Snapshots: Pacioretty, Rossi, True
Heading into August, one of the better veteran scoring options left on the market is winger Max Pacioretty. Michael Augello of The Hockey News theorized on five (although it’s actually seven) potential destinations for Pacioretty in what could be the last season of his professional career.
Pacioretty (36) is coming off another injury-plagued season, this time with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his lowest-producing offensive season since his sophomore campaign with the Montreal Canadiens during the 2009-10 season, Pacioretty scored five goals and 13 points in 37 games, averaging 13:30 of ice time per game. Fortunately, Pacioretty had a stronger showing in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring three goals and eight points in 11 games, including the series-clincher in the Maple Leafs’ opening-round series against the Ottawa Senators.
Augello’s hypothetical destinations include Pacioretty’s former teams: the Canadiens and Maple Leafs, a team from the New York metropolitan area, the Detroit Red Wings, or the Edmonton Oilers. Whether for geographical location, nostalgic purposes, or for putting him in the best position to win the first Stanley Cup of his career, all five destinations make sense for Pacioretty in the twilight years of his career.
Other snapshots:
- In a minor update to the impasse between center Marco Rossi and the Minnesota Wild, Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic indicated in a new article that the two sides haven’t spoken since June. The gap is well known, with Rossi seeking a long-term deal similar to that of his teammate Matt Boldy, while the Wild remain firm in their desire for a bridge contract. The pair of journalists argues that Rossi is unlikely to sign a new deal, let alone speak to Minnesota’s management, until the start of training camp in September.
- According to a team announcement, former NHL and AHL veteran Alexander True has signed a one-year deal with the Finnish Liiga’s JYP. Now two years removed from playing in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers, True’s first professional season overseas was fairly disappointing. Playing for the SHL’s MoDo Hockey, True scored seven goals and 17 points in 52 games with a -15 rating last season.
Snapshots: Kopitar, Silovs, Dello, Emilio Pettersen
Kings center Anze Kopitar is in the final season of his contract and is eligible to sign an extension. However, while the team is hoping to get a new deal in place for Adrian Kempe, that won’t be the case for the captain. In an appearance on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio earlier this week (Twitter link), GM Ken Holland indicated that Kopitar’s camp has indicated that he isn’t looking to sign a new deal at this time and intends to take a year-by-year approach moving forward. The 37-year-old has played 1,454 games over his career in Los Angeles but is at the stage where it makes sense to assess things one year at a time. Last season, Kopitar was still quite productive, tallying 21 goals and 46 assists in 81 games along with nine points in seven playoff contests.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Before he was traded to Pittsburgh, the Oilers showed interest in goaltender Arturs Silovs, relays Postmedia’s Kurt Leavins. However, the Canucks indicated that they would not move him to Edmonton, their division rival. Knowing that Silovs was likely to be claimed on waivers in training camp, Vancouver elected to send him to the Penguins for a fourth-round pick and prospect Chase Stillman. But the fact that Edmonton was discussing Silovs suggests that GM Stan Bowman is keeping an eye on the goaltending market heading into training camp.
- UFA defenseman Tory Dello has inked a one-year deal with Karlovy Vary in Czechia, per a team release. The 28-year-old started the season in Detroit’s system but was traded to New Jersey just after the NHL trade deadline (but before the AHL one, keeping him eligible to play down the stretch). Between the two teams, Dello had eight points in 41 games; this will be his first stint overseas after spending the last five years in the AHL.
- UFA winger Mathias Emilio Pettersen is expected to sign with SHL Djurgarden, reports Hockey News SE’s Mattias Persson. The 25-year-old spent last season with AHL Texas, collecting nine goals and 20 assists in 70 regular season games while adding three points in 14 playoff contests. However, Emilio Pettersen wasn’t eligible to be tendered a qualifying offer last month as he qualified for Group Six unrestricted free agency and it appears he’ll be using that to take a chance at playing in a new league.
Snapshots: Flames, Pridham, Humphreys
The Calgary Flames have signed a multi-year extension with the Rapid City Rush, their ECHL affiliate. The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed. This will continue a partnership that began in the 2022-23 season. Rapid City has finished sixth in the ECHL’s Mountain Division, and missed the postseason, in all three of their seasons under Calgary’s organizational roof.
The Rush are among the middle siblings of the ECHL, entering the league as an expansion team ahead of the 2008-09 season. They had a stunted inaugural season, but managed to blaze their way to a Kelly Cup Championship win in 2010. That kicked off a string of playoff appearances that continued through 2015. Rapid City announced their first NHL affiliate, a partnership with the Arizona Coyotes, on the heels of those six consecutive postseason appearances. They’d stay with Arizona for two seasons, only to be dropped by the club for two years, and then reaffiliated from 2019 to 2022. Rapid City was once again dropped by Arizona ahead of the 2022-23 season, opening the door for a quickly-organized partnership with the Flames. While the club hasn’t found much league success under Calgary’s guard, they have managed to promote 14 players to the AHL and NHL lineups over the course of three seasons. That includes top Flames prospect Rory Kerins, who scored 37 points in 38 games with the Rush in 2022-23.
Other notes from around the league:
- Chicago Blackhawks forward prospect Jack Pridham has announced he will stay with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers for one more season, rather than moving to Boston University, per Josh Brown of The Waterloo Region Record. Pridham scored 27 goals and 54 points in 48 games with Kitchener last season. His marks led the team in both goals and points per game. It was his first year in the OHL, after spending all of last season and the start of this season with the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors. Pridham ranked second in scoring on the Warriors with 48 points in 54 games last season, prompting Chicago to select him in the third round of the 2024 NHL Draft. He’s a burly winger with a heavy, physical frame and hard shot. He’ll look to step into a starring role with the Rangers next season, then continue his career with the BU Terriers in 2026-27.
- Joining Pridham in a return to Kitchener will be Colorado Avalanche prospect Christian Humphreys, per Brown. Humphreys began the season at the University of Michigan, but opted to move to the OHL after scoring just one assist in the Wolverines’ first 10 games of the season. He went on to score 11 goals and 33 points in 28 games with Kitchener, and added 10 more points in 13 playoff games. Humphreys formally entered the NCAA transfer portal earlier this summer, but will instead opt to stay in juniors in hopes of joining Pridham on Kitchener’s top-line. He was a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, following two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program, where he spent time on the wing of James Hagens and Brodie Ziemer, or centering Teddy Stiga and Max Plante.
Snapshots: Kostin, Jets, Blue Jackets
Unrestricted free agent winger Klim Kostin has changed agents, signing with Shumi Babaev, the agent announced (Twitter link). The 26-year-old had a sparing role last season in San Jose, recording just one goal and six assists in 35 games with 111 hits but is only two years removed from a 10-goal, 21-point season which could get him a look on a one-year deal somewhere in the coming weeks or a PTO deal at worst. If a guaranteed contract doesn’t materialize, Kostin could be a candidate to return home and play in the KHL; Babaev’s announcement notes that he will be representing the winger when it comes to contract discussions with both leagues.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Jets showed interest in winger Andrew Mangiapane in free agency, relays Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press. The 29-year-old wound up signing a two-year, $7.2MM contract with Edmonton with a chance to play in their top six; Wiebe adds that Mangiapane left a bit of money on the table to do so, suggesting that Winnipeg’s offer was for a bit more than $3.6MM per season. Mangiapane is coming off a quiet year that saw him record just 14 goals and 14 assists in 82 games with Washington, his third straight season of a decline in points after a career-best 35-goal, 55-point campaign with Calgary in 2021-22.
- The Blue Jackets’ only move goalie-wise this summer was moving out Daniil Tarasov who is now the backup in Florida, leaving incumbents Elvis Merzlikins and Jet Greaves as the presumed tandem. However, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that Columbus is still looking to add a goalie. Their desired target is someone with some AHL experience but who can hold his own in the NHL if need be. Ideally, that would be a younger player but GM Don Waddell acknowledged that teams don’t want to give those ones up in a trade. A waiver claim might wind up being the outcome and while that would mean carrying three goalies, the Blue Jackets are prepared to do so if need be next season.
Snapshots: Hartley, Penguins, Desnoyers, Army
Long-time NHL head coach Bob Hartley has decided to return to coaching. The KHL announced (Twitter link) that Hartley has been hired by Lokomotiv Yaroslavl as their new bench boss. The 64-year-old will be making his second foray into coaching in Russia having spent four seasons coaching Avangard Omsk before leaving them in 2022; he hadn’t coached anywhere since then. Hartley is also a veteran of 944 NHL games between Colorado, Atlanta, and Calgary with his teams playing to a .556 points percentage. He won the Stanley Cup back in 2001 but only made the playoffs in three of ten seasons after that.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- While Fenway Sports Group has said that they’re only interested in selling a small portion of the Penguins, their old ownership group continues to look into the possibility of one day buying a controlling stake, reports Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription link). The group, led by long-time Penguin legend Mario Lemieux, sold the team back in 2021 with a franchise valuation of $900MM. Since then, franchise values have gone up with Forbes recently pegging the team’s value at nearly double that amount so re-acquiring even a controlling interest in the team might be costlier than what they received for it not quite four years ago.
- The Wild’s AHL team in Iowa announced that they’ve signed forward Elliot Desnoyers to a one-year, one-way contract. The 23-year-old has four career NHL games under his belt, coming with Philadelphia back in 2022-23. Since then, Desnoyers has played exclusively in the AHL and had 19 points in 59 games which wasn’t enough to earn a qualifying offer last month.
- The Avalanche’s AHL affiliate announced the hiring of Derek Army as an assistant coach. The 34-year-old spent parts of the last five seasons as head coach of ECHL Wheeling, becoming the winningest coach in franchise history with a 153-137-19 record over that stretch. Army also spent the past four seasons as their Director of Hockey Operations but will now focus exclusively on coaching with the Eagles.
Snapshots: Drouin, Hoefenmayer, CBA
Winger Jonathan Drouin elaborated on what led him to sign with the New York Islanders in a Thursday night appearance on NHL Tonight. He shared that it was the makeup of the team’s offense, the coaching staff, and the Islanders’ all-around culture that led him to a move across the country this summer.
Drouin spoke specifically to each point, sharing that his relationships with winger Anthony Duclair and recent assistant coach hire Ray Bennett, and head coach Patrick Roy, all heavily influenced his decision. Drouin played against both Duclair and Roy many times during his days in the QMJHL, from 2011 to 2014. He was also coached by Bennett in each of his last two seasons with the Colorado Avalanche.
Drouin also noted that seeing the Islanders’ honoring of Matthew Schaefer‘s mother at the NHL Draft was an additional nod to how well the club treats its players. With multiple positives laid out, New York will land a winger who managed 19 goals and 56 points in 79 games in 2023-24, and 37 points in 43 games of the 2024-25 season. He missed a significant portion of the mid-season with a lower-body injury, but worked back to full health before March. He will step into a hardy, top-nine role in New York’s increasingly crowded forward group.
More notes from around the hockey world:
- After being non-tendered by Montreal last month, unrestricted free agent defenseman Noel Hoefenmayer has signed a one-year deal with HK Sochi, per an announcement on the KHL team’s Telegram page. The 26-year-old spent time with AHL Bakersfield and Laval last season, notching 21 points in 43 regular season games while also suiting up for Canada at the Spengler Cup in December.
- PuckPedia highlights a couple of changes of some significance in the recently released CBA Memorandum of Understanding that comes into effect for the 2026-27 season. There is now a 10-day in-season PTO option with the signing team getting the right of first refusal if another team tries to sign that player. Meanwhile, the post-deadline regular recall limit of four has been expanded to five, giving teams a bit more flexibility roster-wise after the trade deadline. Our Josh Erickson will be doing a Q&A about the MOU next week; you can submit your questions for that here.
Snapshots: Sorokin, Blue Jackets, Hunter, Lord
Throughout the past few days, there have been several unconfirmed rumors that New York Islanders’ netminder Ilya Sorokin could be in play, particularly for the Edmonton Oilers. Those rumors were squashed earlier today when Sorokin’s agent, Dan Milstein, bluntly said that Sorokin hasn’t been involved in trade discussions and wouldn’t waive his no-movement clause.
Such is the way for this time of the NHL calendar when ideas for good fits sometimes become unsubstantiated rumors. There’s little argument against Sorokin being an objective improvement in the crease for most teams in the NHL, but it doesn’t appear that he’ll be moved this summer.
Still, he may be a goaltender to keep on the radar. He’s been one of the game’s best goalies over the last four years, managing a 112-83-33 record in 227 starts with a .916 SV% and 2.62 GAA, including 19 shutouts. Sorokin will have a full no-movement clause through the 2027-28 season before transitioning to a 16-team no-trade list ahead of the 2028-29 campaign.
More snapshots:
- An impressive development camp may have led to a pair of entry-level contracts for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Although the team hasn’t confirmed the news, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reported earlier that the Blue Jackets are working on an entry-level contract with defenseman Will Bishop and forward Nicholas Sima. Columbus drafted neither player, as they were invited to the team’s development camp from the OHL.
- Team Canada’s World Junior team is expected to have a new look at the top of their coaching staff. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Hockey Canada will announce Dale Hunter as the head coach of Team Canada’s U20 team. The successful, longtime head coach of the OHL’s London Knights will replace Dave Cameron as the team’s head coach in Canada’s attempt to return to the gold medal game for the first time since 2023.
- After Marco Sturm departed to become the new head coach of the Boston Bruins, the AHL’s Ontario Reign began seeking a new bench boss. According to a new report from Anthony Collazo of The Mayor’s Manor, the Reign are expected to name Andrew Lord as the team’s new head coach. If he’s eventually named Ontario’s new head coach, it would be Lord’s first coaching role in the AHL after serving as the head coach of the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits for four years and the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads’ head coach last season.
Snapshots: Granlund, Holmberg, Perfetti, Penguins, Danforth
While the Stars have been trying to find a way to keep pending UFA center Mikael Granlund in the fold, he will be testing the open market today, mentions Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link). The 33-year-old had his second straight year of at least 60 points last season, notching 22 goals and 44 assists across 83 games between San Jose and Dallas while adding 10 points in 18 playoff contests. Granlund is now the best center option in a market that has dwindled sharply in recent weeks, setting him up for a multi-year deal at a price tag above the $5MM he made in each of the last four years.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Despite non-tendering him yesterday, the Maple Leafs have interest in retaining center Pontus Holmberg, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link). He would have been owed a qualifying offer of around $866K but that would have carried arbitration rights, something Toronto didn’t want to risk. Holmberg had 19 points in 68 games last season and will have interest on the open market while the Maple Leafs will be looking to keep their depth contracts low to increase their flexibility to upgrade other areas of the roster.
- Now eligible to sign a contract extension, Jets forward Cole Perfetti will have new representation doing so. Murat Ates of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that the 23-year-old is now being repped by CAA after previously being with KO Sports. Perfetti is coming off a career year after putting up 18 goals and 32 assists last season. He has one year remaining on his bridge deal which carries a cap charge of $3.25MM AAV. Perfetti will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent next summer.
- While the Penguins are known to be willing to move out some of their veterans, that doesn’t mean they won’t be quiet in free agency as well. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period notes (Twitter link) that Pittsburgh is expected to pursue some depth veterans in free agency today to fill out their roster. GM Kyle Dubas is a known proponent of having plenty of depth options to also help fortify their farm team so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them add some veterans even while being open to moving others.
- The Blue Jackets are still in talks with pending UFA forward Justin Danforth in the hopes of getting something done before the open market opens up, relays Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 32-year-old has been a versatile depth player for Columbus for the last four seasons and is coming off a campaign that saw him record 21 points in 61 games while taking 661 faceoffs, winning just under half of them.
Snapshots: Pageau, Grubauer, Avalanche, Dobson
While there has been strong trade interest in Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau, it doesn’t appear as if he’s in play. Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic report (subscription link) that the Isles have informed teams that they won’t be moving the 32-year-old. The 32-year-old is coming off one of his better years offensively after tallying 42 points in 79 games while winning nearly 60% of his faceoffs. A capable checker, Pageau will be entering the final year of his contract next season on a deal that carries a $5MM cap charge. Given the lack of depth in the center market, New York likely would have been well-positioned to land a return of some value for Pageau’s services but it appears now that they’ll hold onto him and potentially reassess his situation closer to the trade deadline in March.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Kraken GM Jason Botterill confirmed to reporters including Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times that the team will not be buying out goaltender Philipp Grubauer by Monday’s deadline. The 33-year-old had a rocky performance this season, posting a 3.49 GAA with a .875 SV% in 26 starts, resulting in a stint with AHL Coachella Valley after clearing waivers. Grubauer has two years left on his contract that carries a $5.9MM cap charge and while Seattle would have been able to open up nearly $4MM in room this summer with a buyout, Botterill instead will keep him around with the belief that he’ll be able to bounce back next season.
- Avalanche pending unrestricted free agents Jonathan Drouin and Ryan Lindgren are expected to hit the open market next week, relays Peter Baugh of The Athletic (subscription link). Drouin reached free agency last year as well before re-signing a one-year, $2.5MM deal. The winger put up 37 points in 45 games this season. Meanwhile, Lindgren was acquired at the trade deadline and put up 22 points in 72 games this year with the blueliner playing on a $4.5MM contract. After yesterday’s trade of Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus, the Avs have nearly $9MM in cap space, per PuckPedia, giving GM Chris McFarland more wiggle room to work with in reshaping his roster this summer.
- Noah Dobson’s new contract with the Canadiens contains just a 14-team no-trade clause beginning in 2026-27, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link). He was not eligible for any trade protection next season since that was an RFA-eligible year and RFA-eligible players can’t have any trade restrictions. The deal was heavily front-loaded with $33MM in signing bonus money over the first three seasons of the agreement.
Snapshots: McKenna, Peterka, Dobson, Pacioretty
Although the 2025 NHL Draft is only a few days away, the projected first overall pick of the 2026 NHL Draft is already making waves. The expectation is that Gavin McKenna, currently rostered with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers, will play in the NCAA for the 2025-26 season.
In this week’s rendition of 32 Thoughts, podcast host Elliotte Friedman shared that McKenna has completed interviews with Penn State University, Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Denver. Friedman lists the former two as the perceived favorites, but all four programs are expected to compete for a National Championship next season.
Any program that lands McKenna will have successfully recruited a generational talent. McKenna scored 41 goals and 129 points in 56 games for the Tigers this season, with another nine goals and 38 points in 16 postseason contests en route to a Memorial Cup Final finish. To put McKenna’s season into perspective, Connor McDavid scored 28 goals and 99 points in 56 games for the OHL’s Erie Otters in his age-17 season, with another four goals and 19 points in 14 postseason games.
Other snapshots:
- According to Frank Seravalli in the DFO Rundown podcast, the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders have had loose trade negotiations regarding forward JJ Peterka and defenseman Noah Dobson. A one-for-one swap would fill an area of need for both organizations, with the Sabres prioritizing a right-handed defenseman and the Islanders looking to jumpstart a lethargic offense. Still, both teams are continuing to gauge the market for each player, and a trade isn’t considered imminent.
- Nick Alberga of The Leafs Nation reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs remain interested in re-signing winger Max Pacioretty for next season. Despite a solid postseason performance, Pacioretty should warrant a relatively cheaper contract, given he missed more than half of the season due to injury. Still, Alberga notes that Pacioretty is prioritizing remaining close to his family in Michigan, meaning his desired employer will come down to the Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings.