Mammoth Sign Vadim Moroz To Two-Year, Entry-Level Contract
The Utah Mammoth have signed 2023 third-round pick Vadim Moroz to a two-year, entry-level contract. Moroz recently wrapped up his fourth season with the KHL’s HC Dinamo. He was a breakout scorer for Minsk, even setting a franchise-record for scoring by a U23 player with 44 points in the 2024-25 season. Moroz’s contract will carry a $1.01375M cap hit per PuckPedia.
Moroz’s scoring dwindled to 29 points in 54 games of the 2025-26 season but his on-ice impact stayed much the same. The 23-year-old winger has earned his keep with responsible and engaged hockey all over the ice, often staying true to his spot and quick to make a play on loose pucks. He boasts the fine skating and puck-control needed to drive play all the way down the ice, while also carrying plenty of oomph in a 6-foot-2 frame.
The Belarusian will face an uphill battle moving from the KHL’s highest scoring offense into a rugged role with the Mammoth – but his success could prove an X-factor down the road. He was a versatile play-driver with scoring upside in Russia and could bring the same impact from a middle-six role if his talents carry over. First, Moroz will likely have to brave the test of the AHL – a challenge he should be well set for after scoring 109 points in 222 career KHL games.
Peter Laviolette An Emerging Option In Kings Coaching Search
The Los Angeles Kings are sparring with the Toronto Maple Leafs on the coaching market and yet another candidate has popped up on both teams’ radar. Former New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette is believed to be one of three candidates in Los Angeles’ coaching search per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast. Friedman names the other candidates as Jay Woodcroft and interim head coach D.J. Smith. It was revealed on Wednesday that Laviolette also interviewed with the Maple Leafs.
Laviolette took the 2025-26 season off from coaching after being dismissed from a two-year tenure with the New York Rangers after the 2024-25 season. He had split results behind the Rangers bench, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals after a 55-win season in 2024 but then failing to reach 40 wins or the postseason in 2025. He was much more of a postseason mainstay earlier on in his career – appearing in the playoffs in 13 of the 21 NHL seasons he’s helmed.
Better than a strong record of playoff appearances, Laviolette proved an ability to take multiple teams deep into summer hockey. Having already won an AHL Calder Cup championship, his career began with back-to-back first-round exits with the New York Islanders in 2002 and 2003. He flipped to a middling Carolina Hurricanes club partway through the 2003-04 season and quickly found a way to bring the best out of the club’s stars. On the other side of the 2004-05 lockout, Carolina blazed to an incredible 2006 Stanley Cup championship, built on the back of a more-than 40-point improvement from Rod Brind’Amour and tremendous performances from rookie Cam Ward and sophomore Eric Staal.
The Hurricanes’ stars continued to shine through the next two seasons but Carolian couldn’t repeat their run to the playoffs in 2007 or 2008. They dismissed Laviolette partway through the 2008-09 season. One year later, he was back on an NHL bench, and back to driving towards the Stanley Cup Finals – this time with a veteran-heavy Philadelphia Flyers lineup. Laviolette’s Flyers lost the 2009 Stanley Cup championship but managed to return to the second-round in 2011 and 2012. After another mid-season replacement in 2013-14, Laviolette flipped to the Nashville Predators – who he again drove to an unsuccessful Stanley Cup Finals in 2017 after a pair of postseason bids ended early. With no hardware to match five postseason runs in five seasons, Nashville replaced Laviolette in 2020 – paving the way for subsequent two-year stints with the Washington Capitals and Rangers.
Los Angeles may now try to revive Laviolette’s playoff instincts after his longest time away from the league since the 2004-05 lockout. The Kings have reached, and lost, the first round in each of the last five postseasons. That success has come through tenures with three different coaches – Todd McLellan, Jim Hiller, and D.J. Smith. The Kings have proven an ability to win ground in a weak Pacific Division but clearly lack the jump to get over the first hurdle. Next season, they will also lack a pillar of their lineup, after Anze Kopitar announced his retirement. Quinton Byfield will face the challenge of filling the lineup hole, while a tenured voice like Laviolette’s could be perfect to make up the locker room’s veteran presence.
Los Angeles reached the postseason by just four points. Next season could bring an even tighter margin, as the San Jose Sharks continue to improve. That competition could make Laviolette’s Stanley Cup-experience the difference-maker against Woodcroft and Smith. Friedman added that Laviolette’s desire to coach stuck through the 2025-26 season.
Connor McDavid Wins Ted Lindsay Award
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid has won the 2025-26 Ted Lindsay Award, an honor given annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by his fellow members of the NHL Players’ Association.
This is the fifth time McDavid has won the award. McDavid is also a three-time Hart Trophy winner, the award given to the league’s most valuable player as voted on by the media.
McDavid, 29, had another strong season in 2025-26. It says so much about the kind of player McDavid is that after he scored 138 points in the regular season, his family still believed winning the award would come as a “surprise” to him.
It is true that McDavid’s offensive production was not quite at his career-high – he scored 64 goals and 153 points in a legendary 2022-23 campaign – but it was still good enough to win the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top scorer for a sixth time in his career.
McDavid’s closest competitor for the scoring title, Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov, finished the season eight points behind McDavid.
Today’s news also confirms a bit of history for McDavid – his fifth Ted Lindsay Award ties him with fellow Oilers great Wayne Gretzky for the most wins of the trophy in NHL history. (When Gretzky was playing, the trophy was named the Lester B. Pearson Award.) Since he won’t turn 30 until early in 2027, it’s entirely likely McDavid’s peers will vote him for this trophy another time, or more, meaning today’s news sets him up to break Gretzky’s record at some point down the line.
Of course, that is not the only Gretzky record McDavid is chasing. If he ends up staying with the Oilers beyond the expiration of his two-year contract extension, he is almost certain to reach 1,670 points, which would make McDavid the Oilers’ all-time leading scorer.
In any case, while the individual accolades are certainly a great honor, there is one trophy McDavid is singularly focused on chasing: the Stanley Cup. A championship has thus far eluded McDavid, even though he has already won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
But before he can win a Stanley Cup, more individual accolades are likely on the way. He’s a finalist for the Hart Trophy as league MVP, and that is an award that has very frequently gone to the winner of the Ted Lindsay, though not always.
McDavid has already built a formidable case as one of hockey’s all-time greatest talents. He’s a singular offensive creator who remains unmatched at the top of the NHL in terms of pure playing ability. Today’s win is hardly a surprise, and it could mean he is in line to win a fourth Hart Trophy as well.
Photos courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Maple Leafs Considering Joe Pavelski For Head Coaching Role
A totally unexpected name has entered into contention for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ vacant head coaching role: former San Jose Sharks forward Joe Pavelski. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Pavelski is “on the Maple Leafs’ radar as the team begins the next phase of its interview process.”
Pavelski’s presence as a candidate for Toronto’s vacancy stands in stark contrast to the other coaches Toronto is reportedly considering.
The other names that have surfaced, such as Peter Laviolette, Patrick Roy, and Dallas Eakins are all coaches with significant experience as an NHL head coach.
All three have been head coaches at multiple stops around the NHL. Pavelski, 41, is just two seasons removed from the end of his playing career.
Although Pavelski is indeed a significantly less experienced candidate than the others Toronto is reportedly considering, it’s not difficult to see why Toronto is looking at going in this direction. The team doesn’t need to go far to see how a team can benefit by placing its faith in a hugely respected, recently retired former player lacking in any formal professional coaching experience.
The Montreal Canadiens took a leap of faith early in their rebuild when they hired Hall of Fame winger Martin St. Louis to be their head coach, replacing Dominique Ducharme, the coach that won the team a Clarence S. Campbell Bowl less than a year earlier. St. Louis had been considered for an AHL coaching role in the past, and even served as a consultant for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but had not been a head coach outside of coaching his children in minor hockey.
The Canadiens made a bet that St. Louis’ unique perspective as a Hall of Fame player who had to battle his way into the NHL as an undersized waiver-wire depth forward, combined with his work ethic, character, and highly-regarded leadership skills would eventually make St. Louis a uniquely valuable head coach – even if he had to develop into that kind of role without much prior experience.
Montreal’s bet on St. Louis paid off handsomely. While it did not result in winning in the immediate term, the impact St. Louis had on player development was almost instant. Star prospect Cole Caufield had endured a nightmarish rookie campaign under Ducharme, but after St. Louis arrived, he took off.
Over the last two years, St. Louis’ player development acumen began to finally translate into the standings. He took the Canadiens to a surprising playoff berth last season, and this year, the team finished with 106 points in the standings. Montreal reeled off two consecutive upsets in the postseason, defeating a veteran Tampa Bay Lightning squad and a dominant Buffalo Sabres team in two dramatic seven-game series. While the Canadiens ultimately ran out of gas against the Carolina Hurricanes, St. Louis’ run to the Eastern Conference Final proved just how effective of an NHL coach he had developed into.
The Maple Leafs have watched Montreal – their arch-rival – enjoy a massive amount of success in large part because they took a leap of faith on a widely respected veteran player without coaching experience, betting that the intangible traits that made him a special player would also make him a special coach. It seems Toronto is considering making a similar bet of their own.
It’s worth noting that while the Maple Leafs are certainly eyeing the success Montreal has had with St. Louis, their situation is not an exact one-to-one comparable. When Montreal hired St. Louis, they did so on an interim basis in a season where they would finish in last place.
They were firmly in the early stages of their rebuild, and even if St. Louis’ tenure ended up not working out, the team’s recently-hired front office would have at least been able to rely on St. Louis, someone they trusted and had pre-existing connections to, to provide them with detailed information on players in order to help inform the team’s future plans.
In other words, St. Louis was under no pressure to immediately deliver wins. And that helped him, because he was not able to deliver those immediate wins, his instant impact came in the form of player development, and the winning took some time to arrive.
The Maple Leafs are not, at this point, at a similar stage. The team is under significant pressure to return to the postseason in 2026-27, as the club’s ability to retain franchise center Auston Matthews may depend on it. There will not be time for Pavelski to slowly come into his own as a winning coach the way St. Louis did – the franchise simply can’t afford to give him that kind of runway. So it’ll be a unique challenge if Pavelski ends up with the job, without question.
While it is far from certain that Pavelski would actually receive the job in Toronto, he does stand out as an ideal candidate in the St. Louis mold, even in the face of those aforementioned challenges. One of the greatest forwards in the history of the San Jose Sharks, Pavelski captained the team and led them on numerous deep playoff runs, including a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.
Pavelski’s work ethic, character, and leadership allowed him to have a 1,332-game NHL career with 1,068 points, one of the best careers ever for a player drafted in the seventh round. He even had some of the best years of his career in his late thirties on the Dallas Stars, serving as a veteran mentor to some of the team’s emerging young stars such as Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston.
According to Friedman, Pavelski has spent much of his early retirement like St. Louis – coaching his son in minor hockey. He spent the 2025-26 season as head coach of the Madison Capitols 15U AAA. One should not downplay the challenge of going from there to coaching the Maple Leafs – an NHL team in a supremely hockey-mad market – would be a real challenge.
But if there is any player who possesses the kind of work ethic, character, and leadership ability to handle the task, it would be Pavelski.
Photos courtesy of Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
Milan Lucic Announces Retirement
Former Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic announced his retirement from professional hockey today, per the NHL Players’ Association. The announcement officially concludes a professional career that includes 1,177 NHL games.
Lucic, 38, is a large power forward who is best known for his work as a member of the Boston Bruins, the team he played for from 2007 to 2015, with an additional four-game stint with the team coming in 2023.
A 2006 second-round pick out of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, Lucic was a fast-developing prospect, going from 19 points in 62 games in his 2005-06 draft campaign to 30 goals and 68 points in 70 games during his first season as a drafted Bruins prospect.
A WHL champion with Vancouver, Lucic made a quick adjustment to the pro game in 2007-08. He made the Bruins’ NHL roster as a 19-year-old rookie, scoring eight goals and 19 points in 77 games, while also registering 179 hits and 89 penalty minutes.
His aggressive, physical style was already earning plaudits from around the league, as despite his relatively pedestrian rookie year production, he ended the campaign with two fifth-place votes for the Calder Trophy.
Lucic’s NHL breakout came during his sophomore campaign. He avoided the dreaded second-year slump that impacts many young forwards, instead boosting his production to 17 goals and 42 points in 72 games. He did so while playing an even more effective physical style, racking up 259 hits and 136 penalty minutes. Even from his first few seasons in the NHL, it would become abundantly clear that Lucic represented the exact kind of identity the Bruins have wanted out of their players – someone who pairs real offensive touch with relentless aggression and a mastery of the physical side of the game.
2008-09 would also be the year when Lucic showed just how valuable his style could be in the postseason. Although Lucic would be suspended for a game during the team’s first-round series sweep over their arch-rival Montreal Canadiens for a cross-check to the head of Maxim Lapierre, he would finish the playoffs with nine points in 10 games in a run that ended in game seven of the second round.
Although Lucic’s next season, 2009-10, was a bit of a struggle in the regular season (he battled multiple injuries) he remained a valuable playoff contributor, scoring nine points in 13 contests.
The following campaign, 2010-11, would prove to be arguably Lucic’s best in the NHL. He finished the regular season with 30 goals and 62 points in 79 games, showing just how consistently effective he could be when healthy. In the playoffs, he scored 12 points in 25 games as the Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in a dramatic seven-game series to win their first Stanley Cup since 1972.
By that point, Lucic had established himself as one of the game’s premier emerging power forward talents. That began a stretch where he would consistently score around a 50-60 point pace, a level of consistent production that would persist even beyond the conclusion of Lucic’s Bruins tenure. He also remained hugely valuable in the playoffs, including in 2012-13 when he scored 19 points in 22 games during the Bruins’ run to the Stanley Cup Final, where they would be eliminated in a dramatic game six at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks.
As he entered his late 20s, Lucic neared unrestricted free agency, and the Bruins traded him to the Los Angeles Kings. Lucic spent one year, his age-27 season, in Los Angeles, scoring 20 goals and 55 points. After his year in Los Angeles, Lucic became one of the league’s most in-demand free agents. In the end, the Edmonton Oilers, led by GM Peter Chiarelli, who had managed Boston to its Stanley Cup in 2011, won the bidding war for Lucic and secured his services on a seven-year, $6MM AAV contract.
At first, that deal looked like it might just work for the Oilers, who enjoyed a 23-goal, 50-point debut campaign from Lucic. Lucic registered 202 hits, and there was hope his power forward style, fearsome physicality, and veteran leadership would help in teenage phenom Connor McDavid‘s development into an NHL star. McDavid missed half of his rookie campaign with an injury, but broke out for 100 points during Lucic’s first season with the Oilers.
Unfortunately, while the Oilers enjoyed solid immediate returns on their investment in Lucic, the contract would quickly turn into one of the league’s foremost financial anchors. Lucic’s production declined to 34 points in 2017-18, and in 2018-19, it lowered to just 20 points. Lucic’s foot speed declined considerably, and his offensive value cratered along with it. At one point, Lucic failed to register a goal in over 40 games.
In the summer of 2019, the Oilers traded Lucic to the Calgary Flames in a deal that swapped underperforming big-ticket UFA wingers between arch rivals. The Oilers received James Neal, the Flames’ own $5.75MM AAV free agency investment, in exchange for Lucic and a conditional third-round pick.
While the fresh start did not result in Lucic rediscovering the offensive touch he had in past years in his career, he did find a way to hold onto a consistent lineup spot with the Flames, providing some value as a highly physical veteran fourth-liner, even if his contributions did not ultimately match his compensation.
Lucic played out his seven-year contract with the Flames, and when it expired in the summer of 2023, Lucic elected to sign a one-year, $1MM contract to return to the Bruins.
While there was definite excitement for the return of a fan favorite player, Lucic’s second stint in Boston ended after just four games played. Lucic missed most of the 2023-24 season after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Lucic entered the program after he was arrested for an alleged domestic incident. Charges against Lucic were eventually dropped.
Lucic would exit the program after missing the rest of the 2023-45 season. He would go on to sign a PTO with the St. Louis Blues for 2025-26.
The PTO did not result in Lucic receiving any NHL time, though he did play in five games for their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. Remarkably, those were the first AHL games of Lucic’s professional career. Lucic would eventually leave the AHL and signed overseas for the first time in his career, joining Scotland’s Fife Flyers of the EIHL, the top division of pro hockey in the United Kingdom. Lucic scored 12 points in 26 games for the Flyers.
Beyond his club career, Lucic did play some international hockey as well – in one tournament in his late thirties. Lucic was a veteran presence on team Canada at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships, serving as an alternate captain.
Lucic helped guide Canada through the team’s group stage games in Riga, Latvia, helping the team rebound after a shocking shootout loss to Norway. When the tournament shifted to knockout games in Tampere, Finland, the Canadians upset the hosts in the quarterfinals, survived a challenge from an upstart Latvia team in the semifinals, and handily defeated Germany in the finals to win a gold medal.
While that would be the only time Lucic represented Canada in his career, he made the most of it by winning what is the country’s most recent gold medal in senior-level men’s IIHF play.
Photos courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Canadiens Grant Brendan Gallagher Permission To Seek Trade
The Montreal Canadiens held their exit interviews on Monday. Through a wave of insightful interviews, it was winger Brendan Gallagher who caught attention as he discussed his future with the club. Gallagher told reporters that his desire would be to re-sign in Montreal for the rest of his career, per Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. But, given the team’s growing forward pool and Gallagher’s diminishing results, the winger said “it’s pretty clear” that he will be on the move, per Engels.
On June 6, Gallagher’s agent received permission to seek a trade per Steve Ewen of The Province.
Gallagher was emotional throughout the presser, even having to step away from reporters for a brief moment after thinking about how Montreal rallied around him in the wake of losing his mother. All 911 games, and 14 seasons, that the 34 year old has spent in the NHL have come with a Canadiens’ logo on his chest. He has seen rises and falls through his time in Montreal, ultimately overcoming a 5-foot-9 frame and fifth-round draft selection to become a true pillar of the Canadiens’ rosters through the late-2010s and early-2020s.
Gallagher routinely rivaled 40 points each season between 2013 and 2020 – with a dip to 29 points for the 2016-17 season but a rise to 54 and 52 points respectively in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Much of that scoring, including back-to-back 30-goal seasons, was driven by Gallagher’s relentless battling in the low slot. He stood out as a feisty and aggressive winger capable of winning corner battles or sniffing-out rebounds – and earned as high as second-line deployment because of it.
Those seasons continue to stand as Gallagher’s career-highs – but he reached 21 goals and 38 points as recently as the 2024-25 season. Those numbers dwindled to just seven goals and 23 points this season, a dip that coincided with Gallagher averaging just 6:25 in ice time through three postseason appearances. The end of the 2025-26 season made it clear that Gallagher’s bottom-six role had been upended by the likes of Zachary Bolduc and Joe Veleno.
Gallagher mentioned his hometown Vancouver Canucks when discussing a potential next landing spot with reporters per TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. The Canucks could use a boost of veteran experience as they attempt to rebuild their lineup around top prospects. Gallagher played four seasons with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, and even captained the team for one season, before turning pro in 2012. He was a star producer for the Giants, racking up 280 points and 359 penalty minutes in 244 games with the club. That jolt of scoring and grit would be welcome on the Canucks roster, even if it comes on the other side of a long pro career for Gallagher.
Even if Vancouver isn’t his next landing spot, Gallagher will certainly have a say in where he heads next. He told reporters, including Canadiens insider Priyanta Emrith, that he will discuss a next step with his wife and agency. His Canadiens teammates heaped praise on Gallagher in their own exit interviews. Star scorer Cole Caufield called Gallagher “one of the most special humans I’ve ever got to play with” while former top pick Juraj Slafkovsky praised Gallagher’s leadership in his move to the NHL. The veteran’s departure will be one that weighs on the Canadiens through next season. At the same time, it will represent a true turnover for the NHL roster – sparking the change that will lead Montreal into an era in-part led by young stars Hutson, Caufield, and Slafkovsky.
Gallagher has one season remaining on his current contract, which carries a $6.5MM cap hit. He is set to enter unrestricted free agency, targeting an age-35 contract, on July 1, 2027.
Gerry Meehan Passes Away At 79
Former Buffalo Sabres captain and general manager Gerry Meehan passed away at the age of 79 on Friday. Meehan played through 10 seasons in the NHL between 1968 and 1979. He then kicked off a decade-long managerial career that spanned some of the Sabres’ brightest days as a franchise.
Meehan’s hockey career began in Toronto-area junior hockey. That presence led to a fourth-round selection by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1963 and a quick ramp to the Toronto Marlboros lineup in 1964. He spent four years with the junior club and emerged as a key part of their run to the 1967 Memorial Cup. His point-per-game scoring carried over to his first season at the pro flight. He scored 72 points in 70 games of the 1967-68 Central Professional Hockey League season, then one of many minor-pro leagues in North America.
The Maple Leafs promoted Meehan to the NHL roster in 1968. He only recorded two assists in the first 25 games of his NHL career, leading to a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers just a few months after his NHL debut – as part of a deal that also sent a young Bill Sutherland to the Flyers. Meehan didn’t figure much more out in his move to Pennsylvania and earned a reassignment to the WHL Senior League – another minor-pro league – after just 12 games and three points with the Flyers.
Meehan stuck in the WHL through the 1969-70 season. He was then selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft, sparking a sudden move to the East coast before he could earn another chance in Philadelphia. The move proved incredibly fruitful for the Sabres, who were able to quickly elevate Meehan into an important lineup role. While sharing a lineup with the likes of Gilbert Perreault and Eddie Shack, Meehan managed to breakout with 55 points in 77 games of Buffalo’s inaugural season. That level quickly became his norm, as he twice reached 46 points and once reached 60 points over the next three seasons. At the same time, Meehan was named the second captain in Sabres history, after Floyd Smith filled the role in the final, full season of his NHL career in Buffalo’s first year.
Where Perreault, Rene Robert, and Rick Martin brought the offense – Meehan brought the reliability. He continued in an important role with the Sabres until being traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 1974. Meehan scored a modest 25 points in 57 games for the Canucks but was still flipped to the Atlanta Flames five months later. That move again proved successful, as Meehan reached 41 points in 52 games with Atlanta. He was flipped again in 1976, this time headed to the Washington Capitals in a package deal for two-time Stanley Cup winner Bill Clement.
Meehan spent the final three years of his career with the Capitals. On the other side of multiple moves, he clawed back to productive hockey – and a captaincy – in Washington. He totaled 144 points in 208 games – including a career-high 64 points in the 1976-77 season – through his time with the Capitals. He was impactful until the very end – and earned a waiver designation, and brief stint with the WHA’s Cincinnati Stingers, once his role became obsolete. Meehan retired from his playing career in 1979.
After a brief period away from the NHL, Meehan rejoined the Sabres as an assistant general manager in 1984. He was promoted to the GM role partway through the 1986-87 season, after Buffalo relieved both their GM and head coach. Meehan quickly began an aggressive managerial career. He acquired veterans near the end of their career in Mark Napier and Jan Ludvig, then countered the moves with strong drafting. Meehan brought in Pierre Turgeon with the 1987 first-overall pick – the only player to reach 100 games (he reached 1,294) out of Buffalo’s 13 draft picks that year. After Turgeon turned into an instant impact, Meehan entered the 1988 draft with confidence and selected Keith Carney, Alexander Mogilny, and Rob Ray.
Meehan continued to shake up the lineup with trades through the 1990 NHL Draft. He represented the Sabres in the blockbuster deal that sent Phil Housley, Scott Arniel, and the draft pick utilized on Keith Tkachuk to the Winnipeg Jets in 1990 – returning Dale Hawerchuk and the draft pick used on Brad May to Buffalo. Their presence continued a true cycle of the Sabres lineup under Meehan’s guide – something that continued in force when Turgeon was traded to the New York Islanders in a package for Pat LaFontaine in 1991.
Meehan also brought in Philippe Boucher, Sean O’Donnell, and Matthew Barnaby to New York through the draft. On the heels of the 1992 NHL Draft, he again made the move to acquire a historic Sabre with the August acquisition of eventual superstar-goaltender Dominik Hasek from the Chicago Blackhawks. Hasek only played 28 games in his first season with the Sabres, which kept Meehan from bearing the fruits of one of the NHL’s greatest trades. His GM tenure came to an end just weeks after the 1993 NHL Draft, where Meehan landed Scott Nichol in the 11th-round. He stayed with Buffalo as the Vice President of Hockey Operations through the 1995-96 season.
While his time in hockey was marked by up-and-down action as both a player and manager, there is no doubt about the value that Meehan brought to the teams he supported. He was a core piece of Buffalo’s early lineups, then dedicated a decade towards bringing in all-time-greats to support the Sabres into the 2000s. He will be remembered as a true builder who carried a torch handed off by head coach and GM Scotty Bowman. Pro Hockey Rumors sends condolences to Meehan’s family, friends, and many Sabres fans.
Free Agent Focus: Minnesota Wild
Free agency is just over a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. Even with the UFA crop being thinned out in recent months, there will be some quality veterans set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Wild.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Bobby Brink – Minnesota doesn’t have too much on its plate regarding free agents under their control this summer. Brink should be a player to consider in the Wild’s future. In the final season of his two-year, $3.0MM deal ($1.5MM AAV), he scored 15 goals for 30 points in 68 games between two NHL teams this year. Before adding five points in 17 combined games post-trade deadline, Brink saw the majority of his production come from his time with the Flyers, but with many winger prospects on the way in Philadelphia, the 24-year-old’s future in orange was limited. The Minnetonka native hasn’t seen a full 82-game season in his young NHL career, but the Wild should expect 30-40 points from a healthy former second-round pick within the middle-six on the right wing.
D Carson Lambos – The Wild finally awarded former first-round pick Carson Lambos with his NHL debut this season – but the feat seemed to do little for Lambos’ momentum. He returned to the minors after just one game and ended his year with another 19-point campaign. Once a highly-acclaimed, two-way prospect, Lambos has dwindled into a quiet role in the AHL. His free-agency will mark how Minnesota wants to move forward with a recent high-pick. A cheap, two-way contract will extend his fight to acheive his draft-day potential, while a missing qualifying offer could open the door for Lambos to find his stride somewhere new.
Other RFAs: D Daemon Hunt, F Caedan Bankier, F Oksar Olausson, F Cameron Butler, F Bradley Marek, D Roman Schmidt, D David Spacek, G Samuel Hlavaj
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Mats Zuccarello – By opening night of 2026-27, Zuccarello will be age 39. The winger finished his 2025-26 with 54 points in just 59 games for the Wild, capping off the second season of a two-year contract at $8.25MM ($4.125MM AAV). His 82-game point pace was at 75, and as Kirill Kaprizov‘s linemate, he is credited as a positive influence for the Russian star forward. Wild GM Bill Guerin was open about wanting him back, but the question comes down to whether the Norwegian will take a short-term contract with lesser guaranteed money or a bonus-focused deal.
F Vladimir Tarasenko – After a 2024-25 season that only saw 11 pucks cross the goal line from his stick, Tarasenko found his scoring touch this past season with 23 goals for 47 points in 75 games, adding 5 points in 11 playoff games for the Wild. The Russian winger slowly connected with his game again, proving to be clutch with depth scoring and a valuable presence on the second power-play unit. The only vague area of the situation is what the contract looks like as he enters his age-35 year.
F Michael McCarron – Both parties want each other back, there’s no doubt about that. Five points in 20 games for the Wild rounded out a 79-game 2025-26 season that saw 12 points in Nashville before he was traded for a second-round pick in 2028. For the 6-foot-6 forward who has never seen an annual intake above $1.0MM, he wants to ensure he can capitalize on the money and term but also wants to win, understanding Minnesota’s spot in the NHL’s food chain. The points aren’t everything; McCarron also brings solid faceoff numbers to a team that is dry and needs more at the center position.
Other UFAs: F Marcus Johansson, F Robby Fabbri, D Zach Bogosian, D Jeff Petry, F Nicolas Aube-Kubel, F Ben Jones, D Ben Gleason, G Cal Petersen
Photo Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images (Brink)
Flyers Notes: Vladar, Michkov, Tippett, Zavragin
It’s fair to say that Daniel Vladar’s first season with the Flyers was a success. He became their undisputed number one netminder by the end of the year and helped lead them to a playoff spot that not many would have been realistically expecting, then helped take them to the second round.
When he signed with Philadelphia last summer, he only signed a two-year deal, one that pays him $3.35MM per season. Last summer, the agreement looked like it might carry some risk and now, it’s a bargain. He’ll be in line for much more on his next contract and it appears that the Flyers are ready to give it to him. Speaking with NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman at the Combine, GM Daniel Briere called getting an extension done with the 28-year-old a priority.
Vladar posted a 2.42 GAA with a .906 SV% in a career-high 52 games this season, being called on to shoulder more of the workload than expected due to Samuel Ersson’s struggles. Now, with that performance under his belt, Daily Faceoff’s Anthony DiMarco suggested last month that the organization might be comfortable extending him a five-year deal in the $6MM range. That’s still on the lower end for a starter and one more year like this one would push the price tag higher. On the other hand, after being a backup for most of his career, it would certainly be understandable if Vladar wanted to lock in a guaranteed role and raise now.
It appears another extension-eligible player won’t be receiving one this summer, however. Matvei Michkov will also be eligible to sign in July as he enters the final season of his entry-level contract. However, his sophomore campaign saw his point total dip from 63 to 51 while he was called out for not arriving at training camp with a proper fitness level. Meanwhile, he was scratched twice in the playoffs while only recording one assist in the eight games he played. Accordingly, Briere indicated that they will take a wait-and-see approach with the youngster while suggesting that Michkov seems to prefer the idea of waiting to sign instead of trying to work something out now.
The GM also shared some positive news on the injury front. Winger Owen Tippett missed the second-round series against Carolina due to an internal bleeding issue but Briere noted that everything has been cleared on that front now, setting Tippett up for a full offseason of training. The 27-year-old led the Flyers in goals this season with 28, hitting the 20-goal mark for the fourth straight year.
Meanwhile, there is some news on the prospect front. Goalie prospect Yegor Zavragin is on the move in the KHL as the league announced that the netminder has been traded from SKA St. Petersburg to Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Zavragin split the season between the KHL and VHL and was particularly strong in the latter league, posting a 1.44 GAA and a .949 SV% in 18 appearances. Briere spoke of some of Philadelphia’s goalie prospects needing more development time and that likely applies to the 20-year-old, who could benefit from a full season in the KHL as a result of this swap.
Offseason Checklist: Los Angeles Kings
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those who have already been eliminated. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Los Angeles.
The Kings have been in the mushy middle, so to speak, for the last few seasons and 2025-26 was no exception. While they were able to pick up enough points down the stretch after making a coaching change to squeak into the playoffs, they once again went out in the first round, although not to Edmonton this time, at least. Instead, they were swept by Colorado. Now with a full year under his belt with the team, GM Ken Holland has some work to do this summer if he wants the Kings to take a step forward.
Hire A Head Coach
When Jim Hiller was let go late in the season, D.J. Smith moved up to the top role but only on an interim basis. They were respectable down the stretch, picking up points in 17 of 23 games. On the flip side, they lost more games than they actually won with an 11-6-6 record. But while they were swept by the Avs, the series was more competitive than a lot of people likely expected.
Their season has been over for more than a month and a half now but no decision has been made on the head coach. Will Smith be the full-time bench boss next season? If not, will he even be on the staff, or will the new head coach want a clean slate when it comes to filling out the rest of the group? At some point, a decision will need to be made.
Clearly, the Kings would like to speak to Bruce Cassidy about the role; they’ve been linked as one of the two teams that were denied permission to talk to the former Vegas bench boss. The line has been that they don’t want any distractions during the playoffs and if that’s the case and Holland is willing to wait things out, it might be a couple more weeks before he’ll get that opportunity.
Failing that, it appears the rest of the shortlist is, well, pretty short. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that Holland is believed to be down to two candidates, Smith and Jay Woodcroft. Holland has plenty of familiarity with Woodcroft from their days in Edmonton together and if he’s looking for more firepower from his group (more on that later), the former Oilers bench boss could get an edge.
Either way, with the draft only a few weeks away and free agency coming soon after, this search will need to wrap up before too much longer.
Re-Sign Clarke
One of the more intriguing players coming off their entry-level contract this summer is defenseman Brandt Clarke. His numbers, though certainly improved, don’t necessarily stand out. But that’s what makes his case a little more intriguing. Thus far, he has shown flashes of the offensive upside that made him a top-10 pick back in 2021. However, the playing time hasn’t been all that high for the most part. That makes trying to find the right price point a little tougher.
Clarke’s first two seasons saw him play sparingly. One yielded a return to the OHL, the other saw him in the minors for the bulk of the campaign. In 2024-25, he played a regular role, albeit on the third pairing but still managed a respectable 33 points in 78 games. This season, he was able to up his point total to 40 to lead all Los Angeles defenders. While his ice time jumped up by over three minutes per night, he was still under 20 minutes per game. Notably, his ice time on the power play was largely split with Drew Doughty despite Doughty managing just one power play point all season. Had Clarke played more like a true top-unit option, he likely would have had a few more points.
On the surface, this appears like one of those cases where the team would probably want to do a long-term deal while Clarke’s camp might prefer a short-term one. A long-term agreement would involve a lot of projecting as Clarke wouldn’t be signing a contract that views him as a 40-point player; he’d need more incentive than that to sign. Holland would need to be confident that Clarke has another level to get to, perhaps the 50-point plateau. That’s when the bigger money would start to come in, potentially in the $8MM to $9MM range.
On the other hand, going with a short-term deal would provide some more certainty in the long run (which is probably more appealing to Clarke if he things he has another gear offensively and can handle a bigger role) with a bit more cap flexibility in the short term as well. AFP Analytics projects a two-year pact to run somewhere in the $5MM range. Clarke would be giving up some short-term earnings with the hopes of a bigger payday a couple of years from now but the potential reward could outweigh the risk. Holland may be trying to convince him otherwise in the coming weeks.
Add A Top Center
For a while now, one of the bigger weaknesses the Kings have had is finding a high-end second center to play behind Anze Kopitar. Now, the need is intensified. Not only do they not have the second pivot still, but now they don’t have Kopitar either after the Slovenian announced his retirement after 20 seasons with the franchise. Now, instead of needing one impact center, they arguably need two in a market that doesn’t have a lot available.
I say arguably as Quinton Byfield has spent a lot of time down the middle in recent year. It stands to reason that they’ll be counting on him to take a step forward next season and be entrenched as one of those two while hoping that he can get better at the faceoff dot to become more reliable. That’s the easy one.
Replacing Kopitar, a legitimate two-way presence, isn’t going to be anywhere near as easy. The UFA market doesn’t have any middlemen of that caliber and there aren’t many top centers available for trade. Dylan Larkin is someone Holland is quite familiar with but while he may want out, there’s no guarantee Detroit will deal him. Robert Thomas was in play at the deadline but the asking price was too steep for anyone to meet. If he doesn’t sign an extension, perhaps Nico Hischier would be in play but again, the price tag (acquisition and extension) would be hefty.
One of the challenges Holland will face on that front is that they don’t have a ton of notable trade chips. They moved one of their top trade chips in Liam Greentree to the Rangers as part of the Artemi Panarin trade, weakening an already weaker prospect pool. They at least have all of their first-rounders available but there’s a very good chance that teams with deeper systems get into the bidding, ones that can probably put together better packages than the Kings can.
If they aren’t able to land an impact center, the next best option would probably be to try to re-sign Scott Laughton. Acquired at the trade deadline from Toronto, he impressed down the stretch in a bigger role, picking up eight points in 21 games while logging over 15 minutes per night. Laughton isn’t a big scoring threat but would give them a stable third-line pivot and essentially fill most of the role they brought in Phillip Danault to do several years ago before moving him earlier this season. AFP Analytics projects that Laughton could land a three-year pact worth around $4.1MM per season. If Holland thinks Laughton can be the solution on the third line, shoring up the depth isn’t a terrible backup plan if they can’t trade for a key center.
Bring In More Firepower
As much as their record was nothing to get overly excited about, the Kings allowed the seventh-fewest goals in the league this season. Their goaltending was quite sharp, to say the least. But while there is certainly a case to make that they need to upgrade on the back end, the biggest priority is to add more scoring. They didn’t score under Hiller and didn’t score much more under Smith. The end result was a 29th-place finish in goals scored with the lowest 82-game total they’ve had since 2018-19.
A full season with Panarin should certainly help things, no doubt. But among players to spend the full year with the Kings, they had just one player reach the 50-point mark, Adrian Kempe (who was rewarded with an eight-year, $85MM deal for his efforts). Needless to say, that’s not good enough for a team that views itself as one that should be able to do a bit of damage in the playoffs instead of being first-round fodder.
Andrei Kuzmenko was supposed to help in that regard but wound up underachieving, getting injured, and then being scratched in the playoffs. A third of their double-digit goal-scorers are now out of the organization. Basically, they need top-six scoring help and bottom-six offensive upgrades as well.
Getting into the playoffs on the back of 20 overtime or shootout losses probably isn’t going to be sustainable as a long-term strategy. But the fact they lost a lot of close games means that some extra firepower could swing some of those losses the other way. Perhaps a coaching change (or Smith changing their system somewhat) brings more offense around but some boosts up front will also be needed.
Photo courtesy of Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images.