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Sharks To Buy Out Marc-Édouard Vlasic

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June 27: Vlasic has cleared waivers and can now be bought out, according to Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN.

June 26: The current active longest-tenured member of the San Jose Sharks will see his run with the team conclude. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Sharks have placed defenseman Marc-Édouard Vlasic on unconditional waivers for contract termination. The Sharks organization has confirmed the news from Friedman.

Vlasic’s buyout from the Sharks marks an unceremonious end to an incredible tenure in San Jose. As it currently stands, Vlasic is the franchise’s second all-time in games played, eighth all-time in points, and first all-time in defensive point shares.

In his decision regarding the buyout, General Manager Mike Grier stated, “This was a difficult decision to make today, with how much Marc has meant to the San Jose organization for 19 years. I was fortunate enough to be here with Marc for his first season with the Sharks, and knew he would become a great defenseman. Over the course of his career in the NHL, Vlasic was one of the premier shutdown defensemen, earning tough defensive assignments on the ice against the best players in the world and doing it with effectiveness.”

There are no discrepancies in Grier’s statement. In his prime, Vlasic was arguably the game’s top shutdown defenseman, averaging nearly 22 minutes a game from 2009 to 2020, accruing 1,545 blocked shots and earning several nominations for the Lady Byng and Norris Trophies.

San Jose drafted Vlasic with the 35th overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, making his debut a few years later. Vlasic finished sixth in Calder Trophy voting that season, scoring three goals and 26 points in 81 games, and earned a spot on the NHL’s All-Rookie Team.

Since Corsi tracking began in the 2007-08 season, Vlasic had a rate of approximately 53.0% from 2007 to 2016, an impressive output for a defenseman who started nearly 57.0% of his shifts in the defensive zone. In that time, Vlasic never had an on-ice save percentage at even strength lower than 90.0%, proving his ability to keep pace with any opposing team’s top unit.

Vlasic’s value burned brightest during the Sharks’ run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016. The veteran scored one goal and 12 points in 24 postseason contests, finished at the top among the qualified players with a +14 rating, and averaged 2.83 blocked shots per game. Unfortunately, San Jose was unable to capture their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first half of their back-to-back run.

Due to his illustrious career with the organization, the Sharks signed Vlasic to an eight-year, $56MM contract in 2017, which was expected at the time to be his final contract in the NHL. Unfortunately, even two years into the deal, due to injuries and ’Father Time’ remaining undefeated, Vlasic’s contract quickly became an unappreciated anchor for San Jose.

Since the second year of the contract, Vlasic has scored 17 goals and 68 points in 358 games with a disastrous -90 rating. His possession metrics have similarly taken a nosedive, falling to 42.2% at even strength this past season. With several defensive prospects looking for regular playing time in 2025-26, the Sharks no longer had a necessity for Vlasic to remain on the roster.

Although the last several years will put a damper on his total output with the team, Vlasic concludes his career as a Shark with 84 goals and 379 points with a +42 rating in 1,323 games over 19 seasons, with an additional six goals, 39 points, and +20 rating in 142 postseason contests.

Now, San Jose will owe Vlasic a reduced rate of $4.67MM in 2025-26 and $1.167MM in 2026-27. According to PuckPedia, the Sharks have more than $44MM to spend this offseason and could become one of the most active teams in recent memory. Even if Grier doesn’t plan on exhausting all of San Jose’s financial flexibility this summer, he’ll need to spend more than $19MM to reach the cap floor.

Photo courtesy of Stan Szeto-Imagn Images.

Blackhawks Buy Out T.J. Brodie

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June 22: Brodie has cleared unconditional waivers and will have the final season of his contract bought out, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic confirms. There are no new pending buyouts today.

June 21: The Blackhawks have placed Brodie on unconditional waivers for buyout purposes, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.  In doing so, they’ll be able to buy out the final year of his contract on Sunday, assuming he’s not claimed.

June 18: The Blackhawks will likely buy out defenseman T.J. Brodie when the first window opens later this week, reports Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The vast majority of his $3.225MM total compensation for next season was via a $2.45MM signing bonus, which is unaffected by a buyout.

He’ll only see a reduction in his base salary from $775K to $517K, which will be paid out over two years, and he will become an unrestricted free agent. Brodie will still count $3.23MM against the cap for Chicago in 2025-26, savings of $517K on his original $3.75MM cap hit, but will only incur a $258K penalty in 2026-27 before coming off the Hawks’ books.

Brodie, 35, signed a two-year, $7.5MM contract with Chicago in free agency last summer. The $3.75MM cap hit was an understandable expense given his long track record of success as an excellent two-way option in the top four for the Flames and Maple Leafs, but a multi-year commitment raised some eyebrows. Brodie was aging, coming off an underwhelming performance in Toronto in 2023-24 that meant the team had no trouble letting him hit the market, and there were questions about how his declining speed would hold up on a much thinner Blackhawks blue line.

The fears of the deal were realized as Brodie’s 2024-25 season was his worst as an NHLer. He only posted a 2-8–10 scoring line in 54 games, and his defensive impacts declined further following a sharp dropoff with the Leafs the year prior.

While Chicago initially signed him as a support piece for their emerging young defensemen, he was entirely removed from the lineup in March. He didn’t log a single appearance for the club after the trade deadline, serving as a healthy scratch for the final 22 games of the season. That was even after the club traded top righty Seth Jones to the Panthers, and the left-shot Brodie had spent most of the year in a familiar spot on his offside, where he’s spent most of his career.

As it stands, the Blackhawks enter the offseason with established NHLers Alex Vlasic and Connor Murphy set to be joined by a complement of high-end prospects to round out their top six on defense, including Nolan Allan, Kevin Korchinski, Artyom Levshunov, and Sam Rinzel. Levshunov, Murphy, and Rinzel are all righties, giving the Hawks an even three/three split on handedness.

That also doesn’t include potential roster players Louis Crevier and Wyatt Kaiser, both of whom are pending RFAs needing new deals. There simply isn’t a spot for Brodie on next year’s roster, at least not one that involves significant playing time. Instead, they’ll allow him to pursue other opportunities on a new, cheaper deal instead of being saddled with the burden of an overpriced contract and likely ending up in the minors.

Alexander Petrovic Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL

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1:20 PM: Petrovic cleared waivers and has been assigned to AHL Texas, the team announced.  Dallas also reassigned goaltender Ben Kraws to Texas.

11:49 AM: The Dallas Stars aren’t done managing their rosters just yet. They’ve placed defenseman Alexander Petrovic on waivers for purpose of assignment to the minor leagues, per PuckPedia. Petrovic appeared in 17 of Dallas’ 18 postseason games. He recorded two points, four penalty minutes, and a minus-one while operating from a bottom-pair role.

Petrovic had only played in five NHL games before the start of the postseason. He spent the rest of his season with the AHL’s Texas Stars – netting 25 points, 66 penalty minutes, and a plus-eight through 58 games. It was a step up in production from the 22 points, 40 penalty minutes, and minus-six Petrovic recorded in 70 games last season. Dallas brought him on their postseason run for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs as well, though he didn’t manage any scoring in seven playoff games.

The 6-foot-5, 211-pound Petrovic is a seasoned-in vet of the pro leagues. He had an extended run in the NHL from 2014 to 2019, but found more footing in a minor-league role starting in the 2019-20 season. Petrovic moved to Texas in the 2021-22 season and has become a staple of the minor-league Stars’ blue-line. He’ll get a chance to return to his top-end role now that Dallas has been eliminated from Stanley Cup contention.

The Texas Stars are currently down 2-0 to the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL’s Western Conference Finals. It’s been a tight-fought series, with Game 1 settled in overtime and Game 2 decided by a 1-0 scoreline. It’s also getting chippier by the moment, and adding the hard-hitting presence of Petrovic could be the piece that tilts things back in Texas’ favor.

Dryden Hunt Clears Waivers

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Saturday: The Flames announced that Hunt has been assigned to AHL Calgary, meaning that he was not claimed off waivers.

Friday: With their 2024-25 campaign concluded, the Calgary Flames are making the moves needed to bolster their AHL ranks per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. That includes placing forward Dryden Hunt on waivers for the purposes of reassignment. Hunt played in the final four games of Calgary’s season and recorded three assists. It was his only scoring of the NHL season, after he also played in a scoreless game in early February.

This move should return Hunt to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, where he’s stood as one of the most impactful players on the roster. Hunt ranks third on the Wranglers in scoring with 48 points in as many games. He is one of just 15 players to appear in more than 25 AHL games and maintain a point-per-game scoring pace this season. That scoring is largely thanks to just how red-hot the Wranglers offense has stayed all season. The Wranglers supported five different forwards to 40-point campaigns, including Rory Kerins (60 points), Martin Frk (58), William Stromgren (48), and Sam Morton (45). Defenseman Jeremie Poirier came one point shy of reaching the 40-point mark as well.

But Hunt’s recent seasons have been building towards a strong showing. He scored 22 points in 23 AHL games last season, and totaled 29 points in 32 games split between the Toronto Marlies and Wranglers during the 2022-23 season. The 29-year-old Cranbrook native has had a journeyman career across the professional leagues, and spent NHL time with each of the Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, and Colorado Avalanche – in addition to Canadian stints in Toronto and Calgary.

In total, Hunt has recorded 54 points and 121 penalty minutes across 235 games in the NHL. Roster rules would require he be assigned to the minor leagues even if another team were to claim him – and doing so might not be a bad bet after a year of consistently strong play in an electric Wranglers top-six. But it seems likely that he’ll instead stay in Calgary, and look to support the Wranglers to a long playoff run.

Ian Mitchell Clears Waivers, Bruins Reassign Six To AHL

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Thursday: Mitchell has cleared waivers, relays Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal.  He has been returned to Providence as well.

Wednesday: The Boston Bruins have made a wave of roster moves after playing their final game of the season on Tuesday. Most notably, defenseman Ian Mitchell has been placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the minor leagues. If he clears, he’ll join five other Bruins headed to Providence: forwards Fabian Lysell, Fraser Minten, John Farinacci, and Vinni Lettieri; and defenseman Frederic Brunet. All six players have spent time in the minor leagues this season.

Mitchell will be available to all teams in the league, though post-Trade Deadline roster rules would require a claiming team to assign him to their own AHL squad. In returning to the minors, Mitchell will return to the productive 27 points he scored in 46 games with Providence earlier this season. That mark led all Providence defensemen in scoring this season, even despite the rest of the blue-line playing upwards of 20 more games. Mitchell’s two-way impact and stout scoring earned him the role of extra defenseman after Boston traded top-four defender Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the deadline.

Mitchell stepped into 15 games with the Bruins this season but only managed one point, two penalty minutes, and a minus-two. His appearances were quiet once again, lining up with the two points and 10 PIMs he recorded in 13 games with Boston last season – though he did manage a stronger plus-six that year. Mitchell has rotated between major and minor rosters for the last five NHL seasons. He has six points in nine career Calder Cup Playoff games, and would be an impactful addition to either Providence’s – or another squad’s – postseason run.

This wave of roster moves also features Boston’s top two prospects in Minten and Lysell. Both forwards rotated into the NHL lineup through the latter half of this season, but struggled to find much scoring. Minten scored just one goal in six appearances with the Bruins. Lysell recorded three points in 12 games, though they were all scored within his last four appearances. Both rookies seemed to become more-and-more comfortable in the NHL lineup as the season went on. Lysell ended the season on an impressive hot-streak that saw him actively seeking out the puck and making long-stretches of plays. Minten seemed to adjust well to a move to Boston, after being acquired in the aforementioned Carlo trade.

Both prospects have been productive in the minors. Lysell has 34 points in 51 AHL games this season – a mark he outscored with 50 points in 56 games last season. Minten has scored 30 points in 36 combined AHL games this season, including seven points in 10 games with Providence. The duo will look to carve out top roles and meaningful impacts as Providence enters the postseason.

They’ll be backed by a wave of veteran depth in Farinacci, Lettieri, and Brunet. All three have found top-end roles in Providence, led by Lettieri, whose 48 points in 46 games this season leads the AHL Bruins in point-per-game scoring. Farinacci is scoring at a career-high pace from behind Lettieri in the lineup, netting 37 points in 57 AHL games – just shy of his 38 points in 71 games last season. Even Brunet has found production from the blue-line, with 24 points in 68 games the second-best on the Providence defense behind Mitchell. All three players carved out their roles in Providence early in the season and will reassume them with this move – Lettieri and Farinacci headed back to the top-six on offense, and Brunet headed for a clear top-four role on the defense.

Predators Waive Marc Del Gaizo

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The Predators put defenseman Marc Del Gaizo on waivers Tuesday, according to PuckPedia. The move is a precursor to assigning the pending Group VI unrestricted free agent to AHL Milwaukee for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Del Gaizo, 25, already cleared waivers last month but ended up playing in 10 games since then, requiring the Preds to expose him to waivers again in order to eventually assign him to the Admirals. He’s been up and down throughout the year but has primarily been with Nashville’s roster since late February when Roman Josi and Adam Wilsby sustained season-ending injuries on the back end. Nashville did demote Del Gaizo to Milwaukee on trade deadline day in a paper transaction, though, so he’s eligible to play for the minor-league club in the postseason.

As the 2019 fourth-rounder waits to see if the Preds have an interest in extending him before he hits the open market on July 1, he closes the book on a 2024-25 campaign that saw him slot into the lineup a career-high 45 times, although that could jump to 46 if he plays in tomorrow’s season finale. He only had nine games of NHL experience entering the year, all coming in 2023-24. The New Jersey native averaged 16:43 per game for the Preds this season and scored 2-7–9 with a minus-four rating. His 51 blocks tied for ninth on the team, while his 70 hits ranked third among defensemen and ninth overall despite only being rostered for a little over half of the campaign.

Del Gaizo likely showed enough to earn another chance in Nashville as an opening-night roster hopeful next season in a No. 6/7 role. He posted solid even-strength possession metrics amid an underwhelming season for the Preds (49.1 CF%, +1.2 expected rating at even strength) in defensively-skewed deployment.

John Hayden And Cale Fleury Clear Waivers

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Saturday: Unsurprisingly, both players have cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Friday: According to a team announcement, the Seattle Kraken have placed forward John Hayden and defenseman Cale Fleury on waivers. The team will reassign them both to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, should they go through waivers unclaimed.

Hayden is in his third season with the Kraken organization after signing as an unrestricted free agent before the 2022-23 NHL season. He’s primarily been an AHL talent in that stretch but has registered 19 games for the Kraken this season, scoring one goal and one assist while averaging 8:29 of ice time per game.

He’s been a valuable veteran presence with AHL Coachella Valley, helping the team secure back-to-back Calder Cup Final appearances. Throughout his tenure with the club, Hayden has scored 43 goals and 86 points in 155 AHL appearances, with another 10 goals and 15 points in 28 postseason contests.

Meanwhile, Fleury hits the waiver wire one day after he qualified for Group VI unrestricted free agency. Fleury can sign with any organization this upcoming summer since he is older than 25 and has yet to reach 80 games played throughout his NHL career.

Still, he shouldn’t expect anything more than a two-way agreement. He’s tallied one assist in 14 games with Seattle this season while averaging 12:52 of ice time a night and has registered six goals and 24 points in 36 AHL appearances. Plenty of teams will want solid AHL options on hand should they need defensive depth throughout the regular season, meaning Fleury should feel safe in securing a new contract in a few months.

Flyers’ Olle Lycksell Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL

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Apr. 8th: Philadelphia announced that Lycksell has successfully cleared waivers. The team also shared that they have reassigned Lycksell to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Apr. 7th: The Flyers placed winger Olle Lycksell on waivers today, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The move is presumably to get him some playing time with AHL Lehigh Valley down the stretch. As a pending Group VI unrestricted free agent, there’s no risk of a claim since he’d be ineligible to dress for his new team for its final few regular season games.

Lycksell was a healthy scratch against the Canadiens on Saturday, the first time he’d been one since being brought back up to the NHL following the trade deadline. While historically a productive player in the minors and top-level European leagues, he hasn’t carried that offensive momentum to the NHL. He has five assists and a minus-three rating in 19 showings for the Flyers this year. All of that offense came in his 13 post-deadline appearances.

Selected by Philadelphia in the sixth round of the 2017 draft, the 25-year-old Swede has produced above a point per game for the second consecutive year in the minors. He’s recorded 17-24–41 in 40 games with Lehigh Valley, and his 1.03 points per game since the beginning of last season rank eighth in the AHL among players with at least 50 games played. He has 50-75–125 in 131 appearances for the Phantoms since arriving in North America in 2022.

Back in his home country, the 5’11” forward put up 42-53–95 in 221 career Swedish Hockey League games with Linköping HC, Färjestad BK, and Växjö Lakers HC. He could be headed back to one of those clubs this summer, with the Flyers set to lose team control over his signing rights. He’s certainly shown enough at the AHL level to get a lucrative two-way deal from another NHL club, but he may prefer to return home for more stability and a guaranteed role.

Since Lycksell was on the Phantoms’ roster on trade deadline day, he’s eligible to suit up for Lehigh Valley in the Calder Cup Playoffs, to which they’ve clinched their berth already. He remains their leading scorer despite his extended stints on the NHL roster this year.

Penguins’ Emil Bemstrom Clears Waivers

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April 1: Bemstrom cleared waivers, Friedman reports. It’s unclear whether the Pens plan to immediately assign him to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or purely open up roster flexibility.

March 31: The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed depth winger Emil Bemstrom on waivers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Bemstrom served a fourth-line role in Pittsburgh’s last three games and didn’t manage any notable stat changes other than one shot on net.

Bemstrom has spent the bulk of his season with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – intercut by routine trips to support Pittsburgh’s bottom six. He’s recorded one assist, no penalties, and an even-plus minus through 13 NHL appearances this year while averaging just over eight minutes in ice time. Bemstrom’s looked far more comfortable in the minors, where he has 21 goals and 46 points in 43 games on the season. Those marks lead the AHL Penguins in goals and points on a per-game basis. They also make Bemstrom one of just 15 remaining AHL skaters scoring above a point-per-game pace in more than 20 games.

Bemstrom has adjusted well to the Penguins minor league ranks after spending the bulk of the last five seasons fighting for a role in the NHL. He made his NHL debut with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2019-20 season and recorded 20 points, split evenly, in 56 games as a rookie. He followed that foundational performance with a brief stint in Finland’s Liiga during the 2020-21 season, where he managed an encouraging 17 points in 16 games. But Bemstrom couldn’t hold onto that scoring when he returned to the NHL, with just five points in 20 games through the end of the year. He worked his way to a career-high 22 points in the 2022-23 campaign – but hasn’t been able to maintain the scoring across a full season. It seems Bemstrom has fallen firmly into the rut of top-end AHL scoring and minimal NHL scoring – and Pittsburgh will now take the step needed to reassign him to the minor leagues.

This news comes quickly after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s leading scorer, top prospect Ville Koivunen, made his NHL debut. Koivunen didn’t manage any scoring in his first shot at Pittsburgh’s lineup, but he could hang onto the mantle of bottom-six minutes as the Penguins approach their final seven games well outside of playoff contention.

It’s important to note that, should Bemstrom be claimed on waivers, he would not be able to return to an NHL roster. Post Trade Deadline roster rules would instead force his new team to assign Bemstrom to their minor leagues.

Bruins Patrick Brown, Vinni Lettieri Clear Waivers

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3/31: Both Bruins forwards have cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. They will now be eligible to be assigned to the minor leagues.

3/30: The Boston Bruins have placed forwards Patrick Brown and Vinni Lettieri on waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Both players have been up and down between the major and minor rosters this season, after each successfully clearing waivers in October.

Lettieri has been the slightly more utilized forward between the pair. He’s appeared in 19 games this season and scored two goals and three points, while tacking on four penalty minutes and a minus-eight. It’s another season of low-scoring for Lettieri, after he entered the season with just 27 points in 128 career NHL games. He’s been far more exciting in the minors this season – with 20 goals and 48 points in 46 games ranking him second on the Providence Bruins in scoring. Lettieri is one of just 15 AHL skaters still scoring above a point-per-game pace through 20-or-more games. While his NHL scoring has stayed consistently low, he’s been a routine force in the minors. Lettieri has rivaled point-per-game scoring in every AHL season since 2020-21 – including netting a career-high 49 points in 48 games of the 2022-23 campaign. With a succesful pass through waivers, Lettieri could be in a great spot to break that career-high in his age-30 season.

Brown has performed a slight step behind Lettieri all year long. He has just one assist in 13 NHL games, and 44 points in 52 AHL games, on the season. He too entered the year with little NHL momentum behind him – entering 2024-25 with just 25 points in 149 career games. But his minor-league scoring does mark a small breakout after Brown managed just 32 points in 42 AHL games last season, and 21 points in 60 games of his last full AHL season in 2019-20. He spent the gap between the AHL stints playing routine minutes with the Philadelphia Flyers, and filling an extra forward role with the Vegas Golden Knights and Ottawa Senators. The journeyman Brown is now settled with the Bruins, and could soon head to support Providence’s Calder Cup Playoffs push after they clinched a spot last weekend.

Of note, neither player will be able to return to the NHL this season should they be claimed off of waivers. They’ll instead have to be assigned to their new team’s minor league program and potentially support a different Calder Cup race.

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