Snapshots: Duggan, Walsh, DiDomenico
New Jersey Devils director of player development Meghan Duggan has been hired as general manager of PWHL Hamilton, one of the new expansion teams joining the highest level of professional women’s hockey. The hire means Duggan will leave the Devils organization after a half-decade in her player development role. Hailey Salvian of The Athletic notes that Duggan has had some association with the PWHL during her time in New Jersey, serving as special consultant to the hockey operations staff and as a member of the league’s player safety committee.
As a player, Duggan was a highly-decorated captain of the U.S. National Team. Her career in hockey operations began on the coaching staff of Clarkson University’s women’s hockey program in 2014-15, and she coached there for two seasons while also playing in the now-defunct CWHL and NWHL, precursor leagues to the PWHL. In 2021, she was hired by the Devils as director of player development. It seems likely that the Devils, led by a new GM in Sunny Mehta, will look to fill Duggan’s former role at some point this summer.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Former Devils minor-league defenseman Reilly Walsh has signed a one-year contract extension with KHL club Barys Astana. The 27-year-old blueliner was a third-round pick of the Devils at the 2017 draft. A near point-per-game defenseman while he played college hockey at Harvard, Walsh developed into a quality offensive top-four defenseman at the AHL level. He crossed the 40-point plateau twice and had a total of 159 points in 304 career AHL games. Walsh scored 32 points in 70 games for the Ontario Reign in 2024-25, but with over 260 games at the professional level, he was no longer considered a “development player” by the AHL’s development rule, a factor that has prompted many quality AHL players to take contracts overseas. He signed with Astana and played very well there in 2025-26, scoring 16 goals and 46 points, tied for the team lead in scoring with Mike Vecchione, a fellow AHL veteran who left the North American pro ranks last summer.
- Chris DiDomenico, a former Ottawa Senators forward, has decided to leave the Swiss National League after eight seasons as a top player there. DiDomenico has signed with the SHL’s IF Björklöven, per a team announcement. The 37-year-old forward played in 24 games for the Senators in 2017-18, having been signed by the team after two seasons as a quality top-six forward in the Swiss top division. Two members of the Senators’ coaching staff at the time, head coach Guy Boucher (SC Bern) and associate coach Marc Crawford (ZSC Lions), had coached against DiDomenico prior to arriving in Ottawa. DiDomenico was not the only forward the Senators signed out of Switzerland at that time, though he was not as successful in the NHL as fellow signing Tom Pyatt. DiDomenico returned to Switzerland in 2018 and has been a star forward there for the last eight years. Now, he’ll look to bring those qualities to Sweden.
Byron Froese Expected To Retire
According to a report from Dmitry Storozhev of Championat, forward Byron Froese is expected to retire following Lokomotiv Yaroslavl’s second consecutive Gagarin Cup championship. Froese has spent the past two years in the KHL after a successful 12-year career in North America.
Speaking to the outlet after Game 6, Froese said, “I don’t know, I need time. I’ll probably finish, but you can never say never. I just need some rest. I’ve only been home for about two months in the last two years. So I need time to think and discuss it with my family.”
Froese, 35, began his professional career in 2009 when he was selected with the 119th overall pick of that summer’s draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. After spending a few more years in the WHL with the Everett Silvertips and Red Deer Rebels, Froese made the jump to professional play for the 2011-12 season. For the first several years of his career, Froese split his time between the AHL and ECHL.
Failing to carve out a path in the Blackhawks organization, Froese signed as an AHL free agent with the Toronto Marlies and was signed to a standard NHL contract by the Toronto Maple Leafs a year later. Having his contract upgraded wasn’t a surprise, given Froese scored 18 goals and 42 points in 46 games with the Marlies with a +22 rating.
In Toronto, Froese enjoyed his longest stay in the NHL over a single season. During the 2014-15 campaign, Froese appeared in 56 games for the Maple Leafs, scoring two goals and five points with a -11 rating, averaging 12:38 of ice time per game. Next season, toward the trade deadline, Froese was included in the trade package to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the deal that sent Brian Boyle to Toronto.
That trade was the starting point of a nomadic portion of Froese’s career. From the 2017-18 campaign to the 2022-23 season, Froese played in the Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, and Vegas Golden Knights organizations. His last appearance in the NHL came during the 2023-24 season with the Golden Knights, when Froese registered one assist in 16 contests.
If this is the end, Froese will finish with seven goals and 20 points in 141 games with a -15 rating. Additionally, he’s credited with 142 goals and 312 points in 513 AHL contests, somehow finishing with a net-zero rating. Sadly, Froese never achieved champion status at any level in North America, but he can at least retire with two Gagarin Cup rings.
We at PHR congratulate Froese on carving out a career that spanned two continents over 15 seasons, and wish him the best on his next chapter if he does hang up his skates this summer.
These Mid-Season Contract Extensions Have Not Aged Well
This year has been unique for in-season contract extensions, as a rising salary cap put pressure on teams to lock up their pending free agents before they could even sniff the open market. What once looked like a promising free-agent class in the summer of 2026 quickly turned into a very thin market void of big names and impact players. Some of those extensions were signed with players who had thrived in previous years and/or started the season well, but faltered after signing their big new contract, leaving teams in a tough spot heading into the summer. Here are five contracts that the signing teams would presumably like to have back.
The first player on our list could very well turn things around next season, and that is Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley. The 24-year-old inked an eight-year, $84.7MM contract extension at the end of October ($10.587MM AAV), and it made perfect sense at the time, as Harley was the 15th-highest-scoring defenseman in the NHL over the previous three seasons, with 105 points in 166 games, and played a solid defensive game as well. However, he struggled this past season, posting his lowest offensive numbers in three years and struggling to drive play. Harley lacked a solid partner for much of the year, but given his new salary cap hit, the hope would be that he could overcome that obstacle, especially considering Dallas doesn’t have the cap space to really look at upgrades on their back end. Harley has plenty of time to turn things around, and he likely will, but Stars management has to be a little nervous about the deal they inked and the long-term ramifications if Harley can’t get his game back next season.
Sticking with Western Conference defensemen, Jake Walman of the Edmonton Oilers was a colossal disaster after signing his seven-year, $49MM extension with the team. The 30-year-old had been terrific after a trade from the San Jose Sharks, but after signing his extension in October, Walman began to struggle and never returned to his form for most of the season. Walman’s signing was made because Oilers management believed he was a good fit for the team’s style, with his solid first pass and heavy shot. But many of the warts in Walman’s game became evident as the season went on. He isn’t physical, he turns the puck over too much, and he doesn’t play a full season. These issues aren’t exactly unique, but for a player being signed to a $7MM AAV, you’d hope he would give you more than 21 points a season, something Walman has done just once in his NHL career. A big issue for the Oilers and Walman is that his contract will take him from his age 30-37 seasons, and at this point he is a finished product. It’s clear Edmonton overpaid to retain his services.
Moving up front, the Winnipeg Jets were quick to re-sign their captain Adam Lowry to a five-year, $25MM contract extension in late November. The deal looked fine at the time, though there were concerns about his age, as he was 32 at the time of signing, and five years is a long time for a player who plays the way he does. Lowry remains a solid shutdown center who can skate, outwork his opponents, and tilt the ice in the Jets’ favor. But given his age and style of play, it’s fair to wonder how much longer he can serve as a Jets top-nine center before his body breaks down and he is relegated to fourth-line duties. It’s a tough spot for Winnipeg because Lowry is a heart-and-soul player, but five years for him is a long time, and it’s a contract the Jets would probably like to renegotiate. Given the history with Lowry, the Jets would no doubt love to keep him in the fold, but at a lower cap rate.
Another late-October extension (two years, $12MM) was New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who had a decent first season with the Devils but was awful in his second year. The timing of this one was particularly peculiar, as Markstrom was off to a very slow start in October 2025, posting a 5.13 GAA and a .830 SV% in just four appearances. He was also coming off a lower-body injury and was 35 years old at the time, making the timing of the signing even stranger. Obviously, the Devils were concerned he might go on a heater and raise the price tag, but that never happened as Markstrom struggled through much of the year, finishing with a 3.07 GAA and a .883 SV%. Those numbers are clearly concerning, but the silver lining is that Markstrom has a history of struggling through a season and bouncing back the following year to get into Vezina Trophy contention, so a bounce-back season in 2026-27 can’t be discounted. However, for now the Devils must be looking at Markstrom’s $6MM AAV and wondering how much lower the number could have been or whether they should have gone in a different direction.
Finally, we have Detroit Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot, who inked a three-year extension this past January worth $3.85MM per season. The 35-year-old has his strengths, as he is reasonably good at skating and can move the puck. He’s also incredibly physical, playing on the edge much of the time and displaying a high level of orneriness in the defensive zone. But that is where his strengths wear off, and his weaknesses are becoming more glaring as he ages. Chiarot has been a drain on whoever he is paired with, particularly on the possession front, and he has posted the worst Wins Above Replacement score for two consecutive regular seasons (as per hockeystats.com). Chiarot can still be an effective defenseman in the NHL, but not in the top four, and that’s where Detroit may need to deploy him once again next season.
None of these contracts are going to be especially crippling to a team, but they do show how quickly the shine can wear off a high-priced extension and how much pressure teams are under to extend their players, thanks to a rising salary cap and many teams’ possession of additional cap space, chasing a few available players.
Latest On New Jersey Devils, Simon Nemec
May 22nd: Following up on his update from yesterday, James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now can confirm that Nemec has not requested a trade from the Devils and has been in contact with Mehta as recently as this week. Presumably, someone from the organization or Nemec’s representation contacted Nichols regarding the conflicting reports from Slovakia.
May 21st: Earlier this morning, a report from Simon Chop and Stefan Bufan of Denník, a Slovakian outlet, indicated that defenseman Simon Nemec has requested a trade from the New Jersey Devils. Nemec has been involved in trade rumors for the past year or so, and the article indicated that the new General Manager, Sunny Mehta, hadn’t yet contacted Nemec or his representation about a new contract.
However, in a subsequent article, James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now shared that sources indicate Mehta has already contacted Nemec about a new contract, indicating that part of the original report is unfounded. Additionally, a similar situation occurred with Nemec last offseason. The former second-overall pick clarified that it stemmed from a bad translation, and he had no intention of leaving the Devils.
Furthermore, a trade request would be a stark contrast from the tone Nemec set at his end-of-season availability only a few weeks ago. Prompted about his upcoming restricted free agency, Nemec responded with, “I’d love to sign here.” Unless there was a dramatic turn, which technically could have happened since New Jersey hired Mehta, Nemec appears committed to the Devils moving forward.
Nonetheless, this does not mean Nemec will not be traded this summer, nor does Mehta contacting him indicate that the new regime won’t explore the possibility. It’s no secret that New Jersey is seeking a top-six forward, particularly on the right wing, and Nemec is the best trade chip they have in their arsenal.
Afforded more ice time due to the long-term injury to Luke Hughes, Nemec had a solid season, scoring 11 goals and 26 points in 68 games, averaging 19:40 of ice time per game. His possession metrics improved considerably, but that could be attributed to playing on one of the strongest possession teams in the league. New Jersey finished with a team CorsiFor of 52.0% this past season, the 10th-best in the league.
Although it’s unlikely that Nemec will ever challenge for the scoring lead among defensemen, right-handed top-four defensemen are always in high demand throughout the league. If they do make him widely available, the Devils should have no shortage of suitors.
Still, they are in a solid bargaining position, and New Jersey would do well to remember that. Even though he’ll be more difficult to move, the Devils could trade Dougie Hamilton and his $9MM salary, and pivot to targeting Alex Tuch or Anthony Mantha to alleviate their need in the top-six. Unless they can acquire a top-tier talent like Matthew Knies from the Toronto Maple Leafs or Drake Batherson from the Ottawa Senators, it might be wiser for New Jersey to keep Nemec and explore other options to enhance their top six.
Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland of Imagn Images.
Jack Nesbitt Commits To University Of Michigan
Philadelphia Flyers first-round pick Jack Nesbitt announced on social media today that he has committed to play NCAA hockey at the University of Michigan.
Nesbitt, 19, has played the last three seasons for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. Today’s announcement confirms his OHL career has now concluded. A 6’4″ center, Nesbitt has been a quality top-six center for the Spitfires in each of the last two seasons. In his draft campaign, he scored 25 goals and 64 points in 65 regular-season games, and 10 points in 12 playoff games.
This past year, Nesbitt kept up those levels of production – though he didn’t take a major step forward statistically. He finished 2025-26 with 25 goals and 58 points in 55 regular-season games, and 10 points in 13 playoff games. Nesbitt’s Spitfires made a run to the OHL’s conference finals, where they were dispatched in five games by the Kitchener Rangers, the eventual champions.
As a prospect, Nesbitt is generally well-regarded, though some have questioned his eventual NHL upside. Entering the season, the team at Elite Prospects ranked Nesbitt the No. 8 prospect in the Flyers’ system, and he did not feature in their ranking of the top-100 prospects league-wide. In ranking him No. 8 in Philadelphia’s system, Cam Robinson wrote Nesbitt “projects as a reliable two-way forward who can play tough minutes and chip in offensively.”
Scott Wheeler of The Athletic rated Nesbitt the No. 4 prospect in Philadelphia’s system last month, and the No. 80 prospect leaguewide. Wheeler noted scouts have “questions about [Nesbitt’s] ultimate offense and whether he projects as more of a third-line player than a top-six one.”
Nesbitt will get the chance to try to answer those questions at Michigan. He’ll join a team filled to the brim with quality NHL prospects, including first-round pick forwards Michael Hage and Will Horcoff, as well as potential 2026 first-rounders in Adam Valentini and J.P. Hurlbert. Given how much talent Michigan expects to have next season, it will be interesting to see whether Nesbitt lands in the top-six as a freshman with the Wolverines, or if he is utilized in more of a supporting role.
Snapshots: Foligno, Legault, KHL
Minnesota Wild winger Marcus Foligno told The Athletic’s Joe Smith that it would be a “no-brainer” for his brother Nick Foligno to accept a contract extension with the Wild, assuming he is offered one. Foligno said his brother “showed he’s a great role piece for this team” and “likes the makeup of the team” moving forward. With that said, the elder Foligno brother, Nick, said he needs to discuss all of the possibilities for his playing future with his family, and that he will need to be “100 percent committed” if he’s to continue his career with the Wild.
Foligno, 38, was a solid contributor in Minnesota after they acquired him in a mid-season trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. Though he didn’t produce much offense (just four points in 17 regular-season games) he did hold his own on the penalty kill and as a physical presence in the bottom-six. Smith also noted that Foligno, a former captain for two NHL teams, became a “respected voice in the room” for the Wild. If he’s to return in Minnesota, Foligno would likely need to take a steep pay cut from the $4.5MM he earned on his last deal. When Foligno signed that contract, he was in the midst of a season that he finished with 17 goals and 37 points in 74 games. It’s unlikely Foligno will reach that level of scoring again, but he still has something to offer NHL teams, and his brother hopes he’ll do so in Minnesota.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- The AHL announced today that Chicago Wolves defenseman Charles-Alexis Legault has been suspended one playoff game “as a consequence of a boarding incident” in his team’s playoff game against the Grand Rapids Griffins on May 19. A video of the play in question can be found here. Legault appeared to drive Griffins forward Amadeus Lombardi into the boards, after Lombardi had already tripped and was sliding on the ice. Grand Rapids ended up winning the game in overtime thanks to a goal from first-round pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, but the Wolves retain a 2-1 series advantage. They can end Grand Rapids’ season tonight in game four, but will have to do so without Legault.
- Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL won their second consecutive Gagarin Cup title earlier today, defeating Ak Bars Kazan in six games. Lokomotiv’s roster is full of players who are either NHL prospects or who were formerly members of NHL organizations. Their leading scorer, Alexander Radulov, was a lethal scoring winger for the Dallas Stars from 2017 to 2022. Winger Richard Pánik is a former NHL 20-goal scorer. The team also has a few NHL prospects, including 2020 Edmonton Oilers draft pick Maxim Berezkin, and Nashville Predators 2024 first-rounder Yegor Surin. Per Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean, Predators Assistant GM and Director of Scouting Jeff Kealty said Surin “would be an NHL player” right now if not for his contract with Lokomotiv, which runs through 2026-27.
West Notes: Kuzmenko, Stone, Makar
The Los Angeles Kings’ mid-season trade addition of star winger Artemi Panarin could spell the end of pending UFA Andrei Kuzmenko‘s time in the organization, writes Eric Stephens of The Athletic. Per Stephens, Kuzmenko is “likely not needed” now that the Kings have committed to Panarin. Panarin, 34, scored 27 points in 26 regular-season games after his trade to Los Angeles, and signed a two-year, $11MM AAV contract extension to remain a King through 2027-28.
Kuzmenko, 30, is a pending free agent, and the fact that Panarin has signed an extension could mean Kuzmenko will have to look elsewhere to continue his NHL career. Kuzmenko underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in February but returned in time for the playoffs. He had a stellar run after being acquired by the Kings in a mid-season trade in 2024-25, scoring 17 points in 22 regular-season games and six points in six playoff contests. But he wasn’t able to keep up that momentum in 2025-26, as he managed just 25 points in 52 games. Now, he’s reportedly more likely than not to need to continue his NHL career with another franchise.
Other notes from the Western Conference:
- Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone did not skate in today’s optional practice at Ball Arena in Colorado, reports SinBin Vegas. Stone had skated prior to Vegas’ game one victory over the Avalanche, which was his first time skating with the team since he suffered a lower-body injury in the second round against the Anaheim Ducks. Head coach John Tortorella did not provide an update on Stone’s status, and it is unclear what his timeline to return to the Golden Knights’ lineup is. The 34-year-old is one of Vegas’ best all-around players, and had 28 goals and 73 points in 60 games during the regular season.
- Head coach Jared Bednar did not provide an update on the status of injured star defenseman Cale Makar today, indicating that his status remains questionable for game two of the Western Conference Final. Makar missed game one and his replacement in the lineup, Jack Ahcan, played just 7:34 time on ice. Colorado’s next option to replace Makar in the lineup beyond Ahcan is Nick Blankenburg, who the team acquired from the Nashville Predators shortly before the trade deadline. Blankenburg is a right-shot defenseman who scored 24 points in 61 games this season.
East Notes: Crosby, Leach, Sabres
Although Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will turn 39 before the start of next season, he isn’t seriously considering ending what has been a legendary career in the NHL. Crosby spoke to The Athletic’s Josh Yohe about his future, and said “I definitely want to keep playing for as many years as possible.” He also added that any previous comments about wanting to take a “year-to-year” approach was more about giving the Penguins as much financial flexibility as possible, rather than an indication that he is weighing hanging up his skates.
That Crosby isn’t giving any serious thought to retirement shouldn’t come as any surprise. First and foremost, Crosby is one of the game’s all-time great competitors. He hasn’t won a playoff series since 2017-18, and it’s likely he’ll want to see the Penguins through their current retool as far as he can. But the more important factor to Crosby’s longevity isn’t his competitive drive, it’s the simple fact that he remains an extremely effective NHL center. Crosby scored 29 goals and 74 points in 68 games in 2025-26. Although the Penguins stumbled in the first round of the playoffs, Crosby is still a star first-line center. Before injuries limited him this past season, Crosby had three consecutive campaigns where he scored more than 90 points. It seems he’s eager to continue leading the Penguins into their increasingly promising future, and for as long as he wants to continue playing, he’ll have a place at the top of the Penguins lineup.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- The Boston Bruins will not retain assistant coach Jay Leach for next season, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Leach, whose contract is set to expire this summer, has been an assistant behind the bench in Boston for the last two years. First-year head coach Marco Sturm inherited Leach from the staff of former bench boss Jim Montgomery. Per Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe, Leach “primarily worked with Boston’s defensemen” during his time with the team. Before he became an assistant in Boston, Leach spent three seasons with the Seattle Kraken on the staff of former head coach Dave Hakstol. Leach had some previous experience in the Bruins organization as well, serving as head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, for four seasons.
- Buffalo Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen told the media, including Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic, that he informed skaters Bowen Byram and Zach Benson of the organization’s desire to sign them both to long-term contract extensions. Benson, 21, enjoyed a breakout third season in the NHL, scoring 18 goals and 52 points across 78 combined regular-season and playoff contests. The twin pillars of Benson’s game – his dynamic offensive skill and his aggressive, pest-like qualities – have endeared him to Sabres fans and team management alike. Kekäläinen called Benson, who is a pending RFA, a “core piece.” Byram, who turns 25 early next month, isn’t a pending RFA but becomes extension-eligible July 1. His $6.25MM AAV contract walks him directly to unrestricted free agency in a little over a year, but Buffalo is hoping he won’t reach that point. Byram scored 11 goals and 43 points this past season, and added seven points in 13 playoff games.
Transaction Notes: Paquette, Gaudreau, Mayer
The Texas Stars, AHL affiliates of the Dallas Stars, announced the signing of forward Charlie Paquette to a one-year AHL contract. As is customary with AHL deals, the financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. Paquette, 20, was a seventh-round pick by the team at last year’s entry draft. The Stars hold the exclusive rights to sign Paquette to an entry-level contract until June 1, 2027, but they have decided to give Paquette a place in their organization – albeit without an ELC – before that point.
The contract will allow Paquette to turn pro with AHL Texas next season. Paquette is a 6’2″ winger who has played in the OHL since 2021-22. Paquette experienced steady, positive development over the course of his time in junior hockey. He scored just seven points in 54 games as a rookie, but two years later managed 21 goals and 35 points. He became a point-per-game scorer in his final two years of OHL action, potting 66 goals and 133 points in his final 133 games of junior hockey. While he is not considered to be among Dallas’ top prospects, he’ll get the chance to try to make the Stars’ AHL team next fall, and will either begin his career there or with the franchise’s ECHL affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads.
Other transactions from around the hockey world:
- Minor-league goaltender Benjamin Gaudreau, 23, announced on social media earlier this week that he has committed to play college hockey next season at Clarkson University. While Gaudreau would have been ineligible to play college hockey in previous years due to his experience in professional hockey, more recent developments in the area of collegiate eligibility have paved the way for players with ECHL and even AHL games played to head to, or back to, the college ranks. Gaudreau is a 2021 third-round pick of the San Jose Sharks but the team let his rights lapse without giving him an entry-level deal. Gaudreau is perhaps best known for the place he occupied on Team Canada for the World Junior Championships in 2022-23. He had a shutout over Austria in the tournament and helped Canada win gold. Gaudreau spent last season with the Trois-Rivières Lions of the ECHL, posting an .897 save percentage in 29 games. In total, he has played in 72 games in the ECHL and five games in the AHL.
- Defenseman Connor Mayer has decided to head overseas to continue his professional career after spending the last two seasons in the AHL and ECHL. The former Colorado College blueliner signed a deal with HC Innsbruck of the ICEHL. Mayer will head to Austria after a 2024-25 season that saw him lose his spot in the AHL. Mayer signed out of college late in the 2023-24 season and spent most of 2024-25 in the AHL, getting into 22 games for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles compared to just four games in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies. Mayer then signed with the Hershey Bears but he only ended up playing in one game for the club. He spent most of 2025-26, 55 total games, with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. Now the 5’11” rearguard will head to Austria to join an Innsbruck franchise that has struggled mightily over the last two years – winning just 20 of their last 96 league contests.
Metro Notes: Bennett, Fedotov, Hammers
Ray Bennett‘s time seeking a new coaching role didn’t take long. Moments after the New York Islanders announced that they had mutually parted ways with Bennett, the Washington Capitals announced they have hired him for the 2026-27 season.
Bennett was presumably hired to replace Kirk Muller, who departed the organization in late April. The 64-year-old coach has served as an assistant coach in the NHL for over 25 years, primarily focusing on power-play strategies with the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, and Islanders.
The Capitals’ work with a man advantage could certainly use a fresh perspective. Washington had a solid power play during the 2024-25 campaign, finishing 13th in the league with a 23.53% success rate. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the same prosperity this season, falling to 25th in the league with a 17.84% rate.
Additional notes from the Metropolitan Division:
- Despite being one win away from an Eastern Conference Final berth, the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters have lost some of their goaltending depth, likely for the remainder of the postseason. According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, netminder Ivan Fedotov has returned overseas to deal with an undisclosed injury. Since he is an unrestricted free agent this summer and left the team during their pursuit of the Calder Cup, it seems likely that Fedotov does not intend to continue his professional career in North America. He may have already begun exploring opportunities overseas.
- The Islanders announced the name and logo of their new AHL affiliate in Hamilton, following the team’s move from Bridgeport, CT. The new AHL franchise will be named the Hamilton Hammers, reflecting the historical significance of the steel industry in the Ontario city.