make it official).  The Islanders dealt defenseman Noah Dobson in a sign-and-trade agreement to Montreal for winger Emil Heineman plus the 16th (Viktor Eklund) and 17th (Kashawn Aitcheson) picks in the draft.  As part of the move, Dobson signed an eight-year, $76MM contract.  Dobson is coming off a quieter year offensively but still managed 10 goals and 29 assists after putting up 70 points in 2023-24; he and Lane Hutson will give Montreal a strong one-two punch offensively from the back end for the foreseeable future with Hutson under club control through 2031.  Meanwhile, the Islanders get a winger who had a solid rookie year in Heineman and while the thought was they’d try to package those picks to move up, they wound up getting a pair of players who were viewed as being closer to top-ten picks that wound up slipping.  While they have a big hole to fill on the back end now, their prospect pool is also much deeper.

Key Extensions: Several players signed contracts to avoid testing the open market on Tuesday.  Included among them were two of the top-four-ranked players on our Top 50 UFA list.  The Panthers re-signed Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett to an eight-year, $64MM contract.  He just reached the 50-point mark for the first time this season but he was a very impactful player in the playoffs and was likely to get more than that had he made it to the open market.  Meanwhile, after a long negotiation, the Maple Leafs and John Tavares were able to work out a four-year, $18MM agreement.  $2MM of that money is deferred, meaning the cap hit of the agreement comes in at $4.388MM.  Tavares will be entering his age-35 year next season but is coming off a 38-goal, 74-point season and easily would have landed considerably more had he made it to July 1st.  Toronto also agreed to terms on a six-year, $46.5MM contract with pending RFA winger Matthew Knies.  Knies only has two full NHL seasons under his belt but it’s fair to say that the Peterka contract served as a strong comparable for this deal.

Still with Toronto, one possible extend-and-trade option is winger Mitch Marner.  The Maple Leafs and Golden Knights have been discussing a sign-and-trade for Marner that could see at least one player come back to Toronto.  Meanwhile, there is speculation that should a trade not get worked out with Marner signing with them quickly in free agency, a tampering charge could be filed by the Maple Leafs.  As for how the Golden Knights could even afford to sign Marner at market value, it looks like Alex Pietrangelo and his $8.8MM contract will be landing on LTIR following the report that he is heading for multiple surgeries that will put his playing career in jeopardy.

More Trades: There were plenty more trades before or during the draft, including a trio of notable swaps.  The Ducks gave forward Trevor Zegras a fresh start, sending him to the Flyers for center Ryan Poehling, the 45th pick (Eric Nilson), and a 2026 fourth-round pick.  Zegras has two seasons of more than 60 points under his belt but has struggled over the last two years, failing to reach 50 points combined.  Philadelphia clearly feels that they can help get him back to his old form.  The Canucks added some grit on the wing, acquiring Evander Kane from Edmonton for a fourth-round pick (David Lewandowski).  The Oilers needed to clear salary and Kane will get a chance to play in his hometown and add some extra scoring on the wing with Brock Boeser likely to leave in free agency.  Lastly, after years of speculation, the Ducks finally moved goaltender John Gibson.  He is now a member of the Red Wings who acquired him in exchange for veteran netminder Petr Mrazek, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round selection.  Gibson posted a 2.77 GAA and a .911 SV% in 29 games for Anaheim this season and will have a pathway to much more playing time on a Detroit team that got a combined .896 SV% from its five netminders in 2024-25.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images.

Bruins Agree To Terms On Extension With Morgan Geekie

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It appears that the Bruins are getting close to getting their top pending restricted free agent under contract.  Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Boston is finalizing a contract with forward Morgan Geekie.  David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (Twitter link) that it will be a six-year, $33MM deal, carrying a $5.5MM AAV.

The 26-year-old was eligible for salary arbitration this summer in his final season of RFA eligibility.  That would have been a much different outcome than the last time he was a pending restricted free agent as he was two years ago.  At that time, Seattle didn’t want to give Geekie the right to a hearing so they ultimately non-tendered him, sending him to the open market where he quickly signed a two-year, $4MM contract with the Bruins.

It’s fair to say that the contract worked out well for both sides.  In 2023-24, Geekie set new career highs across the board, notching 17 goals and 22 assists in 76 games while getting to play regularly in the top six for the first time in his career, primarily down the middle.  That alone was good value on the deal.

But this season, Geekie found a new gear entirely.  Moved to the wing for the bulk of the season, he found some chemistry with David Pastrnak and as a result, he had 33 goals and 24 assists, finishing second to Pastrnak in both goals and points despite only having nine points with the man advantage.  With numbers like that, he wound up being one of the better bargains in the NHL this season.  His playing time also jumped to just under 17 minutes a night.

With Geekie only having one RFA year remaining, Boston is gaining five years of club control with the agreement.  AFP Analytics projected a four-year pact worth just under $6.6MM per season but it will ultimately check in below that.

With the move, they now have around $16.6MM in cap space at their disposal, per PuckPedia, with John Beecher being the only other RFA to deal with after it was reported earlier today that Boston will non-tender winger Jakub Lauko on Monday with the deadline for qualifying offers being at 4 PM CT.  With Beecher’s deal likely to be a short-term bridge pact, GM Don Sweeney will still have considerable cap space at his disposal to try to fill several roster spots in the hope of getting his team back to the playoffs next season after missing the postseason for the first time since 2015-16.

Photo courtesy of Eric Canha-Imagn Images.

College Notes: Howard, Hughes, Sumpf, Medvedev

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It felt like the draft might have been the right time for the Lightning to move prospect Isaac Howard after the 2022 first-rounder indicated that he wouldn’t sign with Tampa Bay.  However, GM Julien BriseBois indicated to reporters including Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times that they’re at a bit of a roadblock.  While there are teams offering up a strong enough return for his services, they haven’t been able to work out a deal with Howard.  Meanwhile, teams that Howard is willing to sign with haven’t offered up enough of a return yet.  As things stand, the 21-year-old is set to return to Michigan State for his senior year and if he ultimately becomes a free agent next year, Tampa Bay would receive the 31st pick of the second round (63rd overall) as compensation.

Other college hockey news:

  • The Kings are expected to sign prospect Jack Hughes to an entry-level contract, Mayor’s Manor reports. The 21-year-old (who has no relation to the New Jersey center with the same name) was a second-round pick by Los Angeles in 2022, going 51st overall.  Hughes had 25 points in 40 games in his senior year at Boston University and could have become an unrestricted free agent in mid-August if he waited a little longer to sign.  Instead, he’ll become the sixth player from the Kings’ 2022 class to sign a contract, assuming he puts pen to paper on a deal in the coming days.
  • Blackhawks draft pick Julius Sumpf is expected to play at Providence College next season, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 20-year-old was the 98th overall pick on Saturday following a solid season with QMJHL Moncton that saw him pick up 65 points in 58 games.  He also had seven points in five games for Germany at the World Juniors.
  • Canucks draft pick Alexei Medvedev has declined interest from several NCAA schools and will return to OHL London next season, relays Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic (Twitter link). The 17-year-old was a second-round pick on Saturday, going 47th overall following a solid rookie year with the Knights.  He put up a 2.79 GAA and a .912 SV% in 34 games during the regular season and with platoon partner and playoff starter Austin Elliott off to college next season, Medvedev should have a path to a much bigger role in 2025-26.

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