Evening Notes: Pavelski, Wranglers, Luypen
The Montreal Canadiens’ success with rookie head coach Martin St. Louis has made its ripples around the league. 2024 retiree and veteran of more than 1,300 NHL games Joe Pavelski confirmed he has spoken with the Toronto Maple Leafs about their head coaching vacancy while speaking to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News.
Like St. Louis before joining Montreal, Pavelski has not coached at a pro level, instead spending the years since retirement coaching his son’s 14U and 15U teams with the Madison Capitals AAA program. While that won’t lend much experience, there is no doubt about Pavelski’s experience at the top level. He was lauded for his professionalism, versatility, and hockey IQ through 16 years in the NHL – which included four years as captain of the San Jose Sharks.
Pavelski routinely rivaled 60, 70, or even 80 points each season on the back of fundamental offense. That included becoming one of the best net-front presences, and shot-tippers, in the NHL despite a sub-6-foot frame. That experience could path Pavelski into an impactful coaching role – a potential the Maple Leafs will assess through their final rounds of their hiring process.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Calgary Wranglers have hired John Dean as an assistant coach. This move will shift Dean to the pro flight after spending the last eight years overseeing the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds. He led the Greyhounds to five of a potential six postseasons in that tenure – two cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic – though the club couldn’t get by the second round. Dean did oversee multiple NHL prospects in his reign, including top 2026 draft defenseman Chase Reid this season. He also coached Flames players Rory Kerins and Morgan Frost, as well as top 2025 pick Brady Martin. Dean will now move to the ranks he has led many players to, taking on a pro role for the first time in his career.
- The Hershey Bears re-signed forward Jalen Luypen to a one-year, AHL contract for next season. Luypen split the 2025-26 campaign between a loan to the Tucson Roadrunners and an assignment to the ECHL. He proved much more effective in the latter setting, where he scored 14 goals and 37 points in 35 games. Luypen backed that scoring with seven points in 24 AHL games on the year. He rotated through depth roles with the Rockford IceHogs in 2023-24 and 2024-25 – and will now compete for a similar spot with a perennial contender in Hershey next season.
Checkers Sign Luca Fantilli, Three Others To AHL Contracts
The Charlotte Checkers have made additions at every position with a series of one-way, AHL contracts. Forward William Bitten, defensemen Mitch Vande Sompel and Luca Fantilli, and goaltender Vinnie Purpura have each agreed to deals with Charlotte for the 2026-27 season.
Vande Sompel is the only re-signee of the bunch. He has spent the last two seasons with the Checkers after joining form the Chicago Wolves partway through the 2023-24 season. His 2024-25 season was cut to only 13 games by a nagging upper-body injury. He underwent a bi-lateral shoulder surgery to address the issue and returned healthy enough to double his appearances in 2025-26 – despite missing much of the middle-season with brief injuries. His season was marked by 11 points and a plus-14 in 36 games. On the heels of his highest-scoring season since the 2022-23 campaign, the oft-injured Vande Sompel will earn another year in his utility role in Charlotte.
Bitten will make a return to North America on this new deal. He spent the last two seasons in Russia’s KHL – split between stints with Moscow Spartak and HC Sochi. Bitten combined for 40 points in 80 games in his international tour, just below the mark of his typical AHL scoring. He’ll seek the higher marks in this return. The AHL veteran scored 103 points in 178 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds between 2021 and 2024. That includes 21 points in 18 games during the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs and a career-high 45 points in 65 games during the 2022-23 season. Bitten was a physical and effective role player through four years with the Iowa Wild and three years with Springfield. He also played one assist in four games with the St. Louis Blues in the 2022-23 season.
While Bitten moves back to the AHL, Purpura will seek a promotion from the ECHL. That is where he has spent the last four seasons after signing into the pros out of Long Island University in 2023. Purpura worked his way into the Adirondack Thunder’s backup role in the 2023-24 season, earning 15 wins and a .908 save percentage along the awy. He swapped to the Reading Royals for 2024-25 and grew his save percentage to a .922 in 25 games. The Royals then swapped Purpura to the Savannah Ghost Pirates this season. The move brought Purpura the first starting role of his career, though it brought a dip back to a .910 save percentage in 36 games. On the heels of that step forward, he will now target the Greensboro Gargoyles’ starting role, with the Checkers’ backup role in sight.
Fantilli, the older brother of Columbus Blue Jackets star Adam Fantilli, will be the only newcomer of the bunch. He spent the last four seasons at the University of Michigan where he filled a nightly role dating back to his freshman year. Despite that, his role began near the bottom of the lineup and took one step forward each season. By his senior year, Fantilli filled a top-pair role and scored 17 points in 40 games – just four fewer than he managed in 108 games through the first three seasons of his collegiate career. He is nonetheless an effective, defensive-defenseman whose strong stick could earn him a nightly role in Charlotte.
Blue Jackets Sign James Malatesta To One-Year Extension
The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed AHL forward James Malatesta to a one-year, two-way extension. The deal will carry an $850K salary in the NHL and $95K salary in the minors per PuckPedia.
Once a highly acclaimed prospect, Malatesta has struggled to adapt his flashy offense to the pro flight. He scored just 10 goals and 18 points in 57 games with the Cleveland Monsters this season. It was Malatesta’s first pro season without a taste of NHL minutes. He played in 13 games with the Blue Jackets over the prior two seasons and scored four points.
Instead of his scoring, it has been Malatesta’s grit that has shined at the pro level. He led the Monsters with 87 penalty minutes this season. In fact, he confidently holds the lead for most PIMs with Cleveland over the last three seasons, racking up 215 in 154 games with the club – more than 50 minutes ahead of Roman Ahcan in second-place.
The 5-foot-9, 190-pound winger could still offer upside with his puck skills. He scored 142 points in 155 games with the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts from 2020 to 2023. That mark remains third-most among any Rempart since 2020, behind Malatesta’s usual batterymates Theo Rochette and Zachary Bolduc. A new, one-year deal will offer Malatesta another chance to find his spark while operating from a bruising role in Cleveland’s middle-six.
Canucks Hire Richard Seeley As Assistant General Manager
This evening the Vancouver Canucks shared that Richard Seeley has been named Assistant General Manager of the team as well as General Manager of the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks.
The 47-year-old British Columbia native had spent the past decade with the Los Angeles Kings organization, following an unlikely path which began as head coach of their ECHL affiliate the Manchester Monarchs. After three seasons behind the bench, also serving as Director of Hockey Operations, Seeley jumped up to the scouting suites. Promoted to General Manager of the Ontario Reign of the AHL, he’d held the title since 2018. This year was one to remember for the Reign, winning the Pacific Division regular season title with a 47-20-3 record which was their franchise’s best.
He caught the eye of new Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson as a cross-divisional rival of the Pacific in the AHL. Winning the Calder Cup in 2025, Abbotsford regressed this season and missed the playoffs, and now they’ll look to replicate Ontario’s success from Seeley as the best in the division. If the past few weeks have been any indication, it’s a great starting place on the way to the NHL, as the Canucks have promoted both Johnson as well as their new head coach Manny Malhotra to the big club from their work in Abbotsford.
On Seeley, Johnson said “Rich understands our values and vision, and I believe his mindset and mentality will fit in nicely with what we are trying to establish with our organization in both Abbotsford and Vancouver”. In terms of what they are trying to establish, Seeley will likely seek out some higher impact veterans for the farmhand Canucks. This past season their leading scorer Nils Åman had 41 points in 55 games, nice production for the 26-year-old but nowhere near what it takes to be among the league’s best teams. They finished dead last in the AHL with just 173 goals scored. Widely considered as a middle-ground prospect pool, that’ll change later this month with the third overall selection having bottomed out after years of being intent on contention.
Seeley was a defenseman himself, selected in the sixth round of the 1997 draft by Los Angeles on the way to an AHL career which included stops in Manchester, Bridgeport, and Norfolk. He was a captain for three seasons, but never was able to crack the highest level as a player. Now he’ll do so with a well deserved promotion to his home province club.
Morning Notes: Larkin, Kuefler, Hurricanes
Dylan Larkin is believed to be entertaining three popular trade destinations after requesting a move from the Detroit Red Wings. Not being on his initial list won’t stop other teams from calling on the top center, though. Always involved in trade buzz, the Dallas Stars are believed to have checked in on Larkin’s trade price per EliteProspects’ Sean Shapiro.
In what would feel like the antithesis to Mike Modano‘s heralded move to Detroit in 2010 in many ways, Dallas could muster a package rich enough to land Detroit’s star forward of the last decade. Larkin has routinely rivaled 70 points, with strong defensive performances, over each of the last five seasons. His consistency – and potential for even more in a strong offense – will make him an expensive asset for the rebuilding Red Wings. Dallas may need to part with promising youngsters like Lian Bichsel, Thomas Harley, or Emil Hemming in the name of bolstering Detroit’s future. In return, they would land a strong successor for the aging Tyler Seguin and Matt Duchene. Larkin is signed to a manageable $8.7MM cap hit through the 2030-31 season, which would align with potential-battery mate Roope Hintz‘s contract.
Larkin would need to approve of any trade but Dallas proved their ability to pull off blockbusters with their acquisiton of Mikko Rantanen. They will be a notable team to follow as the saga around Larkin’s move grows.
Other notes from around the league:
- The New York Islanders have signed AHL forward Daylan Kuefler to a two-year, two-way contract extension per NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner. The deal will carry an $850K salary in the NHL and $105K salary in the AHL in year-one, then grow to a $900K salary in the NHL and $125K salary in the AHL in year-two per Rosner. $290K of that salary will be guaranteed. This deal marks a tidy bit of assurance for the third-year pro. This year marked Kuefler’s first full season with the Bridgeport Islanders. He finished the season with 25 points and 64 penalty minutes in 67 games. He will likely hang onto a depth role in the AHL lineup as he grows into a leading role on the newly-unveiled Hamilton Hammers.
- Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen took the practice sheet and was announced as “available” for Game 5, per ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski. Despite that, the Hurricanes seem set to keep Brandon Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov as their tandem after a Game 4 win. Bussi has stopped 36 of the 40 shots he has faced since replacing Andersen partway through Game 3. The decision came after Andersen paved over the first three rounds, marked by 13 wins and a .910 save percentage in 16 games. It seems the hot hand will hold favor in the Hurricanes net, though. Until Bussi struggles, Andersen’s action may be limited to the practice sheet.
Morning Notes: Poile, Kings, AHL Playoffs
Nashville Predators Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations Brian Poile is departing the organization. Son of Hall of Fame GM David Poile, Brian had held the role since 2018, a step up from his director of hockey operations position assumed in 2010. The news was shared by Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean.
Even though former Kings GM Rob Blake was hired yesterday as executive vice president of hockey operations, Daugherty emphasized that the two roles are different, and a replacement for Poile will be found by the team. Meanwhile, his father will stay in the mix as an advisor.
No dig at Poile himself, who is still in his 40s as a bright young mind who played at Boston College in the 1990s, with serious pedigree as a third generation executive. Yet since taking over in 2018, his Predators went from a surprise Stanley Cup contender and Presidents Trophy winner, to a relatively stale roster today which has not reached the second round since. Eight years later, they continue to lack high-end production from anybody recently drafted and developed by the club, but to be fair, they’ve been missing top lottery selections. With 16 years of experience in Nashville, another opportunity will come calling for Poile, but both sides will benefit from a change as the Predators move to a new era under Chris MacFarland.
Elsewhere across the league:
- The Kings seem to be zeroing in on a head coaching decision, the first domino of more to fall. On Thursday’s episode of OverDrive, Darren Dreger of TSN reported that Los Angeles could name their head coach next week, and that they won’t be waiting for Bruce Cassidy. Interim D.J. Smith was able to guide the team to the playoffs on an 11-6-6 record, and it’s thought that he’s still a real candidate to stick around. If they opt to start fresh, current Ducks assistant and former Oilers bench boss Jay Woodcroft is a name to watch for the nearby Kings. Woodcroft has a better track record than Smith, although also in a smaller sample size, leading the Oilers on two playoff runs from 2021-23, before things sputtered to a halt early the following season. Whichever decision is made, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported on Thursday’s edition of The DFO Rundown that key free agent center Scott Laughton’s choice to stay or go will weigh on who is named behind the bench, and having expressed a willingness to stick around already, as long as it get the stamp of approval he could be another name off the board come July 1.
- The Toronto Marlies, AHL affiliates of the Maple Leafs, took a commanding 3-2 series lead over the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins in the conference finals. They’ll need just one win to advance to the Calder Cup Final, playing whoever makes it out between the Colorado Eagles (Avalanche) and Chicago Wolves (Hurricanes). Another 3-2 series there, the Eagles hold the edge. Top Leafs prospect Easton Cowan is rolling, posting a goal and assist last game with points in each of his last four games, playing alongside former OHL teammate Landon Sim who also notched a key goal, as outlined by Lance Hornby of The Toronto Sun. As for Colorado, prospects Gavin Brindley and T.J. Hughes, once collegiate teammates at Michigan, have provided a boost to the Eagles lineup, the latter with 12 points, while Brindley has 8, in 15 playoff games each.
Blues Sign Georgii Romanov To Two-Year Extension
The St. Louis Blues took care of a free agent this afternoon, re-upping goaltender Georgii Romanov on a two-year, two-way contract extension. The deal carries an AAV of $875k at the NHL level.
Undrafted out of Russia, Romanov was picked out by the Sharks in 2023, signing an entry level contract. Despite playing in just three KHL games to that point, otherwise holding the crease in the VHL, the 6’5″ netminder played in 29 games for the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL in 2023-24 and even made two NHL appearances, allowing just one goal in 59 minutes.
Continuing to get a share of starts for the Barracuda in the following season, alongside Yaroslav Askarov, Romanov posted a solid .905 save percentage. The young Russian was again thrust into the highest level, as the fifth goaltender to spend time in San Jose’s crease during the 2024-25 campaign. Romanov lost all six of his starts, not coming away with a win, but had a solid 3.89 goals-against-average facing a barrage on the 50-loss team, numbers on par with NHL mainstays of the time, Vítek Vaněček and Alexander Georgiev.
With Askarov expectedly taking the spotlight, Romanov departed San Jose last summer, settling for a PTO with the Devils. Not landing a contract, he was then scooped up by St. Louis in October. Taking 28 games as opposed to Vadim Zherenko‘s 42 for the Springfield Thunderbirds, Romanov rewarded the organization with tremendous play in the postseason, getting hot with a .939 save percentage and two shutouts in 11 playoff games.
As Zherenko is a group six free agent this summer, Romanov’s path to #1 for the Thunderbirds and third in the organization is wide open. At age 26, he has flashed enough potential to have real late-blooming NHL upside, and Blues fans should expect him to make his debut with the club at some point next season. As the franchise navigates their youth movement, possibly moving on from Jordan Binnington, the Russian’s continued progression could soften the blow of losing Colten Ellis on waivers to Buffalo.
Snapshots: Canucks, McNabb, Babcock
This afternoon the Vancouver Canucks shared that Daren Hermiston has been named Director of Player Personnel and Player Development.
An NHLPA Certified Player Agent who represented players across the NHL as well as lower leagues, Hermiston had held such a role since 2009, as a member of THE.TEAM company. According to PuckPedia, his clients include Canucks forward Arshdeep Bains, along with several prospects such as Harrison Brunicke of the Penguins.
Before his time as an agent, the native of Kamloops, British Columbia studied Business Administration at Thompson Rivers University. Hermiston’s addition is the latest among several notable changes in the Canucks front office. After finishing last in the NHL, they’ve internally promoted Ryan Johnson to general manager, Manny Malhotra to head coach, and both Henrik and Daniel Sedin have moved up from their development roles.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Vegas head coach John Tortorella did not provide an update on Brayden McNabb other than that he has traveled back with the team, relayed by Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. A lack of transparency on the matter is no surprise at this time of year, especially coming from Tortorella and his Golden Knights. Even lineup decisions aside though, it is a relief to hear that McNabb is at least out of the hospital, after catching a rising shot square to the face in a scary injury early in last night’s game. Ending his night after just 5:39, from there the Golden Knights rolled with four defensemen much of the night, seldom using Dylan Coghlan, which certainly played a factor in Carolina’s eventual overtime win. Averaging just one second shy of 20 minutes a night in their playoff run so far, if McNabb’s injury is too severe to return with facial protection in tomorrow’s Game 3, Ben Hutton figures to be the next man up as Tortorella would continue to lean heavily on his top defenders.
- The Brantford Bulldogs of the OHL named Michael Babcock their new head coach, the league announced. The 31-year-old had been an assistant coach with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls (Ducks) for the past season. Son of Mike Babcock, he was a product of the Little Caesar’s program, playing in the USHL and spending four years with Merrimack College. Joining the coaching ranks as an assistant under his father at the University of Saskatchewan in 2021, Babcock advanced to the NHL level, coaching development/skills for the Senators and Blues before his first gig behind an AHL bench in 2025-26. Now set to take on his head coaching journey, Babcock is the sixth head coach in Brantford history, and the youngest to do so for the club. Meanwhile, San Diego will move forward seeking a replacement shortly.
Morning Notes: Leach, Merkley, Gross
On Sunday, we covered reports indicating that former Boston Bruins and Seattle Kraken assistant coach Jay Leach was a strong candidate for two head coaching vacancies in the AHL: the Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers) and Belleville Senators (Ottawa Senators). Yesterday, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that “all signs point” to Leach becoming head coach in Hartford, with the official announcement from the team coming soon after.
If he ends up hired by the Rangers to coach their AHL affiliate, Leach, 46, would bring instant credibility to the team’s coaching staff. Leach was previously a head coach in the AHL for the Providence Bruins from 2017-18 through 2020-21, amassing an impressive 136-77-26 record. Most crucially for the Rangers, whose player development at the pro level has come under recent scrutiny (the team moved on from director of player development Jed Ortmeyer last month), Leach has a strong track record of delivering AHL talent to the NHL level. During his time in Providence, he helped develop future NHL players such as Jeremy Lauzon, Trent Frederic, Connor Clifton, Dan Vladar, Jordan Binnington, Matt Grzelcyk, and Urho Vaakanainen.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- 2015 first-round pick Nick Merkley has decided to leave the KHL’s Shanghai Dragons, signing a one-year contract with Dynamo Moscow. Merkley, 29, last played in North America in the 2021-22 season, a year where he got into nine NHL contests for the San Jose Sharks. Merkley has spent the last four seasons in the KHL, where he has been a productive top-six forward. He led the Dragons in scoring in 2025-26, putting up 24 goals and 45 points.
- Veteran defenseman Jordan Gross, who was formerly a solid depth defenseman in NHL organizations, has signed a two-year KHL contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. The 31-year-old blueliner is an undrafted player who leveraged a stellar NCAA career at Notre Dame into 25 NHL games across four seasons. Gross is a former Eddie Shore Award winner as the AHL’s defenseman of the year, but has been in the KHL for the past two seasons. This past year, Gross scored eight goals and 35 points in 64 regular-season games for Traktor Chelyabinsk.
Bruins Sign Navrin Mutter To One-Year Extension
The Boston Bruins announced that AHL forward Navrin Mutter has been signed to a one-year, two-way contract extension. Mutter was a pending UFA through Group VI status, so this contract keeps him from hitting the open market.
Boston did not disclose the full financial terms of the contract beyond that it will contain an NHL cap hit of $850K, the new league minimum for 2026-27. According to PuckPedia, the deal carries a $95K AHL salary. That represents a modest pay bump for Mutter, whose previous contract contained a $70K AHL salary. Mutter is repped by Andrew & Dave Maloney of Maloney & Thompson Sports Management.
Mutter, 25, was acquired by the Bruins in a trade on March 12. The Nashville Predators dealt Mutter to the Bruins in exchange for former University of Denver star Massimo Rizzo and low-scoring winger Dalton Bancroft. Mutter ended up playing in 16 total games for Providence, 12 in the regular season and then four in the playoffs. His production in that span of games was just one goal, no assists, but offense has never been his calling card.
A 6’3″, 213-pound undrafted winger, Mutter has been able to carve out a career in professional hockey as a result of his work ethic and relentless physicality. In a four-year OHL career, Mutter only produced 58 points in 217 games. Mutter has not produced much offense regardless of what level he’s played at, as he has 21 points in 161 career AHL games, and had 11 points in a 33-game stint in the ECHL during the 2023-24 campaign.
But, as mentioned, Mutter has been able to hold down a spot in two NHL organizations thanks to his work ethic, character, and physical play. Players who have a similar value proposition at the professional level often try to refine their defensive game in order to be able to contribute to a penalty kill, but thus far Mutter has not been able to do so. That is the case throughout his professional career, including when he was in the ECHL with the Atlanta Gladiators.
While Mutter is of course a long-shot to have an NHL career, from his perspective, that’s still what he’s working towards and pushing for. And with this new extension, the door on getting into NHL games is technically not closed to him. But for Mutter to have any real prospect of not only earning an NHL call-up, but holding down a role on an NHL roster, he’ll likely need to show a greater level of versatility and defensive ability than he has so far – and bring more than just competitiveness and physicality to the table if offense is out of the question.