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Snapshots: Lawrence, Wassilyn, Schneider

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2026 projected top-10 pick Tynan Lawrence was a high pick in the QMJHL Entry Draft one year ago by the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, leading to speculation he may jump there for his draft year. That doesn’t appear to be the case, per Jonathan Hudon of Le Quotidien, who relays Lawrence is expected to remain with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks for 2025-26 instead.

Lawrence, a late birthday for the class who turns 17 next weekend, is a 6’0″ center currently pegged to go in the No. 6-No. 10 overall range in preseason rankings. The New Brunswick native has played in the United States since 2022, when he opted to head to renowned prep school Shattuck St. Mary’s to continue his development. He joined Muskegon last season, posting 54 points in 56 regular-season games before guiding the Lumberjacks to a Clark Cup championship, posting 18 points in 14 playoff games to be named MVP as a 16-year-old rookie in the high-end junior league.

He would have been a big get for Chicoutimi and joined what looks like a stronger-than-normal class out of the QMJHL next season, but he’ll instead stay south of the border with a commitment to Boston University for the 2027-28 campaign still on the books (although that will presumably get moved up to the 2026-27 campaign).

Elsewhere from around the hockey world:

  • Sticking with next year’s draft, projected first-rounder Braidy Wassilyn is also a Boston University commit. There was some speculation he might join them as a 17-year-old freshman for the upcoming season but that won’t happen, according to Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects. The 5’11” forward will instead remain with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs, where he had an 8-31–39 scoring line in 62 games last season.
  • Heading overseas, former NHLer Cole Schneider has signed with Italy’s HC Bolzano in the ICEHL, the club announced. The 34-year-old American headed to Europe last summer after a lengthy AHL career, winning the Norwegian league scoring title with 64 points in 45 games for Storhamar. Schneider, who had one assist in six career games for the Sabres, also has 574 points in 776 career AHL games.

Sabres Sign Devon Levi To Two-Year Deal

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The Sabres announced that they have signed restricted free agent goaltender Devon Levi to a two-year deal. It’s a cap hit of $812,500, presumably paying him a league-minimum salary in each of the next two years on a one-way deal for a total value of $1.625MM.

Levi, 23, was Buffalo’s last unsigned RFA. The promising netminder had little to no leverage in contract talks this summer as a dual-threat 10.2(c) player – not only was he ineligible to file for salary arbitration, he was also ineligible to receive and sign offer sheets.

His time in the Sabres organization has been marked by a clear disconnect between his NHL and minor-league performances. Overall, he has 39 NHL appearances (36 starts) to his name over the last three years, underwhelming with a 3.29 GAA and .894 SV%. Those numbers are even propped up by a strong showing in his first taste of NHL action in late 2023; he only has a .892 SV% in the last two seasons with a subpar .448 quality start percentage.

Combining that with his excellent performance with the AHL’s Rochester Americans over the last two seasons has put him in an odd spot between being a true No. 2 or No. 3 on the Sabres’ depth chart. He’s logged 68 games for the Amerks since the beginning of 2023-24, posting a .922 SV% and 41-19-10 record with seven shutouts. He’s arguably been the league’s best goalie during that time, usurping the Flames’ Dustin Wolf after he landed a full-time NHL gig.

Those numbers come on the back of Levi serving as the best goalie in college hockey for two seasons with Northeastern, making his ceiling all the more tantalizing. Initially a 2020 seventh-round pick by the Panthers from the Carleton Place Canadians of the CCHL, a junior ’A’ league, he had a coming-out party with Canada at the following year’s World Juniors and was eventually traded to Buffalo in the Sam Reinhart deal. In his two years with Northeastern before turning pro with the Sabres, he posted a .942 SV% and 16 shutouts in 66 games and was given the Mike Richter Award as the NCAA’s top goaltender both times.

The Sabres were hoping Levi could take a significant step forward in his development last season, even waiving veteran James Reimer at the beginning of the year to make Levi the opening-night backup. He had just a .870 SV% through his first seven games before Buffalo was able to reclaim Reimer off waivers from the Ducks, allowing them to return Levi to the AHL. He only made two more NHL appearances the rest of the way for a 2-7-0 record, .872 SV%, 4.12 GAA, and -8.0 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck.

That undoubtedly left a sour taste in the Sabres’ mouth and left them unwilling to dole out a contract with a seven-figure cap hit, something we’ve seen teams do with high-ceiling but unestablished netminders to try and squeeze some value out of them while they’re breaking out into NHL minutes. For Levi, it’s not as if he had much choice if he wants a legitimate chance to fight for an NHL job in camp and leapfrog veteran Alex Lyon, who the Sabres signed in free agency as veteran insurance, as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s backup to begin the year.

His lack of leverage in talks means a league-minimum deal if he cracks the NHL roster. Still, he’ll at least be much more well-compensated if he returns to Rochester after spending the last two seasons under the two-way structure of his entry-level contract.

Image courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

Flames Sign Martin Pospisil To Three-Year Extension

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The Flames have signed Martin Pospisil to a three-year extension, according to his agent, Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey. The 6’2″ center/winger will earn an average of $2.5MM per season for a total value of $7.5MM, according to PuckPedia.

Pospisil, 25, began the 2024-25 season on the NHL roster for the first time. He was fresh off signing a two-year, $2MM extension that he signed amid his rookie campaign in 2023-24 that will still carry him through the upcoming season at a $1MM cap hit, but he now won’t be eligible for restricted free agency next summer. Today’s extension will take him to unrestricted free agency in 2029.

The heavy-hitting Slovak forward has been consistent ever since working his way into a regular NHL role. He appeared in all but one game for Calgary in 2024-25, recording a 4-21–25 scoring line while improving his discipline, bringing his PIM total down to 84 after logging 109 in 63 appearances in his rookie campaign. He still had a team-leading 301 hits, tied with William Cuylle for third in the league.

Pospisil averaged 13:48 of ice time per game last season, including a tad under a minute per game on the power play as a net-front presence. Without much turnover among the Flames’ forward group this summer, he’ll figure to slot into a similar role in his final season under his current deal before the extension kicks in for 2026-27. He saw more time at center in 2024-25, winning 40.8% of his 174 faceoffs, and that could continue if he continues to see primarily fourth-line deployment at even strength.

While his new cap hit is fair value for the production and overall impact he’s provided in Calgary’s lineup over the past couple of years, it is interesting to see them prioritize a multi-year deal for Pospisil over some other more pressing items. Restricted free agent Connor Zary remains without a contract for the upcoming season, while Calgary also has key players at each position – Mikael Backlund at center, Rasmus Andersson at defense, and pending RFA Dustin Wolf in goal, who need new contracts for 2026-27, although Andersson is more likely a trade candidate than an extension one.

Image courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.

International Notes: Pavel, Gettinger, Virtanen

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Free agent forward Ondrej Pavel has signed a one-year deal with Finnish club Tappara with an option for 2026-27, the team announced today.

Pavel, 24, will play in Europe for the first time since the Czech center departed his home country in 2016 to play the bulk of his development in North America. While undrafted, he was a free agent signing by the Avalanche out of Minnesota State in 2023 after winning regular-season titles in each of his three seasons in Mankato.

Primarily a bottom-six checking piece, his offensive production in the pros has reflected that. He scored only 12 points in 77 games for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles before the Avs traded him to the Predators as part of the Juuso Pärssinen deal in December. He finished the season with an improved 8-10–18 scoring line with 49 PIMs and a +8 rating in 43 games for the Milwaukee Admirals, but he was still non-tendered by Nashville last month and became an unrestricted free agent as a result.

The Prague native got into a pair of NHL games with Colorado in the 2023-24 season, recording one hit and three shots on goal in just over 12 minutes of total ice time. He now takes his talents to Tappara, joining a club that looks to get back on track following a .500 finish last year after winning three straight Liiga championships. He joins former NHLers Jyrki Jokipakka and Olli Juolevi, among others.

There are some more notable international signings today:

  • While winger Timothy Gettinger was reportedly looking for a KHL contract a few weeks ago, he’s ended up in Germany with the DEL’s Schwenninger Wild Wings on a one-year deal. The longtime minor-league winger in the Rangers’ and Red Wings’ systems solidifies his move overseas after recording 81 goals and 174 points in 346 AHL games over the past seven seasons. The 27-year-old was a fifth-round pick by New York in 2016 and has one point in 16 NHL games, all with the Blueshirts. He joins ex-NHLers Zachary Senyshyn and Jordan Szwarz on the Wild Wings’ forward corps.
  • Former Canucks forward Jake Virtanen has landed a one-year deal with Slovak club HK Dukla Michalovce, the team said on Facebook. Virtanen, 28, has not played in North America since being bought out in 2021 amid sexual assault allegations that he was later found not guilty of by a jury. The 2014 No. 6 overall pick has underwhelmed in Europe, most recently recording 19 points in 46 games last season for the DEL’s Iserlohn Roosters. He’ll now look to improve his scoring in a less competitive league in Slovakia.

Jets, Dylan Samberg Avoid Arbitration

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8:56 a.m.: The Jets have confirmed Samberg’s new deal. The contract pays him $4.25MM in 2025-26 and $6.5MM each in 2026-27 and 2027-28, according to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press.

7:06 a.m.: The Jets have agreed to a three-year deal with defenseman Dylan Samberg, avoiding his arbitration hearing that was set for later today, Murat Ates of The Athletic was first to report. The only restricted free agent so far to even get to the point of swapping arbitration figures with his club lands a $5.75MM AAV for a total value of $17.25MM.

Samberg wasn’t under team control past this offseason, so he was only eligible for a one-year deal had the two sides needed their hearing to come to terms. He lands an extra two years of security and will become an unrestricted free agent in 2028 – quite close to his likely career peak at age 29 – and lands a salary quite close to his reported $6MM filing in the process. With Samberg now under contract, the Jets have avoided arbitration hearings with their entire class: Samberg, Morgan Barron, and Gabriel Vilardi.

Samberg, 26, has put up monster defensive results from the jump since becoming a full-time NHLer in 2022-23, but only last season did he prove he could carry that over into top-four minutes. In 60 appearances, he logged a career-high 6-14–20 scoring line with a +34 rating, leading the Jets and ranking seventh in the league. He received his toughest defensive deployment to date (58.6 dZS% at even strength) but flourished as Winnipeg’s No. 2 lefty behind Josh Morrissey, helping anchor their second pairing with Neal Pionk while posting a 51.1 CF% and 55.0 xGF%.

For a Jets team whose defensive success over the past few seasons has been driven more by goaltender Connor Hellebuyck than the team’s possession play, those are great numbers. He averaged 21:08 per game last season, and without any meaningful changes on Winnipeg’s blue line this summer, he’s in line for that kind of deployment presumably for the life of this deal.

Putting contracts signed under the pressure of a looming arbitration hearing into context isn’t always a perfect art, but the end result here isn’t too far off from what past comparables projected. AFP Analytics projected a five-year, $5.2MM AAV agreement for Samberg at the beginning of the offseason. That would make this shorter-term pact look a tad pricey, but that figure didn’t take into account the rash of rich deals that have been handed out to big stay-at-home lefties this summer. Considering Nicolas Hague’s four-year, $5.5MM AAV deal and Kevin Bahl’s six-year, $5.35MM contract, the deal is within range, even if the Jets may have paid a small premium to ensure they retain him past this season.

With that, Maple Leafs winger Nicholas Robertson has the only open arbitration case. His hearing is scheduled for Sunday.

AHL Notes: Toporowski, Perets, Hookey

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The AHL’s Hershey Bears, the Capitals’ primary development affiliate, announced Tuesday they’ve signed forward Luke Toporowski to a one-year deal.

The minor-league pact comes after completing his entry-level contract with the Bruins, which he signed in 2023 after beginning his professional career on an AHL deal with their affiliate in Providence. He was traded to the Wild at the 2024 deadline in the deal that sent winger Pat Maroon to Boston, but Minnesota chose not to give him a qualifying offer last month when his ELC expired.

Toporowski, 24, finished eighth on the Iowa Wild in scoring last season with a 13-15–28 line in 53 games. He was the first Iowa-born player to skate for the Wild’s top affiliate and now joins the Washington organization with 85 points in 166 career AHL games over the last three seasons.

The 5’11” winger doesn’t have any NHL experience to his name, but he’s been a generally productive middle-six winger at all levels thus far and likely has a lengthy minor-league career still ahead of him. He also had 199 points and 224 PIMs in 245 career junior games with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs and Kamloops Blazers.

Here are more moves out of the AHL:

  • After being non-tendered by the Hurricanes, goaltender Yaniv Perets found a new home last week when he signed an AHL deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 25-year-old backstopped Quinnipiac to a national championship in 2023 and immediately landed with Carolina in free agency, although he’s spent most of the last two seasons in the ECHL. He’s nonetheless made one relief appearance for the Canes in each of his two professional seasons, allowing one goal on just eight career shots faced. The Quebec native put up a sparkling .921 SV% in 27 games for the ECHL’s Bloomington Bison last season and will now look to turn that into an everyday role with the Phantoms. However, he faces an uphill battle with the more established Aleksei Kolosov and Philadelphia’s top goaltending prospect Carson Bjarnason set to form the usual tandem in Lehigh Valley this year.
  • The Belleville Senators announced the signing of 21-year-old winger Landon Hookey to a two-year deal. While his 6’5″, 223-lb frame wasn’t enough to earn him an NHL contract after going undrafted, he’ll still stick the landing and begin his pro career after a breakout overage season with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack. He served as an alternate captain last year and led the team in scoring (34-36–70) with 77 PIMs in 68 games.

Minor Transactions: Zbořil, Frasca, Fulp

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Former Bruins first-rounder Jakub Zbořil has terminated his contract with Czechia’s HC Dynamo Pardubice, the club announced today. The Extraliga squad didn’t say whether the termination was so that Zbořil could pursue an NHL return or if he intends to remain overseas.

Now 28, the left-shot defenseman headed to Pardubice last summer after becoming an unrestricted free agent and failing to land a contract from a camp tryout with the Devils. Zbořil made 30 regular-season appearances, scoring 14 points with a plus-four rating. That was his best offensive output in a season since he scored 19 points in 58 games for the AHL’s Providence Bruins in 2019-20.

The 2015 No. 13 pick never panned out for Boston, but he seemed to get things back on track back home in Czechia and will now look for a different opportunity, likely in a more competitive European league like the KHL or SHL if he doesn’t anticipate returning to the NHL. He has 16 points and an even rating in 76 career NHL appearances, all with the Bruins.

There’s more minor moves from across the hockey world:

  • Free agent forward Jordan Frasca has signed a one-year deal with the ECHL’s Reading Royals, the Flyers’ affiliate announced. Frasca, 24, spent last season in the Predators organization after being acquired from the Penguins in last summer’s Cody Glass trade. Injuries limited him to just five appearances with ECHL Atlanta, though, where he scored one goal and four assists. He has 50 points in 81 career ECHL games over the last three years and now takes his talents to Reading after being non-tendered by Nashville.
  • Ex-Islanders defense prospect Aidan Fulp has caught on in the Sabres organization on a deal with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, per a team press release. Fulp was an undrafted free agent signing by the Isles out of Western Michigan in 2023 but was non-tendered this summer when his entry-level contract expired. The 25-year-old righty posted 13 points in 84 games for AHL Bridgeport since turning pro along with a -29 rating.

Markus Nutivaara Signs With Liiga’s Kärpät

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Former NHL defenseman Markus Nutivaara is launching a comeback bid after retiring two years ago due to hip issues. Kärpät, which plays in the Finnish rearguard’s hometown of Oulu, announced they’ve signed him to a one-year deal.

While the 31-year-old Nutivaara has only been retired for two years, it’s been longer than that since he actually played. His last appearance at any level came with the Panthers on Oct. 29, 2021, his lone appearance of the 2021-22 campaign. He logged an assist but played just 7:01 as he attempted a comeback from his first of multiple hip surgeries.

Nutivaara was an unrestricted free agent the following summer and attempted to get his career back on track by signing a one-year deal with the Sharks, but his continued hip problems prevented him from making an appearance for them. The 6’1″ lefty has remained unsigned ever since.

A seventh-round pick out of Kärpät by the Blue Jackets in 2015 – three years after he was initially eligible for selection – Nutivaara made the jump to North America one year later. He remained an NHL fixture aside from a three-game stint in the minors in 2017-18, becoming a good two-way piece in a depth role for Columbus. Although he consistently saw bottom-pairing deployment, averaging 15:48 per game, he still managed a 17-43–60 scoring line with a +25 rating in 244 appearances for the Jackets in his four years there.

Columbus traded Nutivaara to Florida following the 2019-20 season. He played 30 out of 56 regular-season games for the Cats in the COVID-shortened 2021 season, recording 10 points and a plus-one rating.

His comeback bid comes after Nutivaara had another hip procedure in November 2024 to have an artificial joint installed, Kärpät said. Even if he can’t get back into game shape, Nutivaara said his recovery has gone well enough to allow him to return to a relatively normal, pain-free life.

Nutivaara won a Liiga championship with Kärpät in his rookie year back in 2014-15, contributing six points in 16 playoff games for a roster led by former NHL winger Joonas Donskoi that also included a 17-year-old Sebastian Aho.

Red Wings Activate Carter Mazur From Injured Reserve

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In the rare summertime injury transaction, the Detroit Red Wings have activated center Carter Mazur off of injured reserve, per PuckPedia. Mazur sustained an upper-body injury in his NHL debut on March 6th. The injury forced a four-month stay on IR, but Mazur told NHL.com’s Jonathan Mills that he’s back to full health, and has even added 15 pounds, this summer.

Mazur grew up just over an hour outside of Detroit, and played locally for Little Caesers AAA and the U.S. National Team Development Program in youth and junior hockey. He left Michigan for two seasons in both the USHL (Tri-City) and NCAA (Denver), but returned to Grand Rapids to begin his AHL career in 2023. He quickly became a feature of the Griffins’ offense, with a combined 58 points in 86 career AHL games.

Mazur had plenty of steam headed into 2024-25-  but was knocked out of the lineup by injury just three games into the AHL season. He returned in late-January and quickly got back to routine scoring, even ramping up to a point-per-game pace through 11 games between February and March. That hot hand was enough to earn Mazur his NHL debut on a Spring road trip to Utah. But bad luck struck once again, when Mazur suffer an awkward, upper-body injury just a few minutes into the game. The injury would prove season-ending, limiting Mazur to 15 points in 20 AHL games and just a couple of shifts with the Red Wings.

The 23-year-old prospect told Mills that strengthening up has become a core focus of his development plan in the months since, including a detailed nutrition and conditioning plan. Mazur said:

I was called up for a reason. My game is still there… Gaining strength was always a big part of probably why I’ve gotten hurt a lot. I’m on the smaller side, but [Griffins Strength and Conditioning Coordinator] Marcus [Kinney] and [Griffins Physical Therapist] Zack Harvey put me in a good spot heading into the summer.

Some added bulk, and emphasized persistence, could take Mazur to new heights in the 2025-26 season. He’s found his way into a top-six role and strong scoring numbers at every level he’s played at – often on the back of gritty and fearless forechecking. He’ll be a candidate to shape the Griffins’ top-line to start the season, but could win out a depth roster spot, or top call-up consideration, with a strong training camp.

Canadiens, Jayden Struble Avoid Arbitration With Two-Year Deal

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11:05 a.m.: According to PuckPedia, Struble will earn a $1.6MM salary in 2025-26, and a $1.225MM salary in 2026-27. He’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights upon expiry.

8:30 a.m.: Despite having an arbitration hearing scheduled for August 3rd, defenseman Jayden Struble will no longer need it. According to a team announcement, the Montreal Canadiens have re-signed Struble to a two-year, $2.825MM contract ($1.4125MM AAV).

The new agreement is a little lower than Struble’s projected value heading into the summer. Before the start of the free agency period, AFP Analytics projected Struble to receive a two-year, $3.57MM contract in his first trip through restricted free agency. Still, it’s a fair price for a bottom-pairing/depth defenseman who can play on both sides of the blue line.

The Cumberland, RI native recently completed his second season with the Canadiens. Montreal originally selected Struble with the 46th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, and he debuted with the team during the 2023-24 campaign after ending his career with the NCAA’s Northeastern University a year prior.

He’s been serviceable through his first two years, albeit not showing much growth so far. He scored three goals and 10 points in 56 games during his rookie season, averaging 16:07 of ice time per game. He showed some poise on the defensive side of the puck with a 92.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength. Still, his possession game left much to be desired with a 45.7% CorsiFor% at even strength.

Playing in an identical number of games in 2024-25, Struble barely increased his scoring, managing two goals and 13 points while averaging 14:57 of ice time. His possession game improved, averaging a 51.8% CF% at even strength, but his defensive game weakened with an 89.4% on-ice save percentage at even strength.

Although he may have been considered a decent two-way prospect for the Canadiens even a few years ago, too many defensemen have passed him on the organizational depth chart for him to hold the same value. Still, since he can play on both sides of the blue line, Struble has inherent value as a quality injury replacement should Montreal need it.

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