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Jaroslav Halak Announces Retirement

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Veteran goalie Jaroslav Halak is ending his playing career, telling Tomas Prokop of the Slovak website Dennik Sport that he’s officially retired.

Halak, 40, hasn’t played anywhere in the last two seasons aside from a brief tryout with the Hurricanes that didn’t result in game action early in 2023-24. A ninth-round pick in the 2003 draft, his 17-year NHL career included time with the Canadiens, Blues, Capitals, Islanders, Bruins, Canucks, and Rangers, last playing in New York’s final game of the 2022-23 regular season.

Montreal was the team that drafted him 271st overall from the QMJHL’s Lewiston MAINEiacs, and that’s where Halak got his start in the NHL three years later. He emerged as another young complement in the Canadiens’ pool alongside young star Carey Price, even taking over the starter’s role in the 2009-10 season and backstopping the team to a surprise run to the Conference Finals before being traded to St. Louis for Lars Eller the following summer.

Halak never spent more than four years with a club in his prime and was prone to year-to-year inconsistency, but he was an arguable top-10 goalie in the league at his absolute peak with multiple seasons of save percentages above .920. He was always more of a 1A option than a true starter, only playing more than 50 games four times, but he ends his career as a one-time All-Star, two-time Jennings Trophy winner, and he finished top-10 in Vezina Trophy voting twice.

After serving as the 1A option for the Blues from 2010-14 and on Long Island from 2014-18 with a brief post-deadline stop in Washington in between, Halak spent the twilight years of his career as one of the league’s better backup options for Boston (2018-21), Vancouver (2021-22), and the Rangers (2022-23). He’s been an unrestricted free agent since then, with no items of note on his NHL future since being released from his aforementioned PTO with Carolina in November 2023.

In 581 regular-season appearances, the Bratislava native posted a 2.50 GAA and .913 SV% with a 295-189-63 record and 53 shutouts. One of the best undersized netminders (5’11”, 189 lbs) of his generation, he posted an even better .919 SV% and 2.48 GAA in 39 playoff games in six trips to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

All of us at PHR wish Halak the best in retirement.

Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.

Maple Leafs Acquire Dakota Joshua From Canucks

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The Maple Leafs have acquired forward Dakota Joshua from the Canucks in exchange for their 2028 fourth-round pick, according to a team announcement.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Joshua, whom Toronto drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 draft. He never signed with the Leafs, though, and had his signing rights traded to the Blues after he wrapped up his collegiate career with Ohio State in 2019.

Joshua worked his way up the St. Louis system over the next few years, playing 42 games under head coach Craig Berube, whom he now reunites with in Toronto. After establishing himself as an NHLer in the 2021-22 campaign, he left for Vancouver in free agency on a two-year, $1.65MM contract.

The 6’3″ forward was a high-end fourth-line piece for the Canucks out of the gate but really flourished in the 2023-24 campaign. After being moved up to a third-line role, he was a spectacular checking winger with a team-leading 245 hits while also contributing 32 points in 63 games, a 42-point pace had he stayed healthy.

Despite there being clear regression indicators – an unsustainably high 21.4% shooting percentage among them – Vancouver committed to Joshua on a four-year, $13MM deal with trade protection to keep him from testing free agency last summer. He has a 12-team no-trade clause, which presumably did not include Toronto.

Joshua’s season last year was a rocky one, but for more than on-ice reasons. He missed the first couple of months after announcing late in the offseason he’d undergone surgery to address testicular cancer, which thankfully hasn’t had further impacts on his health. He also dealt with a leg injury that cost him most of January, only making 57 appearances in all. His scoring cratered, posting a 7-7–14 line, while seeing his ice time drop back under 13 minutes per game as well.

Vancouver has been looking to clear cap space, and Irfaan Gaffar of the Down to Irf podcast reports that moving Joshua has been their desired mode of accomplishing that task for a while. The Canucks were close to the cap but now have $4.045MM in space with two open roster spots after the trade, per PuckPedia.

Joshua isn’t the impact top-six addition Toronto has been on the hunt for after losing Mitch Marner in free agency, but he does add another bottom-six option to complement their other bang-and-crash forwards like Scott Laughton and Steven Lorentz while recouping some of the physical element they lost when they traded declining enforcer Ryan Reaves to the Sharks earlier this month.

The ripple effect on the Leafs’ roster will be interesting to watch. Without any other moves, Joshua’s inclusion essentially boxes unsigned RFA Nicholas Robertson out of a role, potentially finally producing a trade after he requested one last year. They’re also down to under $3MM in cap space and could look to clear a salary in kind, like Calle Jarnkrok’s $2.1MM cap hit or David Kampf’s $2.4MM cap hit to open up flexibility as they continue to examine the market for a higher-ceiling scoring winger.

Thomas Drance of The Athletic was first to report Joshua was traded to Toronto.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Canucks Actively Looking To Open Up Cap Space

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While the majority of unrestricted free agent activity has already happened, there are a handful of players of some significance still looking for new homes.  But at this point, some teams will need to free up cap space if they want to add anyone off the open market.  It appears the Canucks are one of those as Thomas Drance of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Vancouver is monitoring a couple of players still on the open market and are actively working to open up cap space before they could sign one.

The Canucks have been busy in recent weeks but a lot of their moves have been to either re-sign pending free agents or signing players to early extensions that kick in starting in 2026-27.  In the former category, blueliner Derek Forbort was re-signed last month to a one-year, $2MM pact while winger Brock Boeser inked a seven-year, $50.75MM contract just as free agency opened up.  Meanwhile, winger Conor Garland (six years, $36MM) and goaltender Thatcher Demko (three years, $25.5MM) inked extensions on the first day they were eligible.

Meanwhile, there hasn’t been a lot of roster turnover from last season.  Vancouver picked up winger Evander Kane from Edmonton in a cap-clearing move from the Oilers while losing center Pius Suter to St. Louis and defenseman Noah Juulsen to Philadelphia in free agency.  They also recently moved goaltender Arturs Silovs to Pittsburgh, knowing they were going to lose him on waivers in the fall.

But for the most part, the bulk of the core group remains intact from last season, one that saw them lose 19 points in the standings, going from winning the Pacific Division in 2023-24 to finishing fifth last season, missing the playoffs altogether.

However, if GM Patrik Allvin wants to add to his roster, he will definitely need to open up some extra cap flexibility while their current roster flexibility is somewhat limited as well.  Per PuckPedia, the Canucks have just $795K in cap space which doesn’t leave much wiggle room for in-season injury recalls let alone other moves.

Who could be moved is a matter of some question, however.  Center Teddy Blueger is in the final year of his deal at an affordable $1.8MM cap hit but he outperformed his contract a year ago so he might not be someone they want to move.  Nils Hoglander begins a new three-year, $9MM deal this season and took a step back offensively last year which probably doesn’t help his value.  Meanwhile, Dakota Joshua had a tough year after returning from testicular cancer so the three years and $9.75MM left on his deal could be viewed as problematic.

While there’s a belief that the Canucks underachieved last season, they haven’t done much to change up the core that finished off the year.  But if they want to add any other pieces to their group to help their chances of getting back into the playoffs, they need to create some cap room beforehand, a process that already appears to be underway.

Pacific Notes: Willander, Raty, Lekkerimaki, Eichel, Uljanskis, Thornton

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After the Canucks made another piece of offseason business in trading goaltender Arturs Silovs to the Penguins over the weekend, The Athletic’s Thomas Drance took a deep dive into the roster math that lies ahead and what other moves could be coming.

Among those could be something of a crunch on defense. After signing 2023 first-rounder Tom Willander to his entry-level contract in May, Drance reports the club has him penciled in on Vancouver’s opening night roster, not on assignment to AHL Abbotsford to begin his professional career. He expects that the defenseman named Elias Pettersson, not their highest-paid forward of the same name, has received a similar designation.

As such, Drance relays to expect Vancouver to carry 13 forwards and eight defensemen out of the gate instead of the slightly more commonplace 14/7 breakdown, with prospect Victor Mancini and recent depth signing Pierre-Olivier Joseph likely the only legitimate candidates for the eighth spot. Mancini is still waiver-exempt, so that could work in Joseph’s favor.

For the forwards, Aatu Raty has the best candidacy for a job out of all their young fringe NHLers coming off a Calder Cup championship with AHL Abbotsford because of “the club’s needs down the middle,” Drance writes. One name that likely won’t be in contention for a depth job is top wing prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki.

“It sounds like the club is open to slow-cooking Lekkerimäki in the AHL to begin next season,” Drance said. “The gifted scoring winger is waiver exempt, and the club wants to be cautious about managing his development and not rushing him.” Older but lower-ceiling names like Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson will be in contention for open fourth-line/press box slots instead.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • There isn’t anything new to report on extension talks between the Golden Knights and star center Jack Eichel, writes David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. An “open line of communication” remains after negotiations reportedly began over the past few months, but the needle hasn’t moved much since.
  • Ducks defense prospect Darels Uljanskis is making the jump from Europe to North America to finish out his junior career, via Derek Lee of The Hockey News. Anaheim selected the left-shot Latvian in the seventh round last year. He’ll play out 2025-26 for the OHL’s Flint Firebirds after recording 39 points and a +12 rating in 44 games for AIK’s under-20 squad in Sweden last season.
  • The Sharks announced on Tuesday that they’ve formalized a front-office title for Hall-of-Famer Joe Thornton, naming him as a player development coach and hockey operations advisor amid a slew of other minor staff changes. Thornton had remained in the San Jose area and worked frequently with the club in an unofficial capacity since retiring in 2022, but the franchise icon will now be firmly embedded in the process of building the team’s next window of championship contention.

Penguins Acquire Arturs Silovs From Canucks For Chase Stillman, Fourth-Round Pick

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired goaltender Arturs Silovs from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward prospect Chase Stillman and a 2027 fourth-round pick.

Pittsburgh will move to acquire a goalie just a few weeks after trading Alex Nedeljkovic to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 2028 third-round pick. In turning to Silovs, Pittsburgh finds a goalie who is both five years younger than Nedeljkovic, and more experienced in the playoffs.

Silovs stepped into the Canucks’ starting role during the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs with only nine games of NHL experience under his belt, following an injury to Thatcher Demko. He posted one shutout, but otherwise managed a 5-5-0 record and .898 save percentage.

He found his way back to a split role in a crowded Abbotsford Canucks goalie room this season – but fought back into the role of playoff starter after posting a team-best .908 save percentage in 21 games. Back at the helm, Silovs drove Abbotsford to a Calder Cup Championship with a .931 save percentage and 16-7-0 record. He’s a red-hot hand with upside, who will seem to settle in between the role of AHL starter and NHL backup next season. That’s exactly the support Pittsburgh could use, allowing the team to bump Joel Blomqvist up to number-two on the depth chart while still maintaining competition for the backup role.

On the other side, Vancouver invest further into their depth forward group. Stillman was a first-round selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, after a weird draft year where eight games in Denmark’s U20 league, and seven games at the World U-18 Championship, was his only gametime. He returned to the OHL for two seasons following his draft selection, and totaled 97 points in 158 games split between the Sudbury Wolves and Peterborough Petes. He served as an assistant captain for both clubs.

Stillman turned pro with the AHL’s Utica Comets in the 2023-24 season. He recorded a modest 14 goals, 24 points, and 72 penalty minutes in 54 games as a rookie, but struggled to fight his way into a routine, top-end role in the lineup. Those challenges reached a peak on a caved-in Utica lineup this season. Stillman started the year with just nine points in 46 games with the Comets, prompting a move to the Penguins organization at the Trade Deadline. He was traded alongside Max Graham and a 2027 third-round pick in the deal that landed New Jersey Cody Glass and Jonathan Gruden.

Stillman continued to struggle in his move to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He scored just three points in 21 games with the club, and will now find himself on the move once again. Luckily, he could be headed for a golden opportunity with Abbotsford, who will be looking for a replacement for Sammy Blais’ top-six role. Blais scored 59 points across 74 games with the AHL’s Canucks last season, and his mix of grit and finesse was a major boost in the team’s run to a league title. Stillman will look to grab hold of that important role, while Silovs tries to find enough footing to jump to the NHL.

Canucks Sign Aleksei Medvedev To Entry-Level Contract

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The Canucks have signed goaltender Aleksei Medvedev to an entry-level contract, according to a team press release. The three-year deal is slide-eligible for up to two seasons. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Medvedev, still 17 for another two months, foregoes NCAA eligibility and will presumably play out the remainder of his major junior eligibility as a result. The 6’3″, 181-lb netminder went to Vancouver in the middle of the second round (No. 47 overall) in last month’s draft.

The St. Petersburg, Russia native has been in North America since his early teenage years and jumped to premier junior play with the OHL’s London Knights in 2024-25. He did quite well in backup duties for the OHL and Memorial Cup champions, posting a 2.79 GAA, .912 SV%, three shutouts, and a 22-8-2 record in 34 appearances.

Medvedev did not see ice time in the OHL playoffs or the Memorial Cup tournament. However, he was still named to the OHL’s First All-Rookie Team and received the Dinty Moore Trophy for the best GAA from a rookie.

He will likely spend the next two seasons as London’s starter before making the jump to the pros in the Canucks organization in 2027-28, upon which his entry-level contract would go to effect (unless he plays 10 NHL games in 2025-26 or 2026-27, an unlikely outcome). The Canucks now have a league-high eight goalies under contract, although Medvedev won’t count against the 50-contract limit if he’s in the OHL this season.

Canucks Sign Braeden Cootes To Entry-Level Contract

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed centerman Braeden Cootes to a three-year, $2.93MM entry-level contract. Cootes was recently selected 15th-overall in the 2025 NHL Draft. He will have the ability to earn $500K in bonuses in each year of the contract, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News. In comparing to Vancouver’s last two first-round picks, Dhaliwal points out that Cootes’ bonus is above winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki ($475K) but lesser than Tom Willander ($800K) on a per-season basis.

Cootes becomes the fourth player from his draft class to sign, after standing tall at Vancouver’s development camp. He’s a true middle-lane center, who showed a strong ability to work with his linemates to push pucks down the ice and generate scoring chances. While serving as the team’s captain, Cootes led the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds in scoring with 63 points in 60 games. He was a great couple with top Thunderbirds defenseman – and Buffalo Sabres ninth-overall draft pick – Radim Mrtka, who scored 35 points in 43 games.

Cootes rounded out a strong draft year with a stellar performance at the World U18 Championship. He led Team Canada with 12 points, split evenly, in just seven games played – while also wearing the ’C’ for his country. That scoring was more than fifth-overall pick Brady Martin, who finished second on the team with 11 points.

That precedent of strong scoring will now push Cootes onto his first pro contract. He will forgo NCAA eligibility with this deal, meaning the Vancouver roster or a return to the WHL will be his only options for next season. Given Cootes’ room to add more dynamic playmaking, and explosivity, into his game – a return to juniors seems more likely.

Canucks Re-Sign Jett Woo, Nikita Tolopilo

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According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have re-signed defenseman Jett Woo to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2025-26 season. In a separate announcement, the team shared that they’ve also re-signed netminder Nikita Tolopilo to a two-year, two-way contract.

PuckPedia shared the contractual details for Woo and Tolopilo. The former will earn $775K in the NHL and $290K in the AHL, while the latter will earn $775K in the NHL each year, with an AHL salary of $230K in 2025-26 and $380K in 2026-27.

Woo has been a mainstay on the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks blue line for several years. Vancouver drafted Woo with the 37th overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft, although he was projected to be a first-round talent a few years before.

Despite having optimism that Woo’s offensive capabilities could grow into a serviceable top-four option in a few years, he hasn’t panned out as such. Still, he’s been relatively productive at the AHL level, scoring 21 goals and 83 points in 267 games with a +32 rating.

Meanwhile, unlike Woo, Tolopilo earned a few games of NHL action last season. It wasn’t the greatest first impression as far as save percentage goes (.885), but Tolopilo earned his spot in the organization through his AHL performance.

In his last two years with Abbotsford, Tolopilo has achieved a record of 40 wins, 27 losses, and 3 overtime losses in 71 games, with a .903 SV% and a 2.74 GAA, including four shutouts. Thanks to the outstanding play of Arturs Silovs, Tolopilo only featured in one game for the AHL Canucks on their run to a Calder Cup championship a few weeks ago.

Zac Dalpe Announces Retirement

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Longtime minor-league forward Zac Dalpe, who appeared in parts of 12 NHL seasons with numerous clubs over the past two decades, has announced his retirement via an open letter published on the Charlotte Checkers’ website.

Dalpe, 35, scored 16 goals, 16 assists, and 32 points with a -37 rating in 168 career regular-season games with the Blue Jackets, Panthers, Wild, Canucks, Sabres, and Hurricanes, who drafted him No. 45 overall back in 2008. He made 16 playoff appearances, 13 of which came in Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023.

The versatile center/winger spent more time in the AHL with Charlotte than anywhere else, including as their captain for the last four seasons while under contract with the Panthers. They were also the Hurricanes’ minor-league affiliate when he was in Carolina’s system. He scored 131 goals and 238 points in 362 games there across seven campaigns, sitting third in franchise history in goals.

“Pulling that Checkers sweater over my head and walking through the redline club on the way out to the bright lights will always be stapled in my head,” Dalpe said in his letter, which is truly worth a full read. “It started here and now it shall end here. I’m proud of what I got to do, but more importantly, I’m so proud of who I got to do it with. I appreciate every single person that was along for the greatest ride of my life. A Canadian kid got to be a hockey player for 15 years.”

While Dalpe never won a Stanley or Calder Cup, he was a two-time AHL All-Star and was part of the league’s All-Rookie Team back in 2010-11. He finishes his career with 220 goals, 172 assists, and 392 points in 574 AHL games. Only seven players have spent more seasons in the league than Dalpe’s 16.

Before turning pro, Dalpe was a star at Ohio State, where he scored 70 points in 76 games in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. He was a CCHA First Team All-Star in his second and final collegiate season.

All of us at PHR wish Dalpe the best in the next phase of his life and career and congratulate him on such a lengthy run of high-end play in the pros.

Image courtesy of James Guillory-Imagn Images.

Canucks Made Multi-Year Pitch To Dvorak

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  • The Canucks showed strong interest in center Christian Dvorak earlier this week, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports (Twitter link). Dvorak ultimately signed a one-year, $5.4MM contract with Philadelphia while Vancouver is believed to have put a three-year pact on the table worth around $4MM per season.  The 29-year-old had 33 points in 82 games with Montreal last season while winning nearly 56% of his faceoffs.

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