Today's focus will be on news and notes from the past week. Included are injury updates, contract news, and player transactions.

The Canucks are betting big on Zeev Buium being the real deal, signing the 20-year-old defenseman to an eight-year contract with a cap hit of $9.38 million ($75.04 million total). Buium finished with 12 points in 45 games with the Canucks after being traded from Minnesota as the main piece in the Quinn Hughes trade. In his rookie season last season, he totaled 26 points in 76 games split between Minnesota and Vancouver.

Contract-wise, the recent rise in the salary cap ceiling affected the cap hit of this deal. On top of that, this will also be one of the last (if not the last) eight-year contracts signed, as contracts of that duration will no longer be allowed as of September 15. Salary cap leaguers will still have another season of Buium's current contract of just under $1 million before the new deal kicks in. If former first-round pick Buium reaches his upside, this contract could pay dividends.

By signing this deal, Buium has already established himself as a cornerstone piece of the Canucks' current rebuild. He may not take over as the defenseman on the Canucks' top power play to start the season, but it should only be a matter of time. Filip Hronek has been effective in that role since Hughes was traded, particularly in the last 20 games of the season. Over that span, 10 of Hronek's 13 points were with the man advantage.

Overall, Buium isn't necessarily a player to target in single-season leagues, unless you play in a very deep league. However, his value should increase as the Canucks' young scoring talent continues to develop.

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Some other signings:

The Leafs signed forward Brendan Brisson to a one-year, two-way contract. Brisson played in just three NHL games last season with the Rangers, recording one point. Brisson was a 2020 first-round pick (29^th overall) of Vegas. He will likely start the season for the AHL's Toronto Marlies.  

The Kraken signed forward Jacob Melanson to a three-year contract worth a total of $4.35 million. Melanson appeared in 36 games for Seattle last season, recording five points. Melanson also recorded 19 points in 28 AHL games. He could be splitting time between Seattle and Coachella Valley of the AHL again this season.

The Sabres signed defenseman Zach Metsa to a one-year, $900,000 extension. The 27-year-old Metsa registered six points in 43 games in his first NHL season last season.

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According to Eric Francis of Sportsnet, Jonathan Huberdeau will not be available for the start of training camp. Flames GM Craig Conroy clarified that Huberdeau "did not have a setback", but instead Huberdeau isn't going to be ready for the start of camp when Conroy originally thought he would be.

Huberdeau underwent season-ending hip resurfacing surgery in March with the goal to eliminate pain. This surgery seems to be intended to correct a problem that could affect a player's career. Francis mentioned that Patrick Kane and John Klingberg have recovered from the surgery, while Ryan Kesler and Nicklas Backstrom are recent examples of players that had to retire from the NHL shortly after the surgery.

Considering that Huberdeau's production has plummeted since being traded to Calgary four years ago, I wonder how much this injury is responsible for his decline. Huberdeau is now 33 years old and has five years remaining on a contract with a $10.5 million cap hit. You're probably best to stay away from him in your upcoming fantasy drafts.

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According to Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic, Filip Gustavsson is not expected to return to the Wild's lineup until at least November. (The link is behind a paywall at The Athletic, so I cannot share it.) Gustavsson has been recovering from offseason hip surgery. His timetable for recovery was not known, so this news should not come as a major surprise.

Gustavsson appears to be falling in fantasy drafts as a result, as he was drafted in Round 13 in one 12-team mock draft I participated in and not at all in two other 12-team mock drafts. On the other hand, Jesper Wallstedt was drafted in Rounds 5-6 in all three of those mock drafts. Wallstedt is the Wild goalie to draft now, even in single-season leagues. However, Gustavsson could be an effective IR stash for when he is ready to return. It's also worth mentioning that Gustavsson is on the first year of a five-year contract with a $6.8 million cap hit, which means he is not being paid to be a backup.

Some better news for Joel Eriksson Ek, who should be considered healthy ahead of training camp after skating hard for the past few days. Eriksson Ek missed Minnesota's last five playoff games with a heel injury.

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Earlier in the week, the Predators traded winger Luke Evangelista to the Devils for a conditional first-round pick and a second-round pick, both in 2028. You can read the Fantasy Take from Alex MacLean, while the Fantasy Guide has already been updated with Evangelista's projected point total with the Devils.

When I heard about the trade, I didn't seem as excited about it as a friend of mine who is a Devils fan is. But the fact that the Devils traded away a first-round pick (albeit likely late, as it belongs to Colorado) and a second-round pick for Evangelista seems to show that they really value the player. Evangelista enjoyed a quiet breakthrough season with 56 points after two previous seasons of 32 and 39 points.

Evangelista upgrades the Devils' right side, as Dawson Mercer's progression has stalled a bit while veteran Anthony Mantha will attempt to replicate an injury-free season where he reached a career-high of 64 points. Out of a dull offensive environment in Nashville (perhaps even contract related), Evangelista has an opportunity to secure a spot on the Devils' first line and top power play. He has definite sleeper appeal in single-season leagues.

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I found it surprising that Eeli Tolvanen remained unsigned for as long as he did. So his signing with the Rangers (one year, $1.5 million) seemed to come out of nowhere. It seems that real-life teams don't value Tolvanen as highly as multicategory fantasy teams do, as Tolvanen offers modest scoring along with high hit totals. Yet Tolvanen's 43.2 CF% in 2025-26 was one of the lowest on the Kraken and was also the lowest of his career.

Tolvanen's fantasy value is likely unaffected with the move from the West Coast to the East Coast. One way that his fantasy value could improve is via shooting percentage, where the career 12.0% shooting Tolvanen saw that number sink to 8.5% in 2025-26, resulting in only 12 goals. Better shooting luck could result in Tolvanen ranging between 15-20 goals, but keep in mind that he has surpassed 20 goals just once in his career.

Cliffy took care of the Fantasy Take for this one. Tolvanen's projection is also now in the Fantasy Guide. Download the latest version, and you'll see the change to any affected players in red.

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Dobber's Free Box Pools are back!

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