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Kailer Yamamoto

Two-Way Deals: 7/1/25

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As major signings come in around the NHL today with the 2025-26 league year beginning, teams are shoring up their minor-league depth as well by signing players to two-way contracts. We’re keeping track of those signings today in this article, which will be continuously updated. Deals are one year unless otherwise noted.

Boston Bruins

F Riley Tufte ($775K NHL) – Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub
D Jonathan Aspirot ($775K NHL) – Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub
G Luke Cavallin ($775K NHL) – Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub

Buffalo Sabres

F Riley Fiddler-Schultz ($865K NHL/$90K SB/$35K PB/$85K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years, entry-level
F Carson Meyer ($775K NHL/$350K AHL Y1 – $375K AHL Y2) – PuckPedia // two years
D Mason Geertsen ($775K NHL/$425K AHL) – Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet // two years
D Zachary Jones ($900K NHL/$550K AHL) – PuckPedia
D Zach Metsa ($775K NHL/$250K AHL/$325K gt’d) – PuckPedia

Calgary Flames

D Nick Cicek ($775K NHL) – team release

Carolina Hurricanes

G Amir Miftakhov ($775K NHL/$100K AHL/$240K gt’d) – PuckPedia

Chicago Blackhawks

F Dominic Toninato ($850K NHL) – team release // two years

Colorado Avalanche

F T.J. Tynan (unknown) – team release
D Jack Ahcan (unknown) – team release
D Ronald Attard ($775K NHL/$450K AHL/$500K gt’d) – PuckPedia

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Owen Sillinger (unknown) – team release
D Christian Jaros (unknown) – team release

Dallas Stars

D Niilopekka Muhonen (unknown) – team release // three years, entry-level

Edmonton Oilers

D Riley Stillman ($775K NHL/$475K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years
G Matt Tomkins ($775K NHL/$400K AHL/$450 Y2 gt’d) – PuckPedia // two years

Florida Panthers

F Nolan Foote ($775K NHL/$150K AHL/$250K gt’d) – PuckPedia
F Jack Studnicka ($775K NHL/$450K AHL) – Chris Johnston of TSN/The Athletic
G Brandon Bussi ($775K NHL/$400K AHL) – PuckPedia
G Kirill Gerasimyuk (unknown) – team release // two years, entry-level

Los Angeles Kings

F Cole Guttman ($775K NHL/$450K Y1 – $475K Y2 AHL/$475K gt’d Y1 – $500K gt’d Y2) – PuckPedia // two years

Minnesota Wild

F Tyler Pitlick ($775K NHL/$300K Y1 – $350K Y2 AHL/$325K gt’d Y1 – $375K gt’d Y2) – PuckPedia // two years
D Ben Gleason ($800K NHL/$475K AHL) – PuckPedia

Montreal Canadiens

F Alex Belzile (unknown) – team release
D Nathan Clurman ($775K NHL/$125K AHL/$140K gt’d) – PuckPedia

New Jersey Devils

D Calen Addison ($775K NHL/$325K AHL/$400K gt’d) – PuckPedia
F Angus Crookshank ($775K NHL/$425K AHL/$475K gt’d) – PuckPedia // two years, one-way in 2026-27

New York Islanders

F Matthew Highmore (unknown) – team release
D Ethan Bear ($775K NHL/$325K AHL/$425K gt’d) – PuckPedia
D Cole McWard (unknown) – team release

New York Rangers

D Derrick Pouliot ($775K NHL/$400K AHL/$425K gt’d Y1 – $450K gt’d Y2) – PuckPedia // two years

Ottawa Senators

F Wyatt Bongiovanni ($775K NHL/$160K AHL) – PuckPedia
F Olle Lycksell ($775K NHL/$450K AHL/$500K gt’d) – Darren Dreger of TSN

Philadelphia Flyers

F Lane Pederson ($775K NHL/$525K AHL) – PuckPedia

San Jose Sharks

F Jimmy Huntington (unknown) – team release
F Samuel Laberge (unknown) – team release
F Colin White ($775K NHL/$425K AHL/$475K gt’d) – PuckPedia
D Cole Clayton (unknown) – team release

St. Louis Blues

F Matt Luff ($775K NHL/$400K AHL) – PuckPedia

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Nicholas Abruzzese (unknown) – team release
F Tristan Allard (unknown) – team release // two years, entry-level
F Boris Katchouk (unknown) – team release
D Simon Lundmark ($775K NHL/$250K AHL/$350K gt’d) – PuckPedia // two years
G Ryan Fanti ($775K NHL/$80K AHL) – PuckPedia

Utah Mammoth

F Kailer Yamamoto ($775K NHL/$500K AHL) – PuckPedia
D Scott Perunovich ($775K NHL/$400K AHL/$500K gt’d) – PuckPedia

Vancouver Canucks

F Joseph LaBate ($775K NHL/$350K AHL) – PuckPedia
F Mackenzie MacEachern ($775K NHL/$575K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years
D Jimmy Schuldt ($775K NHL/$500K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years

Winnipeg Jets

F Phillip Di Giuseppe ($775K NHL/$450K AHL) – PuckPedia
D Kale Clague (unknown) – Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet

Central Notes: Boeser, Yamamoto, Grand Casino Arena

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The Winnipeg Jets have reportedly zeroed in on their desired replacement for winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who’s expected to become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow afternoon. According to TSN’s Chris Johnston on his aptly named Chris Johnston Show, the Jets are aggressively pursuing Brock Boeser.

There’s little surprise about the report, given that Boeser is Ehlers’ best comparable entering the free agent frenzy. Over the last three years, Boeser has scored 83 goals and 178 points in 230 games with the Vancouver Canucks, averaging 18:01 of ice time, and 61 of those points coming with a man advantage. During the same time frame, Ehlers scored 61 goals and 162 points in 196 games with Winnipeg, averaging 15:48 minutes per game, including 41 points on the power play.

It’ll be interesting to see how Boeser is deployed should he eventually sign with Winnipeg. The Jets have no reason to move Gabriel Vilardi from the team’s first line, so Boeser may join Cole Perfetti and either Jonathan Toews or Vladislav Namestnikov on the second line. If he’s unable to keep his average ice time consistent, it’ll be challenging to continue the same goal-scoring pace he enjoyed with Vancouver.

Other notes from the Central Division:

  • Earlier today, the Utah Mammoth announced that they had not issued a qualifying offer to winger Kailer Yamamoto. Still, that doesn’t mean they’re uninterested in retaining him, as Craig Morgan of The Sedona Conference reported that the Mammoth and Yamamoto are continuing to work toward a new contract. Despite scoring 20 goals and 56 points in 54 games with their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, Yamamoto only appeared in 12 games for Utah this past season, scoring one goal and three points. Having the skill set of a top-six forward, it’s unlikely he’ll find an avenue to that role with the Mammoth moving forward.
  • Although they’ll be playing in the same arena, the Minnesota Wild’s home will operate under a new name. Minnesota Sports & Entertainment announced a 14-year naming rights partnership with Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley. Starting in the 2025-26 season, the stadium formerly known as the Xcel Energy Center will become the Grand Casino Arena.

Minor Transactions: 4/16/25

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The NHL season has come to an end, or soon will, for teams around the league that missed out on this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. That fact has driven many to begin the process of assigning their waiver-exempt players to more successful teams in the minor leagues. We’ll cover the bulk of those assignments here:

  • In a rare move with playoff implications, the St. Louis Blues have assigned top forward prospect Dalibor Dvorsky to the minor leagues. Dvorsky hasn’t played since April 9th, when he made his second career appearance in the NHL. He has no points and an average of nine minutes in ice time over his first two games. This move will return him to a star role in the minor leagues, where his 20 goals and 44 points in 59 games rank third and fourth on the Springfield Thunderbirds respectively. Springfield have squeaked into the Calder Cup playoffs with 74 points in 70 games this season. Dvorsky will be a major boost to their postseason roster, unless the Blues opt to include him in their inevitable wave of Black Ace recalls.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have assigned top defense prospects Kevin Korchinski and Artyom Levshunov to the AHL after the end of their season, per a release from the Rockford IceHogs. Both players have manned dominant roles in the IceHogs lineup this season – Korchinski looking to find his comfort after a hard NHL role last season, and Levshunov looking to vindicate his second-overall selection in last year’s draft. They lead the Rockford blue-line in scoring, with Korchinski netting 27 points in 54 games and Levshunov scoring 22 points in 50 games. Levshunov proved the more productive in all three zones at the NHL level. He recorded six assists, eight penalty minutes, and a minus-13 in his first 18 games in the NHL. Korchisnki only scored two points in 16 NHL games this season, though his minus-five was the fourth-best on the Chicago defense. The duo will offer a well-rounded impact to Rockford’s playoff push – Korchinski bringing strong offense and Levshunov showing strong two-way play.
  • The San Jose Sharks have assigned defenseman Luca Cagnoni back to the minor leagues after recalling him to play in their latest game, per Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group. Cagnoni recorded an assist and two penalties in roughly 18 minutes of Monday’s overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks. The score was his second assist in six NHL games this season, on top of eight penalty minutes and a minus-four. Cagnoni was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team on Wednesday – high praise after he led all rookie defensemen in scoring with 14 goals and 49 points in 62 games this season. Cagnoni had a breakout season in his first professional campaign, and already seems to be outperforming his fourth-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft. He will look to keep a good year going as the San Jose Barracuda prepare for a playoff push.
  • Winger Kailer Yamamoto represents the first veteran on this list. He’s headed back to the Tucson Roadrunners alongside goaltender Matt Villalta, after the end of the Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural season, per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. Yamamoto has been a force in the minor leagues. He leads Tucson in scoring this season with 53 points in 52 games. It’s been a valiant performance that earned the depth forward 12 appearances in the NHL. He scored three points in those games. Villalta has stood tall as Tucson’s starting goaltender as well, with a team-leading .906 save percentage in 41 games this season. He played in just the third NHL game of his career this season and recorded a win, with 28 saves on 31 shots. Yamamoto will return to Tucson’s top-line, while Villalta will likely return to the starter’s role ahead of Jaxson Stauber.
  • The Nashville Predators have assigned Ryan Ufko back to the minor leagues, per Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean. Ufko made his NHL debut on Monday. He didn’t manage any notable stat changes in 15:37 of ice time. Ufko has emerged as a top-four defender for the Milwaukee Admirals this season. His eight goals and 29 points in 71 games lead the Admirals blue-line in scoring. Ufko is still rounding out the physical and two-way aspects of his game, but his emergence as an AHL rookie has proven promising on a Preadtors team well capable of honing defenders into NHL talents.

Central Notes: Blues, Yamamoto, Korchinski

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The Blues are one of two teams eligible to clinch a playoff spot tonight. They and the Oilers can book their ticket to the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs if the Flames lose to the Sharks in regulation. St. Louis will need to hold up their end of the bargain by defeating the Jets in regulation to wake up tomorrow morning with an “X” next to their name in the standings. Doing so would mark their 13th straight win, the longest winning streak since Edmonton won 16 straight last year between Dec. 21 and Jan. 27. The Blues haven’t lost since a 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Penguins on March 13. They’re now 34-16-6 since replacing Drew Bannister with Jim Montgomery behind the bench in November and are two points ahead of the Wild for the first wild card in the Western Conference. Both St. Louis and Minnesota have four games remaining. The Blues have a 64% chance of holding onto the WC1 spot, a 33% chance of falling back behind the Wild and finishing in the WC2 slot, and a 1% chance of lapping the Avalanche for third place in the Central, per MoneyPuck. Their streak has been fueled by top-line center Robert Thomas, who leads the league in scoring since March 15 with 4-19–23 in 12 games.

More from the Central Division:

  • Utah has recalled winger Kailer Yamamoto from AHL Tucson after papering him down to the minors yesterday. The 26-year-old righty has a goal and an assist in five games since being recalled from Tucson on March 26, his first time on the NHL roster since clearing waivers early in the year. The 2017 first-round pick signed a rich two-way deal with Utah at the end of training camp following a successful professional tryout, although he’s spent most of the year in the minors for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign. While he only has those two points to show for eight NHL appearances this year, he’s Tucson’s leading scorer with 19-34–53 in 52 games with a +14 rating. He’s recently seen time in a second-line role with Barrett Hayton and Nick Schmaltz and will presumably return there when Utah hosts the Kraken tomorrow.
  • Despite iffy boxcar stats this season, the Blackhawks are pleased with how 2022 No. 7 overall pick Kevin Korchinski has developed in 2024-25. “We forget how young he is,” Blackhawks interim coach Anders Sörensen told Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. “His development curve this year overall has been a positive one, and it’s going up.” Korchinski highlighted his own defensive improvement – a must this season, considering his lack of offensive production. The 20-year-old lefty is a passer first and foremost and was dominant offensively in juniors, but he has no points to speak of in 13 NHL games this season and has been underwhelming with AHL Rockford with 3-24–27 in 54 games.

Utah Recalls Kailer Yamamoto

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The Utah Hockey Club has recalled depth winger Kailer Yamamoto. Yamamoto made the Utah roster out of training camp but was cleared through waivers and assigned to the minor leagues on October 26th. This is his first call-up since that transaction, giving him another chance to find NHL ice time on the one-year, two-way, league-minimum deal he signed in Utah this summer.

Yamamoto has been a driving force for the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners this season. He leads the team in scoring with 51 points in 51 games played – making him one of just 17 AHLers scoring at or above a point-per-game pace, among players with at least 20 games played. Yamamoto spent the last four seasons in an everyday NHL role, split across tenures with the Edmonton Oilers and Seattle Kraken. He had a career year in the 2021-22 campaign, when he potted 20 goals and 41 points in 81 games – a career-high in all scoring categories and games played.

But Yamamoto couldn’t find a way to make his scoring stick, and struggled to work out of a bottom-line rotation with his team’s extra forwards. He fell to 25 points in 58 games in the 2022-23 season, then managed just 16 points in 59 games with Seattle last year. A move to Utah was meant to serve as a spark, but after three pointless games to start the NHL season – Yamamoto was shipped back to the minors for his first AHL games since 2019-20.

Yamamoto’s call-up is purely for depth reasons, per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports – meaning Utah isn’t facing any additional injuries or absences. That could make it tough for Yamamoto to work his way into the lineup. If he does, it will likely come over bottom-six winger Matias Maccelli, who has just one point in his last 10 games. Maccelli is the only Utah forward without multiple points in their latest 10 appearances.

Kailer Yamamoto Clears Waivers, Utah Expected To Activate Nick Bjugstad

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Saturday: Yamamoto has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.  The team announced he has been sent to Tucson.

Friday: The Utah Hockey Club has winger Kailer Yamamoto on waivers today for the purposes of assignment to AHL Tucson, the team announced. After he clears or is claimed tomorrow, they’ll have an open roster spot to activate center Nick Bjugstad from injured reserve, per Brogan Houston of Deseret News Sports.

It’s a tough break for Yamamoto, who hasn’t converted a strong training camp into a regular-season impact in Salt Lake. The 26-year-old was non-tendered by the Kraken at the end of last season and didn’t receive any guaranteed offers, instead landing a PTO with Utah for training camp. They signed him to a one-year, two-way deal the day before opening night rosters were due, and Bjugstad was slated to start the year on IR.

Even with Bjugstad out, though, there hasn’t been much opportunity for Yamamoto in the lineup. He was a healthy scratch for the first five games of the season before playing in each of Utah’s last three. He was held off the scoresheet, posting a -1 rating and taking just one shot on goal while averaging 10:40 per game.

On a two-way deal, there could be some interest in Yamamoto’s services on the waiver wire. The 2017 first-round pick is only one year removed from a 10-goal, 25-point campaign with the Oilers in 58 games, and he had a career-high 20 goals the year before that. That type of production from Yamamoto would require giving him consistent middle-six, if not top-six, minutes though, and he hasn’t done enough in the past couple of years to justify that ice time. Last year in Seattle, he averaged just under 12 minutes per game and saw his production suffer with 19 points (8 G, 8 A) in 59 games with a -9 rating.

Meanwhile, Bjugstad is set to make his season debut tomorrow against the Kings. It’s a little earlier than scheduled for his return, with a report from ALL City Network’s Craig Morgan at the beginning of the month stating he wouldn’t be back until Nov. 1.

He’ll be a boon to a Utah offense that has gone cold, scoring only twice in its last three games. The first-year club has dropped to a 4-3-1 record after a 3-0-0 start, dragged down by long-term injuries to defensemen Sean Durzi and John Marino. Bjugstad, 32, is coming off one of the best offensive seasons of his career, posting 22 goals and 45 points with a +11 rating in 76 appearances last season for the Coyotes.

Utah Hockey Club Signs Kailer Yamamoto

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The Utah Hockey Club has its first successful professional tryout agreement in league history. The organization announced they have signed forward Kailer Yamamoto to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2024-25 NHL season.

Yamamoto is hopeful this contract will translate into a solid bounceback year for the former Edmonton Oilers prospect. He was drafted with the 22nd overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft as one of the smaller players in the class at 5’7″.

The NHL has changed quite a bit over the last few decades with smaller frame players becoming some of the game’s best but this has not been a reality for Yamamoto. He showed flashes of being a reliable top-six scorer as early as the 2019-20 season with 11 goals and 26 points in 27 games for the Oilers.

He fell into a middle-six role from 2020-22 scoring 28 goals and 62 points in Edmonton in 133 games. The team hoped Yamamoto would eventually blossom into a consistent top-six threat and opted for a two-year, $6.2MM bridge contract with their young forward in 2022.

Yamamoto only saw a year of this contract with the Oilers scoring 10 goals and 25 points in 58 games. Edmonton traded Yamamoto with Klim Kostin to the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations the next offseason before he was eventually bought out.

The Seattle Kraken, a 280-mile drive from his native Spokane, became his new landing spot on the back of a one-year, $1.5MM contract. The one-year gamble proved bad for both parties as the Kraken limited Yamamoto to an average of 11:59 of ice time per game and the player produced his lowest offensive output since 2018-19.

The depressed season paved the way for Yamamoto to sign a PTO with the new Utah team for training camp. He’s scored three goals over four preseason contests and will now compete for a spot in Utah’s middle six.

TSN’s Chris Johnston was the first to report Utah had signed Yamamoto. 

Utah Signs Kailer Yamamoto To PTO

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Kailer Yamamoto has found a home, at least for training camp. The unrestricted free-agent winger has inked a professional tryout with Utah, the team announced today.

Yamamoto, 26 later this month, was drafted 22nd overall by the Oilers in 2017. The 5’8″, 152-lb forward played spot duty in Edmonton in his first two post-draft seasons, mainly sticking in juniors with the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs and in the minors with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.

He cemented himself as a full-time NHLer after a mid-season recall in 2019-20, closing the COVID-truncated season with 26 points (11 G, 15 A) in 27 games while fitting in on a line with star forwards Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. But during the rest of his time in Edmonton, he couldn’t sniff the near point-per-game rate he flashed in his first real NHL chance.

Yamamoto hit 20 goals once, adding 21 assists for 41 points in 81 games during a career-best showing in 2021-22, but otherwise was a perfectly average middle-six scoring presence with average possession numbers. That career-best year landed him a two-year, $6.2MM contract in restricted free agency the following summer, but he regressed to 25 points (10 G, 15 A) in 58 games the following season.

The Oilers had seen enough, trading him to the Red Wings the following summer. Detroit promptly bought out the last year of his $3.1MM cap hit deal, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Yamamoto took the opportunity to return to his native Washington, inking a one-year, $1.5MM pact with the Kraken for last season. Unfortunately for both sides, it was a failed reclamation project.

The Spokane-born winger slipped to a fourth-line role, posting just eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in 59 contests with a -9 rating and averaging a career-low 11:59 per contest. A frequent healthy scratch, he was non-tendered in June and became a UFA for the second straight summer.

Without any guaranteed offers, he’ll look to land his next NHL contract in Utah. The club has plenty of cap space to sign him to a deal – $9.92MM, per PuckPedia.

But they have a full roster, especially on offense. With 14 forward spots accounted for, competition will be stiff for Yamamoto to land a one-way deal or a spot on the opening night roster. He’d need to unseat someone like Michael Carcone, who was one of the best depth shooters in the league last season with 21 goals in 74 games while averaging 11:16 per night, or 22-year-old winger Josh Doan, who finished last year with nine points in 11 games in his first NHL shot with the Coyotes.

That makes a two-way deal most likely for Yamamoto if he sticks within the Utah organization following his PTO. He’d need to clear waivers to be assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. In that case, it would be Yamamoto’s first minor-league action in five years.

Snapshots: Emberson, Bruins, Bertucci, Loponen

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While Ty Emberson’s acquisition was largely viewed as Edmonton merely adding some extra depth on the back end, they have an opportunity to keep him around beyond the upcoming season but will need to play him somewhat regularly to do so.  PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the Oilers will need to play the 24-year-old in at least 50 games in 2024-25 in order to retain his RFA rights (with arbitration eligibility at that time).  Otherwise, Emberson will be eligible to become a Group Six unrestricted free agent.  He was only able to play in 30 games with San Jose last season in his first taste of NHL action, missing 36 games due to injuries along the way.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • The Bruins are believed to be considering offering UFA wingers Kailer Yamamoto and Blake Wheeler tryouts for next month’s training camp, suggests Shawn Hutcheon of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). Yamamoto is coming off a down year that saw him record just 16 points in 55 games with Seattle while Wheeler had 21 points in 54 contests while also missing considerable time with a leg injury.  Boston could stand to add some depth on the wing but until they get Jeremy Swayman’s contract sorted out, they’re unlikely to do any guaranteed contracts.
  • Stars defense prospect Tristan Bertucci is on the move as OHL Flint announced they’ve moved him to Barrie as part of a three-team swap. The 19-year-old was a second-round pick by Dallas in 2023, going 61st overall; he has already signed his entry-level contract.  Bertucci played in 61 games with the Firebirds last season, notching 10 goals and 34 assists while adding four helpers in four playoff contests.  He also was able to make his professional debut, suiting up once for AHL Texas after Flint was eliminated from the postseason.
  • Jets prospect Markus Loponen requested and was granted a contract termination from his deal with Karpat, per a team release from the Finnish squad. The 18-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in June, going 155th overall.  Loponen had 25 goals and 29 assists in 45 games last season on Karpat’s under-20 team, earning him a first-round selection by Victoria in the CHL Import Draft this summer.  Loponen will now suit up for the Royals this season.

Free Agent Profile: Kailer Yamamoto

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It has been a rather steep fall from grace in recent years for unrestricted free agent winger Kailer Yamamoto.  Thought of as a key piece of Edmonton’s core just a few years ago, he now finds himself looking for a new deal more than a month into free agency.

Yamamoto first made a big impact late in the 2019-20 season, turning a midseason recall into a permanent stay with 26 points in 27 games, suggesting that he could be an important top-six piece for the Oilers in the process.  After his output dropped the following season, Yamamoto rebounded well in 2021-22, notching 20 goals and 21 assists in 81 contests while adding seven points in 14 playoff contests.

Unable to afford a long-term agreement, the two sides worked out a two-year, $6.2MM deal, effectively a second bridge contract which was a reasonable move for both sides.  But it didn’t work out as planned.  His production dipped to 25 points in 58 games, resulting in Edmonton moving him to Detroit in a cap-dumping move before free agency last summer.

But as it turns out, the Red Wings didn’t want him; they took him on to get the negotiating rights to Klim Kostin as part of that swap.  They weren’t able to flip Yamamoto so they ultimately bought him out, paying only one-third of the deal to do so since he was only 24 at the time.

Yamamoto quickly caught on with Seattle, inking a one-year, $1.5MM deal, a fair price tag for a player looking to rebuild some value.  But that didn’t happen.  He struggled offensively with the Kraken, collecting just eight goals and eight assists in 59 games.  Rather than qualify him at $1.5MM and give him arbitration eligibility (where his prior production with Edmonton) would have positioned him for a fair-sized raise, Seattle elected to non-tender him and clearly, his second trip through unrestricted free agency hasn’t gone as well as he was hoping for.

Stats

2023-24: 59 GP, 8 G, 8 A, 16 PTS, -9, 18 PIMS, 11:59 ATOI, 53.3 CF%
Career: 303 GP, 58 G, 76 A, 134 PTS, +20, 124 PIMS, 15:33 ATOI, 51.5 CF%

Potential Suitors

There are a couple of types of potential fits for the 25-year-old.  Teams that are looking for offensive depth in their bottom six might have him on their list of options.  Meanwhile, rebuilding teams looking for someone who might be able to help for the medium term (he still is controllable through arbitration through 2025-26) could be inclined to give him a shot.

In the East, Montreal has at least a short-term opening up front with the recent injury to Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Yamamoto would give them a bit of offensive punch and speed in a bottom-six group that is veteran-heavy.  The fact that he had success playing with Leon Draisaitl could appeal to a team like Pittsburgh who has been looking for consistent wingers to play with Sidney Crosby.  They’ve tried several players in that role with varying degrees of success; perhaps Yamamoto could be worth a look there.  Ottawa, meanwhile, has lost some winger depth between trades dating back to last season and free agency and could benefit from another offensive option to shore up their depth.

Out West, Colorado had a lot of success on a low-cost one-year deal for Jonathan Drouin last summer.  Yamamoto fits that type of bounce-back profile that could be a mutual fit.  He’d have to take a fair-sized pay cut to make it work, however, with Valeri Nichushkin expected back early in the season, putting his cap hit back on their books.  If Yamamoto is willing to take a low-cost contract, Dallas would also be a fit as they’ve had success integrating offensive players in their bottom six.  With Evgenii Dadonov a year out from free agency, Yamamoto could plausibly slide into that spot in 2025-26, potentially making him a multi-year fit.  Winnipeg was a mid-pack team offensively last year and hasn’t added much on that front so he could be a fit there depending on how long (and expensive) Cole Perfetti’s next contract winds up being.

Projected Contract

Being a late non-tender, Yamamoto wasn’t eligible to land on our Top 50 UFA list but might have made it towards the back end had he been eligible.  But players who make it to this point unsigned generally don’t fare well in terms of their next contract.  Most of the best fits are teams that will be looking for a bargain so if he’s looking to go to a playoff-bound team, he’s likely going to have to come in at $1MM or lower.  If a lower-end team wants to take a flyer on him, the price tag could land a bit above that but at this point, it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to match the $1.5MM he made last season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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