Panthers Sign Wilmer Skoog To Two-Way Deal
Jul. 17th: Florida confirmed Skoog’s new contract in a team announcement.
Jul. 16th: The Panthers have agreed to terms with one of their restricted free agents. Irfaan Gaffar of the Down To Irf podcast first reported the Panthers were re-signing center Wilmer Skoog to a two-way deal, with David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period adding it carries a $775K NHL salary and a $100K AHL salary.
Skoog, 25, is now entering his third professional season. Florida signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Boston University in 2023, and it first looked like a great pickup. He started the season with eight points in 20 games with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades before being bumped up a level to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, where he went on a shooting tear to finish the year with 22 goals in 49 games – a 32-goal pace over the AHL’s 72-game schedule.
The former Terriers standout couldn’t keep the momentum rolling into 2024-25, though. He scored just nine goals while playing in all 72 appearances for the Checkers, taking on more of a checking role with 24 points and 63 PIMs with a -10 rating.
Skoog, a 6’2″, 196-lb native of Sweden, won a Hockey East title at BU and had a pair of 30-point seasons to end his collegiate career. While he’s been hot-and-cold offensively since turning pro, he’ll get added runway here to serve as a valuable depth contributor with Charlotte and, with a resurgence, potentially work his way up toward an NHL recall.
Skoog will be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency next summer in the likely event he doesn’t play 80 NHL games in 2025-26. Florida now has 43 of its 50 contract slots filled for the season.
Blue Jackets Sign Dysin Mayo To Two-Way Contract
The Blue Jackets have signed free agent defenseman Dysin Mayo to a two-way contract, per a team press release. He’ll earn a $775K NHL salary and a $250K AHL salary with a $350K guarantee, according to PuckPedia.
The 28-year-old righty was initially a fifth-round pick by the Coyotes back in 2014. Mayo remained in the Arizona organization until just a couple of years ago, making his NHL debut and playing 67 games in the 2021-22 season after a lengthy pro career spent exclusively in the minors. He was traded to the Golden Knights in the 2022-23 season and has remained in the organization since, playing solely for the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights since his acquisition.
While he was a solely stay-at-home threat earlier in his career, Mayo has produced more offense in Henderson than he did with the Coyotes’ former affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. He’s posted 25 and 19 points respectively in his two full seasons in Henderson, each the highest and second-highest point totals in a single season in his professional career.
Most of Mayo’s NHL appearances occurred during the 2021-22 campaign; he added only 15 appearances the following season for Arizona before dropping off the radar. He has 97 points and 344 PIMs in 426 AHL games, including an 8-11–19 scoring line in 58 games for Henderson last year with a minus-five rating.
Mayo will now provide some veteran defensive depth for Columbus’ affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, while providing an injury replacement call-up option with some NHL experience.
Blackhawks Sign Stanislav Berezhnoy To Entry-Level Contract
The Blackhawks have signed undrafted goaltender Stanislav Berezhnoy to an entry-level contract, according to a team announcement. It’s a two-year deal that carries a $975K cap hit, which PuckPedia reports breaks down to an $877.5K NHL salary, $97.5K signing bonus, and $85K minors salary each season. Dylan Griffing of Elite Prospects was the first to report the Blackhawks’ interest in Berezhnoy this morning.
Berezhnoy, a 22-year-old who checks in at 6’4″ and 218 lbs, spent most of his time in Russia’s second-tier pro league, the VHL, last season. He split the campaign between Omskie Krylia and SKA-Neva St. Petersburg, posting a .928 SV%, 2.50 GAA, one shutout, and a 12-10-2 record in 27 regular-season appearances. Berezhnoy ended his strong season with a .921 SV% in eight playoff games for SKA-Neva
The Novokuznetsk native’s lone top-flight KHL appearance came in relief with SKA last year, allowing two goals on nine shots in 16:48 of ice time. It’s the strong juniors and minor-league track record that makes him an intriguing pickup for Chicago’s prospect pool that already includes names like Drew Commesso and Adam Gajan.
Berezhnoy will make the jump to North America this season and is ticketed for either the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs or the ECHL’s Indy Fuel, depending on how his training camp goes and if there are any injuries in Chicago’s stable of depth netminders. He’ll be a restricted free agent upon expiry in 2027.
Red Wings Sign First-Rounder Carter Bear
The Red Wings have officially signed No. 13 overall pick Carter Bear to his first NHL contract, the team confirmed today in an announcement on X. It’s a three-year entry-level deal.
Bear, a relatively early birthday for the class in November 2006, is coming off his second full season of major junior hockey with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips. The Winnipeg native posted 40 goals, 42 assists, 82 points, and a +33 rating in 56 outings to lead the team in scoring. He served as an alternate captain and was named to the WHL’s Western Conference Second All-Star Team at season’s end.
The 6’0″ left winger put up those numbers before a partial Achilles tear ended his season in March. Since he’s still rehabbing from that, it’s unclear whether he’ll be available for training camp – although Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects reported in May that Bear’s recovery was ahead of schedule and he could be ready for the World Junior Summer Showcase for Canada later this month.
While there’s likely room for fluctuation in his performance bonuses, Bear presumably signed a maximum-base salary entry-level deal that gives him a cap hit of $975K out of the gate. That cap impact could be reduced if he’s subject to an entry-level slide in 2025-26 by playing in fewer than 10 NHL games since his signing bonus for this season will be paid out regardless.
Bear is the 10th player from this year’s draft class to sign his ELC and the eighth first-rounder to do so.
Sabres, Jake Leschyshyn Agree To Two-Way Deal
3:13 p.m.: The Sabres have made Leschyshyn’s signing official.
12:45 p.m.: Free agent center Jake Leschyshyn has signed a two-way contract with the Sabres, according to PuckPedia. He will earn $775K in the NHL and $350K in the AHL with a $400K guarantee.
Leschyshyn, a second-round pick by the Golden Knights in their inaugural 2017 draft class, now joins his third NHL organization. He’d spent parts of the last three seasons in the Rangers’ system, primarily with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, after they claimed him off waivers from Vegas during the 2022-23 campaign. He hasn’t seen NHL action since Jan. 11, 2024, his only major-league appearance that season.
In 69 regular-season outings for Hartford last season, he scored 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points with a particularly eye-popping -35 rating, third-worst in the league behind teammate Jaroslav Chmelar‘s -37 mark and defenseman Samuel Bolduc‘s -38 rating for the Bridgeport Islanders.
The 5’11” pivot will not have much of a chance at an NHL roster spot in Buffalo as a result and will only serve as veteran insurance for their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, assuming he clears waivers during training camp. In 77 total NHL games for Vegas and New York across three seasons, Leschyshyn has a 2-4–6 scoring line with a -13 rating while averaging 10:15 per game.
Buffalo has now filled 43 of its 50 contract slots for this season. They have two restricted free agents left to sign: Conor Timmins, who is in an arbitration case, and goaltender Devon Levi.
Flames’ Joni Jurmo, Maple Leafs’ Ty Voit Have Contracts Terminated
July 16: Jurmo and Voit cleared waivers and will have their deals terminated, according to Friedman.
July 15: Flames defense prospect Joni Jurmo and Maple Leafs forward prospect Ty Voit are both on unconditional waivers Tuesday to terminate their entry-level contracts, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Both have one year left on their deals and would have been restricted free agents in 2026. Any other NHL club can claim them within the next 24 hours; if not, their contracts will be voided, their remaining money forfeited, and they’ll become unrestricted free agents.
Jurmo, 23, was a third-round pick by the Canucks in 2020. Calgary acquired his signing rights in last year’s Elias Lindholm trade and signed him after his season in his native Finland concluded, bringing him to North America for 2024-25.
While Jurmo had played exclusively in Finland’s top-flight Liiga since 2021-22, the adjustment to North America was rough. The 6’4″, 207-lb lefty failed to capture a full-time AHL role with the Calgary Wranglers, going pointless with an even rating in 17 games. He fared much better in the ECHL with the Rapid City Rush, posting 10 points in 12 games, but his lack of success higher on the depth chart wasn’t a promising sign for his development so long after his draft year.
Jurmo likely wasn’t happy with the lack of overall playing time, either, and will presumably seek out a more stable role in Europe if he becomes a UFA tomorrow. In turn, Calgary will clear a contract slot and open up more playing time for their large pool of young defenders likely headed for the Wranglers this season.
Voit, 22, is a similar story. Toronto’s 2021 fifth-rounder was a star in the OHL after missing his draft year due to COVID, capping off his junior career with a 105-point showing in 67 games for the Sarnia Sting in 2022-23.
Injuries cost him nearly his entire 2023-24 season as he adjusted to the professional ranks, though. He still showed immense playmaking promise when healthy, recording eight points in only five games for the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers.
Despite that, Voit didn’t see a second of AHL action last season and instead spent the year back down in the ECHL, now with the Cincinnati Cyclones. His production entered a tailspin, posting a much more conservative 8-29–37 scoring line in 63 games.
The 5’9″ forward could still be in line for an AHL contract somewhere, even if NHL interest isn’t likely. There’s a potential fit with the Penguins – he’s a Pittsburgh native and was drafted by current Pens general manager Kyle Dubas when he was in Toronto.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Joe Veleno
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Montreal Canadiens are closing in on a contract for center Joe Veleno. It’ll be a coming-home party for the former first-round pick, who’s from Montreal and spent his junior days with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs and Drummondville Voltigeurs. The Canadiens confirmed it is a one-year, $900K contract for Veleno.
Veleno has had an unexpected path through the NHL. He was drafted 30th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2018 NHL Draft, using one of the picks acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Tomáš Tatar. It was a relatively steep fall in draft stock for Veleno, who had been projected as a top-10 talent on most boards before the 2017-18 season.
Still, his prospect pedigree grew a year after being drafted, putting together an impressive showing with the Voltigeurs, scoring 42 goals and 104 points in 59 games with a +63 rating. He was relatively successful throughout his time for Team Canada during the World Junior Championships, scoring one goal and eight points in 11 tournament contests over two years.
Unfortunately, he began to stagnate upon joining the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Veleno remained a quality defensive player, but the scoring capacity he showed at the junior level didn’t follow him into professional hockey.
Throughout his time in Detroit, Veleno was largely utilized in a bottom-six role, averaging 13:05 of ice time over five and a half seasons. He finished his tenure as a Red Wing with 35 goals and 74 points in 288 games with a dreadful -56 rating.
Still, his defensive metrics paint a different picture and prove he has some value on that side of the puck. He averaged a 90.3% on-ice save percentage throughout his time in Detroit, while starting 54.0% of his shifts in the defensive zone. His faceoff percentage (46.6%) is subpar for a defensive-minded center, but Veleno continued to hold his own.
Considering that the Red Wings were a lethargic defensive team throughout Veleno’s tenure, he proved to be one of the few bright spots defensively. His time with Detroit ended last season, when the team traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline for Petr Mrázek and Craig Smith.
Unsurprisingly, with a need to graduate more prospects to the NHL level, Veleno’s time in Chicago lasted 18 games. He was traded to the Seattle Kraken this offseason for André Burakovsky and was subsequently bought out by the Kraken.
In Montreal, it may be an opportunity for Veleno to become a full-time winger. Having Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, and Jake Evans on the roster for next season, Veleno doesn’t serve as an objective improvement over any of their available options.
There’s a decent chance Veleno will become a fourth-line left wing in Montreal, while serving as a center option if the team runs into injury trouble.
Hurricanes Re-Sign Skyler Brind’Amour, Domenick Fensore
Jul. 16th: The Hurricanes confirmed Brind’Amour’s new contract via a team announcement. Carolina also announced that they’ve re-signed defenseman Domenick Fensore to a one-year, two-way contract. He’ll earn $775K at the NHL level and $70K at the AHL level, with $100K guaranteed.
Jul. 14th: Carolina has taken care of one of its remaining restricted free agents as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the Hurricanes have re-signed forward Skyler Brind’Amour to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay him $775K in the NHL, $90K in the AHL, and has a guaranteed payout of $100K.
The 25-year-old was originally a sixth-round pick by Edmonton back in 2017, going 177th overall. However, after playing his college action at Quinnipiac, he didn’t sign with the Oilers, instead joining AHL Charlotte on a one-year deal for 2022-23. After putting up eight points in 54 games with them, Brind’Amour inked a one-year, two-way pact with the Hurricanes for last season.
Brind’Amour spent most of 2024-25 with AHL Chicago and was a bit more productive than his professional debut, notching 16 goals and eight assists in 68 games. With Carolina sitting many players for the final two games to keep them healthy for the playoffs, Brind’Amour was among the players recalled from the Wolves and he picked up his first career NHL goal in the final game of the season.
Brind’Amour will require waivers now to return to the minors but it seems unlikely that he will be picked up off the waiver wire. Assuming he passes through unclaimed, he will once again serve as recallable depth for Carolina in 2025-26 and will once again be a restricted free agent next summer.
With the signing, the Hurricanes are now down to two remaining restricted free agents, both of whom primarily played for the Wolves last season – forward Ryan Suzuki, plus defensemen Ronan Seeley.
Samuel Kňažko Signs In Czechia
The Columbus Blue Jackets are losing one of their organizational depth defenseman for the time being. According to a team announcement, defenseman Samuel Kňažko has signed a multi-year contract with HC Vítkovice of the Czech Extraliga.
Kňažko wasn’t the most well-known defensive prospect in the Blue Jackets system. The 22-year-old blue liner was selected with the 78th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft by Columbus, coming from TPS’s U20 SM-liiga program. He never displayed higher-level offensive talent, but he proved to be an efficient puck mover and more than capable in the defensive zone.
He came to North America for the 2021-22 season after transferring to the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. Kňažko scored five goals and 20 points in 27 games with a +14 rating, with one goal and six points in 26 postseason contests. He even suited up in seven games for Team Slovakia during the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, helping Slovakia to a bronze medal.
Unfortunately, since he started playing in the Blue Jackets organization with their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, his development has stagnated. Since the beginning of the 2022-23 AHL season, Kňažko has scored seven goals and 49 points in 149 regular-season contests with a -27 rating, and three assists in five Calder Cup playoff matchups. He only played in two games for Columbus over that stretch, going scoreless.
Carrying a bevy of defensemen in their pipeline and on their NHL roster, the Blue Jackets likely didn’t prioritize retaining Kňažko this offseason. He’ll join a Vítkovice team that finished 12th in the Extraliga during the 2024-25 season and was quickly eliminated in the wild-card round of the postseason.
Ducks Sign Calle Clang, Jan Mysak To Two-Way Deals
The Ducks have signed restricted free agent goaltender Calle Clang to a two-way deal for the upcoming season, according to a team announcement. The team also announced a two-way agreement for RFA forward Jan Mysak. Financial terms were not disclosed by the team but PuckPedia reports that Clang’s deal is worth $775K in the NHL and $85K in the minors, while Mysak’s is worth $775K and $90K, respectively.
Clang, 23, was a third-round pick of the Penguins in 2020, and Anaheim acquired his signing rights in the deal that sent Rickard Rakell to Pittsburgh in 2022. He looked like quite an intriguing prospect at the time and was amid a run of three strong seasons in professional leagues in his native Sweden. Now, his development has stalled since he arrived in North America at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
The former Champions Hockey League winner with Rogle BK has made 68 appearances for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls in the last few years, logging a 3.15 GAA and a below-average .896 SV% with a 22-32-8 record. His save percentages have slowly declined, from .904 in a five-game trial in 2022-23 to .897 in 2023-24 to .895 last season.
Clang, who stands at 6’2″ and 194 lbs, won’t be in contention for an NHL roster spot in the fall with Lukas Dostal, Petr Mrazek, and Ville Husso ahead of him on the depth chart. He could be in line for extended playing time in San Diego if Husso ends up as part of a three-goalie rotation in the NHL. Still, even that isn’t a given with three other young goalies under contract competing for minor-league playing time in Vyacheslav Buteyets, Damian Clara, and Tomas Suchanek.
Mysak is newer to the Ducks organization than Clang. Anaheim acquired in a minor prospect swap with the Canadiens last season, sending underperforming first-rounder Jacob Perreault the other way.
While Perreault is no longer with the Habs, Mysak extends his stay in Orange County on the heels of a decent showing for San Diego in 2024-25. A second-round pick in 2020, Mysak put together an 18-24–42 scoring line in 68 games after ending the previous season with just one goal in 18 games for the Gulls.
Now 23, the Czech forward has some call-up potential this season if injuries strike. If so, it would be the NHL debut for the 5’11”, 190-lb Mysak, who’s entering his fourth professional season.
Both players will be restricted free agents again next summer. Anaheim now has 38 out of 50 contract slots filled.