Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

Oilers Sign Evan Bouchard To Four-Year Extension

at CDT | by 21 Comments

6:33 p.m.: The Oilers have announced Bouchard’s new extension.

3:32 p.m.: As first reported by Cam Robinson of EliteProspects and later confirmed by TSN’s Chris Johnston, the Edmonton Oilers are putting the finishing touches on an extension for pending restricted free agent defenseman Evan Bouchard. Once completed, the deal is reportedly a four-year, $42MM extension, with a $10.5MM AAV.

The deal will eat up nearly all of Edmonton’s remaining cap space. Still, it was their most important piece of business to complete this summer, and they’ll now have clarity on their salary cap situation heading into the start of free agency.

According to Frank Seravalli, there were conversations regarding an eight-year agreement, but the price was too high for the Oilers to stomach for the time being. It makes sense given that Edmonton was already fairly tight to the upper limit of the salary cap, and this deal will make Bouchard the fourth-highest defenseman in the league (in terms of AAV) behind Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty, and Rasmus Dahlin.

Aside from the generational talents playing in front of him, Bouchard has been a focal point of the Oilers reaching back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, largely due to his offensive capabilities. From 2021 to 2023, Bouchard was a quality top-four blue liner for Edmonton, scoring 20 goals and 83 points in 163 games with a +16 rating while averaging 19:09 of ice time per night. He was even better in the postseason, scoring seven goals and 26 points in 28 games while averaging over 20 minutes a game.

His output over the last two years has completely dwarfed those numbers. Since the start of the 2023-24 campaign, Bouchard has scored an exceptional 32 goals and 149 points in 163 regular-season contests, with 61 of those points coming on Edmonton’s powerplay. Furthermore, in the postseason, he continues to improve, scoring 13 goals and 55 points in 47 games with a +20 rating.

Unfortunately, there are warranted concerns over Bouchard’s play in the defensive zone. Throughout his entire career with the Oilers, Bouchard has received extremely favorable deployment, starting 58.6% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Assuming he’s playing with Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl the majority of the time, the expectation is that Edmonton can control the play enough where they won’t have to rely on Bouchard to be in a shutdown role.

For the most part, he’s never needed to play in that role, but his defensive metrics continue to suffer. This past season, his on-ice save percentage at even strength fell to a career-low of 88.8%, marking a continual decline since the 2021-22 season.

Still, Bouchard has consistently maintained a positive impact on the game, as he has never experienced a season where the Oilers have failed to outscore their opponents at even strength while he is on the ice. This trend continues despite his defensive weaknesses.

At any rate, it’s important to note that Bouchard has averaged more than 23 minutes of ice time over the past two years for the reigning Western Conference champions. Regardless of his shortcomings in the defensive zone, he’s been the top defenseman on a Stanley Cup-caliber team for some time.

Now, with a brand new four-year contract in place, Edmonton will have additional clarity as extension negotiations begin with McDavid in a few weeks. They’ll likely want to keep McDavid on a longer-term deal than they’ve got with Bouchard, but they know the available capital they’ll have in a few years. Unfortunately for Edmonton and potentially McDavid, Bouchard will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2028-29 NHL season.

Photo courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.

Senators Re-Sign Nick Cousins

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Senators will be keeping Nick Cousins in the fold for one more year.  In a deal first reported by Lalime’s Martian on Twitter and subsequently confirmed by Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link), Ottawa has signed Cousins to a one-year, $825K contract.

The 31-year-old had to wait until close to the start of training camp to get a contract last year, ultimately signing a one-year, $800K agreement with the Sens in late August.  Now, he’ll forego testing the open market and will get a small raise for doing so.

Cousins played in 50 games for Ottawa this past season while also missing more than two months with a serious knee injury that had his availability for the playoffs in question but he was able to return late in the season.  In those outings, Cousins collected six goals and nine assists along with 85 hits in a little under 12 minutes a night of playing time.  In their first-round exit to Toronto, he was held off the scoresheet in five appearances.

A veteran of 642 career NHL outings during the regular season over 11 seasons, Cousins has bounced around, seeing time with seven different organizations.  Instead of testing the market to see if he could get a bit more money, he has decided to stay put in a situation that works for both sides.

With the signing, Ottawa now has a little over $7MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.  However, with both GM Steve Staios and owner Michael Andlauer cautioning that the team doesn’t intend to spend to the Upper Limit and a possible $2.75MM in bonuses on the books for Claude Giroux’s new deal, it’s unclear how much of that cap room is spendable at the moment although, at a minimum, they’ll have to add a depth forward or two to the roster in the coming days and weeks.

Senators Sign Leevi Merilainen To One-Year Extension

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Senators agreed to a one-year, $1.05MM contract extension with goaltender Leevi Merilainen before today’s qualifying offer deadline, the team said.

Although it doesn’t completely shut the door, the new one-way contract for Merilainen likely spells the end of Anton Forsberg’s tenure with the Senators. Still, given Merilainen’s performance in limited action past season, and with Ottawa technically saving some money on the swap, the move could work out well for the Senators.

Merilainen has had respectable seasons in the Finnish Liiga and AHL, but he truly began knocking on the door this past season. Earning the starting nod for the Senators’ AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, Merilainen finished the campaign with an 18-12-7 record in 37 games, a .913 SV%, 2.37 GAA, and four shutouts. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to backstop the baby Senators to the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, but that was largely because Merilainen missed a handful of games when he was rostered in the NHL.

He made sure to make a statement in his NHL games, too. Impressively, Merilainen finished the season with an 8-3-1 record with Ottawa, managing a .925 SV% and 1.99 GAA, along with 7.5 Goals Saved Above Average. There is some room for pause, given that only three of those wins were against postseason-bound teams. Still, Merilainen stopped 24 out of 26 shots for a win against the Dallas Stars on January 12th, and took the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Washington Capitals to overtime after holding them scoreless through three periods.

Ottawa will likely give Merilainen every opportunity to win the backup role in training camp. If the Senators are unable to reach a new agreement with Forsberg, it would be wise for the team to consider acquiring a reliable third-string option later in the offseason. This would provide insurance in case Merilainen struggles at the beginning of the season.

Maple Leafs Sign Steven Lorentz To Three-Year Extension

at CDT | by 8 Comments

The Maple Leafs announced they’ve kept forward Steven Lorentz away from the open market on a three-year, $4.05MM contract. He’ll carry a $1.35MM cap hit through the 2027-28 campaign.

The move represents a nice raise for the 29-year-old who spent this past season on a one-year contract worth the league minimum of $775K.  That came on the heels of an underwhelming year with Florida where Lorentz managed just one goal and two assists in 38 games during the regular season although he did see action in 16 playoff contests that year.

Things went better for Lorentz with his hometown team, however.  He got into 80 games with Toronto and collected eight goals and 11 assists, enough to tie his career high in points with 19 while blowing past his previous benchmark in hits with 199.  He also saw some secondary action on the penalty kill, resulting in his average ice time jumping up past the 10-minute mark per game.  Lorentz was a regular in the lineup for the Maple Leafs in the playoffs, notching a pair of assists and a little over three hits per game.

Clearly earning the trust of head coach Craig Berube, Lorentz has established himself as a trustworthy fourth liner in Toronto’s lineup and has earned himself some desired stability which was enough to keep him away from testing the open market on Tuesday.

PHR’s Brian La Rose also contributed to this article.

Kings Sign Andrei Kuzmenko To One-Year Extension

at CDT | by 11 Comments

The Kings will be keeping their trade deadline acquisition away from the open market.  The team announced they’ve signed winger Andrei Kuzmenko to a one-year extension worth $4.3MM.

The 29-year-old took the NHL by storm in his first season in 2022-23, notching 39 goals and 35 assists in 79 games with Vancouver.  However, there was a bit of a red flag considering that his shooting percentage came in at 27.3%, well above the NHL average and a rate that wasn’t going to be sustainable.  Unable to agree on a long-term commitment, the two sides eventually settled on a two-year, $10MM bridge deal to keep him in the fold with the Canucks.

Unfortunately for Kuzmenko and Vancouver, his second season didn’t go anywhere near as well as the first.  After a quiet first half, he was included as salary ballast in the trade that sent Elias Lindholm to the Canucks.  With a bigger opportunity in Calgary, Kuzmenko made the most of it, putting up 25 points in 29 games down the stretch with the Flames, providing some optimism that he could be a key contributor for them heading into 2024-25.

But things didn’t go that way this past season.  Instead of picking up where he left off, Kuzmenko languished, notching just four goals and 11 assists in 37 games to start the year, resulting in him once again being included as salary ballast in a swap, this time to Philadelphia as part of the move that saw Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee go to Calgary.  Kuzmenko did well in seven games with the Flyers before being flipped again, this time to Los Angeles at the trade deadline in a move aimed at giving the Kings some extra scoring.

Kuzmenko was indeed able to provide that, tallying five goals along with a dozen assists in 22 games down the stretch before averaging a point per game in six playoff outings.  That performance was enough to land him the 19th spot in our Top 50 UFA ranking but instead, he won’t test the open market and will stay in a spot where things went well over the last few months.  Perhaps with a full-season performance like he finished 2024-25 with, Kuzmenko will be in better shape to command a longer-term pact on the open market next summer.

With the signing, the Kings are down to a little under $20MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.  As things stand, GM Ken Holland will be set to try to make a splash either in free agency or the trade market although that number could still come down if he’s able to work out an agreement with pending UFA blueliner Vladislav Gavrikov in the coming hours.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Jonatan Berggren To One-Year Contract

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Detroit Red Wings are making quick work of getting some of their depth players back for next season. According to a team announcement, the Red Wings have signed forward Jonatan Berggren to a one-year, $1.825MM contract for the 2025-26 NHL season.

Berggren has been an interesting depth scorer for the Red Wings over the last three years. By all available evidence, Detroit is still trying to determine what exactly they have in the young Swede.

He got off to a hot start in his professional career, scoring 21 goals and 64 points in 70 games for the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins in 2021-22. In the early stages of their rebuild, Berggren was recalled to help the fledgling Red Wings in 2022-23. Typically in a third-line role, Berggren had a quality year as a tertiary scorer, putting up 15 goals and 28 points in 67 games. He had some prominent defensive shortcomings, but that’s to be expected of a young winger.

Interestingly enough, Berggren didn’t earn a spot on the roster out of training camp the following September. He put together another quality year with AHL Grand Rapids, scoring 24 goals and 56 points in 53 games. Despite his success in the AHL, Detroit used Berggren only 12 times during the 2023-24 season, and rumors about trade availability began to circulate.

The rumors persisted until last September, when the Red Wings signed Berggren to a one-year contract worth $825K. Nearly replicating his performance from two years ago, Berggren scored 12 goals and 24 points in 75 games, averaging 12:59 of ice time per game. Despite his -13 rating, the Uppsala, Sweden native showed serious improvements in his defense, achieving a 91.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength.

Given the short-term, low-risk contract, Detroit likely wants Berggren to remain in a similar role next year. If he can replicate his defensive output and score 30 or more points next season, he’ll be a valuable bottom-six scorer for the Red Wings.

Washington Capitals Acquire, Extend Declan Chisholm

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Jun. 30th: It didn’t take long for the Capitals to extend their newest blueliner. According to PuckPedia, Washington has signed Chisholm to a two-year, $3.2MM contract, with a flat $1.6MM salary each year. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-27 campaign.

Jun. 28th: The Minnesota Wild and Washington Capitals have gotten together on a defenseman trade. According to a team announcement, the Wild have traded Declan Chisholm and the 180th overall pick to the Capitals in exchange for Chase Priskie and the 123rd overall pick.

Thus ends a one-and-a-half-year run in Minnesota for Chisholm. The longtime depth defenseman was claimed off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets partway through he 2023-24 season and turned it into a consistent role with the Wild for some time. In large part due to injuries across Minnesota’s defensive core, Chisholm managed a career-high of 66 games played this past season.

Even further, Chisholm achieved career-highs across the board. He finished the season with two goals and 12 points, averaging nearly 17 minutes of ice time, with a -5 rating and 69 blocked shots. Additionally, his 50.4% CorsiFor% at even strength and 91.5% on-ice save percentage at even strength made him a quality depth piece for the Wild to have on hand.

Unfortunately, he’s unlikely to find a similar role in Washington. The Capitals already have seven defensemen signed through next season, without mentioning they’ll need a new contract for depth defenseman Alexander Alexeyev. If Chisholm isn’t content with moving back to the AHL, he’s an easy non-tender candidate heading into next week.

Meanwhile, Priskie has spent the last two years as a prominent blueliner for the AHL’s Hershey Bears and is expected to hold a similar role with the AHL’s Iowa Wild. He’s scored 20 goals and 69 points in 130 AHL contests over the past two years, with an additional four goals and 19 points in 28 postseason contests.

Michael Russo of The Athletic was the first to report that the Wild were trading Chisholm.

Avalanche Re-Sign Trent Miner To Two-Year Deal

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Avalanche have re-upped depth netminder Trent Miner on a two-year deal, per a team announcement. Although financial details weren’t disclosed in Colorado’s announcement, Miner likely only commanded a league-minimum salary on both years of the deal, given the Avalanche already has their tandem squared away for next season.

The Brandon, Manitoba, native made an unexpected debut in the NHL this past season. Due to injuries and significantly poor play at the beginning of the season, Colorado utilized six different netminders last year. Still, Miner only registered two games, managing a 0-1-0 record with a .879 SV% and 2.62 GAA.

Given their lack of depth and available capital to spend, it would make sense for Miner to start the year as the Avalanche’s third-string option. Ilya Nabokov is a more talented goalie, but Colorado has decided he will spend another year with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL, making Miner the top available option for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.

Still, given Miner’s performance with the Eagles last year, Nabokov may not have been given the starting gig to start the campaign. In his first full year as the team’s starting goaltender, Miner managed a 22-10-9 record in 38 games for the AHL Eagles, with a .918 SV%, 2.12 GAA, and three shutouts. He did everything he could to deepen the Eagles’ playoff run, earning a 5-4-0 record in nine postseason contests with a .925 SV% and 2.15 GAA.

In any other year, Miner might not have been given the backup role, but he would at least have had the chance to try out for the position during training camp. Unfortunately for Miner, there’s no legitimate argument to put him over Scott Wedgewood to begin the 2025-26 campaign, leaving him as the next best available option.

Red Wings Re-Sign Albert Johansson To Two-Year Deal

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Red Wings announced Monday they’ve signed defenseman Albert Johansson to a two-year, $2.25MM contract worth $1.125MM per season. He was set to be an RFA tomorrow. PuckPedia reports he’ll earn $1.1MM base salary in 2025-26 and $1.15MM in 2026-27, giving him a $1.15MM qualifying offer as an RFA upon expiry in 2027.

Detroit was essentially forced into giving Johansson, a 2019 second-round pick, a roster spot this season to avoid the risk of losing him on waivers. This past season was his third in North America, spending all of 2022-23 and 2023-24 on assignment to AHL Grand Rapids. After posting 36 points in 119 games there, the Wings deemed the mobile Swede’s game valuable enough to warrant an NHL audition.

Johansson ended up getting plenty of reps as the Wings rotated him in with struggling veterans like Erik Gustafsson, Justin Holl, and Jeff Petry. The 6’0″ lefty made 61 appearances in his rookie season, scoring three goals and nine points with a -11 rating while averaging 16:22 per game. His possession impacts raise some cause for concern, combined with that rating. Despite seeing semi-advantageous offensive deployment at even strength, Detroit only controlled 48.0% of shot attempts and 45.5% of expected goals with Johansson on the ice.

He’s still only 24 with room to grow, though. Assuming the Wings add at least one name on the blue line, he’ll continue to serve as a No. 6/7 option next season at an affordable price tag. If he can really force his way ahead of Gustafsson and Holl on the depth chart, he might be able to force a waiver placement for one of the vets. Detroit has done so successfully before with Holl, who still carries a $3.4MM cap hit through next season.

It appears to be a fair contract for both the player and the team, at least. Despite the lack of scoring and strong possession metrics, Johansson’s usage alone earned him a bump on his previous league-minimum salary. Still, if he doesn’t take a significant step forward in 2025-26, there’s no legitimate risk on the Red Wings’ side.

Mammoth Sign Montana Onyebuchi To Two-Year Extension

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Utah Mammoth have signed bruising depth defenseman Montana Onyebuchi to a two-year, two-way contract extension. The deal will carry a league-minimum, $775K salary at the NHL level. Onyebuchi was set to become a restricted free agent on Tuesday.

Onyebuchi has yet to make his NHL debut, but he’s found a niche as the hard-hitting presence backing the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. He stands at an imposing 6-foot-3, 220 pounds and used that size to rival Curtis Douglas for the Roadrunners’ lead in penalty minutes over the last two seasons. This year, Onyebuchi posted 10 points and 112 penalty minutes through 64 appearances. That mark falls just shy of the mammoth 145 penalty minutes he recorded in 49 games last season, to go along with nine points.

The bruising role has long been a familiar one for Onyebuchi. He played his junior hockey years in the WHL and routinely rivaled one penalty per game on average. That presence peaked in the 2018-19 season — his age-19 season — when Onyebuchi amassed 122 penalty minutes and 20 points through 66 games with the Kamloops Blazers. He’d continue to post high-end PIMs through the next two WHL seasons, doing just enough to catch the eyes of the San Jose Sharks organization ahead of the 2021-22 campaign. San Jose signed Onyebuchi to a minor-league contract and he quickly brought his imposing presence to the pro flight — racking up 137 PIMs in 46 games of his AHL rookie season, a mark that was underlined by his 20 PIMs in eight ECHL games that season as well.

While hard-hits and time in the penalty box are the core of Onyebuchi’s game, his presence in the lineup has still proven invaluable. He recorded an assist and no PIMs in three games of the Calder Cup Playoffs this season. A two-year deal will put Onyebuchi back on the path to carving out an everyday role with the Roadrunners, and will continue to make him an option should be the Mammoth ever need a fighter at the top flight.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top