Prospect Notes: Hallander, Fiddler, Ivankovic
Pittsburgh Penguins winger Filip Hallander has returned to his home country of Sweden for training after recovering from a blood clot per Seth Rorabaugh of Trib Live. Hallander only played in 16 games this season – 13 in the NHL and three in the AHL – due to the blood clot.
Bad health kept Hallander from playing through his NHL rookie season – his next step after posting 89 points in 102 games through two seasons in Sweden’s SHL. Hallander found his confidence in Sweden and looked to return a much more capable play-driver, after getting his first taste of the AHL between 2021 and 2023.
Hallander began the season with Pittsburgh and scored four points, before a three-game scoring lull earned him a bump to the minors. He added one more point with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before being removed from the lineup.
Hallander is a confident puck-mover who uses his skill to beat defenders and rack up points. He has yet to prove that talent at the top flight, though he does have 62 points in 107 career AHL games. He will be evaluated by the Penguins for availability at 2026-27 training camp upon returning from Sweden. If he is cleared by doctors, next season could be Hallander’s first chance to dig his feet into an NHL role.
Other notes out of the prospect world:
- Seattle Kraken prospect Blake Fiddler has announced his commitment to the University of Denver. He will join a strong cohort of young defensemen headed to the National Championship winners, alongside top 2026 draft prospect Ben MacBeath and Ryan Lin. Fiddler offers a confident bit of puck-movement and physicality, blending well with Lin’s dynamo offense and MacBeath’s strong defensive presence. Their additions will give Denver more than enough to make up for the loss of Hobey Baker Award finalist and San Jose Sharks prospect Eric Pohlkamp. Fiddler, a Texas native, racked up 11 goals and 36 points in 63 games with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings this season. He carved out a second-pair role and posted a career-high plus-23.
- Sticking with college hockey, Nashville Predators prospect and University of Michigan starter Jack Ivankovic will join Team Canada at the World Championship per Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek. This will be a golden chance for Ivankovic to prove his iron man abilities after missing a chunk of the season due to a lower-body injury. Ivankovic returned well ahead of schedule from that injury and led Michigan to a Frozen Four semi-final loss against the eventual championship-winning Denver Pioneers. The second-round draft pick set 25 wins and a .921 save percentage in 35 games with Michigan this season. His performance marked the most wins from a goaltender under the age of 19 since Tyler Wall posted 26 wins with UMass-Lowell in 2017 and Billy Sauer posted 25 wins with Michigan in 2007.
Rangers Promote Tanner Glass To Director Of Player Development
The New York Rangers have made their first change of the summer. The club has released Jed Ortmeyer from his role as Director Of Player Development and promoted Tanner Glass in his spot per Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic. Glass has served as the Assistant Director since 2020. This decision is part of a complete assessment of New York’s departments, general manager Chris Drury told Mercogliano.
New York has now missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2018 and 2019. Their roster has failed to pull into a better form since those prior struggles, with Mika Zibanejad still leading the ship, now alongside Alexis Lafreniere and J.T. Miller rather than Mats Zuccarello and Pavel Buchnevich. The Rangers made the bold decision to trade star scorer Artemi Panarin partway through their losing season in an attempt to fortify their future assets, at the least.
Now the team will take another step to ensure they get more out of their draft capital. Glass played three seasons with the Rangers from 2014 to 2017, as part of an 11-year career in the NHL. He was a depth forward in every stop he made but found a way to stick in the lineup thanks to gritty and high-energy play away from the puck. Glass retired in 2018 and joined the Rangers as a development coach one year later. His presence has played a small role in the success of New York’s burgeoning youngsters, like Noah Laba and Gabriel Perreault, though Drury made sure to also praise Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley for deciding to pick both players.
New York has value in the pipeline. They received high-scoring, OHL center Liam Greentree as part of a return for Panarin and recently watched 2025 second-round pick Malcolm Spence run to the Frozen Four semi-finals with the University of Michigan. Both players could one day secure roles in the lineup, as could shutdown defensemen E.J. Emery and Sean Barnhill or utility forwards Adam Sykora and Brody Lamb. Honing their development, as well as the development of future draft picks, will now be Glass’ top priority. New York has two first-round picks, one second-round pick, and four third-round picks as part of 11 total selections in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Evening Notes: Hronek, Tippett, Manson, Kiviranta
Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek was injured in pre-tournament action with Team Czechia’s World Championship roster per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News. Dhaliwal adds that Hronek “should be okay soon”, likely a sign that the top Czech defender won’t miss tournament action.
Hronek has carved out an important role on Czechia’s men’s national team. He scored five assists in five games at the 2026 Winter Olympics and six points in eight games at the 2025 World Championship. The latter tournament was Hronek’s first appearance on Czechia’s national roster since the 2022 World Championship, where he scored two points in 10 games. That quiet showing was outdone by his 15 points in 17 games between the 2019 and 2021 World Championships. More than his scoring, Hronek offers a physical, puck-moving presence that helps the Czech push their aggressive forecheck. He would leave an irreplaceable hole on the top-pair if he missed tournament games.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Philadelphia Flyers forward Owen Tippett has been announced as out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. He was doubtful to play in Game 1 of the second round after practice per NBCS’ Jordan Hall. A chance to rest could be timely for Tippett, who racked up two points in six games of the first round. It was a lackluster series for the scoring winger, after he tied his career-high with 23 goals and totaled 51 points in 81 games this season. He fills an important, shooter role in the Flyers offense and could leave a hole in the top-six. Tippett’s absence will secure rookie Alex Bump’s spot in the lineup. Bump scored nine points in the first 17 games of his NHL career this season. He also has one goal in two playoff appearances. He may be one of only a few black aces who could try to fill in for Tippett’s scoring impact.
- The Colorado Avalanche are also still nursing injuries. Defenseman Josh Manson and forward Joel Kiviranta are both still out day-to-day, head coach Jared Bednar told Bailey Curtis of DNVR Avalanche. Manson sat out of Game 4 against the Los Angeles Kings and hasn’t been able to heal up in six days since. He scored two points in the first three games of the series, continuing to fill an important, top-four role on Colorado’s defense. Kiviranta sat out of both Game 3 and 4, limiting him to no scoring and five hits in the first two games of the series. He totaled nine points in 51 games this season, rotaitng in-and-out of the team’s fourth line. Manson will immediately step back into the lineup when he’s back at full health, while Kiviranta will compete with Logan O’Connor and Parker Kelly for depth minutes.
Oilers Notes: McDavid, Dickinson, Draisaitl, Knoblauch
The Edmonton Oilers held their end-of-season interviews after failing to win one playoff round, on the heels of back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Finals. It was a day filled with difficult conversations and injury updates. Notably, both Connor McDavid and Jason Dickinson were revealed to be playing through foot fractures, head coach Kris Knoblauch told Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. Dickinson scored two goals in the opening game of the first round before missing the next two games with injury. He returned for the final three games of the series and added one assist.
McDavid played through all six postseason games but didn’t neccesarily appear like his usual self. He scored only one goal and six points. It was rare that he broke away with top-end speed or dominated offense – instead leaving those roles to Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, and Vasily Podkolzin who led the Oilers in playoff scoring. A fracture is reasonable explanation for those struggles and will now set both McDavid and Dickinson on the course of recovery for at least part of the summer. Knoblauch did not mention specifics for either player’s recovery.
Other notes out of Edmonton:
- Star winger Draisaitl was vocal about the team’s struggles, saying that he feels the organization took a step backwards per NHL.com’s Derek Van Diest. Their result at the end of the year made that backwards step evident enough – but McDavid echoed his teammate’s comments in his own interview. Draisaitl went on to speak to how big of a role Edmonton’s depth players filled on their run to the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals, even naming Ryan McLeod, Warren Foegele, Vincent Desharnais, and Cody Ceci. It seems the Oilers’ charge through the summer will be replicating that difference-making depth talent, if they want to appease their best players ahead of another playoff heave next season.
- No indication was made regarding Knoblauch’s future with in the Oilers head coach role through the team’s final interviews. General manager Stan Bowman said the organization will take their time to evaluate things before confirming if Knoblauch would be back per TSN’s Ryan Rishaug. Bowman went on to add that all aspects of the team will likely be evaluated, including his own role, after their disappointing end. Those decisions will give the Oilers a lot to consider in a small window before the NHL Draft in June and free agency in July.
Maple Leafs Expected To Hire Mats Sundin, John Chayka To Front Office
The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to hold a press conference on Monday where they will announce Mats Sundin and John Chayka have been hired to lead the team’s front office. The news was first reported by Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun and later seconded by Sportsnet. The specifics of roles and responsibilities hasn’t been specified but it seems likely that Chayka steps into the team’s vacant general manager role.
Chayka became the youngest general manager in NHL history when he was hired by the Arizona Coyotes on May 4, 2016 – at the age of 26. He was championed as an innovative, analytical thinker at the time and held onto the Coyotes role through four seasons – also filling the President Of Hockey Operations role for the latter three. Arizona only made the playoffs in Chayka’s last season but he suddenly resigned from his roles just one day before the team kicked off the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The decision came just eight months after Chayka agreed to a mutli-year extension with the Coyotes.
The NHL suspended Chayka from working in the league in 2021, after it was revealed that he had entertained roles with other teams while still under contract with the Coyotes. The league also discovered that Chayka and the Coyotes had held private draft combines, something strictly forbidden by the league. Arizona was forced to give up their 2020 second-round pick and 2021 first-round pick as a result.
Chayka championed roster turnover in his time with the Coyotes. He added multiple impactful players to the roster, including Phil Kessel, Taylor Hall, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Darcy Kuemper. He also brought in players who still exist as core components of the Utah Mammoth: Nick Schmaltz, Lawson Crouse, Clayton Keller, and Barrett Hayton. But quantity did not mean quality for the Coyotes, who struggled to click and never managed more than 35 wins under Chayka’s reign. He did have a knack for finding NHL talent in the draft – selecting six players who have gone on to play in at least 200 NHL games, though that is out of 32 total selections made.
Many of Chayka’s gut calls seemed to be the right choices at the wrong time. He will look to correct his timing with a Toronto club in need of any kind of direction forward. The Maple Leafs managed to break out of their first-round slumps with trips to the second-round in 2023 and 2025 – but they haven’t made it to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2002. The Leafs couldn’t capitalize on the combination of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner – losing the latter to the Vegas Golden Knights last summer. Chayka’s primary task will be building a core that can push through the playoffs before more of their core-four step out of the lineup. He will have the boost of young difference-makers Matthew Knies and Easton Cowan, though the former appeared in trade rumors through the middle of the season. That trade could kick off a refresh of the Toronto lineup – as much as the decision to keep Knies around could define the top-end of Toronto’s future.
Sundin will be a strong steward as the Maple Leafs enter a new era. He joined the Leafs in a franchise-changing trade in 1994, with Wendel Clark one of four assets going back to the Quebec Nordiques. Sundin, only two seasons removed from his first season above 100 points, instantly scored at a point-per-game pace for the Maple Leafs. He reached 94 points in the 1996-97 season, enough to cement his spot as the leader of Toronto’s lineup and earn him the captaincy. He wore the ‘C’ for the next 11 seasons from 1997 to 2008. Even in his final season in Toronto, Sundin managed 78 points in 74 games. His career spanned the Leafs’ last two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals – in 2002 and 1999. He left the Leafs for one season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2008-09 – then retired as Toronto’s all-time leader in points (987). He also held the goals record (420) until Matthews passed him on January 3.
Sundin’s number was retired by Toronto in 2012. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame nine months later. In retirement, he has lived in the same privacy he fought for during his playing days. He did support Team Sweden at the 2013 World Championship and 2017 World Cup as a team consultant. The Tre Kronor won Gold at both tournaments. Sundin has otherwise not filled any formal team roles. It will be the same robust leadership and hockey knowledge that guided his playing career that will now guide Sundin’s managerial career. His guidance could be an important presence for Toronto’s top players.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen/The Republic.
Bruins Place Lukas Reichel On Waivers
While Boston’s playoff run is over, one of their players will still have some postseason action on the horizon. PuckPedia reports that the Bruins have placed winger Lukas Reichel on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Providence.
This is the second time that the 23-year-old has been on waivers this season. Vancouver acquired Reichel early in the season from Chicago for a fourth-round pick in the hopes that he could give a banged-up roster a bit of a lift. However, he struggled and some of their injured players returned, resulting in the Canucks waiving him in mid-December, where he passed through unclaimed.
Looking for some extra winger depth at the trade deadline, the Bruins flipped a sixth-round pick to Vancouver to acquire Reichel and left him briefly in the minors. He eventually was recalled, getting into ten games down the stretch before returning to the AHL. Reichel was then brought up for the postseason and suited up once against the Sabres.
On the season, Reichel played in just 29 NHL games between Chicago, Vancouver, and Boston, notching three goals and five assists. He also picked up 19 points in 27 AHL contests and added three more in five games for Germany at the Olympics. For his career, Reichel has 23 goals and 39 assists in 198 career NHL contests.
A first-round pick back in 2020 (17th overall), Reichel is slated to become a restricted free agent this summer and will be owed a $1.3MM qualifying offer with salary arbitration rights. At this point, it seems unlikely he’ll receive that. That also makes it quite unlikely that he’ll be claimed by Sunday’s 1 PM CT deadline, paving the way for him to return to Providence as the league-leading Bruins look to have a long postseason run.
Blue Jackets Not Expected To Re-Sign Erik Gudbranson
After a late-season collapse ultimately cost them a playoff spot, Columbus head coach Rick Bowness talked about changing the culture, assuming he would still be with the team in 2026-27. That question went away rather quickly and Bowness will now get a chance to really put his mark on the team.
It appears one of the changes will be coming on the back end. Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco reports that pending UFA defenseman Erik Gudbranson is not expected to return to the Blue Jackets next season.
The 34-year-old had a tough showing both on and off the ice this season. Felled by three separate injuries (including a hip issue that kept him out for 38 games), Gudbranson only suited up in 37 games. While that was an improvement on 2024-25, that games played total was still the third-lowest of his 15-year career. In those outings, he had three points along with 64 blocks and 45 hits in 17:46 per night of playing time.
A veteran of 842 career NHL regular season appearances across eight different organizations, Gudbranson has 35 goals and 105 assists to his name, along with 1,157 blocks and 1,757 hits. He has predominantly played a fourth or fifth role on depth charts throughout his career although his grit and coveted right-hand shot have always resulted in him having plenty of suitors. That demand landed him a four-year, $16MM pact from Columbus back in 2022.
Given his age and injury-riddled campaigns, it’s fair to say that Gudbranson won’t be able to command another deal in that range this summer. AFP Analytics projects a near-50% pay cut, with a one-year, $2.012MM deal. Notably, by missing so much time this season, Gudbranson is eligible for a one-year deal with performance incentives, an option that otherwise wouldn’t have been available to him for one more year. Assuming he’s amenable to signing such a deal, that should open up options with more cap-strapped teams.
While a decision has been made on Gudbranson (and Brendan Smith, who Di Marco also reports won’t return), Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell has some work to do with his other pending unrestricted free agents. The team has some of the more prominent unsigned veterans heading into the summer, headlined by centers Charlie Coyle and Boone Jenner along with winger Mason Marchment. In the short term, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team concentrating on trying to get one or more of them locked up on a new deal in the coming weeks.
Charlie McAvoy Offered In-Person Hearing For Slash On Zach Benson
It was a tough end to the playoffs for Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy. On top of his team losing in six games to Buffalo on Friday, the veteran was ejected from the game for a slash on Sabres winger Zach Benson. In response, the Department of Player Safety announced (Twitter link) that McAvoy has been offered an in-person hearing. The date and time of the hearing have yet to be determined but with Boston done for the season, there is no need to hold it over the next day or two.
The in-person element is particularly important. While a phone hearing carries a maximum of a five-game suspension, an in-person hearing allows the league to suspend him for longer than that. If that were to happen, the NHLPA would then have an opportunity to appeal to Commissioner Gary Bettman as well.
The incident occurred late in the third period of Friday’s game. Benson was set to receive a slew-foot tripping minor on McAvoy and while play continued, McAvoy chased down Benson and gave him a baseball-swing slash, receiving a minor, major, and a game misconduct on the play. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was among those to provide a video clip of the play.
McAvoy has two suspensions on his record. He received a one-game ban in 2019 for an illegal check to the head on then-Columbus winger Josh Anderson in the playoffs and a four-game suspension in 2023 for an illegal check to the head on then-Florida blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Any supplementary discipline received will be served at the start of next season.
James Hagens Expected To Play For Team USA At World Championship
It has been an eventful season for Bruins center James Hagens, to put it lightly. He has already played for four separate teams in 2025-26 and it appears he’ll be adding to that total. Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports (Twitter link) that Hagens is expected to play for Team USA at the upcoming Worlds which begin later this month.
The seventh overall pick last June, Hagens spent most of the season at the NCAA level with Boston College, where he picked up 23 goals and 24 assists in just 34 games to lead his team in scoring. Midseason, he suited up for Team USA at the World Juniors and had a productive showing there as well, notching seven points in five contests.
That performance was good enough for Boston to decide to turn Hagens pro. However, they opted to have him take a bit of a different route. Instead of joining the big club right away, they signed him to an AHL tryout, allowing him to get his feet wet with Providence. He picked up a goal and three assists in six games with them, earning a full entry-level contract a little less than four weeks ago.
Hagens got into a pair of regular season games in the final week to get his NHL debut out of the way but ultimately didn’t play a regular role in the postseason. Hagens played in three of six games against Buffalo but was held off the scoresheet. Despite being 19 and only playing in five NHL games, his contract isn’t eligible to slide as he turns 20 in November. He’s also not eligible to return to Providence to aid in their playoff run. However, he won’t accrue a year of service time toward UFA eligibility so Boston still has seven full seasons of club control.
Between his four teams this season, Hagens has played in 50 games so far. He’ll now get a chance to add up to ten more while in Switzerland while trying to end his year on a high note.
Central Notes: Benn, Hyry, Klippenstein
Stars captain Jamie Benn is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the same fate he faced last year before signing a one-year deal to remain in Dallas. While Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News believes that the organization would be willing to bring him back, there would need to be some tough discussions first as he’s now coming off his second straight subpar playoff performance. He’ll be 37 when next season starts so while he could still hold his own in a bottom-six role during the regular season but will those postseason struggles give them enough pause to start the search for a new captain? If not, Benn is eligible to once again sign a bonus-laden deal as long as it’s a one-year pact. He did so last summer, accepting a $1MM base salary with up to $3MM in bonuses, $2MM of which were reached and will count against their salary cap in 2026-27 thanks to them ending the year using LTIR.
More from the Central:
- Still with the Stars, forward Arttu Hyry won’t be available for AHL Texas in their series against Chicago, relays 100 Degree Hockey (Twitter link). The 25-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in the fifth game of the Dallas-Minnesota series earlier this week and while it was initially thought that it was a day-to-day issue, it appears that’s not the case. Hyry was on Texas’ roster at the trade deadline, meaning that Dallas can send him down once he’s cleared to return. He had 19 points in 27 AHL games along with five points in 20 NHL appearances during the regular season.
- Wild prospect Carter Klippenstein will be leaving the WHL next season to make the jump to the NCAA. Providence College announced on its Instagram page that the 19-year-old has committed to playing for them next season. A fifth-round pick last summer, Klippenstein was limited to just 38 games this season due to injury. Still, he was fairly productive, tallying 11 goals and 17 assists in those outings. With the transfer of leagues, Klippenstein’s signing timeline will be extended, giving Minnesota a couple of extra years to determine if they want to sign him. Had he stayed in junior, they’d have had to make that call just over a year from now.