Minor Signings: 07/02/2026
Although the overwhelming majority of the heavy lifting is done for much of the league, teams continue to poach the free agent market to address their depth and improve their AHL affiliates. Today, several recognizable names have signed, and we will continue to update the list throughout the day. Here are today’s minor signings:
- One of the particularly busy teams on the opening day of free agency, the San Jose Sharks announced four additional signings. The Sharks have signed netminder Kyle Keyser, forward Brett Leason, and forward Tye Felhaber to one-year, two-way contracts. Additionally, San Jose has signed forward Alex Barré-Boulet to a two-year, two-way contract.
- According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have signed forward Matthew Stienburg to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season. Stienburg was injured for much of the 2025-26 season, finishing with two goals and three points in eight appearances for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.
- The team at PuckPedia confirmed that the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed defenseman Cole McWard to a two-year, $1.75MM contract. Surprisingly, it will be a one-way contract in both years of the deal. McWard spent last season with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, scoring six goals and 27 points in 63 games with a -11 rating.
- PuckPedia also confirmed that the New York Rangers have signed former first-round pick Dennis Cholowski to a two-year, $1.75MM contract. Cholowski has 173 games of NHL experience, scoring 13 goals and 42 points with a -60 rating, averaging 16:30 of ice time. Additionally, the Rangers announced that they’ve also signed forward Glenn Gawdin to a two-year, two-way contract.
- Adding to their defensive depth, the Anaheim Ducks announced that they’ve signed Travis Mitchell to a one-year, two-way contract. Aside from making his NHL debut, Mitchell spent much of last year with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, scoring one goal and 17 points in 58 games with a +3 rating.
- According to a team announcement, the Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Aidan McDonough to a one-year, two-way contract. McDonough is coming off his best professional season, scoring 23 goals and 44 points in 63 games for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
- The Florida Panthers announced that they’ve signed defenseman Casey Fitzgerald to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 campaign. Fitzgerald is two years removed from his first stint with the Panthers organization, when he scored four goals and 21 points in 69 games for the Charlotte Checkers with a +22 rating.
- According to a team announcement, the Winnipeg Jets have signed Henry Thrun to a one-year, two-way contract. Thrun spent most of last season with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, scoring five goals and 23 points in 55 games with a -1 rating. He added two goals and nine points in 24 postseason games, helping the Marlies to a Calder Cup championship.
- The Devils have re-signed Group Six UFA forward Xavier Parent to a one-year, two-way deal, PuckPedia reports. The 25-year-old played in five games with New Jersey last season, while adding 20 goals and 19 assists in 63 games with AHL Utica.
Minor Transactions: 7/13/24
The hockey summer has entered a standstill, with moves around Europe headlining much of the news. We’ll keep track of the notable signings here:
- Starting in North America, former St. Louis Blues forward prospect Keean Washkurak has signed a one-year, minor league deal with the Belleville Senators. Washkurak entered unrestricted free agency this summer, after not receiving a qualifying offer from St. Louis. He didn’t have much to show prospective new teams, with just four goals and 10 points in 63 AHL games last season. It was another low-scoring and low-minutes year for Washkurak, who’s totaled a measly 46 points across 176 AHL games since turning pro in 2020. He’s so far spent his career on two two-way NHL contracts with the Blues – a status that he’ll now have to work his way back to with Belleville.
- Goaltender Zane McIntyre has signed a one-year deal with the Straubing Tigers of the DEL, Germany’s top league. The move ends McIntyre’s nine-year tour around the AHL; a trip that took him through stops with six different clubs, including the Providence Bruins and Iowa Wild. McIntyre has generally filled a backup role throughout his career, ultimately totaling 153 wins and a .908 save percentage in 300 AHL games. He’s now set for his first full year in Europe, though he did spend a brief six games with the KHL’s Dynamo Riga during the 2020-21 season.
- Kyle Keyser is joining the string of goaltenders moving internationally, signing a one-year deal with the Kunlun Red Star, China’s KHL club. Keyser has spent the last six seasons with the Providence Bruins, though he’s split his time between the roles of AHL backup and ECHL starter. The 25-year-old Keyser has totaled 29 wins and a .902 in 73 AHL games and 16 wins and a .891 in 42 ECHL across his career. He’ll fight for better production in a more prominent role with Kunlun.
* This post will be updated throughout the day.
Bruins Sign Kyle Keyser To One Year Contract
Ty Anderson of NBC Sports Boston tweeted that the Boston Bruins have signed goaltender Kyle Keyser to a one-year, two-way contract extension worth $775K at the NHL level and $90,000 while Keyser plays in the AHL. The 24-year-old was a restricted free agent after spending the bulk of last season in the AHL with the Providence Bruins. Anderson also added the team has signed forward Jakub Lauko to a two-year contract carrying a cap hit of $787.5K. It’s a partial two-way/one-way deal, breaking down as follows, per CapFriendly:
2023-24: $775K NHL salary, $200K AHL salary, $300K guaranteed salary
2024-25: $800K NHL salary
The native of Coral Springs, Florida, went undrafted after coming out of the OHL, where he played a single season with the Flint Firebirds before spending three years with the Oshawa Generals. He posted solid numbers in his last two years in Oshawa and caught the attention of the Bruins, who signed him to an entry-level contract in 2019.
Since signing his original deal, Keyser has spent the past four seasons in Providence but has shuffled back to the ECHL on several occasions. His best ECHL season came with the Jacksonville Icemen in 2020-21, where he went 9-9-2 with a 2.46 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. Last season in the AHL with Providence, Keyser posted a .900 save percentage with a 2.72 goals-against average as he went 13-6-2. He was called up to Boston at one point during the year but never dressed for an NHL game.
At 24 years old, it’s hard to call Keyser a prospect anymore, and his play hasn’t exactly warranted a call-up, particularly with how stacked the Bruins’ goaltending depth is at the NHL level. His numbers in the AHL have been pedestrian thus far, as last season, he finished 44th in AHL save percentage out of 74 goaltenders. Given his track record, it seems likely that Keyser will continue to be a depth AHL goaltender in the Bruins system.
Lauko appeared in 23 games for the Bruins, his first set of action in the NHL. Recording four goals and seven points, he didn’t look out of place and will certainly warrant additional call-ups in the coming season – if he doesn’t make the team out of camp. Most would have him penciled in for a fourth-line role ahead of other depth signings like Jayson Megna, and he’s outperformed other Bruins prospects like Oskar Steen when given NHL minutes.