Predators Have Interviewed Ryan Martin For GM Vacancy
There are currently three open GM positions around the NHL: Toronto, Vancouver, and Nashville. The first two have only been known briefly, while the other has been known since early February, when Barry Trotz announced that he’d be stepping down from the role.
While the Predators have had ample time to conduct the search so far, they’re still in the interview process as more potential candidates start to be made available with the regular season now over. One of those candidates is Rangers assistant GM Ryan Martin, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that Martin has interviewed for Nashville’s opening.
Martin has been working in a front office for the last 20 years but has never had an opportunity to run an NHL organization yet. The bulk of his time has been with the Red Wings, who he joined in 2005 as a Director of Hockey Administration. He moved up to Assistant GM in 2010 while also taking on AHL GM duties in Grand Rapids, holding those roles for more than a decade while simultaneously serving as a scout for USA Hockey’s World Junior program for most of those years.
After a decade and a half in Detroit, Martin joined the Rangers with those same two roles while briefly continuing his work with USA Hockey as well. With them, he took on the GM role for the 2022 Worlds and was an assistant for the 2023 entry. Having held AGM and AHL GM titles for this long, it feels like it should only be a matter of time before Martin gets a chance to be an NHL GM, be it in Nashville or elsewhere.
Other candidates believed to have interviewed for the vacancy are Edmonton assistant GM Bill Scott, Florida assistant GM Brett Peterson, Carolina assistant GM Darren Yorke, and Preds assistant GM Jeff Kealty. Former New Jersey GM Tom Fitzgerald, who captained Nashville’s expansion franchise, just became available and Friedman noted that he expects Fitzgerald to receive an interview for the role as well.
Michael Pezzetta Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL
Saturday: As expected, Pezzetta has cleared waivers as the team announced that he has been assigned to AHL Toronto. The Marlies enter the weekend with an outside shot at the third seed in the North Division which would allow them to avoid the opening round of the postseason. Pezzetta becomes the seventh player sent down by the big club this week.
Friday: The Toronto Maple Leafs placed forward Michael Pezzetta on waivers on Friday, per PuckPedia. This move would allow Pezzetta to join the Toronto Marlies for the Calder Cup Playoffs if he clears the waiver wire. He was in the minor leagues until mid-March and filled a depth role for Toronto through the last few weeks of the season.
Pezzetta played in 37 games with the Marlies before a March 12th call-up. His season was limited by injuries in November and January. He finished the year with four goals, 10 points, and 52 penalty minutes. It was a quiet year in Pezzetta’s return to the AHL, after he spent the last three seasons in a full-time role with the Montreal Canadiens. He was a nightly fixture of Montreal’s 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons and combined 27 points and 136 penalty minutes in 124 games. That low-scoring fell to zero in 25 games of the 2024-25 season.
That bumped Pezzetta to free agency this summer, where he signed a two-year, $1.6MM contract with the Maple Leafs. He began the year in the AHL and quickly stood out as a bruiser. Pezzetta recorded 37 penalty minutes in the first 17 games of the Marlies season. He will return to that role on a Marlies team that clinched the last playoff spot from the AHL’s North Division. The Marlies split their games without Pezzetta this season – 26 wins and 25 losses.
Jets First Rounder Sascha Boumedienne Transfers To Ohio State
With the NCAA season now over, the transfer window is open and with a much shorter period this year, moves have been happening quickly. (Instead of 45 days, it’s now just 15, running through April 28th.) Quite a few NHL prospects have found new places already but those players have been later-round selections; there hadn’t been a top-round draft pick moving in the opening days.
However, that has now changed. Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports (Twitter link) that Jets prospect Sascha Boumedienne is transferring from Boston University to Ohio State University.
The 19-year-old defenseman was the 28th overall selection last June after Boumedienne’s first season at BU, one that saw him put up 13 points in 40 games. He was much more productive at the World Under-18s, however, tallying 14 points in just seven appearances to give his draft stock a boost after it has slid during the season.
Unfortunately, Boumedienne didn’t progress too much in his sophomore year. His output actually dipped slightly to two goals and eight assists in 35 appearances while playing a little lower on the depth chart at times as well. He had a decent showing at the World Juniors with Sweden though, notching four points in seven games while averaging 22:13 per game of ice time.
With this move, Boumedienne is banking on having an opportunity to have a more prominent role in the hopes of sparking a big year from a development perspective. If that happens, he’d be a strong candidate to turn pro and sign with the Jets next season, foregoing his final year of eligibility.
Victor Soderstrom Linked To Swiss League
When the Bruins acquired and signed Victor Soderstrom, the defenseman was hoping that he would get that elusive extended NHL opportunity. However, that hasn’t been the case as he has once again spent most of the season in the minors. As a result, he’s eyeing a return overseas as Expressen’s Johan Svensson and Mattias Persson report that the blueliner is expected to sign with EHC Biel-Bienne in Switzerland for next season.
The 25-year-old was a first-round pick by Arizona back in 2019 but after seeing limited opportunities with the Coyotes, he opted to head overseas at the end of his entry-level contract, returning to SHL Brynas. Arizona retained his NHL rights and ultimately flipped them to Chicago at the 2025 trade deadline with Boston acquiring those rights three months later and signing him to a two-way deal.
But Soderstrom went through waivers unclaimed in training camp and outside an eight-game stint in Boston in December (where he had an assist and averaged 13:41 per game), he has played exclusively with AHL Providence. Soderstrom has done well in the minors, tallying nine goals and 21 assists in 57 games and should be set for a long playoff run with Providence guaranteed to finish the season with the AHL’s top record, earning them the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy.
Soderstrom is set to become a Group Six unrestricted free agent this summer and could have entertained offers to see if a better opportunity was out there. But with how this year has gone, he’d likely be viewed as a recallable depth player elsewhere as well so instead of repeating this season, it appears he’ll try his hand in the Swiss league next season.
Maple Leafs Have Spoken To Ryan Bowness About Vacant GM Position
With one of their original targets snapped up when the Devils named Sunny Mehta as their new General Manager this week, Toronto’s GM search continues. Several candidates have already interviewed for the position with more interviews expected in the coming days. In the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Islanders assistant GM Ryan Bowness is believed to have interviewed for the position.
The 42-year-old has a lot of experience in various off-ice capacities, having worked in the NHL since 2009 when he was a hockey ops assistant with Atlanta. He continued on in that capacity when the team moved to Winnipeg, then spent three more years as a pro scout. Bowness then joined Pittsburgh in that same capacity for three years before getting another promotion, this time putting him in charge of the pro scouting department.
An on-the-rise executive, Bowness received his next promotion three years later in 2022 when he joined Ottawa as an assistant GM while also being in charge of their AHL team in Belleville. He was elevated to an associate GM position for 2024-25 but the Sens opted not to renew his contract after the season. Ten days later, he joined the Islanders in his current role.
So far, the Maple Leafs have interviewed a mixture of experienced and first-time candidates. Mike Gillis and John Chayka have experience running a team while internal options Brandon Pridham and Ryan Hardy would be first-timers but have familiarity with the organization. Bowness joins Mehta (now off the market) as external first-time candidates with that list likely to grow in the near future.
Big Hype Prospects: Suvanto, Dagenais, Willis, Tomek
Pre-tournament action has kicked off at the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship. This year will be a tournament to watch, with standout draft talent spread across a big group of contenders. This will be a last chance to convince the NHL scouts for 2026 NHL Draft talent, while many 2027 NHL Draft stars will be looking to snag early attention. To celebrate one of the top tournaments of the draft season, we will once again borrow MLB Trade Rumors’ Big Hype Prospect series to cover four names to watch.
Four Big Hype Prospects
Team Finland – Oliver Suvanto, C, Tappara (Liiga)
48 GP, 2 G – 9 A – 11 TP, 16 PIM, +3
Oliver Suvanto has held the attention of many scouts for the last two seasons. He is a strong and heavy center who checks a lot of boxes. Suvanto can win faceoffs and shut down opponents defensively. He plays a smart, heads-up game that switches from defense to offense quickly. But in the first pro season of his career, his offense struggled to stand out. Suvanto didn’t help his case at the 2026 World Junior Championships, where he scored only two goals in seven games. He has otherwise scored eight points in 13 international games with Finland this year – and undoubtedly stands as the team’s top center headed into the U18 Worlds. A point-per-game player in Finland’s U20 league last season, Suvanto has a proven oomph to his offense and an overwhelming two-way style. He could be the leader of a big tournament for Finland, or may string out doubts with another low-scoring tournament. The opportunity under the spotlight will mean more for Suvanto’s draft stock than many of his peers.
Team Canada – Maddox Dagenais, C, Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
62 GP, 30 G – 32 A – 62 TP, 31 PIM
There may not be a hotter draft prospect than Quebec’s Maddox Dagenais. The chippy shooter had 13 multi-point games after January 1st, en route to 20 goals and 43 points in the last 40 games of the season. Dagenais plays a straightforward game, dominating opponents with his downhill play-driving, quick cuts with the puck, and feisty physical strength. He can toss opponents off of him and plays with reckless abandon while diving into puck battles. That is both a pro and con for Dagenais, not helped along by questions around if he can really take over play-driving. That will make the U18 Worlds a golden opportunity for Dagenais, providing him a chance to build his high-energy style off of other Canadian stars. If he proves he can control play, Dagenais could be fighting for first-round attention at this tournament. After all, he brings the shooting, hitting, and swagger that many teams look for with their top pick.
Team USA – Brayden Willis, RW, U.S. National U17 Team (NTDP)
51 GP, 20 G – 28 A – 48 TP, 26 PIM
This will be a last showing for the 2026 class, and first impressions for much of the 2027 class. Team USA star Brayden Willis sits behind both groups, born one day into eligibility for the 2028 NHL Draft. He opened USA’s pre-tournament action on the top-line – carrying over momentum earned from a standout season with the U17 National Team Development Program. Willis proved to be the lineup’s workhorse, matching a chippy and confident style with lightning-quick reactions and skill. He is a dynamo who routinely connected with high-skill teammates like Carter Meyer – also on the U18 roster. Willis will play on house money by even stepping into the tournament lineup, getting an early chance to steer ahead of the 2028 class. He could build momentum if his confident and chippy game earns him some hard-earned scoring.
Team Czechia – Petr Tomek, LW, Energie Karlovy Vary (Czechia Extraliga)
51 GP, 13 G – 7 A – 20 TP, 12 PIM, +2
European fans were watching for one name on U18 rosters. 17 year old winger Petr Tomek has caught waves of attention over the course of his first season in Czechia’s top pro league. The challenge of a physical league and a skinny frame did not faze Tomek, who played with an overabundance of confidence and skill this season. He is a smooth puck-handler who knows how to slow down time as he enters the offensive zone to find shooting lanes and scoring chances. That helped Tomek notch eight points in 11 international games with Team Czechia’s U18 roster, and four points in four games with the U20 roster, earlier this season. He will enter the U18 Worlds as one of Czechia’s most dynamic, offensive talents. Paying off that standing with flashy scoring could go far in helping NHL scouts overlook his skinny build.
NHL Executives Pick Avalanche, Stars As Stanley Cup Favorites
The race to get in final brackets before the start of round one isn’t exclusive to the fans. Some NHL front office staff and executives also have fun with predicting the Stanley Cup Champions recently captured by Harman Dayal and Chris Johnston of The Athletic. They polled nine anonymous NHL front office executives and senior staff to find their playoff favorites. Even when prompted to include three-or-four Stanley Cup favorites, many of the voters had two teams that stood out from the rest – the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.
It is no surprise to see Colorado top the list after an unstoppable regular season. The Avalanche finished the year with the most points (55), most goals scored (298), and fewest goals allowed (197), in the NHL. Captain Nathan MacKinnon won the scoring race with 53 goals and ranked third with 127 points in 80 games played. His winger, Martin Necas, wasn’t far behind with the first 100-point season of his career. Goaltender Scott Wedgewood also led the NHL with a .921 save percentage. He backstopped a roster that was strong from top-to-bottom and only got better with the addition of Nazem Kadri, one executive told Dayal and Johnston. The Avalanche will start their playoff race against the Los Angeles Kings and stand as the team-to-beat in the Western Conference.
The only team to rival Colorado’s season was Dallas. The Stars were the only other Western Conference team to reach 50 wins and finished the year with the second-fewest goals allowed (222). They were well-rounded all year long under the lead of returning head coach Glen Gulutzan and surging forward Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston. Robertson finished the year with 45 goals and 96 points while Johnston had a breakout season with 45 goals and 86 points. The duo dominated momentum when they were on the ice, supported by speedy winger Mavrik Bourque in a top-six role. That was the kind of depth that helped Dallas stand out, with Sam Steel and Justin Hryckowian also offering effective roles throughout the lineup. Starter Jake Oettinger also finished third in the league with 35 wins but coupled it with a .899 save percentage that was closer to league average. With every lineup spot filled and healthy, Dallas could be a dangerous playoff team. Unfortunately, they might also face the toughest path to the Stanley Cup Finals – likely having to go through both the Minnesota Wild and Avalanche to get out of the West.
The red-hot Buffalo Sabres topped The Athletic’s tier of dark horse candidates in their return to the postseason. Buffalo is hot at the right time – having posted a 15-4-3 record since March 1st. Their .750 win percentage is second to only the St. Louis Blues’ .761 in that span. The Sabres have also ranked third in goals-per-game (3.64) in that timeframe, behind the Philadelphia Flyers (3.88) and Carolina Hurricanes (3.83). Their run to the playoffs has been spearheaded by Gold Medal-forward Tage Thompson and captain Rasmus Dahlin, who finished with 81 and 74 points respectively. Buffalo’s offense stocked every line this season, marked by 43 points from Zach Benson and 39 points from Peyton Krebs. They also found stability in net thanks to a .910 save percentage from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in 35 games and a .907 from Alex Lyon in 36 games. That might be enough to spark a Cup run. First, Buffalo will have to prove their place back in the postseason with their first round-one win since 2007.
Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.
Former Predators’ Winger Andreas Thuresson Retires
A prolific career in international hockey has come to an end for Sweden’s Andreas Thuresson. The 38 year old has announced his retirement per the NHL Alumni Association after five seasons in the AHL, six in the SHL and DEL, and two in the KHL and NHL. Thuresson has played at a professional level for the last 20 years, making his debut in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan in the 2005-06 season.
Thuresson’s breakout came in his second professional season. He scored 15 points in 48 games of the 2006-07 Sweden Elitserien – a predecessor to the SHL – season. That production convinced the Nashville Predators to draft Thuresson in the fifth round of the 2007 NHL Draft. He joined the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals and quickly proved he could fill a nightly role. Thuresson appeared in 151 games and scored 47 points in his first two AHL seasons. With his footing established, Thuresson put together a career-year in the 2009-10 season, marked by routine call-ups to the Predators roster. He finished the year with 33 points in 50 AHL games and three points in the first 22 games of his NHL career. Thuresson played three more NHL games in the 2010-11 season – but with no scoring, his career in North America ended with two more AHL seasons and 59 points in his final 149 games.
Thuresson moved back to the Elitserien to play with Brynas IF in 2012. He scored 19 points in 48 games upon his return, then jumped up to 37 points in 52 games of the 2013-14 season – the year the Elitserien became the SHL. A hot year prompted more exploring outside of Sweden. Thuresson moved to the KHL for the 2014-15 season and split the year between Sibir Novosibirsk and Severstal Cherepovets, combining for 25 points in 47 games. He returned to the SHL for the next two seasons – marked by continued production: 57 points in 93 games – then split the 2017-18 campaign between the KHL’s sole Chinese team, the Kunlun Red Star, and a stint with the National League’s SCL Tigers in Switzerland. Just like his previous KHL season, Thuresson followed the move with another productive return to Sweden – 19 points in 43 games of the 2018-19 SHL season.
On the other side of so many moves, Thuresson sought out a league where he could stick in 2019. He moved to Germany’s DEL – effectively completing a globetrot around the hockey world. Thuresson began what would turn into a five-year career in the DEL with the Schwenninger Wild Wings. He scored 56 points in 66 games, including a team-leading 37 points in 38 games of the 2020-21 season. Thuresson moved to Kolner Haie for the final three seasons of his career. His first season in Kolner was marked by 34 points in 50 games, then Thuresson jumped to a career-high and league-leading 60 points in 51 games of 2022-23. He continued to score in his final year, with 22 points in 28 games – but suffered an injury that would limit both his season and, now, his career.
Thuresson shared that his career came to an unexpectedly-early end, but spanned some of his dreams including playing in the NHL and joining Team Sweden at the 2015 World Championship, in a personal Instragram post announcing his retirement. He was long regarded as a skillful, power-forward who played a team-first game. Pro Hockey Rumors wishes Thuresson luck in his post-playing career.
Snapshots: Team Canada, Hagens, Ott
Team Canada has secured commitments from several big-name players for the country’s team at the upcoming IIHF Men’s World Championships in Switzerland, according to Darren Dreger of TSN. Per Dreger, some of the names include: Mark Scheifele, John Tavares, Robert Thomas, and Ryan O’Reilly, with more set to be named moving forward. This quartet of centers gives the country enviable depth at one of the game’s most important positions, and also means one or two of those names could end up playing on the wing. Canada last won an IIHF Men’s World Championship in 2023.
O’Reilly, who scored 74 points in 81 games for the Nashville Predators this season, has won gold at IIHF Worlds twice in his career, and has also won a silver medal at the tournament. He was also on last year’s Canadian entry into the tournament. Scheifele, 33, scored 103 points this season and won gold in 2016 and silver in 2017, scoring 21 points across 27 career games at IIHF World Championships. Thomas scored 64 points in 64 games for the St. Louis Blues this season but has not previously represented Canada on the country’s senior men’s side. Tavares, who scored 71 points for the Toronto Maple Leafs this year, captained Team Canada at the 2024 edition of the tournament, and also played at worlds in 2010, 2011, and 2012. He led the tournament in goals in 2010.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Boston Bruins star prospect James Hagens will most likely be in the lineup for the first game of the team’s upcoming series against the Buffalo Sabres, head coach Marco Sturm told the media today. Hagens, 19, has gotten into two career NHL games so far and has registered one assist, playing a third-line winger role alongside Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov. Hagens scored four points in six games at the AHL level and managed 23 goals and 47 points in 34 games playing for Boston College this year. He’s been widely considered the Bruins’ top prospect since the team selected him No. 7 overall at the 2025 draft.
- The St. Louis Blues are expected to enter negotiations to retain Steve Ott as head coach of the team’s AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, beyond this season, per GM Doug Armstrong. Ott took over as Thunderbirds head coach in January, replacing Steve Konowalchuk, who began the season 13-18-6. Ott was able to deliver playoff hockey to Springfield, guiding the team to a 31-31-10 record as of writing, good for the final opening-round playoff spot in the league’s Atlantic Division. Ott was formerly an assistant on the Blues’ NHL staff and also had an 848-game NHL career as a player.
Pacific Notes: Karlsson, McCann, Bahl
Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson has been out since November with a lower-body injury, but isn’t particularly close to returning according to Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon. McCrimmon told the media, including Jesse Granger of The Athletic, that Karlsson won’t be able to start the team’s playoff series against the Utah Mammoth and would likely need Vegas to make a deep playoff run to have a chance at returning to the lineup in 2025-26.
Karlsson, 33, already lost the chance to compete at the Winter Olympics for his native Sweden as a result of his injury, and could now end up missing a Golden Knights playoff run as well. Vegas has been in fine form under new head coach John Tortorella, and would surely get a boost from adding one of the team’s best original expansion draft selections. Karlsson scored 30 goals and 60 points in 2023-24, his most recent healthy campaign, and had 29 points in 53 games last year. This season, he scored seven points in 14 games before suffering his injury.
Other notes from around the Pacific Division:
- Seattle Kraken winger Jared McCann told the media today at the team’s exit day that he had a surgical procedure yesterday to “clean some things up” and address the injury that he had been managing over the course of the 2025-26 season. He added that the surgery was related to something he has been also dealt with last offseason, and noted that he expects to be available for the start of next season. Injury took its toll on McCann, who is typically Seattle’s top scorer. The 29-year-old was still productive, scoring 40 points, but was limited to playing in just 52 games. Next season is the final year of his $5MM AAV contract, placing greater stakes on his recovery and ability to author a healthy, productive platform season before potentially hitting unrestricted free agency.
- Calgary Flames defenseman Kevin Bahl told the media, including Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg, that he sustained an MCL injury during the team’s overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on April 7, an injury that cost him the last five games of Calgary’s season. According to Bahl, he won’t need to undergo surgery to recover from the injury. The 25-year-old recently concluded the first season of his six-year, $5.35MM AAV contract extension. He was a top-four defenseman for Calgary this season, averaging 21:56 time on ice per game, including 2:35 per game on the penalty kill.