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Flames Sign Jacob Battaglia To Entry-Level Contract

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The Flames have agreed to terms with one of their more promising prospects.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed winger Jacob Battaglia to a three-year, entry-level contract.  The deal will carry an AAV of $931.7K and while not specified by the club, it will begin next season.

The 19-year-old was a late second-round pick last year, going 62nd overall after a promising sophomore season with OHL Kingston.  After potting seven goals and 20 assists as a rookie, those numbers jumped to 31 and 34, respectively, in 67 outings in 2023-24.

This season, Battaglia was able to add to those totals once again.  He finished up the campaign with 40 goals and 50 helpers in 68 games, good for a share of the team lead in scoring with Vegas prospect Tuomas Uronen.  Battaglia had a pair of assists in yesterday’s playoff opener as well.

As Battaglia won’t turn 20 until next March, playing in the minors next season won’t be an option.  He’ll have to make Calgary’s roster or be returned to Kingston.  The latter scenario is much more likely and in that instance, his deal will slide and still have three years left on it heading into the 2026-27 campaign.

Blackhawks Sign Sam Rinzel

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11:03 AM: The Blackhawks officially confirmed Rinzel’s signing.

10:17 AM: It appears Oliver Moore won’t be the only prominent prospect that the Blackhawks will be signing.  Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that Chicago is also inking defenseman Sam Rinzel to a three-year, entry-level deal that begins this season.  PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the contract will break down as follows:

2024-25: $830K salary, $95K signing bonus, $25K games-played bonus
2025-26: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $500K ‘A’ bonuses
2026-27: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $750K ‘A’ bonuses

The above works out to a cap hit of $942K and an AAV of 1.363MM.  Rinzel isn’t eligible for ‘A’ bonuses in his contract this season since they’re unachievable with how little time is remaining in the schedule.

The 20-year-old was the 25th overall selection by Chicago back in 2022 out of Chaska in Minnesota’s high school system.  At the time, he was viewed as a high-ceiling but a long-term development project.

Rinzel spent his post-draft season exclusively with USHL Waterloo after spending a bit of time there the year before as well.  After a strong year offensively with them, he went on to the University of Minnesota where he has spent the last two seasons.  In his freshman year, Rinzel put up two goals and 26 assists in 38 games while this season, he notched 10 goals and 22 helpers in 40 contests, ranking him sixth among all Division I blueliners in points.

It appears Chicago feels Rinzel is ready for the next test.  Because the contract starts this season, he will not be eligible to play with AHL Rockford once Chicago’s season ends but there’s a good chance he’ll see some time with the IceHogs next season with GM Kyle Davidson shifting toward giving his top prospects a chance to play a prominent role in the minors before getting an extended NHL look.  But for now, Rinzel will be able to get his feet wet at the NHL level and get into a few games with the Blackhawks down the stretch.

Blackhawks Sign Oliver Moore To ELC

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11:02 AM: The Blackhawks officially confirmed Moore’s signing.

9:43 AM: The Chicago Blackhawks are expected to sign college center Oliver Moore to an entry-level contract (as per Scott Powers and Scott Wheeler of The Athletic). Moore was a Blackhawks first-round pick in 2023 (19th overall) and will be leaving college early to sign a pro contract and join Chicago.  PuckPedia reports that the deal, which will carry a cap hit of $942K and an AAV of $1.34MM, breaks down as follows:

2024-25: $830K salary, $95K signing bonus, $25K games-played bonus
2025-26: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $600K ‘A’ bonuses
2026-27: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $600K ‘A’ bonuses

Moore’s NCAA season came to an end on Thursday when the University of Minnesota was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament, and the expectation is that the 20-year-old will join the Blackhawks today for practice and possibly dress for his NHL debut tomorrow.

Moore finished fourth on the Golden Gophers in scoring this season, his second in the NCAA. The Mounds View, Minnesota native tallied 12 goals and 21 assists in 38 games, along with a +13 plus/minus. In his rookie season last year, Moore posted very similar numbers with nine goals and 24 assists in 39 games and was named to the Big Ten All-Rookie Team. Moore’s college career ultimately ended in disappointment when Minnesota was knocked out of the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, however, he did finish his career on a high, recording points in eight of his final nine college games and ten points overall to wrap his collegiate career.

Moore has also had a decorated international career, winning gold medals with Team USA at back-to-back World Juniors, including this past year where he registered a goal and four assists in seven games.

Moore went through some offensive inconsistencies this season, but he remains a high-end prospect with elite skating abilities and should be an impact player for the Blackhawks in the near future. His versatility will be an asset, and he should bring energy to a Blackhawks team that continues to stockpile young talent.

Sabres Sign Topias Leinonen To Entry-Level Contract

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The Sabres announced they’ve signed goaltending prospect Topias Leinonen to his entry-level contract. It’s a three-year deal beginning in the 2025-26 season, but he’ll report to AHL Rochester for the remainder of this year on a tryout. Per PuckPedia, his contract carries a cap hit of $886,667 and breaks down as follows:

2025-26: $775K base salary, $95K signing bonuses, $80K performance bonuses, $82.5K minors salary
2026-27: $775K base salary, $95K signing bonuses, $80K performance bonuses, $82.5K minors salary
2027-28: $825K base salary, $95K signing bonuses, $30K performance bonuses, $82.5K minors salary

Leinonen jumps across the pond three years after Buffalo made him the 41st overall selection of the 2022 draft. The 6’5″ Finn has had an extremely tumultuous run in European professional leagues since being drafted but had a much-needed rebound season in 2024-25. The 21-year-old left the ranks of his home country to play for Mora IK in HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier pro league. He responded with a .910 SV%, 2.31 GAA, four shutouts, and a 13-10-0 record in 25 regular-season appearances. Those were his best numbers at any level by a significant margin since his draft year, which he spent primarily in the Finnish U20 circuit. Leinonen also ended the year with a .929 SV% in six postseason games for Mora, but the club failed to gain promotion to the Swedish Hockey League for the first time since 2019.

Leinonen spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons across three different leagues in Finland, suiting up for JYP in the top-level Liiga as well as seeing time for their U20 club and second-tier affiliate, KeuPa HT. He failed to record a .900 SV% at any level in both campaigns.

Despite that adversity, his development is back on track – earning him an ELC and likely a regular role with Rochester next season. He still ranks as the No. 12 prospect in Buffalo’s system, per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, second among goalies behind No. 3 Devon Levi. Levi, a pending restricted free agent, seems poised to re-join Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on the NHL roster next season after excelling with a .916 SV%, 2.27 GAA, and five shutouts in 34 games for Rochester. Leinonen becomes the fourth goalie signed or under team control for next year, joining Luukkonen, Levi, and 20-year-old Scott Ratzlaff, who’ll be turning pro after four junior seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League.

Utah Recalls Matt Villalta

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The Utah Hockey Club has called up Matt Villalta to serve as their No. 2 goalie for the time being, per a team announcement. Fellow netminder Jaxson Stauber was sent to AHL Tucson in a corresponding move.

Utah has juggled depth netminders to serve behind Karel Vejmelka with usual tandem partner Connor Ingram unavailable for much of the season. After missing nearly two months from November to January with an upper-body injury and subsequent personal leave, he entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program earlier this month. Rather than start Stauber or Vejmelka tonight after the two combined to allow eight goals on just 21 shots in last night’s blowout loss to the Lightning, Utah could opt to give Villalta his first NHL appearance of the season as they face the Panthers tonight on the second half of a back-to-back.

Villalta has not been recalled by Utah since clearing waivers late in training camp. He’s spent the majority of the season as the starter for AHL Tucson, where he has a 3.01 GAA, .906 SV%, and a 17-21-3 record with four shutouts. No AHL goalie has made more appearances this season than Villalta’s 41.

The 25-year-old Villalta has spent the last two seasons in the Utah/Arizona organization, signing with the Coyotes as a Group VI unrestricted free agent in the 2023 offseason. After an excellent showing in Tucson last season, posting a 2.11 GAA, .911 SV%, and a 31-17-3 record in 51 outings, he inked a two-year, two-way extension with Utah last June to continue serving as organizational depth. The 2017 third-round pick of the Kings made his NHL debut last year in Arizona, allowing five goals on 29 shots (.828 SV%, 4.17 GAA) in one start and one relief appearance.

Stauber has entered the crease six times for Utah this year, comprised of four starts and two relief appearances. He last started in December and made his two relief appearances this month, both in blowout losses. He has a .892 SV% on the season, including allowing four goals on 10 shots last night in relief of Vejmelka.

Sabres Reassign Joshua Dunne

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March 28: The Sabres announced they reassigned Dunne to Rochester today. He suited up in last night’s 7-3 drubbing of the Penguins but still managed to record a minus-one rating in 6:55 of ice time. His demotion comes after winger Jason Zucker returned to practice following a personal leave that caused him to miss Thursday’s game, per Heather Engel of NHL.com, so he should be back in the lineup tomorrow afternoon against the Flyers. Buffalo’s active roster now stands at 24.

March 25: The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Joshua Dunne from the minor leagues. This marks Dunne’s second recall of the season after spending six days with the NHL club earlier this month. Dunne made his Sabres debut during that stint, recording a fighting major and minus-two in seven minutes of ice time. It was the 15th NHL game of Dunne’s career. The previous 14 came with the Columbus Blue Jackets – split between six games in the 2020-21 season and eight in the 2022-23 season. Dunne has yet to manage his first NHL point but has totaled 15 penalty minutes and a minus-nine.

Despite squaring up for his first regular-season NHL fight on his last recall, Dunne has been far less the bruiser in the minors. He’s recorded just 44 penalty minutes in 58 AHL games this season, sixth-most on the Rochester Americans. Dunne has paired those PIMs with nine goals, 26 points, and a plus-11 on the season. It’s been a strong year, though he’s still well clear of the career-high 20 goals, 37 points, and 71 penalty minutes he recorded in 65 games of the 2022-23 AHL season. He lost all but 25 games and seven points of his 2023-24 campaign to a lengthy injury.

Dunne signed with the Blue Jackets as an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2020-21 season. He managed an impressive 10 points in 15 games to start his AHL career but hasn’t found a way to mount the same scoring in four seasons since. Still, his go-to status for the Sabres highlights the impacts Dunne has created away from the puck. He will serve as Buffalo’s extra forward on Tuesday night as Joshua Norris, Jordan Greenway, and Sam Lafferty are expected to sit out with injuries.

Penguins Reassign Harrison Brunicke To AHL

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The Penguins have reassigned top defense prospect Harrison Brunicke to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to finish the season, per a release from the minor-league club. His major junior season with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League is over after they failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Brunicke, 18, slipped to the second round of last year’s draft, where the Pens selected him 44th overall. However, more than a few public scouts tabbed him as a late first-rounder. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic tabbed him as the No. 2 overall prospect and top defenseman in Pittsburgh’s system – notably ahead of 2022 first-round selection Owen Pickering. Last month, Wheeler also listed Brunicke as the No. 63 prospect in the NHL.

The right-shot defender checks in with an already pro-ready frame at 6’3″ and 203 lbs. A Canadian citizen born in South Africa, he’s been lauded as one of the better skaters in the 2024 class and plays a sound two-way game. His boxcar stats haven’t jumped off the page much on a subpar Kamloops squad, though, and injuries have taken significant bites out of his last two seasons. Nonetheless, he managed a career-best 5-25–30 scoring line in 41 games with the Blazers this year, leading their rearguards in scoring while posting a -15 rating.

Despite his somewhat rocky development, Brunicke still projects as a future second-pairing fixture in Pittsburgh, Wheeler opines. He’ll turn 19 in May, so while he may get a long look to make the Pens’ roster in training camp, it’s far more likely he’ll return to the WHL at some point. That could come after a nine-game trial to avoid burning the first year of his ELC, which head coach Mike Sullivan said they were even considering last fall. He won’t be eligible for a full-time AHL assignment until 2026-27. Pittsburgh signed him to his entry-level contract, which will slide to next season and potentially 2026-27, last July.

Canucks Recall Max Sasson

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The Canucks announced that they have recalled forward Max Sasson from AHL Abbotsford under emergency conditions. He will give Vancouver a forward to insert into the lineup for tonight’s road game against the Blue Jackets if there’s an unexpected absence. If he doesn’t play, the Canucks must return him to the minors tomorrow. Vancouver’s active roster now stands at 26.

Sasson, 24, gets added to the NHL roster for the seventh time this season, his first recall in nearly two months. Undrafted, the Canucks signed him to an entry-level contract out of Western Michigan in 2023.

At the time, Sasson was coming off a breakout sophomore campaign with the Broncos that saw him post 15-27–42 with a +20 rating in 38 games. The center finished the year with three points in 13 combined regular-season and playoff games for Abbotsford on a tryout before his ELC with the Canucks went into effect for the 2023-24 campaign.

That minimal offensive production wasn’t a sign of things to come for Sasson. In his first professional season, the Michigan native seamlessly transitioned to top-six minutes for Abbotsford, finishing fifth on the team in scoring last year with 18-24–42 in 56 games with a +14 rating. His performance didn’t warrant an in-season call-up, but it did vault him up the depth chart heading into 2024-25.

Sasson’s minor-league offense has dipped slightly this season from 0.75 points per game to 0.70 (9-17–26 in 37 AHL GP). The good news is he’s been a serviceable fourth-line center when called upon by the big club. Through his first 24 NHL appearances, the Michigan native has 2-4–6 with a plus-three rating, averaging 10:06 per game. He’s recorded 13 blocks and 14 hits and averages just over a shot on goal per game. His possession numbers are average, posting a 47.4 CF% at even strength that mirrors the Canucks’ CF% without him on the ice. As expected for a rookie, one area of concern is faceoffs – he’s 26-for-62 on draws, a 41.9% win rate.

At 24 years old, he’s not considered a prospect. Still, he has done enough in his two years in Vancouver to prove himself a reliable call-up option – even giving himself a chance to make the opening night roster next fall as a cheap extra skater. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer. PuckPedia relays he’s owed a qualifying offer of $813,750 and will be eligible for salary arbitration.

Blue Jackets Activate Cole Sillinger

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March 28: The Blue Jackets activated Sillinger off injured reserve as expected, per the NHL’s media site. Head coach Dean Evason confirmed to reporters, including Jeff Svoboda of NHL.com, that Sillinger will be in the lineup. James van Riemsdyk will be a healthy scratch to make room for Sillinger’s return.

March 26: The Blue Jackets will have forward Cole Sillinger and defenseman Jake Christiansen available for Friday’s game against the Canucks, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. Both have been medically cleared to return from their respective injuries. The former was on injured reserve, so he’ll need to be activated, while Christiansen remained on the active roster during his absence.

Sillinger, 21, hasn’t played since the end of February. He sustained a shoulder injury on Feb. 27 against the Red Wings and missed their outdoor rematch a few days later. General manager Don Waddell immediately made clear he’d miss a few weeks, and he landed on IR a few days later to make room for winger Yegor Chinakhov’s activation. With no roster limit post-trade deadline, there won’t be a corresponding move this time.

Assuming he gets back into action against Vancouver, Sillinger will look to continue his four-year career’s most productive offensive campaign. The 2021 No. 12 overall pick hasn’t dominated, but he’s gotten his development back on track after a difficult sophomore season and has recorded a career-high 0.39 assists per game and 0.54 points per game in 2024-25. He ranks ninth on the team in scoring with 9-20–29 in 54 games, although he has a club-worst -15 rating. He’s won 46.4% of his draws, averaging 17:18 per game, sixth-most among Columbus forwards.

Shoulder injuries have been commonplace for CBJ forwards this year, ending Kevin Labanc’s campaign last month and taking huge chunks out of Erik Gudbranson’s and Boone Jenner’s seasons. The former only returned to action on Monday after sustaining a shoulder injury in October.

It’s unclear who might come out of the lineup for Sillinger. The Jackets are two points back of a wild-card spot but have the Islanders and Rangers standing in between them and Montreal. Their shootout win over the former earlier this week has their playoff chances at 13% entering tonight’s games, per MoneyPuck, and they could get some help with a Vancouver win over the Isles.

Christiansen has been out with an upper-body injury since March 13, missing five games with an upper-body injury. He’d played in Columbus’ first 65 games of the season, but with Gudbranson making his return, it stands to reason Christiansen could remain a healthy scratch despite being cleared to play. He’s averaged 12:43 per game to date, posting 1-7–8 with a plus-eight rating and 47 hits.

Flyers Assign Jett Luchanko To AHL

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The Flyers announced Thursday that they’ve assigned top center prospect Jett Luchanko to AHL Lehigh Valley to finish the season. His major junior campaign with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League is over after they failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Selected 13th overall in last year’s draft, Luchanko was a surprise inclusion on Philadelphia’s opening night roster after a strong training camp. He appeared in four of Philly’s first five games of the season, going without a point and posting a minus-three rating. The 18-year-old did well in the dot for such a young player, winning 17 of 37 draws (45.9 FO%), but didn’t have good possession impacts at even strength (39.5 CF%, 43.8 xGF%).

Clearly in need of more development time, the Flyers’ only option was to return Luchanko to juniors. He won’t be eligible for a full-time AHL assignment, at least while the OHL season is going on, until the 2026-27 season. The 5’11” righty put up a solid performance captaining a conference-worst Guelph squad, posting 21-35–56 in 46 games to lead the team in points per game. He posted a minus-three rating that stands out in a good way on a team with a -75 goal differential and also scored once in five games for Canada at the World Juniors.

Luchanko is the No. 2 prospect in the Flyers’ system and the 50th-ranked prospect in the NHL, according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. He’ll get his first taste of minor-league hockey over the coming weeks before looking to repeat a strong camp performance en route to cracking the Flyers’ opening night roster for a second time in 2025-26.

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