Devils’ Charlie Leddy Signs AHL Contract
Devils defense prospect Charlie Leddy has signed a contract with the AHL’s Utica Comets for the remainder of the season, New Jersey’s top affiliate announced Tuesday. The Devils still have until Aug. 15 to sign Leddy to an entry-level contract to retain his NHL signing rights.
New Jersey drafted Leddy in the fourth round in 2022 out of the U.S. National Team Development Program. A shutdown threat, the 6’2″ righty didn’t score once in 55 games for the program in his draft year but did manage 17 assists with a +33 rating.
Now 22, Leddy has kept up his strong defensive play in the college circuit. He spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Boston University before entering the transfer portal in 2024. He landed at Quinnipiac, where he finished up his final two NCAA seasons with a pair of ECAC regular-season championships with the Bobcats.
Through 140 NCAA games, Leddy recorded a 4-29–33 scoring line with 83 penalty minutes and a +47 rating. He didn’t earn a mention among the top 13 Devils prospects that Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked last month, but Dobber Prospects lists him as the #2 right-shot defense prospect in their system behind Seamus Casey and #4 among both sides of the blue line.
If the Devils ultimately decide they don’t want to use a contract slot on Leddy, he can still re-up with Utica and play in the organization next season. They just won’t be able to recall him until they sign him to an entry-level deal, and he will become eligible to solicit and sign offers with any other NHL club while playing there.
Predators Sign Aiden Fink To AHL Tryout
Predators right-wing prospect Aiden Fink signed an amateur tryout contract with the club’s AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, on Tuesday, Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey relays. The transaction signals Fink is turning pro, but gives Nashville more time to decide if they want to sign him to an entry-level contract with immediate effect or beginning next season.
If Fink signed an NHL contract that began now, he would be ineligible for AHL assignment. Signing the ATO first will allow the Penn State product to play a few games in Milwaukee to get up to speed before the Preds make the call on whether to work him into their lineup for their push for a wild-card spot.
Fink, 21, was a seventh-round pick in 2023 – as Kieser points out, the last selection that former general manager David Poile made. Since then, all the 5’10” winger has done is score.
Fink was drafted from the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The junior ‘A’ organization is far from a powerhouse compared to Canadian Hockey League clubs but has produced several NHL alumni, highlighted by Avalanche superstar Cale Makar. Fink was voted as the top player in all provincial junior ‘A’ leagues in his post-draft season, erupting for 41 goals and 97 points in 54 games for the Bandits.
After committing to Penn State University the year prior, he arrived in State College as a freshman in 2024. Fink scored a point per game or better in each of his three seasons as a Nittany Lion, wrapping up his collegiate career with a 38-point effort in 30 outings this season. Injuries and a goal-scoring slump meant he didn’t reach the heights of his 23-goal, 53-point sophomore season that truly put him on the map, but he was still one of the top talents in the Big 10.
Fink was particularly impressive on the international stage this year. The Calgary-born forward has never been part of the Canadian national junior or senior team but joined a select team of NCAA players that traveled to compete against top-flight European talent in the Spengler Cup invitational back in December. While they ended up losing the final to hosts HC Davos of the Swiss National League, Fink’s four goals and four assists in four games led the tournament in scoring.
His size and defensive limitations have kept Fink from being regarded as a legitimate top-10 prospect in a Nashville pool that’s on the deeper side. That said, his pure offensive ceiling is right up there among Nashville’s best – if he can handle the physical grind of the NHL and get to the areas he needs to in order to score.
Red Wings Sign Trey Augustine To Entry-Level Deal
The Red Wings announced they’ve signed top goaltending prospect Trey Augustine to his three-year, entry-level deal. The contract won’t burn a year now – it’ll begin next season, and he’ll instead finish up the year on an amateur tryout with AHL Grand Rapids.
Augustine, a second-round pick in 2023, has far exceeded his draft billing so far in his development. The Michigan native finally turns pro after his junior season at Michigan State – opting to return for one more shot at a national championship with the Spartans despite most believing he was ready to make the jump last summer. After they were upset in the regional finals of the national tournament by Wisconsin, though, it was clear Augustine would be heading to either Detroit or Grand Rapids in short order.
It may be Grand Rapids for now, but next fall, Augustine will get an open competition with the Wings’ other high-end goalie prospect, Sebastian Cossa, to compete for the backup job behind John Gibson. Incumbent #2 Cam Talbot is a pending unrestricted free agent and, given his struggles this season and Detroit’s stocked pipeline, doesn’t appear likely to return.
The 6’1″, 194-lb Augustine already has several honors in his trophy case. He was the United States’ starter at three straight World Juniors – a highly unusual feat – and guided them to bronze in 2023 and back-to-back golds in 2024 and 2025. At the collegiate level, he helped Michigan State to a pair of Big 10 tournament championships, a pair of regular-season titles, and was named the conference’s top goaltender as both a sophomore and a junior.
A top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award this year as the best player in college hockey, he put up a stellar .929 SV%, 2.11 GAA, three shutouts, and a 24-9-1 record in 34 outings for the Spartans as his final act. On the whole, he posted a .922 SV%, 2.40 GAA, and a 66-25-7 record in 99 games for MSU, leaving as arguably the second-best goaltender in program history behind ex-Sabres star Ryan Miller.
Augustine and Cossa were the Wings’ #4 and #5-ranked prospects by The Athletic’s Max Bultman earlier this year. The risk in his projection has always stemmed from his size rather than his numbers. But with how linear his development has been to this stage, there’s little reason to believe he can’t make a seamless jump to the pro ranks – especially if he’s arriving as an AHL starting option next season while Cossa, Detroit’s 2021 first-rounder with four full seasons of pro experience now behind him, gets the early nod as Gibson’s backup.
Mammoth Reassign Daniil But
The Mammoth reassigned left-winger Daniil But to AHL Tucson on Tuesday, according to a team announcement.
But, 21, was recalled from Tucson just last week. The 6’5″ rookie suited up in Utah’s 7-4 loss to the Capitals last Thursday. However, he only logged 9:08 of ice time with a -1 rating before heading to the press box for their 6-2 win over the Kings two days later.
With the Mammoth not back in action until Thursday against the Kraken amid an unusually lengthy break this time of year, there’s no sense in keeping But up, especially if he wasn’t going to re-enter the lineup later this week. They’re still without center Barrett Hayton, whose upper-body injury spurred But’s recall in the first place, but instead opted to insert Kailer Yamamoto into the lineup against L.A. in the spot But briefly held as their second-line left winger after the trio of But, Logan Cooley, and Dylan Guenther was outshot 4-2 and posted a 32.8 xGF% at 5-on-5 against Washington.
Selected 12th overall in 2023, the Mammoth have given But three separate recalls from Tucson this season and have played him exclusively in top-nine minutes when dressed, usually down on the third line with Michael Carcone and Jack McBain. His advanced numbers are strong, generating 3.24 shot attempts per game with a 55.2% Corsi share, but he’s been relatively stymied offensively with a 3-4–7 scoring line in 29 games. That’s an eight-goal, 20-point pace over 82 games.
They’ll get him a longer runway in Tucson, where he’s lit up the scoresheet for 16 goals and 33 points in 34 games. He’s shown more than enough there to put him squarely in contention for a roster spot next fall, but for now, it doesn’t look like Utah is keen on him as one of their top 12 forwards heading into what should be the franchise’s first trip to the playoffs.
Penguins Reassign Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty
The Penguins reassigned wingers Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton following last night’s win over the Islanders, per the AHL’s transactions log. Neither dressed for that game but were listed as scratches.
Koivunen and McGroarty, viewed as the #5 and #3 prospects in the Pens’ system by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, now must suit up at least once for the Baby Pens before being eligible for a recall again. Both their most recent summons were quite short. Koivunen has been on and off the roster a couple of times this month, but McGroarty was recalled last Saturday for the first time since the Olympic break.
There’s been a roster move out of Pittsburgh virtually every day as of late as they navigate some injuries, but they’ll do some trimming today ahead of their second half of a back-to-back against the Red Wings, in part because they got Sidney Crosby back in the lineup against the Isles after he missed a game with a lower-body injury. The pair of demotions leaves veteran Kevin Hayes, who hasn’t suited up since March 3, as the lone healthy extra.
Both Koivunen and McGroarty entered the lineup for Saturday’s loss to the Stars before sitting out last night. While both are enjoying exceptional minor-league campaigns, they haven’t been able to make the NHL impact that Pittsburgh surely hoped for entering the season. Both were held off the scoresheet against Dallas, bringing Koivunen’s pointless streak to six games with a 2-5–7 scoring line in 36 NHL appearances this year on the whole. McGroarty, who turned 22 yesterday, hasn’t been any better with a 2-3–5 line in 21 outings.
Their stocks may have dipped slightly from the beginning of the season as a result, but it’s still impossible to ignore that both have produced above a point per game in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this year. Koivunen’s 11-22–33 scoring line is good for fifth on the team despite only playing in 29 games, while McGroarty has tossed up seven goals and 26 points in 25 games.
With the Pens’ NHL group healthier, the pair of 20-somethings will get some added development time down the stretch before being playoff options for Pittsburgh if need be. Their playoff chances jumped to 83.9% after last night’s trouncing of the Islanders, per MoneyPuck.
Lightning Sign Noah Steen To Entry-Level Deal
The Lightning signed winger prospect Noah Steen to a two-year, entry-level contract on Monday that begins next season, PuckPedia reports. The deal has a total value of $1.95MM, with a cap hit of $972.5K. He will be owed a qualifying offer of $990K upon expiry as a restricted free agent in 2028.
Steen will earn a prorated base salary of $850K in 2026-27 and $900K in 2027-28, based on how much of the schedule, if any, he’s in the NHL. That’s accompanied by a yearly signing bonus of $97.5K and up to $27.5K in performance bonuses next season. His minor-league salary in both years of the contract will be $85K.
Tampa Bay had just over two months left to sign the 21-year-old before they risked losing his exclusive signing rights on June 1. The 6’1″ Norwegian was a seventh-round pick in 2024, two years after he was initially eligible for selection. After spending his earlier development climbing through Sweden’s junior ranks and then making the jump to the pro level in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan, Steen has been playing top-flight European pro hockey since the puck dropped on the 2024-25 campaign.
Viewed as a potential penalty kill specialist near the bottom of the lineup, Steen showed this season he may be more than that. After only scoring five goals and one assist in 51 games in his first season with Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League last year, he broke out for a 12-10–22 scoring line in 52 games here in 2025-26. That’s the same points per game rate he posted in his only full season of second-division play with Mora IK two years ago.
Steen’s existing contract with Örebro runs through 2026-27. That makes him subject to the NHL’s transfer agreement with the SHL, which stipulates that, as a non-first-round pick under the age of 24, he must be offered back to Örebro first if he doesn’t make the Lightning’s roster out of training camp in the fall before they can assign him to AHL Syracuse. With that in mind, there’s no guarantee he’ll play in North America next season, but he could do so in the back half of his entry-level deal if Örebro doesn’t retain his rights for 2027-28.
Steen wasn’t included as a top-10 prospect in Tampa’s system by Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff last offseason, but he did jump into 10th place in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s rankings earlier this month. He “can play with jump and has good goal-scoring instincts around the offensive zone,” Wheeler wrote, but his ceiling “might top out as a second-line SHLer/AHLer.”
Sharks Reassign Laurent Brossoit, Yaroslav Askarov To Return
Ahead of tonight’s game against St. Louis, the San Jose Sharks reassigned Laurent Brossoit to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. With this move in mind, it became apparent that starter Yaroslav Askarov is set to return to the crease, confirmed by Max Miller of Sharks Hockey Digest.
Brossoit has been back and forth in the past few weeks, last summoned three days ago. Throughout that time he’s only managed to play in one game, March 15 against Ottawa, where he took a loss in a rough outing. Even then, the 33-year-old deserves props for working his way back to the highest level after numerous injuries cast doubt on his career.
In 15 games with the Barracuda, Brossoit has been one of the AHL’s premier netminders, boasting a .915 save percentage and winning 11 of his 15 contests. As far as #3 depth goaltenders go, the Sharks feature a strong one in the British Columbia native with 141 games of NHL experience. He should have the opportunity to lead the San Jose farm hands into the postseason.
Meanwhile, Askarov’s return makes for an exciting end of the season for Sharks fans. It has been a tough month for the show stopping 23-year-old, who returned from a 16-day absence last week only to be injured again against the Blues. Thankfully it doesn’t appear to be serious, and he’ll come back against the same opponent four days later.
Askarov, thought to be one of the game’s best young goalies, hasn’t put it all together just yet. He’s struggled at times with a 3.52 goals against average and an .888 save percentage, slightly above the .500 win rate. Still, the Russian flashes his brilliance regularly and there’s usually a learning curve for any such prospect, especially adjusting as part of a growing team.
The Sharks are set up with young talent across the lineup, and Askarov will look to finish the campaign on a high note before continuing to improve with the club in 2026 and beyond.
Blue Jackets Recall Luca Del Bel Belluz
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they’ve recalled forward Luca Del Bel Belluz from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Del Bel Belluz last played in the NHL with the Blue Jackets shortly before Christmas earlier this season.
Del Bel Belluz, 22, has been an intriguing prospect in Columbus’s system for a few years now. He’s been an exceptional scorer at the AHL level with the Monsters, but has yet to put it together in hockey’s top league.
Since debuting in the professional ranks in the 2023-24 season, Del Bel Belluz has scored 58 goals and 141 points in 172 games for AHL Cleveland. That production hasn’t been enough to warrant any awards or recognitions in the AHL, but he has essentially been a point-per-game player for the past two years.
Given that production, it’s fairly confusing why he hasn’t gotten a longer opportunity at the NHL level, especially this year. Last season, Del Bel Belluz scored two goals and eight points in 15 games for the Blue Jackets, averaging 13:45 of ice time in a middle-six role.
Still, it’s not like Del Bel Belluz hasn’t gotten any opportunities this year. Throughout the 2025-26 campaign, Del Bel Belluz has only tallied one assist in 12 games, averaging 8:46 of ice time on the team’s fourth line. Del Bel Belluz has yet to play for the Blue Jackets under the tutelage of Rick Bowness.
There’s reason to believe that Del Bel Belluz will increase his point totals if he gets any significant ice time throughout his current call-up. Before the hiring of Bowness, Columbus averaged three goals per game. Since his hire, the team has averaged just over 3.5.
Flames Sign Jonathan Castagna To Entry-Level Contract
As expected, the Calgary Flames have signed one of their recently acquired prospects to his entry-level contract. Calgary announced that they’ve signed forward Jonathan Castagna to a three-year, $3.225MM ($1.075MM AAV) entry-level contract beginning next season. Outside of his AAV, the Flames didn’t provide any more contractual details.
Castagna, 20, was drafted with the 70th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft by the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes. He was playing in the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association with St. Andrew’s College at the time, scoring 29 goals and 72 points in 50 games.
The following year, Castagna began his collegiate career at Cornell University. He had a decent showing as a freshman, scoring 11 goals and 25 points in 35 games with a +20 rating. Unfortunately, he took a step back in his sophomore season, registering five goals and 15 points in 32 contests.
He rebounded in a big way this year. Although he only finished 40th in scoring throughout the entire NCAA, Castagna still had a point-per-game year, registering 15 goals and 34 points in 34 games with a +23 rating.
In an interesting way, that made him a more expendable prospect for the Utah Mammoth. The team is already flush with young top-six forwards and has other prospects on the way. Looking to make a splash at the deadline, the Mammoth included Castagna in the package for defenseman MacKenzie Weegar.
In their announcement, the Flames shared that Castagna will begin his professional career on an amateur tryout agreement with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. He’s dealing with a minor lower-body injury at the time being, so it’ll be a few days before he makes his professional debut.
Buffalo Sabres Recall Zach Metsa
As expected, the Buffalo Sabres have recalled defenseman Zach Metsa from the AHL’s Rochester Americans, according to a team announcement. Metsa was reassigned just a few days ago due to the activation of fellow defenseman Conor Timmins.
Simply put, the Sabres have just been better this season when Metsa is in the lineup. Throughout the year, Buffalo has a 29-5-4 record when Metsa is playing, and a 16-16-4 record when he isn’t. He’s not necessarily a game-changing defenseman like Rasmus Dahlin, but the team is clearly comfortable when Metsa is earning minutes.
Despite how Timmins has played since returning, he’ll likely be the odd man out when the Sabres get Metsa back into the lineup. Metsa isn’t relied upon to kill penalties like Timmins, but the two have held a similar role this season on the right side of the bottom pairing.
Throughout his rookie season, Metsa has put up solid production given his ice time, scoring two goals and six points in 38 games with a +20 rating, averaging 10:19 of action per game. Still, his 45.6% CorsiFor at even strength and 1.9 E+/- indicates that he’s gotten a bit of puck luck. However, that’s been true of the entire Sabres team throughout their historic run this season.
The team has hovered around a 103.0 PDO (shooting percentage + save percentage at even strength), which indicates that they are due for regression at some point. Teams will typically average a flat 100.0 throughout the season, with teams on either side of that trending toward it.