Oilers Sign Owen Michaels To Entry-Level Deal
April 3: Michaels’ deal is for this season, PuckPedia confirms. As such, it carries a prorated cap hit of $1.484MM. That includes a signing bonus of $40K with an NHL salary of $935K and a minors salary of $85K. He will immediately become a 10.2(c) player in July, meaning he’ll essentially be a restricted free agent who can’t sign an offer sheet.
April 2: The Oilers announced Thursday that they’ve signed Western Michigan University captain Owen Michaels to a one-year, entry-level deal. There’s conflicting information on when the contract takes effect; the team press release stated the deal will run for the last few weeks of this season, while the team tweet announcing the signing indicated the deal was for 2026-27.
In any event, the 23-year-old Michaels turns pro after a highly successful three-year run with the Broncos. The 6’0″ right-shot forward broke out as a top-of-the-lineup threat as a sophomore after being buried in the lineup as a freshman, erupting for 18 goals and 36 points in 42 games in 2024-25 en route to Western Michigan’s first-ever national championship. While the Broncos were knocked off by Denver in a regional final upset in the national tournament last week, Michaels was still relatively productive this year with a 13-13–26 line in 39 games.
At his age, the usual curve for an undrafted talent suggests he’ll top out as a high-end AHL contributor with some call-up potential, particularly since he never sniffed the point-per-game threshold in college. As Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff relays, it’s his skating that will likely hold him back from becoming an everyday NHL piece. Still, he should be a good play-driver in AHL Bakersfield as a strong support piece for the Oilers’ higher-ceiling forward talent.
If Michaels’ contract is for next year (or if it takes effect immediately and he re-ups as a restricted free agent this offseason), Edmonton will have 33 deals on the books. If Michaels signed for 2025-26, he will be eligible to make his NHL debut in the regular season but won’t be eligible to play in any playoff games for the Oilers, much like they did with Quinn Hutson last year.
Penguins’ Caleb Jones Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Done For Season
Penguins defenseman Caleb Jones hasn’t played an NHL game since Oct. 23. He won’t be getting back into the lineup again this season, as the Pens announced Friday he underwent shoulder surgery back on March 18. There’s a four-to-six-month recovery timeline attached, which may stretch a bit into next season’s training camp on the long end but shouldn’t take him out of any regular-season action in 2026-27.
Barring a trade or contract termination, Jones will be back in Pittsburgh next season. He joined the Pens on a two-year, $1.8MM deal last summer that will pay him $1MM in actual salary in 2026-27.
The 28-year-old will compete for a roster spot next year, having played just 13 NHL games over the last two seasons. He spent 2024-25 on a two-way deal with the Kings that saw him play mostly in the AHL, only getting six games in L.A. across a few call-ups throughout the year. He saw seven games with the Pens to open this year as a #6/7 option but sustained a lower-body injury that ended up costing him nearly three months of game time. He was assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning stint and suited up once for them on Jan. 14, sustaining what would eventually be his season-ending shoulder injury that night.
Jones was then suspended for 20 games in early February for violating the NHL’s rules regarding performance-enhancing substances. He wasn’t healthy enough to play anyway, so it didn’t matter much. Jones finished serving that suspension earlier this week but still won’t be an option as Pittsburgh heads toward its first playoff berth since 2022.
Jones didn’t look out of place at all in his small sample at the beginning of the season. He had one assist and a +1 rating while averaging 17:10 of ice time per game, blocking a career-high 2.14 shots per game. His under-the-hood numbers weren’t great – Pittsburgh only controlled 41.4% of shot attempts with Jones on the ice at 5-on-5 – but he was starting his shifts in the defensive zone two-thirds of the time. He skated primarily on the third pairing with since-demoted rookie Harrison Brunicke, with that unit controlling a promising 54.3% of expected goals, according to MoneyPuck.
Still, it’s hard to see Jones playing a significant NHL role next year. The team’s midseason pickup of Samuel Girard pushed him further down the left-side depth chart. If the Pens can manage to re-sign pending unrestricted free agent Ryan Shea, Jones will likely enter camp as the #5 lefty on the depth chart at best behind Girard, Shea, Parker Wotherspoon, and Ryan Graves. That’s not even considering the competition that group could face from 2022 first-rounder Owen Pickering.
Jets Reassign Danny Zhilkin
The Jets loaned forward Danil Zhilkin to AHL Manitoba on Friday, per a team announcement. Since his recall last week came under emergency conditions, Zhilkin needed to be returned to the minors as soon as he was no longer needed for Winnipeg to ice 12 forwards. That happened last night as he was scratched for their 3-0 loss to the Stars.
Zhilkin, 22, was a third-round pick by Winnipeg in 2022. The Russo-Canadian centerman has logged the first six appearances of his NHL career this season, including back-to-back performances against the Avalanche and Blackhawks on Saturday and Tuesday. His first career point came in the latter outing, notching the primary assist on an Isak Rosen goal in an eventual 4-3 overtime win.
The skill forward had solid offensive output in junior hockey, scoring 0.88 points per game over his final two OHL seasons. His December birthdate meant he was eligible to turn pro out of the CHL in his second season post-draft, one year earlier than most. The adjustment to the pros wasn’t kind to Zhilkin, although Manitoba has been a horrid offensive environment for the Jets to develop their prospects over the past few years.
The Moose are having another tough year in the goal-scoring column, only managing 2.49 per game, but Zhilkin has been able to take something of a step forward in his third year in the pros. The 6’1″ middleman has 11 goals and 22 points in 54 games, along with a career-best -9 rating. That’s more than double the goal output and more than the cumulative point output he’d come up with over his first two AHL seasons.
Zhilkin ranked #13 in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s overview of the Jets’ pool last month. He still has another year left on his entry-level contract. Another step forward in Manitoba in 2026-27 will likely be necessary for him to warrant a qualifying offer from Winnipeg.
Penguins Reassign Avery Hayes
As injured players return to the lineup, the Pittsburgh Penguins are better positioned to trim down their forward corps as they finish off the regular season. To that end, the Penguins announced that they’ve reassigned forward Avery Hayes to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Hayes, 23, has been an oft-called-upon forward for the Penguins for the last few months. Beginning with his first recall on February 5th, Hayes has been recalled an additional four times. The Penguins have been dealing with a few minor injuries to their forward corps, making Hayes a quick fill-in when needed.
He’s played relatively well in his opportunities. Throughout his five call-ups, Hayes has scored three goals in 13 games with a -4 rating, averaging 10:38 of ice time per game. Additionally, he’s landed 20 shots on goal and 16 hits, making him a solid plug-and-play player in the bottom-six.
Still, there are a few flaws in his game, which aren’t unexpected from a young winger, that will need to be worked out if he hopes to be on the roster more consistently next year. Granted, it’s a small sample size, but his work in the possession and defensive game has been lackluster throughout his handful of appearances.
Regardless, it should be considered a successful year for Hayes. The Penguins signed him as an undrafted free agent from the OHL’s Peterborough Petes a few years ago, and he’s played particularly well for the WBS Penguins. This season, he has nearly achieved a point-per-game scoring line, registering 22 goals and 35 points in 39 games with a +8 rating. He’s almost matched last year’s totals (23 goals and 42 points) in nearly 20 fewer games.
Golden Knights To Activate Carter Hart From LTIR
The Vegas Golden Knights are expected to activate goaltender Carter Hart off of long-term injured reserve, and award him the start in Thursday night’s game against the Calgary Flames, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review Journal. Hart has sat out of the last 33 games due to an extended lower-body injury sustained on January 8th.
Hart signed a two-year contract with Vegas in October and returned to NHL ice in early-December. He went on to appear in 12 games with the Golden Knights over the next month, posting six wins and a .871 save percentage in the process. Vegas deployed Hart as their starting goaltender through that month, defaulting Akira Schmid to the backup role while Adin Hill worked his way back from a multi-month leg injury. Hill returned to the lineup one week after Hart’s injury.
Vegas has turned towards Hill and Schmid to fill their goaltending room in the near-three months since Hart went down. Hill has carried the bulk of the weight, recording nine wins, one shutout, and a .865 save percentage in 21 games since returning to the lineup. Schmid has recorded four wins and a .889 save percentage in 12 games. Carl Lindbom also stepped into one game – an 18-save win – after Hart’s injury.
With Hart’s return, freshly-cristened Vegas head coach John Tortorella will now have to juggle three goalies at the NHL level. He could have some favor for Hart, who he coached on the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Those campaigns stand as some of Hart’s best. He tallied 22 wins and a .907 save percentage in 55 games of 2022-23, and 12 wins and a .906 save percentage in 26 games of 2023-24. His only season with more wins and a higher save percentage came in his breakout 2019-20 season, when Hart tallied 24 wins and a .914 save percentage in 43 games.
A familiar face behind the bench could help Hart turn a disastrous season – marked by court cases, a slow return, and injury – into a positive swing when Vegas needs it most. The Golden Knights ranked in the middle of the league – 17th, to be exact – in goals-against per-game over the month of March. That is despite the team also facing the second-fewest shots-against in the same span. Those struggles led to the firing of Stanley Cup-winning head coach Bruce Cassidy and a turn towards the experienced Tortorella. Now, Vegas will test if they hve found the goaltending needed to hang onto their third-place spot in the Pacific Division, through a trio of Hart, Hill, and Schmid.
Lightning Recall Mitchell Chaffee
The Lightning have recalled right winger Mitchell Chaffee from AHL Syracuse, per a team announcement Thursday.
Chaffee, who has been in Syracuse since clearing waivers in late October, will make his first NHL appearance in over five months tonight against the Penguins. He and Oliver Bjorkstrand are entering the lineup in place of Scott Sabourin and Brandon Hagel, who both sustained undisclosed injuries in Tuesday’s loss to the Canadiens but aren’t expected to miss more than a couple of games at most.
It wasn’t too long ago that Chaffee had made himself a bottom-six regular in Tampa. The 28-year-old made a career-high 66 appearances last season, notching 12 goals and six assists along the way. He was a welcome physical presence, ranking third on the team with 133 hits, and the 6’1″ righty was one of their most efficient scorers with a 17.6% shooting percentage.
Chaffee slipped down the Bolts’ depth chart after they acquired Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde from the Kraken at last year’s trade deadline and signed Pontus Holmberg in free agency last summer, though. Through seven games in October, he went without a point and was averaging only 9:29 of ice time per game. The Bolts opted to waive him, in part due to wanting to give Dominic James an extended look.
Since returning to a high-leverage AHL role in Syracuse, Chaffee has been spectacular. He ranks fourth on the Crunch in scoring with 24 goals and 31 assists for 55 points in 52 games.
He now projects to get another look in a fourth-line role with Nick Paul and Corey Perry while Sabourin, Hagel, and the IR-bound James all remain unavailable. He should stick around until the day-to-day Hagel and Sabourin can get back into the rotation.
These could be Chaffee’s final games for the Lightning. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent wrapping up a two-year, $1.6MM extension he signed in 2024.
Flyers To Activate Tyson Foerster From Injured Reserve
The Flyers will activate winger Tyson Foerster from injured reserve before tonight’s game against the Red Wings, the team announced. He underwent arm surgery in mid-December and wasn’t expected to be an option until mid-May, making his return roughly six weeks ahead of schedule.
Things couldn’t look much brighter at the moment for the Flyers, who have made themselves a late entrant in the Eastern Conference playoff push. They’ve gotten some help with the Islanders, Blue Jackets, Red Wings, and Senators all cooling off, but have done their job to make themselves competitive, going 7-2-1 in their last 10. They’re now just two points back of Columbus for the playoff cutoff with a game in hand, but still have Detroit and Ottawa to leapfrog, too. The crowded field still has the Flyers’ playoff odds down at 22.3%, per MoneyPuck, but that’s still a tangible chance this late in the year.
Foerster returning only stands to boost their chances. A strong two-way piece who looks to be a consistent 20-goal man for years to come, he started his season with 10 tallies in only 21 games before sustaining the fracture.
The 23rd overall pick in 2020, Foerster is scoring at a 25-goal, 42-point pace per 82 games so far in his NHL career. With only 187 games under his belt, there’s plenty of room to grow. The 24-year-old inked a two-year, $7.5MM bridge deal before reaching restricted free agency last summer but was rewarded with plenty of ice time to begin the year, skating on the left wing in a familiar top-nine slot with Noah Cates and the now-traded Bobby Brink while averaging a career-high 17:27 per game.
Head coach Rick Tocchet has done a good bit of line shuffling since the last time Foerster was available, and they’ve also welcomed a pair of rookies, Denver Barkey and Porter Martone, into the regular forward rotation. Even with that, they trialed Foerster as their first-line left wing at this morning’s practice alongside Trevor Zegras and Owen Tippett, per Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports, so it doesn’t appear he’ll be limited at all despite his early return.
Senators Recall Cameron Crotty
The Senators have recalled defenseman Cameron Crotty from AHL Belleville, the team announced Thursday.
Crotty gets elevated to the NHL blue line amid yet another injury in Ottawa. Top defense prospect Carter Yakemchuk, who was an injury-related call-up in his own right last week after Thomas Chabot needed surgery on his right forearm, left the Sens’ loss to the Panthers on Tuesday after a hit from Noah Gregor left him dazed. He presumably won’t be playing tonight against the Sabres with his upper-body injury, although it’s unclear whether he’s in concussion protocol.
And, while #1 option Jake Sanderson is close to returning from the upper-body injury that’s sidelined him for the last 12 games, that won’t happen tonight, per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. He’s been upgraded to day-to-day but still carried a non-contact designation at Thursday morning’s practice. With Dennis Gilbert also out another two weeks with an upper-body issue and Nick Jensen done for the regular season, that’s five defense options, including three regulars, that the Sens are missing as they chase down a wild-card spot.
As such, Crotty will make his Ottawa debut and just his third career NHL appearance tonight against Buffalo with a long-awaited playoff berth for their opponent on the line. The 26-year-old is an Ottawa-area native and signed a two-year, two-way pact with the Sens last offseason.
The Sens are Crotty’s third NHL organization. He was a third-round pick by the Coyotes in 2017 and stayed in Arizona until becoming a Group VI unrestricted free agent in 2024. He then signed a two-way deal with the Wild, spending just last year with Minnesota before landing in Ottawa.
Crotty’s two career NHL appearances came at the tail ends of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns with the Coyotes and Wild, respectively. The 6’3″ defensive-minded righty didn’t record a point in either, logging a -2 rating with two blocks and four hits with only 15:11 of total time on ice.
In 49 games with Belleville this season, Crotty has three goals and seven assists for 10 points with a -4 rating. He’s now up to 59 points in 332 career AHL outings over the last six seasons.
All these injuries will leave Tyler Kleven as Ottawa’s lone left-shot option on defense tonight. That means Nikolas Matinpalo and Lassi Thomson will dress on their off-sides on the second and third pairings, respectively.
Golden Knights Assign Braeden Bowman To AHL
The Vegas Golden Knights announced tonight that Braeden Bowman has been assigned to AHL Henderson.
Undrafted out of the OHL, Bowman caught on with Vegas and has become a solid depth forward at just 22 years old. A team always right against the cap, with injuries also a factor, the winger managed to get into 54 games at the NHL level where he’s come away with eight goals and 26 points on 14:08 a night. Offering a 49.6% corsi for at five on five, respectable for any unsung rookie, Bowman’s shifts were relatively protected by the now-fired head coach Bruce Cassidy, starting just under 60% in the offensive zone.
Either way, Bowman has lit it up in small AHL usage this season, 12 points in as many games, and he’ll be welcomed into 12th-ranked Henderson’s forward corps with open arms.
The trade deadline acquisitions of Nic Dowd and Cole Smith, both defensive specialists, effectively bumped Bowman out of the lineup who naturally was less trusted in such a role. He hadn’t played since March 21, also unable yet to make an impression in-game under new bench boss John Tortorella.
With seven regular season games left after a shocking late-season shift, Vegas will hope the bold move provides a spark, while Bowman will enjoy playing time in the AHL. The Golden Knights have several veterans with expiring contracts, the likes of Colton Sissons, Brandon Saad, Reilly Smith, as well as the other Smith mentioned above. As a result, Bowman will continue to be an appealing depth option in years to come, already putting together an impressive career for an undrafted player.
Canucks Recall Ty Mueller
Ahead of tonight’s game against Colorado, the Vancouver Canucks announced that prospect Ty Mueller has been recalled from AHL Abbotsford.
A fourth round selection by the team in 2023, the center has developed nicely in the AHL right from the jump out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Mueller debuted last year with 39 points in 64 games, serving as a key rookie on the way to Abbotsford’s 2025 Calder Cup title. The efforts got him into two games with the big club, where he didn’t record any points.
This season the Edmonton, Alberta native has continued to progress, sitting second in team scoring with 35 points in 59 games. Abbotsford has iced a younger forward corps this year, and ranking 30th in the AHL, they won’t be defending their championship this spring. With that in mind, the similarly bottom-feeding Vancouver has little to lose in giving the 23-year-old another look.
With a forecast projected to land somewhere in the bottom six level, Mueller is not among the Canucks’ highest end prospects, hovering more in the 5-10 range. Yet for a player chosen 105th overall, the lefty has made a strong case to crack Vancouver’s lineup starting next fall, particularly as they’ll turn the roster over to more young players. Mueller’s AHL production has already surpassed his expectations, and with a season far lost, Vancouver fans will hope to watch a successful audition as he continues to grow into a future NHLer. At 5’11”, he brings a very well rounded game.
Evidently, Max Sasson is expected to return to the lineup tonight in a whimsical battle between the NHL’s best and worst team. As a result Mueller is not expected to play, but the youngster will enjoy the call-up nonetheless, looking ahead to tomorrow’s action in Minnesota as a chance to appear in his third NHL game.