Week In Review

With the Conference Finals well underway, most teams are in offseason mode with as many coaching searches going on as there are teams still playing.  Understandably, some of the notable news from the past seven days comes from behind the bench.

Offer Sheet Thresholds Set: With more teams having cap flexibility thanks to a big jump to the Upper Limit and a thinned-out UFA market, teams will have to get more creative to try to upgrade their rosters.  That makes this summer’s offer sheet thresholds a little more intriguing.  While it’s unlikely a team would go to the top tier (around $11.94MM, costing four first-round picks) but notably, a player could cost $4.77MM and only require a second-round pick in compensation if an offer sheet wasn’t matched.  Meanwhile, third-round compensation would be between $1.575MM and $2.387MM.  We haven’t seen that tactic used much in recent years (though the three latest ones were all successful) but it wouldn’t be shocking if more teams started sniffing around this option, assuming there are players willing to sign them.

Ruff’s Sticking Around: When Lindy Ruff returned behind the Buffalo bench in 2024, he only signed a two-year deal and it was expected that he’d make a decision after that about staying behind the bench, moving into an advisory role, or something else altogether.  With how things went this season, it’s not surprising that he’s going to stay as their head coach after he signed a two-year extension.  The Sabres ended a 14-year playoff drought after winning the Atlantic Division and fared pretty well in the playoffs, only falling in overtime in Game 7 in the second round.  With that decision now done, GM Jarmo Kekalainen gets set for his first summer at the helm of the team.

Surgery For Gustavsson: Heading into the offseason, it looked as if one of Minnesota’s trade chips would come from between the pipes.  With veteran Filip Gustavsson and youngster Jesper Wallstedt, one could presumably be moved.  Instead, those plans are on hold after an announcement that Gustavsson will be undergoing hip surgery.  At this point, it’s unknown if he will be available for training camp with a determination on that front to be made once the extent of the repairs is known after the procedure.  Gustavsson is set to begin a new five-year, $34MM contract next season and teams will want definitive proof that he’s fully healthy before considering trading for that deal.  Accordingly, the Wild’s tandem might remain intact after all heading into 2026-27.

Canucks Make A Change: With their new front office now in place, the Canucks have quickly made changes behind the bench.  The team has fired head coach Adam Foote after just one season in that role, while three assistants were let go as well.  Foote was promoted to the role last offseason after the team couldn’t reach a new contract with Rick Tocchet.  But things went off the rails with the team finishing dead last and ultimately moving their top player, Quinn Hughes, to Minnesota.  Now, GM Ryan Johnson will get to conduct a search if he wants although it wouldn’t be surprising if AHL Abbotsford head coach Manny Malhotra gets the nod.  At least for now, Vancouver joins Toronto, Los Angeles, and Edmonton as teams looking for a new bench boss.

Two For Liljegren: When the Capitals acquired Timothy Liljegren at the trade deadline, it was a bit of a surprise that a non-playoff team would bring in a pending UFA.  However, the team liked what it saw in limited action from him down the stretch and they rewarded him with a two-year, $6.5MM extension.  The $3.25MM AAV is a small increase on the $3MM he made on his most recent deal.  While the 27-year-old hasn’t exactly lived up to his first-round draft billing, he has been a serviceable bottom-pairing defender over the last five years.  With Liljegren now signed, it looks more likely that pending UFA rearguard Trevor van Riemsdyk will not return for next season as Washington now has eight blueliners signed for next season.

Photo courtesy of Matt Blewett-Imagn Images.

With just five teams still alive in the playoffs, most of the NHL is in offseason mode.  There was plenty of news away from the ice, including a unanimous Calder Trophy winner plus a pair of coach firings, which are featured in our key stories.

Canucks Set Front Office: With now-former GM Patrik Allvin gone and Jim Rutherford set to move into an advisory role for next season, the Canucks have now set their new-look front office.  Well, new in the sense that they’ve promoted people into roles they haven’t had before.  Ryan Johnson, who briefly played for Vancouver late in his career, has been promoted from his Assistant GM role to GM to replace Allvin.  It will be his first opportunity running an NHL franchise.  Meanwhile, with Rutherford’s role change opening the Team President role, the organization decided to split the role, naming long-time Canucks mainstays Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin as Co-Presidents.  Their promotion is a little less gradual as they were only working as development coaches but will now turn their focus to the business side of operations.

Six For McAvoy: The Bruins will be without their top defenseman for the first couple of weeks of next season.  This isn’t due to injury, but rather a suspension as he received a six-game ban for a slash on Buffalo’s Zach Benson late in the first round.  The ruling indicated that McAvoy used his stick as a weapon, even winding up for the strike, which undoubtedly played a big role in the ruling.  As the suspension is for longer than five games, McAvoy has the right to appeal the penalty if he so chooses.  Barring that happening, he’s set to forfeit a little over $300K in salary as a result of this suspension.

Six For Coyle: The number six was notable for Blue Jackets center Charlie Coyle, albeit for a much happier reason.  One of the few centers of note who was set to test the open market, that will no longer be the case as he signed a six-year deal to stay with Columbus, one that will carry a $6MM AAV.  The 34-year-old bounced back quite nicely this season with 58 points, the second-highest total of his 14-year NHL career.  While there is certainly some risk in giving someone his age a six-year contract, the dearth of impact middlemen available on the open market gave Coyle’s camp plenty of leverage.  Had the Blue Jackets not offered a deal like this, someone else likely would have in July.

Expensive Silence: The Golden Knights won their second-round series against Anaheim in six games earlier this week but didn’t open up the dressing room to the media while John Tortorella didn’t speak either.  After apparently warning them several times for their failure to adhere to playoff media regulations, the league issued a steep punishment.  Tortorella has been hit with a $100K fine while the team has been stripped of its highest draft pick in next month’s draft, their second-rounder.  The Golden Knights have the right to appeal and will undoubtedly do so in an effort to at least reduce the forfeited selection.  But this sent a strong message across the league that the NHL expects its postseason media obligations to be met at all times with strong penalties for frequent non-compliers.

More Head Coach Openings: A pair of teams have decided to part ways with their head coaches.  First, new Toronto GM John Chayka didn’t waste much time making a change, firing Craig Berube after just two seasons with the team.  Toronto made the second round last year but struggled mightily this season, missing the playoffs altogether.  Overall, he departs with an 84-62-18 record in the regular season.  Meanwhile, Edmonton has relieved Kris Knoblauch of his duties, just weeks before his three-year extension was set to begin (he’ll still be paid the money owing on that deal).  Knoblauch took over early in the 2024-25 season and ultimately led the Oilers to two straight Stanley Cup Finals, coming up short against Florida each time.  This year, they were ousted by Anaheim in the first round.  He leaves with a 135-77-21 regular season record (plus a 31-22 mark in the playoffs) and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him get another opportunity to run a bench down the road.

With the playoffs underway, half of the NHL’s teams have seen their seasons come to an end.  That typically results in a lot of off-ice news and this past week was no exception with several teams making personnel moves that are part of the key stories from the past seven days.

Back To The Devils: The Devils didn’t waste much time finding its next GM as they hired Sunny Mehta away from the Panthers.  He becomes the sixth GM in franchise history and takes over from Tom Fitzgerald.  Mehta sent four years with New Jersey from 2014-15 through 2015-18 as their Director of Analytics.  Two years later, he joined Florida and moved up the ranks, eventually becoming an assistant GM.  Mehta will now get his first chance to be the final shot-caller on a roster and will look to make his mark on a Devils group that underachieved relative to expectations this season.  Beyond Simon Nemec, the bulk of their core is already under contract so most of Mehta’s big work this offseason will come on the trade and free agent front.

Player Extensions: A pair of pending free agents got their next deals done ahead of time.  First, the Stars signed defenseman Nils Lundkvist to a two-year, $3.5MM extension.  The $1.75MM AAV represents a $500K raise on his current deal.  Lundkvist played in 52 games with Dallas during the regular season, picking up 11 points while averaging a career-best 16:29 per game of playing time.  He’ll stay in a third-pairing role moving forward.  Meanwhile, Cole Koepke’s first season in Winnipeg was good enough to earn him two more as the Jets signed him to a two-year, $2.9MM extension, a $450K raise on his current deal.  The 27-year-old matched his career high in points this season with 17 while his 186 hits were a team high.

Quick Calls It Quits: A veteran goaltender has decided to call it a career as Jonathan Quick announced before his final game that he’s retiring.  The 40-year-old spent the last three seasons with the Rangers but the bulk of his 19-year career was spent in Los Angeles.  Quick, a third-round pick by the Kings back in 2005, spent 16 years with the franchise that drafted him, helping lead them to a pair of Stanley Cups while he took home the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2012 as Playoff MVP.  Overall, Quick winds up his career with 410 wins in 809 regular season starts while posting a 2.51 GAA, a .910 SV%, and 65 shutouts.  He added 49 victories in 92 playoff outings – all with the Kings – while putting up even better numbers in the form of a 2.31 GAA and a .921 SV%.

Off-Ice Extensions: It was a good week for some off-ice staff as well.  The Blackhawks signed GM Kyle Davidson to a multi-year extension.  Davidson has been in charge for a little more than four years and has overseen a full-scale rebuild that has seen the team add several promising players with another high draft pick coming in June.  Meanwhile, Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness ended the season with some harsh words for his team and a vow to change the culture if he returned.  He’ll get that opportunity now after signing a one-year extension.  The 71-year-old took over three months ago and led the team to a 21-11-5 record.  They went from near the bottom of the conference to a playoff spot for a while but a tough finish saw them narrowly on the outside looking in for the second straight year.

Canucks Make A Change: While one GM vacancy was filled with Mehta joining New Jersey, another was quickly created when the Canucks fired GM Patrik Allvin.  Things were looking up early on his tenure, highlighted by a Pacific Division title back in 2023-24.  However, the last two years have been a lot rockier.  They’ve missed the playoffs each time, decided to move Quinn Hughes after he gave plenty of advance notice that he wouldn’t re-sign, and finished dead last in the league this season.  Now, the team will turn to someone else – either internal candidate Ryan Johnson or an external option – to try to get them going back in the right direction.

Photo courtesy of Danny Wild-Imagn Images.

We’re barely a month removed from the Olympics but the next best-on-best competition is now on the books.  That’s among our key stories from the past seven days.

World Cup Of Hockey Returns: The last time there was a World Cup of Hockey was back in 2016 when the tournament was held before the season began.  Now, the event is slated to return in 2028 with a midseason event to be held during what would have been the All-Star break, similar to the 4 Nations Face-Off last year.  Unlike that event, this one will feature eight different teams playing a total of 17 games.  Calgary and Prague will host half of the round robin section of the tournament while Edmonton will host the medal round.  The intention is to hold this every four years, meaning that there will be a best-on-best event every two years with the Olympics also being held every four years.

Crosby Returns: The Penguins got a significant boost to their lineup when captain Sidney Crosby was activated off injured reserve.  Injured while playing for Canada at the Olympics, he was initially expected to miss a minimum of four weeks.  Instead, he came back ahead of schedule, with Pittsburgh holding its own in his absence with a 5-3-3 record.  Still, as the Penguins look to hold onto a playoff spot that few expected heading into the season, getting their leading scorer back will certainly help their chances in a tight Wild Card and Metropolitan Division battle.  Crosby had three points in his first two games back in the lineup.

Oilers Down A Star: It has been a tough year for the Oilers.  Viewed as a contender heading into the season, they instead find themselves in a dogfight to simply make the playoffs (though they’re within striking distance of the division lead as well, to be fair).  However, their postseason push just got a lot harder with center Leon Draisaitl is dealing with a lower-body injury and is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season.  He was subsequently placed on LTIR, meaning a minimum absence of 10 games and 24 days.  The 30-year-old was well on his way to his fifth straight 100-point season before the injury.  His 2025-26 campaign ends with 35 goals and 62 assists in 65 games and he’ll now hope that his teammates can get to the playoffs so he’ll have a chance to return.

Two For Carcone: After not getting the types of offers he wanted after saying he’d leave Utah last summer, Michael Carcone ultimately re-signed with the Mammoth.  That proved to be the right move as he’s had a bounce-back year, earning himself a two-year, $3.5MM extension for his efforts.  The 29-year-old had a breakout campaign in 2023-24 with Arizona, tallying 21 goals but he struggled last season.  However, he has played his way back into a full-time bottom-six role this season and has been productive, tallying 14 goals and 12 assists in 67 games.   This will be the first time that Carcone will make more than $775K in a season.

Three For Greer: Earlier this week, George Parros met the media to discuss and defend some of the recent decisions from the Department of Player Safety.  The department is back in the discussion once again following its decision to suspend Panthers forward A.J. Greer for three games for a hit on Calgary’s Connor Zary.  Greer shoved Zary from behind toward the boards a fair distance away from the boards, resulting in an upper-body injury for the youngster.  This is the second suspension of Greer’s career, and he will be eligible to return to Florida’s lineup next Sunday.

Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images.

As always, trade deadline week provided a flurry of activity around the league, even if the volume of trades over the past seven days wasn’t quite as high as it has been in previous years.  As expected, that activity highlights the bulk of this week’s key stories.

Islanders Make A Splash: After a division rival added a key veteran forward (Columbus adding Conor Garland from Vancouver), Islanders GM Mathieu Darche made another move to add to his roster.  New York acquired center Brayden Schenn from St. Louis in exchange for winger Jonathan Drouin, 2026 first and third-round picks, and goalie prospect Marcus Gidlof.  While Schenn’s offensive numbers are starting to drop, he’s still a capable two-way center on a reasonable contract as he has two years left on his current deal at a $6.5MM cap charge.  Schenn didn’t have to go very far to join his new team as the Blues and Islanders were both in the same hotel in San Jose.  Meanwhile, Darche kept another middleman in the fold, signing Jean-Gabriel Pageau to a three-year, $14.55MM contract extension.  The 33-year-old figures to be New York’s third-line center for the next little while and is taking a small pay cut from his current $5MM price tag to stick around.

Contract Extensions: While the trade deadline is a time for players to be moved, it’s also often a time for pending UFAs to sign contract extensions and this year was no exception.  With rumblings that he could be flipped once again just after being acquired, the Sharks and Kiefer Sherwood worked out a five-year, $28.75MM extension.  He already has 19 goals for the second straight year and set the single-season hit record last year and will make more in one season of this deal than his combined earnings to this point of his career.  Meanwhile, the Ducks inked center Ryan Poehling to a four-year, $15MM pact, taking another center off the open market.  In his first season with Anaheim, he’s on pace for his second straight 30-point season.  This deal made it easier for the Ducks to then flip Ryan Strome to Calgary for a seventh-round pick, knowing they’d have the stability with Poehling locked up.  Lastly, the Kraken signed captain Jordan Eberle to a two-year, $11MM pact.  The 35-year-old is their leading scorer with 22 goals and 22 assists this season and the price tag is certainly fair for someone still producing as a top-six piece.

Colorado Swings Big: Already the top team in the NHL with decent depth down the middle, the Avalanche made two moves to shore things up.  First, they parted with a first-round pick and a fifth-round selection to pick up Nicolas Roy from Toronto.  Roy is having a down season but was a quality third-line center in Vegas and should help stabilize their bottom six.  Then, just before the deadline, they swung a bigger move, bringing back Nazem Kadri from Calgary.  They received Kadri and a 2027 fourth-round pick in exchange for winger Victor Olofsson, forward prospect Max Curran, a 2028 first-round pick, and a 2027 second-rounder.  Calgary will retain 20% of Kadri’s $7MM cap charge (that runs through 2028-29) as part of the swap.  Kadri was Calgary’s top scorer before the swap and has lots of experience with Colorado, having played three seasons with them, the last of which saw him win a Stanley Cup.  All of a sudden, the Avs now have one of the deepest center groups in the NHL.

Defensemen Getting Dealt: There were some notable blueliners who found themselves on the move as well.  The Flames parted with another veteran defender, sending MacKenzie Weegar to Utah for Olli Maatta, prospect Jonathan Castagna, and three 2026 second-round picks.  Weegar is having a down season but had 99 points over the last two years combined and is an all-situations player.  The Mammoth are taking on his full $6.25MM cap charge through 2030-31.  Meanwhile, the Ducks made a splash on the rental front, acquiring long-time Capitals defender John Carlson for a conditional 2026 first-round pick and a 2027 third-rounder.  The 36-year-old is on pace for his third straight 50-point season and will give a big boost to an Anaheim group that quietly leads the Pacific Division heading into today’s action as they look to reach the playoffs.  Lastly, the Red Wings added a key piece as well in Justin Faulk from St. Louis.  The Blues received veteran Justin Holl, prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov, plus 2026 first and third-round picks.  Faulk will provide Detroit with some secondary offense plus an ability to log big minutes in all situations to help them try to end their playoff drought.

Defenseman Doesn’t Get Dealt: In a week that featured lots of trades, one of the bigger stories was one that didn’t happen.  The Sabres had reached an agreement with the Blues that would have landed them defenseman Colton Parayko.  Top prospect Radim Mrtka and a first-round pick were believed to be part of the return while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman added in a Saturday Headlines segment (video link) that AHL Rochester’s roster would have been decimated, suggesting St. Louis was getting more as well.  However, Parayko declined to waive his no-trade protection, nixing the move.  Parayko, who missed his fifth straight game tonight with back spasms, will now stick around for at least the rest of the season but given the potential strong return, it wouldn’t be shocking if incoming GM Alex Steen tried to revisit the idea of dealing him over the summer.  Meanwhile, Buffalo pivoted to Plan B on the back end, acquiring blueliners Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn from Winnipeg.  In exchange for the pending UFAs, the Jets picked up prospect Isak Rosen, defenseman Jacob Bryson, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round selection.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.

The week before the trade deadline usually generates some notable headlines on the trade front.  While there weren’t many of those, there was still some trade-related news of note in our key stories.

Kings Shake Things Up: Kings GM Ken Holland made the biggest swap before the Olympic break when he added Artemi Panarin from the Rangers.  Now, he’s made the biggest move after the break (for now) as he fired head coach Jim Hiller, replacing him with associate coach D.J. Smith on an interim basis for the rest of the season.  Hiller lasted a little more than two years with the top job in Los Angeles, with the team playing to a solid 93-58-24 record in that time.  However, the team has struggled mightily this season offensively, leaving them on the outside of the playoff picture at the moment.  Smith, in his second season in his associate role, will now be tasked with getting more out of his forward group.  This will be his second time running an NHL bench after spending parts of five seasons in charge in Ottawa.

Crosby Out A Month: While he was believed to be close to suiting up in the Gold Medal game at the Olympics, Sidney Crosby won’t be playing for a while yet.  The team announced that he will miss at least the next four weeks due to the lower-body injury sustained overseas.  Crosby has once again been a crucial part of Pittsburgh’s attack this season, leading the way offensively with 27 goals and 32 assists in 56 games, continuing his streak of point-per-game campaigns which now stands at 21.  He has also been instrumental in taking a Pittsburgh team that was expected to be a basement dweller by many to a top-three spot in the Metropolitan Division.  They’ll now have to find a way to hold onto it without their captain and top scorer.

Defense Swap: There was one trade of some significance in the NHL this week, a swap of blueliners as Pittsburgh sent Brett Kulak to Colorado for Samuel Girard and a 2028 second-round pick.  Kulak came over from Edmonton as part of the return for Tristan Jarry earlier this season and now joins a Colorado squad where he’ll likely suit up on their third pairing and then hit free agency this summer.  Girard, meanwhile, makes nearly twice as much as Kulak while being signed through next season which explains the draft pick component of the trade as the Avs made this move in part for cap flexibility reasons.  Once a consistent key cog on Colorado’s back end, Girard’s role and effectiveness have dropped in recent years so he’ll be looking for a chance to rebuild his game with Pittsburgh.

Trade To Come? This is the time of year when players will be scratched for roster-related or trade-related reasons.  The latest of these is Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers, who was scratched back on Wednesday.  However, these are typically followed by a trade although that has not been the case here.  Instead, he is believed to have been presented with a team (thought to be Detroit) to consider waiving his trade protection for.  Myers has made it known in the past how much he wants to stay in Vancouver but now, it appears it’s a matter of seeing if other teams get into the mix that he’s more open to joining before deciding on waiving that protection.

Seguin Done For The Season: The Stars were hoping that they’d be able to get Tyler Seguin back at some point in the playoffs after undergoing ACL surgery four months ago.  That is no longer an option as the team filed paperwork to rule him out for the rest of the season.  In doing so, they become eligible to utilize his full $9.85MM AAV through LTIR instead of the $3.82MM they had access to, the maximum allowed for players who will or could return later in the year.  With nearly an extra $6MM to spend and Dallas being one of the top teams in the NHL this season, it will be interesting to see how they utilize those funds.  Notably, with Jason Robertson up for a new deal in the summer, it wouldn’t be surprising to see GM Jim Nill target an expiring contract to fill Seguin’s spot on the roster.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

With the NHL continuing its break for the Olympics, it was a relatively quiet week around the league.  However, on top of the Olympic tournament ending, there was still some notable news around the hockey world which is recapped in our key stories.

Gold For USA: Heading into the Olympics, a Canada versus the USA matchup was one that many fans were hoping to see after their two memorable matchups at the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025.  With both teams going undefeated through their first five games, that meeting came in the Gold Medal contest.  Matt Boldy opened the scoring for Team USA while Cale Makar tied it up for Canada late in the second.  After a goalless third period, that set the stage for a three-on-three overtime where Jack Hughes fired home the winner to win USA the gold.  It’s a measure of revenge after losing in overtime last year at the 4 Nations while it’s their first gold medal in the men’s tournament since 1980.  Meanwhile, on the injury front, Canada’s Sidney Crosby and Finland’s Mikko Rantanen both missed medal round games due to injuries which will be something to keep an eye on.

Back On The Market: When Jeff Skinner signed a one-year, $3MM deal with San Jose in free agency, it felt like one of those cases where the Sharks could give him some playing time, increase his value, and flip him for future assets at the trade deadline.  That clearly isn’t happening now after the two sides reached a mutual agreement to terminate the remainder of his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent.  The 33-year-old notched just six goals and seven assists in 33 games this season and had been scratched for several weeks before his release.  While he’s walking away from more guaranteed money than he’ll get when he gets his next contract, Skinner appears to be willing to make that trade off to land either more guaranteed playing time or a chance to play with more of a contender.

Three For Bussi: Brandon Bussi has been one of the feel-good stories of the season.  Claimed off waivers in training camp to serve as Carolina’s third goalie despite never seeing NHL action before, he has since taken on a bigger role and won 23 of his 27 starts.  He was rewarded for his efforts as the Hurricanes signed him to a three-year, $5.7MM contract extension that begins next season.  With Pyotr Kochetkov likely done for the season with a lingering hip injury and Frederik Andersen having some up-and-down performances, Bussi is likely to be Carolina’s top netminder down the stretch.  Meanwhile, assuming Kochetkov is able to return next season, the Hurricanes’ goalie tandem will cost just $3.9MM next season, a significant bargain.

Injury News: The Ducks won’t be getting their backup goalie back to aid in their push for a playoff spot.  Instead, Petr Mrazek will miss the rest of the season after undergoing hip surgery.  The veteran is in the final year of his contract, one that carries a $4.25MM cap charge, and finishes with just ten appearances.  Ville Husso, who started the season as a pricey third-string option, is now the full-time backup behind Lukas Dostal.  Meanwhile, Filip Chytil’s rough year continues.  After the Canucks center returned from a suspected concussion, he’s now out indefinitely once more after suffering a facial fracture in a mini-game in practice earlier in the week.  A key part of the return for J.T. Miller last season, Chytil has been limited to just 27 games in total since then, a number that won’t be increasing for a while.

Back Behind The Bench: The Oilers will have a familiar face behind the bench when play resumes this week.  The team announced that Paul Coffey has rejoined their coaching staff.  He has held a variety of roles with Edmonton in recent years but joined the staff as assistant coach when Kris Knoblauch took over as head coach in 2023 and helped stabilize their back end.  Coffey had moved back into an advisory role ahead of this season but is now being tasked with repeating history and shoring up that group once again to give them a boost for the stretch run.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.

The Olympic break is now upon us with the men’s tournament set to start in a few days.  Meanwhile, there was certainly some news of note around the NHL over the past seven days which is recapped in our key stories.

Bjugstad To Devils: The fact that New Jersey is currently out of a playoff spot didn’t stop them from buying as they acquired center Nick Bjugstad from St. Louis in exchange for minor leaguer Thomas Bordeleau and a fourth-round pick.  The 33-year-old hasn’t had a great year and has been limited to 36 games due to injuries and healthy scratches; he has six goals and one assist in those outings.  Still, Bjugstad is only two years removed from a 45-point season and gives them some extra center depth and grit for their fourth line.  He has one year left on his contract after this one at $1.75MM, meaning he’s not a rental player for them.  Meanwhile, Juho Lammikko lost his roster spot with New Jersey after the move.  He declined to go to the minors and was subsequently released and has since signed in Switzerland.

Done For The Season: With the playoffs out of reach, the Flames have decided to shut down veteran winger Jonathan Huberdeau for the rest of the season to allow him to undergo hip resurfacing surgery.  The injury is one that he has been dealing with all season and there’s no confirmation at this time that he’ll be available for training camp.  He had been struggling before being shut down as he had just 10 goals and 15 assists in 50 games, a point total well below the 62 he had last season.  Huberdeau still has five years left on his contract, one that carries a $10.5MM cap charge and has not aged particularly well since his career year with Florida back in 2021-22.

Panarin On The Move: With Artemi Panarin being sat out for future trade purposes, the Rangers were able to get a deal done just before the trade freeze.  The veteran was dealt to the Kings (with 50% retention on his expiring contract) in exchange for winger Liam Greentree along with a 2026 conditional third-round pick that upgrades to a second-round selection if Los Angeles wins a round.  If the Kings win two, New York adds an extra 2028 fourth-rounder.   Panarin, who quickly signed a two-year, $22MM extension (spurning much bigger offers), gives the Kings a legitimate top-line scoring threat on a team that has struggled mightily offensively this season, ranking 31st in the league in goals scored.  Panarin made it known that Los Angeles was the only team he’d waive his trade protection for, hindering New York’s ability to get a top return.  Still, in Greentree, they add an intriguing big winger who was a first-round pick in 2024 and has been quite productive in the OHL, giving them a big add to their prospect pool.

Trotz To Retire: It has been an eventful few years for Barry Trotz as the GM of the Predators.  Taking on that role for the first time following a long and successful coaching career, he went on a big spending spree in the 2024 offseason, adding Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei in an effort to turn his team into a contender.  Instead, they’ve floundered and after missing the playoffs last season, they’re on the outside looking again at the break.  Meanwhile, Trotz announced this week that he has decided to retire from the role, though he will remain on the job through the trade deadline and until a successor is found.  The team had hoped to use CAA Executive Search to help find a replacement but as CAA Hockey has 153 NHL clients, it was deemed a conflict of interest and CAA has since withdrawn from that engagement.  The search will now be done in-house.

Suspended For 20: Penguins defenseman Caleb Jones has been sidelined for the better part of the month after being injured on a conditioning stint (to wrap up recovery from a separate injury).  Now, he won’t be in the lineup no matter what for the bulk of the rest of the season as the NHL gave him a 20-game suspension for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.  Additionally, he has been referred to the Player Assistance Program for evaluation and possible treatment.  Jones is in the first season of a two-year deal with Pittsburgh and barring a late-season return after the suspension is lifted, he’ll wind up with just seven games with the Penguins and the one brief appearance in the minors.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner-Imagn Images.

As the calendar flips to February, the Olympic trade freeze is fast approaching with the trade deadline itself not long after.  We saw a couple of swaps happen this week while a star player is being held out; those are among the week’s key stories.

Islanders Start To Add: The Islanders find themselves in third place in the Metropolitan Division at the start of the month and GM Mathieu Darche has rewarded his group with a pair of additions.  First, they picked up defenseman Carson Soucy from the Rangers for a third-round pick, giving their back end some extra depth with Alexander Romanov out for the rest of the regular season.  Then, they made another cross-state swap, acquiring winger Ondrej Palat plus third and sixth-round picks from the Devils for winger Maxim Tsyplakov.  Palat gives the Isles some extra veteran depth with a good track record of playoff success but they’re also taking on his $6MM contract through next season which is why they also added some draft picks.  With several other players out for the season, New York still has ample LTIR room to try to further add to their group.

Wallstedt In Play? Minnesota has already made one swap of considerable significance this season when they added Quinn Hughes from Vancouver.  It appears GM Bill Guerin isn’t done on the trade front and is open to moving a key youngster to do so as multiple reports have suggested that goaltender Jesper Wallstedt could be dealt.  The 23-year-old was a first-round pick back in 2021 and is in his first full NHL season where he has impressed, posting a 2.72 GAA with a .913 SV%.  However, with Filip Gustavsson signed through 2031, Wallstedt may have more value to the Wild as a trade chip than as a promising backup goaltender.

Panarin Out For Roster Reasons: With the Rangers embarking on a retool, they won’t be re-signing veteran winger Artemi Panarin.  Rather than risk him getting injured before they can trade him, the team decided to sit him early as a healthy scratch although no move has come to fruition just yet.  Panarin is believed to be seeking a contract extension before he’ll sign off on a move, something that could take a lot of the usual buying contenders off the table.  With a cap charge of $11.643MM (New York can retain up to half in a trade), it may be difficult for New York to move Panarin before Wednesday’s roster freeze as the acquiring team may not want to take on that money for three weeks before he actually debuts.  Accordingly, it’s possible that this trade saga is still a few weeks away from being resolved.

Defense Extensions: A pair of blueliners at opposite ends of their careers received contract extensions this past week.  First, the Avalanche signed Sam Malinski to a four-year, $19MM extension, a big raise on his current $1.4MM price tag.  The 27-year-old is having a breakout year with 25 points in 53 games despite averaging less than 17 minutes per game.  With the signing, Colorado has five blueliners signed for next season at just under $30MM combined.  Meanwhile, Detroit locked up Ben Chiarot on a new three-year, $11.55MM deal, a small cut on his $4.75MM deal that’s about to expire.  The 34-year-old is holding down a regular spot on Detroit’s second pairing while being a physical shot blocker.  It’s likely that his playing time will tick down as the contract progresses but the deal now ensures they’ll have a fourth blueliner signed for next season with Simon Edvinsson still to sign as a key pending restricted free agent.

Done For The Season: It has been a rough last few seasons on the injury front for Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko.  Unfortunately for him, a hip injury has ended his season prematurely as he’s set to undergo surgery.  Demko has battled knee, groin, and hip issues in recent years, limiting him to just 126 games since 2022-23.  On top of that, Vancouver acted quickly to sign him last summer and he’ll begin a new three-year deal next season at a cap hit of $8.5MM.  Veteran Kevin Lankinen will be leaned on down the stretch while youngster Nikita Tolopilo will likely get his first extended NHL look for a Canucks squad that’s already dead last in the standings.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.

With the Olympic trade freeze coming up soon, trade activity is starting to percolate around the NHL.  To that end, a swap of significance plus a youngster being in play highlight the key stories from the past seven days.

Seven For Doan: Jarmo Kekalainen wasted little time getting a big contract done after taking over as GM.  It just wasn’t with who many thought it would be (Alex Tuch).  Instead, the Sabres have signed winger Josh Doan to a seven-year, $48.65MM extension (a $6.95MM AAV).  Acquired from Utah as part of the JJ Peterka trade over the offseason, Doan has quickly locked down a top-six spot and has 15 goals and 20 assists in 51 games this season.  This extension, which buys Buffalo four more years of club control, is a sign that management feels that Doan has another level or two to get to offensively and if so, this could become a team-friendly pact fairly quickly.

Ullmark Returns: Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark returned to the active roster on Sunday after missing the last four weeks on a leave of absence for mental health reasons.  Youngster Leevi Merilainen struggled mightily in Ullmark’s absence, posting a save percentage of just .843 that ultimately resulted in Ottawa signing veteran James Reimer to try to give them a slight boost.  Ullmark has had his struggles as well this season but if the Senators are going to turn things around and get back into the playoff race, they’ll need him to have even a chance of doing so.

Sherwood To Sharks: Going into the season, few would have expected the Sharks to be adding a rental player.  However, with the final few playoff spots in the West (and the Pacific Division, in particular) up for grabs and a better-than-expected first half, San Jose is now a buyer.  To that end, they dealt a pair of second-round picks along with AHL defenseman Cole Clayton to Vancouver in exchange for winger Kiefer Sherwood.  The 30-year-old got off to a great start offensively this season and has 17 goals in 44 games.  Meanwhile, after recording a league-record 462 hits in 2024-25, Sherwood has 210 this season, or 4.77 per game.  A pending unrestricted free agent, Sherwood is in line for a significant raise from his current $1.5MM cap charge and should be in line for a fairly long-term contract as well.

Help For Florida: It has been a rough year on the injury front for the Panthers but they got some good news on that front.  First, winger Matthew Tkachuk returned after missing the first 47 games due to an adductor injury.  He has averaged more than a point per game over the last four seasons and gives them their top winger back in the lineup.  To make cap room for Tkachuk, Seth Jones was moved to LTIR and was subsequently replaced on Team USA’s Olympic roster by Jackson Lacombe.  Meanwhile, Florida also got Brad Marchand back from an undisclosed injury that went from day-to-day to multiple weeks.  The veteran was their leading scorer before the injury while being pressed into a bigger-than-expected offensive role due to the injuries.  The Panthers are five points out of a playoff spot but now have their top wingers back to aid in their postseason push.

Wright In Play? It wasn’t too long ago that Shane Wright was the projected top pick of the 2022 draft.  He ultimately fell to fourth where Seattle was happy to scoop him up.  However, the Kraken are now believed to be open to moving him, feeling that they can leverage their center depth to fill another area of need on their roster.  The 22-year-old is in his second full NHL season but after a strong showing in 2024-25 where he had 19 goals and 25 assists in 79 games, his output has dipped this year.  Through 51 games so far, Wright has just seven goals and 11 helpers while his ice time has dropped under 14 minutes per night.  That said, Wright still has one more year left on his entry-level contract and five more seasons of club control so Seattle will justifiably be aiming high if they ultimately decide to move him.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.