The Winnipeg Jets have locked up one of their top 6 forwards long-term, signing Gabriel Vilardi to a six-year extension with a $7.5 million AAV. Vilardi was two seasons away from becoming a UFA. Vilardi had a career season in 2024-25, finishing with 27 goals and 61 points in 71 games. His numbers were helped [...]
Hi there, it’s Ian filling in for Alex, who is receiving some much-needed time off. Late Monday night, the Sabres signed RFA defenseman Bowen Byram to a two-year extension with a cap hit of $6.25 million. Byram had been rumored to be on the trade block, but in the end GM Kevyn Adams agreed to [...]
Former Avalanche and Sharks forward Nikolai Kovalenko has signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow of the KHL. Just before free agency, Kovalenko wasn’t given a qualifying offer by the Sharks, even though he was acquired as part of the package for Mackenzie Blackwood. In his only NHL season, the 25-year-old Kovalenko finished with 20 [...]
Jeff Skinner has found a new home, finding his way to San Jose on a one-year contract worth $3 million. Skinner was held to just 29 points in 72 games in his lone season with the Oilers, and he was even healthy scratched for much of the playoffs. This might literally be his last NHL [...]
The Blue Jackets have signed Dmitri Voronkov to a two-year extension worth $8.35 million ($4.175 million AAV). Voronkov, who was an RFA, has signed a bridge deal instead of a long-term extension. However, Voronkov will still be an RFA when the contract expires, as his UFA year isn’t until 2028. In his second NHL season, [...]
With the salary cap rising this offseason, this season’s free agency period seemed more understated and even anticlimactic. With more cap room, more teams were able to re-sign their pending unrestricted free agents (nice bit of work, Florida) or they were able to take care of their business before the starting bell (Vegas and Mitch [...]
Let’s not waste any time and start with the juicy stuff, shall we? According to multiple sources, Toronto and Vegas have been in conversation about a Mitch Marner sign-and-trade, although the deal has not been completed at the time of writing. A sign-and-trade would allow the Golden Knights to sign Marner to a maximum eight-year [...]
Winners of the draft lottery, the New York Islanders selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer of the OHL’s Erie Otters with the first overall pick. Schaefer has all of the tools to be a star NHL defenseman, including skating, scoring upside, ability to control play, defensive acumen, character, and leadership. He has also dealt with adversity, having [...]
Chicago and Seattle made a one-for-one swap on Saturday, with the Blackhawks receiving Andre Burakovsky and the Kraken receiving Joe Veleno. Burakovsky is the more established NHLer of the two, having scored 20 goals twice in his career. However, his five-year contract with a cap hit of $5.5 million hasn’t paid off for the Kraken, [...]
Jonathan Toews is coming home. The Winnipeg Jets announced that Toews has agreed to sign with the Jets, although the signing cannot be formally announced until July 1. Toews has not played for the past two seasons for health reasons, and he also missed the entire 2020-21 “bubble” season due to COVID-19. In other words, [...]
