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Utah Signs Karel Vejmelka To Five-Year Extension

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March 6: Utah has made Vejmelka’s extension official as reported.

March 5: A busy Wednesday for Utah continues.  After inking Alexander Kerfoot and Ian Cole to one-year extensions, the team has agreed to terms with its most prominent pending unrestricted free agent.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Utah has signed goaltender Karel Vejmelka to a five-year extension worth $4.75MM per season.

The 28-year-old was a late bloomer, only coming to North America at the age of 25 on a one-year, two-way contract.  But instead of being a depth option as expected, he wound up quickly becoming their starter, getting into 52 games.  While his overall numbers weren’t great on a rebuilding team (a 3.68 GAA and a .898 SV%), he did well enough to secure a three-year, $8.175MM extension less than 11 months after getting that entry-level pact, a deal that kept him off the trade block leading into the 2022 trade deadline.

The first two seasons of that contract were similar to the first while last year, he started to cede playing time to Connor Ingram who effectively took over as the strong side of the platoon in goal.  Along the way, his numbers largely stayed the same with a save percentage a little below .900 and a GAA well above the 3.00 mark.  On a team that wasn’t particularly focused on getting to the playoffs, those numbers were fine but there were some questions as to whether he could elevate his game when the time came for the club to start to try to emerge from that rebuild.

Those questions have been answered in a big way this season.  Vejmelka has reclaimed the number one nod in a big way, shaving more than a full goal off his GAA compared to his first three years with this year’s number checking in at 2.45 through 38 appearances.  His save percentage is up 15 points from last year, landing at .910, well above league average.  On top of that, he has cracked the top 10 in goals saved above average, per MoneyPuck.  He has played a big role in Utah hanging around the periphery of the playoff chase; they came into play today sitting just four points behind Calgary for the final Wild Card spot in the West.

This contract falls in line with some of the more recent deals signed for netminders.  Seattle’s Joey Daccord received $5MM per season for five years on his extension earlier this season while Kevin Lankinen’s five-year extension signed last month carries a $4.5MM cap charge.  Clearly, those two deals served as comparables to help get this deal across the finish line.

With the signing, Utah now has its goalie tandem signed through at least the 2026-27 season at a more-than-reasonable combined cap hit of $6.7MM.  Meanwhile, they now have 20 players signed for next season so while there’s an expectation that GM Bill Armstrong is going to try to make a splash, it doesn’t appear as if their roster is going to have a lot of turnover for 2025-26.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Panthers Reassign Chris Driedger, Place Matthew Tkachuk On LTIR

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March 6: Driedger is back down to the minors today, according to the AHL’s transactions log. He backed up Sergei Bobrovsky for just one game before Florida traded for Vítek Vaněček to serve as their new No. 2.

March 2: The Florida Panthers have recalled goaltender Chris Driedger from the minor leagues. He will fill the Panthers’ backup goalie role after the squad dealt Spencer Knight to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. To clear cap space for the move, Florida has also placed star Matthew Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury, per PuckPedia.

Tkachuk sustained his injury in the second game of Team USA’s 4-Nations Face-Off tournament. It is believed to be a groin injury, though specifics haven’t been revealed. Tkachuk sat out of Team USA’s final round-robin game then made an effort to appear in the championship game against Team Canada, but only played 6:47 of the overtime loss. He has missed four games since Florida returned from the break. He was getting second opinions on his injury as recent as last week, but will now need to miss at least a month – per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.

Florida has won three of their four games back from break – but Tkachuk’s absence still leaves a glaring hole on the top line. He has continued to dominate across the board for the Panthers, with 22 goals, 57 points, 54 penalty minutes, and 84 hits in 54 games. He ranks second on the team in goals and points, behind Sam Reinhart in both categories.

The Panthers have promoted Mackie Samoskevich and Evan Rodrigues to hardier roles in Tkachuk’s absence. Rookie winger Samoskevich has found his stride as of late, with seven points in his last 11 games. That burst has brought him to 19 points in 52 games this season – a number that could soar with expanded minutes. Rodrigues had continued his consistent two-way impact on the other side, with 27 points in 61 games putting him on pace to just miss the 39 point mark he’s posted in each of the last two seasons.

The promotions continue through the offense and into the net. Driedger signed a one-year deal with Florida this summer and has spent the entire year in the minor leagues. He narrowly leads the Charlotte Checkers with 20 games played, one more than fellow pro veteran Ken Appleby. Driedger has posted the worst stat line of the two, with a .878 save percentage and 10-6-4 record.

Despite that, it was hard to imagine Florida would turn towards anyone else to fill their backup spot. Driedger has 67 games of NHL experience, with the bulk coming between 2020 and 2022 in tenures with Florida and Seattle. He has a stout .917 SV% and 31-24-5 record on his career. Florida will hope he can rediscover those numbers quickly after a down year in the minor leagues.

Capitals Recall Alexander Alexeyev From Conditioning Loan

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March 6: Alexeyev is back up from his conditioning loan, the Caps announced. His reinstatement doesn’t affect their active roster count. He posted two assists and a plus-five rating in his successful three-game showing for Hershey.

March 1: The Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals are seeking more playing time for one of the team’s depth defensemen. Washington announced they’ve assigned Alexander Alexeyev to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, on a conditioning loan.

There should be an honest question about why this move didn’t happen sooner. Alexeyev has registered zero points in five games with Washington this season, averaging 13:13 of ice time per game, with his last contest coming on November 8th. Assigning him on a conditioning loan allows Alexeyev two weeks in the AHL without requiring waivers, although he does have to sign off on the assignment.

It would be difficult for the Capitals to find a better situation for Alexeyev. The Bears are again one of the top teams in the American Hockey League standings with a 31-14-5-0 record in 50 games played, just six points back of the league-leading Rochester Americans with three games in hand. Hershey could create quite the formidable duo on defense should they pair Alexeyev with Ethan Bear, who’s scored eight goals and 33 points in 46 games this season.

Due to a relatively healthy blue line, Washington hasn’t needed Alexeyev much this season. Still, even when their defensive core sustained a few injuries, the Capitals deployed veteran Dylan McIlrath more than the St. Petersburg, Russia native. Neither defenseman has played all that well in limited action, leading to speculation that the Capitals could add a more consistent depth option at the trade deadline.

Throughout his career, Alexeyev has scored one goal and eight points in 77 games for Washington since debuting in the 2021-22 season. He’s been relatively physical over that stretch with 117 blocked shots and 88 hits but still has a career Expected +/- of -5.7, according to Hockey Reference.

He’s understandably been more influential at the AHL level, scoring six goals and 44 assists in 142 contests with the Bears with a +26 rating. Alexeyev can play six games on the conditioning loan for AHL Hershey should he stay for the maximum of two weeks.

Jets Sign Jacob Julien To Entry-Level Contract

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The Jets announced today they’ve agreed to terms with center prospect Jacob Julien on a three-year entry-level contract. The deal, which goes into effect for the 2025-26 season, carries a cap hit of $925K if he’s in the NHL.

Winnipeg was set to lose the 20-year-old’s signing rights if they didn’t register a deal by June 1. The Ontario native, whom Winnipeg selected with their fifth-round pick in 2023, was certainly questionable to sign. That’s because his offensive production has taken a significant step back in his third and final season of major junior hockey with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights. After breaking out for a 29-49–78 scoring line in 67 games last season, he’s been limited to just 10-35–45 through 58 appearances in 2024-25.

Overall, the 6’4″ center has had an interesting development path. He was one of the youngest players eligible for selection in the 2022 draft thanks to his Sep. 12 birthday, and he was understandably passed over after spending the entire year in the Junior B-level Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. He even spent a good portion of the 2022-23 in that league before being promoted to the Knights, and his 16 points in 40 games were enough for Winnipeg to take a flyer on him as a young over-ager.

As such, Julien hasn’t received a ton of public attention. He wasn’t mentioned as one of Winnipeg’s notable prospects in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s 2025 organizational rankings, although McKeen’s Hockey tabbed him as the No. 10 prospect in the system last fall before his offensive regression. Regardless, he’ll now get the chance to show what he can do at the professional level within the Jets organization. Whether he ends up spending next season with AHL Manitoba or ECHL Norfolk remains to be seen, but he’ll have a three-year trial run in the minors to earn a longer stay in Winnipeg. He’ll become a restricted free agent upon expiry in 2028.

Red Wings Sign Austin Watson To A One-Year Extension

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March 6, 8:55 a.m.: Watson’s deal carries a $775K cap hit and NHL salary with a $375K minors salary, PuckPedia reports. The contract comes with a $400K guarantee.

March 5, 9:51 p.m.: The Red Wings are keeping one of their depth forwards around for a little while longer.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed winger Austin Watson to a one-year, two-way contract extension.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

The 33-year-old earned a contract for this season via the PTO route after spending training camp with Detroit.  He did well enough to earn a one-year, two-way pact that pays $775K in the NHL and $200K in the minors.  However, it hasn’t earned him much NHL action this season as he has been limited to just two appearances with the big club, both coming back in October where he was held off the scoresheet in seven minutes of playing time per night.

Instead, Watson has spent the bulk of the campaign with AHL Grand Rapids, his first extended taste of action in the minors since the 2014-15 campaign when he was a prospect with Nashville.  In 51 games with the Griffins, he has 12 goals and 19 assists along with 91 penalty minutes.

In his career, Watson has 517 NHL appearances under his belt over parts of 11 seasons where he has 118 points, 707 penalty minutes, and 1,215 hits.  While he could have tested free agency again this summer and potentially changed organizations for the fourth straight year, he’ll now stay with the Red Wings where he’ll likely remain as a veteran option in Grand Rapids.

Utah Signs Alexander Kerfoot To One-Year Extension

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After signing Olli Maatta to an extension back on Monday, Utah HC has taken another pending UFA off the market for this summer.  The team announced that they’ve signed center Alexander Kerfoot to a one-year contract extension.  While the financial terms weren’t disclosed by the team, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the deal will pay Kerfoot $3MM.  GM Bill Armstrong released the following statement about the signing:

We are very pleased for Alex to remain in Utah. Alex is an important leader for our group with his versatility on the ice and leadership off the ice, and we look forward to having his continued contribution as we fight down the stretch to make the playoffs.

The 30-year-old is in his second year with the organization going back to his time in Arizona.  But those two seasons have had considerably different trajectories.  Last year with the Coyotes, Kerfoot had the second-best offensive season of his career, tallying 13 goals and 32 assists in 82 games while logging a career-best 17:26 per night.  It looked like he’d be well on his way toward a long-term deal on his next contract if he could even match that level of performance.

But instead of producing at a similar level in 2024-25, Kerfoot’s output has dipped to the lowest levels of his eight-year NHL career.  Through 61 outings this season, he has just seven goals and nine assists while his playing time has dropped by more than two minutes a game.  While he is winning more than 50% of his faceoffs for the first time since his sophomore season, it’s fair to say his stock around the league has taken a hit.

To that end, it shouldn’t come as much surprise that Kerfoot opted to take just a one-year deal now, giving himself a chance at rebuilding some value before potentially taking a run at the 2026 free agent market when another big jump in the salary cap is expected.  He’s also taking a small cut in pay in the process to stick around; next season will be the first time since the 2018-19 campaign that he hasn’t carried a $3.5MM charge against the salary cap.

With the signing, Utah now has $73.5MM in commitments for next season to 18 players, per PuckPedia.  Those numbers could go up soon enough if they’re able to get goaltender Karel Vejmelka locked down on an extension, an outcome he’s known to be seeking.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Oilers Recall Max Jones And Cam Dineen On Emergency Basis

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The Oilers have added some extra depth to their roster in advance of Thursday’s game against Montreal.  The team announced that they’ve recalled winger Max Jones and defenseman Cam Dineen from AHL Bakersfield on an emergency basis.

Jones was acquired earlier this week from Boston as part of the trade that also saw them land Trent Frederic.  He signed a two-year, $2MM contract with the Bruins early in free agency last summer but didn’t spend much time with them.  Instead, he played in just seven games with Boston before passing through waivers unclaimed.

Since then, the 27-year-old had been playing in the minors with Providence before the recent swap.  In his first taste of extended action in the AHL since the 2018-19 campaign, Jones has 13 goals and eight assists through 38 outings.  If he plays for Edmonton on recall, he’s likely to be in the fourth-line role he has largely held throughout his career, one that spans 265 NHL games over parts of seven seasons.

As for Dineen, this is his second recall of the week on an emergency basis with the first being a one-day promotion.  The 26-year-old has spent the season with the Condors where he has 29 points in 45 games, six shy of his career high set back in 2022-23.  His last taste of NHL action came in 2021-22 when he got into 34 games with Arizona.

To make room on the roster, Frederic was moved to injured reserve.  Edmonton now has the maximum of 23 players on its active roster although that maximum will only be in place until Friday.

Predators Acquire Michael Bunting

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The Predators and Penguins have made a multi-player swap.  Nashville has acquired winger Michael Bunting along with a 2026 fourth-round pick from Pittsburgh in exchange for center Thomas Novak and defenseman Luke Schenn.

Pittsburgh acquired Bunting last season as the most prominent part of the package from the Jake Guentzel trade with Carolina.  However, the 29-year-old has struggled in his first full season with the Pens.  Through 58 games this season, Bunting has just 14 goals and 15 assists.  By comparison, he had 19 points in 21 games down the stretch last year and hasn’t recorded fewer than 49 points over the last three seasons, a streak that seems likely to come to an end.

Nashville will undoubtedly be hoping that the change of scenery will get him back to the level of production he had.  They’re taking on the final year and a bit of a contract that carries a $4.5MM cap charge.  When Bunting is at his best, he’s worth that type of money as a top-six winger who plays with an edge but he’ll be joining a team that has had several veterans underachieve this season.

The move is an interesting one from their standpoint.  While the expectation was that they’d be looking for younger pieces who are longer-term fits, they actually get a little older up front with the swap while losing some club control with Novak still having two years left on his contract after this one.  It suggests that GM Barry Trotz feels his team isn’t that far away from being a playoff contender once again and that a tweak or two to the forward group could propel them back in the right direction next season.  Bunting won’t be able to help in the short term, however, as he is currently on IR after undergoing an appendectomy.

As for Pittsburgh’s return, Novak is the headliner.  He’s a bit of a reclamation project himself as he’s in the midst of a down year as well.  The 27-year-old had two straight seasons of more than 40 points heading into this one, a performance that earned him a three-year, $10.5MM contract a little before the trade deadline last March.

But, like many of Nashville’s players this season, Novak hasn’t been able to produce to expectations.  He has just 13 goals and nine assists in 52 games while his playing time has dipped to just over 13 minutes a night.  Meanwhile, his struggles at the faceoff dot continue as he’s winning just 43% of his draws which has resulted in him spending more time on the wing this year.

Clearly, Pittsburgh feels that a fresh start will be beneficial for Novak.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see him moved back down the middle with a center group that’s on the older side, featuring Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kevin Hayes.  If they can get Novak back to even being a capable third-line option, that would be a solid outcome for a team that clearly isn’t looking to rebuild despite being on pace to miss the playoffs for the third straight year.

Schenn, meanwhile, has been a fixture on the third pairing of several teams in recent seasons.  After faring well with Vancouver and Toronto in the 2022-23 campaign, he signed a three-year, $8.25MM contract with Nashville in the 2023 offseason.  But his role has been more limited with the Predators as he has barely averaged 15 minutes a night since joining them.  While he brings plenty of physicality to the table – he has notched more than 200 hits in four straight years – he hasn’t been able to elevate himself to being higher than sixth on the depth chart.  Meanwhile, he has just five points in 61 outings this season although offense has never been his calling card.

It will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh intends to hold onto Schenn or if they intend to flip him, just like they did earlier tonight with Vincent Desharnais.  Despite Schenn’s struggles, his success at being a late-season addition before coupled with his toughness will undoubtedly have playoff-bound teams kicking the tires on the potential of him being moved once again.  If it doesn’t happen, he’s likely to have the same role on the depth chart with the Penguins on their third pairing.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the players involved while Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic was first with the pick inclusion.

Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.

Sharks Acquire Vincent Desharnais

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The Sharks have added some depth on the back end, acquiring defenseman Vincent Desharnais from Pittsburgh in exchange for a 2028 fifth-round pick.  Both teams have announced the trade.

The 28-year-old’s stay with the Penguins was short-lived as he only spent 10 games with them after being acquired from Vancouver last month as part of the Marcus Pettersson trade.  It has been a tough season for Desharnais who has struggled in his first season away from Edmonton.  He has played in 44 games between the two teams but has just three assists along with 68 blocks and 73 hits while averaging 15:37 per game.

Desharnais is in the first year of a two-year, $4MM contract signed back in July following a stint in Edmonton where he worked his way up from a minor league deal to eventually landing a regular spot on their third pairing.  Now, he’ll try to reclaim a full-time spot in San Jose’s lineup.

While it might seem odd for San Jose to be adding to their roster, Desharnais is a low-cost pickup from an acquisition standpoint while the extra year on his contract isn’t an issue for a team projected to have plenty of cap space for next season.  If he can get back to being a full-timer, it’s possible they’ll be better poised to flip him for a stronger return at this time next year.  Meanwhile, Pittsburgh sheds a contract they had to take on to facilitate last month’s swap with the Canucks, opening up some extra cap space which it appears they’ll put to use quite quickly.

Predators Assign Kieffer Bellows To AHL

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The Predators have opened up a roster spot in advance of their game against Seattle on Thursday.  The team announced that winger Kieffer Bellows has been assigned back to AHL Milwaukee.

The 26-year-old got into five games with Nashville after being recalled last month, his first taste of NHL action since the 2022-23 campaign.  Bellows was held off the scoresheet in each of those contests while averaging just under 11 minutes a night of playing time.  For his career, he has 14 goals and 14 assists in 100 NHL outings.

Bellows has spent the bulk of this season in the minors with the Admirals.  Through 41 games with them, he has 14 goals and 15 assists.  Those numbers are below his minor league output from a year ago when he had 27 goals and 22 helpers in 52 outings with AHL Toronto, a performance that earned him a one-year, two-way deal this summer after being strictly on an AHL pact last season.

With the demotion, the Predators now have two open roster spots.  It seems likely that one or both of those will be filled relatively quickly, perhaps as early as Thursday.

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