Week In Review

The Olympic break is now upon us with the men’s tournament set to start in a few days.  Meanwhile, there was certainly some news of note around the NHL over the past seven days which is recapped in our key stories.

Bjugstad To Devils: The fact that New Jersey is currently out of a playoff spot didn’t stop them from buying as they acquired center Nick Bjugstad from St. Louis in exchange for minor leaguer Thomas Bordeleau and a fourth-round pick.  The 33-year-old hasn’t had a great year and has been limited to 36 games due to injuries and healthy scratches; he has six goals and one assist in those outings.  Still, Bjugstad is only two years removed from a 45-point season and gives them some extra center depth and grit for their fourth line.  He has one year left on his contract after this one at $1.75MM, meaning he’s not a rental player for them.  Meanwhile, Juho Lammikko lost his roster spot with New Jersey after the move.  He declined to go to the minors and was subsequently released and has since signed in Switzerland.

Done For The Season: With the playoffs out of reach, the Flames have decided to shut down veteran winger Jonathan Huberdeau for the rest of the season to allow him to undergo hip resurfacing surgery.  The injury is one that he has been dealing with all season and there’s no confirmation at this time that he’ll be available for training camp.  He had been struggling before being shut down as he had just 10 goals and 15 assists in 50 games, a point total well below the 62 he had last season.  Huberdeau still has five years left on his contract, one that carries a $10.5MM cap charge and has not aged particularly well since his career year with Florida back in 2021-22.

Panarin On The Move: With Artemi Panarin being sat out for future trade purposes, the Rangers were able to get a deal done just before the trade freeze.  The veteran was dealt to the Kings (with 50% retention on his expiring contract) in exchange for winger Liam Greentree along with a 2026 conditional third-round pick that upgrades to a second-round selection if Los Angeles wins a round.  If the Kings win two, New York adds an extra 2028 fourth-rounder.   Panarin, who quickly signed a two-year, $22MM extension (spurning much bigger offers), gives the Kings a legitimate top-line scoring threat on a team that has struggled mightily offensively this season, ranking 31st in the league in goals scored.  Panarin made it known that Los Angeles was the only team he’d waive his trade protection for, hindering New York’s ability to get a top return.  Still, in Greentree, they add an intriguing big winger who was a first-round pick in 2024 and has been quite productive in the OHL, giving them a big add to their prospect pool.

Trotz To Retire: It has been an eventful few years for Barry Trotz as the GM of the Predators.  Taking on that role for the first time following a long and successful coaching career, he went on a big spending spree in the 2024 offseason, adding Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei in an effort to turn his team into a contender.  Instead, they’ve floundered and after missing the playoffs last season, they’re on the outside looking again at the break.  Meanwhile, Trotz announced this week that he has decided to retire from the role, though he will remain on the job through the trade deadline and until a successor is found.  The team had hoped to use CAA Executive Search to help find a replacement but as CAA Hockey has 153 NHL clients, it was deemed a conflict of interest and CAA has since withdrawn from that engagement.  The search will now be done in-house.

Suspended For 20: Penguins defenseman Caleb Jones has been sidelined for the better part of the month after being injured on a conditioning stint (to wrap up recovery from a separate injury).  Now, he won’t be in the lineup no matter what for the bulk of the rest of the season as the NHL gave him a 20-game suspension for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.  Additionally, he has been referred to the Player Assistance Program for evaluation and possible treatment.  Jones is in the first season of a two-year deal with Pittsburgh and barring a late-season return after the suspension is lifted, he’ll wind up with just seven games with the Penguins and the one brief appearance in the minors.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner-Imagn Images.

As the calendar flips to February, the Olympic trade freeze is fast approaching with the trade deadline itself not long after.  We saw a couple of swaps happen this week while a star player is being held out; those are among the week’s key stories.

Islanders Start To Add: The Islanders find themselves in third place in the Metropolitan Division at the start of the month and GM Mathieu Darche has rewarded his group with a pair of additions.  First, they picked up defenseman Carson Soucy from the Rangers for a third-round pick, giving their back end some extra depth with Alexander Romanov out for the rest of the regular season.  Then, they made another cross-state swap, acquiring winger Ondrej Palat plus third and sixth-round picks from the Devils for winger Maxim Tsyplakov.  Palat gives the Isles some extra veteran depth with a good track record of playoff success but they’re also taking on his $6MM contract through next season which is why they also added some draft picks.  With several other players out for the season, New York still has ample LTIR room to try to further add to their group.

Wallstedt In Play? Minnesota has already made one swap of considerable significance this season when they added Quinn Hughes from Vancouver.  It appears GM Bill Guerin isn’t done on the trade front and is open to moving a key youngster to do so as multiple reports have suggested that goaltender Jesper Wallstedt could be dealt.  The 23-year-old was a first-round pick back in 2021 and is in his first full NHL season where he has impressed, posting a 2.72 GAA with a .913 SV%.  However, with Filip Gustavsson signed through 2031, Wallstedt may have more value to the Wild as a trade chip than as a promising backup goaltender.

Panarin Out For Roster Reasons: With the Rangers embarking on a retool, they won’t be re-signing veteran winger Artemi Panarin.  Rather than risk him getting injured before they can trade him, the team decided to sit him early as a healthy scratch although no move has come to fruition just yet.  Panarin is believed to be seeking a contract extension before he’ll sign off on a move, something that could take a lot of the usual buying contenders off the table.  With a cap charge of $11.643MM (New York can retain up to half in a trade), it may be difficult for New York to move Panarin before Wednesday’s roster freeze as the acquiring team may not want to take on that money for three weeks before he actually debuts.  Accordingly, it’s possible that this trade saga is still a few weeks away from being resolved.

Defense Extensions: A pair of blueliners at opposite ends of their careers received contract extensions this past week.  First, the Avalanche signed Sam Malinski to a four-year, $19MM extension, a big raise on his current $1.4MM price tag.  The 27-year-old is having a breakout year with 25 points in 53 games despite averaging less than 17 minutes per game.  With the signing, Colorado has five blueliners signed for next season at just under $30MM combined.  Meanwhile, Detroit locked up Ben Chiarot on a new three-year, $11.55MM deal, a small cut on his $4.75MM deal that’s about to expire.  The 34-year-old is holding down a regular spot on Detroit’s second pairing while being a physical shot blocker.  It’s likely that his playing time will tick down as the contract progresses but the deal now ensures they’ll have a fourth blueliner signed for next season with Simon Edvinsson still to sign as a key pending restricted free agent.

Done For The Season: It has been a rough last few seasons on the injury front for Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko.  Unfortunately for him, a hip injury has ended his season prematurely as he’s set to undergo surgery.  Demko has battled knee, groin, and hip issues in recent years, limiting him to just 126 games since 2022-23.  On top of that, Vancouver acted quickly to sign him last summer and he’ll begin a new three-year deal next season at a cap hit of $8.5MM.  Veteran Kevin Lankinen will be leaned on down the stretch while youngster Nikita Tolopilo will likely get his first extended NHL look for a Canucks squad that’s already dead last in the standings.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.

With the Olympic trade freeze coming up soon, trade activity is starting to percolate around the NHL.  To that end, a swap of significance plus a youngster being in play highlight the key stories from the past seven days.

Seven For Doan: Jarmo Kekalainen wasted little time getting a big contract done after taking over as GM.  It just wasn’t with who many thought it would be (Alex Tuch).  Instead, the Sabres have signed winger Josh Doan to a seven-year, $48.65MM extension (a $6.95MM AAV).  Acquired from Utah as part of the JJ Peterka trade over the offseason, Doan has quickly locked down a top-six spot and has 15 goals and 20 assists in 51 games this season.  This extension, which buys Buffalo four more years of club control, is a sign that management feels that Doan has another level or two to get to offensively and if so, this could become a team-friendly pact fairly quickly.

Ullmark Returns: Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark returned to the active roster on Sunday after missing the last four weeks on a leave of absence for mental health reasons.  Youngster Leevi Merilainen struggled mightily in Ullmark’s absence, posting a save percentage of just .843 that ultimately resulted in Ottawa signing veteran James Reimer to try to give them a slight boost.  Ullmark has had his struggles as well this season but if the Senators are going to turn things around and get back into the playoff race, they’ll need him to have even a chance of doing so.

Sherwood To Sharks: Going into the season, few would have expected the Sharks to be adding a rental player.  However, with the final few playoff spots in the West (and the Pacific Division, in particular) up for grabs and a better-than-expected first half, San Jose is now a buyer.  To that end, they dealt a pair of second-round picks along with AHL defenseman Cole Clayton to Vancouver in exchange for winger Kiefer Sherwood.  The 30-year-old got off to a great start offensively this season and has 17 goals in 44 games.  Meanwhile, after recording a league-record 462 hits in 2024-25, Sherwood has 210 this season, or 4.77 per game.  A pending unrestricted free agent, Sherwood is in line for a significant raise from his current $1.5MM cap charge and should be in line for a fairly long-term contract as well.

Help For Florida: It has been a rough year on the injury front for the Panthers but they got some good news on that front.  First, winger Matthew Tkachuk returned after missing the first 47 games due to an adductor injury.  He has averaged more than a point per game over the last four seasons and gives them their top winger back in the lineup.  To make cap room for Tkachuk, Seth Jones was moved to LTIR and was subsequently replaced on Team USA’s Olympic roster by Jackson Lacombe.  Meanwhile, Florida also got Brad Marchand back from an undisclosed injury that went from day-to-day to multiple weeks.  The veteran was their leading scorer before the injury while being pressed into a bigger-than-expected offensive role due to the injuries.  The Panthers are five points out of a playoff spot but now have their top wingers back to aid in their postseason push.

Wright In Play? It wasn’t too long ago that Shane Wright was the projected top pick of the 2022 draft.  He ultimately fell to fourth where Seattle was happy to scoop him up.  However, the Kraken are now believed to be open to moving him, feeling that they can leverage their center depth to fill another area of need on their roster.  The 22-year-old is in his second full NHL season but after a strong showing in 2024-25 where he had 19 goals and 25 assists in 79 games, his output has dipped this year.  Through 51 games so far, Wright has just seven goals and 11 helpers while his ice time has dropped under 14 minutes per night.  That said, Wright still has one more year left on his entry-level contract and five more seasons of club control so Seattle will justifiably be aiming high if they ultimately decide to move him.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.

With the Olympics only a few weeks away, an extra trade deadline of sorts will be coming into play.  Accordingly, teams are starting to pick up the pace on the transactions front with a big trade and an extension among the key stories from the past seven days.

The Letter, Part Two: Nearly seven years ago, then-Ranger GM Jeff Gorton released a letter to the fans about the rebuild that was coming.  This week, GM Chris Drury took a similar approach, writing that the team will begin a retooling process around its core players.  However, it also means saying goodbye to some long-standing veterans.  It appears one of those will be winger Artemi Panarin as the pending UFA has been informed that he won’t be offered a contract for next season and that the team will work with him to try to find a suitable trade.  New York is at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, underwhelming for the second straight season.  How far this retooling goes remains to be seen but the Rangers could be a team to keep an eye on leading into the March 6th trade deadline.

Two For Texier: It wasn’t even two months ago that Alexandre Texier found himself an in-season free agent after walking away from the rest of his contract with St. Louis to get a fresh start elsewhere.  That brought him to Montreal on a one-year, $1MM prorated deal, where he has been productive with 16 points in 27 games, a total aided by a pair of back-to-back three-point games.  Still, it was enough for the Canadiens to sign the 26-year-old to a two-year, $5MM extension.  The deal checks in $400K above what his qualifying offer would have been had he remained with the Blues.  As the Canadiens get healthier up front, it’s unlikely that Texier will stay on their top line but this extension shows that management believes he’ll be part of their plans moving forward.

Coaching Change: It’s rare to get this deep into the season without a coaching change but that was the case until Columbus decided to make a move.  The Blue Jackets fired head coach Dean Evason along with assistant Steve McCarthy while hiring veteran Rick Bowness.  Evason was in his second season with the team and they just missed the playoffs last season but they have been near or in the basement for a big chunk of this season, warranting a change in GM Don Waddell’s eyes.  Bowness was a particularly interesting hire after he stepped away from Winnipeg in 2024 for health reasons so it wasn’t clear that he’d consider going back behind a bench.  The 70-year-old has only signed for the rest of the season, however, with both sides to reassess things from there.

Olympic-Related Injuries: A pair of teams find themselves without key players that also puts their Olympic participation in jeopardy.  Lightning center Brayden Point is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury that appeared to be a knee issue.  It’s the second absence of the season for the veteran who has managed 30 points in 37 games when he’s in the lineup.  His availability to suit up for Canada is now in question.  The same can be said for Ducks middleman Leo Carlsson.  He’s set to miss three to five weeks after undergoing a procedure to treat a Morel-Lavallée lesion in his left thigh.  Carlsson is a point-per-game player for Anaheim this season, making him their leading scorer through the first half of the campaign.  If his recovery is on the shorter end of the timeline, he should be fine to play at the Olympics but if it’s going to be closer to five weeks, Sweden will have a decision to make in terms of keeping or replacing him.

Off To Vegas: Going back to the offseason, the Golden Knights had interest in Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson but a trade never came to fruition.  Now, it has.  Vegas acquired the blueliner (with Calgary retaining half of his $4.55MM cap charge) in exchange for defenseman Zach Whitecloud, Vegas’ 2027 first-round pick, a conditional 2027 second-round pick (that becomes a 2028 first rounder if Vegas wins the Stanley Cup this season), and the signing rights to University of North Dakota defender Abram Wiebe.  Andersson, a pending unrestricted free agent, has not agreed to an extension as part of the swap.  He’ll help fill the role vacated by the injured Alex Pietrangelo while adding some firepower from the back end as he already has 10 goals and 30 points this season.  Calgary’s return, as expected, is largely futures-based although they do add a capable third-pairing piece in Whitecloud, who, in theory, could potentially be flipped closer to the deadline to team looking for defensive depth.

Photo courtesy of James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images.

The first full week of 2026 is in the books and it was a busy one across the hockey world with several extensions completed.  Unfortunately, it also saw the passing of a pair of Hall of Famers.  Here’s a rundown of the key stories of the week.

Blues Sign Two: Early in the week, St. Louis inked winger Alexey Toropchenko to a two-year, $5MM extension.  The 26-year-old has been a valuable energy player over his five-year career and the move ensures the two sides won’t go to arbitration this summer.  Then, on the weekend, GM Doug Armstrong took care of another pending RFA, reaching a six-year, $48MM extension with defenseman Philip Broberg.  Acquired via offer sheet in 2024 from Edmonton, the 24-year-old has blossomed into an impactful defender and is averaging nearly 23 minutes per game this season.  The deal buys out two RFA years plus an additional four years of team control while making him their highest-paid defender moving forward.  Unfortunately for the Blues, Broberg suffered an upper-body injury on Saturday just hours after the deal was announced and didn’t make it through the game.

Sharks Swap: With the Sharks now squarely in the playoff battle (they sit third in the Pacific Division heading into today’s action), they’ve made a move to add some goaltending depth and a young defender.  They acquired goalie Laurent Brossoit, defenseman Nolan Allan, and a 2028 seventh-round pick from Chicago for blueliner Jake Furlong, Ryan Ellis’ LTIR contract, and a 2028 fourth rounder.  Brossoit, now healthy, gives San Jose another experienced option in the system while getting a look at Allan, a 2021 first-round pick who had been passed over on Chicago’s depth chart.  They also free up more than $2.5MM in cap space by removing Ellis off their books to get them closer to exiting LTIR.  The Blackhawks, meanwhile, upgrade a future draft pick and save considerable cash with the bulk of Ellis’ deal being covered by insurance.

Five For Dvorak: When Christian Dvorak signed a one-year, $5.4MM contract with the Flyers in the summer, it raised some eyebrows with Philadelphia seemingly overpaying to get a short-term agreement.  But it has worked out rather well with the 29-year-old well on his way to a career year offensively.  As a result, the team has rewarded him for his efforts, signing him to a five-year, $25.65MM extension, a small dip in the AAV ($5.15MM) in exchange for a long-term agreement.  After being more of a middle-six player in Montreal (and Arizona before that), Dvorak has taken over the top center spot with the Flyers and is now set to be part of their long-term core group.

Hamilton Scratched: With the Devils getting defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic back from his season-long knee injury, someone had to sit.  That player was veteran Dougie Hamilton.  Soon after reports emerged that he’d be sitting, his agent J.P. Barry released a statement critical of the team, suggesting that his benching was business-related instead of performance-related amid reports that the team would like to move him.  However, Hamilton has been quiet offensively this season with five goals and five assists in 40 games, not a great return on a $9MM price tag.  Barry stated that Hamilton is willing to consider moving to teams that are on his no-trade list so we’ll see if this ultimately expedites the trade process.

More Issues For The Rangers: It was a rough first half of the season for the Rangers who have underachieved.  Now, their push for the playoffs just got a lot more difficult with two of their top players being injured as goaltender Igor Shesterkin went on injured reserve with a non-contact lower-body injury while defenseman Adam Fox landed on LTIR with a lower-body issue of his own.  Despite the team’s struggles, Shesterkin remains in the top ten in the league in save percentage and now veteran Jonathan Quick is tasked with keeping them afloat.  Meanwhile, it’s Fox’s second stint on LTIR, taking their top offensive weapon from the back end out of the lineup for at least 10 games and 24 days, hardly ideal for one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league.

Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

Late November is usually when teams start to have a better feel for their rosters and what types of moves they need to make.  While there isn’t typically a big uptick on the trade front at this time, some of this week’s key stories are about the trade market to come.

Canucks Open To Offers: It hasn’t been a great couple of months for Vancouver.  The Canucks are only three points ahead of last place in the league which has led to some wondering about if they’d do a big shakeup.  It appears they’re at least willing to listen to offers on their veterans although there is mixed reporting on if they’re just doing so for players on expiring deals or ones with term remaining.  In terms of pending free agents, wingers Kiefer Sherwood and Evander Kane along with center Teddy Blueger, come to mind (although making the cap element work with Kane could be trickier).  Vancouver has been one of the teams willing to make moves early so whether it’s just expirings or other more core pieces, they’ll be a team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

Extensions In Calgary: There were earlier reports that the Flames were nearing an extension with GM Craig Conroy.  As it turns out, he had already signed one, a two-year deal.  He wasn’t the only one to have a contract announced as President of Hockey Operations Don Maloney and Assistant GMs Dave Nonis and Brad Pascall all received two-year extensions as well.  Oddly enough, the deals were done over the summer but the organization didn’t feel a need to announce them.  Going into the season, Calgary was coming off a better-than-expected year as they just missed the playoffs.  But things haven’t gone anywhere near as well in 2025-26 as they’re second-last in the NHL standings, just one point ahead of Nashville.  But their current management group will be the one to continue to try to bring them forward in their rebuild.

Five For Matheson: Earlier this season, the Canadiens took care of their most prominent pending restricted free agent when they signed blueliner Lane Hutson to an eight-year extension.  This week, they took care of their most prominent pending unrestricted free agent, inking defenseman Mike Matheson to a five-year, $30MM extension.  The 31-year-old has become a top-pairing defender since being acquired from Pittsburgh in 2022 and is only two years removed from a breakout 62-point campaign.  A $6MM price tag is a little below market value but the extra year or two on the contract helped keep the AAV down.  Montreal now has its top four blueliners (Hutson, Matheson, Noah Dobson, and Kaiden Guhle) all signed through at least the 2030-31 season at a combined price tag of $29.85MM.

Done For The Year: Kyle Palmieri’s 2025-26 regular season has come to an abrupt end.  He sustained a torn ACL and will be undergoing surgery that will keep him out of the lineup for six to eight months.  The 34-year-old is tied for second in team scoring with 18 points in 25 games and has been one of their more consistently reliable secondary scorers in recent years.  It has been a rough stretch lately on the injury front for the Isles as Palmieri joins Alexander Romanov as key veterans whose regular seasons ended much earlier than expected.  New York ends the month in a tie for the final playoff spot but their offense has certainly taken a hit with Palmieri’s injury.

Veterans Garnering Interest: As the trade chatter begins to pick up, a pair of veterans appear to be getting some attention, Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry and Blues defenseman Justin Faulk.  Jarry has a 2.74 GAA and a .905 SV% in 10 games this season, numbers that would be his best since 2021-22 if they hold up.  However, he has two more years left after this on his contract with a $5.375MM cap charge and the goalie market isn’t particularly robust in terms of teams looking so it would take some work to get a trade in place.  Meanwhile, Faulk is off to a decent start to his season with 13 points in 26 games on a St. Louis team that has struggled mightily offensively.  He has one more year left after this with a $6.5MM AAV but is a right-shot defender, the side that many teams are often trying to add.  It stands to reason that if the Blues decide to take a step back and move him, they should be able to generate a decent market for his services.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images. 

After a flurry of long-term deals were handed out last week, this week was much quieter on the transaction front.  However, there was still some news of note from the past seven days, recapped in our key stories.

Barnes Promoted: Even hockey fans who aren’t entirely familiar with advanced statistics have likely heard of the terms Corsi rating and Fenwick rating.  Those were created by Tim Barnes, under the pseudonym Vic Ferrari.  Barnes joined Washington’s front office more than a decade ago and he now has a new role with the team as he has been promoted to Assistant GM.  He becomes the third AM under Craig Patrick, joining Ross Mahoney and Don Fishman.  The Capitals are no stranger to getting creative with some of their front office moves; late in the spring of 2024, they purchased the former cap-tracking site CapFriendly, adding the staff from their site into the fold as well.

Back To Russia: Vitali Kravtsov’s return to North America didn’t go as well as he had planned.  A so-so preseason saw the 2018 ninth overall pick land on waivers and after passing through unclaimed, the Canucks sent him to AHL Abbotsford.  Things didn’t go better there as he managed just four points in ten games and with several others getting an NHL look before him, he requested and was granted a termination of his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent.  He won’t be unsigned for long as it’s expected that he will sign a three-year deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL, returning to the team he spent the last two seasons with, including putting together a 27-goal, 58-point performance in 2024-25.

Dubois Out Long Term: Pierre-Luc Dubois had a strong first season with Washington in 2024-25, posting a career-high 66 points while helping lead them to the Eastern Conference regular season title.  Year two didn’t start strong with no points in six games and it has gotten even worse.  He recently underwent surgery to address injuries to his abdominal and adductor muscles; the estimated timeline for a return is three to four months.  His absence will be a big one for a Washington team that has been slow out of the gate, sitting seventh in the Metropolitan Division heading into tonight’s action.  Dubois will be eligible for regular LTIR which would give them up to $3.82MM in additional spending flexibility.  However, since they have more than that in regular cap room per PuckPedia, it’s unlikely they’ll be dipping into LTIR.

Kampf Suspended By Maple Leafs: After deciding he wanted to step away from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies to ponder his playing future, the Maple Leafs suspended David Kampf without pay, further fueling speculation about a change being on the horizon.  Believed to be a key issue here is the $1.325MM signing bonus paid back in July.  If Kampf requests a contract termination, Toronto could be seeking repayment of that while the NHLPA would argue that it should remain with him.  Kampf has been away from the Marlies for more than a week now so it feels like this should be coming to a conclusion in the near future.

Kyrou Scratched: One of the bigger stories of the week came from St. Louis.  With the Blues struggling to start the season, head coach Jim Montgomery sent a message to his group by scratching Jordan Kyrou.  The winger has had an okay start to his year with nine points in 15 games but after being in trade speculation over the summer, this could get him back in the rumor mill.  Speaking of that rumor mill, reports are beginning to surface that the Blues could be looking to retool or at least shake up their roster so they could be a team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.  One of those retooling moves won’t involve veteran winger Milan Lucic, at least for now, as he was released from his PTO and signed a PTO with their AHL affiliate in Springfield where he’ll continue his NHL comeback efforts.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.

The turning of the calendar to November wasn’t a deadline of any sorts when it comes to contract extensions.  However, the end of October saw a flurry of notable extensions across the NHL which highlight our key stories.

Eight For Cooley: The big spending started in Utah as the Mammoth signed center Logan Cooley to an eight-year, $80MM extension, the richest post-entry-level deal in NHL history.  It wasn’t too long ago that he reportedly turned down a deal that was worth $77MM which suggested talks would be put on hold.  Instead, $3MM more pushed it across the finish line.  Cooley was the third overall pick in 2022 and showed plenty of promise in his first two NHL seasons to suggest he can live up to that draft billing.  He’s off to an even better start this season and now Utah has the player they feel is their top center of the future locked up through his prime years.

Eight For Harley: Next up on the long-term contract front was Stars defenseman Thomas Harley, who received an eight-year, $84.7MM extension.  The 24-year-old has blossomed into a true top-pairing defenseman over the past two seasons and finished seventh in Norris Trophy voting last season.  The deal will make him the fourth-highest-paid blueliner in the NHL in 2026-27 behind Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty, and Rasmus Dahlin but keeps him signed through his age-32 season and in this rising cap environment, the deal should hold up pretty well in the end.  With Miro Heiskanen signed through 2028-29, the top of the back end for Dallas is now locked up for a while.

Eight For Necas: When Colorado moved Mikko Rantanen last season while receiving Martin Necas as the centerpiece of the return, they were kicking the contract talks down the road by one year.  Now, with Necas entering the final year of his deal, the pressure was on to work something out.  They were able to do just that, agreeing on an eight-year, $92MM contract that begins next season.  Unlike the other two deals above, this one only covers UFA-eligible seasons.  The 26-year-old had a career year in 2024-25 with 83 points in 79 games and he’s scoring at a higher point-per-game clip in the early going of this season alongside Nathan MacKinnon and now their top duo is locked up through 2031.  Another big contract looms large with defenseman Cale Makar as he becomes extension-eligible in July.

Two For Goalies: Some goaltenders got in on the signing fun, though for much shorter contracts.  The Devils signed Jacob Markstrom to a two-year, $6MM extension.  The 35-year-old is in his second season as New Jersey’s starter and helped to stabilize their play between the pipes last season.  The $6MM AAV matches his current contract and with Jake Allen signed at $1.8MM, the Devils have a veteran goalie tandem in place at a pretty affordable price tag for the next two years.  Meanwhile, another netminder received a two-year contract, just not from an NHL team.  Unrestricted free agent Ilya Samsonov wasn’t able to catch on with an NHL team so he has returned to the KHL, signing with HC Sochi.  The 28-year-old was once viewed as a starter of the future but a .890 SV% over the past two seasons certainly didn’t help his market.

Trade Interest In Schneider: It hasn’t been a great start to the season for Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider while the Rangers find themselves in a 10-team group separated by just one point in the standings.  With the youngster not quite living up to expectations so far, teams have reportedly started making inquiries about Schneider to see if he could be made available.  The 24-year-old is in the final season of his bridge deal with a $2.2MM AAV while his qualifying offer checks in at $2.64MM with arbitration rights.  At this point, it would be surprising to see the Rangers move Schneider but if they decide they need to further shake up their roster, he’s one player who should generate plenty of interest.

Photo courtesy of Winslow Townson-Imagn Images.

With the regular season now in full swing, injuries are starting to take their toll around the league.  Several significant injuries around the NHL are highlighted in our key stories.

Tkachuk Has Surgery: The Senators won’t have their captain available to them for a while as Brady Tkachuk underwent wrist surgery that will keep him out of the lineup for six to seven weeks.  The 26-year-old went for a second opinion in the hopes that surgery could be avoided which could have cut down the recovery timeline by a few weeks but that’s not the case.  One of the premier power forwards in the NHL, Tkachuk was off to a decent start before the injury with three assists in his first three games but Ottawa will now be looking to find someone to fill his spot on the top line until around December.

Rangers Fielding Calls On Othmann: When the Rangers drafted forward Brennan Othmann with the 16th pick in 2021, they were hoping to get a power forward who would be part of their core for the long term.  However, he has spent the bulk of his professional career in the minors and was an early cut in training camp, resulting in New York receiving some calls about his potential availability.  The 22-year-old has just two assists in 25 NHL games while notching 49 hits in a little under 10 minutes a night of playing time.  He’s been productive with AHL Hartford though, picking up 70 points in 97 games.  If the Rangers do decide to move him, it could be a trade that winds up being a swap of similar prospects in need of a change of scenery.

Canadiens Signings: While Lane Hutson didn’t get a contract extension in place before the season started, he didn’t have to wait too long to get one as he signed an eight-year, $70.8MM pact that begins next season.  The 21-year-old had a great rookie season, picking up 66 points in 82 regular season games, earning the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year.  He and Noah Dobson will now be Montreal’s top two defenders for the foreseeable future.  Notably, two elements of this deal will soon be illegal when the new CBA begins next September.  First, the eight-year term will be outlawed while Hutson received $55MM in signing bonus money, or 77.6% of the contract.  Signing bonus money will be capped at 60% of the contract next year.

Meanwhile, the other person who signed the contract also received a new deal as well as Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton inked five-year extensions.  Hughes, a former agent before being hired, has been GM in Montreal since January 2022 and has overseen a rebuilding process that saw Montreal turn over a significant chunk of its roster while becoming the youngest team in the league this season.  Meanwhile, Gorton, who was promoted to President of Hockey Operations as well with this signing, has been in place since November 2021.  While he didn’t get a chance to see his rebuilding efforts conclude with the Rangers, it looks like he’ll get that opportunity now.

More Injuries: There were more injuries of note across the NHL.  The Mammoth will be without blueliner Sean Durzi for the next four weeks due to an upper-body injury.  The 26-year-old had a breakout year two years ago in Arizona but he missed 52 games due to injuries last season and now this year is off to a tough start.  Meanwhile, the Panthers won’t have Dmitry Kulikov anytime soon as he’ll miss five months due to a torn labrum.  He’s a capable veteran depth piece for Florida as their infirmary continues to grow.  His $1.15MM AAV will become LTIR-eligible when needed.  Lastly, the Kings, who have struggled considerably out of the gate, will now be without one of their top players for a while as Anze Kopitar is listed as week-to-week with a foot injury.  The captain, who is in his final NHL season, is a key two-way center and was averaging a point per game in the early going before being injured.

Hart To Vegas: The Golden Knights will be adding some goaltending depth as unrestricted free agent Carter Hart has joined the Golden Knights on a PTO deal.  It’s expected he’ll spend some time with AHL Henderson and he could sign a two-year contract when he becomes eligible to play in December.  Hart was Philadelphia’s number one goalie for several years before being charged with sexual assault, a charge he was acquitted of this summer.  If he can get back to form, he could be an intriguing addition for the Golden Knights who currently have a relatively inexperienced backup goaltender in Akira Schmid playing behind Adin Hill.

Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

The 2025-26 NHL season is officially underway and as expected, it was a busy week around the league.  Here’s a rundown of the week’s key stories.

Cooley Says No: More and more often, teams are now trying to lock up their top young players to max-term deals as soon as possible, a reasonable approach with the salary cap expected to jump quicker.  The Mammoth tried that approach with center Logan Cooley, however, the center reportedly turned down an eight-year, $77MM extension offer.  The 21-year-old had a strong sophomore year last season, tallying 25 goals and 40 assists in 75 games, showing that he’s well on his way to being the number one center of the present and future.  The offer would have made him Utah’s highest-paid forward by a significant margin but it looks like he’s either hoping for a bigger offer (or one that isn’t as long term-wise) or will wait to see how things go this season in the hopes of an improved offer coming next summer.

Big Money For Connor: With Kirill Kaprizov coming off the market last week in a record-setting deal, another top winger won’t be testing free agency in July either.  The Jets will be keeping winger Kyle Connor around for the long haul, inking him to an eight-year, $96MM extension, matching the deals given to Mikko Rantanen and Mitch Marner in recent months.  Notably, Winnipeg broke their long-standing policy on not putting signing bonus money or a no-move clause in contracts in order to get the deal done.  Connor is coming off a career year that saw him surpass the 40-goal mark for the second time in four years while also putting up 97 points.  He now joins Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele as long-term mainstays that won’t be leaving anytime soon.

Bigger Money For Eichel: While Connor’s contract was big (one of the biggest in NHL history), it wasn’t even the biggest deal signed this week.  That particular distinction belongs to Golden Knights center Jack Eichel, who signed an eight-year, $108MM extension that begins next season.  The $13.5MM AAV will be the third-highest in the league behind only Kaprizov ($17MM) and Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl ($14MM).  Eichel found another gear offensively last season, collecting 94 points in 77 games and is averaging more than a point per game since Vegas acquired him back in 2021.  Once the deal kicks in, he’ll pass Marner ($12MM) as the highest-paid player on their books while Vegas now has their top middleman locked up for the long haul.

Oilers Sign Four: Throughout the offseason, progress (or lack thereof) on Connor McDavid’s contract talks dominated the discussion with some wondering if this was going to drag into the season.  While it took until the eve of the campaign, the captain decided to stick around, inking a two-year, $25MM extension.  As the face of the franchise and one of the elite players in the league, it’s fair to say that McDavid left a lot of money on the table relative to the deal that Kaprizov received just days earlier.  But by sticking with his current cap hit, McDavid is hoping that the extra flexibility can be used to make his team as strong as possible as they look to win a Stanley Cup title.

How have they spent that money?  By keeping some of the back end intact.  At the same time they announced the McDavid deal, they also signed defenseman Jake Walman to a seven-year, $49MM extension.  A cap dump by Detroit in the 2024 offseason, Walman turned around his fortunes last season in San Jose and became a key part of Edmonton’s back end at the trade deadline, a role he’ll have with them for the long haul now.

More of the savings from McDavid’s deal also went to blueliner Mattias Ekholm, who received a three-year, $12MM extension.  It’s a big discount from his current $6.25MM price tag (between Edmonton and Nashville) but it also reflects the fact he’ll be 36 when the contract begins.  A top-four fixture now, that might not be the case at the end of the deal.  However, he should still be an impactful piece for another couple of years.  Meanwhile, they also added to their current roster, signing UFA forward Jack Roslovic to a one-year, $1.5MM contract.  Following a 22-goal season, expectations were high in the summer for a multi-year deal but one to his liking never materialized.  Instead, he’ll settle for this deal and hope to boost his value heading into free agency next summer on the heels of a season in Edmonton’s middle six.

Norris Out Again: Injuries have been an issue for Josh Norris for several years now, a reality that is now impacting the Sabres once again.  He’s now set to miss a significant amount of time due to an upper-body injury.  Acquired at the trade deadline last year in a package deal that sent Dylan Cozens to Ottawa, Norris suffered a season-ending injury in just his third game with Buffalo.  Now, his fourth regular season appearance will see him missing extended time once again.  The Sabres were counting on Norris – who managed 21 goals last season in just 56 games – to be a key contributor but now, he’ll be watching from the sidelines for the foreseeable future.

Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.