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Blues, Capitals Swap Corey Schueneman, Calle Rosen

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The St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals have each announced a minor league swap of defensemen. The Blues have acquired defenseman Calle Rosen from the Washington Capitals in exchange for Corey Schueneman.

It’s a coming home of sorts for Rosen. The Växjö, Sweden native, joined the Blues ahead of the 2021-22 campaign and enjoyed some of the best individual seasons of his career there. In his three years with St. Louis, he scored 10 goals and 26 points in 73 games while averaging 15:03 of ice time per game.

Additionally, Rosen was a solid defenseman for the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. From 2021 to 2024, Rosen played in 108 games for the Thunderbirds, scoring six goals and 51 points over that stretch. Since leaving St. Louis after the 2023-24 campaign, Rosen has spent the last two years with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles and Hershey Bears, respectively, scoring 11 goals and 41 points in 71 games.

In comparison, Schueneman has significantly less playing time in the NHL than Rosen. After starting his professional career with the AHL’s Stockton Heat, the Western Michigan University alumnus made his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens in the 2021-22 season.

Despite a seven-game stint with the Blues last year, Schueneman’s NHL career has been limited to two goals and seven points in 31 games for the Canadiens, averaging 16:10 of ice time per game. He’s had a far better track record in the AHL, scoring 26 goals and 116 points in 316 games with a +28 rating.

KHL’s Avangard Omsk Signs Klim Kostin

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Klim Kostin is returning to a KHL organization where he has already had plenty of success. According to an announcement from the league, Kostin has signed a contract with Avangard Omsk for the remainder of the 2025-26 KHL season.

It’s been five years since Kostin played for Avangard. As part of the St. Louis Blues organization, Kostin spent the 2020-21 season on loan in the KHL, scoring seven goals and 18 points in 43 games. In the playoffs, he registered five goals and nine points in 24 games, helping Avangard win its first Gagarin Cup.

The former 31st overall pick returned to North America the next season, scoring four goals and nine points in 40 games for the Blues, and three goals and six points in 17 games for their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. That was the end of Kostin’s leash in St. Louis as the team traded him to the Edmonton Oilers before the start of the 2022-23 season.

Undeniably, the 2022-23 season with the Oilers was the best of Kostin’s professional career up to this point. He scored 11 goals and 21 points in 57 games, more than double what he had scored up to that point. There was some belief at the time that Edmonton had found itself a quality young power forward for a relatively cheap price.

Unfortunately, that was surprisingly the end of Kostin’s tenure with the Oilers. Due to the growing cap crunch in Edmonton, the team moved Kostin and Kailer Yamamoto to the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations. Kostin is the only one who played for Detroit, as the team chose not to qualify Yamamoto, who eventually signed with the Seattle Kraken.

Kostin failed to improve upon his impressive year with Edmonton, scoring three goals and one assist in 33 games for the Red Wings, averaging 8:55 of ice time in a fourth-line role. Although there’s no evidence of a trade request, Kostin likely asked Detroit’s management for a change of scenery given his lack of ice time. The team eventually traded him to the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline.

He finished the year strong with San Jose, scoring five goals and 10 points in 19 games to finish the season. He re-signed with the Sharks for the 2024-25 campaign, but finished the year on a disappointing note. Looking for a new contract this past summer, it wasn’t surprising to learn that Kostin’s preference was to return to Edmonton.

Five Key Stories: 10/27/25 – 11/2/25

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The turning of the calendar to November wasn’t a deadline of any sorts when it comes to contract extensions.  However, the end of October saw a flurry of notable extensions across the NHL which highlight our key stories.

Eight For Cooley: The big spending started in Utah as the Mammoth signed center Logan Cooley to an eight-year, $80MM extension, the richest post-entry-level deal in NHL history.  It wasn’t too long ago that he reportedly turned down a deal that was worth $77MM which suggested talks would be put on hold.  Instead, $3MM more pushed it across the finish line.  Cooley was the third overall pick in 2022 and showed plenty of promise in his first two NHL seasons to suggest he can live up to that draft billing.  He’s off to an even better start this season and now Utah has the player they feel is their top center of the future locked up through his prime years.

Eight For Harley: Next up on the long-term contract front was Stars defenseman Thomas Harley, who received an eight-year, $84.7MM extension.  The 24-year-old has blossomed into a true top-pairing defenseman over the past two seasons and finished seventh in Norris Trophy voting last season.  The deal will make him the fourth-highest-paid blueliner in the NHL in 2026-27 behind Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty, and Rasmus Dahlin but keeps him signed through his age-32 season and in this rising cap environment, the deal should hold up pretty well in the end.  With Miro Heiskanen signed through 2028-29, the top of the back end for Dallas is now locked up for a while.

Eight For Necas: When Colorado moved Mikko Rantanen last season while receiving Martin Necas as the centerpiece of the return, they were kicking the contract talks down the road by one year.  Now, with Necas entering the final year of his deal, the pressure was on to work something out.  They were able to do just that, agreeing on an eight-year, $92MM contract that begins next season.  Unlike the other two deals above, this one only covers UFA-eligible seasons.  The 26-year-old had a career year in 2024-25 with 83 points in 79 games and he’s scoring at a higher point-per-game clip in the early going of this season alongside Nathan MacKinnon and now their top duo is locked up through 2031.  Another big contract looms large with defenseman Cale Makar as he becomes extension-eligible in July.

Two For Goalies: Some goaltenders got in on the signing fun, though for much shorter contracts.  The Devils signed Jacob Markstrom to a two-year, $6MM extension.  The 35-year-old is in his second season as New Jersey’s starter and helped to stabilize their play between the pipes last season.  The $6MM AAV matches his current contract and with Jake Allen signed at $1.8MM, the Devils have a veteran goalie tandem in place at a pretty affordable price tag for the next two years.  Meanwhile, another netminder received a two-year contract, just not from an NHL team.  Unrestricted free agent Ilya Samsonov wasn’t able to catch on with an NHL team so he has returned to the KHL, signing with HC Sochi.  The 28-year-old was once viewed as a starter of the future but a .890 SV% over the past two seasons certainly didn’t help his market.

Trade Interest In Schneider: It hasn’t been a great start to the season for Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider while the Rangers find themselves in a 10-team group separated by just one point in the standings.  With the youngster not quite living up to expectations so far, teams have reportedly started making inquiries about Schneider to see if he could be made available.  The 24-year-old is in the final season of his bridge deal with a $2.2MM AAV while his qualifying offer checks in at $2.64MM with arbitration rights.  At this point, it would be surprising to see the Rangers move Schneider but if they decide they need to further shake up their roster, he’s one player who should generate plenty of interest.

Photo courtesy of Winslow Townson-Imagn Images.

Latest On David Kampf

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Over the offseason, the Maple Leafs were looking to find a new home for veteran center David Kampf but no trade came to fruition.  As a result, he was ultimately waived in training camp and, after going unclaimed, he was assigned to AHL Toronto.

Considering that GM Brad Treliving signed the 30-year-old to a four-year, $9.6MM contract a little more than two years ago, this was an outcome that wasn’t expected.  The plan was that he’d continue to anchor the fourth line while providing strong work at the faceoff dot and on the penalty kill.  But his role was reduced last season under Craig Berube and other lower-cost players now occupy his spot on the roster.

This season, Kampf had only played in four of seven games with the Marlies heading into the weekend.  He didn’t suit up on the road in Chicago either as  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (video link) that the veteran is taking a couple of days to ponder his future.

In recent years, we’ve seen a handful of players walk away from guaranteed money in the hopes of getting a more favorable opportunity in the NHL or simply to get back into the NHL.  Among that group are Conor Sheary, Brandon Saad, and Filip Zadina.  It’s possible that Kampf is pondering a similar route although he’d be walking away from more than $3MM in money owed between his salary this season and next plus next season’s signing bonus.

While that possibility is on the table, TSN’s Darren Dreger recently noted that the Maple Leafs are still trying to find a new home for Kampf.  However, with the team needing to free up cap space to accommodate Joseph Woll’s pending return from LTIR, they’re not necessarily in a spot where they can afford to take a similarly-priced player back.  Meanwhile, retaining salary would also make getting back to compliance a little trickier although they are dealing with a $1.25MM dead cap charge while Kampf is in the minors.  Technically, retaining less than that amount would still save them some cap room but it would tie up a salary retention slot through June 30, 2027.

If Woll’s return is the pressure point on the team, that could still be a week or two away as it’s expected that he’ll need a conditioning stint with the Marlies, one that would last three games but could be extended by two more with league approval.  However, if Kampf doesn’t want to wait that long, he could try to force the issue sooner but he’d likely have to walk away from the rest of his contract to do so.  If that were to happen, his contract would come off Toronto’s books entirely beyond what has already been accrued over the first few weeks of the season.

 

Canucks Believed To Have Inquired About Steven Stamkos

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The Canucks have long been searching for extra help down the middle, a need amplified by the latest injury to Filip Chytil.  To that end, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic recently reported (audio link) that he has been told that Vancouver has kicked the tires on Predators forward Steven Stamkos as they continue to cast a wide net in their search for a center.

Stamkos was one of Nashville’s splashy signings in the 2024 offseason, a summer that also saw GM Barry Trotz bring in winger Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei in the hopes of establishing themselves as a contender in a tough Central Division.  While Marchessault has worked out reasonably well so far (though underachieving relative to expectations), the other two haven’t.

Stamkos is in the second season of a four-year, $32MM pact, signed with the belief that he could still be a steady scorer away from Tampa Bay where he spent the first 16 years of his career.  However, after putting up 40 goals and 81 points in his final season with the Lightning, the 35-year-old managed just 27 goals and 53 points last season.  This year, he’s off to a much slower start, managing just a goal and an assist through 13 outings.

It should be noted that on top of having a contract that looks to be well above market value with how he has played so far, Stamkos also has a full no-move clause.  That means that even if the two teams could agree on a trade, he has full veto power if he doesn’t want to go there.

At this point, there’s no indication that Stamkos is interested in even considering a change of scenery.  However, with how things went off the rails for the Preds last year, another quiet start this season, and his own struggles, it wouldn’t be shocking if he or the team decided to ponder the possibility.

Vancouver’s salary cap situation is quite tight; they’re nearly $2.8MM into LTIR, per PuckPedia.  That means that the Canucks would need to match money to make a move work, something that could be mitigated in part by Nashville retaining salary.  On the other hand, the Predators only have one retention slot remaining this season having already utilized them on Mattias Ekholm and Colton Sissons.  Considering his value has dropped considerably, does it make sense to use that last slot (retaining several million dollars a year for multiple seasons) to elicit what would likely be a middling return?  Or, would they be better off saving that last slot for someone else this season and revisiting the idea over the summer after those other two slots open back up?

While Stamkos is probably better off as a winger at this stage of his career, he has played with some regularity at center for the past few years after primarily playing the position before that.  Given Vancouver’s need for help down the middle, he would certainly help there.  However, considering how difficult it would be to make the cap fit work for the Canucks, Stamkos doesn’t seem like the most plausible of candidates at the moment.  That said, they appear to be examining all possibilities as they look to upgrade the center position.

Hurricanes Recall Pyotr Kochetkov From Conditioning Stint

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Sunday, 7:10 p.m.: Kochetkov’s conditioning stint wound up being short-lived as the Hurricanes announced that they’ve recalled him, along with defenseman Domenick Fensore, from Chicago.  Kochetkov made 22 saves on Saturday against the Marlies while Fensore, sent down just yesterday, was held off the scoresheet for the Wolves this afternoon.

Friday, 5:31 p.m.: Kochetkov will be returning to game action, just not for the Canes just yet. They’ve assigned him to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves on a conditioning stint, which can last up to two weeks. He remains on the active roster during this time.

Friday, 12:23 p.m.: Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is off injured reserve and will be available to dress for the first time this season when they take on the Bruins on Saturday, the team announced. Defenseman K’Andre Miller landed on IR in a corresponding move retroactive to Oct. 20, so he’s eligible to come off at any time.

Kochetkov was in and out of the lineup during the preseason with an undisclosed injury. That led the Canes to make a claim for Brandon Bussi on waivers, snagging the Panthers’ anticipated No. 3 option off the wire. Kochetkov’s return kept getting pushed back. He was initially labeled day-to-day to start the year, but during the first weekend of the campaign, the team ruled him out for at least another week. He landed on injured reserve a few days later and, nearly two weeks after he was last expected back in the lineup, he’s finally cleared to play.

For now, Carolina will carry three goalies. Bussi has earned the right to stay on the roster with a 3-1-0 record, .916 SV%, and 2.25 GAA in his first four NHL starts. He’s saved 3.6 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck, and has been the superior option to starter Frederik Andersen thus far, albeit in a less taxing workload – although Bussi has started two of Carolina’s last three games.

At the moment, it’s Andersen’s playing time that’s most vulnerable with Kochetkov now being a factor. The 13-year vet has been middling out of the gate, posting a .892 SV% and 3.11 GAA in six appearances with a 4-2-0 record. Carolina is playing better defensively this year in front of Bussi than Andersen, though, so those above-average numbers at face value still translate to 0.9 GSAx, according to MoneyPuck.

The 26-year-old Kochetkov is kicking off the third season of a four-year, $8MM extension he signed in 2022. The 2019 second-round pick is looking for a redemption campaign in 2025-26 after a pedestrian 2024-25 campaign in which he logged a .897 SV%, 2.60 GAA, and two shutouts in a career-high 47 starts. Those aren’t horrible numbers by any stretch, but were a significant step back from his .911 and 2.33 marks that earned him All-Rookie Team honors the year prior.

Miller has missed the last four games with a lower-body injury and only just resumed skating. Before his injury, he was operating as Carolina’s de facto No. 1 defenseman after inking an eight-year, $60MM deal this summer as part of a sign-and-trade with the Rangers. Through his first six games with the Canes, he had four points and a +1 rating while averaging 23:32 of ice time per night. He’s one of three top-six defensemen that the Canes are currently missing, joining Shayne Gostisbehere and Jaccob Slavin.

Oilers Receiving Interest In Troy Stecher

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The Oilers should be getting some help on the injury front over the next couple of weeks with Zach Hyman, Mattias Janmark, and Alec Regula all potentially returning.  That means a roster crunch will soon be coming and when Hyman comes off LTIR, they’ll have to get back to a cap-compliant roster, meaning moves will have to be made as they’re nearly $2.8MM over the cap ceiling, per PuckPedia.

It appears that one of the possibilities to be dealt is defenseman Troy Stecher.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (video link) that there appears to be some interest in the veteran blueliner while Edmonton is open to finding him a soft landing where he’d have a chance to stay on an NHL roster.

The 31-year-old is in his third season with the Oilers and has been in and out of the lineup in the early going this season.  Stecher has made six appearances so far in 2025-26 and has been held off the scoresheet while picking up three blocked shots in a little under 14 minutes a night of playing time.

Over his career, Stecher has played in 566 games over parts of ten seasons, generally playing on the third pairing.  He has 22 goals and 95 assists in those appearances along with 629 blocks and 562 hits in 17:29 per game of ice time.  At this stage of his career, he might be better off in more of a sixth or seventh role where his minutes would be a bit more limited but after playing 66 games in 2024-25, he can still be a regular when called upon.

Stecher is in the final season of his contract, one that carries a $787.5K cap charge and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.  Given their looming roster crunch, Edmonton likely won’t be able to command a significant return if they decide to move Stecher and not a different defender but even if it’s a late-round pick in return, it would be an asset for a player they’d otherwise be likely to lose on waivers when their injured players return.

Kyle Burroughs Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL

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Sunday: The Kings announced (Twitter link) that Burroughs has been activated off injured reserve, cleared waivers, and has been assigned to AHL Ontario.

Saturday: Veteran defenseman Kyle Burroughs has yet to play this season due to an upper-body injury sustained in the preseason.  It appears he is now ready to return but he won’t be suiting up for the Kings as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Los Angeles has placed the blueliner on waivers.

The 30-year-old is in his second season with the Kings who acquired him a little more than 14 months ago in exchange for winger Carl Grundstrom.  The move gave Los Angeles some extra defensive depth and grit on the heels of Burroughs’ best showing, a 2023-24 campaign that saw him play in 73 games where he recorded eight points, 134 blocks, and 233 hits while averaging over 19 minutes a night of playing time.

However, his first season with the Kings didn’t go anywhere near as well.  Burroughs often found himself on the outside looking in when it came to a place in the lineup and when he was dressed for a game, his role was much different.  Head coach Jim Hiller used Burroughs rather sparingly as his playing time was below eight minutes a night, making it hard for him to have the type of impact he had with San Jose.  In 33 outings, he had three assists, 14 blocks, and 42 hits.

With Burroughs cleared to come back and Los Angeles not having an open roster spot available, the Kings had a choice.  They could either send someone down (Brandt Clarke is the only waiver-exempt player so a different player would have needed to be waived) or try to send Burroughs down instead and clearly, they chose the latter route.

Burroughs is in the final season of a three-year, $3.3MM contract signed back in 2023 with the Sharks.  A $1.1MM price tag for an experienced blueliner with 201 appearances at the NHL level isn’t overly high so if there’s a team looking for some experienced depth, it’s possible that a team places a claim by Sunday’s 1 PM CT deadline.  If that doesn’t happen, the veteran will be on his way to AHL Ontario for what would be his first taste of minor league action since the 2020-21 campaign.  His entire cap hit would be cleared off the books if that happens.

Rangers Recall Jaroslav Chmelar, Assign Brennan Othmann

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The New York Rangers have swapped rookies on the NHL roster. They have recalled right-winger Jaroslav Chmelar from the AHL, while reassigning left-winger Brennan Othmann back to the minor-leagues.

Othmann has been a healthy scratch for the last three games, after making his NHL season debut last Sunday. He managed no scoring and a minus-one in the outing, and generally failed to impress in his limited 12 minutes of ice time. The match was Othman’s 26th game in the Rangers lineup, dating back to the 2023-24 season. He’s recorded two assists and a plus-six through his early career, but still hasn’t found his first NHL goal. In fact, Othmann is still searching for his first goal of the AHL season as well, so far sitting on one assist in four games with the Hartford Wolf Pack. He was a major piece of the Wolf Pack lineup last season, when he managed 12 goals and 20 points in 27 games.

With the shoot-first Othmann headed back to the minors, New York will bring up the imposing size of Chmelar. The Czechia native has five points through nine games to start Hartford’s season, tying him for third on the team in scoring. He finished fifth on the Wolf Pack in scoring as an AHL rookie last season, netting 12 goals and 29 points in 71 games. Standing at 6-foot-5, 220-pounds, Chmelar offers the hard-nosed physicality that’s become much more accustom to the Rangers’ bottom-six. He could be an interesting addition as New York looks to address a long-term injury to enforcer Matt Rempe. Chmelar would be making his NHL debut if he cracked into the Rangers’ lineup. He has scored 36 points in 87 AHL games, and 28 points in 59 NCAA games, through his young hockey career.

Sharks Shake Up Lineup With Wlliam Eklund Out, Timothy Liljegren Back

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The San Jose Sharks will once again shake up their lineup in the hours ahead of gametime. Top winger William Eklund is out with a lower-body injury, while Timothy Liljegren wil lreturn from a short-term absence, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. The Sharks will operate with 11 forwards and seven defensemen on Sunday, with Ethan Cardwell stepping into the bottom-six for rookie Michael Misa.

Few players would be harder to lose than Eklund. He ranks second on the Sharks with five goals and 11 points through 12 games, only behind Macklin Celebrini (seven goals, 18 points). Eklund has averaged nearly 20 minutes of ice time through the early season, and played as much as 25:29 in a recent overtime win versus the Minnesota Wild. He’s returned as a core piece of the Sharks offense this season, after posting a career-year with 17 goals and 58 points in 77 games last season. His role in the lineup, and performance on the scoresheet, both continue to grow.

That will leave San Jose with an important decision as they reshape the lineup. Collin Graf should be the biggest beneficiary, moving into a top-six that also features Tyler Toffoli and Philipp Kurashev in heavy-use roles. Graf has only scored three points in 11 games this season, but his lack of offense could be offset by Kurashev, who has a dazzling seven points in his last four games.

Still, the need to replace Eklund’s offense makes the decision to scratch Msia all the more confusing. The reigning second-overall pick had a three-game point-streak between October 21st and October 26th, though hasn’t managed any scoring in his last two games. He has, however, offered up a 52.6 percent faceoff win-rate, third-highest among Sharks centers. Misa has experience at center, and on the wing, and could have been an interesting bet for top-six minutes in light of Eklund’s injury. Instead, San Jose will turn towards depth forward and grinder Cardwell, who has four points and 10 penalty minutes in seven AHL games. Cardwell was recalled on Sunday morning in a corresponding move to Ryan Reaves’ placement on injured reserve.

The Sharks will find a silver lining in the return of Liljegren, who has served in a top-pair role for much of the season. Liljegren has only scored three points in nine games, but he and D-partner Dmitry Orlov have posted the best goal-differential of any Sharks pairing at even-strength. Getting him back into the fold after just one game out will be a major relief. Liljegren exited Saturday’s game in the first period, after a puck was deflected into the bunch and hit him in the face.

San Jose will return Liljegren to the lineup alongside rookie Sam Dickinson, who will play in his 10th game of the season. Dickinson hasn’t yet found his first NHL point through nine games. He should be rotated into favorable situations, while Liljegren steps back into an important role next to Orlov.

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