Week In Review

We’re now past the midpoint of August and training camps are starting to get closer. We saw a handful of moves on the transaction front over the past seven days, several of which are highlighted in our key stories.

Going For 20: Long-time NHL veteran Jack Johnson isn’t ready to call it a career just yet as he has signed a tryout deal with Minnesota. The 38-year-old was an every-game regular as recently as 2023-24 but his second stint with Columbus last season saw him reduced to a much lesser role with playing time very limited when he did get in the lineup for his 41 games. Johnson has 342 points in 1,228 games with six different teams over 19 seasons and will look to make it an even 20 if he can secure a contract from the Wild, a team that moved Declan Chisholm at the draft and didn’t re-sign veteran depth defender Jon Merrill.

Bridge For Evans: Seattle took care of their last remaining restricted free agent, working out a two-year bridge deal with defenseman Ryker Evans. The contract carries a cap hit of $2.05MM. The 23-year-old wrapped up his first full NHL campaign last season and it was a good one that saw him pick up 25 points in 73 games while logging over 19 minutes a night of playing time. Evans also played for Canada at the Worlds in May, notching a pair of assists in eight outings. The deal is slightly front-loaded with his required qualifying offer in 2027 checking in at an even $2MM; that offer will also come with salary arbitration rights. By going with a bridge agreement instead of a long-term pact, Seattle projects to enter the season with nearly $4.6MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.

Johansen Grievance Ruling: While it took quite a while – the better part of a year – a ruling has been made in the Ryan Johansen grievance for the termination of his contract. Philadelphia acquired him in 2024 and after he cleared waivers, he was assigned to the AHL where Johansen asserted there was an injury (a nagging hip issue), leading to the rescinding of the assignment. However, the Flyers then terminated Johansen’s contract last August, citing a material breach of contract. The hearing went to an arbitrator who has sided with Philadelphia, meaning that Johansen’s deal will not be restored in part or in full on the books. Johansen’s contract being added retroactive to last year’s books would have caused a bonus overage penalty for the Flyers which would have then rolled onto their 25-26 numbers. Johansen didn’t play at all last season and remains an unrestricted free agent although it would be surprising to see him sign now.

Calling It A Career: Veteran defenseman Chad Ruhwedel has decided to retire at the age of 35. He was a late bloomer, not really establishing himself in the NHL until he joined Pittsburgh at 26 but wound up becoming a reliable depth option who could step in and play on the third pairing for several years, including the 2021-22 campaign that saw him play in a career-best 78 NHL games. Ruhwedel spent most of last season with the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in Hartford and rather than seek out what would likely have been a PTO deal, he has decided to hang up his skates now. He ends his career with 50 points in 369 NHL games over parts of 13 seasons, a solid run for a player who was never drafted.

Detroit Adds A Defenseman: The Red Wings have added some extra depth on the back end, signing veteran Travis Hamonic to a one-year, $1MM contract. The 35-year-old was a high-quality shutdown defenseman in his prime but he has seen his role scaled back in recent years to that of a depth defender lately. Hamonic was battling Jacob Bernard-Docker for playing time with the Senators for the bulk of the last two seasons and that battle is now set to continue with Detroit’s other signing on the blueline this summer being Bernard-Docker after he was let go by Buffalo.

Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig-Imagn Images.

With training camps now a little more than a month away, a lot of teams are in summer vacation mode while there’s still time.  Although that has resulted in much more limited activity around the hockey world, there was still some news of note which we’ll cover in our key stories.

Schaefer Signs: The top pick in this year’s draft is now under contract as the Islanders signed defenseman Matthew Schaefer to a three-year, entry-level deal.  The agreement pays him $975K per season in the NHL plus another $3.5MM in potential bonuses.  Schaefer was limited to just 17 games with OHL Erie last season and was sidelined for the final few months after suffering a fractured clavicle in the second game of the World Juniors.  That said, he was dominant enough in his two-plus months of action to move him up the draft rankings, making him the consensus number one selection in this year’s class.  By signing now, Schaefer is no longer NCAA-eligible should he not make New York’s roster.

Vesey Heads Overseas: Veteran winger Jimmy Vesey had strong interest in free agency, just not from NHL clubs.  Teams from several leagues tried to sign him and in the end, he decided to sign in Switzerland, inking a two-year deal with Geneve-Servette.  The 32-year-old had a limited role with both the Rangers and Avalanche last season, notching eight points in 43 games.  Originally drafted by Nashville back in 2012, he decided not to sign with them, kickstarting a rarely seen process that saw him reach August 15th free agency and meet with many teams before joining the Rangers.  Overall, Vesey has played in 626 career NHL games over parts of nine seasons, tallying 101 goals and 93 assists.

Panthers Unlikely To Move Rodrigues: With Florida sitting $3.725MM over the salary cap per PuckPedia, many have been waiting for the other shoe to drop; who would be moved to get them back into compliance?  The answer is, for now at least, no one, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Panthers are unlikely to move forward Evan Rodrigues, the one player they could part with to get close to being cap-compliant.  Instead, it appears their intention is to start the season using LTIR with winger Matthew Tkachuk acknowledging that surgery is likely needed to fully repair the adductor injury he dealt with in the playoffs.  If that happens, he’d be expected to miss multiple months, allowing Florida to keep the rest of the group intact for at least a little while longer though they’d have to get compliant whenever Tkachuk was cleared to return.

Winger Signings: While Vesey signed overseas, two other UFA wingers found NHL contracts.  First, the Avalanche agreed to a one-year, $1.25MM deal with Joel Kiviranta.  The 29-year-old had a surprising 16 goals with Colorado last season after his previous career high in points in a single season was 11.  The deal gives Kiviranta a well-deserved raise while still being a reasonable enough price tag should his production drop back to normal levels.  Meanwhile, the Stars dipped their toes into the market as well, signing Nathan Bastian to a one-year, $775K contract.  The 27-year-old had 10 points and 138 hits in 59 games with New Jersey last season.  He’ll battle for a spot on the fourth line in training camp.

Varlamov To Resume Skating: Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov didn’t play at all last season after November due to a lingering knee injury.  They felt it was necessary to add some insurance in free agency when they signed David Rittich to a one-year deal.  However, it appears that Varlamov could be ready for training camp as he’s expected to resume skating in the near future.  The 37-year-old still has two years left on his contract at a $2.75MM AAV and while he’s coming off a down (injury-riddled) year, he has been one of the better backups in recent years.  Getting him back to form would be a nice boost heading into the season.

Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol-Imagn Images.

The arbitration period has come to an end with the final few players settling before the point of getting to a hearing.  Those deals are included in the key stories from the past seven days.

Kings Re-Sign Last RFA: The Kings took care of their final remaining restricted free agent, signing winger Alex Laferriere to a three-year, $12.3MM contract.  The 23-year-old has two full NHL seasons under his belt with his 2024-25 campaign being a solid one as he collected 19 goals and 23 assists in 77 games while working his way into being a regular in the top six.  He also chipped in with a trio of helpers in their first-round playoff exit at the hands of Edmonton.  Laferriere didn’t have salary arbitration eligibility this summer but he will when this deal expires in 2028.  At that point, he’ll be a year away from unrestricted free agency.

Not Retiring Yet: While Nicklas Backstrom’s NHL contract quietly came to an end last month, his career isn’t over just yet as he has signed a one-year deal with SHL Brynas.  The 37-year-old didn’t play at all last season and was limited to just eight games in 2023-24 after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery, a procedure that ended his NHL career, one that saw him eclipse 1,000 points in a little over 1,100 games with Washington.  Backstrom now returns to the program that he grew up in as he looks to extend his playing career a little longer.

Three For Samberg: The first player to get to the point of filing arbitration briefs, Dylan Samberg and the Jets had quite a gap to bridge.  However, they were able to reach an agreement, working out a three-year, $17.25MM contract.  The deal buys Winnipeg two extra years of team control while those two years will also see Samberg have a six-team no-trade clause.  After being more of a depth player for his first few seasons in the NHL, the 26-year-old had a breakout season, logging over 21 minutes a night on the back end while becoming their most trusted shutdown defender.  Samberg also had his best offensive season, collecting 20 points in 60 games plus three more in the playoffs when his ice time went past 24 minutes per contest.

Flames Extend A Forward: One player who didn’t need a new contract right away was Flames forward Martin Pospisil, whose bridge deal runs through the upcoming season.  However, he has a new pact in place as the two sides agreed on a three-year, $7.5MM extension that runs through the 2028-29 campaign.  The 25-year-old is coming off his first full NHL campaign but was quieter than expected offensively, notching just four goals in 81 games although he did add 21 assists.  Pospisil was also one of the hit leaders league-wide last season, picking up 301 while spending a bit of time down the middle.  He’ll be an unrestricted free agent when this deal expires.

More Arbitration Avoidances: Two more players also got contracts done to avoid an arbitration hearing.  Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble reached a two-year, $2.825MM pact well before hearing submissions were due.  He played in 56 games for the second straight season, collecting 13 points and 124 hits in a little under 15 minutes a night of playing time.  Meanwhile, Toronto and winger Nicholas Robertson got to the point of exchanging pre-hearing numbers but settled the next day just above the midpoint on a one-year, $1.825MM contract.  Robertson had a career-high 15 goals in 69 games last season but also spent time as a healthy scratch, especially during the playoffs when he only made three appearances.  Both players will be arbitration-eligible RFAs at the end of their respective deals.

Photo courtesy of James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images.

While the quiet part of the NHL offseason is well underway, there was still some notable news around the NHL, especially on the contract front with several deals being featured in our key stories.

Three For Kakko: Kraken winger Kaapo Kakko was the first of the scheduled salary arbitration hearings but it didn’t get that far.  Instead, the two sides worked out a three-year contract that carries a cap hit of $4.525MM per season.  Seattle acquired the 24-year-old midseason from the Rangers and the change of scenery gave him a boost as he had 30 points in 49 games down the stretch, propelling him to a career-high 44 points for the season.  The contract gives Kakko a raise of more than $2MM per season while Seattle gets two extra years of club control, a sign that they feel he could be part of the longer-term solution moving forward.

Not Guilty Verdicts: More than three months after their trial began after being charged in connection with sexual assault, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Alex Formenton, and Cal Foote were all found not guilty by Justice Maria Carroccia in London, Ontario.  The allegations became public back in 2022 with charges being laid in January 2024; none of those players have played in the NHL since then.  They won’t be eligible to return right away either as the league indicated that they will be “reviewing and considering the judge’s findings” to determine next steps.  The NHLPA has already indicated that they are addressing this with the league, citing that the NHL’s declaration is inconsistent with the discipline procedures set forth in the CBA.

Blake Gets Eight: Hurricanes winger Jackson Blake had a solid rookie season, notching 17 goals and 17 assists in 80 games during the regular season.  Management clearly feels that he’s a part of the long-term plans, as they signed him to an eight-year, $45MM contract extension that will begin in 2026-27.  While the normal AAV of that deal would be $5.625MM, the deal has $15.9MM in deferred signing bonus payments that won’t be paid until the day after the contract expires, July 1, 2034.  In doing so, the AAV and cap charge is lowered to $5.117MM.  Deferred compensation contracts have been outlawed in the CBA extension but until that kicks in (in mid-September 2026), they’re fully legal; it’s now the third such contract on Carolina’s books, joining Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jarvis.

Zacha In Play? Center help has been something that many teams are seeking but few options have been available.  It’s possible that the Bruins could have one, however, following a report from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period who notes that Boston is mulling the possibility of moving Pavel Zacha.  The 28-year-old is coming off a small dip in production, notching 14 goals and 33 assists last season after tallying 57 and 59 points in the previous two seasons.  However, he has been above average on draws in four of the last five years, has had his three best offensive years in the last three seasons, and is signed at a reasonable $4.75MM through the 2026-27 season.  If the Bruins do make him available, they should be able to generate strong interest in his services.

More Arbitration Settlements: More players reached contract settlements before the arbitration submission process began.  The Islanders agreed to a two-year, $4.5MM contract with winger Maxim Tsyplakov after a solid rookie year that saw him record 10 goals and 25 assists along with 140 hits.  Meanwhile, Arvid Soderblom’s bounce-back year with Chicago last season earned him a two-year, $5.5MM pact.  He put up a 3.18 GAA and a .898 SV% last season, a significant improvement on his 2023-24 numbers.  Lastly, new Sabres defenseman Conor Timmins received a two-year, $4.4MM contract.  He split last season between Toronto and Pittsburgh, picking up 15 points in 68 games and was acquired from the Penguins on the second day of the draft.  All three players will be unrestricted free agents when these deals expire in 2027.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.

With arbitration hearings on the horizon, some players and teams are working to get new deals in place quickly.  Some of those contracts highlight the key stories of the past seven days.

Two For Byram: The Sabres elected to take defenseman Bowen Byram to salary arbitration earlier this month, avoiding the risk of an offer sheet.  But in doing so, they gave him the right to request a two-year deal that would take him right to UFA eligibility at 26.  They didn’t need a hearing in the end but Byram got his two-year deal, one that will carry a price tag of $6.25MM.  Byram is coming off his first full season in Buffalo which was a career year, one that saw him record 38 points in 82 games while also averaging a career-high in ice time at 22:42 per game.  This price tag is certainly reasonable for an improving top-four blueliner although the short term on the contract won’t do anything to get rid of the trade speculation that has followed him for several months now.

Chinakhov Wants Out: Speaking of trade speculation, there will be plenty of it surrounding Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov who has made his trade request public.  The request had already been known to the team with discussions with other teams underway.  Chinakhov, a 2020 first-round pick, cited “misunderstanding with the coach” as the reason for wanting out.  He had seven goals and eight assists in 30 games last season but after returning from a back injury, he was predominantly a healthy scratch for the stretch run and their playoff push.  Chinakhov has one year left on his contract a $2.1MM cap charge and will be a restricted free agent with salary arbitration eligibility next summer.

Vilardi Gets Long-Term Pact: Another player who was arbitration-bound was Jets winger Gabriel Vilardi.  With two years of team control remaining, Winnipeg’s hope was that they’d be able to get him signed long-term.  They did just that, inking him to a six-year, $45MM agreement.  The centerpiece of the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade two summers ago, Vilardi took a step forward (when healthy) in 2023-24 and then blew past that last season, collecting 27 goals and 34 assists in 71 games.  The price tag is certainly reasonable for someone who has shown he can be a top-six forward but his lengthy injury history (last season was the only time he reached the 70-game mark) also makes the agreement a bit riskier.  That said, the Jets have another core piece under contract for the long haul.

Toronto Adds Grit: The Maple Leafs decided to use some of their remaining cap space to add some grit up front, acquiring winger Dakota Joshua from Vancouver for a 2028 fourth-round pick.  Toronto actually drafted the 29-year-old back in 2014 but traded him to St. Louis for future considerations five years later.  Joshua had a career year with Vancouver in 2023-24, notching 18 goals and 14 assists in 63 games but missed the start of last season while recovering from testicular cancer and struggled to play at the same level when he did return.  Joshua has three years remaining on his contract, one that carries a $3.25MM AAV with Toronto picking up the full freight of that deal.  It will now be interesting to see how Vancouver uses their freed-up cap room.

Ducks Duck Arbitration: The Ducks entered the week with two looming arbitration hearings and ended it with none.  First, they signed goaltender Lukas Dostal to a five-year, $32.5MM contract.  The 25-year-old took over as Anaheim’s starter and that status was cemented when John Gibson was moved to Detroit last month.  Dostal played in 54 games last season, posting a 3.10 GAA and a .903 SV% playing behind one of the weaker back ends in the NHL; clearly, the Ducks feel he has another level to get to as the team continues to improve.  Soon after that, they re-upped defenseman Drew Helleson to a two-year, $2.2MM pact.  The 24-year-old played in 56 games with Anaheim in 2024-25, his first taste of extended NHL action.  He will still be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent in the 2027 offseason when this agreement expires.

Photo courtesy of Terrence Lee-Imagn Images.

While the bulk of the roster activity occurred on or around July 1st, there was still some movement of note over the past week, including a big CHL to NCAA transfer.  We’ll run down the top moves from around the NHL in our key stories.

Five For Two: A pair of arbitration-eligible restricted free agents inked five-year deals.  First, the Flyers signed blueliner Cameron York to a five-year, $25.75MM pact.  The deal buys out his first two seasons of UFA eligibility.  York had a career year in 2023-24 but struggled last season, notching just 17 points in 66 games while clashing at times with former head coach John Tortorella.  He’ll get a fresh start under Rick Tocchet next season with plenty of job security as well.  Meanwhile, not long after Utah opted to take Jack McBain to arbitration, the two sides agreed on a five-year, $21.25MM deal, one that gives the Mammoth three extra years of team control.  McBain set career highs in goals (13) and points (27) last season while coming up just short of reaching 300 hits for the second time in his career.  The signing ensures that an important part of their bottom six won’t be going anywhere for a while.

Howard Saga Ends: After deciding that he didn’t want to sign with Tampa Bay, prospect winger Isaac Howard has a new home as he was acquired by Edmonton for center Sam O’Reilly.  Howard subsequently signed a three-year, entry-level deal upon being acquired.  Howard was the 31st pick in 2022 and is coming off his junior year at Michigan State where he finished fifth in NCAA scoring, showing he’s ready for the next test.  He didn’t want to take that step with the Lightning but will with the Oilers.  O’Reilly, meanwhile, was the 32nd pick in 2024 and is coming off a solid showing with OHL London.  He’s expected to return to junior next season but immediately becomes one of Tampa Bay’s better prospects, allowing them to salvage a solid return from a tough situation.

Dallas Dumps Dumba: Needing to clear cap space, it was only a matter of time before the Stars made a move.  That move came in the form of trading defenseman Mathew Dumba along with a 2028 second-round pick to Pittsburgh for blueliner Vladislav Kolyachonok.  Dallas inked Dumba to a two-year, $7.5MM contract last summer but he struggled mightily, notching just 10 points in 63 games with some defensive struggles that saw him dropped to the third pairing during the season and benched outright in the playoffs.  Needing to get cap-compliant, the cost of doing so was one of their better draft picks which the rebuilding Penguins will be happy with getting at the cost of some cap room.  Kolyachonok, meanwhile, played in 37 NHL games last season between Utah and Pittsburgh and could be in the mix for a spot at the back of the roster for the Stars.

Manson’s Sticking Around: Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson has been a speculative trade candidate at times when Colorado looked like it needed to open up salary cap room.  However, he has been with the team for more than three years now and will be staying for a while longer as he signed a two-year, $7.9MM extension that begins in the 2026-27 season.  The 33-year-old has been a dependable defensive and physical presence when healthy but he has missed significant time due to injury in two of the last three years.  Manson is now just one of two Avs blueliners signed for the 2027-28 campaign; the other is Devon Toews.

More San Jose Movement: A busy summer in San Jose continued this week.  First, the team flipped defenseman Henry Thrun to Toronto for winger Ryan Reaves in a swap of players on expiring contracts.  Thrun was unlikely to break camp with the Sharks given their additions on the back end in recent weeks while Reaves could find himself in a reserve role like he had with the Maple Leafs last season.  They followed that move up with the signing of veteran winger Jeff Skinner to a one-year, $3MM contract.  The 33-year-old is coming off a quiet year with Edmonton that saw him record 15 goals and 12 assists in 72 games while logging just 13 minutes a night of ice time.  It stands to reason that he’ll get more of a chance with the Sharks, who have now changed up close to 40% of their roster from last season.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.

As expected, the past week was extremely busy around the NHL.  There were plenty of signings, re-signings, trades, and even a head coaching hire.  Rather than try to break down just a few important stories in a week that had plenty of them, we’ll break down the week that was in five key themes.

June 30th Activity: In the hours leading up to free agency, many of the top names found themselves off the market.  Mitch Marner agreed to terms on an eight-year, $96MM deal with Vegas, being acquired in a sign-and-trade with Toronto for Nicolas Roy.  The Panthers found a way to keep both Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand in the fold, signing Ekblad for eight years and $49MM and Marchand for six seasons and $31.5MM.  Ivan Provorov re-upped with Columbus for seven seasons and $59.5MM, making him the top-paid defenseman from the UFA-eligible players.  The Kings decided to stick with Andrei Kuzmenko, giving him a one-year, $4.3MM contract while Detroit once again signed Patrick Kane in the hours before the market opened up, giving him a one-year, $3MM contract that could jump to $7MM with bonuses.

Trades: There was plenty of activity on the trade front before 11 AM CT on July 1st as well.  Vegas dealt Nicolas Hague to Nashville for Jeremy Lauzon and Colton Sissons (with the Preds retaining half of his contract).  Detroit offloaded the final season and $4.75MM of Vladimir Tarasenko’s deal to Minnesota for future considerations.  Toronto tried to replace some of Marner’s playmaking with the acquisition of Matias Maccelli from Utah for a conditional third-round pick.  Boston opted to buy low on Viktor Arvidsson with Edmonton looking to free up cap space, getting the winger for a 2027 fifth-rounder.  Then, just before the market opened up, Montreal and St. Louis swapped youngsters with the Canadiens getting Zachary Bolduc in exchange for Logan Mailloux.

Extensions: While many contracts for next season were handed out in recent days, some big ones were also signed but won’t start until 2026-27.  Vancouver was particularly active, giving deals to two players.  Thatcher Demko signed a three-year, $25.5MM extension while Conor Garland officially inked his previously-reported six-year, $36MM agreement.  Carolina locked up Logan Stankoven to an eight-year, $48MM deal, ensuring they’ll have at least one long-term piece from the Mikko Rantanen series of trades.  Washington got another important part of their back end signed long-term, signing Martin Fehervary to a seven-year, $42MM deal.  Lastly, early extensions are rarely for bridge contracts but San Jose did just that with William Eklund, handing him a three-year, $16.8MM extension; he’ll still be RFA-eligible at its conclusion.

RFA Re-Signings: While this is the time of year when unrestricted free agents generally dominate the headlines, some of the biggest contracts handed out went to players who didn’t hit the open market or get to the point of having discussions about a potential offer sheet.  After moving Noah Dobson who received a rich deal from Montreal, the Islanders handed out a pricey pact of their own to Alexander Romanov who received an eight-year, $50MM contract.  Edmonton wasn’t able to get a long-term deal done with Evan Bouchard but the four-year, $42MM agreement bought them two extra seasons of club control.  Meanwhile, Toronto inked its top youngster Matthew Knies to a six-year, $46.5MM contract, ensuring that most of its top six group (beyond Marner) will be in place for several more years now.

UFA Period Activity: While some of the bigger moves were already made before free agency got underway, there have still been some notable contracts.  The Canucks ultimately wound up keeping Brock Boeser who received a seven-year, $50.75MM contract.  Vladislav Gavrikov’s linking to the Rangers proved to be true as he got a seven-year, $49MM pact; New York, in turn, dealt K’Andre Miller in a sign-and-trade (eight years, $56MM) to Carolina for Scott Morrow plus first and second-round picks.  Anaheim added a veteran center, inking Mikael Granlund to a three-year, $21MM pact after moving Trevor Zegras to Philadelphia last month.  The Sharks opted to shore up their back end, handing Dmitry Orlov a two-year, $13MM contract while also claiming Nick Leddy off waivers from St. Louis.  Meanwhile, the other top winger on the market (Nikolaj Ehlers) waited a couple of days to determine his future before signing a six-year, $51MM contract with Carolina, giving the Hurricanes a needed boost up front.

With the NHL condensing the bulk of its offseason activity in a matter of just a few days this summer, this past week promised to be a busy one and it was.  The annual entry draft was held with the Islanders selecting Matthew Schaefer first overall while the Hockey Hall of Fame announced its annual induction class.  Meanwhile, some big trades and contract extensions highlight the rest of our key stories.

A Mammoth Acquisition: Pun aside, Utah made a splash on the trade front for the second straight offseason, acquiring winger JJ Peterka from Buffalo in exchange for winger Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring.  Additionally, Peterka signed a five-year, $38.5MM contract as part of the move.  Peterka’s point total increased by 18 for the second straight season as he collected 68 in 77 games, good for a share of second in scoring for the Sabres.  Meanwhile, Kesselring gives Buffalo the right-shot defender they’ve long been coveting at a club-friendly $1.4MM price tag next season while Doan has shown some upside over his first 62 games of NHL action.  He has one year left on his entry-level deal at a $925K price tag, meaning that Buffalo also opened up a lot of cap flexibility for next season with this move.

CBA Extension: While the current CBA doesn’t expire until September 2026, there will be labor peace beyond that.  The NHL and NHLPA announced that they’re in agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding that, once ratified by both sides, would constitute a four-year extension to the CBA.  Full details haven’t been disclosed yet but among the changes are a change to LTIR rules (including in the playoffs), a more streamlined system for draft rights, an increase in the minimum salary, the elimination of paper transactions (a player will have to play in a game in the AHL before being eligible for recall in the new deal), the elimination of salary deferrals, and a 75-day minimum timeframe before a player who was traded with salary retention will be eligible to be traded with retention for a second time.  More changes are expected beyond these as well.

Dobson Dealt: The biggest trade of the draft was one that happened well before the draft started (even if they waited until the middle of the first round to make it official).  The Islanders dealt defenseman Noah Dobson in a sign-and-trade agreement to Montreal for winger Emil Heineman plus the 16th (Viktor Eklund) and 17th (Kashawn Aitcheson) picks in the draft.  As part of the move, Dobson signed an eight-year, $76MM contract.  Dobson is coming off a quieter year offensively but still managed 10 goals and 29 assists after putting up 70 points in 2023-24; he and Lane Hutson will give Montreal a strong one-two punch offensively from the back end for the foreseeable future with Hutson under club control through 2031.  Meanwhile, the Islanders get a winger who had a solid rookie year in Heineman and while the thought was they’d try to package those picks to move up, they wound up getting a pair of players who were viewed as being closer to top-ten picks that wound up slipping.  While they have a big hole to fill on the back end now, their prospect pool is also much deeper.

Key Extensions: Several players signed contracts to avoid testing the open market on Tuesday.  Included among them were two of the top-four-ranked players on our Top 50 UFA list.  The Panthers re-signed Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett to an eight-year, $64MM contract.  He just reached the 50-point mark for the first time this season but he was a very impactful player in the playoffs and was likely to get more than that had he made it to the open market.  Meanwhile, after a long negotiation, the Maple Leafs and John Tavares were able to work out a four-year, $18MM agreement.  $2MM of that money is deferred, meaning the cap hit of the agreement comes in at $4.388MM.  Tavares will be entering his age-35 year next season but is coming off a 38-goal, 74-point season and easily would have landed considerably more had he made it to July 1st.  Toronto also agreed to terms on a six-year, $46.5MM contract with pending RFA winger Matthew Knies.  Knies only has two full NHL seasons under his belt but it’s fair to say that the Peterka contract served as a strong comparable for this deal.

Still with Toronto, one possible extend-and-trade option is winger Mitch Marner.  The Maple Leafs and Golden Knights have been discussing a sign-and-trade for Marner that could see at least one player come back to Toronto.  Meanwhile, there is speculation that should a trade not get worked out with Marner signing with them quickly in free agency, a tampering charge could be filed by the Maple Leafs.  As for how the Golden Knights could even afford to sign Marner at market value, it looks like Alex Pietrangelo and his $8.8MM contract will be landing on LTIR following the report that he is heading for multiple surgeries that will put his playing career in jeopardy.

More Trades: There were plenty more trades before or during the draft, including a trio of notable swaps.  The Ducks gave forward Trevor Zegras a fresh start, sending him to the Flyers for center Ryan Poehling, the 45th pick (Eric Nilson), and a 2026 fourth-round pick.  Zegras has two seasons of more than 60 points under his belt but has struggled over the last two years, failing to reach 50 points combined.  Philadelphia clearly feels that they can help get him back to his old form.  The Canucks added some grit on the wing, acquiring Evander Kane from Edmonton for a fourth-round pick (David Lewandowski).  The Oilers needed to clear salary and Kane will get a chance to play in his hometown and add some extra scoring on the wing with Brock Boeser likely to leave in free agency.  Lastly, after years of speculation, the Ducks finally moved goaltender John Gibson.  He is now a member of the Red Wings who acquired him in exchange for veteran netminder Petr Mrazek, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round selection.  Gibson posted a 2.77 GAA and a .911 SV% in 29 games for Anaheim this season and will have a pathway to much more playing time on a Detroit team that got a combined .896 SV% from its five netminders in 2024-25.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images.

The Stanley Cup has been awarded with the Florida Panthers taking home the prize for the second straight year.  With the trophy now handed out, the offseason is in full effect and as is often the case, there was an influx of activity around the hockey world soon after that; the most notable news is recapped in our key stories.

Extensions: Some players have elected to not test free agency and instead signed new deals.  Among those was Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato who accepted a four-year, $16MM contract on the heels of a career year.  He entered the year with a career best of 31 points and finished it with a 31-goal, 31-assist campaign.  Rather than hit the open market, Donato decided to stay where things are going well and if he even comes close to this production moving forward, Chicago will do quite well here.  Meanwhile, Senators pending restricted free agent Fabian Zetterlund inked a three-year, $12.825MM pact.  Acquired from San Jose at the trade deadline, he reached the 40-point mark for the second straight season.  The deal buys Ottawa one more year of club control while Zetterlund will be able to hit the open market as a 28-year-old in 2028.

Coming Home: After missing the last two seasons due to Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, veteran center Jonathan Toews is returning to the NHL.  He’ll be doing so with his hometown team as he signed a one-year deal with the Jets.  The deal carries a $2MM base salary along with $5MM in potential performance bonuses based on games played and Winnipeg’s playoff success.  Notably, he’ll receive $550K for reaching the 20, 40, 60, and 80 games mark while making $500K for 50 games played and Winnipeg making the playoffs.  Toews spent the first 15 seasons of his career with Chicago, winning three Stanley Cups along the way while notching 883 points in 1,067 games.  It would be unrealistic to expect Toews to be a top point-producer at the age of 37 after being off for two years but he might be able to give Winnipeg a boost on the second line, a spot they’ve continually tried to find someone to fill in recent years.

Staying In Dallas: Another prominent pending UFA center took himself off the market as the Stars re-signed Matt Duchene to a four-year, $18MM contract.  The 34-year-old is actually coming off one of the best seasons of his career after putting up 82 points in 82 games this season, including a career-best 50 assists.  Had he gone to the open market, he was likely to land offers of several million more per year but he also would have priced himself out of what the Stars can afford.  Instead, Duchene got the long-term security he was seeking after playing on two straight one-year deals while the Stars get to keep the veteran on a below-market deal.  Technically, Duchene will be making more than that over the life of the contract as he’s still owed $1.55MM per season from Nashville for each of the next four years following the buyout of his contract with them back in 2023.

Winger Swaps: Needing to open up money following the Duchene re-signing, the Stars quickly moved winger Mason Marchment to Seattle for a 2026 third-round pick and Dallas’s 2025 fourth-round pick (previously acquired).  Marchment has two years left on his deal worth $4.5MM per season and has put 100 points over the last two years so the Kraken get some solid secondary scoring and some physicality at a pretty low price.  Meanwhile, to make room for him on the wing, the Kraken then flipped winger Andre Burakovsky to Chicago for center Joe Veleno.  Burakovsky has two years on his contract at $5.5MM per season and will look to rebound offensively after failing to notch 40 points in any of his three years with the Kraken.  Veleno, meanwhile, joins his third team in less than four months and is likely to play in Seattle’s bottom six next season if he’s still with them at that time.

First Players Named For Olympics: While the start of the next Winter Olympics is more than seven months away, the first six players for each country needed to be named this week.  Seven of the top ten NHL scorers from this season were among those named with the notable omissions being Canada’s Mitch Marner and USA’s Kyle Connor (Nikita Kucherov led the NHL in points but Russia will not be taking part in the event).  This will be the first time that NHL players play in the Olympics since 2014 and the tournament will begin on February 11th.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports.

With a maximum of just two games remaining in the playoffs, activity around the NHL is set to pick up considerably in the very near future.  In the meantime, there was still some news of note over the past seven days which is recapped in our key stories.

Calling It A Career: After missing all of the 2024-25 season due to a lingering back injury, veteran winger T.J. Oshie has officially announced his retirement at the age of 38.  A first-round pick by St. Louis back in 2005, he spent the first seven years of his career with the Blues before being traded to the Capitals back in 2015.  From there, Oshie became a long-term fixture of Washington’s top six, spending a lot of time on their second line.  Overall, he played in 1,010 career regular season NHL games between the two teams, scoring 302 goals and 393 assists.  Oshie picked up 69 points in 106 playoff contests while winning a Stanley Cup with Washington back in 2018.

Stars Shopping A Star? One of the themes of the week was the potential availability of Stars winger Jason Robertson.  With Dallas having less than $5MM in cap space per PuckPedia with several key players on expiring contracts, there were reports that they were at least exploring what Robertson’s market might look like although going this route is not their preference.  Robertson has had at least 79 points in each of the last four seasons and has one year left on his contract with a $7.75MM price tag.  At this point, GM Jim Nill’s preference is believed to be trying to move more intermediate contracts like Mason Marchment, Mathew Dumba, and Ilya Lyubushkin, incrementally opening up spending flexibility along the way.

Kreider To Anaheim: There was one trade of note in the NHL this week.  The Rangers had been trying to move winger Chris Kreider dating back to early in the season but with their cap situation requiring more flexibility, time was more of the essence.  They were able to find a move for him, sending the veteran along with the 104th pick in the draft to Anaheim for prospect forward Carey Terrance and pick 89.  Kreider had been a key part of New York’s forward group for more than a decade and has reached the 20-goal mark in 10 of the last 11 seasons.  However, with GM Chris Drury wanting to shake up his core group, Kreider’s $6.5MM cap charge (of which the Ducks are picking up in full), and his drop to just 30 points this season, the decision was made to move on from him.

Awards Week: The majority of the end-of-season awards were handed out this week.  First, Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson took home the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie following a 66-point effort that broke multiple franchise records.  Colorado’s Cale Makar won the Norris Trophy after being the first defenseman to reach 30 goals and 90 points in the same season since 1988-89.  Los Angeles center picked up the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the league’s most gentlemanly player in a particularly close race over several other contenders.  Then, it was Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck winning a pair of awards, collecting the Vezina Trophy for being the top goaltender along with the Hart Trophy for the player deemed to be the most valuable player to his team.

Sabres Listening On Peterka: Sabres winger JJ Peterka has always had plenty of suitors but Buffalo had been rejecting those overtures.  However, as his first foray into restricted free agent approaches, it appears the team is now more open to listening to offers for the 23-year-old amidst the belief that Peterka’s preference would be to move on.  He had his second straight 18-point jump this season, tallying 27 goals and 41 assists in 77 games and has established himself as a capable top-six player.  A long-term deal for Peterka this summer could push past the $8MM mark, a price tag that Buffalo can afford to give him but if they do opt to move him, they’ll command a significant price tag to part with his rights as well.

Photo courtesy of Danny Wild-Imagn Images.