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Canucks Sign Conor Garland To Six-Year Extension

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July 1: The Canucks have officially announced Garland’s extension at six years and $36MM.  GM Patrik Allvin had the following statement about the signing:

Conor is a core member of our hockey team and a player who has taken on a bigger role with the club the past couple seasons. His commitment to us by signing this deal shows how confident he is in our organization’s vision and direction. He competes hard every day, drives play on the ice, is relentless on the forecheck and is really tough to play against. Gars is an emerging leader in the group and works extremely hard to keep himself and the players around him accountable.

June 26: Canucks winger Conor Garland isn’t eligible to sign a contract extension until next week when the 2025/26 league year officially begins.  However, it appears he won’t be waiting for long after that to put pen to paper on a new deal.  Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that significant progress has been made in discussions between the two sides, while Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that if a deal is finalized, it could be for six years and around $36MM.

The 29-year-old has spent the last four seasons with Vancouver after being acquired from Arizona as part of the Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade back at the draft in 2021.  A few days after the trade, he signed a five-year, $24.75MM deal that will begin its final season in July.

During his time with the Canucks, Garland’s contract has been viewed as fair at times and also above-market to the point where it was believed that there were off-and-on trade discussions when Vancouver was looking to free up salary cap space.  At one point in 2023, Garland changed agents and had permission to speak to other teams about a swap but obviously, nothing came to fruition there.

But even during those times, the team made it known that they valued Garland’s contributions and the suggestion that an extension could be wrapped up quickly suggests that’s still very much the case.

Over his first three years with the Canucks, Garland was certainly consistent.  His worst season offensively was a 17-goal, 46-point effort while his best goal total was (2023-24) and best point total was 52 (2021-22).  This season was more of the same as Garland tallied 19 goals and 31 assists in 81 games while seeing his playing time jump to a career-best 18:39 per game.

With Brock Boeser appearing likely to depart the organization in free agency next week, Vancouver certainly wouldn’t want to lose their next-best right winger the following year.  It appears that won’t be happening and that Garland could officially be signing an extension as soon as next week, ensuring he’ll be staying with the Canucks for the long haul.

Latest On Rasmus Andersson

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Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson is eligible to sign a contract extension as of today but talks between him and the team showed that there is still a considerable bridge to gap.  While GM Craig Conroy has said they’re comfortable with having the blueliner in training camp without a new deal in place, the gap in discussions has certainly fueled trade speculation.

To that end, TSN’s Darren Dreger recently reported on Edmonton Sports Talk (video link) that the Kings were believed to have a trade in place to acquire the 28-year-old but Andersson made it known that he doesn’t want to play for them.  He only has a six-team no-trade list but presumably, Los Angeles would have found out about Andersson’s lack of desire to play there when hypothetically discussing what an extension would look like.

At the moment, it appears that Andersson has his eyes set on one trade destination in particular.  Pierre LeBrun reports in his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link) that the team on the top of Andersson’s wish list is the Golden Knights.  He adds that there have been discussions between the two teams over the past week but Calgary hasn’t been excited about the offers on the table just yet.

There’s a logical fit for Andersson in Vegas, with Alex Pietrangelo’s playing days appearing to be over now.  Pietrangelo’s absence would open up a significant hole on the right side of their back end, one that Andersson would be capable of filling.

The 28-year-old has been an all-situations player for several years in Calgary and has reached at least 30 points in four straight years.  Andersson is coming off a quieter year but he still managed 10 goals and 21 assists in 81 games for Calgary last season while logging 23:59 per night of playing time.  While he wouldn’t be quite as impactful as a healthy Pietrangelo, he would certainly be a quality replacement.

Of course, fitting him onto the books for the upcoming season is a whole other challenge.  Vegas used the LTIR relief from Pietrangelo to acquire Mitch Marner from Toronto.  Even with the LTIR savings, that will put them over the cap by the time they fill the remaining open roster spots, meaning that some salary would need to be cleared to open up room for Andersson and his $4.55MM cap charge for next season.

Meanwhile, should Andersson get moved to his preferred team, it stands to reason that an extension would need to be worked out.  Given the contracts that have been handed out to some blueliners in recent days, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he could come close to doubling his current price tag on a long-term contract.

With Vegas taking on Marner at $12MM per season and Jack Eichel expected to receive an extension at some point as well, that’s a lot of money to be adding to their future books so if the Golden Knights are able to land Andersson, they’re going to have to clear up some significant cap room – both present and future – to do so.

Capitals Expected To Sign Martin Fehervary To Seven-Year Extension

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Today marks the beginning of a new league year which means players in the final season of their contracts are now eligible to sign a contract extension.  It appears one of those players is Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the blueliner is expected to sign a seven-year, $42MM extension.  PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the deal will break down as follows:

2025-26: $5.5MM salary, $2MM signing bonus
2026-27: $5.5MM salary, $2MM signing bonus, 15-team NTC
2027-28: $4.5MM salary, $2MM signing bonus, 15-team NTC
2028-29: $4MM salary, $2MM signing bonus, 15-team NTC
2029-30: $3.5MM salary, $2MM signing bonus, 10-team NTC
2030-31: $2.5MM salary, $2MM signing bonus, 10-team NTC
2031-32: $2.5MM salary, $2MM signing bonus, 10-team NTC

The 25-year-old was a second-round pick by Washington back in 2018, going 46th overall.  While he got a taste of NHL action the following year, it took him three seasons to establish himself as a regular for the Caps.

Fehervary has largely played the same role over his four full NHL seasons.  He has averaged between 19 and 20 minutes a night of playing time while chipping in with some secondary scoring.  He is actually coming off a career-high in points offensively as last season, he notched five goals and a career-best 20 assists while his best goal total (eight) game in his rookie year back in 2021-22.

Of course, it’s not the offensive production that has Fehervary set to sign this contract.  He has been the defensive anchor for the Capitals in recent years and led the team in shorthanded ice time last season at just over three minutes per game.  Fehervary is also typically among the team leaders in blocked shots and hits; he notched a career-best 150 in the former category in 2024-25.

Fehervary had one RFA-eligible year left and will be spending next season on a contract that carries a $2.675MM cap charge.  He’ll get to more than double that starting in 2026-27 while Washington picks up an additional six seasons of team control and secures Fehervary through the prime of his career.

The deal also ensures that Washington will have one of the pricier back ends for the foreseeable future.  While Fehervary’s contract won’t start until 2026-27, the Capitals are set to spend more than $35MM on their defense corps for the upcoming season, per PuckPedia.  This contract will put their 2026-27 spending on the position over $27.5MM, with veteran John Carlson also in need of a new deal at some point.  In that season, Fehervary is currently set to carry the second-highest cap charge among Capitals blueliners, checking in behind Jakob Chychrun ($9MM).

Photo courtesy of Peter Casey-Imagn Images.

Atlantic Notes: Nosek, Maple Leafs, Gaudette, Spence

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After re-signing Aaron Ekblad earlier today and agreeing to terms on a new contract for Brad Marchand, the Panthers might not be done just yet.  David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (video link) that Florida is also working on a new contract for pending unrestricted free agent center Tomas Nosek.  The 32-year-old inked a one-year deal worth the league minimum of $775K on the opening day of free agency last summer and, when healthy, was largely a regular on their fourth line.  Nosek picked up a goal and eight assists in 59 games this past season while winning more than half his faceoffs for the eighth straight season.  Speculatively, should a new deal be reached, it should check in at or near the minimum salary once again.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Even after adding Matias Maccelli earlier today, the Maple Leafs will likely want to make an addition on the wing. To that end, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic noted in an appearance on TSN 1050 (audio link) that winger Nikolaj Ehlers “holds some appeal” for Toronto.  The 29-year-old is the number two player on our Top 50 UFA list and the top available with Mitch Marner on his way to Vegas in a move that’s expected to be made official soon.  Ehlers has scored at least 20 goals in eight of the last nine seasons and had 63 points in 69 games in 2024-25.
  • The Senators haven’t given up on trying to re-sign winger Adam Gaudette, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). The 29-year-old wound up scoring a career-best 19 goals this past season after being an AHL regular the previous two seasons.  That has Gaudette in a position for a raise and a one-way deal; he checked in 43rd on our Top 50 UFA list.
  • At the draft, Los Angeles moved defenseman Jordan Spence to Ottawa but the Senators weren’t the only Atlantic team interested in his services. Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek reports that the Bruins were also in on the 24-year-old.  Spence had 28 points in 79 games this past season but had requested a trade in the hopes of finding a bigger role elsewhere.  Speculatively, had Boston landed Spence, they may not have turned around and re-signed Henri Jokiharju, who inked a three-year deal earlier today.

Minor Transactions: Merkulov, Bishop, McLaughlin

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In what has turned out to be a busy day on the transactions front, there were several minor signings as well that haven’t previously been covered.  We’ll run through those here.

  • The Bruins announced earlier today that they’ve re-signed forward Georgii Merkulov to a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K at the NHL level. PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the deal will pay $235K in the AHL and has a guaranteed salary of $270K.  The 24-year-old got into six games with Boston this past season, notching one assist but he was much more productive in the minors with AHL Providence.  With them, he led the team in scoring with 15 goals and 39 assists in 59 appearances.  Merkulov will be waiver-eligible beginning next season which could give him a leg up in a battle for a roster spot in training camp.
  • The Flames announced that they have re-signed Clark Bishop on a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K in the NHL. PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the winger will make $350K in the minors and that the agreement has a $375K guaranteed salary.  The 29-year-old got into six games with Calgary this past season, his first taste of NHL action since 2021-22, scoring once.  He also put up his best offensive numbers in the minors, notching 19 goals and 19 assists in 66 games with the Wranglers.
  • The Devils have kept forward Marc McLaughlin away from Group Six unrestricted free agency. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the sides have agreed to a one-year, two-way contract that pays $775K in the NHL and $350K in the minors.  The 25-year-old got into 14 NHL games this season between Boston and New Jersey, picking up two goals and an assist.  In the minors, meanwhile, he had five goals and 14 assists in 48 games between their respective farm teams.

Hurricanes Acquire Cayden Primeau

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The Hurricanes have added some extra goaltending depth heading into next season, acquiring Cayden Primeau from the Canadiens in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick.  Both teams have confirmed the swap.

Primeau entered this season as the full-time backup for Montreal for the first time in his career after the team moved Jake Allen to New Jersey at the 2024 trade deadline.  However, the 25-year-old struggled mightily, posting a 4.70 GAA and a .836 SV% in 11 outings, resulting in him landing on waivers after the holiday break in December.  He cleared and was promptly sent to AHL Laval.

With the Rocket, Primeau played much better.  In 26 regular season games with them, he posted a 21-2-2 record along with a 1.96 GAA and a .927 SV%.  His performance was a bit more inconsistent in the playoffs, however, as he put up a 3.27 GAA and a .878 SV% in eight outings while struggling in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Primeau has seen NHL action in six straight seasons but is still relatively unproven at the top level as he only has 55 career appearances, 10 of them coming in relief.  Overall, he has a 3.69 GAA and a .884 SV% in those outings.

It will be interesting to see what Carolina’s plan is for Primeau.  With Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov already under contract, there isn’t a spot with the Hurricanes, at least not unless they plan to carry three netminders which is something they’ve done in the past.  He received a $1.068MM qualifying offer from the Canadiens earlier today so it’s possible that they plan to make him one of the higher-paid third-string goalies, hoping that a potential seven-figure salary could dissuade teams from claiming him off waivers which would allow them to stash him with AHL Chicago.

As for Montreal, the Canadiens only have two goalies under contract at the moment, starter Sam Montembeault and prospect Jacob Fowler.  Jakub Dobes, who took over for Primeau as the backup midseason, is a pending RFA as well but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Montreal look to add a netminder in free agency in the coming days, at least as extra depth.

Senators Re-Sign Nick Cousins

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The Senators will be keeping Nick Cousins in the fold for one more year.  In a deal first reported by Lalime’s Martian on Twitter and subsequently confirmed by Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link), Ottawa has signed Cousins to a one-year, $825K contract.

The 31-year-old had to wait until close to the start of training camp to get a contract last year, ultimately signing a one-year, $800K agreement with the Sens in late August.  Now, he’ll forego testing the open market and will get a small raise for doing so.

Cousins played in 50 games for Ottawa this past season while also missing more than two months with a serious knee injury that had his availability for the playoffs in question but he was able to return late in the season.  In those outings, Cousins collected six goals and nine assists along with 85 hits in a little under 12 minutes a night of playing time.  In their first-round exit to Toronto, he was held off the scoresheet in five appearances.

A veteran of 642 career NHL outings during the regular season over 11 seasons, Cousins has bounced around, seeing time with seven different organizations.  Instead of testing the market to see if he could get a bit more money, he has decided to stay put in a situation that works for both sides.

With the signing, Ottawa now has a little over $7MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.  However, with both GM Steve Staios and owner Michael Andlauer cautioning that the team doesn’t intend to spend to the Upper Limit and a possible $2.75MM in bonuses on the books for Claude Giroux’s new deal, it’s unclear how much of that cap room is spendable at the moment although, at a minimum, they’ll have to add a depth forward or two to the roster in the coming days and weeks.

Kings Sign Andrei Kuzmenko To One-Year Extension

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The Kings will be keeping their trade deadline acquisition away from the open market.  The team announced they’ve signed winger Andrei Kuzmenko to a one-year extension worth $4.3MM.

The 29-year-old took the NHL by storm in his first season in 2022-23, notching 39 goals and 35 assists in 79 games with Vancouver.  However, there was a bit of a red flag considering that his shooting percentage came in at 27.3%, well above the NHL average and a rate that wasn’t going to be sustainable.  Unable to agree on a long-term commitment, the two sides eventually settled on a two-year, $10MM bridge deal to keep him in the fold with the Canucks.

Unfortunately for Kuzmenko and Vancouver, his second season didn’t go anywhere near as well as the first.  After a quiet first half, he was included as salary ballast in the trade that sent Elias Lindholm to the Canucks.  With a bigger opportunity in Calgary, Kuzmenko made the most of it, putting up 25 points in 29 games down the stretch with the Flames, providing some optimism that he could be a key contributor for them heading into 2024-25.

But things didn’t go that way this past season.  Instead of picking up where he left off, Kuzmenko languished, notching just four goals and 11 assists in 37 games to start the year, resulting in him once again being included as salary ballast in a swap, this time to Philadelphia as part of the move that saw Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee go to Calgary.  Kuzmenko did well in seven games with the Flyers before being flipped again, this time to Los Angeles at the trade deadline in a move aimed at giving the Kings some extra scoring.

Kuzmenko was indeed able to provide that, tallying five goals along with a dozen assists in 22 games down the stretch before averaging a point per game in six playoff outings.  That performance was enough to land him the 19th spot in our Top 50 UFA ranking but instead, he won’t test the open market and will stay in a spot where things went well over the last few months.  Perhaps with a full-season performance like he finished 2024-25 with, Kuzmenko will be in better shape to command a longer-term pact on the open market next summer.

With the signing, the Kings are down to a little under $20MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.  As things stand, GM Ken Holland will be set to try to make a splash either in free agency or the trade market although that number could still come down if he’s able to work out an agreement with pending UFA blueliner Vladislav Gavrikov in the coming hours.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images.

Devils Expected To Qualify Cody Glass

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June 30: New Jersey has changed its mind and will indeed grant Glass his $2.5MM qualifying offer, per PuckPedia.

June 21: Cody Glass proved to be a useful addition for the Devils down the stretch.  However, it appears that won’t be enough to keep him in the fold as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that New Jersey is not expected to tender a qualifying offer at the end of the month which would make him an unrestricted free agent in July.

The 26-year-old was the sixth overall pick back in 2017 but has not yet lived up to his draft billing and has bounced around the league a bit, seeing action with four different teams over his first six NHL seasons.

It looked like Glass was turning a corner with Nashville when he put up 35 points in 72 games in the 2022-23 season, earning himself a two-year, $5MM contract along the way.  But after his production slipped to just 13 points in 41 games the following year, the Preds shipped him with a pair of draft picks to Pittsburgh to open up some cap flexibility after their summer spending spree in free agency.

With the Penguins, Glass produced at a largely similar rate, tallying four goals and 11 assists in 51 games.  But with the Devils looking for some insurance down the middle heading into the playoffs, they moved prospects Chase Stillman and Max Graham along with a 2027 third-round pick for Glass and forward Jonathan Gruden.

The change of scenery seemed to get Glass going offensively as he picked up two goals and five assists in 14 games following the swap while seeing an uptick in playing time to 14:31 per game.  However, he was held off the scoresheet in their first-round playoff exit at the hands of Carolina.

To retain his RFA rights, the Devils would need to tender Glass a $2.5MM qualifying offer that would also carry salary arbitration rights.  While his career numbers of 35 goals and 58 assists in 252 games aren’t lofty by any stretch, there’s a chance that an arbitration would award a higher amount than that.  It appears that’s a risk New Jersey isn’t willing to take at this time.  While the two sides could discuss a cheaper deal than that beforehand (his agent told The Hockey News’ Kristy Flannery earlier this week there had been preliminary talks between the sides), it doesn’t look like that’s in the cards, meaning that Glass appears to be set to hit the open market less than two weeks from now.

Five Key Stories: 6/23/25 – 6/29/25

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With the NHL condensing the bulk of its offseason activity in a matter of just a few days this summer, this past week promised to be a busy one and it was.  The annual entry draft was held with the Islanders selecting Matthew Schaefer first overall while the Hockey Hall of Fame announced its annual induction class.  Meanwhile, some big trades and contract extensions highlight the rest of our key stories.

A Mammoth Acquisition: Pun aside, Utah made a splash on the trade front for the second straight offseason, acquiring winger JJ Peterka from Buffalo in exchange for winger Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring.  Additionally, Peterka signed a five-year, $38.5MM contract as part of the move.  Peterka’s point total increased by 18 for the second straight season as he collected 68 in 77 games, good for a share of second in scoring for the Sabres.  Meanwhile, Kesselring gives Buffalo the right-shot defender they’ve long been coveting at a club-friendly $1.4MM price tag next season while Doan has shown some upside over his first 62 games of NHL action.  He has one year left on his entry-level deal at a $925K price tag, meaning that Buffalo also opened up a lot of cap flexibility for next season with this move.

CBA Extension: While the current CBA doesn’t expire until September 2026, there will be labor peace beyond that.  The NHL and NHLPA announced that they’re in agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding that, once ratified by both sides, would constitute a four-year extension to the CBA.  Full details haven’t been disclosed yet but among the changes are a change to LTIR rules (including in the playoffs), a more streamlined system for draft rights, an increase in the minimum salary, the elimination of paper transactions (a player will have to play in a game in the AHL before being eligible for recall in the new deal), the elimination of salary deferrals, and a 75-day minimum timeframe before a player who was traded with salary retention will be eligible to be traded with retention for a second time.  More changes are expected beyond these as well.

Dobson Dealt: The biggest trade of the draft was one that happened well before the draft started (even if they waited until the middle of the first round to make it official).  The Islanders dealt defenseman Noah Dobson in a sign-and-trade agreement to Montreal for winger Emil Heineman plus the 16th (Viktor Eklund) and 17th (Kashawn Aitcheson) picks in the draft.  As part of the move, Dobson signed an eight-year, $76MM contract.  Dobson is coming off a quieter year offensively but still managed 10 goals and 29 assists after putting up 70 points in 2023-24; he and Lane Hutson will give Montreal a strong one-two punch offensively from the back end for the foreseeable future with Hutson under club control through 2031.  Meanwhile, the Islanders get a winger who had a solid rookie year in Heineman and while the thought was they’d try to package those picks to move up, they wound up getting a pair of players who were viewed as being closer to top-ten picks that wound up slipping.  While they have a big hole to fill on the back end now, their prospect pool is also much deeper.

Key Extensions: Several players signed contracts to avoid testing the open market on Tuesday.  Included among them were two of the top-four-ranked players on our Top 50 UFA list.  The Panthers re-signed Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett to an eight-year, $64MM contract.  He just reached the 50-point mark for the first time this season but he was a very impactful player in the playoffs and was likely to get more than that had he made it to the open market.  Meanwhile, after a long negotiation, the Maple Leafs and John Tavares were able to work out a four-year, $18MM agreement.  $2MM of that money is deferred, meaning the cap hit of the agreement comes in at $4.388MM.  Tavares will be entering his age-35 year next season but is coming off a 38-goal, 74-point season and easily would have landed considerably more had he made it to July 1st.  Toronto also agreed to terms on a six-year, $46.5MM contract with pending RFA winger Matthew Knies.  Knies only has two full NHL seasons under his belt but it’s fair to say that the Peterka contract served as a strong comparable for this deal.

Still with Toronto, one possible extend-and-trade option is winger Mitch Marner.  The Maple Leafs and Golden Knights have been discussing a sign-and-trade for Marner that could see at least one player come back to Toronto.  Meanwhile, there is speculation that should a trade not get worked out with Marner signing with them quickly in free agency, a tampering charge could be filed by the Maple Leafs.  As for how the Golden Knights could even afford to sign Marner at market value, it looks like Alex Pietrangelo and his $8.8MM contract will be landing on LTIR following the report that he is heading for multiple surgeries that will put his playing career in jeopardy.

More Trades: There were plenty more trades before or during the draft, including a trio of notable swaps.  The Ducks gave forward Trevor Zegras a fresh start, sending him to the Flyers for center Ryan Poehling, the 45th pick (Eric Nilson), and a 2026 fourth-round pick.  Zegras has two seasons of more than 60 points under his belt but has struggled over the last two years, failing to reach 50 points combined.  Philadelphia clearly feels that they can help get him back to his old form.  The Canucks added some grit on the wing, acquiring Evander Kane from Edmonton for a fourth-round pick (David Lewandowski).  The Oilers needed to clear salary and Kane will get a chance to play in his hometown and add some extra scoring on the wing with Brock Boeser likely to leave in free agency.  Lastly, after years of speculation, the Ducks finally moved goaltender John Gibson.  He is now a member of the Red Wings who acquired him in exchange for veteran netminder Petr Mrazek, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round selection.  Gibson posted a 2.77 GAA and a .911 SV% in 29 games for Anaheim this season and will have a pathway to much more playing time on a Detroit team that got a combined .896 SV% from its five netminders in 2024-25.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images.

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