Morning Notes: Thomas, Blue Jackets, Belchetz
The Philadelphia Flyers are highly unlikely to be the landing spot for St. Louis Blues star center Robert Thomas if he is traded before the deadline, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported today. A Flyers team source told Kurz that the team considers a trade for Thomas “completely unreasonable,” and with that feeling likely a result of the high price the Blues have set for teams interested in Thomas. According to Kurz, the Flyers “would probably have to be willing to part with” one of their two young wingers with star potential (Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone) as well as a first-round pick and another young roster player. Despite a pressing organizational need for a top-line center, the Flyers, per this report, believe the Blues’ asking price to simply be too steep for them to get involved in trade talks for Thomas.
Of course, value is in the eye of the beholder. From the Blues’ perspective, they’re likely to believe their high asking price for Thomas to be entirely fair. To an extent, it’s easy to see why. Thomas is an established No. 1 center who scored 81 points in 70 games last season, a 95-point 82-game scoring pace. While his production is down this year, the Blues’ struggles as a team this season make it difficult to pin Thomas’ decline entirely on some lasting decrease in his talent level. Thomas is 26 years old and has five additional seasons on a $8.125MM AAV contract. His below-market cap hit presents a serious opportunity for a team to get surplus value from him, especially as the upper limit rises.
There’s an argument to be made that, combining his talent and contract status, Thomas is one of the more valuable players to have been shopped on the in-season trade market in some time, so it’s understandable that the Blues would want to fetch a high price for the player. Value is all about leverage, after all, and the fact that the Blues can simply retain Thomas for the next half-decade gives them considerable leverage in comparison to a team shopping a rental player. But in any case, the Flyers have to move forward with the path they feel is best for them – and if they deem the Blues’ asking price too high, that is their right. Their search for a first-line center may yet continue in the 2026 draft, or perhaps within the continued development of recent first-rounders Jett Luchanko and Jack Nesbitt.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Insider Frank Seravalli reported this morning that the Blue Jackets continue to receive trade inquiries centered around pending UFA forwards Charlie Coyle and Mason Marchment, though to this point, that trade interest has been turned away. Both players have been stellar since being traded to the Blue Jackets, with Marchment scoring 10 goals and 17 points in 18 games, and Coyle nabbing 16 goals and 46 points in 60 games. The Blue Jackets traded second and fourth-round picks for Marchment earlier this season, but could receive more than they invested given the player’s uptick in form since arriving in Ohio. They traded quality prospect Gavin Brindley alongside second and third-round picks for Coyle this past summer, but could receive similar, if not increased, value in return before the deadline. The issue with trading either player would be that it would signal a retreat on their playoff chase for the rest of the season. Columbus sits three points behind the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and has gone 13-2-1 since hiring Rick Bowness as their head coach.
- Top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Ethan Belchetz will miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken left clavicle, per an announcement from his team, the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. Belchetz was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 OHL Priority Selection, and will finish his season with 34 goals and 59 points in 57 games. The 17-year-old stands 6’5″, 226 pounds, and projects as the kind of power forward who blends physicality and scoring ability that NHL teams covet. He has been ranked around the back-end of the top-10 in this year’s class, but it remains to be seen how his draft stock might change despite playing his final game before the draft.
Dominic James Out Eight-To-Ten Weeks After Surgery
Tampa Bay Lightning rookie forward Dominic James will be sidelined for an eight-to-ten week period after undergoing surgery for a lower-body injury, Lightning team reporter Benjamin Pierce announced today.
James was placed on injured reserve earlier this week, and it had been indicated that James’ injury would not be of the short-term variety, even if at the time a more detailed timeline had yet to be determined. Now, it is clear the Lightning will be without James for a crucial stretch of their season.
James, 23, has been playing out his first full season as a professional. A four-year player at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, James has managed seven goals and 15 points across 43 NHL games, to go along with five points in four AHL games. He’s averaged 12:14 time on ice per game in Tampa, including around forty seconds per game on the man advantage.
Originally a member of the Chicago Blackhawks organization, James elected to sign with Tampa Bay at the conclusion of his college career. Tampa’s prospect system is notably thinner than the Blackhawks, and as a result, James may have seen a clearer path to NHL time in the near-term in Tampa compared to Chicago – even though Chicago’s NHL roster has less high-end talent. That decision appears to have paid off, as James has spent most of the season in the NHL.
This injury is certainly a setback, but not one that is likely to have a real long-term impact. His performance this season remains an encouraging sign that a long NHL career could be ahead for James, even if it’s in more of a depth role.
Oilers Acquire Jason Dickinson, Colton Dach
9:50 p.m.: Both teams have now officially announced the trade, with the terms corresponding with what had been previously reported.
The conditions on the 2027 first-round pick received by the Blackhawks are as follows: if Edmonton’s 2027 first-rounder is inside the top-12 of the draft order, Edmonton may choose to transfer its 2028 first-round pick to Chicago instead, to be declared prior to the commencement of the 2027 draft. Should Edmonton choose to trade its 2028 first-rounder before the 2027 trade deadline, the 2027 first-round pick will automatically transfer, unconditionally.
7:30 p.m.: Friedman reported that young Blackhawks winger Colton Dach “is another part of this trade conversation to Edmonton.” His inclusion in the deal has not yet been confirmed, but it would help explain how the Blackhawks have managed (alongside the financial aspect of the deal) to land a first-round pick in the trade.
Dach, 23, is an Edmonton native who Bowman selected No. 62 overall in the 2021 draft. The 6’4″ pivot is the brother of Kirby Dach, a Montreal Canadiens center who Bowman selected No. 3 overall at the 2019 draft. Dach has broken into the NHL as a full-time player over the last calendar year, scoring seven points in 25 games last season and nine points in 53 games this season.
Entering the season, he was ranked as the No. 10 prospect in Chicago’s system by the team at Elite Prospects, and No. 10 by The Athletic’s Corey Pronman, who projected him as a future middle-six winger. Dach has averaged 11:40 time on ice per game this season.
6:18 p.m.: The Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks are discussing a trade that would send veteran center Jason Dickinson to Edmonton, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The move comes in the wake of today’s news, via Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 Edmonton, that veteran center Curtis Lazar of the Oilers is set to miss up to four weeks with an undisclosed injury.
According to Frank Seravalli of Frankly Hockey, the deal is currently still being discussed, but would involve Andrew Mangiapane heading the other way, to Chicago. Moving out Mangiapane and his $3.6MM cap hit is likely viewed as necessary for the Oilers to have the breathing room to add Dickinson’s $4.25MM cap hit to their books.
Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reported that the Blackhawks will retain 50% of Dickinson’s deal, meaning the Oilers should be able to comfortably fit in their new player’s cap hit with Mangiapane heading to Chicago.
In addition to those two pieces, Seravalli said the “framework of what’s been discussed” between Edmonton and Chicago includes “another piece” heading to the Oilers, and a conditional draft pick heading to Chicago. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun has added that as part of the deal, the Blackhawks will receive a top-12 protected 2027 first-round pick from Edmonton in exchange for Dickinson.
Undoubtedly, the Blackhawks’ decision to take on the full freight of Mangiapane’s contract, as well as retain half of Dickinson’s deal, has contributed to the significant asset they were able to extract from the Oilers.
The Athletic’s Scott Powers reported earlier today that the Blackhawks “don’t see a point” in trading Dickinson for a marginal return. If Dickinson is indeed dealt to the Oilers, it will be the second time this week that Edmonton has added a veteran player from Chicago. The Blackhawks traded veteran defenseman Connor Murphy to the Oilers on Monday, and it’s possible that, in the process of negotiating that trade, the possibility of a Dickinson deal was also discussed.
A key factor here is the presence of Oilers GM Stan Bowman. Bowman was the one who acquired Murphy back in 2017, during Bowman’s tenure as GM of the Blackhawks.
While he was no longer GM in Chicago when the team added Dickinson, he would undoubtedly still have many connections within the team’s hockey operations infrastructure, and therefore would potentially have more detailed information on Dickinson than another GM might have access to.
The fit for Dickinson in Edmonton is relatively easy to identify. While he’s not a right-shot center like Lazar, there are stylistic similarities between the two players. Dickinson, 30, is a 6’2″ true center who is a veteran of 549 NHL games. A pending UFA, Dickinson is playing out the final year of a $4.25MM AAV deal.
Early in his tenure in Chicago, it looked as though Dickinson was reaching new heights as an offensive producer. He scored 22 goals and 35 points in his debut campaign with the Blackhawks, riding a career-high 17.5% shooting percentage to a career year, one that landed him down-ballot Selke Trophy consideration.
In the last two seasons, Dickinson’s offensive production has evaporated. In 106 NHL games over the course of 2024-25 and 2025-26, he has managed 13 goals and 29 points. But even though he hasn’t been able to sustain his prior levels of production, he remains a valuable contributor in the specific role he occupies. Dickinson wins just about half of his faceoffs, provides a physical edge, and anchors the Blackhawks’ penalty kill as its top center. When Chicago is defending a late lead or has a big defensive zone draw, more often than not, its Dickinson who hops over the boards first.
That’s the kind of set of skills Edmonton is likely looking for in advance of what it hopes will be another deep playoff run. With two of the game’s best scorers already on the roster, and one of the best offensive defensemen manning the blue line, the Oilers don’t need Dickinson to be his 22-goal, 35-point self for him to provide value in their lineup. If he can maximize his current role as an Oiler, trading for him will be more than worth the cost for Edmonton.
With Lazar’s health uncertain, it certainly makes sense to target a player of Dickinson’s mold. The two forwards occupying top spots on the depth chart with Edmonton’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, are not exact stylistic fits for when an injury is suffered by a defensive bottom-sixer. (Both Isaac Howard and Quinn Hutson are more offensively-oriented.)
The Athletic’s Chris Johnston noted an aspect of the trade that relates to a seemingly unrelated team – the San Jose Sharks. Per the terms of last season’s Jake Walman trade, in which Edmonton surrendered a top-12 protected 2026 first-round pick to San Jose, that pick would become unprotected if Edmonton were ever to trade its 2027 first-rounder. Because they have now done so, Edmonton’s 2026 first-round pick is now owned by the Sharks without restriction.
This is likely a moot point as Edmonton is well on course to secure a playoff spot. It’s nonetheless worth noting that in the event the Oilers endure a shocking fall down the standings, the Sharks are poised to profit.
In any case, the exact details of the trade are yet to be determined. What is clear, at least, is that Bowman isn’t done trying to add veteran help to his roster, and it appears the next area of interest is adding a bottom-six, penalty-killing center.
Photos courtesy of Chris Jones-Imagn Images
Snapshots: Eller, Kotkaniemi, Pesce
As the trade deadline nears, one Ottawa Senators veteran that could draw trade interest is 36-year-old Danish center Lars Eller. According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen, the Senators “have had calls on most of their pending UFAs,” and he “could see a scenario where Eller is moved.” Eller is Ottawa’s fourth-line center, his role entirely a result of his defensive capability rather than his offensive production. Over the last two seasons, Eller has managed just eight goals and 24 points in 109 games, but that doesn’t mean he’s not pulling his weight in other ways. He’s playing regularly on Ottawa’s penalty kill, and has been a key asset at the faceoff dot, winning nearly 58% of his draws. A team looking to add a veteran fourth-line center might have considerable interest in Eller, especially as he has something often highly coveted in veteran rental players: a Stanley Cup ring.
From Ottawa’s perspective, dealing Eller isn’t likely to return much other than a minor draft pick, but it would provide some other benefits to the club. The Senators sit a full six points behind the Boston Bruins for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot, having played the same number of games. With the club looking less likely to return to the playoffs with each passing day, it might be more prudent for the club to hand the regular role Eller occupies to a younger player, such as the promising Stephen Halliday. Halliday, 23, has 11 points in 28 games this season despite averaging just 8:11 time on ice per game, the fewest among regular Senators forwards.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Carolina Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi was dressed tonight for the Hurricanes’ contest against the Vancouver Canucks, marking the Finnish pivot’s re-entry into the Hurricanes’ lineup after three consecutive games as a healthy scratch. With the deadline creeping closer, Kotkaniemi’s status is one to monitor as reports emerged in January that the Hurricanes were shopping the player. It’s unlikely the team’s interest in dealing Kotkaniemi has ceased, and so today’s decision to dress the center marks the final time he’ll be able to appear before NHL pro scouts before the trade deadline. Kotkaniemi has four years remaining on his contract at a $4.82MM cap hit, and has a 10-team no-trade list in his contract. The 2018 No. 3 overall pick scored 12 goals and 33 points last season but has just nine points in 36 games this year.
- New Jersey Devils defenseman Brett Pesce did not play in tonight’s shootout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs due to an injury, head coach Sheldon Keefe announced pregame. The Devils replaced Pesce in their lineup with Johnathan Kovacevic, who did not play in the team’s prior two games. Pesce is New Jersey’s No. 3 defenseman by ice time, playing 20:18 per game, including a team-high 2:29 per game on the penalty kill. Kovacevic was a leading penalty killer for New Jersey last season, but has seen his ice time decline as he missed much of the first half of the year with an injury. Kovacevic is playing 16:43 per game this season, including just over a minute per game on the penalty kill.
Anaheim Ducks Activate Frank Vatrano
The Anaheim Ducks have activated winger Frank Vatrano off of injured reserve. In a corresponding move, they have placed center Mikael Granlund, who is sidelined with an upper-body injury, on injured reserve.
Vatrano has been out since Dec. 27 with a shoulder injury, an ailment that kept him sidelined for 22 contests. It’s been a tough season for the 31-year-old sniper, and his activation today will give him the chance to re-enter the lineup and attempt to re-write the story of his 2025-26 campaign. Vatrano, who scored 37 goals and was an All-Star two years ago, has just three goals and six points in 38 games this season.
He’s scored at least 20 goals in every season since he joined the Ducks as a free agent in 2022, but it appears almost impossible for him to reach that number in what remains of the 2025-26 season. The emergence of several talented young scorers in Anaheim, such as star rookie Beckett Sennecke, has eaten into the prime offensive opportunities Vatrano once received.
This season, Vatrano ranks No. 11 among Ducks forwards in time on ice per game, averaging 12:20 with only sporadic usage on either side of special teams. In both 2023-24 and 2024-25, Vatrano was the team’s No. 2 forward in terms of time on ice per game, playing regularly on the top power play unit in both years and occupying a notable penalty kill role in his All-Star campaign.
Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville, who also coached Vatrano during both players’ tenure with the Florida Panthers, commented to The Hockey News’ Derek Lee on Vatrano’s season, saying “whether it was his shot or his production, it’s been off a little bit, and I think that he needs to get himself feeling good and getting that some confidence in his game.” With today’s activation, he’ll get his first chance to rebound and begin to build back his confidence level. For tonight’s game against the New York Islanders, Vatrano slotted in on the team’s third line, playing alongside Ryan Poehling and Ryan Strome.
Replacing Vatrano on IR is Granlund. The veteran forward has been sidelined for four consecutive games with his injury, suffered at the Olympic tournament while helping Finland to a bronze medal. The 34-year-old was a key offseason addition for GM Pat Verbeek, signing a three-year, $7MM AAV deal to head to Orange County.
While he’s dealt with some injuries, he’s largely kept to his career pace as a Duck, scoring 27 points in 38 games, which is a 58-point 82-game scoring pace. He’s replaced Vatrano as Anaheim’s No. 2 forward in terms of ice time, skating 18:55 time on ice per game, including 3:10 on the power play and 1:41 on the penalty kill.
Colorado Avalanche Acquire Nick Blankenburg
The Colorado Avalanche have acquired defenseman Nick Blankenburg from the Nashville Predators, according to an official team announcement. The Predators are receiving a 2027 fifth-round pick in exchange for the defenseman.
The move continues Nashville’s recent efforts to add future draft picks in exchange for roster players. Fourth-liners Michael McCarron and Cole Smith were dealt yesterday. In these three deals, the Predators have added a second-round pick, a third-round pick, and a fifth-rounder, albeit by bolstering the depth of Western Conference playoff contenders in the process.
In adding Blankenburg, the Avalanche have added a capable NHL defenseman who has enjoyed the best years of his professional career in Nashville.
While the 27-year-old is undersized, standing 5’9″ 177 pounds, he plays at the kind of pace that will allow him to fit in seamlessly in Colorado. He has 21 points in 49 games this season, playing 17:57 per night with the Predators.
He’s appeared on both sides of special teams, serving as the team’s second power play quarterback (behind star Roman Josi) and is averaging 1:36 per game on the penalty kill. When Josi missed significant time last season due to injury, it was Blankenburg who stepped up and spent time quarterbacking the team’s top power play unit.
The way Colorado’s defense is constructed, it is unlikely he plays as large a role. The right side of their defense is already well-stocked, with Cale Makar, Sam Malinski, and Brent Burns already in the fold. With Devon Toews, Josh Manson, and Brett Kulak on the other side, the Avalanche have an enviable collection of talent on their back end. Adding Blankenburg, presumably in the seventh-defenseman role, only adds to their stockpile at the position. If an injury hits, the team will have a quality player ready to step in and fill the role of the injured blueliner.
From the Predators’ perspective, the deal adds a draft pick for a pending UFA and concludes what has been a solid developmental success story for the Predators.
Blankenburg was a great find for the team’s hockey operations department in the summer of 2024. He had lost his NHL role with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023-24, playing in the AHL for the first time in his career. He signed a two-year deal in Nashville that contained a two-way structure in its first year, something that ultimately didn’t factor in too much as Blankenburg only played 13 games for the Milwaukee Admirals.
The Predators were able to find an NHL role that was a fit for Blankenburg’s skill set, and allowed him to occupy that role and rediscover his place as a full-time NHL player. A fifth-round pick isn’t a massive return for Blankenburg, but it’s still an additional draft pick to add to their rapidly growing stockpile. And the value of rewarding Blankenburg by giving him a chance to join one of the NHL’s top teams cannot be discounted – if he plays well in Colorado, and gets into playoff games, he’ll enter the free agent market on very strong ground.
It might be curious to see Nashville trading away so many established players while they are in the midst of a playoff chase, but the reality is the Predators have one of the better track records across the league as developers of NHL talent.
While elite talent has sometimes eluded them, they have, more often than not, been able to rely on their pipeline of talent from AHL Milwaukee to provide them with players capable of taking on specific roles as bottom-six players or third-pairing defensemen. The trades of the bottom-six forwards from yesterday will allow for greater opportunity for developing players such as Ozzy Wiesblatt and Reid Schaefer at the NHL level. The deals should also allow for promising center Fedor Svechkov to re-join the NHL roster.
Today’s trade accomplishes a similar role on defense. The Admirals have been led in scoring this season by a defenseman, 22-year-old Ryan Ufko, and he could get a look in the NHL as a result of this trade. It could also mean greater opportunity for Justin Barron, who the Predators acquired last season from the Montreal Canadiens.
In any case, the Predators have not let this season’s solid short-term on-ice results deter them from building towards a clear long-term vision. Their moves in recent days have seemingly been concrete steps forward in service of that vision, even if they might somewhat hurt their odds of reaching the playoffs this season.
Photos courtesy of Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
Kings Place Joel Armia On IR
March 4: The Kings announced today that Wright has been reassigned to Ontario and Moverare has been reinstated from the non-roster list. Wright posted zeroes across the board in his NHL debut on Monday, skating 9:42 of ice time.
March 2: The Kings announced a series of roster moves today as a response to lingering injury issues, with team reporter Zach Dooley writing that multiple players on the roster are “questionable” for tonight’s game.
The Kings recalled Angus Booth and Jared Wright, placing winger Joel Armia on IR and designating Jacob Moverare as non-roster playing status. Both Wright and Booth have yet to make their NHL debut to this point in their young pro careers.
The biggest name involved in today’s transactions is Armia, who is dealing with an upper-body injury. According to Dooley, he had an MRI today, but the only indication of the extent of his injury has been this transaction. The 32-year-old is a veteran of nearly 650 NHL games, and has been a quality bottom-six defensive forward for many years. He scored 11 goals and 29 points last season with the Montreal Canadiens before signing in Los Angeles as a free agent. His 10 goals and 20 points are right in line with the scoring paces he managed in the most productive years of his career.
Armia’s on-ice value has always been about more than offense – he’s long been a reliable penalty-killer, someone a team can count on to play a significant role in any short-handed operation. This season, he ranks No. 4 among Kings forwards in short-handed time on ice per game (1:35). As a member of the Canadiens, Armia formed a formidable penalty-killing duo with center Jake Evans, ranking No. 2 among team forwards in penalty killing ice time per game in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
As a result of his IR placement today, he’s guaranteed to miss at least the team’s next few games. His full return timeline is currently unclear, throwing into question whether he’ll be able to play against his former team when the Canadiens visit Los Angeles on March 7. Armia’s direct roster replacement is Wright, who also stands 6’3″.
As previously mentioned, Wright hasn’t yet made his NHL debut, but the former Denver Pioneer is a leading penalty killer amongst Ontario forwards. Because he is playing a similar role to Armia at the AHL level, it’s possible the Kings opt for Wright to make his NHL debut on this recall, perhaps hoping his addition can provide on-ice stylistic continuity while Armia is sidelined.
On defense, Booth has been recalled to replace Moverare, who has been designated as non-roster status. Moverare has been a frequent healthy scratch this season, and when he does dress for games, has averaged just 8:45 time on ice per game. The 27-year-old Swede is a pending UFA and has gotten into just 15 NHL games this season despite spending its entirety in the NHL.
Booth, 21, is still waiting on the chance to make his NHL debut. Given Moverare is the team’s seventh defenseman, he may not get his chance at this point. Drew Doughty is out for tonight’s game, but Booth isn’t a player who fits as a Doughty replacement. With that said, it might not take too long for Booth to get his first NHL game. He’s is a top-four defenseman and steady penalty killer for the Reign, and the rate at which he’s earned recalls in recent weeks suggests he’s getting closer to being considered NHL-ready.
With Moverare’s deal expiring this upcoming summer, Booth may be a player to look out for as a candidate to seize an NHL role going forward – a projection that would grow all the more confident if he can get into some NHL games down the stretch.
Kings Reassign Erik Portillo, Angus Booth
March 3: The Kings returned Portillo to AHL Ontario after he backed up Anton Forsberg last night, per John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor. Defenseman Angus Booth joins him on the road back to the AHL after scoring in his debut last night with a +1 rating in 12:18 of ice time.
March 2: The Los Angeles Kings have recalled goaltender Erik Portillo from their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. The move comes as the incumbent No. 1 netminder Darcy Kuemper is set to miss at least tonight’s game against the Colorado Avalanche with an illness, per team reporter Zach Dooley.
This isn’t Portillo’s first opportunity to serve as a fill-in for an unavailable Kuemper – over the Olympic break, the Swedish netminder was recalled to practice with the team while Kuemper was in Italy representing Canada at the Olympic tournament. Today’s recall is in a similar vein, although there is an actual game to be played in this case, and Portillo is set to serve as the backup.
A 2019 third-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres, Portillo has developed well over the last two-and-a-half years as a member of the Kings organization. Once a high-end goaltender both in the USHL with the Dubuque Fighting Saints and NCAA with the Michigan Wolverines, Portillo has become a solid goaltender at the AHL level. He made his professional debut in 2023-24, posting a .918 save percentage across 39 games with the Reign. Portillo earned a greater share of starts than most goalies can typically expect in their first season in the pro ranks, and Portillo appeared to respond well to the increased responsibility and workload.
The following season, Portillo’s numbers took a step back, regressing from a .918 save percentage in 2023-24 to an .889 in 2024-25. It’s possible the trickle-down effect of the Kings’ addition of Kuemper may have played a role. In 2023-24, David Rittich‘s stellar play kept him in the NHL, meaning the Kings didn’t have a veteran to pair with Portillo until they signed Aaron Dell in late January of 2024. That allowed Portillo to play a regular starting netminder’s schedule, something he got used to (albeit with a smaller pool of total available games) when he was at Michigan.
In 2024-25, Kuemper arrived, and emerged as a Vezina Trophy candidate with the Kings. Having Kuemper and Rittich entrenched in the NHL forced Pheonix Copley, who had played in 37 NHL games in 2022-23, and spent most of 2023-24 injured, off the Kings’ NHL roster. As a result, he received the lion’s share of starts in Ontario, and Portillo had to settle for a backup goalie’s schedule of starts, rather than a starter. Many goalies have commented on the difficulty posed by a backup’s schedule, in terms of being less capable of finding a rhythm that paves the way to on-ice success. Being a backup isn’t something Portillo had to deal with in several years, and it’s therefore not a huge surprise that his numbers fell back as he tried to make that adjustment.
So far this season, Portillo appears to have largely rebounded from his difficult 2024-25. He’s come close to splitting starts with Copley, with 20 games played compared to the veteran’s 26. He’s winning frequently, with a 14-3-1 record and .905 save percentage, well above Copley’s .891 mark. With another season on his deal at a $783K cap hit, the time could be quickly approaching where the Kings look to Portillo as a legitimate NHL option, although it’s important to note that both Kuemper and Forsberg remain under contract through next season as well.
Red Wings Place Erik Gustafsson On Waivers
March 3: Gustafsson cleared waivers, per Friedman.
March 2: The Detroit Red Wings placed veteran defenseman Erik Gustafsson on waivers today, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The move paves the way for the Red Wings to open up a spot on their 23-man roster, as this waiver placement was likely made with the intent of sending the blueliner down to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.
The move doesn’t come as a major surprise, as Gustafsson has been a frequent healthy scratch for the Red Wings in his most recent stint on their NHL roster. Since being recalled on Jan. 15, Gustafsson has dressed for just a single game, serving as a healthy scratch for 11 of the team’s 12 contests. 
While he did receive over 20 minutes of ice time in the game he was dressed for – a 5-0 loss to the Avalanche on Jan. 31 – it’s been clear for some time that Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan prefers to staff his defense with other players.
As a result, this has been a difficult season for the 33-year-old. A veteran of over 500 games, Gustafsson was once a 60-point scorer, an emerging offensive force from the back-end as a part of the Chicago Blackhawks in the late 2010s.
He wasn’t able to sustain that level of production for very long, though, and began bouncing around the league, offering his services as a bottom-pairing puck-moving defenseman with power play utility to various teams. He even made a few deep playoff runs in the process, winning a Clarence S. Campbell Bowl with the Montreal Canadiens in 2021, and appearing in the Eastern Conference Final in 2024 as a member of the New York Rangers.
Gustafsson made the most of that Rangers tenure in particular, which is what landed him in Detroit in the first place. The Red Wings signed Gustafsson to a two-year, $2MM AAV deal on July 1, 2024 after he managed to provide New York with a significant amount of surplus value on his prior deal, having scored 31 points on just an $825K salary. He wasn’t able to bring that kind of effectiveness to Detroit, scoring just 18 points in 60 games.
So far in 2025-26, he’s fallen further down Detroit’s depth chart. He’s been a staple in the press box when on the NHL roster, and has just two NHL games played this season. He’s been productive in the AHL, scoring 20 points in 22 games, but those are also his first AHL games since the 2017-18 season.
Today’s news comes at a crucial point in Gustafsson’s career. As a pending UFA, he’s undoubtedly hoping to be able to enter the offseason player market on as strong footing as possible. The longer he spends as a healthy scratch and/or AHL player as a member of the Red Wings organization, the lower his chances are of getting a contract anywhere close to the $2MM salary he received in his last run as a UFA.
With the player movement expected to come in the lead up to this week’s trade deadline, it’s possible a spot frees up on another team that would allow Gustafsson to play out the rest of the season at the NHL level. But seeing as his waiver placement is coming before that movement is finalized, it’s fair to question whether teams will be willing to place a claim on Gustafsson, given that other players could be on waivers or otherwise available as the week progresses.
Photos courtesy of Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images
Kraken Not Planning To Trade Tolvanen, Pending UFAs
The Seattle Kraken are “not planning” to trade winger Eeli Tolvanen or their other pending UFA players before the trade deadline unless it is an “overpayment,” according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Per Pagnotta, the Kraken are “focused on making the playoffs and adding.” Sharks Hockey Digest’s Max Miller added to Pagnotta’s report, writing that Tolvanen and his representatives are expecting to begin talks with Seattle on a contract extension this week.
Tolvanen is not the only notable pending UFA player on Seattle’s roster. Included in that group alongside Tolvanen are three notable veterans: winger Jaden Schwartz, defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, and captain Jordan Eberle.
Together with Tolvanen they form a quartet of players who would each likely receive considerable interest on the trade market, but based on Pagnotta’s report, that isn’t a path the Kraken are willing to go down.
Through 59 games this season, Seattle has amassed a 28-22-9 record with a -6 goal differential, good for 65 points and the Western Conference’s second Wild Card spot. They are three points ahead of their closest rival, the San Jose Sharks, who have 62 points and a game in hand. They are also just one point behind the Edmonton Oilers for third place in the Pacific Division, and hold two games in hand there. In other words – the Kraken have multiple routes they can take to reach the playoffs.
With that said, their form since returning from the Olympic break has been mixed. They dropped games against the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues by a combined 9-2 score, but managed a win over the struggling Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. In order to stand the best chance of not only making it to the playoffs, but also surviving beyond the first round if they do, they may need to reinforce their roster with additional veteran talent.
Pagnotta reports that the Kraken are interested in doing so, which matches up with what has been previously reported. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted on the 32 Thoughts podcast Friday that the Kraken offered north of $14MM AAV to try to sway Artemi Panarin to choose Seattle. He elected to be dealt to the Los Angeles Kings instead. But the Kraken’s pursuit of a difference-making scoring forward has persisted, including to the point where they would be willing to deal 2022 No. 4 pick Shane Wright.
Friedman said on 32 Thoughts that the Kraken “are serious about getting a player that can electrify them offensively,” and pointed to a sense of pressure that exists in Seattle to get the organization back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022-23. He even referenced the NBA’s stated interest in considering expansion cities – of which Seattle would be a strong contender – as a factor contributing to the importance of the Kraken finding a way back to the playoffs this season.
Whether the Kraken are best served retaining four pending UFAs for a stretch run that could end up concluding in a first-round matchup against the juggernaut Colorado Avalanche is a matter of debate. There are business considerations, as Friedman suggested, that the team may be wrestling with, and the reality of the NHL playoffs is that an element of randomness is guaranteed. The Kraken have pulled off an upset before, after all. So it’s not entirely unreasonable for the Kraken to bet on, and invest in, their current team.
But for a team that has largely lacked star power in its brief existence as an NHL franchise, is investing significant hockey assets in this capable, but flawed, 2025-26 Kraken team the most sensible long-term decision? That will be the question the Kraken’s hockey operations leaders will have to interrogate this week, and it will be interesting to see what path president of hockey operations Ron Francis and GM Jason Botterill elect to take.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images