Islanders Assign Victor Eklund, Calum Ritchie, Isaiah George, Liam Foudy To AHL
The New York Islanders have loaded up their AHL affiliate with the Stanley Cup Playoffs out of sight. Forwards Victor Eklund , Liam Foudy, and Calum Ritchie, and defensemen Isaiah George have all been assigned to the minor-leagues with the Islanders’ season now over. Eklund made his NHL debut in New York’s season finale. He recorded one assist. Ritchie has spent nearly the full season in the NHL, while Foudy and George spent most of their years in the minors.
Ritchie and Eklund could be X-factor additions for the Bridgeport Islanders’ playoff run. Eklund made his AHL debut in late-March, following the end of his season in Sweden. He has been an immediate impact with nine points in his first seven AHL games. It has been a boom in scoring after Eklund notched six goals and 24 points in 43 games of the SHL regular season and three points in three playoff games. He was a difference-maker for Djugardens in their promotion from the HockeyAllsvenskan last season and finished the 2024-25 season with 31 points in 42 games.
Ritchie began the year in the minors but earned a call-up after just three games, and three points, with Bridgeport. He carved out a middle-six role for much of his rookie season and finished the year with 30 points in 65 games. Ritchie is only one season removed from a 70-point season in the OHL. He was mostly a center at the junior level but played right-wing in his first NHL season. Whether Bridgeport prioritizes Ritchie’s development as a center, or comfort as a pro winger, could add an interesting wrinkle to their playoff push. New York head coach Peter DeBoer said he sees Ritchie as a center moving forward per NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner.
Foudy finished the AHL season second on Bridgeport in goals (25) and points (46). That finish is one point more than he scored in 70 games last year, his first season with Bridgeport. He has rotated between the NHL and AHL level since turning pro in 2020. Foudy’s only full season in the NHL came with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022-23. He finished that season with 14 points in 62 games.
George will also have a role carved out for him in the minors. He scored 17 points and a plus-10 in 45 games with Bridgeport this season, in addition to one point and a plus-one in four NHL games. George split last season between the major and minor leagues. He finished the year with five points in 33 NHL games and 14 points in 33 AHL games.
Blues Sign Arseni Koromyslov To Entry-Level Contract
The St. Louis Blues have signed 2022 fourth-round pick Arseni Koromyslov to a two-year, entry-level contract set to begin in the 2026-27 season. This deal will move Koromyslov to North America after four seasons in Russia’s pro leagues. The contract details, per PuckPedia, are:
| Year | NHL Salary | Signing bonus | Potential performance bonuses | Minors salary |
| 2026-27 | $850K | $102.5K | $72.5K | $82.5K |
| 2027-28 | $967.5K | $107.5K | $82.5K |
Koromyslov, 22, filled an important role for the KHL’s Chelyabinsk Traktor this season. He recorded 17 points, 40 penalty minutes, and a plus-four in 61 games this season. This was Koromyslov’s second season in a full-time, KHL role. His 2024-25 season was spread across three teams, with Koromyslov recording five points in 26 games with Lada, two points in seven games with SKA St. Petersburg, and 10 points in 48 games with Traktor including the postseason. He scored one goal with each team, a pattern he kept up through this season.
Despite the low-scoring, Koromyslov has never recorded a negative plus-minus across a full season. He has proved to be a reliable defender at Russia’s junior and pro levels – a knack helped along by just how much Koromyslov has improved his game as he’s moved to higher roles. He was a noticeable physical presence this season, using a long reach and hard checking to stop opponents in the neutral zone. His ability to win puck battles from Traktor’s second-pair went far in supporting a forward group with seven players who scored 35 points or more.
Koromyslov will lean on that defensive prowess to earn minutes with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds next season. He joins a long list of left-defenders on the Thunderbirds roster but could offer a bit more defensive reliability than Marc-Andre Gaudet, Quinton Burns, or Michael Buchinger. Should that professional defense carry over, Koromyslov could plant his feet behind Leo Loof on St. Louis’ depth chart in the 2026-27 season.
Wild Sign Ben Dexheimer To Entry-Level Deal
The Wild have signed University of Wisconsin captain Ben Dexheimer to a one-year, entry-level deal. The move was first reported by Michael Russo of The Athletic. The contract will begin next season, with Dexheimer expected to report to AHL Iowa on a tryout to finish out this year.
Dexheimer, a Twin Cities native, hops back across the border after spending the last five years in Wisconsin, including a one-year stint with the USHL’s Madison Capitols in 2021-22. The undersized right-shot defenseman proved to be a solid offensive weapon from the Badgers’ blue line over the last four seasons, leading them to the national championship this year for the first time since 2010, before losing a heartbreaker to Denver.
In 39 games this season, Dexheimer recorded a career-best seven goals while tying his previous career high of 28 points that he set during his sophomore season in one fewer game. He was named to the NCAA’s All-Tournament Team and was a Big 10 First Team All-Star, finishing fourth on the Badgers in scoring.
Coming in at 5’10” and 165 lbs, Dexheimer faces an uphill battle. He’ll likely need to unlock another gear offensively to make himself appealing as a bottom-pairing option who can log power play time. Behind Brock Faber and Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota’s right side next year is in flux. Veterans Zach Bogosian and Jeff Petry are pending unrestricted free agents, and both are retirement candidates. They don’t have any depth options in Iowa, outside of maybe David Spacek, who is ready to step in. They’ll need to address that #3RD hole in free agency, but until they do, there’s a pathway for a name like Dexheimer to make headway on the depth chart with a strong first impression in Iowa.
Dexheimer will be under team control until 2029 if he signs, but will be a restricted free agent in 2027. He’ll bring Minnesota up to 27 out of the max 50 contracts for next season.
Red Wings Place Dominik Shine On Waivers
The Red Wings placed forward Dominik Shine on waivers ahead of tonight’s season finale against the Panthers, PuckPedia reports. Still technically eligible to dress tonight, he’ll be sent to AHL Grand Rapids tomorrow in the likely event he clears to join their playoff run.
Shine has been one of the best stories in hockey this season. This year’s Detroit nominee for the Masterton Trophy, the 32-year-old scored his first NHL goal – three of them, in fact – after several years as a farmhand in Grand Rapids, mostly on minor-league deals.
Saying Shine is a Michigan lifer feels like an understatement. The Pinckney native only left to play four seasons of junior hockey for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars but has since returned to his home state for every season, playing four years at Northern Michigan before joining Grand Rapids in 2017. He spent all of his time there on minor-league deals until finally earning his first NHL contract from the Wings midway through last season amid a career year offensively. He ended up playing in nine games for the Wings down the stretch, notching one assist.
This year, Shine upped things to a new level. Grand Rapids’ captain played a major role in an electric early-season surge, rattling off 21 goals and 37 points in 38 games en route to earning a two-year, two-way extension from the Wings in January. Now signed through 2028, he got another call-up in short order and ended the season with three goals in 18 NHL games for Detroit, remaining up on the roster since the Olympic break.
The 5’11”, 177-lb righty has been a 13th forward at best, averaging just 6:56 of ice time per game, but his dedication to the organization – and to the sport for waiting so long to get a big-league opportunity – has been deservedly lauded in Detroit. His poor possession play and propensity for some untimely penalties – the flip side of playing with the energy he does – will likely prevent him from ever jumping into a regular role, but he’ll now play out the next two years in similar spot duty call-up deployment before likely beginning to contemplate retirement at the end of his current deal.
Lightning Activate Maxwell Crozier From LTIR, Place Steven Santini On Waivers
Lightning defenseman Maxwell Crozier told reporters this morning that he’s stepping back into the lineup for tonight’s regular-season finale against the Rangers (including the team’s Benjamin Pierce). He had been on long-term injured reserve since mid-February after undergoing core muscle surgery. They’ve placed defender Steven Santini on waivers in a corresponding move with the intent to send him back to AHL Syracuse tomorrow, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. They’ve also recalled forwards Jakob Pelletier and Mitchell Chaffee from Syracuse to allow some forwards to get some extra rest tonight, according to Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider.
Crozier’s return gives the Bolts another option on defense for the first round that they weren’t expecting to have several weeks ago. When he underwent the procedure in February, the team gave him a 10-week timeline that appeared to rule him out for the regular season and at least a good chunk of the first round. Instead, he’ll come back in a little under two months’ time to essentially get a conditioning stint in a meaningless game tonight before potentially dressing for Game 1 against the Canadiens this weekend, likely contingent on the statuses of Victor Hedman (personal leave, indefinite) and Darren Raddysh (undisclosed, day-to-day).
Crozier, a 2019 fourth-round pick, also missed several games earlier in the year with an undisclosed issue. Between absences, he was well on his way to establishing himself as an everyday depth option. Turning 26 next weekend, Crozier put up a 1-9–10 scoring line in 34 games after making just 18 appearances over the previous two seasons combined. He averaged 16 minutes per night, and Tampa won his minutes handily, controlling 53.0% of shot attempts and 52.8% of expected goals at 5-on-5.
A smooth-skating option, he’ll be a natural fit as the #3 righty heading into training camp in the fall behind Raddysh and Erik Černák – if Tampa can work out an extension with the former. If not, given the dearth of high-impact options on this summer’s free agent market, Crozier might be tasked with a higher-leverage role than anticipated next season.
As for Santini, the 31-year-old has been called up as an injury replacement several times throughout the season. He hadn’t needed to clear waivers since training camp, but after playing his 10th game of the season on his most recent recall, he needs them now to head back down. In 11 appearances, his highest NHL workload since 2018-19, Santini has produced an assist and a +1 rating. He’d been a healthy scratch since March 28 and will now return to Syracuse, where he serves as team captain in his second season with the organization, to aid in their chase for a Calder Cup championship.
Pelletier and Chaffee have both been up with the Bolts relatively recently as they’ve opted to get their injury-plagued roster as much rest as possible before the postseason. Pelletier appeared in a pair of games last week before heading back to Syracuse over the weekend, while Chaffee skated in a trio of contests earlier this month. Neither recorded a point on their most recent recalls and have gone pointless across 14 combined NHL games this year.
For Pelletier, it’s one final reward for an electric minor-league performance before the former Flames first-rounder ideally snatches an NHL roster spot out of camp next fall. The 25-year-old leads the AHL with 77 points (28 goals, 49 assists) in 63 games, while Chaffee has also put up over a point per game with a 24-33–57 line in 54 outings. But while Pelletier is signed through 2027-28, Chaffee is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Islanders Sign Quinn Finley To Entry-Level Deal
The Islanders announced Wednesday that they’ve signed forward prospect Quinn Finley to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal will kick in next season, making him a restricted free agent in 2028. Financial terms were not disclosed. It’s unclear if he’ll be joining AHL Bridgeport on a tryout for the balance of the regular season and playoffs.
Finley is the latest of his now-former Wisconsin teammates to make his exodus from the school after falling just short of a national title last weekend. Blake Montgomery inked his entry-level deal earlier today, while captain Ben Dexheimer is expected to sign with the Wild.
The 21-year-old is coming off his junior season, spending all of his three NCAA seasons with the Badgers. He’s been a star-level producer the past two years, capping things off with a 16-17–33 scoring line in 37 outings this year. That’s actually down from his big-time 20-goal, 40-point sophomore outburst but still enough for him to lead Wisconsin in goals and finish second in scoring.
Finley was a third-round selection in 2022 from the USHL’s Madison Capitols. He’s managed a couple of international opportunities, winning gold with the United States at the 2024 World Juniors and heading to Davos, Switzerland over this season’s holiday break to join a U.S. Collegiate Selects squad at the Spengler Cup invitational.
The 6’0″, 179-lb winger is a high-end finisher. As Scott Wheeler of The Athletic writes, his defensive game has started to come around in college as well and he checks in as the Islanders’ #8 prospect in a forward-heavy pool. He’ll presumably spend most, if not all, of that two-year ELC term in the minors (Bridgeport will be relocating to Hamilton, Ontario next season) before getting some NHL looks later in the decade.
Senators, Blake Montgomery Agree To Terms On Entry-Level Deal
The Senators announced Wednesday that they’ve agreed to terms with left wing prospect Blake Montgomery on a three-year, entry-level deal starting next season. He’ll join AHL Belleville on an amateur tryout contract to finish out this year. The deal will carry a cap hit of $1.075MM with a qualifying offer of $1.114MM upon expiry, per PuckPedia.
Montgomery, a fourth-round pick by Ottawa in 2024, will opt to be one-and-done in college. The 20-year-old two-way forward will end up playing in four different leagues in the span of two seasons if he manages to suit up for Belleville this year. Selected from the USHL’s Lincoln Stars, he stuck around for just 10 games in his post-draft season before jumping north of the border with the OHL’s London Knights. After rattling off nearly a point per game there, he took advantage of the new avenue for CHL players to make the jump to college hockey and committed to the University of Wisconsin.
Montgomery’s lone season with the Badgers will go down as a successful one. He helped them to their first national championship game appearance since 2010 and put up a 9-8–17 scoring line in 37 games along the way. He averaged two shots on goal per game but did end up with a team-worst -7 rating.
The younger brother of Hurricanes defense prospect Bryce Montgomery, it’ll be interesting to see how much – if any – of Blake’s scoring touch can translate to Belleville still relatively early in his development. He’ll turn 21 next month; he was initially draft-eligible in 2023 before being picked up by Ottawa a year later. He still grades out, improbably, as the Sens’ top forward prospect in a pool that’s been heavily decimated in recent years, sitting #4 overall according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. He becomes just the third forward age 22 or younger that Ottawa even has under contract.
Montgomery’s contract brings Ottawa up to 28 registered for next season. He’ll be a restricted free agent upon expiry in 2029 with two years of team control remaining.
Capitals Reassign Ivan Miroshnichenko, Ilya Protas, Clay Stevenson
The Capitals announced that they’ve reassigned forwards Ivan Miroshnichenko and Ilya Protas, as well as goaltender Clay Stevenson, to AHL Hershey. Their season is over after last night’s win over the Blue Jackets, although their four-game win streak to end the season wasn’t enough to get them into playoff position.
Protas and Stevenson had been called up as injury replacements in recent days, while Miroshnichenko had been up with the NHL squad since the trade deadline. With Hershey yet to clinch a Calder Cup Playoff berth, they’ll head back down now to hopefully get them over the hump. They currently have a three-point cushion on a spot with three games remaining.
Of all the names here, it would be least surprising to see Miroshnichenko’s on Washington’s opening night roster in the fall. That’s due partly to the fact he’ll lose his waiver exemption following this season. Considering he’s cost-controlled at $925K through 2027-28 and was the 20th overall pick just four years ago, there’s a slim chance he’d clear if the Caps tried to pass him through.
The 22-year-old left-winger has also legitimately earned a longer look with his steadily improving AHL track record. Over parts of three seasons in Hershey, he’s amassed a 44-54–98 scoring line in 138 games with a +15 rating. A 6’1″, 194-lb power forward with an above-average scoring touch, he has 35 tucks in 91 AHL games over the past two seasons after a slow start to his North American pro career in the goal-scoring department.
He’s gotten double-digit NHL games in each of the past three seasons, too, but the production hasn’t clicked yet. He added 13 games to his resume down the stretch this year, tallying two goals and an assist with a +1 rating. He largely assumed a fourth-line role after Nic Dowd was shipped out of town to the Golden Knights, averaging just 9:38 per game.
Miroshnichenko’s physical brand lends itself toward making him an effective fourth-liner on his way toward being the top-nine fixture Washington drafted him to be. That lack of ice time is precisely why he hasn’t had the opportunity to contribute more. He’s only averaged 10:33 per game across 52 career appearances (five goals, 13 points) with little to no power play opportunities, particularly this season.
Nonetheless, his points-per-game output in Hershey has steadily improved from season to season. With Brandon Duhaime and David Kämpf ticketed for unrestricted free agency, there’s a clear path for him to assume a regular role in Washington next season if they aren’t brought back.
As for Protas, the 19-year-old kicked off his NHL career with a bang in the past few days. The younger brother of teammate Aliaksei had a three-point performance in just his second career outing and totaled a goal and three assists through a four-game call-up, coinciding with Washington’s brief tear to end the year.
A third-round pick in 2024, the 6’5″, 201-lb playmaker’s development has been nothing short of a dream. He made the jump from the USHL to the OHL for his post-draft season and absolutely exploded for 50 goals and 124 points in 61 games for the Windsor Spitfires, taking home OHL Second Team All-Star honors.
His transition to the pro game in Hershey has been especially smooth. He’s already an All-Star caliber player in the minors and leads the Bears with 28 goals and 62 points in 66 games. He, too, should be a clear favorite to win a spot in camp in the fall, but with a waiver exemption and two years left on his entry-level contract, he could be the victim of a numbers game if it comes to that.
Stevenson, the Caps’ third-stringer, had also dressed for the final four games of the year while backup Charlie Lindgren was nursing an upper-body injury. The 27-year-old started Game 82 last night, making 27 saves on 28 shots for his third win of the season and of his career. He made three straight starts for the Caps shortly before the Olympic break when both Lindgren and Thompson were hurt. Across his four starts this season, the Dartmouth product amassed a 3-1-0 record with a sparkling .921 SV% and 2.00 GAA. That was good for 3.2 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck.
There was concern that Stevenson would be lost on waivers at the beginning of this season. He’s had some bursts in the AHL, where he’s got a Calder Cup ring and owns a .910 SV%, 2.64 GAA, and a 16-12-4 record in 34 games this year. He’s still got another year left on his deal, so if he manages to clear again in the fall, he’ll be resuming his role as the Caps’ #3.
Lightning Recall Brandon Halverson
The Lightning announced today that they’ve recalled goaltender Brandon Halverson from AHL Syracuse. It’s likely he’ll back up Andrei Vasilevskiy for tonight’s regular-season finale against the Rangers, per Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider.
Tampa Bay was forced to dress emergency backup Kyle Konin for Monday’s overtime win over the Red Wings. Jonas Johansson was a late scratch due to an undisclosed injury. He’s yet to practice since and isn’t on the ice this morning, so he’ll be missing a second straight game tonight. It’s not yet clear if his availability to back up Vasilevskiy for Game 1 of the first round against the Canadiens this weekend is in question.
Halverson has emerged as the Lightning’s clear-cut third-stringer over the past two seasons. The 30-year-old was once a fairly highly-touted prospect, going to the Rangers in the second round of the 2014 draft, but he only made one relief appearance for them in the 2017-18 campaign before being non-tendered a year later. After nearly retiring from hockey following the 2021 season and restarting his career the following season in Germany’s second division, he signed a series of minor-league deals in Tampa’s system that culminated in him receiving a two-year, two-way NHL contract midway through last season.
He hasn’t played a ton for the Bolts, though, and his numbers are poor when he has. He made one start last season, allowing five goals on 24 shots for a .792 SV%, and made one six-second relief appearance earlier this year while Johansson was dealing with an equipment issue against the Islanders back on Dec. 13.
For Syracuse, though, he’s been a good starting option. Since joining the organization in 2023-24, Halverson has amassed a .911 SV%, 2.29 GAA, 12 shutouts, and a 53-25-24 record in 99 games. That includes a .906 mark in 42 outings this season on the heels of an All-Star nod last year.
Halverson is a pending unrestricted free agent. His AHL backup, Ryan Fanti, is also under team control with the Bolts and has put up comparable numbers this season. 2024 seventh-round pick Harrison Meneghin is their other goalie under contract, a first-year pro who’s struggled in his ECHL minutes this year. There will still be a place for Halverson as a third-string option next season, so unless they’ve identified an open-market candidate they prefer, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Bolts extend Halverson before July.
Atlantic Notes: Tkachuk, Hovorka, Laughton, Viel
The Ottawa Senators have been without their captain, Brady Tkachuk, for the last few games of their regular season. Fortunately, his absence isn’t expected to creep into the playoffs, as TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reported that Tkachuk is “good to go” for the postseason.
The injury keeping Tkachuk is one of the weirder ones this season. In Ottawa’s recent game against the New York Islanders, Tkachuk was bumped by Islanders’ defenseman Ryan Pulock, causing Tkachuk to return to the bench while wobbling. In recent updates, Tkachuk clarified that his dizziness was unrelated to Pulock and resulted from a prior hit in the game. As of now, he has been cleared of all concussion symptoms.
Regardless, it’s big news for the Senators who are looking to pull off an upset in their opening-round matchup. The heart and soul of the team, Tkachuk has been irreplaceable for Ottawa, scoring 22 goals and 59 points in 60 games, while leveling 162 hits. Despite missing a decent chunk of the season due to injury, Tkachuk remains third on the team in scoring and is likely to finish there.
Additional notes from the Atlantic Division:
- According to George Richards of Florida Hockey Now, the Florida Panthers have recalled defenseman Mikulas Hovorka for their final game of the regular season tomorrow night. The 24-year-old blueliner has seen his name on the transaction report a few times this past month, allowing him to skate in three games for the Panthers. Still, the Praha, Czechia native remains looking for his first NHL point, and he’ll seek to change that tomorrow evening against the Detroit Red Wings.
- With the postseason pool finalized, the impact of conditional draft picks traded this season is now clear. According to PuckPedia, now that the Los Angeles Kings have qualified for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs will receive Buffalo’s 2026 second-round pick in the Scott Laughton trade.
- The Maple Leafs aren’t the only team in the Atlantic Division to reap the benefits of another team making the postseason. Since the Philadelphia Flyers made the playoffs, the Boston Bruins will receive the Red Wings’ 2026 fourth-round pick from the Anaheim Ducks in the trade that sent Jeffrey Viel to Orange County a few months ago (via PuckPedia).