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Mammoth Sign Nick DeSimone To Extension

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The Mammoth announced they’re retaining depth defenseman Nick DeSimone on a one-year deal worth $800K for next season. It’s a one-way deal, per PuckPedia. He was slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

DeSimone, 30, has 58 games of NHL experience. The right-shot defenseman has appeared in parts of three NHL seasons with three teams. That included six points in 20 games with the Mammoth this year after they selected him off waivers from the Devils in January.

DeSimone has put up above-average numbers when given the chance to play in limited minutes. He boasts a 3-10–13 career scoring line – an 18-point pace over 82 games – with a plus-three rating while seeing 14:03 of ice time per game. He’s put up good offensive numbers in the minors in the past, including 46 points in 65 games while in the Flames’ system two years ago.

While DeSimone was a serviceable depth presence for Utah down the stretch and received a guaranteed salary as part of today’s deal, there’s no guarantee he doesn’t end up on waivers again to start the season. He’s already the eighth Mammoth defenseman signed to a one-way contract for 2025-26, and that doesn’t consider potential opening-night jobs for 2022 first-round pick Maveric Lamoureux or the recently signed top prospect Dmitri Simashev.

Sharks Re-Sign Shakir Mukhamadullin

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The Sharks announced they’ve re-signed defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin to a one-year, $1MM contract. He was set to become a restricted free agent this summer.

Mukhamadullin, 23, just wrapped up his second full season in the Sharks organization. He was a first-round pick (No. 20 overall) by the Devils in 2020 but was traded to San Jose in the 2023 Timo Meier deal before he could make his NHL debut. He’s split the following two years between the NHL and AHL as he climbs up the organizational depth chart.

He has 33 games of NHL experience, 30 of which came this past season. The lefty has always carried intrigue based on his high-end skating ability coupled with his 6’4″, 200-lb frame, and he’s flashed his upside as a potential long-term top-four piece in San Jose. He averaged over 21 minutes of ice time across a three-game stint to open his NHL career in January 2024 amid a strong debut season in the North American minors with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, whom he led in scoring among defensemen in 2023-24 with 27 assists and 34 points in 55 games.

His 2024-25 campaign started on the non-roster list due to a lower-body injury, and he was returned to the minors when cleared to play in late October. He’d get his first NHL recall of the season in early December, and he stuck with the big club for the majority of the balance of the campaign. Mukhamadullin put up a 2-7–9 scoring line with a minus-seven rating while averaging 18:04 per game, also contributing 51 blocks and 25 hits. He graded out quite well defensively, sitting near the high end of the Sharks’ Corsi leaderboard at a 48.0 CF% at even strength. San Jose also allowed 2.7 goals against per 60 minutes with Mukhamadullin on the ice at even strength, the best figure among Sharks defensemen with at least 10 games played. It’s worth noting that Mukhamadullin also averaged north of a minute per game on the penalty kill.

The Sharks still have Mario Ferraro, Henry Thrun, and Marc-Édouard Vlasic penciled in as their three left-shot defenders for 2025-26, but there’s still upward mobility there for Mukhamadullin. Ferraro could end up as a trade candidate, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the 38-year-old Vlasic, who played just 27 games in 2024-25, relegated to the press box more consistently. There’s also the possibility that fellow lefty Sam Dickinson, whom San Jose drafted 11th overall in 2024, lands an opening-night role next fall after being named the OHL’s Most Outstanding defenseman in 2024-25.

A seven-figure commitment certainly indicates the Sharks plan on Mukhamadullin making the opening night roster and playing more of a regular NHL role as he continues on what’s been a promising development path thus far. He’ll start requiring waivers next year if San Jose wants to send him to the minors anyway, something they won’t be willing to expose him to.

Mammoth Sign Daniil But To Entry-Level Contract

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Defenseman Dmitri Simashev isn’t the only top Mammoth prospect to get his entry-level deal today. His teammate with Russia’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, winger Daniil But, also put pen to paper on his three-year entry-level contract, the club announced.

His deal includes a yearly base salary of $855K and a $95K signing bonus for a $950K cap hit, per PuckPedia. He’s eligible for up to $750K in Schedule “A” performance bonuses in 2025-26 and up to $1MM in 2026-27 and 2027-28. Unlike Simashev, it doesn’t appear that But’s contract contains a European Assignment Clause, meaning he could be stashed with AHL Tucson without being loaned back to the Kontinental Hockey League.

But, selected six spots after Simashev at 12th overall in the 2023 draft, lands his first NHL deal after landing a Gagarin Cup championship with Lokomotiv alongside Simashev earlier this month. The heavyweight 6’6″, 216-lb left-winger set career-highs in the regular season with 19 assists, 28 points, and a +13 rating in 54 games, ranking seventh on Yaroslavl in scoring.

His playoff performance was less impressive. He tallied just one assist in 13 games and was demoted to the press box as Lokomotiv’s postseason run extended. That small of a sample size won’t be much of a concern for Utah, though. His frame and his puck-handling skills mean he could be ready to step into the lineup as soon as next season. His more well-rounded skillset means he’s deployable up and down the lineup, although he’ll likely be most effective as a middle-six piece long-term.

But is the No. 4 prospect in the Mammoth’s system behind forward Tij Iginla, Simashev, and defenseman Maveric Lamoureux, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic wrote earlier this year. He comes over after posting a 21-30–51 scoring line in 124 KHL games in the past three seasons.

Mammoth Sign Dmitri Simashev To Entry-Level Contract

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11:31 a.m.: Simashev’s deal includes a base salary of $855K, a signing bonus of $95K, and up to $1MM of Schedule “A” performance bonuses each season for a cap hit of $950K, per PuckPedia. Notably, the contract includes a European Assignment Clause, meaning Simashev could trigger a loan back to Yaroslavl next season if he’s not on the NHL roster.

11:04 a.m.: The Mammoth announced today they’ve signed their top defense prospect, 2023 sixth overall pick Dmitri Simashev, to a three-year entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Simashev was technically selected by the Coyotes two years ago but had his signing rights transferred to Utah when Arizona’s hockey operations assets were sold to Smith Entertainment Group last summer to establish the Mammoth franchise. A 6’5″, 207-lb stay-at-home defender, he was widely expected to sign his entry-level deal with Utah shortly after his season in his native Russia ended.

This season was his second full professional campaign with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League, and it ended in a Gagarin Cup championship for the 20-year-old. He was a bottom-pairing fixture for Lokomotiv, averaging just under 16 minutes per game in the regular season, and suited up in all 21 postseason contests for them while recording one assist and a minus-one rating.

While Simashev may have a future in Salt Lake as a high-end shutdown piece in the top-four, he doesn’t have the offensive upside we’ve come to expect out of defensemen selected that high in the draft. Over the last two regular seasons in Yaroslavl, he’s been limited to a 5-6–11 scoring line in 122 games. His +19 rating during that time is promising, though, especially considering his limited minutes.

In his 2025 prospect pool rankings, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler labeled Simashev as the second-best prospect in Utah’s system and called him “a potential top-four defenseman who can play minutes and drive results with his defensive play, length and skating.” Whether the lefty makes the immediate jump to the NHL next season remains to be seen – but at his peak, he’s likely averaging north of 20 minutes per game for the Mammoth with heavy penalty-kill deployment.

At first glance, it seems likely he’ll start his professional career in North America with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. The Mammoth have their left side on defense locked in for next season with Mikhail Sergachev, Olli Määttä, and Ian Cole, with Juuso Välimäki still in the mix as a potential healthy extra as well. Cole and Välimäki are slated for unrestricted free agency in 2026, though, paving the way for Simashev to graduate to full-time NHL minutes a year from now after a season of adjustment in the minors.

“It feels amazing. I had a goal to win the Gagarin Cup and then go to the NHL and try to be the best player I can be,” Simashev told Utah freelance beat writer Craig Morgan. “I watched highlights of every Utah game. I know every player in Utah and how they play. Coming to Utah, for me, it’s basically like a dream.”

Simashev is too old to be slide-eligible, so his deal goes into effect next season regardless of how many NHL games he plays. He’ll be a restricted free agent following the 2027-28 campaign.

Hurricanes Sign Nikita Quapp To Entry-Level Contract

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The Carolina Hurricanes have signed German goaltender Nikita Quapp to a two-year, entry-level contract. Carolina originally drafted Quapp in the sixth-round of the 2021 NHL Draft. He was the 17th goaltender off the board that year, and becomes the 12th to sign his entry-level contract with this move.

Quapp was drafted just a few months after making his debut in the DEL – Germany’s top pro league. He recorded a .871 save percentage and 2-6-0 record in his first 11 professional games – but regained some ground with an .888 Sv% in two games at the 2021 World Junior Championship. He spent an entire season in the DEL following his draft selection, and was able to inch his stat-line up to a .875 Sv% and 3-6-0 record. Quapp also returned for the 2022 World Juniors, and managed an impressive .893 Sv% despite facing a daunting 75 shots in losses to Team USA and Team Sweden.

Quapp’s difficult pro role was lightened a bit when he was assigned to the DEL-2 in the 2022-23 season. He performed far better in the minor-pro league, recording a .917 Sv% and 6-6-0 record in 12 games played. Quapp also earned the starting role outright at the 2023 World Juniors, and managed an impressive .901 Sv% and 1-3-0 record while averaging 30 shots against per game. He continued to grow with a .920 Sv% and 11-14-0 record in 26 DEL-2 games last season – but returned to Earth with an .870 Sv% and no wins in nine DEL games this year.

The story of Quapp’s journey through Germany’s ranks takes its twists and turns – but his career-long .919 Sv% in 38 DEL-2 games is the third-highest from a goaltender before their 21st birthday. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound netminder plays with impressive athleticism and sharp awareness of loose pucks, but could struggle to adjust to the full speed of North American pros right away. He’ll enter the Hurricanes organization blazing down a long road to the AHL starter’s crease, and could find a boost of upside if and when he earns the role.

Kraken Sign Tyson Jugnauth To Entry-Level Contract

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The Seattle Kraken have signed 2022 fourth-round pick Tyson Jugnauth to a three-year, entry-level contract. Jugnauth recently concluded his second season with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. He was expected to move to Michigan State University this summer, but will instead turn pro in the Kraken organization with this deal.

Jugnauth took home the BCHL’s ’Top Defender’ award in his draft year of 2021-22, after posting 41 assists and 50 points in 52 games with the West Kelowna Warriors. He showed plenty of talent as a 200-foot playmaker, and carried his talents to the University of Wisconsin following his #100th-overall selection in the draft. The Badgers awarded Jugnauth with third-pairing minutes as a freshman and the dwindle in role seemed to impact him. He recorded a measly 15 points and minus-20 through 32 games. Those underclass struggles continued through 13 games of his sophomore season, marked by just two points in his first 13 games. That decrease sparked Jugnauth to make a rare mid-season move from college to the WHL.

That decision paid off almost instantly – as Jugnauth quickly rediscovered his two-way impact and won out a premier lineup role in the return to juniors. He recorded 41 points and a plus-40 through 41 games of his first WHL season, while backing lineup stars like Nate Danielson and Luca Cagnoni. Jugnauth took on a heap of responsibility when both players opted to turn pro last summer – and he matched the bill well. He scored 13 goals and 89 points in 65 games this season, good for second on Portland in scoring and enough to earn Jugnauth the WHL’s ’Defenseman of the Year’ award.

Jugnauth will now try to use the momentum of an award-winning year to ramp his jump to the pro flight. He’s a nimble, speedy, and deceptive defender with the awareness to make smart plays on both sides of the puck. But a 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame could be a bit frail for the AHL – and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Jugnauth take a bit before he’s fully adjusted to pros. Current NCAA bylaws would restrict his ability to continue on to college this summer – though his eligibility will be worth monitoring as the NHL continues to flesh out a budding relationship between the CHL and college hockey.

Tomas Tatar Signs Two-Year Deal With Switzerland’s EV Zug

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After 14 years, Tomas Tatar’s NHL career has likely drawn to a close. The pending unrestricted free agent winger has signed a two-year contract with EV Zug of the Swiss National League, the club announced.

Once a consistent 20-goal scorer and one of the game’s better defensive forwards, the Slovakia native’s game declined sharply two years ago. After posting 20 goals, 48 points, and a career-high +41 rating in 82 games for New Jersey in 2022-23, he mustered just 24 points in 70 games split between the Avalanche and Kraken the following year before returning to New Jersey on a one-year, $1.8MM contract last summer.

The return to the Garden State didn’t work out nearly as well as either side would have hoped for. He was limited to a 7-10–17 scoring line in 74 appearances, a career-low 0.23 points per game pace over a full season, and averaged just 11:06 per game. He was a healthy scratch at times throughout the campaign before going pointless with a plus-one rating in the Devils’ first-round elimination at the hands of the Hurricanes.

Tatar’s jump to Europe doesn’t come out of nowhere. There were rumors of him potentially heading overseas in the summer of 2023 when he had trouble finding a fit in free agency. He eventually signed a contract with Colorado just before training camp. This year, Zug made their interest in Tatar clear even before the regular season ended and said he was atop their list of offseason targets.

Zug, which has been more of a middle-of-the-pack club in the NL since winning back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022, gets their man. While the 34-year-old has exclusively played on the wing since making his NHL debut for the Red Wings back in 2010, he’ll shift to center as he takes his career to Europe, Zug GM Reto Klay said in the team’s announcement of his signing.

Detroit picked up Tatar with the penultimate pick of the second round in the 2009 draft. Among the class, he ranks 13th in games played (927), 11th in goals (227), 14th in assists (269), 15th in points (496), and 12th with a career +43 rating. He’ll easily jump 40 or so spots in any redraft.

As such, teams looking for experienced wing depth on the open market this summer will need to scratch Tatar’s name off their list. Zug’s press release made no mention of an NHL out-clause next summer if the first year of his deal goes quite well, so all indications are he’ll remain in Switzerland through the 2026-27 campaign.

Michael Sgarbossa Signs With Swiss League’s HC Lugano

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Forward Michael Sgarbossa has signed a two-year deal with HC Lugano of the Swiss National League, per a club announcement. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after completing his two-year, two-way deal with the Capitals.

Sgarbossa, 33 in July, has carved out a lengthy pro career as an AHL mainstay and frequent call-up option despite going undrafted. He got his first NHL look with the Avalanche back in the 2012-13 season and played for four organizations in his first six pro seasons, including the Ducks, Panthers, and Jets – all in fringe NHL roles (or none at all, as was the case during his lone season in Winnipeg). He played 48 NHL contests over that span and recorded two goals and 10 points, including a career-high 38 appearances split between Anaheim and Florida in the 2016-17 campaign.

While Sgarbossa never found stability as a full-time NHL roster piece, he did at least find organizational stability for the latter half of his career. After spending the 2017-18 season with the Jets’ AHL affiliate, he signed with Washington in free agency the following summer and has remained in the Capitals’ system since.

He played almost exclusively for Hershey over the first couple of two-way deals he signed, but amid a near point-per-game season in the AHL, he did get more of an extended NHL look in the 2023-24 season. The veteran center slotted in 25 times for Washington down the stretch as the Caps fought for and won a wild-card spot, scoring a career-high four goals while averaging nearly 11 minutes per game.

Sgarbossa only got three NHL reps here in 2024-25, though, and injuries limited him to 35 games on the farm with Hershey. He was still extremely productive when healthy, though – the playmaking pivot notched a 7-24–31 scoring line.

He’s been a remarkably consistent first-line producer for Hershey since his arrival in the Caps’ system in 2018, scoring 268 points in 297 games for the franchise (0.90 per game). A two-time AHL All-Star and a Calder Cup champion with Hershey in 2023 (he didn’t play in the playoffs when the Bears won in 2024), he pauses his North American minor-league career after recording a 165-302–467 scoring line in 609 AHL games over the last 13 years. Since Sgarbossa made his pro debut in 2012, only eight players have recorded more AHL points than he has.

He’ll now join a Lugano team that was on the brink of relegation to the second-tier Swiss League but won their play-out series to extend their 42-year stay in the top level. They’ve been active in inking productive veteran AHLers this offseason, also signing defenseman Connor Carrick a few weeks back.

Axel Jonsson-Fjallby Signs Three-Year Deal In Sweden

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Jets pending unrestricted free agent winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby has signed a three-year contract with Brynas IF of the Swedish Hockey League, the club announced Friday.

Jonsson-Fjallby, 27, didn’t see any NHL time this season after clearing waivers and heading to AHL Manitoba during training camp. He’s wrapping up a two-year, partial two-way deal he signed in free agency with Winnipeg in 2023 and earned the full league-minimum $775K salary this year despite not receiving any callups.

It was the first season that Jonsson-Fjallby hadn’t touched NHL ice since making his debut with the Capitals in the 2021-22 campaign. A fifth-round pick by Washington back in 2016, he was claimed off waivers by the Jets at the beginning of the 2022-23 season and has remained in the Winnipeg organization since.

Not too long ago, it looked like the speedy 6’0″ winger had what it takes to be an everyday bottom-six forward. He appeared in a career-high 50 games with Winnipeg in 2022-23 following the waiver claim, averaging 10:27 per game but still managing to record six goals and eight assists for 14 points. AJF only got 26 NHL games the following year, though, as he passed through waivers unclaimed and bounced between the majors and minors.

His chances of making an NHL comeback likely ended with a poor showing in Manitoba this season. After hovering well north of a 0.7 points per game rate in the prior few years, Jonsson-Fjallby produced an underwhelming 12-15–27 scoring line in 65 showings for the Moose, just 0.42 points per game. As such, it would have made little sense for Jonsson-Fjallby to hold out hope for a two-way deal as a UFA this summer when there was a much more stable offer waiting for him back home in Sweden.

There aren’t many better places for a potential resurgence overseas for Jonsson-Fjallby than Brynas, which just took home the top spot in the SHL in the regular season. His previous top-flight experience in Sweden came with Djurgardens IF from 2016 to 2019, recording an 8-19–27 scoring line in 102 games there as a youngster.

Including his time in Washington, Jonsson-Fjallby has a 10-13–23 scoring line with a plus-five rating in 99 career NHL games.

Canucks Agree To Terms With Anri Ravinskis On Entry-Level Contract

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4:30 p.m.: According to PuckPedia, Ravinskis will make an NHL salary of $775K in each year of the deal, with a signing bonus of $97.5K, and an unspecified games-played bonus of $102K, bringing his cap hit to $872.5K and his AAV to $975K.

2:09 p.m.: The Canucks announced today they’ve agreed to terms with undrafted forward Anri Ravinskis on a two-year, entry-level contract starting in 2025-26. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ravinskis, 22, just wrapped up representing his native Latvia at the World Championship. He registered a goal and an assist in all seven group stage games as the Latvians failed to qualify for the quarterfinals for the second year in a row after winning bronze in 2023.

A 6’3″, 201-lb winger, Ravinskis isn’t a stranger to North American hockey. He played U18-level hockey in the Toronto area in the 2019-20 season before returning home when COVID hit. He returned to play at the major junior level with the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, recording a 29-25–54 scoring line in 98 games. He was also on the Latvian Division IA World Juniors team in 2022 that won promotion to the top-level WJC, where the country remains through at least 2026.

Since heading back to Europe following the conclusion of his junior career with Blainville-Boisbriand, he’s spent time in Finland in the HPK organization. After splitting the 2023-24 season between the junior level and the professional second-tier Mestis, he made his top-level Liiga debut this season and impressed with an 8-9–17 scoring line in 27 games. Over the last two seasons, he’s also scored 22 goals and 51 points in 68 games with Kettera, HPK’s Mestis affiliate.

Ravinskis was under contract for two more years with HPK. It’s unclear if his deal carries a European assignment clause that would force the Canucks to loan him back to HPK if he spends too much time in AHL Abbotsford without an NHL call-up. Regardless, it’s unlikely he’ll go straight from logging significant time in second-tier European professional hockey to even limited NHL minutes the following season.

Ravinskis will be a restricted free agent when his deal expires in the 2027 offseason. Vancouver will control his rights through the 2029-30 season.

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