Cruz Lucius Won’t Sign With Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t be signing one of their better collegiate prospects. According to a report from DK Pittsburgh Sports, forward Cruz Lucius has notified the Penguins that he won’t sign his entry-level contract with the team, and will become a collegiate free agent later this summer on August 15th.
Lucius, 21, recently finished his senior season at Arizona State University. He was originally drafted 124th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2022 NHL Draft, before having his signing rights traded to the Penguins in the Jake Guentzel trade.
The Lawrence, KS native burst onto the scene in his freshman season, scoring 11 goals and 34 points in 34 games, then at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his collegiate career with the Badgers the following season, scoring 13 goals and 34 points in 36 games in a nearly identical stat line.
Moving to the transfer portal, Lucius landed with the Sun Devils. His junior season was unfortunately affected by injuries, resulting in two goals and 10 points across 19 games. Back to full health this year, Lucius had his best personal campaign, scoring 15 goals and 46 points in 36 games, finishing 11th in the nation in scoring, just one point behind James Hagens of Boston College.
In the report from DK Pittsburgh, they included a quote from the Penguins’ President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas, saying, “(Lucius and his agent) informed us that that he was not going to be signing in Pittsburgh for a few reasons that’s up to him to share. It’s a personal thing for him. We felt we had a great opportunity for him, and the proof is in the pudding on the development side, but players are entitled to make their decision, and I don’t think we’re at the position here anymore where we have to beg people to come.”
Now, Lucius will spend the next few months choosing where his next landing spot will be. He should get decent interest from around the league, as teams wouldn’t lose much outside of a roster spot by offering him an opportunity. Fortunately, Lucius is seeking a new organization after a successful conclusion to his collegiate career.
2026 Hobey Baker Award Finalists Announced
The NCAA has announced their Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalists. University of Michigan senior T.J. Hughes, University of Minnesota-Duluth sophomore Max Plante, and Universty of Denver junior Eric Pohlkamp will be the last in the race to win college hockey’s coveted MVP award. Hughes and Plante sit second and third in national scoring with 56 and 52 points respectively, while Pohlkamp leads all defenders with 39 points.
All three were true number-ones for their teams. Hughes’ veteran presence and ability away from the puck helped a young Michigan squad rival the top ranking in the country for most of the season. Plante, a Detroit Red Wings prospect, was the motor behind one of the most explosive offenses in the country – in tandem with his brother, Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Zam Plante. Pohlkamp, a San Jose Sharks prospect, embraced the top defender on a perennial National Championship contender and added onto it a starring role on the Spengler Cup’s U.S. Collegiate Selects lineup. Hughes and Pohlkamp remain have also reached the Frozen Four, set to kickoff on April 9th.
All three have strong cases for being named college hockey’s top players. It was another difficult year for the selection committee after having to decide between Isaac Howard, Ryan Leonard, and Zeev Buium last year.
Even with the pedigree on the ballot this year, the talent left in the Top 10 is suprising. Quinnipiac University winger, and Calgary Flames prospect, Ethan Wyttenbach leads the nation in scoring, as a freshman, with 59 points. He had a breakout year on the top offense in the country, one that he will be returning to next season. Michigan State University teammates Charlie Stramel and Trey Augustine also had standout years serving as the veteran leaders on a newly-assembled Spartans squad. Even Boston College, and Boston Bruins, center James Hagens and top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Gavin McKenna had strong cases for MVP honors. The 2025-26 season, and the first year of CHL eligiblity, brought a wealth of talent to the college flight.
Panthers Assessing Injuries To Aaron Ekblad, Dmitry Kulikov
The Florida Panthers have even more injuries to sort through after Tuesday night’s win over the Ottawa Senators. Defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Dmitry Kulikov were both injured in the matchup. Ekblad sustained a broken finger after blocking a shot with his right-hand, while Kulikov sustained a broken nose after a puck deflected into his face per George Richard of Florida Hockey Now. Ekblad will be reassessed in 10 days – just three days before the end of Florida’s season – while Kulikov may only need to miss Thursday night’s game against the Boston Bruins, head coach Paul Maurice told Richard.
Ekblad could join a long list of Panthers stars declared out for the rest of the season. Florida’s list of injuries includes Aleksander Barkov, Brad Marchand, and Niko Mikkola – all set to miss the final eight games of the season. Ekblad has filled a heavy role in the wake of their injuries, averaging more than 22 minutes of ice time each night through 15 games in March. He scored five points and a plus-four in those minutes, helping the Panthers piece together a 6-9-0 record despite their heap of star absences.
Ekblad has been one of Florida’s few consistent lineup pieces this season, so far only missing two games to injury. But that consistency didn’t help him avoid the down year that hit many Panthers. Ekblad has racked up just 26 points and a minus-five in 72 games this season. That is the second-lowest scoring pace (0.36) of Ekblad’s 12-year career in the NHL, behind the 2023-24 campaign that saw him score 18 points in 51 games (0.35). The 29 year old still filled a crucial role on the Panthers blue-line all season long and should continue to hold a core role, even if his season ends with Tuesday’s game.
Kulikov has been much more limited this season. He has only appeared in 17 games on the year thanks to a hip injury that required surgery, and a five-month absence, sustained in Florida’s second game of the season. He was out of the lineup from October 10th to March 1st. Kulikov hasn’t managed any scoring in his few games this season, to go with a minus-five and eight penalty minutes. He has two years remaining on his four-year, $4.6MM contract signed with Florida in 2024. That should help ensure that Kulikov has a chance to return to his bottom-pair role with some more consistency next season. He will face lineup pressure from Donovan Sebrango, who scored four points in 32 games while helping to fill-in for Kulikov’s absence. Sebrango also left Tuesday’s game early due to injury but is expected to be okay, per Richard.
Florida sits well outside of a playoff spot with only a few games left on their schedule. Their disastrous season continues to face blows in the form of star injuries. Kulikov is expected to begin playing through his injury as soon as Saturday. He will be a part of a handicapped Panthers lineup attempting to pull together a few more wins before the year comes to an end.
Golden Knights To Activate Carter Hart From LTIR
The Vegas Golden Knights are expected to activate goaltender Carter Hart off of long-term injured reserve, and award him the start in Thursday night’s game against the Calgary Flames, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review Journal. Hart has sat out of the last 33 games due to an extended lower-body injury sustained on January 8th.
Hart signed a two-year contract with Vegas in October and returned to NHL ice in early-December. He went on to appear in 12 games with the Golden Knights over the next month, posting six wins and a .871 save percentage in the process. Vegas deployed Hart as their starting goaltender through that month, defaulting Akira Schmid to the backup role while Adin Hill worked his way back from a multi-month leg injury. Hill returned to the lineup one week after Hart’s injury.
Vegas has turned towards Hill and Schmid to fill their goaltending room in the near-three months since Hart went down. Hill has carried the bulk of the weight, recording nine wins, one shutout, and a .865 save percentage in 21 games since returning to the lineup. Schmid has recorded four wins and a .889 save percentage in 12 games. Carl Lindbom also stepped into one game – an 18-save win – after Hart’s injury.
With Hart’s return, freshly-cristened Vegas head coach John Tortorella will now have to juggle three goalies at the NHL level. He could have some favor for Hart, who he coached on the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Those campaigns stand as some of Hart’s best. He tallied 22 wins and a .907 save percentage in 55 games of 2022-23, and 12 wins and a .906 save percentage in 26 games of 2023-24. His only season with more wins and a higher save percentage came in his breakout 2019-20 season, when Hart tallied 24 wins and a .914 save percentage in 43 games.
A familiar face behind the bench could help Hart turn a disastrous season – marked by court cases, a slow return, and injury – into a positive swing when Vegas needs it most. The Golden Knights ranked in the middle of the league – 17th, to be exact – in goals-against per-game over the month of March. That is despite the team also facing the second-fewest shots-against in the same span. Those struggles led to the firing of Stanley Cup-winning head coach Bruce Cassidy and a turn towards the experienced Tortorella. Now, Vegas will test if they hve found the goaltending needed to hang onto their third-place spot in the Pacific Division, through a trio of Hart, Hill, and Schmid.
Kings Sign Hampton Slukynsky, Grant Slukynsky To Entry-Level Deals
April 2: The Kings announced both Hampton’s and Grant’s signings on Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed. Hampton’s is a three-year deal while Grant’s is for one year, both beginning next season. They’ll go to AHL Ontario to suit up on amateur tryouts for the remainder of 2025-26.
March 30: The Los Angeles Kings are expected to sign one of their promising goaltending prospects. According to Alexander Legget of Mayor’s Manor, the Kings are expected to sign netminder Hampton Slukynsky to his entry-level contract.
Slukynsky, 20, has spent his collegiate career with the Western Michigan University Broncos. Los Angeles selected the Warroad, MN native out of high school in the 2023 NHL Draft with the 118th overall pick. Slukynsky spent his post-draft season with the USHL’s Fargo Force before officially joining the Broncos.
Even after winning the USHL’s Clark Cup and Goaltender of the Year award in 2023-24, few would have expected what Slukynsky would do in his freshman campaign. Slukynsky was integral to Western Michigan University capturing its first National Championship in program history. He finished the year with a 19-5-1 record in 25 games with a .922 SV% and 1.90 GAA.
Earlier that season, he added more championship wins to his resume. Although he wasn’t the team’s starter, Slukynsky helped Team USA capture gold in the U20 IIHF World Junior Championships, winning both of his starts with a .933 SV%.
This season, despite the Broncos not defending their title, Slukynsky continued to post elite numbers. He finished his sophomore season with a 27-11-1 record in 39 games with a .915 SV% and 2.30 GAA, including four shutouts.
Not only are the Kings expected to sign Hampton, but they’re also expected to sign his brother, Grant Slukynsky, who is an undrafted collegiate prospect. Like his brother, Grant, 24, spent the last two years with the Broncos, scoring 20 goals and 76 points in 81 games.
Combined, their resumes speak for themselves. Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, the pair have combined for two separate Clark Cup championships, a National Championship, and a World Junior gold medal. The Kings will maintain hope that the brothers can continue their winning ways in the professional ranks.
Oilers Sign Owen Michaels To Entry-Level Deal
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.
Lightning Recall Mitchell Chaffee
The Lightning have recalled right winger Mitchell Chaffee from AHL Syracuse, per a team announcement Thursday.
Chaffee, who has been in Syracuse since clearing waivers in late October, will make his first NHL appearance in over five months tonight against the Penguins. He and Oliver Bjorkstrand are entering the lineup in place of Scott Sabourin and Brandon Hagel, who both sustained undisclosed injuries in Tuesday’s loss to the Canadiens but aren’t expected to miss more than a couple of games at most.
It wasn’t too long ago that Chaffee had made himself a bottom-six regular in Tampa. The 28-year-old made a career-high 66 appearances last season, notching 12 goals and six assists along the way. He was a welcome physical presence, ranking third on the team with 133 hits, and the 6’1″ righty was one of their most efficient scorers with a 17.6% shooting percentage.
Chaffee slipped down the Bolts’ depth chart after they acquired Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde from the Kraken at last year’s trade deadline and signed Pontus Holmberg in free agency last summer, though. Through seven games in October, he went without a point and was averaging only 9:29 of ice time per game. The Bolts opted to waive him, in part due to wanting to give Dominic James an extended look.
Since returning to a high-leverage AHL role in Syracuse, Chaffee has been spectacular. He ranks fourth on the Crunch in scoring with 24 goals and 31 assists for 55 points in 52 games.
He now projects to get another look in a fourth-line role with Nick Paul and Corey Perry while Sabourin, Hagel, and the IR-bound James all remain unavailable. He should stick around until the day-to-day Hagel and Sabourin can get back into the rotation.
These could be Chaffee’s final games for the Lightning. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent wrapping up a two-year, $1.6MM extension he signed in 2024.
Flyers To Activate Tyson Foerster From Injured Reserve
The Flyers will activate winger Tyson Foerster from injured reserve before tonight’s game against the Red Wings, the team announced. He underwent arm surgery in mid-December and wasn’t expected to be an option until mid-May, making his return roughly six weeks ahead of schedule.
Things couldn’t look much brighter at the moment for the Flyers, who have made themselves a late entrant in the Eastern Conference playoff push. They’ve gotten some help with the Islanders, Blue Jackets, Red Wings, and Senators all cooling off, but have done their job to make themselves competitive, going 7-2-1 in their last 10. They’re now just two points back of Columbus for the playoff cutoff with a game in hand, but still have Detroit and Ottawa to leapfrog, too. The crowded field still has the Flyers’ playoff odds down at 22.3%, per MoneyPuck, but that’s still a tangible chance this late in the year.
Foerster returning only stands to boost their chances. A strong two-way piece who looks to be a consistent 20-goal man for years to come, he started his season with 10 tallies in only 21 games before sustaining the fracture.
The 23rd overall pick in 2020, Foerster is scoring at a 25-goal, 42-point pace per 82 games so far in his NHL career. With only 187 games under his belt, there’s plenty of room to grow. The 24-year-old inked a two-year, $7.5MM bridge deal before reaching restricted free agency last summer but was rewarded with plenty of ice time to begin the year, skating on the left wing in a familiar top-nine slot with Noah Cates and the now-traded Bobby Brink while averaging a career-high 17:27 per game.
Head coach Rick Tocchet has done a good bit of line shuffling since the last time Foerster was available, and they’ve also welcomed a pair of rookies, Denver Barkey and Porter Martone, into the regular forward rotation. Even with that, they trialed Foerster as their first-line left wing at this morning’s practice alongside Trevor Zegras and Owen Tippett, per Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports, so it doesn’t appear he’ll be limited at all despite his early return.
Senators Recall Cameron Crotty
The Senators have recalled defenseman Cameron Crotty from AHL Belleville, the team announced Thursday.
Crotty gets elevated to the NHL blue line amid yet another injury in Ottawa. Top defense prospect Carter Yakemchuk, who was an injury-related call-up in his own right last week after Thomas Chabot needed surgery on his right forearm, left the Sens’ loss to the Panthers on Tuesday after a hit from Noah Gregor left him dazed. He presumably won’t be playing tonight against the Sabres with his upper-body injury, although it’s unclear whether he’s in concussion protocol.
And, while #1 option Jake Sanderson is close to returning from the upper-body injury that’s sidelined him for the last 12 games, that won’t happen tonight, per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. He’s been upgraded to day-to-day but still carried a non-contact designation at Thursday morning’s practice. With Dennis Gilbert also out another two weeks with an upper-body issue and Nick Jensen done for the regular season, that’s five defense options, including three regulars, that the Sens are missing as they chase down a wild-card spot.
As such, Crotty will make his Ottawa debut and just his third career NHL appearance tonight against Buffalo with a long-awaited playoff berth for their opponent on the line. The 26-year-old is an Ottawa-area native and signed a two-year, two-way pact with the Sens last offseason.
The Sens are Crotty’s third NHL organization. He was a third-round pick by the Coyotes in 2017 and stayed in Arizona until becoming a Group VI unrestricted free agent in 2024. He then signed a two-way deal with the Wild, spending just last year with Minnesota before landing in Ottawa.
Crotty’s two career NHL appearances came at the tail ends of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns with the Coyotes and Wild, respectively. The 6’3″ defensive-minded righty didn’t record a point in either, logging a -2 rating with two blocks and four hits with only 15:11 of total time on ice.
In 49 games with Belleville this season, Crotty has three goals and seven assists for 10 points with a -4 rating. He’s now up to 59 points in 332 career AHL outings over the last six seasons.
All these injuries will leave Tyler Kleven as Ottawa’s lone left-shot option on defense tonight. That means Nikolas Matinpalo and Lassi Thomson will dress on their off-sides on the second and third pairings, respectively.
William Nylander Wants To Stay With Maple Leafs Through Retool
The Maple Leafs’ next general manager will likely be the most important move Keith Pelley makes as president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. He admitted as much in his media availability Tuesday after announcing the firing of Brad Treliving the night before (via Kristen Shilton of ESPN).
Teetering on the edge between a more conservative, short-term retool and a blow-it-all-up rebuild, that decision will determine whether the foundational pieces still remaining from their post-lockout decade of darkness have a chance to end their careers in Toronto. If it’s the latter option with the goal of returning to consistent playoff contention within a year or two, star winger William Nylander told Jonas Siegel of The Athletic on Wednesday that “I still want to be here” if the Leafs’ head executive doesn’t opt for a full teardown.
Of course, any full rebuild would involve at least entertaining the idea of moving Nylander, the Leafs’ all-around offensive centerpiece who turns 30 next month. He holds all the cards with a no-movement clause for all six years remaining on his $11.5MM AAV contract, but if it comes to that, his desire to stay would be “a different story,” he told Siegel. He stopped short of admitting it was a foregone conclusion that he would be open to a move if Toronto opted to sell off the rest of their valuable pieces, but it’s clear it would be something he would consider.
The retool-or-rebuild decision comes down to whether the Leafs’ incoming GM believes there’s enough they can do to return to a playoff spot within the next two years. Auston Matthews will be an unrestricted free agent in 2028. They’re not in a long-term position where they can even think about risking losing him for nothing.
If they can do enough surgery on the rest of the roster, which is headed for a bottom-three finish in the East this year for the first time in a decade, to give them a bright enough long-term outlook to convince Matthews to stay, then it makes sense to keep rolling as long as they can given their bevy of other long-term commitments on the books. If not, the best time to sell off names like Matthews, Nylander, and Matthew Knies is this summer, when their cost-control levels are highest, and they have the most years of effective play remaining.
Nylander has clinched his fourth consecutive season above a point per game and leads the Leafs with 71 points despite missing over 15 games this season with various injuries. The second of two Mikko Rantanen trades last season, which netted the Hurricanes a pair of first-round picks, a pair of thirds, and a long-term top-nine fixture in Logan Stankoven, would be a direct comparable if they did opt to rebuild and look to move him.
Of course, the three-time 40-goal scorer’s remarkable consistency in production as of late makes him, as Pelley said Tuesday, an incredibly strong foundational piece to continue building around. That remains ownership’s preference, but he signaled they would be open to a more aggressive rebuilding approach if that’s what his hire of choice believes is the best path forward.