SHL’s Malmö Redhawks Sign Topi Niemelä
The Malmö Redhawks of the Swedish Hockey League have agreed to a deal with defenseman Topi Niemelä for the 2025-26 season, according to a team announcement. Niemelä, a member of the Maple Leafs organization and a pending restricted free agent, can have his signing rights retained by Toronto until July 2029 if they tender him a qualifying offer.
All of Niemelä’s time with Toronto was spent at the AHL level, where he posted an 11-52–63 scoring line and a minus-eight rating over 135 appearances for the Marlies. That’s decent offensive production but not quite the pop they hoped for from the 6’0″ righty when they signed him to his entry-level contract in May 2022 and brought him over to North America near the end of the following season. Niemelä fell out of a regular role with the Marlies at points this past season, although he did still finish second among Marlies defensemen in scoring and played both of their postseason games in a first-round loss to Cleveland.
A third-round pick for the Leafs in the 2020 draft, there was hope he could outperform his draft slot when he erupted for a 10-goal, 32-point season in 48 games with Liiga’s Kärpät, taking a huge step forward in the top league in his native Finland in his age-19 season. Nonetheless, he had just 18 points in 58 games for Kärpät when Toronto loaned him back there the following season before bringing him over to the AHL.
After that breakout season, most had Niemelä tabbed as the top defense prospect in a Maple Leafs pool without many intriguing names to offer. He’s since been surpassed by shutdown righty Ben Danford, their first-round selection in 2024.
It remains to be seen if Niemelä will ever play for the Maple Leafs, but it stands to reason they’ll at least opt to retain his signing rights if and when he decides to return to North America given their lack of young organizational depth at the position. The 23-year-old will now look to regain some offensive confidence overseas in Malmö, where he joins a blue line headlined by former Islanders depth piece Robin Salo.
Ducks Sign Lucas Pettersson To Entry-Level Contract
The Anaheim Ducks have signed 2024 second-round draft pick Lucas Pettersson to a three-year, entry-level contract. Pettersson split his season between Sweden’s SHL and HockeyAllsvenskan, and is expected to return to the SHL’s MoDo Hockey next year.
Pettersson had a quiet introduction to the pro flight. He earned a call-up to the SHL after netting eight points in eight games in Sweden’s U20 league – but struggled to find a clear groove in a fourth-line SHL role. Recognizing the struggles following numerous lineup changes, MoDo opted to send Pettersson to the HockeyAllsvenskan (HA) for the entirety of January. Having his feet under him launched Pettersson’s performance. He scored a hat trick in his first game on assignment, then proceeded to net 14 points in 12 HA games throughout January and early February.
Pettersson followed his hot streak in the HA with a quartet of international friendlies with Sweden’s U20 club. He scored three points in the four games, but didn’t stay lit when he returned to league play in mid-February. By the time he rediscovered his pace – with four points in three HA games to end February – MoDo opted to bring the dynamic forward back to the top flight.
When all was said and done, Pettersson ended his season with 19 points in 26 HA games, one assist in 29 SHL games, and eight points in eight J20 (U20) games. His 0.73 point-per-game scoring pace in the HA fell just behind 2025 NHL Draft stars Anton Frondell (0.86) and Victor Eklund (0.74) on the league’s U19 leaderboards. The trio posted the highest scoring paces since Noah Ostlund (0.70, 2022-23), Lucas Elvenes (0.95, 2017-18), and Elias Pettersson (0.95, 2016-17).
Lucas Pettersson earned high-end consideration for much of the 2024 draft season. He earned a second-round bid after posting 27 goals and 57 points in 44 J20 games, though some outlets had him ranked as high as an early-20s talent. He’s a flashy, agile forward with strong puck-skills and sharp offensive instinct. Those traits will need to become consistent and refined as he eyes a move to North America, but another year in the SHL could go far in preparing Pettersson to join an often Swede-friendly Ducks lineup.
Blackhawks Trade Rights To Victor Soderstrom To Bruins
The Chicago Blackhawks have traded the rights to Swedish defenseman Victor Soderstrom to the Boston Bruins in exchange for defense prospect Ryan Mast and a seventh-round pick, per Scott Powers of The Athletic. Soderstrom made a return to Sweden’s SHL this season, after spending the last four years muddling through the Arizona Coyotes depth chart. Chicago acquired his rights alongside the rights to depth forward Aku Raty and retired defender Shea Weber at the 2025 Trade Deadline. In return, the now-Utah Mammoth received a 2026 fifth-round pick.
It’s an apt time to buy high on Soderstrom’s NHL rights. He had a true breakout year in the SHL, netting nine goals and 37 points in 49 appearances. Those marks ranked Soderstrom second on the Brynas IF blue-line in scoring, two points behind Charle-Edouard D’Astous. Soderstrom had no shortage of flashy plays over the course of Brynas’ season, using deceptive stickhandling and instinctive offense to blow by opponents and set up his teammates. One of his favorite targets was former Anaheim Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg, who led Brynas in scoring with 47 points in 52 games.
But despite the strong return to Swedish pros, Soderstrom’s tenure in North America is still one to forget. He was originally drafted 11th-overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, but quickly struggled to find a role in the Arizona pipeline. He joined the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners in 2020-21 and scored 10 points in 32 games played, good enough to also earn the first four games of his NHL career, where he potted two points. But Soderstrom then ran cold, and didn’t manage any scoring through 16 NHL appearances in the following year. He did bolster his minor-league scoring, though, with 19 points in 32 games – just enough to earn another trip to the NHL in 2022-23. That tenure proved a bit more promising – headlined by nine points in 30 games – but Soderstrom again struggled to make it stick. He completed two more productive seasons in the minors, but closed his trip through North America with a measly 11 points in 53 NHL games, despite 82 points in 170 AHL games.
A move to Boston will mark another potential home for the flashy puck-handler. The Bruins could sorely use a right-shot defender after trading shutdown man Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Deadline. Soderstrom is still only 24-years-old and could reasonably spend a few more years in Sweden before offering Boston his prime years. That will be the upside Boston hopes for, at least – though it’s a shrewd bet at the cost of just a depth prospect and fifth-round pick.
The other focal piece of the move, defender Ryan Mast, played through his rookie year in the AHL this season. He recorded just five points, 19 penalty minutes, and a plus-seven through 37 games with the Providence Bruins – quaint totals after he posted 16 points in 47 ECHL games last year. Mast is 6-foot-5 and plays his best hockey on the defensive side of the puck, where he uses a long and effective reach to force opponents into the corners and away from the puck. Hot scoring won’t be what many fans remember Mast for, but he could find his way into a small NHL role with a few more years of learning to handle pro offenses. He’ll be a low-risk, low-reward addition to a Blackhawks’ pipeline geared firmly on the future.
Penguins Sign Melvin Fernstrom To Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward prospect Melvin Fernstrom to a three-year, entry-level contract. Fernstrom was originally drafted in the third-round of the 2024 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. He was traded to the Penguins ahead of this year’s Trade Deadline, alongside a first-round pick and two depth pros in the deal that send Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor to Vancouver.
Fernstrom spent the bulk of the 2024-25 season with Orebro HK of Sweden’s SHL. It was his first full year of professional hockey and he dotted it with eight goals and 17 points in 48 appearances. That stat line doesn’t jump off the page, but Fernstrom’s scoring did lead all U19 skaters in the SHL. In fact, his scoring total falls closely in line with current and former NHL fixtures like Magnus Paajarvi, Adrian Kempe, and Alexander Holtz — who all managed either 16 or 17 points in their own U19 seasons in the SHL.
For his part, Fernstrom earned his pro role on the back of responsible and smooth hockey across the board. He’s a strong skater even despite a lanky frame, and uses that to find his spots and weave between his teammates well. When he can’t, he has a laser wrist-shot that’s dangerous anywhere below the tops of the circles. He may not fall into the clear category of playmaker, but showed an abundance of confidence in handling the puck around pro defenders and finding ways to set up his teammates.
Fernstrom recorded 63 points in 45 games in Sweden’s U20 league – and added eight points in seven games at the World U18 Championship – in his draft year last season. That stat line, and his smooth style, led to a confident third-round selection, though some public scouts like Craig Button had him ranked as a second-round talent. Fernstrom was a priority addition to the Pettersson trade, and Pittsburgh will now take the first step in trying to bank on the upside he offers. Fernstrom is expected to return to the SHL next season, but could be a candidate to join the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins when Orebro’s 2025-26 campaign concludes.
Magnus Hellberg Signs With SHL’s Djurgårdens IF
After a middling season in the AHL while on a two-way deal with the Stars, goaltender Magnus Hellberg is heading home to the SHL. Djurgårdens IF announced they’ve signed Hellberg to a three-year deal, bringing him back to Sweden through the 2027-28 season.
Hellberg hasn’t played in the SHL since 2011-12, back when it was called the Elitserien. He was a second-round pick by the Predators in 2011, for a time looking like he could be a long-term backup to Nashville stalwart Pekka Rinne. He was a solid AHL netminder for them, posting a .917 SV% and 2.36 GAA in his first three North American minor-league seasons, but only got one NHL relief appearance before a goalie crunch meant he was traded to the Rangers in 2015 for a sixth-round pick. His tenure in New York at least brought his first NHL start, but he only managed a .882 SV% and 2.44 GAA in three total appearances with the Rangers before reaching Group VI unrestricted free agency in 2017.
He opted for more opportunity overseas instead of trying to climb up an NHL depth chart elsewhere, signing with Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League. It was in the KHL that Hellberg finally established himself as an elite option in a high-level professional league. Across five seasons in China and Russia with Kunlun, SKA St. Petersburg, and HK Sochi, he posted a 2.00 GAA, .927 SV%, 24 shutouts, and an 81-64-14 record in 169 appearances. He was a two-time KHL All-Star and was rostered for Sweden at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, also winning a gold medal at the World Championship in 2018.
That prompted Hellberg to make an NHL return late in the 2021-22 season, signing on with the Red Wings. He’s spent the last few years as a journeyman, making stints as a No. 3 option for Detroit, Ottawa, Seattle (although he never played for them), Pittsburgh, Florida, and Dallas. He saw NHL action in three of those stops (Red Wings, Senators, Penguins), but only put up a .891 SV%, 3.12 GAA and a 7-8-1 record in 22 appearances over three years. He spent all of last season on assignment to AHL Texas after clearing waivers with Dallas, where he recorded a fine but unimpressive 2.69 GAA, .904 SV%, two shutouts, and a 24-14-1 record in 41 games.
Now 34 years old, this is almost definitely the end of the road for Hellberg in the NHL. He’ll aim to rediscover his KHL form with Djurgården, which just gained promotion back to the SHL after three seasons in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan league.
Minor Transactions: 6/10/25
With the European transaction wire looking much busier than the NHL one at this point in the calendar, it’s worth taking a look at some former NHLers on the move overseas at Pro Hockey Rumors:
- Former Blue Jackets first-rounder Gabriel Carlsson has signed a three-year contract with Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League. It’s a return to his home country for Carlsson, who departed the NHL for the SHL’s Växjö Lakers in 2023 but spent last season in Switzerland with the National League’s EV Zug. The 6’5″, 205-lb lefty recorded 18 points in 81 NHL games, mostly for Columbus, aside from a six-game run with the Capitals in his most recent NHL campaign. He spent most of that year with AHL Hershey, where he won a Calder Cup championship. Considering that stands as the defender’s most notable career accomplishment, he’s likely set to play the remainder of his career in Europe. The 28-year-old had 11 points, 40 PIMs, and a plus-four rating in 39 games for Zug this year.
- Power forward Darren Archibald, who got a cup of coffee in the NHL in the late 2010s with the Canucks and Senators, is headed to Hungary to suit up for Fehérvár AV19 in the Austrian ICEHL. Now 35 years old, the Ontario native has spent the last four seasons in Germany with Grizzlys Wolfsburg, where he had a 70-60–130 scoring line with 117 PIMs in 196 DEL games. Archibald scored six goals, eight assists, and 14 points in 55 NHL games with Vancouver and Ottawa in the 2013-14, 2017-18, and 2018-19 seasons before heading to Europe in 2020. He previously logged 16 points in 15 ICEHL games with the Vienna Capitals in 2020-21.
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Karson Kuhlman Signs With Sweden’s Rögle BK
Former NHL winger Karson Kuhlman has signed a one-year contract with Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League, the club announced. There won’t be a return to North America in 2025-26 for the Minnesota native, who spent last year in Finland with Lukko.
Kuhlman, whose season in Finland this year was the first overseas one of his career, did well to rejuvenate his production. His most recent season stateside was an exceptionally difficult one. Kuhlman inked a two-way deal with the Islanders for 2023-24 but was buried in the minors for the entire season after clearing waivers, putting together a lowly 12-10–22 scoring line with a -29 rating in 72 games for AHL Bridgeport. That’s garish production for someone with nearly 150 games of NHL experience, even for a depth piece.
The former NCAA championship tournament MVP found much more offensive success in Finland. He served as an alternate captain for Lukko and led the club in scoring with a 21-25–46 line in 60 games, helping them finish atop the Liiga regular-season standings for the first time in four years. He was Liiga’s player of the month in December while posting the highest points per game rate of his professional career in any league.
Instead of searching for an NHL two-way deal this summer and battling it out for a roster spot in training camp, he’ll opt for more security in what will presumably be a top-six role with Rögle. The team has been a middle-of-the-pack one in the SHL for the past few years, but has been active this offseason, landing ex-NHLers Mark Friedman and Fredrik Olofsson in recent weeks. They’re still rather light on offensive firepower, though, and Kuhlman has a chance to play the same starring role for them as he did for Lukko.
Kuhlman, undrafted, last saw NHL action in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Jets. He has a 12-18–30 career scoring line in 147 games with Boston, Seattle, and Winnipeg.
Canadiens’ Gustav Lindström Signs Five-Year Contract In SHL
Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League has signed Canadiens pending RFA defenseman Gustav Lindström to a five-year deal, the club announced. He’s now set to play in his home country through the 2029-30 season.
Lindström, a depth piece on the Red Wings’ blue line after they drafted him in the second round in 2017, was first picked up by Montreal ahead of the 2023-24 season in exchange for Jeff Petry. He was claimed off waivers by the Ducks mid-season, but after Anaheim didn’t issue him a qualifying offer, he returned to Montreal as a UFA signing at the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign.
The Canadiens waived Lindström to begin the year, and that was his most recent transaction. He spent the entire season in the minors for the first time since arriving in North America in 2019, recording a 4-7–11 scoring line with 28 PIMs and a +18 rating in 42 games for AHL Laval. Understandably, he’ll opt for more opportunity overseas in a more familiar environment.
Montreal can still issue Lindström a qualifying offer to retain his signing rights, but doing so would only keep him on their reserve list through June 30, 2026. Unless he desires an NHL return one year into his multi-year commitment to Djurgården, doing so would only take up a reserve list spot unnecessarily. It’s more likely they’ll non-tender him and let his exclusive NHL signing rights lapse.
The 6’2″ Lindström heads back home after posting a 5-30–35 scoring line with a -21 rating in 174 NHL games for Anaheim, Detroit, and Montreal between 2019-20 and 2023-24. He averaged 15:34 per game during his tenure with the three clubs.
Lindström’s only previous SHL experience came with Frölunda HC in the 2018-19 campaign, when he posted six points and a minus-five rating in 40 games while playing a depth role on the league’s championship club that year. He now joins a Djurgårdens team fresh off promotion following three years in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. He’s the second pending NHL RFA they’ve picked up in the last few weeks, joining Predators winger Jesse Ylönen.
Jere Innala Returning To Sweden’s Frölunda HC
Avalanche pending UFA winger Jere Innala won’t re-sign with the club and will instead return to Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League, where he still had a valid contract through 2025-26, per a team announcement.
Innala, 27, joined Frölunda for the 2022-23 campaign. He put up a 26-28–54 scoring line in 94 games there, as well as 11 goals in just 14 playoff games in 2024, before landing an entry-level contract with Colorado as an international free agent last summer.
The 5’9″ Finn got a fair amount of reps with the big club, particularly mid-season when injuries ravaged their forward group. But despite making 17 appearances, he never got on the scoresheet and averaged just 7:09 per game with a minus-three rating. He managed eight shots on goal, and the Avs were outchanced 42-39 when he was on the ice at 5-on-5.
He still spent a good portion of the season in the minors with AHL Colorado, where he was a solid scoring presence but not dominant. He logged 17-11–28 in 43 games, which could presumably be the only AHL appearances of his professional career.
After failing to lock down an NHL job, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Innala remain in Europe for the remainder of his career. Doing so would provide him more opportunities to play internationally, where he’s won a gold and silver medal for Finland at the World Championships in the past few years. He also won a Liiga title with HPK back in 2019.
Mark Friedman Signs Two-Year Deal In Sweden
June 5: Friedman is heading to Sweden but not with either of the two clubs mentioned. He signed a two-year contract with Rögle BK instead, according to a club announcement.
May 29: Veteran defenseman Mark Friedman has spent the bulk of his playing time in the minors over the last couple of seasons so it appears that he may be looking to try something different next season. Mattias Persson of Hockeynews.se reports that the blueliner will be signing in the SHL with Farjestad and Orebro believed to be the two teams vying for his services.
The 29-year-old has seen NHL action in seven straight seasons. However, he has largely been in a depth or reserve role over that time as he has suited up in just 93 games at the top level with three different teams. Overall, Friedman has four goals and nine assists in those outings while logging a little over 13 minutes a night.
Friedman started the season with Vancouver but after getting into 23 games with them last season, that number dropped to just five this year. After clearing waivers, he spent 20 games with AHL Abbotsford before being moved to Nashville for future considerations back in February. Despite the Predators having injuries on their back end down the stretch, Friedman didn’t see any more NHL action and got into 21 regular season games with Milwaukee. All told, he had three goals and 16 assists between the two teams before adding three points in ten playoff contests.
A pending unrestricted free agent, Friedman now qualifies for full veteran status in the AHL moving forward; teams can only dress five players with more than 320 professional games played, a mark he eclipsed this season. Accordingly, that could have limited his market this summer. Instead, it appears that Friedman has decided to get out ahead of that with a deal in Sweden on the horizon.