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Golden Knights Sign Tuomas Uronen To Entry-Level Contract

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The Vegas Golden Knights have signed one of their lower-round selections from the 2023 NHL Draft. The Golden Knights announced they’ve signed forward Tuomas Uronen to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Vegas selected Uronen with the 192nd pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. At the time, he was playing for HIFK’s U20 program, but he quickly transferred to the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s after being drafted.

Despite having an extensive career in Finland’s junior leagues, Uronen only began making a name for himself in North America. Unfortunately, a lower-body injury limited him to 11 games during the 2023-24 season. Still, he made up for it in a major way with the Kingston Frontenacs this year.

Uronen scored 38 goals and 90 points in 63 games this year with a +28 rating, and another five goals and 13 points in 11 postseason contests. Internationally, Uronen scored two goals and three points in seven games for Team Finland during the 2024-25 U20 World Junior Championship.

Although it’s well known that the Golden Knights need more depth on the wing for next year’s roster, it’s more than likely Uronen will start the year with their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. Still, assuming Vegas remains tight to the cap next year, it would be unsurprising to see Uronen debut at some point during the 2025-26 campaign.

Capitals Reassign Andrew Cristall To AHL

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While the Capitals’ season is over, their AHL affiliate in Hershey is still alive in the Calder Cup Playoffs. They’ll be getting a boost in the form of 2023 second-round pick Andrew Cristall, who the Caps announced has been assigned to Hershey and could make his pro debut in tomorrow’s win-or-go-home Game 3 against Charlotte.

Cristall, a left-winger, has far exceeded his 40th overall billing. The 5’10” forward slipped farther down the draft board than most expected – most had tabbed him as a surefire first-round selection after he recorded 95 points in 54 games with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets in his draft year, but his smaller stature was enough to tank his stock.

It’s obviously too early to make a true determination before he even plays an NHL game, but Cristall has been on a superstar-level tear over the past two seasons. He finished fifth in the WHL in scoring last season with 111 points in 62 games (1.79 per game) but has been on a new level here in 2024-25. While an injury and a midseason trade limited him to 57 games between Kelowna and Spokane, he was still good for a 48-84–132 scoring line (2.32 points per game) with a +59 rating. He captured the league’s scoring title despite playing 15 games short of a full schedule and tacked on another 21 goals and 41 points in 19 playoff games for good measure.

Cristall is clearly the Caps’ most dynamic scoring threat in their prospect pool and should get a legitimate shot to make the opening night roster in the fall. Whether he can overcome the natural weaknesses his smallish frame provides and become an everyday top-six fixture in short order remains to be seen, but his puckhandling ability and skating should make him an impact producer in short order.

Laurent Dauphin Remains In Canadiens Organization On Two-Year AHL Deal

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Longtime farmhand Laurent Dauphin will remain with the Canadiens organization on a two-year contract with AHL Laval, the team announced. He’s still technically an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any NHL team, but if all goes to plan, the former Habs and Coyotes center will continue to provide a veteran presence to play with Montreal’s minor-league prospects.

Dauphin, 30, hasn’t suited up for an NHL game since making 21 appearances with Arizona in the 2022-23 campaign. He went to Switzerland the following year and, after a nice year with HC Ambri-Piotta, returned to North America on a minor-league deal with Laval for 2024-25.

Historically a strong offensive presence in the minors, Dauphin picked up where he left off in his return. He finished second on the Rocket in scoring with 26-30–56 in 63 games, along with a team-high +25 rating.

Extending on an AHL deal means Dauphin remains ineligible for a call-up to the Montreal roster, although they can easily sign him to a two-way deal if they want him up. He’ll need to clear waivers to return to Laval after they do so, however.

A 2013 second-round pick by Phoenix, Dauphin has spent most of his professional career with the now-defunct Coyotes franchise. His one season with NHL appearances in Montreal (2021-22) was the best of his career, though, making a career-high 38 appearances for the Habs in a depth role while scoring four goals and 12 points.

Blackhawks RFA Aku Raty Signs In Finland

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Blackhawks pending restricted free agent forward Aku Raty won’t be returning to the club next season. He’s inked a two-year contract with Karpat of his native Finland’s Liiga, the club announced today.

Chicago acquired Raty from the Mammoth in a minor trade-deadline deal, headlined by retired defenseman Shea Weber’s contract changing hands from Utah to the Hawks. The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick by the Coyotes in 2019 and made his NHL debut in the franchise’s final game in 2023-24, recording an assist. That stands as his only NHL appearance to date. While he made the trip to Utah with all of his former Arizona teammates, he was assigned back to AHL Tucson at the beginning of the season and never got a call-up.

Raty’s minor-league showing in 2024-25 was also a steep regression from the prior year, which was his first in North America. The 6’0″ winger was among Tucson’s top scorers in his first taste of AHL hockey with a 15-29–44 scoring line in 55 games, more than earning a brief look in the Coyotes’ lineup. But Raty posted just four goals and 15 assists for 19 points in 50 games for Tucson this year, combined with a -12 rating, before being dealt to the Blackhawks. A change of scenery with Chicago’s affiliate in Rockford helped somewhat, posting six points in 15 outings down the stretch, but that evidently wasn’t enough for him to consider remaining in the Chicago organization.

Raty will return to Karpat, where he played most of his youth hockey and spent three Liiga seasons from 2019-20 to 2021-22. His breakout campaign overseas in 2022-23 came after he transferred to Ilves. The Blackhawks can still retain his signing rights through 2029 if they opt to issue him a qualifying offer.

Nick Bonino Re-Signs In IceHL

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Former Pittsburgh Penguins centerman Nick Bonino has re-signed with the IceHL’s HK Olimpija Ljubljana, per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Bonino originally signed with the Slovenian club last November, after being released from his contract with the New York Rangers earlier in the year.

Bonino only appeared in half of the Olimpija Dragons’ season thanks to the mid-season signing. But he still managed a successful season, finishing the year with 17 points in 22 games and the highest point-per-game pace (0.77) on his team. It was a refreshing surge in scoring after he scored just five points in 45 games with the New York Rangers last season. Bonino hasn’t scored more than 20 points since the 2021-22 season, when he tallied 16 goals and 26 points in 80 games with the San Jose Sharks.

One more year in the IceHL will give Bonino a chance to play a full year, and cross the 20 point threshold, with his new club. At 37 years old, it seems unlikely the centerman entertains a return to North American pros at any point. Until he proves that sentiment wrong, Bonino’s NHL career will sit at 159 goals, 199 assists, and 251 penalty minutes in 868 games. He won back-to-back Stanley Cups when he served as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ third-line center from 2015 to 2017.

Lightning Sign Harrison Meneghin To Entry-Level Contract

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed goaltender Harrison Meneghin to a three-year, entry-level contract. Meneghin won the WHL Championship with the Medicine Hat Tigers just days ago. He was awarded the WHL Playoffs MVP for his 14-1-0 record and .906 save percentage through the postseason.

Meneghin becomes just the third player from the seventh-round, and the fourth goalie overall, to sign his entry-level contract after the 2024 NHL Draft. He was originally drafted out of the Lethbridge Hurricanes lineup, where he posted a 27-20-5 record and .919 Sv% last season. Meneghin seemed headed back to Lethbridge’s starting role this season, but was instead traded to the goalie-needy Medicine Hat just one game into the year. He quickly became the Tigers’ de facto starter, and continued to perform at a top-level behind an all-gas, no-breaks lineup. Meneghin finished this season with a 23-9-2 record, .901 Sv%, and three shutouts in 35 games. He shined through as an athletic and technical goalie, who leans into the advantage of a six-foot-four frame.

Meneghin will have one more chance to flash his potential before his CHL career ends. The Medicine Hat Tigers are headed to the Memorial Cup this weekend, where they face off against the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic and Moncton Wildcats. But even if his season ends on a sour note, Tampa Bay has recognized Meneghin’s title-winning year. He’ll join the Lightning’s minor-league ranks next season, and likely compete with Brandon Halverson for minutes. Halverson posted a 22-11-8 record and .915 Sv% in 43 games as Syracuse’s starter this season and is signed for one more year.

Sharks Sign Egor Afanasyev

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May 19: Afanasyev is headed to the Sharks for next season. He’s signed a one-year deal worth $800K, the team announced.

May 15: After being traded to San Jose last summer, Egor Afanasyev surprised some people by inking a deal with CSKA Moscow of the KHL instead of joining the Sharks.  However, things could be changing on that front as the two sides reached an agreement on a mutual termination, per the KHL, paving the way for the winger to potentially join San Jose for next season.

The 24-year-old was a second-round pick by Nashville back in 2019, going 45th overall after a solid season with USHL Muskegon.  He went to the OHL the following year with Windsor before returning home for the 2020-21 campaign, spending time in three different levels in Russia.

Afanasyev spent three years in Nashville’s system, getting into 19 games with the Predators but didn’t have much success offensively, recording just a single goal.  He was, however, a steady performer in the minors and put up 27 goals and 27 assists in 56 games in 2023-24 with AHL Milwaukee which was enough for San Jose to part with Ozzy Wiesblatt to secure his rights.

Unfortunately for Afanasyev, he wasn’t able to match that level of success back home this season.  In 53 games, he notched just seven goals and 14 assists although he was a little better in the playoffs with four points in six outings.

Afanasyev is waiver-eligible moving forward so if he does wind up joining the Sharks, his time with them could be short-lived if he fails to crack the roster.  Alternatively, he could be looking to try his hand at a different league altogether but with some recent NHL experience under his belt, a return to North America would seemingly make the most sense.  Sport-Express’ Artur Khairullin suggests (Telegram link) that Afanasyev is expected to sign with San Jose so it looks as if he’ll give it another go to try to make the top level.

Bruins Sign Simon Zajicek To Entry-Level Contract

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The Bruins have made a splash in the undrafted free agent market. They announced they’ve signed Czech goaltender Simon Zajicek to an entry-level contract for the 2025-26 campaign. He’ll carry a cap hit of $872.5K if he’s on the NHL roster.

Zajicek, 23, has been a late but quick bloomer. He wasn’t even close to getting NHL consideration in his draft year. He would have first been eligible following the 2018-19 season, a campaign he split between Czechia’s U-19 junior league and their third-division professional circuit. Despite that, he saw action in the top-level Extraliga by the following year and, after several seasons bouncing between the Extraliga and the second-division Maxa liga, emerged as a full-time tandem option for HC Litvinov in 2024-25.

Not only did Zajicek stick on Litvinov’s roster for the entire season, he wrestled the lion’s share of starts away from Flyers reserve list netminder Matej Tomek, a high-end option in European professional leagues since 2019. Zajicek recorded a .930 SV% in 29 games to lead the Extraliga, adding a 2.12 GAA, five shutouts, and a 15-13-0 record. He also played in three of Litvinov’s four playoff games and recorded a .927 SV%.

The 6’2″, 187-lb netminder will now head to training camp in Boston in the fall to determine where he falls on the organization’s depth chart to begin the season. The Bruins’ NHL duo of Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo is locked in for 2025-26, but their minor-league tandem, Brandon Bussi and Michael DiPietro, are both pending unrestricted free agents. Signing Zajicek indicates they expect at least one of them not to return. If both come back or they replace them with subsequent free agent signings, the younger Zajicek could get his start in the North American pros down a level with ECHL Maine.

Capitals Reassign Ethan Bear, Clay Stevenson, Mitchell Gibson

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Since being eliminated from the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Washington Capitals could stand to lose a few players on their postseason roster. In an attempt to help their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, the Capitals announced they’ve reassigned defenseman Ethan Bear, and netminders Clay Stevenson and Mitchell Gibson.

Bear will be the most important piece for the Bears’ Division Finals matchup against the Charlotte Checkers. In his first full AHL season since 2018-19, Bear was impressive in Hershey, scoring 10 goals and 46 points in 62 games with a +33 rating. He led the entire Bears roster in scoring and finished tied for eighth among AHL defensemen. Fortunately, Hershey was able to eliminate their division rival, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, in five games without their top scorer.

After debuting in the NHL on the last game of the regular season, Stevenson was recalled by the Capitals yesterday in case Charlie Lindgren couldn’t participate. As it would turn out, Lindgren managed to serve in a backup role, and Stevenson will return to the AHL to help the Bears win their third consecutive Calder Cup championship. He appeared in one postseason game against the Phantoms, stopping 28 of 32 shots in Game 4, which allowed the Bears to extend the series.

Gibson is the only member of the trio who has spent little time on either team’s roster. He spent much of the 2025-26 season with the Capitals’ ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays, managing a 12-1-0 record in 14 games with a .933 SV% and 1.75 GAA. Depending on what Washington does with pending unrestricted free agent Hunter Shepard this offseason, Gibson could be in line to share the crease with Stevenson in southeast Pennsylvania next season.

Capitals’ Ryan Chesley Signs Entry-Level Deal

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May 16, 4:29 p.m.: Chesley’s deal pays him a $775K base salary, a $95K signing bonus, and up to $80K in games-played bonuses next season, per PuckPedia. For 2026-27 and 2027-28, those figures jump to an $855K base and a $95K signing bonus with no GP bonuses.

May 16, 11:45 a.m.: It took over a month, but Chesley has signed his entry-level contract, the Caps announced. The three-year deal runs through the 2027-28 season and will carry a cap hit of $923.3K. He had a goal and two assists in four games with Hershey on his tryout.

March 31: Capitals defense prospect Ryan Chesley is turning pro. The team announced the 21-year-old has signed a tryout with AHL Hershey for the remainder of the season while they work out the details of his entry-level contract.

Washington selected Chesley early in the second round (No. 37) of the 2022 draft with a pick they acquired in the Vítek Vaněček trade with the Devils. A 6’0″ righty, the two-way defender was coming off a standout season with the U.S. National Development Team Program. He’s suited up at the University of Minnesota for the three seasons since, continuing to play an extremely sound game despite a lack of flashy point totals.

That’s not to say Chesley can’t produce. After being limited to eight points in 39 games last year, he served as one of many team captains for the Golden Gophers in 2024-25 and put up a career-high 8-12–20 scoring line in 40 games. He finished fifth on the team with a +17 rating. Over his trio of collegiate campaigns, he totaled 12-26–38 with 80 PIMs and a +34 rating in 115 appearances.

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic regards Chesley as a relatively safe bottom-pairing fixture long-term, although he likely has some upside in top-four deployment as a complementary defender to a more skilled partner. He’s the No. 8 prospect in Washington’s system and the second-ranked defenseman behind Boston University standout Cole Hutson (No. 3).

The Minnesota native won bronze with the United States at the 2023 World Juniors before winning gold at the 2024 tournament, playing top-pairing minutes while posting 1-3–4 in seven games. His pending ELC will be three years, regardless of whether it starts this season or in 2025-26.

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