While the past couple of days featured players joining new teams, Sunday's theme was about players staying put. We got a flurry of re-signings, but also an injury update, buyout, and contract termination. Let's get right into it!

Claude's Commitment

On Sunday, Claude Giroux signed a one-year extension with the Senators, avoiding free-agency. The deal comes with a cap hit of $2 million, but Giroux has the potential to earn an extra $2.75 million based on how many games he plays and how well Ottawa performs in the playoffs. The 37-year-old forward is coming off an underwhelming 2024-25 campaign where he posted a 51-point pace and 1.7 shots per game – both being his lowest rates since of the last 15 years. I get the sense that age-related decline is starting to set in for Giroux. This modest cap hit should allow him to take on a slightly reduced role so he can be more effective when called upon. That wouldn't have been the mindset last year when he had a cap hit of $6.5 million and skated 18:12 a night. From a fantasy perspective, I think it's worth noting that after a couple of summer signings, the Sens are now more invested in Fabian Zetterlund – both in terms of cap hit and length of time – than they are in Giroux. Zetterlund showed some offensive promise in San Jose, and although he didn't produce much after getting dealt to Ottawa at the deadline, he earned more ice time with strong play and closed out the season with four points in six games. Zetterlund is 25 years old and only really has three seasons under his belt, so there's still hope for growth here. Given the current contract situation, I think there's potential for him to see better deployment in the upcoming campaign, allowing him to provide some sneaky fantasy value. 

Knies To Be Back

The Leafs secured an integral piece of their top six on Sunday, inking Matthew Knies to a six-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $7.75 million. That's spectacular value for a 22-year-old that broke out with a 61-point pace this past season, showcasing a high-end motor and skillset in the playoffs. It's an especially strong deal when you consider the league's salary cap is set to rise over the next few years – from $95.5 million in 2025-26 all the way to $113.5 million in 2027-28 – so getting this long-term commitment at a reasonable AAV is huge for the Leafs. With his high-energy, relentless playstyle and offensive toolbox, Knies strikes me as the type of player that would complement most top-six players really well – especially in Toronto where there are so many star forwards. That said, since Knies spent most of his minutes beside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner this season, it'll be interesting to see if there's a shift in dynamics with Marner all but out the door.

Husso That Coming?

You know what they say, a goaltending transaction a day means the Ducks are in play. Okay, nobody says that, but after swapping John Gibson for Petr Mrazek on Saturday, the Ducks got some more clarity in their crease with a two-year extension for Ville Husso at an annual cap hit of $2.2 million. Husso's early seasons in St. Louis were promising, but he struggled in Detroit and had his role reduced. Consistent action is often necessary for a goalie to find their game and perform at their best, but there wasn't much opportunity for Husso to bounce back in recent years and things kind of spiralled. He got a fresh start with Anaheim last season, and was excellent in three of four starts for the Ducks. It's a miniscule sample, but maybe a sufficient audition for the Ducks' backup role. I know they just acquired Mrazek, but he only has one year left on his deal while Husso now has two. Lukas Dostal is set to take on a starting workload for the upcoming campaign, and since the Ducks are a developing team without playoff expectations this year, there isn't a significant need for two backups. Sure, Husso has seen some time in the AHL recently and could stay down there as an insurance policy, but I just think this deal represents Anaheim choosing him as the backup, setting the stage to flip Mrazek at some point. My better judgment is telling me to stay away from Husso in fantasy leagues given the state of Anaheim's team defense and his lacklustre track record lately, but something tells me he could have a surprisingly decent showing in 2025-2026. Of course, that bar isn't very high as current expectations are pretty low and easy to outperform. 

Don't Leave Dante

Continuing the trend of vow renewals, Dante Fabbro signed a four-year deal with the Blue Jackets at an AAV of $4.125 million. The 27-year-old blueliner was claimed off waivers last year, and went on to post 26 points over 62 games with Columbus during the regular season – which translates to 34 points over 82 games. He was helped by an unsustainably high shooting percentage of 10%, but it was still encouraging to see him thrive in the largest role of his career, skating nearly 22 minutes a night. His offensive output becomes all the more impressive when you consider he barely saw a lick of power-play time – although that could change next season with Ivan Provorov's likely departure opening up a path to secondary PP time for Fabbro. Still, this is one of those signings that probably has more real-world value than fantasy value, but Fabbro might be able to contribute depending on your league's format.

More Morgan

On Sunday night, the Bruins agreed to a six-year extension with Morgan Geekie at an AAV of $5.5 million. That's a big investment in a player that scored a career-high 33 goals off an unlikely-to-be-replicated 21.9% shooting percentage, but it's not too crazy a contract given that rising cap we discussed earlier. I think playing big minutes beside David Pastrnak gives Geekie a decent bit of value in fantasy leagues. 

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We're still awaiting confirmation from the usual insiders, but reports are swirling that Alex Pietrangelo is going to miss the entire 2025-26 campaign due to injury. Of course, the primary concern here is for Pietrangelo's wellbeing, but it's also fair to think about LTIR shenanigans given Vegas' history with rule bending. Could Pietrangelo's absence be one of the things that makes room for a Mitch Marner signing? Ian discussed a potential sign-and-trade in yesterday's Ramblings, but another layer was added to that story on Sunday. If you were wondering why the Golden Knights would give up assets to acquire Marner when they could just sign him as a free agent in a few days, Elliotte Friedman suggested the Leafs might go after Vegas for tampering if the Golden Knights signed Marner without trading for his rights. That's a serious threat given the consequences associated with tampering: fines, suspensions, and a potential loss of draft picks.

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Joe Veleno hasn't had the career trajectory you'd expect of a first-round draft pick. He was selected 30th overall in June 2018, and now in June 2025, he's being bought out by the Kraken – just days after Seattle acquired him from Chicago for Andre Burakovsky. I can understand why some might see some untapped potential with Veleno, because although he has four NHL seasons under his belt, he's mostly been stuck in a depth role in Detroit, skating 12-14 minutes a night. He had a very short stint in Chicago last season and his deployment didn't improve much, so he still hasn't had a real opportunity. Of course, one might counter by saying the reason he hasn't gotten a consistent look in the top six is because he hasn't shown enough to earn it, and maybe there's some merit to that too. There are a lot of ways his situation can improve: more offensive zone deployment, more ice time, more consistent minutes with higher quality linemates. The problem is, there aren't many teams willing to dish out those opportunities, so Veleno may never get the look necessary to see if he has more to give. 

In some buyout-adjacent news, we also learned that Conor Sheary terminated his contract with Tampa Bay on Sunday. The 33-year-old forward hasn't produced a whole lot since Sidney Crosby helped him to a 71-point pace eight years ago, but he did post a 50-point pace with Washington in 2021-22. He was stuck in a very limited role with the Lightning over the past two years, and spent most of this past season in the AHL, where he racked up an impressive 61 points over 59 games. He could provide a fair bit of offense in the right role. 

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Thanks for reading! Hope you have an awesome week ahead!