Ducks Sign Herman Traff To Entry-Level Contract
The Anaheim Ducks are bringing one of their recent third-round picks to North America. According to a team announcement, the Ducks have signed winger Herman Träff to a three-year, entry-level contract. He’ll join the AHL’s San Diego Gulls on an amateur tryout agreement for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign.
Shortly after Anaheim’s announcement, PuckPedia released the contract details of Träff’s entry-level deal:
- 2026-27: $850K salary, $94K signing bonus, $85K minors salary
- 2027-28: $900K salary, $91K signing bonus, $85K minors salary
- 2028-29: $950K salary, $85K signing bonus, $85K minors salary
Although it won’t harm anything to keep a closer eye on Träff in the AHL, it’s a somewhat surprising development. Träff is 20 years old and has managed only 36 games of experience in the SHL. Because of that, especially in a new continent, playing full-time in the AHL will serve as a large step for Träff.
Still, he likely would have earned a look in the SHL next season, regardless. He was dominant this year, scoring 23 goals and 41 points in 51 games for the HockeyAllsvenskan’s IK Oskarshamn. Träff’s last appearance in the SHL came last season with HV71, when he scored three goals and seven points in 25 games as a 19-year-old.
Fortunately, Träff’s season should last a little while longer. The San Diego Gulls are three points up on the Tucson Roadrunners for the final postseason spot in the AHL’s Pacific Division, and have 11 games remaining to increase the gap.
At the very least, even if the Gulls don’t make the postseason this year, Träff will take part in meaningful hockey right away. Still, unless he is particularly dominant down the stretch this season and at next year’s preseason, Träff will likely begin next season with the Gulls and remain there for some time as he continues his development.
Predators Reassign Matt Murray
3/22: Ahead of their Sunday afternoon game in Chicago the Predators reassigned Murray to AHL Milwaukee. Still awaiting his debut with Nashville, the 28-year-old did not appear in a game, as Annunen won both games with excellent play in goal, headlined by a 40-save effort against Vegas. Saros has returned to action, getting the nod today.
3/19: The Nashville Predators had to change plans just before puck drop in Thursday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken. The team recalled depth goaltender Matt Murray to back up Justus Annunen after it was revealed that Juuse Saros would miss the game with an upper-body injury. The injury was sustained at morning practice, per Alex Daughterty of The Tennessean.
Murray is having to travel away from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, who are on their own road trip through Canada, to fill his recall to the NHL. He is traveling from Winnipeg to Nashville and is expected to arrive in the second half of the game, per NHL.com’s Brooks Bratten. That news will likely necessitate an emergency backup goalie in the stands for the first half of the game, though Nashville did not officially sign any temporary tryouts.
Saros is officially listed as out day-to-day. His absence will leave big shoes to fill after the veteran goaltender posted wins in four of his last five games, including back-to-back shootout wins. He has faced an average of 31 shots against since March 1st and posted a .910 save percentage in that stretch. That stretch has far outperformed Saros’ season-long performance, marked by 24 wins and a .894 save percentage in 51 games.
The Predators haven’t found much more relief in turning to backup Annunen, who has six wins and a .888 save percentage in 21 games this season. He has matched the save percentage he posted in 23 games with the Predators last season, after joining the team in a December 2024 trade that sent Scott Wedgewood to the Colorado Avalanche. Annunen will stand as the de facto starter if Saros is forced to miss additional time, as Murray hasn’t played in the NHL since the Dallas Stars’ 2023-24 season. He recorded a shutout in his last NHL contest.
Murray has spent this season in command of the Admirals’ starting crease. He has recorded 17 wins and a .908 save percentage in 37 games: team-highs in all three stats. His stat line was much stronger in his debut with the Admirals last season, when Murray posted 28 wins and a .932 save percentage in 43 games. He will offer extra hands if Nashville runs into another goalie injury – though the team should go back to their usual pairing of Saros and Annunen as soon as the former is back to health.
Rangers Sign Drew Fortescue To Entry-Level Contract
8:00 p.m.: PuckPedia shared Fortescue’s contract details, sharing that it would be a $923K cap hit and $950K AAV:
- 2025-26: $775K salary, $95K signing bonus, $80K performance bonus, $82.5K minors salary
- 2026-27: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $82.5K minors salary
- 2027-28: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $82.5K minors salary
6:00 p.m.: According to a team announcement, the New York Rangers have signed defensive prospect Drew Fortescue to a three-year, entry-level contract. Instead of joining the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack on an amateur tryout agreement to conclude the season, Fortescue will immediately report to the Rangers and burn the first year of his new contract.
Fortescue, 20, was drafted by the Rangers with the 90th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. The Pearl River, NY native spent his draft season and the year before with the United States National Team Development Program, where he scored three goals and 42 points in 113 games with a +34 rating split between their U17 and U18 clubs.
The year after being drafted by New York, Fortescue joined the Boston College Eagles to continue his development. He joined a loaded squad for his freshman campaign. During the 2023-24 season, the Eagles were led by Will Smith, Cutter Gauthier, Ryan Leonard, and teammate Gabriel Perreault.
Fortescue had a decent freshman season, scoring four goals and eight points with a +13 rating in 40 contests. Boston College made it all the way to the National Championship game before being shut out by the University of Denver. The Eagles haven’t made it to a Frozen Four since.
Still, Fortescue continues to improve his game, scoring four goals and 25 points in 72 games combining his sophomore and junior seasons, managing a +31 rating. He was solid for Team USA at the IIHF World Junior Championships, accumulating one goal and four points in 14 games with a +12 rating with the U20 club.
As shown by his collegiate output, the Rangers shouldn’t expect Fortescue to come in and take the league by storm like Matthew Schaefer or Lane Hutson. Still, he is an extremely reliable defenseman on the breakout and brings a mature game in transition.
Putting it simply, Fortescue will unlikely be a player that you notice too much, but he won’t be a player you worry about much either. Given that New York has little to play for beyond pride to finish the 2025-26 campaign, Fortescue should receive a decent opportunity to test his mettle at the NHL level.
Vancouver Canucks Activate Pierre-Olivier Joseph
The Vancouver Canucks announced they’ve activated depth defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph from the team’s injured reserve. Without a corresponding roster move, Joseph’s activation brings the Canucks to seven defensemen on the active roster and 22 players in total.
Joseph, 26, has missed the last few weeks due to an upper-body injury. He last played on March 2nd against the Dallas Stars, when he suffered his upper-body ailment. Vancouver has largely maintained a roster of only six defensemen during that timespan.
As nice as it will be to have additional depth to conclude a rough 2025-26 campaign, Joseph is likely playing for his next contract with a new team more than he’s playing for the Canucks. A pending restricted free agent, Joseph is a strong non-tender candidate entering the summer, given that Vancouver will likely want an influx of youth as it continues its transitional period.
Even on a rebuilding club, Joseph has largely been treated as a seventh defenseman this season. Despite being relatively healthy, he’s only appeared in 24 games this season, scoring one goal and five points while averaging 13:18 of ice time per game.
Although he’s now eligible to play, Joseph didn’t draw into the lineup tonight against the St. Louis Blues, and it’s not altogether clear how the Canucks will utilize him to finish the season. He doesn’t offer Vancouver any direct improvements on anyone, and he’s not young enough to warrant taking time away from a prospect.
Jets Activate Neal Pionk From Injured Reserve
Only five points out of the final Wild Card spot in the West, the Jets still have an outside shot at a playoff spot but they will have to be much sharper down the stretch to have a chance. Getting one of their top defensemen back will help as the team announced (Twitter link) prior to today’s game against Pittsburgh that Neal Pionk has been activated off injured reserve.
The 30-year-old has missed more than two months with a lower-body injury and Winnipeg’s back end has certainly taken a hit for it. Even in a down year offensively by his standards (just eight points in 40 games after putting up 39 points last season), Pionk has been an all-situations player this season. His 22:47 ATOI ranks second on the team behind only Josh Morrissey while he leads all Jets players in shorthanded playing time per game.
Winnipeg’s back end has undergone some changes in the second half of the season. Veteran Colin Miller remains out with a long-term injury of his own while Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn were shipped to Buffalo at the trade deadline. That deal yielded Jacob Bryson as part of the return while youngster Elias Salomonsson is now playing more of a regular role.
Now, Pionk’s return means that Winnipeg’s top four is now fully intact, with him joining Morrissey, Dylan DeMelo, and Dylan Samberg. Whether that’s enough to kickstart a long enough winning streak to get back to the postseason remains to be seen but he’ll still be a big addition to their back end for the stretch run.
Avalanche Reassign Ivan Ivan
Saturday: Following Friday’s game against Chicago, the Avalanche announced that they’ve returned Ivan to the minors. He played in two games while on recall, seeing just under 13 minutes of ice time combined in those outings.
Wednesday: The Avalanche have recalled forward Ivan Ivan from AHL Colorado, per the NHL’s media portal. With Ross Colton, Gabriel Landeskog, and Artturi Lehkonen still sidelined, the Avs will dress 12 forwards and six defensemen tonight against the Stars after going 11 and seven in the last three games without Colton.
Technically, it’s Ivan’s sixth recall of the season. The last five came in an 11-day span in January, while Ivan was recalled only on game days and sent down in between. While that used to be a common practice, it’s no longer permitted if the player isn’t logging at least one AHL appearance between each recall. That meant Ivan was playing quite a lot of hockey that month as the Avs’ and Eagles’ game and travel schedules lined up favorably.
The Avs have opted to use a bare-minimum roster all season long. They’ve gone 11-and-seven on multiple occasions because of it, but when they’ve opted to have a 12th forward when stressed by injuries, Ivan has been part of a loose rotation between himself, Jason Polin, Tristen Nielsen, and a few others. The 23-year-old has suited up seven times between call-ups this year, registering one assist, a +2 rating, four shots, and two hits while averaging just 7:45 of ice time per game. He’s played much more infrequently after injuries above him got him into 40 NHL games as a rookie last year, in which he put up a 5-3–8 scoring line with a -9 rating.
It hasn’t been a great year in the minors for Ivan, either. He’s been limited to seven goals and 19 points in 55 AHL games. Considering he had 31 points in 67 games as a first-year pro on an AHL deal with Colorado two seasons ago, that’s a considerable step back. With his entry-level contract expiring, that offensive regression has him at risk of being non-tendered, especially as he’ll be eligible for arbitration and Colorado might want to avoid that award.
Penguins Sign Gabriel D’Aigle To Entry-Level Deal
The Penguins announced Saturday that they’ve signed goaltender Gabriel D’Aigle to an entry-level deal. It’s a three-year contract, although financial terms were not disclosed. The deal begins next season and will take him through the 2028-29 campaign. He will not join AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or ECHL Wheeling on a tryout yet. His junior season is still ongoing with the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres, who play their final regular-season game today before heading to the playoffs.
D’Aigle, 19, is wrapping up what will likely be his fourth and final junior season with Victoriaville, although he could return next season as an overage player. That’s a rare path, though, and he’s more likely to begin his pro career with the Penguins organization next season, probably in the ECHL. A third-round pick in 2025, Pittsburgh had until next summer to sign him, but elects to do so now. His November birthday is early for his draft class and allowed him to get an extra season of CHL seasoning, so he’s considered an age-20 player next season in the junior league’s eyes and can turn pro without any restrictions.
The Quebec native was once viewed as arguably the top goaltending talent in his class. Coming in at 6’4″ and 212 lbs, he made Canada’s under-18 World Juniors roster as a double-underager in 2023, a team loaded with NHL talent like Macklin Celebrini, Matthew Wood, and Calum Ritchie. His stock was perpetually downhill from there, though. The QMJHL isn’t exactly a goalie/defense-friendly league, but even still, his numbers came in below average. He had just a .879 SV% in 25 games in 2023-24, and had a .883 SV% and a glaring 4.52 GAA in 55 outings as Victoriaville’s starter last season.
The Pens still saw some technical ceiling in D’Aigle’s game through that statistical noise, though, and made him the eighth goaltender off the board in last year’s draft. It looks like that may have been the right call. D’Aigle’s numbers have spiked here in 2025-26 behind a shoddy Victoriaville club, recording a .908 SV% and 3.58 GAA in 39 games with a 14-21-3 record. That save percentage is eighth in the league (min. 30 GP).
D’Aigle is Pittsburgh’s clear-cut #3 goalie prospect behind Sergey Murashov and Joel Blomqvist, though. Even if one of those two (likely Murashov) earns an NHL promotion next season if pending UFA Stuart Skinner departs, it’s rare to rush a young goalie drafted outside of the first round or two straight from juniors to an AHL role. Even top prospects coming out of juniors compared to NCAA or Europe – the Red Wings’ Sebastian Cossa is a recent example – get a year of ECHL seasoning to adjust to pro competition before landing an AHL role. D’Aigle won’t grade out any higher than #5 on Pittsburgh’s goaltending depth chart to start next season as a result.
Canucks Sign Victor Mancini To Two-Year Extension
The Vancouver Canucks are getting more work done early with one of their pending restricted free agents. Vancouver announced that they’ve signed defenseman Victor Mancini to a two-year, $2MM extension.
It’s a fairly straightforward extension since Mancini wasn’t eligible for much of anything extra in his next deal. PuckPedia shared that the 23-year-old blueliner will earn a $905K salary during the 2026-27 season, and a $1.05MM salary in the 2027-28 campaign.
The Hancock, MI native is in his first full season with the Canucks since being acquired from the New York Rangers last year in the trade that sent J.T. Miller back to the Big Apple. He was drafted 159th overall by the Rangers in the 2022 NHL Draft and made his debut on October 9, 2024.
He got off to a solid start to his NHL career. By the end of October last season, Mancini had scored one goal and four points in eight games with a +4 rating, averaging 16:37 of ice time per game.
Unfortunately, not much has gone right since. In Mancini’s next 41 games, split between the Rangers and Canucks, he has scored one goal and four points with a -23 rating.
Still, that’s not the entire picture. Even in limited ice time, Mancini has managed a respectable 90.9% on-ice SV% at even strength. He has also performed well with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate this season, scoring four goals and 12 points in 33 games with the Abbotsford Canucks with a +1 rating.
Given the ongoing rebuild in Vancouver and the $1MM AAV on his new deal, it’s more than likely Mancini will open the 2026-27 campaign with the Canucks. This summer, Vancouver is expected to re-sign Derek Forbort or Pierre-Olivier Joseph, giving Mancini a pathway to the bottom-pairing unless the Canucks make another addition.
Stars Sign Dylan Hryckowian To Entry-Level Contract
The Dallas Stars may again have brothers on the same team next season. According to a team announcement, the Stars have signed Dylan Hryckowian to a two-year, entry-level contract. He’ll finish the year on an amateur tryout agreement with the AHL’s Texas Stars.
Dylan, of course, is the brother of Dallas forward Justin Hryckowian. The two last played together at Northeastern University throughout the 2023-24 season, when Justin was captain, and Dylan was in his freshman campaign.
They’ve had an eerily similar path to the NHL. Each of them played on the same teams in their youth, committed to and played at Northeastern, and signed with the Stars as undrafted free agents.
Even their production in the NCAA was similar as Dylan finished with 107 points in 100 games, and Justin finished with 101 points in 94 games. Each ended their tenure in college averaging 1.07 points per game.
Like Justin, Dylan should be able to carve out a role in the Stars’ bottom six if he makes the team next year or is called up at any point during the regular season. He has an extremely high motor, using his speed to beat opponents to the puck in all three zones.
Assuming his time in the AHL goes well to end the year, it wouldn’t be out of the question for the younger Hryckowian to make the team’s opening night roster. Given their salary cap table, the Stars need all the depth they can get their hands on, especially on the cheaper side of things.
New York Rangers Recall Dylan Garand
According to a team announcement, the New York Rangers have recalled netminder Dylan Garand from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. The transaction will bring the Rangers’ roster to 25 players.
The decision is somewhat surprising at first glance. There have been no injuries reported regarding Igor Shesterkin or Jonathan Quick, giving the Rangers little need for a third netminder.
However, sitting in last place in the Atlantic Division, it’s becoming increasingly likely that Hartford will miss the Calder Cup playoffs this year. Given that the Rangers’ season is effectively over, it doesn’t hurt to give Garand more experience at the NHL level.
It’s the second time Garand has been recalled this year, with his first coming in late November. At the time of writing, Garand has yet to debut in the NHL.
Regardless, he’s spent his entire four-year professional career playing for the Wolf Pack. He’s generally been reliable, managing a 65-57-19 record in 148 games with a .901 SV% and 2.90 GAA.
Unfortunately, like many of his teammates, Garand’s performance has trailed off this year. In 36 games, he has a 16-15-2 record with a .896 SV% and 2.83 GAA.
At any rate, given the Rangers’ position in the standings, it may be a good time to get Garand into a game or two. New York doesn’t have a firm commitment from Quick that he’ll want to return for a 20th season, so the Rangers have the opportunity to give an early tryout for next season to their third-string netminder.