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Flyers Recall Aleksei Kolosov

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The Flyers announced they’ve recalled goaltender Aleksei Kolosov from AHL Lehigh Valley. With the move, Philly has now used all four of its post-deadline standard recalls after using three on Rodrigo Abols, Emil Andrae and Olle Lycksell, who were papered to the AHL on deadline day to make them eligible to suit up for Lehigh Valley in the postseason.

Kolosov, 23, headed down to the minors on deadline day without much fanfare after reportedly threatening to refuse to report to the AHL at the beginning of the season if he didn’t make the Flyers’ roster. He’s spent much of the campaign on the NHL roster as a third-string option behind Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov, although it hasn’t gone particularly well. In 11 starts and four relief appearances, the 2021 third-rounder has a 4-8-1 record, a .870 SV%, and a 3.45 GAA with just four quality starts. The advanced numbers aren’t much better. His -5.7 goals saved above expected grade him better than Fedotov on a per-hour basis but worse than Ersson, per MoneyPuck.

Across a few brief assignments to Lehigh Valley this year, things haven’t been much better for Kolosov. He’s got a 3.11 GAA, .884 SV%, and a 5-6-1 record in 12 showings for the Phantoms after underwhelming with a .885 SV% in a pair of appearances for them to end last season.

Before coming to North America last year, the 6’0″ netminder was making waves in his native Belarus. Across 120 appearances for Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League from 2021 to 2024, he posted a strong 2.56 GAA and .909 SV% with six shutouts. He also starred for Belarus at the 2022 D1A World Juniors, posting a .932 SV% in five games at what was the country’s most recent junior international tournament performance before being suspended by the IIHF.

While he has one more season left on his entry-level contract, his performance this season may convince the Flyers to loan him back to Dinamo for 2025-26 or pursue a mutual contract termination – the former option Kolosov desired at the beginning of the year if he didn’t get NHL playing time. Philly has two other high-level goalie prospects in their system, Carson Bjarnason and Yegor Zavragin, although the soonest the latter can come over from Russia is the 2027-28 campaign after his current deal with SKA St. Petersburg expires.

There’s no injury designation to either Ersson or Fedotov, so it appears Philly is just giving Kolosov one last chance to show what he can do at the NHL level with 10 games remaining in the season.

Blue Jackets Sign Jack Williams To Entry-Level Contract

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The Blue Jackets have signed undrafted free agent center Jack Williams to a two-year entry-level contract beginning immediately, the team announced today. Williams will report directly to Columbus for the remainder of the regular season, but since he wasn’t on the Blue Jackets’ reserve list at the trade deadline, he isn’t eligible to suit up in the playoffs if Columbus makes the cut.

Per PuckPedia, the deal carries a cap hit of $923,750 and breaks down as follows:

2024-25: $877.5K prorated base salary, $97.5K signing bonus, $85K prorated minors salary
2025-26: $775K prorated base salary, $97.5K signing bonus, $102.5K games played bonus, $85K minors salary

Williams, 23, is coming off his junior season at Northeastern. The Jackets had been in contact with his camp for a few days but weren’t considered favorites for his services, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. Offering him an ELC that begins immediately – meaning he’ll land a signing bonus today instead of on July 1 – likely helped their cause.

A captain for the Huskies this season, Williams led the club with 16-25–41 in 37 games. The school’s two leading scorers, himself and Sharks prospect Cameron Lund, have now both signed ELCs that begin with immediate effect. Called a “skilled, hard-working player with a passion for the game” by Columbus general manager Don Waddell, Williams leaves Northeastern after posting 39-55–94 with a +11 rating in 106 career collegiate matchups. He was a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award in both 2024 and 2025.

He’ll now jump into a Blue Jackets organization that’s turned a longstanding weakness down the middle into a strength, now boasting a resurgent Sean Monahan with the rapidly developing Adam Fantilli right behind him. He likely won’t have many playing opportunities as they remain with a legitimate shot at climbing back into playoff position, but if they’re eliminated from contention with a couple of games left, Williams could get a chance to debut.

In all likelihood, Williams will be destined for development time with AHL Cleveland next year. He’ll need at least a semi-intriguing performance at that level to earn a qualifying offer from the Jackets in the summer of 2026 upon reaching restricted free agency.

Golden Knights Expected To Activate Shea Theodore, Raphael Lavoie

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The Golden Knights are expected to activate defenseman Shea Theodore from long-term injured reserve, Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. They’ve also removed forward Raphael Lavoie from injured reserve, Webster relays from the league’s media site, but he’s not on the roster, indicating he’s been reassigned to AHL Henderson. Vegas wasn’t using Theodore’s LTIR relief to stay cap-compliant, so they could activate him without an additional cap-clearing move.

Theodore will be a game-time decision for tonight’s road matchup against the Wild as a result, head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters, including Jessi Pierce of NHL.com. The 29-year-old has been out since sustaining an arm injury while suiting up for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The 10-year veteran is amid another spectacular offensive campaign. After starting the year with three multi-point efforts in his first six appearances, he put pen to paper on a seven-year, $51.975MM extension to keep him in Vegas for what could be the rest of his career. He went onto post 48 points in 55 games until the 4 Nations break, during which he injured his right arm on a hit from Swedish winger Adrian Kempe in the Canadians’ first round-robin game.

While injuries have taken a huge bite out of Theodore’s availability for the third season in a row, he remains one of the league’s premier point producers from the blue line. Since the 2019-20 season, Theodore’s 271 points rank 11th among defensemen, while his 0.75 points per game rank ninth among rearguards with at least 100 games played. The Golden Knights hope he can continue at this season’s 71-point pace upon his return, helping soften the blow of losing star center Tomáš Hertl to a shoulder injury for at least their next three games after he didn’t travel with the team, Webster relayed yesterday.

Theodore presumably returns to his usual spot, playing his offside with lefty Brayden McNabb on the team’s second pairing. The duo, who have been regular partners since the 2021-22 season, have controlled 52.7% of expected goals this season while outscoring opponents 25-21 at 5v5, per MoneyPuck. 24-year-old Kaedan Korczak will likely head to the press box after playing a regular role in Theodore’s absence, posting five assists and a plus-four rating in 13 games coming out of the 4 Nations break.

Lavoie presumably heads to the farm after being held out of the lineup since March 5 with an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old narrowly remains waiver-exempt, playing just nine NHL games this season and remaining on the active roster for under 30 cumulative days thanks to a series of paper transactions. The ex-Oilers prospect hopped between Edmonton and Vegas three times on the waiver wire in October before finally settling down with the Knights organization.

He hasn’t made an impact in the NHL lineup when dressed, averaging 10:05 per game and posting a minus-four rating without registering a point. He remains pointless across 16 career big league appearances, but he does have 13-8–21 in 32 showings for Henderson this year.

Blackhawks’ Jason Dickinson Out For Season

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Blackhawks head coach Anders Sorensen told reporters today that center Jason Dickinson is done for the year after sustaining a wrist injury (via Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times). For now, Chicago still has 12 healthy forwards, so don’t expect a corresponding move – at least not immediately.

A couple of weeks ago, Dickinson returned to the lineup after a high ankle sprain sustained just before the 4 Nations break held him out of a month’s worth of action. He then hurt his wrist while fighting Blues forward Jake Neighbours in the first period of Saturday’s loss and missed Sunday’s game against the Flyers.

He ends his season with 7-9–16 in 59 games, a far cry from his career-best 2023-24 campaign that earned him a two-year, $8.5MM extension. His career high was 22 points when Chicago acquired the pivot from Vancouver during training camp in 2022, but he put up back-to-back 30-point campaigns to begin his Blackhawks tenure – including 22 goals and 13 assists for 35 points last year while playing in all 82 games. It was Dickinson’s first time hitting double-digit goals in his 10-year career, and his plus-four rating on a team with a -111 goal differential earned him outside Selke Trophy consideration.

While Dickinson’s shooting percentage has remained at a respectable 12.5%, he’s not generating individual chances near the rate he did last year. He averaged 0.95 shots on goal per game in 2024-25 compared to 1.54 in 2023-24. He’s also attempting 12% fewer shots per game than last season. Some of that can be attributed to a marginal decrease in average ice time (15:42, down from 16:34), but it’s still a disappointing regression.

He remains an effective checking forward, winning under 49.5% of his draws while contributing 53 blocks and 102 hits. Unfortunately, his substantial possession impacts from last year also nosedived in 2024-25. His expected rating dropped from -4.3 to -10.9 at even strength, while his CF% decreased from 46.4 to 43.4. That’s amid a slight overall increase in Chicago’s 5v5 possession play, checking in at 44.7% of shot attempts so far in 2024-25 after finishing with 44.3% in 2023-24.

Dickinson had spent the majority of his time in the lineup centering a line with Ilya Mikheyev and Teuvo Teräväinen. Captain Nick Foligno assumed that role against Philly and could do so for the remainder of the year, although the Hawks have shuffled their lines frequently in the past few months.

Sharks Sign Noah Beck

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The Sharks announced today that they’ve signed defenseman Noah Beck to a one-year, entry-level contract starting for the 2025-26 season. Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal said yesterday the signing was likely to happen. Per PuckPedia, Beck’s deal carries a $975K cap hit and breaks down to a $877.5K NHL salary, a $97.5K signing bonus, and an $85K minors salary. He’ll join AHL San Jose on an amateur tryout for the remainder of this season.

Beck, 24, spent four years with Clarkson before transferring to Arizona State last summer for his fifth and final collegiate seasons. The decision paid dividends, as Beck posted a career-high 33 points (5 G, 28 A) on the upstart Sun Devils to lead their blue line in scoring. That was enough to get him selected to the All-NCHC Second Team as Arizona State narrowly missed out on a berth in the national tournament.

The 6’3″ lefty was quite inconsistent over the bulk of his collegiate career with Clarkson. While he combined for just 4-7–11 in 50 games during his freshman and senior seasons, he led their rearguards in scoring in his sophomore and junior campaigns with showings of 22 and 23 points, respectively. He was named to the ECAC’s All-Academic Team in those two strong showings. He ends his NCAA career with 20-69–89 in 161 games with a +10 rating.

That inconsistency at Clarkson was enough to scare off the Blues, who selected Beck in the seventh round of the 2020 draft, from giving him an ELC. His exclusive signing rights expired on Aug. 15 last year, making him an unrestricted free agent and free for any team to sign.

On the older end of the prospect scale, Beck doesn’t have a clear pathway to NHL minutes in arguably the league’s deepest pool. With emerging lefties like Luca Cagnoni, Sam Dickinson, and Leo Sahlin Wallenius ahead of him on the Sharks’ depth chart, he’s likely destined for a full-time AHL role and doesn’t project as much more than a replacement-level defender at his peak.

Beck will be a restricted free agent in 2026. The Sharks now have 28 contracts signed for next season.

Avalanche Recall Jacob MacDonald

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The Avalanche announced that defenseman Jacob MacDonald has been recalled from AHL Colorado. Their roster size is now 25, and his recall presumably comes under emergency conditions, with Samuel Girard, Erik Johnson and Josh Manson all not expected to play tonight against the Red Wings because of injury.

MacDonald will kick off his second NHL stint with the Avs, assuming he enters the lineup. An undrafted free agent signed by the Panthers in 2018, he was flipped to Colorado the following summer and spent nearly four years in the Avalanche organization. A dual-threat defenseman and left-winger, he was traded to the Sharks midway through the 2022-23 campaign but returned to the Centennial State on a two-year deal last summer.

The 32-year-old Portland, Oregon, native has been spectacular on the Eagles’ blue line this season. He’s posted 27 goals through 55 games – three short of the record set by John Slaney for goals by a defenseman in an AHL season. The recall certainly hurts his hopes of tying or breaking that record, but he should have a few games left to do it, assuming Girard’s and Johnson’s injuries remain short-lived. He’s added 23 assists for 50 points with a +19 rating, leading the Eagles in scoring.

MacDonald previously scored 1-10–11 in 74 NHL games for Colorado from 2020-21 to 2022-23, along with a +10 rating while averaging 11:37 per game. He shouldn’t expect more minutes than that tonight, as he’ll likely replace Johnson in a third-pairing role alongside little-used Keaton Middleton.

MacDonald will presumably be returned to the AHL once one of the Avs’ injured rearguards is ready to return to the lineup. The Cornell product is on a two-way deal that pays him a $525K salary in the minors. He’ll remain in the organization next year, after which he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.

Devils Sign Ethan Edwards To Entry-Level Contract

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March 25: The Devils announced today they’ve signed Edwards to a two-year, entry-level contract starting with the 2025-26 season. They confirmed he’ll report to Utica for the remainder of the current year.

March 23: Devils prospect Ethan Edwards’ time in college is over. The University of Michigan product won’t be going to the national tournament in his senior year, so he’ll instead be joining New Jersey’s AHL affiliate in Utica for the rest of the 2024-25 season, Ben Birnell of the Utica-Rome Daily Sentinel reports. Whether that’s on an AHL tryout or an NHL contract remains to be seen – an important distinction, given Edwards’ signing rights will expire on Aug. 15 if the Devils don’t get him signed to an entry-level deal by then.

The 22-year-old defender was a fourth-round pick by the Devils (No. 120 overall) back in 2020 out of the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The 5’10” lefty jumped south of the border to USHL Sioux City for his post-draft season before jumping on with the Wolverines for 2021-22. Since then, the two-way Edwards has slowly seen his game flourish. Michigan’s top rearguard this season after the departure of fellow Devil Seamus Casey, he took the increased ice time in stride. Edwards’ five goals, 16 assists and 21 points in 36 games this year were all career highs, but his minus-two rating was evidence of the team’s overall regression as Michigan missed out on the nationals for the first time since 2021.

After finishing fourth on the Wolverines in scoring, Edwards will take his talents eastward. He’s an intriguing name in what’s still a rather deep prospect pool on defense in New Jersey, checking in at No. 12 in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s 2025 organizational rankings. It’ll likely be a while before he sees an NHL call-up – assuming his AHL stint turns into an ELC with the Devils if he doesn’t sign one now. He’s got enough of a wide-ranging toolbox to make him a valuable depth piece in New Jersey’s lineup if his smaller stature doesn’t become a limiting factor.

If the Devils sign Edwards to an ELC beginning next season, they’ll have 33 of the maximum 50 contracts on the books.

Blues Sign Adam Jecho, Lukas Fischer To Entry-Level Contracts

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10:56 a.m.: PuckPedia reports the details of Jecho’s and Fischer’s contracts. The former carries a uniform structure of a $775K NHL salary, $97.5K signing bonus, $102.5K games played bonus, and an $85K minors salary across all three years for a cap hit of $872.5K. Fischer’s, meanwhile, carries a cap hit of $932K and breaks down as follows:

Year 1: $775K NHL, $97.5K SB, $102.5K GP bonus, $85K minors
Year 2: $850K NHL, $97.5K SB, $27.5K GP bonus, $85K minors
Year 3: $877.5K NHL, $97.5K SB, $85K minors

9:33 a.m.: The St. Louis Blues have officially signed a pair of players from their 2024 draft class. St. Louis announced they’ve signed forward Adam Jecho and defenseman Lukas Fischer to three-year, entry-level contracts.

Jecho, drafted 95th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, recently wrapped up his second season with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. There wasn’t much of an offensive increase in his year-to-year totals, as Jecho went from a 23-goal, 47-point campaign in 2023-24 to a 25-goal, 53-point season this year. Still, it was a positive confirmation that he has plenty of skill for his frame. Jecho would immediately become one of the tallest forwards in NHL standing at 6’5″, 201 lbs, but he plays with the puck skills of a much smaller athlete.

Meanwhile, Fischer was drafted one round ahead of Jecho at 56th overall. He’s similarly sized, carrying a 6’3, 185 lb frame. The Brighton, MI native finished his third season with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, and his first as captain, scoring 15 goals and 22 assists in 51 games. Fishcer’s assist totals were on pace with his junior-career trajectory, but his 15 goals were a notable improvement from his previous career-high of six.

As the son of former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jiri Fischer, Lukas plays remarkably similar to his father. He’s a physical blue liner, and some penalty troubles come with that. Still, the Blues would likely rather have a young defenseman play in the organization who’s not afraid of the increased physicality that comes with professional hockey.

The Blues didn’t confirm in the announcement whether either player would join their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, for the rest of the season. Still, both players are under 20 years old, meaning they could spend another season with their respective junior programs.

Stars Sign Ayrton Martino To Entry-Level Contract

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March 25: Dallas announced shortly thereafter that they inked Martino to a two-year, entry-level pact beginning next season. PuckPedia reflects his deal will carry a $775K base salary in each season along with up to $57.5K in performance bonuses, an annual $92.5K signing bonus, and an $80K minors salary for a cap hit of $867.5K. He will be a restricted free agent at age 24 in the summer of 2027.

March 24: Stars prospect Ayrton Martino will finish the 2024-25 season in the organization on a tryout with AHL Texas, per the league’s transaction log. The move is likely a precursor to the 2021 third-round pick signing his entry-level contract with Dallas in the coming days.

Martino, 22, is coming off a standout senior season at Clarkson University. The 5’11” left-winger had sniffed a point per game over his three previous collegiate seasons but exploded for 25-26–51 in 39 games this year. That made him one of the 10 finalists for this year’s Hobey Baker Award, and he’s currently tied for fourth in NCAA scoring. Clarkson isn’t in this year’s national tournament, though, so he’ll likely be lapped by a couple of players who are when all is said and done.

In his draft year, Martino was viewed as a bit of a steal when Dallas selected him 73rd overall. Most identified him as an early-to-mid second-round talent after he posted 56 points in 38 games with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League. Nonetheless, he slipped to the Stars – where he’s now the No. 5 overall prospect and No. 2 forward prospect in a pool that’s taken a huge hit with recent graduations, per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic.

He’s nearly a lock to get his ELC with Dallas, and while he should be ticketed for the AHL opening night roster next fall, he could be under consideration for a brief call-up next year if he takes the adjustment to pro hockey in stride. The Toronto native totaled 50-95–145 in 144 games for Clarkson. If not signed by Dallas, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 15.

Capitals Sign Jakob Chychrun To Eight-Year Extension

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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Washington Capitals have signed defenseman Jakob Chychrun to an eight-year, $72MM extension ($9MM AAV). An extension between the Capitals and Chychrun has seemingly been in the works for some time, with rumored interest dating back to the beginning of the season.

The deal comes across as a market-setter for upper-echelon defensemen ahead of unrestricted free agency kicking off in a few months, not too dissimilar from how Leon Draisaitl’s eight-year, $112MM extension influenced the market for superstar forwards. Of course, Chychrun would be the top name on that market if he didn’t reach an agreement with Washington. Instead, he gets a deal that gives him much-desired stability while tying him for the tenth-highest-paid defenseman in the league, at least for next season.

Acquired from the Senators last summer in what was Chychrun’s second swap in as many years, the soon-to-be 27-year-old has re-emerged as a top-20 rearguard in the league. He’s seemingly shed the injury-prone label that followed him at the beginning of his career in Arizona, playing in 147 of 152 possible contests since the beginning of last season. After spending the first eight years of his time in the NHL with middling Coyotes and Senators clubs, he’s tracking to make the postseason for the first time aside from Arizona’s appearance in the 2020 bubble – playing a crucial role on the current President’s Trophy favorite.

The Caps’ league-leading offense is something to behold, considering their question marks entering the season about their depth, and a large part of their system success can be attributed to how general manager Chris Patrick retooled their blue line on the fly. Along with signing Matt Roy, acquiring Chychrun gave the Caps another puck mover with historically strong possession impacts to slot into their top four. He’s held up his end of the bargain, ranking third in the league in goals by defensemen with 18 and adding 25 assists for 43 points, second among Washington defenders behind John Carlson’s 46. He’s split the year between pairings with Carlson and Trevor van Riemsdyk, leading to a slight reduction in ice time compared to his career average. His 20:56 ATOI is his lowest mark since the 2018-19 campaign, but that’s a testament to Washington’s blue line depth more than anything else.

Aside from the point totals (his 0.662 points per game are 17th in the league among defensemen), he continues to positively impact the Caps’ ability to keep the puck out of their net. His 52.8 CF% is second among Washington defensemen behind Carlson at even strength, and his +4.6 expected rating is third. While his overall shares are driven more by his offensive production, his raw defensive numbers at 5v5 (26.15 scoring chances against per 60 minutes, per Natural Stat Trick) are still in line with his teammates.

Chychrun will return to D.C. next season along with all five of his regular teammates on defense, barring any trades. As the aging Carlson and van Riemsdyk weigh their future past next season, Washington’s defensemen at No. 2-4 on their depth chart – Chychrun, Roy, and Rasmus Sandin – are all signed through at least 2029. The other piece of the puzzle, Martin Fehérváry, is set to be an RFA in the summer of 2026 in Washington’s last year of team control. The Caps are committing $33.025MM in cap space to their blue line for 2025-26, 34.6% of the $95.5MM upper limit.

Overall, Washington now projects to have $14.125MM in spending money this offseason with six roster spots to fill, per PuckPedia. They don’t have any particularly high-cost pending free agents on the active roster, so that should be enough flexibility to retain who they want while making a somewhat impactful add on the open market.

Since the beginning of Chychrun’s breakout 2020-21 campaign in Arizona, when he finished 10th in Norris voting, he ranks 27th in the league among defensemen in points per game (min. 100 games). He has 94-165–259 in 532 career games with Arizona, Ottawa, and Washington.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

PHR’s Josh Erickson contributed significantly to this article.

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