Maple Leafs Sign Teddy Blueger
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forward Teddy Blueger. Moments later, Friedman shared that it’ll be a two-year, $5MM ($2.5MM AAV) contract for Blueger in Toronto.
Blueger, 31, could be one of the sneakier bottom-six pickups of the day. Already a Stanley Cup champion during his time with the Vegas Golden Knights, Blueger has spent the last three years playing with the Vancouver Canucks. His first two years were exactly what you’d expect, scoring 14 goals and 54 points in 150 games with a -3 rating while averaging 14:36 of ice time and delivering 202 hits.
Unfortunately, Blueger had some significant injury concerns this season, which limited his playing time. However, when he was healthy, Blueger was one of the best players on the Canucks. After the season they had, that’s not saying a whole lot, but Blueger was on fire even based on his previous career standards. He finished the season with nine goals and 17 points in 35 games, managing a 17.6% shooting percentage.
Obviously, the Maple Leafs shouldn’t count on Blueger to sustain that throughout an entire season, but at least they know that level of his game is there. Outside of being able to chip in offensively, Blueger wins a decent chunk of the faceoffs he takes, can play on the penalty kill, and is more than responsible on the defensive side of the puck.
Free Agent Focus: Vancouver Canucks
Free agency is just a week away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. Even with the UFA crop being thinned out in recent months, there will be some quality veterans set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Canucks.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph – Brought in to add cost-controlled depth to the blue line, Joseph never found his footing in his first season with Vancouver. The 26-year-old left-shot defenseman was limited to 31 games by injuries and inconsistency, managing just six points and a minus-16 rating while averaging a touch over 13 minutes a night. He retains some appeal as a mobile depth option on a cheap ticket, but with the Canucks turning the page and prioritizing younger players, he is no better than a borderline qualifying-offer candidate, and the team could just as easily let him walk.
Other RFAs: F Nils Aman, F Chase Stillman, F Jayden Grubbe, F Danila Klimovich
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Evander Kane – A year that began with the storyline of a hometown return ended in disappointment for both player and team. The Vancouver native, acquired from Edmonton for a fourth-round pick, was supposed to bring scoring and snarl to the middle six but instead posted his fewest goals in a full season since 2014-15, finishing with 13 goals, 31 points, and a minus-20 rating across 71 games for a club that cratered around him. The 34-year-old still brings physicality and a veteran edge, and was floated as a trade candidate before injuries intervened, but on an expiring contract and with the Canucks committed to youth, a reunion looks highly unlikely. Expect Kane to test the market.
F Teddy Blueger – One of the few veterans to hold his value through a lost season, Blueger remained a quietly effective two-way center even as injuries cost him most of the year. The 31-year-old Latvian was limited to 35 games but tied his career high with nine goals and added eight assists, a near-40-point pace, while continuing to anchor what had been one of the league’s better penalty kills before the roster was gutted. He has said he would like to stay, and was valued enough my the Canucks that they couldn’t find a worthwhile deadline return for him, but with the club ready to hand bottom-six minutes to younger players, his future is uncertain. A cheap, short-term re-sign is possible, though he may well find a better opportunity elsewhere.
D Derek Forbort – Forbort’s second season in Vancouver was essentially a write-off, as a hip injury limited the veteran to just two games. When healthy the year before, the 34-year-old left-shot defenseman had been a genuine asset, almost single-handedly lifting the Canucks’ penalty kill into a top-three unit, but a lost campaign at this stage of his career makes a return to a rebuilding team hard to envision. Coming off an expiring $2MM deal and reportedly set to test free agency, Forbort will likely move on.
Other UFAs: F Curtis Douglas, F Joe Labate, D Guillaume Brisebois
Projected Cap Space
The Canucks enter the summer in unfamiliar territory: at the start of a full rebuild. After a dismal 58-point season, the worst record in the NHL and a League-worst minus-100 goal differential, Vancouver tore the operation down to the studs. The watershed move came in December, when the club traded captain and former Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes to Minnesota for Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, Zeev Buium, and a 2026 first-round pick, and the selloff continued with Conor Garland, Tyler Myers and Kiefer Sherwood all shipped out for futures. The front office was overhauled just as thoroughly: GM Patrik Allvin and coach Adam Foote were fired, president Jim Rutherford is stepping aside after this month’s draft, and franchise icons Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin were installed as co-presidents, with Ryan Johnson hired as general manager and Manny Malhotra promoted from the AHL as the new head coach. Per PuckPedia, the Canucks project to carry roughly $21MM in space against the $104MM ceiling, but Johnson has been explicit that this rebuild will be built through the draft and trades rather than free-agent splashes; the room is more useful as a tool to absorb salary and pry assets from cap-strapped clubs than to chase July 1 names. The bigger prize comes at the draft, where Vancouver holds the No. 3 overall pick and a franchise-record haul of selections, and where Malhotra’s son Caleb, a top-ranked center, looms as a possibility. With veterans such as Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, Filip Hronek, and Thatcher Demko still drawing interest, the front office’s reshaping of the roster is only getting started.
Salary cap information via PuckPedia.
Penguins Interested In Teddy Blueger
The Penguins’ roster isn’t expected to look very different after Friday’s deadline. They’re a safe bet to make the playoffs and won’t be selling off any rental UFAs, but after seemingly jumping years ahead of schedule in their retool in a matter of moves, they’re not in the market for any of the significant names still available, either.
They’re still in the market for some cheap pickups, whether rentals or young change-of-scenery names. It appears a reunion with center Teddy Blueger could help satisfy the latter want, as Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports they’re looking at acquiring the pending UFA from the Canucks as a stopgap depth fix with Sidney Crosby‘s suspected MCL sprain causing a strain on their forward group.
Vancouver has presumably received interest from a few other playoff-bound clubs as well in the 31-year-old, who ended his first stint in Pittsburgh under similar circumstances as a rental pickup by the Golden Knights on their way to a Stanley Cup in 2023. He spent more than half the season on injured reserve with a lower-body issue but has been hot since returning, picking up five goals and eight points in 14 games for the ‘Nucks while averaging north of 16 minutes per game, a career-high.
Blueger was a press-box luxury for the Knights on their long playoff run three years ago and could fill a similar role for Pittsburgh when Crosby returns. The success of Thomas Novak and Benjamin Kindel this season makes it hard to envision Blueger taking up a spot in the top-nine, and they’d be similarly hesitant to break up a fourth line of Connor Dewar, Blake Lizotte, and Noel Acciari that’s been exceptional at controlling play at even strength with a 54.2% expected goals share.
As such, the Pens likely won’t be willing to part ways with more than a mid-round pick to land him. Seeing as they have at least five picks in the first three rounds of the next three drafts, they have no shortage of capital. But they might have to reach into that stable of second or third-rounders compared to a fourth or fifth to get it done, considering what fourth-line pieces like Michael McCarron, Nic Dowd, and Cole Smith have fetched this week.
Blueger started his career as a second-round pick of the Pens back in 2012. After finally breaking into the league six years later, he ended up posting 33 goals and 92 points in 250 games for them over five seasons.
Snapshots: Kadri, Wilson, MacKinnon, Blueger
Nazem Kadri has been no stranger to the rumor mill over the last couple of years with the Flames in the middle of a rebuild of sorts. While his public comments have consistently indicated a desire to remain in Calgary, it’s possible that he’s having a change of heart. In a recent TSN Insider Trading segment, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the veteran now wants to be traded at this point while the team continues to test the market on him. The 35-year-old should have a decent market given the dearth of quality centers available but having three years left after this one on his contract with a $7MM price tag could give some suitors some pause. Despite Calgary’s struggles this season, Kadri leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and 29 assists in 56 games.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that Tom Wilson’s absence from tonight’s game against Philadelphia was due to illness. Wilson had a fairly successful run at the Olympics for Canada with four points in six games while also finishing second in the event in penalty minutes with 29. The winger leads Washington in scoring this season with 23 goals and 26 assists in 50 games.
- After a busy Olympic tournament with Canada, the Avalanche decided to give Nathan MacKinnon the night off tonight against Utah. Corey Masisak of The Denver Post relays (Twitter link) that MacKinnon’s absence was merely termed as maintenance and not injury-related. It was suggested that MacKinnon was playing through something at the Olympics although he still managed seven points in six games while playing heavy minutes. He leads the NHL in goals this season with 40 through 55 appearances.
- Speaking with reporters including Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, Canucks center Teddy Blueger noted that he’d love to remain with the team but as of yet, there haven’t been any discussions about a possible contract extension. The 31-year-old has been limited to just ten games this season heading into tonight’s action due to injury but has been surprisingly productive in those, notching five goals and three assists. Known as more of a checking center throughout his career, Blueger is likely to garner interest before next week’s trade deadline from teams looking to shore up their bottom six. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent with a $1.8MM cap charge.
Evening Notes: Blueger, Fowler, McKenna
The Vancouver Canucks are expected to have a high asking price for potential rental center Teddy Blueger, as written by Thomas Drance in an article with The Athletic from last week.
The 31-year-old had to miss a large portion of the season with an undisclosed injury, but since being activated on January 21, he’s been on a hot streak with five points in his last five games. Never notching more than 28 points in a campaign, Blueger is more of a penalty killing role player, but especially in such a thin center market, with a $1.8MM cap hit, he will come at a premium.
Nearly three years ago, Blueger was traded from Pittsburgh to Vegas for a third round pick, then catching on with Vancouver as a free agent. It’s hard to imagine the Canucks will part with him for less than that, considering demand and his strong play of late.
Contenders will have a chance to watch Blueger play a large role against elite competition on the global stage. He is helping lead Team Latvia in the Olympic Games, before coming back to the bottom ranked Canucks heading into the Trade Deadline season.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Montreal Canadiens top goalie prospect Jacob Fowler will miss AHL All Star festivities due to an upper-body injury, the Laval Rocket shared. The 21-year-old has proven to be a steal, chosen in the third round of the 2023 draft out of Boston College and now one of the league’s premier goaltender prospects. Fowler has a .914 save percentage, good for fourth in the AHL, on the sixth-ranked Rocket. Still early in his professional career, the Florida native already appeared in 10 games with the big club this season and performed well. The Rocket noted that he will still “remain on the bench” so it is likely precautionary and no cause for real concern.
- Top 2026 draft prospect Gavin McKenna is expected to return this weekend, according to Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald. NHL scouts were apparently notified that the Penn State star will be in action at Michigan in a huge matchup between the two top five ranked Big 10 teams. McKenna has had an eventful February, starting with an arrest and felony aggravated assault charges, which were eventually withdrawn. He still faces a misdemeanor charge, but an initial court date tomorrow has been postponed, meaning the 18-year-old can focus fully on the Wolverines.
Canucks Activate Teddy Blueger, Reassign Arshdeep Bains
Set to host Washington tonight, the Vancouver Canucks announced that Arshdeep Bains has been reassigned to AHL Abbotsford. The transaction aligns with word that Teddy Blueger is set to return from injured reserve, as Head Coach Adam Foote told reporters today, including Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet650.
Blueger is expected to return as third line center tonight not having played since October. Listed at the time with an undisclosed injury, it was not necessarily expected back then for the 31-year-old to miss half the campaign.
A pending unrestricted free agent, Blueger has been listed as a possible trade candidate, especially considering such a thin center market. Currently last in the league by a considerable margin, things have obviously soured since the last time Blueger was in action, where his Canucks were 4-2-0 out of the gate. Now finally healthy, he may make his case for a deal to a contender.
Meanwhile, it has been an eventful last two months for Bains, as the 25-year-old cleared waivers and was sent down in December, only to be recalled on January 2 after netting six points in five AHL games. The call up corresponded with Marco Rossi’s placement on injured reserve.
Bains managed to skate in two games last week, hovering around the 10:00 mark between each, and finishing a -3 combined. Across his 28 total games on the year, the winger has five points. Undrafted, the British Columbia native figures to be organizational depth, currently in his fourth year with the Canucks, and signed through 2026-27. At the AHL level, Bains is considerably more productive, nearly reaching the point-per-game mark in the last two seasons, and helping lead Abbotsford to a Calder Cup title last year.
Snapshots: Garland, Chytil, Blueger, Stamkos, Karlsson
Canucks winger Conor Garland has been generating several inquiries lately, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). While Vancouver has shifted into a rebuild of sorts, Pagnotta adds that Vancouver isn’t necessarily looking to move him but will listen to inquiries. The 29-year-old has seven goals and 15 assists in 37 games so far this season in the final season of his current deal that carries a $4.95MM cap charge. However, he has already signed a six-year, $36MM extension that will begin in 2026-27 so any interested teams would know they’ll need to take on that sizable commitment.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Still with the Canucks, they could be getting some good news soon on the injury front. Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma notes (Twitter link) that centers Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger were full participants at practice and are nearing returns. Chytil has only played in six games this season (where he has three goals) and has been sidelined with a concussion for the last three months. Blueger has been out just as long with a lower-body injury. After also being injured to start the year, he has only been able to play twice so far in 2025-26. A pending UFA, Blueger is a strong trade candidate if he’s able to stay healthy between now and the trade deadline in early March.
- The league announced that Predators forward Steven Stamkos has been fined $2.5K for unsportsmanlike conduct for an incident with Vegas defenseman Jeremy Lauzon during Saturday’s game. The fine money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
- Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson returned to practice today in a non-contact capacity, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 35-year-old has missed the last week with an undisclosed injury. While there is no change to his day-to-day status, Karlsson will accompany the team on their upcoming four-game road trip. Through 44 games this season, he has three goals and 30 assists and is averaging a little under 24 minutes of playing time.
Assessing Potential Under-The-Radar Trade Candidates
After two major trades last week involving players like Quinn Hughes, Marco Rossi, Tristan Jarry, and Stuart Skinner, the trade bait boards in the media have removed several names from the potential trade list. There are still many clear candidates available for trade, including Ryan O’Reilly, Rasmus Andersson, Alex Tuch, and Yegor Chinakhov. However, beyond that initial group of obvious options, there are less obvious, under-the-radar players who might come into play as the next few months unfold.
We start with a couple of Jets players who are near the bottom of the NHL standings and have been a colossal disappointment this season. Much of their struggles are due to three-time Vezina Trophy winner (and last season’s Hart Trophy winner) Connor Hellebuyck missing three weeks after an arthroscopic knee procedure on Nov. 21.
If this slow start persists, the Jets have two veterans, Gustav Nyquist and Jonathan Toews, who could be trade targets if Winnipeg decides to punt on this season. With just six assists in 24 games, Nyquist hasn’t been a fit in Winnipeg. The 36-year-old is on a one-year deal worth $3.25MM that he signed on July 1 and is only two years removed from posting 75 points in 81 games with the Predators.
Should Winnipeg make Nyquist available, he will attract significant interest due to his veteran experience and passing skills. Make no mistake, Nyquist is somewhat one-dimensional at this stage in his career, but he can also contribute on the penalty kill and occasionally score. Last year at the trade deadline, Nashville traded Nyquist to the Wild for a second-round pick; however, his performance this season (and last year) makes that return unlikely. Nyquist doesn’t have trade protection on his current deal.
Initially, Toews’ story was an incredible demonstration of perseverance and grit in getting back to the NHL. The Jets took a chance on Toews, hoping he could regain his spot as an NHL center in their top six, or at least their top nine. That hasn’t happened so far, as Toews has struggled to keep up with today’s NHL pace, which is understandable given his health issues and the time he was away from the game.
Winnipeg misjudged how effective Toews would be, and they are now paying the price in the standings because of a significant gap in their forward group. That said, they are still in the playoff hunt, and with an intense stretch of play, they could contend again. However, if they stumble, they might consider moving Toews if he’s willing to waive his no-move clause. Since he returned home to play for the Jets, it’s unlikely they will trade him or that he will accept a deal, but if Winnipeg’s struggles persist, it could become a real possibility.
Toews has been moved to the fourth line (along with Nyquist) and has scored just three goals and six assists in 33 games this season with a -13 rating while averaging 15:33 of ice time per game. Those stats mark the worst production of Toews’ career. He’s appeared slow this year, and Winnipeg seems like a team playing in slow motion when he is on the ice. It raises the question of whether they can continue to include him in the lineup.
The Jets signed Toews to make a substantial impact in the playoffs, but if the playoffs look unlikely, it makes sense to see if they can find him a team that will qualify and receive a small return. That is, if he wishes to play elsewhere.
Sticking with the Western Conference, the Blues have also disappointed this season, after pushing the Jets to the very limit in last year’s playoffs. St. Louis is a team caught between being a playoff contender and an up-and-coming squad, and it’s fair to wonder how many veterans they might move this season. Much has been said about Jordan Kyrou, Jordan Binnington, and Brayden Schenn, all of whom are on many trade candidate lists, but one name that isn’t talked about often is forward Mathieu Joseph.
Joseph is a Stanley Cup champion who could be a reliable addition to a contending team looking to strengthen its depth. The 28-year-old has a good shot, can kill penalties, and plays with a lot of speed. He is carrying a $2.95MM cap hit in the final year of a four-year deal and won’t cost a fortune for any team aiming to improve their lineup. Joseph would also bring a bit of physicality to the bottom of a forward group, making him a strong candidate for a trade.
Switching over to the Eastern Conference, a name that emerges as a somewhat under-the-radar trade candidate is defenseman Ryan Shea. The Penguins signed Shea to a one-year NHL contract in the summer of 2023 that included a $775K guarantee, despite him having never played an NHL game up to that point.
Shea had spent three seasons in the Stars’ minor league system after captaining Northeastern University in the NCAA. The 28-year-old is once again heading for free agency next summer and was earlier projected by AFP Analytics to receive a one-year deal worth just over $1MM.
However, his performance this season (two goals and 11 assists in 33 games) has raised his value, and he could be eyeing a multi-year contract considering his age and recent form. The Penguins have over $54MM in cap space for next season (as per PuckPedia) and could easily re-sign him, but it remains uncertain whether he fits into their long-term plans given their projected window of contention. If they see him as part of their top-six forward group, he will sign and stay; if not, he should be an available trade asset before the deadline due to his $900K cap hit.
Lastly, we have Teddy Blueger of the Canucks. Blueger has played just two games this season due to a lower-body injury, but is expected to return after Christmas, making him a likely trade candidate given his upcoming free agency next summer.
Blueger is a dependable pro and a consistent presence; he is a fourth-line center, no more, no less. The 31-year-old is in the final season of a two-year deal paying him $1.8MM and is likely to get a raise if he can return to the lineup and perform at his best. Blueger has been remarkably consistent throughout his career, peaking at 28 points in a season, a number he has reached multiple times.
Blueger isn’t overly big or fast, but he is an excellent forechecker and has some offensive skills beyond goal scoring, which he isn’t particularly good at. He is a smart player both offensively and defensively, especially on the penalty kill, where he has been excellent historically.
All these factors make Blueger a prime candidate to be moved before the deadline, given his timeline and the Canucks’ plans. Vancouver is about as unpredictable as any team can be right now, but Blueger has a Stanley Cup on his resume and will be sought after by playoff-bound teams, which Vancouver is not.
Canucks Injury Notes: Blueger, Garland, Hoglander, Forbort
It has been a tough season for Canucks center Teddy Blueger. He missed the start of the season with a lower-body injury, came back, and had the injury flare up again in his second game. Now, things don’t appear to be going well in his recovery. Speaking with reporters today (video link), head coach Adam Foote indicated that Blueger has suffered a setback and will be shut down for at least a few days. The hope is that he will be able to resume skating after that. In his first two seasons with Vancouver, the 31-year-old has put up 28 and 26 points while notching a career-high 104 hits in 2024-25 as well. With their center depth being thinned out at the moment, they were hoping that Blueger would be able to come in and play soon but that won’t be the case.
Other news from Vancouver:
- On the good news front, Conor Garland’s absence will wind up being just one game. After missing Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury, Foote noted that the 29-year-old will return on Thursday against Dallas. Garland is off to a good start to his season with five goals and eight assists in 17 games, a point-per-game rate that, if maintained, would be the best of his career. He’s also averaging nearly 20 minutes per night which is also a personal best, coming in ahead of the career-high 18:39 set last season.
- Foote also shared an update on winger Nils Hoglander. Out since the preseason due to lower-body surgery, he was initially expected to miss eight to ten weeks. It appears he’s still on that trajectory but the recovery time now appears to be on the back end of that scale. After a career year in 2023-24 that saw him record 24 goals and 36 points, his production dropped last season to just eight goals and 25 points and with the time he’s missed this season, he might be hard-pressed to match that total in 2025-26.
- Lastly, regarding defenseman Derek Forbort, Foote said that “I think, the last couple years. When you get into the midsection stuff, whatever it is, I think they want to start from scratch and fix it.” The veteran has only played in two games this season due to the injury and Foote’s comments suggest that a return isn’t imminent.
Canucks Notes: Garland, Kämpf, Chytil, Blueger
The Canucks’ injury woes this season continued in what was a surprisingly resurgent 6-2 win over the Lightning earlier this evening. Vancouver lost winger Conor Garland to an undisclosed injury early in the second period, and he didn’t return. There wasn’t an apparent injury that immediately preceded his departure, but he was involved in a fight with Tampa defender Darren Raddysh earlier in the game – one the 5’10” winger managed to win (video via B/R Open Ice). It didn’t seem like he took enough contact in that scrum to get hurt, but there should be more clarity before Vancouver finishes their back-to-back against the Panthers tomorrow. The 29-year-old Garland has been thrust into top-line duties this season with Evander Kane and Elias Pettersson and has fit the bill, registering a 5-8–13 scoring line in 16 outings while averaging a career-high 20:51 of ice time per game. For a team with five other roster players hurt at the moment and an already below-average offense, his potential for missed time is an especially damaging blow.
More out of Vancouver:
- Newly-signed center David Kämpf has joined the club on its road trip and could make his Canucks debut tomorrow, general manager Patrik Allvin told reporters today (including Ben Kuzma of Postmedia). Pending Garland’s status, he could be the replacement. It would be the 30-year-old’s first NHL game of the season after getting waived by the Maple Leafs during training camp and eventually having his contract mutually terminated, leading to his $1.1MM pact with Vancouver for the balance of the campaign. He had five goals and 13 points in 59 showings with Toronto last year, but had just one assist in four games with their AHL affiliate in October.
- Filip Chytil has resumed skating nearly a month after sustaining yet another suspected concussion, Allvin said, although he labeled the center’s progress as “slow.” Chytil, who has centered a line between Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser to begin the year and had three goals through six games, was rocked by the Capitals’ Tom Wilson on Oct. 19 and has been out since. They’re still likely looking at multiple weeks – if not months, given his history – before a return, adding to the list of reasons why Kämpf was brought in for added depth down the middle.
- Another banged-up center, Teddy Blueger, is also still listed as week-to-week, Allvin said. It’s been a longer-than-expected road to recovery for the Latvian, who got injured the same night as Chytil after scoring a goal. His recurring lower-body issue has limited him to just two appearances this year.