Brian La Rose

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

October 17, 2025 at 12:26 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 15 Comments

The 2025-26 NHL regular season is now underway. As is often the case, we saw a flurry of extensions before the season started, plus one more early on in the year while there has been some interesting action early on. With that in mind, it’s a good time to once again open up the mailbag.

Our last call for questions yielded enough questions for a pair of mailbags. Topics in the first included one of the early CBA changes regarding paper transactions, getting out the crystal ball when it comes to non-playoff teams, and the Hughes brothers. Meanwhile, included in the second column were thoughts on what’s next for the Flyers, what type of impact Jonathan Toews could have with Winnipeg this season, and why we don’t see a lot of prominent players signing short-term contracts compared to other leagues.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run this weekend.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Buffalo Sabres

October 13, 2025 at 10:01 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 16 Comments

Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Atlantic Division, next up are the Sabres.

Buffalo Sabres

Current Cap Hit: $93,341,521 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Zach Benson (one year, $950K)
F Josh Doan (one year, $925K)
F Jiri Kulich (two years, $886.7K)

Potential Bonuses
Benson: $650K

After a strong rookie year in 2023-24, Benson’s sophomore campaign was largely the same. While he didn’t take a step back in his development, he didn’t really progress either. While he’s someone the Sabres clearly feel will still be a part of their long-term plans, finding a price point low enough for them to be comfortable with and high enough for Benson to be happy with will be tough. With that in mind, a short-term bridge deal around the $4MM territory might make the most sense for both sides. He has three ‘A’ bonuses in his deal and if he stays in their top six all year, he could hit some of those.

Doan was one of the pieces coming to Buffalo in the JJ Peterka trade this offseason. He held his own in a bottom-six role for the bulk of last season with Utah but that’s not the type of player that typically signs a long-term deal at this point. A short-term bridge pact makes sense here, potentially in the $3MM area if he has a similar showing this season. Kulich showed some promise last season despite a relatively limited role. They’re hoping he can be a top-six center of the future and if it looks like he’ll be there at the end of this deal, a long-term pact could be on the table. The rate for that could be in the $8MM territory, even if he’s on the second line given the inflation coming to the cap.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

D Jacob Bryson ($900K, UFA)
D Michael Kesselring ($1.4MM, RFA)
F Peyton Krebs ($1.45MM, RFA)
F Beck Malenstyn ($1.35MM, UFA)
F Alex Tuch ($4.75MM, UFA)

Tuch’s contract situation is one of the biggest discussion points in Buffalo right now. He’s a local player who has publicly stated that he wants to re-sign but no agreement has been reached just yet. Seeing the recent explosion of the winger market, it’s likely that Tuch’s camp is seeking to more than double his current price tag. He has only passed the point-per-game mark once in his career but with two 36-goal efforts over the last three seasons, he’s still producing enough that he could very well surpass the $10MM mark on his next deal. If Buffalo continues to struggle, his name will come up in trade speculation quickly so it wouldn’t be surprising to see both sides plug away at this in the coming weeks.

Krebs bounced back last season after a tough 2023-24 campaign but he still hasn’t progressed to being a consistently reliable producer; he has yet to reach 30 points in a single season. However, given that he plays a premium position and has arbitration rights, he should be able to double this price tag next summer. Malenstyn wasn’t anywhere near as impactful in his first year with Buffalo compared to his 2023-24 season with Washington. However, with his physicality, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him pass the $2MM mark next summer, even as a pure fourth liner.

Kesselring was the other part of the return for Peterka and is someone Buffalo likely views as an important building block on the back end. He hasn’t become a full-time top-four piece yet but as a coveted right-shot defender with arbitration rights, he should be in a position to push for $4MM on a shorter-term deal while a long-term pact would likely run past $5MM per season. Bryson has been a depth defender for the last few seasons and is likely to remain in that role moving forward. That should keep him close to the minimum salary for next season and beyond.

Signed Through 2026-27

D Bowen Byram ($6.25MM, UFA)
F Justin Danforth ($1.8MM, UFA)
G Colten Ellis ($775K, RFA)
F/D Mason Geertsen ($775K, UFA)
F Jordan Greenway ($4MM, UFA)
G Alex Lyon ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Jack Quinn ($3.375MM, RFA)
D Conor Timmins ($2.2MM, UFA)
F Jason Zucker ($4.75MM, UFA)

Zucker and Greenway found themselves in similar situations last season, players on expiring contracts who were likely to be moved if they didn’t sign extensions. Instead, both worked out short-term deals that gave them some stability and kept Buffalo’s long-term options open. Zucker’s trips through free agency haven’t always proven fruitful but if he stays in the 50-point range the next couple of years, he could land a small raise and a multi-year pact, even as a 35-plus contract. As for Greenway, he has been the beneficiary of the power forward premium. When healthy, he struggles to reach 30 points and even staying in the lineup has been a concern. But given his size, physicality, and defensive acumen, there’s a high enough floor that Buffalo was willing to pay a premium on. He’ll need to produce a bit more if he wants to beat this by any sort of significant amount.

Quinn wasn’t quite able to live up to offensive expectations last season, resulting in this bridge deal getting signed back in June. Both sides will be hoping that he will be able to take that step forward and become a legitimate top-six piece. If that happens, he could plausibly push past $6MM or more two years from now. Danforth came over from Columbus in free agency as a versatile piece who can move up and down the lineup. But he will have to find a way to produce more if he is going to have a shot at beating this in his next trip to the open market. Geertsen hadn’t played in the NHL since 2021-22 before surprisingly making Buffalo’s roster in training camp. Unless he can establish himself as an every-game player, he’s likely to remain at the minimum salary in the future.

To avoid any risk of an offer sheet, the Sabres filed for arbitration with Byram this summer, setting him up for a two-year deal that took him right to unrestricted free agency. While they settled before the hearing, they couldn’t get any additional team control, meaning he’ll hit the open market at 26, in the prime of his career. Given how much salaries have exploded, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he pushes for a deal in the $10MM range on a max-term agreement. Timmins, acquired in a swap of third-pairing defensemen this summer, also managed to avoid arbitration with this deal. He has shown flashes of offensive upside over the years but has been more of a fifth or sixth option for most of that time. There’s a fine line to navigate for players in his situation as if he remains a lower-producing piece, the offers two years from now might not get to this level. But a few more points could propel him past the $3MM mark.

Lyon became a full-time backup goaltender over his two years with Detroit, getting into 74 games overall. However, his save percentage dipped to .896 last season which hurt his chances of getting a bigger deal this summer. Still, he did enough to get his biggest guaranteed contract. At this point of his career, it’s hard to see him moving into that top echelon of backups so while another small raise could be doable, he’s probably not going much higher than that. Ellis was claimed off waivers and has yet to make his NHL debut. Buffalo feels he has some upside as evidenced by the claim but when everyone’s healthy, he’s no higher than third on the depth chart. This doesn’t feel like a situation where he’s going to get a chance to play into a big contract but if he does well in limited action, he could land where Lyon is now.

Signed Through 2027-28

D Ryan Johnson ($775K, RFA)
F Tyson Kozak ($775K, RFA)

Both Johnson and Kozak are on identical three-year deals. However, with the minimum salary moving to $850K next season and $900K in 2027-28, their cap hits beginning next season should jump to $841.7K.

Kozak made his NHL debut last season, getting into 21 games where he did okay with limited playing time. He wasn’t a big point producer with Rochester either but the security of a three-year pact with two one-way years was enough to get him to sign. He’ll need to establish himself as a regular and make a bit of an impact to help his cause for a new deal as if he winds up with minimal production, he’ll become a non-tender candidate to avoid arbitration eligibility.

Johnson, a 2019 first-round pick, has had a limited role so far when he has played, including a 41-game stint in his rookie year. He also opted for the security of two one-way years while he looks to establish himself as a full-time defender. Like Kozak, he’ll want to be more established by the end of this deal to avoid being a non-tender candidate to avoid arbitration eligibility. If he’s a regular third-pairing option by then, Johnson could move up into the $2MM range on a contract.

Signed Through 2028-29

G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen ($4.75MM, UFA)
F Ryan McLeod ($5MM, UFA)

The McLeod trade raised some eyebrows with a prominent prospect (Matthew Savoie) going to Edmonton but a bigger role allowed the center to have a breakout year, creating an interesting situation where they had to work out a contract off a platform campaign much better than any other season. They ultimately settled on this spot, one that bought two years of UFA eligibility and gave him lower-end second-line money. If he stays in the 50-point range that he reached last year, this will be a bargain but if he goes back to his Edmonton point levels, then it’ll be an overpayment.

The goalie market has seen a lot of inflation lately which has likely affected the value of Luukkonen’s pact. What seemed like a risky move at the time given that he had just the one strong season now looks like something that has the potential to be a team-friendly deal before long. If he can help turn around Buffalo’s fortunes by the time this contract expires, he could go past the $7MM mark on his next contract.

Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer

D Rasmus Dahlin ($11MM through 2031-32)
F Joshua Norris ($7.95MM through 2029-30)
D Owen Power ($8.35MM through 2030-31)
D Mattias Samuelsson ($4.286MM through 2029-30)
F Tage Thompson ($7.143MM through 2029-30)

The Sabres took a risk when they moved Dylan Cozens and his long-term deal to Ottawa last season to take on Norris and his long-term pact to shake up his core group. The early returns haven’t been great as he has played in four games, suffering long-term injuries in two of them. When healthy, he’s a legitimate top-six center but staying in the lineup continues to be a challenge and significantly negatively affects his current value. Thompson, on the other hand, continues to make this contract a team-friendly one. No, he hasn’t gotten back to the 94-point mark but he had a 44-goal effort last season and is averaging over 70 points per season over the last four years. This is becoming second-line money and Thompson’s production is very much that of a top-liner.

There was a bit of sticker shock on Dahlin’s deal, one that makes him one of the top-paid defensemen in the NHL. However, it bought out seven UFA years so the price was going to be high. Is Dahlin a top-five defender? At first glance, some might not be inclined to put him there but he’d at least belong in the discussion, especially since he has become one of the top offensive producers from the back end league-wide. As other veterans get their next contracts in the coming years and we start to see the type of inflation we’ve seen among forwards impact some defensemen, this deal should look much more favorable and provide a fair bit of value for the Sabres.

Power signed what was briefly the highest AAV for a defender coming off an entry-level deal, a mark that has been passed several times since then. He’s still just 22 and improving so while the contract might be a slight overpayment now, that should change relatively soon. Meanwhile, Power should still be able to command a max-term contract at a bigger rate when this deal expires in 2031. Buffalo gave Samuelsson an early extension, hoping that they were buying low on a top-four shutdown defender. That hasn’t exactly been how things have worked out as he has been more of a secondary player than a core one so far. But again, as salaries rise, this should get a little better value-wise over time, though not enough to flip this to a team-friendly agreement.

Buyouts

F Jeff Skinner ($4.44MM in 2025-26, $2.44MM from 2026-27 through 2029-30)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Thompson
Worst Value: Norris

Looking Ahead

Despite the longest playoff drought in the NHL, the Sabres find themselves pretty tight to the cap to start the season. They have enough flexibility to withstand a couple of injuries but if that happens, they won’t be far off from being a money-in, money-out team if they’re buying at the trade deadline. But if things go off the rails again and they sell, they should easily have enough cap space to absorb any of the bonuses that Benson reaches.

Buffalo has a little over $21MM in space for 2026-27. Tuch could take up half of that while new deals for Benson, Kesselring, and Doan would likely eat up most of the rest. However, with more than $61MM in room for 2027-28 at the moment, GM Kevyn Adams will have some flexibility to truly shake up the roster at that time, assuming he’s still running the show by then.

Photos courtesy of Brian Bradshaw Sevald and Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

Snapshots: Cooley, Davidson, Dubois, Wood, Didier

October 13, 2025 at 8:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While the Flames didn’t claim any goaltenders off waivers this fall, it appears they’re not completely sold on Devin Cooley being the backup. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that Calgary has been talking to teams to see what other options might be out there. However, they plan to give Cooley a look between the pipes, potentially on Wednesday, in the hopes that he can play his way into securing this position. If the Flames were to trade for (or sign) another netminder, that would give them four on one-way contracts, typically not an ideal situation to be in. Friedman added that as Calgary searches for another goaltending option, teams are asking for an incentive to take on one of those extra one-way goalies, something they’re resisting. If Cooley does well and earns the trust to be the full-time backup, this will work out okay but if he struggles, expect to see them looking around the market some more in the coming days.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

It has been nearly four years since the Blackhawks promoted Kyle Davidson to GM with the team posting a 107-187-35 record with him at the helm. Despite their struggles, team owner Danny Wirtz gave Davidson a vote of confidence in an interview with Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, saying that “Everything Kyle set out to do, he continues to deliver on”. Chicago has been stockpiling draft picks and prospects for several years now in the hope that a contender can emerge from this group and it appears Davidson will have a long leash from ownership to see if that will happen down the road.
Capitals forward Pierre-Luc Dubois left Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury, notes Bailey Johnson of the Washington Post (Twitter link). An update on his status is expected on Tuesday. The 27-year-old had a career year last season in his first year with Washington, notching 20 goals and 46 assists in 82 games during the regular season. He was off to a slower start before this injury though, being held off the scoresheet in his first three appearances in 2025-26.
Blue Jackets winger Miles Wood left tonight’s game against New Jersey with an upper-body injury, the team announced (Twitter link). He took a high stick from Dougie Hamilton in the first period and did not return. Wood is in his first season with Columbus after being acquired from Colorado in the offseason and scored in his second game of the campaign.
Veteran defenseman Josiah Didier has signed a PTO deal with AHL Laval, the team announced (Twitter link). The 32-year-old was drafted by Montreal (who is Laval’s parent team) back in 2011 but he didn’t sign with them. Didier has spent parts of 12 seasons in the AHL, totaling 496 games overall where he has 83 points and 530 penalty minutes. With his experience, he’ll count towards their veteran limit whenever he suits up.

Brett Leason Signs AHL PTO With Charlotte

October 13, 2025 at 7:54 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Last season, unrestricted free agent winger Brett Leason saw some regular action with Anaheim, primarily slotting in on their fourth line. However, no firm contract has come his way just yet so to get back on the ice and playing, he has signed a PTO contract with AHL Charlotte (affiliate of the Panthers), per a team release.

The 26-year-old played in 62 games with the Ducks last season where he notched five goals and 12 assists in just under 13 minutes a night of playing time. That output was a little below his 2023-24 output when he had 11 goals and 11 helpers in 68 contests. While Leason was non-tendered at that time to avoid arbitration, he quickly re-signed a one-year, $1.05MM contract. This past summer, Anaheim simply non-tendered him and moved on.

Leason took part in training camp with Minnesota on a PTO agreement and got into four games with them where he was held off the scoresheet before being let go at the end of September, sending him back to the open market.

This will be Leason’s first taste of AHL action in a while. The last time he saw time in the minors was back in 2021-22 with Hershey when he was still in Washington’s system. He has 18 goals and 29 assists in 114 games over parts of three seasons at that level and will look to have a strong showing there to help lock down a guaranteed contract for the rest of the season.

Josh Norris To Miss A Significant Amount Of Time

October 13, 2025 at 10:35 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 17 Comments

Oct. 13th: According to Sabres correspondent Heather Engel, head coach Lindy Ruff suggests that Norris is expected to miss eight weeks of action. Still, he is receiving a second opinion on the injury. Should the second opinion agree on the recovery timeline, that would project Norris’ return in the first week of December, costing him over 25 games of the 2025-26 campaign.

Oct. 11th: On Friday, the Sabres were still evaluating Josh Norris’ upper-body injury to determine how long he might be out for. The evaluation appears to be ongoing still but the outcome is not ideal as head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters, including Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News (Twitter link), that Norris will miss “a significant amount of time” due to the injury.

It is a tough but all-too-familiar blow for the 26-year-old as injuries have dogged him throughout his seven NHL seasons. The injury occurred late in Thursday’s season opener against the Rangers off a faceoff and while he was eventually able to get up and go to the bench under his own power, he didn’t take a shift after that.

Norris was acquired by Buffalo in one of the bigger trades near the trade deadline last season, coming over from Ottawa with Dylan Cozens being the most significant piece going the other way in a swap of centers that might benefit from the change of scenery. However, Norris wasn’t able to get a chance to prove that as he suffered a season-ending mid-body injury in just his third game with the team. Now, he’s suffered another serious setback in his fourth game more than six months later.

Norris was coming off a 21-goal season in 2024-25, the second-best output of his career only coming behind the 35 tallies he had in 2021-22 with Ottawa. The hope was that he’d be able to bring some extra firepower to their top six forward group and while that still could be the case, it clearly won’t be happening anytime soon. Fortunately, Ruff later clarified to reporters, including WGR 550’s Paul Hamilton (Twitter link), that the injury isn’t related to any injuries he has had in the past.

If it’s determined that Norris will miss at least 10 games and 24 days with this latest injury, he will become LTIR-eligible. However, with Buffalo having a little more than $2.2MM in cap space, per PuckPedia, they’re not necessarily in a spot where they should need to use that. In the meantime, it’s likely that the Sabres will place him on regular injured reserve in the near future, opening up a roster spot for a recall from AHL Rochester.

Five Key Stories: 10/6/25 – 10/12/25

October 12, 2025 at 10:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

The 2025-26 NHL season is officially underway and as expected, it was a busy week around the league. Here’s a rundown of the week’s key stories.

Cooley Says No: More and more often, teams are now trying to lock up their top young players to max-term deals as soon as possible, a reasonable approach with the salary cap expected to jump quicker. The Mammoth tried that approach with center Logan Cooley, however, the center reportedly turned down an eight-year, $77MM extension offer. The 21-year-old had a strong sophomore year last season, tallying 25 goals and 40 assists in 75 games, showing that he’s well on his way to being the number one center of the present and future. The offer would have made him Utah’s highest-paid forward by a significant margin but it looks like he’s either hoping for a bigger offer (or one that isn’t as long term-wise) or will wait to see how things go this season in the hopes of an improved offer coming next summer.

Big Money For Connor: With Kirill Kaprizov coming off the market last week in a record-setting deal, another top winger won’t be testing free agency in July either. The Jets will be keeping winger Kyle Connor around for the long haul, inking him to an eight-year, $96MM extension, matching the deals given to Mikko Rantanen and Mitch Marner in recent months. Notably, Winnipeg broke their long-standing policy on not putting signing bonus money or a no-move clause in contracts in order to get the deal done. Connor is coming off a career year that saw him surpass the 40-goal mark for the second time in four years while also putting up 97 points. He now joins Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele as long-term mainstays that won’t be leaving anytime soon.

Bigger Money For Eichel: While Connor’s contract was big (one of the biggest in NHL history), it wasn’t even the biggest deal signed this week. That particular distinction belongs to Golden Knights center Jack Eichel, who signed an eight-year, $108MM extension that begins next season. The $13.5MM AAV will be the third-highest in the league behind only Kaprizov ($17MM) and Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl ($14MM). Eichel found another gear offensively last season, collecting 94 points in 77 games and is averaging more than a point per game since Vegas acquired him back in 2021. Once the deal kicks in, he’ll pass Marner ($12MM) as the highest-paid player on their books while Vegas now has their top middleman locked up for the long haul.

Oilers Sign Four: Throughout the offseason, progress (or lack thereof) on Connor McDavid’s contract talks dominated the discussion with some wondering if this was going to drag into the season. While it took until the eve of the campaign, the captain decided to stick around, inking a two-year, $25MM extension. As the face of the franchise and one of the elite players in the league, it’s fair to say that McDavid left a lot of money on the table relative to the deal that Kaprizov received just days earlier. But by sticking with his current cap hit, McDavid is hoping that the extra flexibility can be used to make his team as strong as possible as they look to win a Stanley Cup title.

How have they spent that money? By keeping some of the back end intact. At the same time they announced the McDavid deal, they also signed defenseman Jake Walman to a seven-year, $49MM extension. A cap dump by Detroit in the 2024 offseason, Walman turned around his fortunes last season in San Jose and became a key part of Edmonton’s back end at the trade deadline, a role he’ll have with them for the long haul now.

More of the savings from McDavid’s deal also went to blueliner Mattias Ekholm, who received a three-year, $12MM extension. It’s a big discount from his current $6.25MM price tag (between Edmonton and Nashville) but it also reflects the fact he’ll be 36 when the contract begins. A top-four fixture now, that might not be the case at the end of the deal. However, he should still be an impactful piece for another couple of years. Meanwhile, they also added to their current roster, signing UFA forward Jack Roslovic to a one-year, $1.5MM contract. Following a 22-goal season, expectations were high in the summer for a multi-year deal but one to his liking never materialized. Instead, he’ll settle for this deal and hope to boost his value heading into free agency next summer on the heels of a season in Edmonton’s middle six.

Norris Out Again: Injuries have been an issue for Josh Norris for several years now, a reality that is now impacting the Sabres once again. He’s now set to miss a significant amount of time due to an upper-body injury. Acquired at the trade deadline last year in a package deal that sent Dylan Cozens to Ottawa, Norris suffered a season-ending injury in just his third game with Buffalo. Now, his fourth regular season appearance will see him missing extended time once again. The Sabres were counting on Norris – who managed 21 goals last season in just 56 games – to be a key contributor but now, he’ll be watching from the sidelines for the foreseeable future.

Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

Metropolitan Notes: Dadonov, Gudbranson, Slavin, Flyers

October 12, 2025 at 8:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

Earlier today, the Devils placed winger Evgenii Dadonov on injured reserve with his fractured hand. While a full timeline for recovery remains unknown, New Jersey clearly knows he’ll be out a while as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the winger has been moved to LTIR. In doing so, they’re certifying that he will miss at least 10 games and 24 days because of the injury. With the placement, the Devils have added $1MM in room to their LTIR pool, giving themselves a bit more recall flexibility. The 36-year-old also has $2.25MM in potential performance bonuses but those aren’t eligible to be added to an LTIR pool. He’ll need to play in at least 50 games during the regular season to max out on the regular season games played portion of those incentives.

Oilers Have Held Extension Talks With Brett Kulak

October 12, 2025 at 7:57 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

It has been a busy week for the Oilers on the extension front as they’ve signed center Connor McDavid along with defensemen Jake Walman and Mattias Ekholm to contract extensions. If they have their way, there’s at least one more to come.

TSN’s Ryan Rishaug recently reported (Twitter link) that Edmonton has engaged in extension talks for pending UFA defenseman Brett Kulak. However, unlike those other players, nothing appears to be imminent at this time.

The 31-year-old is in the final season of a four-year, $11MM contract and he is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July if a new deal can’t be reached by then. At times, Kulak’s contract has been high enough to lead to trade speculation when the Oilers needed to free up some cap space but each time, they’ve found a way to open up the cap room while keeping him around.

This is Kulak’s fifth season in Edmonton after being acquired from Montreal in 2022 for blueliner William Lagesson and a pair of draft picks (one of which was used to select Lane Hutson a few months later). Early in his tenure with the team, he was used in more of a third-pairing role which made the price point a bit of a premium for that role.

However, head coach Kris Knoblauch leaned on Kulak a lot more last season as his ATOI jumped by more than five minutes a night from 15:23 per game to 20:32. That jumped even higher in the playoffs to 23:25, second among all Edmonton defenders.

That usage will make locking down an early extension a little trickier. Edmonton’s preference would likely be to keep paying him in that number five range with a price tag that should slot in around the $3.5MM mark. On the other hand, Kulak’s camp will probably be seeking a deal more commensurate with a number four defender, something around a million or so more per season.

As things stand, the Oilers have around $17.7MM in cap space for next season, per PuckPedia, based on the original salary cap projection of $104.5MM for 2026-27. However, they still have half a dozen or so roster spots to fill with that money, including a goalie tandem. As the market for netminders continues to go up, it’s possible that they’ll need to spend half of their cap room or more on that position which would make it difficult to fit Kulak back onto their books if his next contract is around a quarter of that cap space.

Accordingly, it’s not too surprising that talks haven’t progressed quickly as it makes sense for both sides to see what type of role Kulak will have this season while also seeing if one of their goaltenders will be worth keeping for 2026-27 and beyond. But at this point, it’s clear that GM Stan Bowman wants to keep the veteran in the fold for a little while longer. It just might take a while for it to happen.

Panthers Recall Tobias Bjornfot

October 12, 2025 at 6:50 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

With Dmitry Kulikov being placed on injured reserve back on Friday, the Panthers had an open roster spot at their disposal. They’ve now filled that spot as they’ve recalled defenseman Tobias Bjornfot from AHL Charlotte, per the AHL’s transactions log.

The 24-year-old was an injury recall a couple of times last season, seeing stints with Florida back in January and March last season, getting into 14 games overall where he was held off the scoresheet while averaging just over 13 minutes per game. For his career, Bjornfot has a goal and 14 assists in 134 NHL appearances between Los Angeles, Vegas, and Florida.

Bjornfot played in three games with the Panthers in the preseason but cleared waivers last weekend, paving the way for him to return to the Checkers. This stint lasted all of one game and if Kulikov is indeed out longer term as expected, he may be up with Florida for a while this time. Bjornfot had 18 points in 50 games at the AHL level last season.

With Florida deep into using LTIR (with Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and Tomas Nosek), they’re not banking any cap room right now, meaning that Bjornfot’s recall doesn’t do much beyond cutting into their current LTIR space. That sits at just over $1.49MM, per PuckPedia, meaning they have enough cap space for one more recall if more injuries arise.

Central Notes: Connor, Dickinson, Brodin

October 11, 2025 at 5:02 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While the fact that Kyle Connor received a no-move clause and significant signing bonus money ($41MM) in his eight-year, $96MM extension with the Jets may not seem like a big deal, it was for Winnipeg. As Pierre LeBrun noted in his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link), those were two elements that GM Kevin Cheveldayoff had never put in a contract before. However, Connor’s agent, Wasserman’s Rich Evans, told LeBrun that they were looking for a ‘free agent’ deal, one that typically carries those components and the Jets eventually agreed to those. Now that they’ve done it, it will be interesting to see if Cheveldayoff becomes more open to putting those in contracts or if they’ll be looking at this as a one-time situation.

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