Blues Sign Colin Ralph To Entry-Level Deal
The Blues signed Michigan State defenseman Colin Ralph to an entry-level contract on Friday, per a team press release. It is a three-year pact that will begin next season. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Ralph, a physical two-way lefty, was the first of St. Louis’ two second-round picks in 2024, going 48th overall out of premier Minnesota prep school Shattuck St. Mary’s. Standing at 6’4″ and 229 lbs, that size – plus his 66 points in 57 games against under-18 competition to lead Shattuck defenders in scoring in his draft year – made him an attractive candidate for a Blues club that continually prioritizes size on its blue line, although most scouts had him pegged as a third-round talent at best.
The Minnesota native stayed in his home state in 2024-25, suiting up for St. Cloud State as a freshman. He had some growing pains, though, finishing the year with eight points and a -4 rating in 35 games. He quickly entered the transfer portal and landed with Michigan State. He now turns pro after just one year with the Spartans, but his sophomore effort was a strong one. He pushed for a bit more playing time and ended up with a 1-10–11 scoring line and a +20 rating in 37 outings.
Ralph’s frame and lack of offensive utility thus far at higher levels indicate he’ll be more of a shutdown piece at the pro level. He did win gold at last year’s World Junior Championship as a depth rearguard for the United States, posting an assist in seven games. Ralph is the #8-ranked Blues prospect according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic and Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff, sitting fourth in the pool among defenders.
He’ll now have an initial three-year track, most of which will likely be spent with AHL Springfield, before the Blues have to make their first decision on whether or not to retain him. He likely won’t be very high on the list for a recall next year, but should push for initial NHL playing time in 2027-28 or 2028-29.
Oilers Sign Owen Michaels To Entry-Level Deal
April 3: Michaels’ deal is for this season, PuckPedia confirms. As such, it carries a prorated cap hit of $1.484MM. That includes a signing bonus of $40K with an NHL salary of $935K and a minors salary of $85K. He will immediately become a 10.2(c) player in July, meaning he’ll essentially be a restricted free agent who can’t sign an offer sheet.
April 2: The Oilers announced Thursday that they’ve signed Western Michigan University captain Owen Michaels to a one-year, entry-level deal. There’s conflicting information on when the contract takes effect; the team press release stated the deal will run for the last few weeks of this season, while the team tweet announcing the signing indicated the deal was for 2026-27.
In any event, the 23-year-old Michaels turns pro after a highly successful three-year run with the Broncos. The 6’0″ right-shot forward broke out as a top-of-the-lineup threat as a sophomore after being buried in the lineup as a freshman, erupting for 18 goals and 36 points in 42 games in 2024-25 en route to Western Michigan’s first-ever national championship. While the Broncos were knocked off by Denver in a regional final upset in the national tournament last week, Michaels was still relatively productive this year with a 13-13–26 line in 39 games.
At his age, the usual curve for an undrafted talent suggests he’ll top out as a high-end AHL contributor with some call-up potential, particularly since he never sniffed the point-per-game threshold in college. As Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff relays, it’s his skating that will likely hold him back from becoming an everyday NHL piece. Still, he should be a good play-driver in AHL Bakersfield as a strong support piece for the Oilers’ higher-ceiling forward talent.
If Michaels’ contract is for next year (or if it takes effect immediately and he re-ups as a restricted free agent this offseason), Edmonton will have 33 deals on the books. If Michaels signed for 2025-26, he will be eligible to make his NHL debut in the regular season but won’t be eligible to play in any playoff games for the Oilers, much like they did with Quinn Hutson last year.
Penguins’ Caleb Jones Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Done For Season
Penguins defenseman Caleb Jones hasn’t played an NHL game since Oct. 23. He won’t be getting back into the lineup again this season, as the Pens announced Friday he underwent shoulder surgery back on March 18. There’s a four-to-six-month recovery timeline attached, which may stretch a bit into next season’s training camp on the long end but shouldn’t take him out of any regular-season action in 2026-27.
Barring a trade or contract termination, Jones will be back in Pittsburgh next season. He joined the Pens on a two-year, $1.8MM deal last summer that will pay him $1MM in actual salary in 2026-27.
The 28-year-old will compete for a roster spot next year, having played just 13 NHL games over the last two seasons. He spent 2024-25 on a two-way deal with the Kings that saw him play mostly in the AHL, only getting six games in L.A. across a few call-ups throughout the year. He saw seven games with the Pens to open this year as a #6/7 option but sustained a lower-body injury that ended up costing him nearly three months of game time. He was assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning stint and suited up once for them on Jan. 14, sustaining what would eventually be his season-ending shoulder injury that night.
Jones was then suspended for 20 games in early February for violating the NHL’s rules regarding performance-enhancing substances. He wasn’t healthy enough to play anyway, so it didn’t matter much. Jones finished serving that suspension earlier this week but still won’t be an option as Pittsburgh heads toward its first playoff berth since 2022.
Jones didn’t look out of place at all in his small sample at the beginning of the season. He had one assist and a +1 rating while averaging 17:10 of ice time per game, blocking a career-high 2.14 shots per game. His under-the-hood numbers weren’t great – Pittsburgh only controlled 41.4% of shot attempts with Jones on the ice at 5-on-5 – but he was starting his shifts in the defensive zone two-thirds of the time. He skated primarily on the third pairing with since-demoted rookie Harrison Brunicke, with that unit controlling a promising 54.3% of expected goals, according to MoneyPuck.
Still, it’s hard to see Jones playing a significant NHL role next year. The team’s midseason pickup of Samuel Girard pushed him further down the left-side depth chart. If the Pens can manage to re-sign pending unrestricted free agent Ryan Shea, Jones will likely enter camp as the #5 lefty on the depth chart at best behind Girard, Shea, Parker Wotherspoon, and Ryan Graves. That’s not even considering the competition that group could face from 2022 first-rounder Owen Pickering.
Jets Reassign Danny Zhilkin
The Jets loaned forward Danil Zhilkin to AHL Manitoba on Friday, per a team announcement. Since his recall last week came under emergency conditions, Zhilkin needed to be returned to the minors as soon as he was no longer needed for Winnipeg to ice 12 forwards. That happened last night as he was scratched for their 3-0 loss to the Stars.
Zhilkin, 22, was a third-round pick by Winnipeg in 2022. The Russo-Canadian centerman has logged the first six appearances of his NHL career this season, including back-to-back performances against the Avalanche and Blackhawks on Saturday and Tuesday. His first career point came in the latter outing, notching the primary assist on an Isak Rosen goal in an eventual 4-3 overtime win.
The skill forward had solid offensive output in junior hockey, scoring 0.88 points per game over his final two OHL seasons. His December birthdate meant he was eligible to turn pro out of the CHL in his second season post-draft, one year earlier than most. The adjustment to the pros wasn’t kind to Zhilkin, although Manitoba has been a horrid offensive environment for the Jets to develop their prospects over the past few years.
The Moose are having another tough year in the goal-scoring column, only managing 2.49 per game, but Zhilkin has been able to take something of a step forward in his third year in the pros. The 6’1″ middleman has 11 goals and 22 points in 54 games, along with a career-best -9 rating. That’s more than double the goal output and more than the cumulative point output he’d come up with over his first two AHL seasons.
Zhilkin ranked #13 in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s overview of the Jets’ pool last month. He still has another year left on his entry-level contract. Another step forward in Manitoba in 2026-27 will likely be necessary for him to warrant a qualifying offer from Winnipeg.
Blue Jackets’ Damon Severson Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Out For Season
April 3: After additional evaluation, Severson won’t be an option this season again at all. He underwent shoulder surgery yesterday and will not be an option to play again in 2025-26, per a team release Friday. It’s unclear if his return timeline could drag into training camp in the fall.
March 27: Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson is out week-to-week with the upper-body injury he sustained in last night’s loss to the Canadiens, head coach Rick Bowness said Friday.
Severson scored Columbus’ only goal in the 2-1 regulation loss before taking a hard hit from Zachary Bolduc, who scored the eventual game-winner, with 8:04 remaining in the third period. He skated off and immediately went to the room, favoring his left shoulder.
The Blue Jackets obviously lost a bit of ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race with the loss, but their strong underlying numbers still leave them with a 77.9% chance of making the playoffs, per MoneyPuck, despite having the league’s third-most difficult remaining strength of schedule. At 87 points, they’re tied with the Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division but have a game in hand, winning the tiebreaker and pushing the Isles to the second wild-card slot.
That playoff likelihood drops a bit without Severson, who is having a resurgent campaign in Columbus. The 31-year-old righty had a pair of underwhelming seasons after signing an eight-year, $50MM deal in 2023 as part of a sign-and-trade with the Devils, even sitting as a healthy scratch for a few games last season, but has re-emerged as a does-it-all top-four piece with the best possession numbers of his career.
Through 71 games, Severson has an 8-24–32 scoring line while averaging 21:04 of ice time per game. Coupled with a career-best +18 rating, it’s his best offensive showing as a Blue Jacket and the third-best of his 12-year career on a per-game basis.
It’s what Severson has done to drive play at even strength, though, that has made him especially valuable. The Blue Jackets are controlling 54.4% of shot attempts at even strength with him on the ice – a number that even eclipses Zach Werenski – and can step in as a second-unit power play quarterback when needed.
Columbus doesn’t have an extra righty sitting around on the active roster. Youngster Denton Mateychuk, who’s gotten comfortable playing his offside on a pairing next to Ivan Provorov at points over the last couple of years, will shift back there for the time being. Egor Zamula, a healthy scratch in nine of the Jackets’ last 10 games, will presumably step back into the lineup in a bottom-pairing role.
Ryan Lin Commits To University Of Denver
A projected top-15 selection in the upcoming 2026 NHL Draft will continue his development in Colorado next season. According to Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects, defenseman Ryan Lin has committed to the University of Denver for his collegiate career.
Lin, 17, has spent the last two years playing for the WHL’s Vancouver Giants. He has been dynamic offensively throughout his time there, scoring 19 goals and 110 points in 113 games, with a -8 rating. NHL Central Scouting has Lin ranked as the 13th-best prospect ahead of the draft, and the fifth-best defenseman.
Despite his -8 rating throughout his WHL career, Lin is better defensively than his numbers may indicate, especially as a smaller defenseman. Standing at 5’11”, 176lbs, Lin has the physical makeup of an offense-first power-play quarterback.
However, his skating and hockey IQ make him more of a two-way defenseman. Although he may have some issues muscling forwards off of the puck, he has the edge work and intelligence to put himself in the best position to defend, which is a talent in and of itself. While it isn’t a direct comparison, Tampa Bay Lightning veteran Ryan McDonagh has often been cited as one of the best-positioned defenders throughout his NHL career, and Lin has brought a lot of that to his amateur career.
Additionally, there are few programs better for development than the University of Denver. Even recently, Eric Pohlkamp, the 132nd overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks, is a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award in his second season after scoring 18 goals and 39 points in 41 games with a +25 rating. Including Zeev Buium in that mix, it’s clear that head coach David Carle has a knack for turning defensemen into better versions of themselves.
Penguins Reassign Avery Hayes
As injured players return to the lineup, the Pittsburgh Penguins are better positioned to trim down their forward corps as they finish off the regular season. To that end, the Penguins announced that they’ve reassigned forward Avery Hayes to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Hayes, 23, has been an oft-called-upon forward for the Penguins for the last few months. Beginning with his first recall on February 5th, Hayes has been recalled an additional four times. The Penguins have been dealing with a few minor injuries to their forward corps, making Hayes a quick fill-in when needed.
He’s played relatively well in his opportunities. Throughout his five call-ups, Hayes has scored three goals in 13 games with a -4 rating, averaging 10:38 of ice time per game. Additionally, he’s landed 20 shots on goal and 16 hits, making him a solid plug-and-play player in the bottom-six.
Still, there are a few flaws in his game, which aren’t unexpected from a young winger, that will need to be worked out if he hopes to be on the roster more consistently next year. Granted, it’s a small sample size, but his work in the possession and defensive game has been lackluster throughout his handful of appearances.
Regardless, it should be considered a successful year for Hayes. The Penguins signed him as an undrafted free agent from the OHL’s Peterborough Petes a few years ago, and he’s played particularly well for the WBS Penguins. This season, he has nearly achieved a point-per-game scoring line, registering 22 goals and 35 points in 39 games with a +8 rating. He’s almost matched last year’s totals (23 goals and 42 points) in nearly 20 fewer games.
Injury Notes: Faulk, Kleven, Salomonsson
Despite picking up a crucial two points last night against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Detroit Red Wings are heading to New York with some injury concerns. Before the beginning of the third period, the Red Wings announced that recent deadline acquisition, defenseman Justin Faulk, left the game due to a lower-body injury.
Obviously, Detroit didn’t have too much information regarding Faulk’s injury immediately after the game. The team is expected to run Faulk through some tests today, and they should have further clarification ahead of tomorrow’s contest against the New York Rangers.
Before the injury, it seemed Faulk struggled to adapt to the Red Wings. In 12 games, the 34-year-old veteran had scored one goal and three points with a -5 rating, averaging just under 20 minutes of ice time. Additionally, his 43.3% CorsiFor at even strength indicates he has been a significant non-factor for Detroit when on the ice. Still, the Red Wings gave up a pretty penny to acquire his services at the deadline, and they’ll need all the help they can get to break their 10-year playoff drought over their next seven games.
Additional injury notes:
- Staying in the Atlantic Division, the Ottawa Senators are dealing with yet another injury to their defensive corps. The team is already without Thomas Chabot, Dennis Gilbert, Nick Jensen, Jake Sanderson, and Carter Yakemchuk. In last night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, after taking a puck to the face, the Senators shared that Tyler Kleven left the game with an injury, and the team isn’t expecting good news regarding his near-future availability. For their next contest, unless a call-up is made, the only left-handed player who can play defense for Ottawa is Kurtis MacDermid.
- Faulk and Kleven weren’t the only defensemen injured last night. The Winnipeg Jets announced that Elias Salomonsson left the game due to an upper-body injury after being on the receiving end of a reverse hit by Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson. It’s been confirmed that Salomonsson has entered concussion protocol, so there’s a strong likelihood that his season is over.
Devils’ Arseny Gritsyuk Done For Season
According to a team announcement, New Jersey Devils forward Arseny Gritsyuk will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season due to surgery. The Devils didn’t specify the type of surgery Gritsyuk underwent, but it’s believed it’s related to a recent upper-body injury.
Gritsyuk, 25, hasn’t played for New Jersey in several days. His last game with the team, and now confirmed to be his last game of the season, was on March 24th against the Dallas Stars, in which Gritsyuk tallied an assist on a Connor Brown goal.
All in all, it was a solid campaign for the first-year Russian. One year after scoring 17 goals and 44 points in 49 games for the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg, Gritsyuk wraps up his rookie season with 13 goals and 31 points in 66 games with a -3 rating.
Although the top-heavy Devils are led by the likes of Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Nico Hischier, Gritsyuk became a solid secondary scorer for the club. Although he may be usurped in New Jersey’s seven remaining games (after tonight), Gritsyuk will likely finish seventh among Devils forwards in scoring.
Furthermore, he proved to be a valuable asset for New Jersey in terms of maintaining possession of the puck. At the time of writing, Gritsyuk is first on the Devils in CorsiFor at even strength with a 58.8%, almost a full percent higher than Bratt. Furthermore, among the 14 Devils that have played in more than 700 minutes for the team this season, Gritsyk ranked second with a 51.9% xGoals%, according to MoneyPuck.
Unfortunately, his solid introduction into the NHL has left New Jersey in a tricky spot with Gritsyuk for the offseason. He is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, as his one-year, $925K contract expires on July 1. Given that the Devils don’t have a lot of money coming off the books this summer, they’ll likely need to make a move to sign Gritsyuk to a multi-year deal.
The team had been attempting to move Dougie Hamilton for much of the regular season, and will likely revisit that this summer. If they manage to clear his entire $9MM cap hit off the books, the Devils should have no issues keeping Gritsyuk around. However, if they’re unable to, he may become an impromptu non-tender candidate, giving New Jersey additional breathing room moving forward.
Lightning Place Victor Hedman On LTIR
April 2nd: According to PuckPedia, the Lightning have placed Hedman on long-term injured reserve. Per the requirements for activation, Hedman must miss 10 games and 24 days before he’s eligible to return. That means that Hedman won’t be able to play until their penultimate regular-season matchup against the Detroit Red Wings on April 13th.
March 25th: The Lightning announced Wednesday that captain Victor Hedman will be out for at least one additional game as he takes a temporary leave of absence for personal reasons.
Hedman has already missed Tampa Bay’s last three contests. He left their game against the Canucks last Thursday after less than five minutes of ice time and didn’t return due to what the team labeled an illness.
That, plus a whole host of other injuries, has limited the usually durable Hedman to under half of the Bolts’ games this season. He has only managed 33 appearances, currently tracking for a career low, including lockout and COVID-shortened seasons.
Hedman, who finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting just last year, hasn’t had nearly the same effect when dressed, either. At 18:52 of ice time per game, he’s averaging under 20 minutes for the first time in his 17-year career, and his 0.52 points per game is his worst output since his early 20s.
The Bolts have maintained a 27-7-3 record without Hedman dressed this season, including a 2-0-1 stretch in their last three without him. They certainly miss his presence, even lower in the lineup, with depth options Declan Carlile and Maxwell Crozier sidelined, but they’ve been able to keep their system rolling and intact this season amid a bevy of other injuries on defense.
At this point in the season, the Lightning have essentially locked up home ice in the first round with a 89.5% chance of finishing in the top two in the Atlantic Division, per MoneyPuck. A playoff spot is all but clinched, but the race with the Sabres for the division title is still wide open.