Arbitrator Rules In Favor Of Flyers In Ryan Johansen’s Grievance
An arbitrator has ruled in favor of the Philadelphia Flyers in a grievance filed by veteran centerman Ryan Johansen, over the team’s termination of his contract prior to the 2024-25 season, shares TSN’s Darren Dreger.
The Flyers acquired Johansen alongside a conditional 2025 first-round pick at the 2024 Trade Deadline, in exchange for sending defenseman Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche. Philadelphia placed Johansen on waivers immediately after the trade, with the intentions of assigning him to the AHL and potentially flipping him before the deadline. When no trade manifested, Johansen refused to report to the minor leagues, instead claiming that he was limited by a nagging hip injury. The NHL sided with Johansen, and reversed his AHL assignment after a failed physical exam.
Johansen spent the remainder of the 2023-24 season on injured reserve. There was a clear wedge between him and the Flyers’ top brass – one that only rooted deeper as the 2024 summer went on. By August, Philadelphia decided to place Johansen on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination – citing the player’s delay in notifying them of the injury, and failure to pass physicals or report to his assignment.
Johansen passed through waivers and became an unrestricted-free agent. He filed a grievance with the NHLPA soon after, claiming the Flyers had wrongly terminated his contract. Now, a full year later, it seems the NHL will side with Philadelphia in their handling of the situation.
The implications of this decision aren’t immediately clear. Johansen had one year remaining on an eight-year, $64MM contract originally signed with the Nashville Predators in 2017 – though Philadelphia was only due $4MM in cap hit, after Nashville retained half of the contract when they traded Johansen to Colorado. The range of outcomes seems far-reaching – from Philadelphia being due that full $4MM price tag, to a settlement with the player, to no cap implications on the team’s side at all. Details on the exact impact against the Flyers will likely be revealed in the coming days.
The NHL’s last contract termination to reach headlines over a material breach came in 2015, when the Los Angeles Kings terminated forward Mike Richards‘ contract with five years remaining. He was still due $22MM on the deal. Richards also filed a grievance with the NHLPA, and would end up settling with the team for an undisclosed amount before becoming a free agent. He signed for one season with the Washington Capitals following the dispute, but would retire from hockey in 2016.
It seems less likely that Johansen will return to the NHL. His play gradually dwindled throughout the 2020s – falling from 63 points in the 2021-22 season to just 23 points in 2023-24. He slowed down in all aspects, likely due to what was proven to be a very real and long-running hip injury. That slow-down pushed Johansen to Colorado’s fourth-line in his final few games with the team. With a decision in place on his grievance with the Flyers, he would realistically have time to sign a short contract, or try-out agreement, before the 2025-26 season. But those chances hinge on the 33-year-old’s recovery, and willingness to return, after a full season away from the league. If he does call his career to a close, the former fourth-overall selection will finish with 578 points in 905 games in the NHL.
Rocco Grimaldi, Joseph Blandisi Sign In KHL
Former New Jersey Devils forward Joseph Blandisi has signed a two-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg of Russia’s KHL. Blandisi will be joined in the move by fellow AHL veteran Rocco Grimaldi, whose contract details haven’t yet been revealed, per Pavel Panyshev of Russia’s Championat. This will mark the first overseas move of both player’s careers, after years of rooted roles in the minor leagues.
Grimaldi boast the slightly richer career of the two, accumulating 203 NHL games and 499 AHL games over his nine-year career. He was originally drafted with the 33rd-overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers. Grimaldi followed his draft selection with three seasons at the University of North Dakota. He found great success in college, despite a freshman year derailed by injury, and entered the pros with wind behind his sails in the 2014-15 season.
Grimaldi scored a hot 42 points in 64 games of his AHL rookie season. That was enough to earn the first seven games of his NHL career, though he only managed one goal in those appearances. He spent the next four years firmly rooted in the rut of hot AHL scoring and meager NHL totals, until the 2018-19 Nashville Predators opted to reward Grimaldi with his first full year in the NHL. He scored just 13 points in 53 games with the club, but shined through enough to cement a bottom-six role for the next three seasons. But after not finding another gear at the top flight, Grimaldi was relegated back to the minors in 2022. His role was defined as a top AHL scorer with limited upward mobility – a sentiment that’s kept Grimaldi from receiving any NHL games in three years, despite scoring 256 points in 252 games since 2022.
Blandisi has fallen into a similar rut over recent years. After bearing through split AHL and NHL minutes between 2015 and 2020, the former sixth-round selection landed a full-time role in the minors in the 2020-21 season. He’s since found upside as both a scorer and bruiser, a role best highlighted by his 59 points and 110 penalty minutes in 70 games with the Toronto Marlies in the 2023-24 season. He followed that performance with 35 points and 82 penalty minutes in 58 games last season, bringing his career-long totals up to 321 points and 664 penalty minutes in 448 games and 10 seasons in the AHL. He also has 31 points in 101 NHL games.
Both players will look to escape middling roles in North America with a move to Russia’s top squad. They’ll join a rich squad in SKA, headlined by returning scorers Sergei Plotnikov and Marat Khairullin. Grimaldi and Blandisi should have no trouble finding hardy middle-six minutes, following SKA’s loss of Evgeny Kuznetsov and Mikhail Grigorenko this off-season. SKA finished second in their division, and got bumped from the conference quarterfinals, last season.
Snapshots: Tkachuk, Cozens, Red Wings
The Tkachuk family has dominated late-summer headlines, leading to plenty of opportunities for the three NHL players – retired pro Keith Tkachuk, Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk, and Ottawa Senators star Brady Tkachuk – to sit down with media from across the hockey world. The one throughline from each conversation has been Brady’s desire to stick with the Ottawa Senators. He told as much to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, sharing that the team’s push into the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs went far towards proving what the young core is capable of.
The Senators entered the 2024-25 season with one of the youngest rosters in the league – eighth-youngest, to be exact. They blazed through an incredibly successful season despite that, finishing the year with the top Eastern Conference Wild Card and just one point behind the eventual Cup-winning Panthers. Ottawa’s surge was spearheaded by young studs like Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, and Jake Sanderson. Those three were the only ones to score more than Tkachuk’s 29 goals and 55 points in 72 regular season games. But Tkachuk showed his importance to the squad when he led the team with four goals and seven points in six postseason games. Ottawa will return a fairly similar squad next season, and with a bode of confidence from their captain, may be able to find their way out of Wild Card standing or beyond the first round.
Other notes from around the league:
- A key focus of the Senators’ 2025-26 season will be the performance of second-line center Dylan Cozens, who the team acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in a swap for Joshua Norris last Spring. Julian McKenzie of The Athletic shares that Cozens only needs to reach 20 goals, and maintain his all-around impact, to earn find a successful season. Cozens has only crossed the 20-goal mark once in his career – when he pushed for 31 goals and 68 points in the 2022-23 season. But he’s come close at other points, with 18 goals in 2023-24 and 16 goals last year. In fact, Cozens’ five goals in 21 games with the Senators perfectly paces him for a 20-goal performance across 82 games. That should be an achievable step for the 24-year-old centerman, though his goal will certainly be to further prove he can return to the heights of his 2023 scoring. Doing so could give Ottawa an ace up their sleeves as they look to one-up their performance from last year.
- Years of stocking the prospect pool should begin to pay off for the Detroit Red Wings next season. They can expect three key prospects to emerge in the NHL per Max Bultman of The Athletic, who names forwards Nate Danielson and Carter Mazur, and goaltender Sebastian Cossa, as the young guns likely to break into the Detroit lineup next season. That should be an easy feat for Mazur and Cossa, who have both continuously shown their might at the AHL level. Mazur finished an injury-shortened season with 15 points in 20 AHL games, to go along with 37 points in 60 games in 2023-24. His hard-nosed style caught the eyes of Detroit’s top brass, but a freak injury cut his season down before he could play through a full NHL game. While he returns to the lineup, Cossa will aim to finally make the full-time jump, after serving as a pillar of consistency in the minor-leagues. He posted a .911 save percentage in 41 games last season, well in-line with the .913 save percentage he posted in 40 AHL games in 2023-24, and again in 46 ECHL in 2022-23. Among the bunch, it will be frail playmaker Nate Danielson who will have to show he can pop. Danielson played his first pro season last year, and scored an encouraging 39 points in 71 games. But on a Red Wings roster pushing for all they can get, he’ll need to show he can hold up to increasingly-challenging roles.
Five Key Stories: 8/4/25 – 8/10/25
With training camps now a little more than a month away, a lot of teams are in summer vacation mode while there’s still time. Although that has resulted in much more limited activity around the hockey world, there was still some news of note which we’ll cover in our key stories.
Schaefer Signs: The top pick in this year’s draft is now under contract as the Islanders signed defenseman Matthew Schaefer to a three-year, entry-level deal. The agreement pays him $975K per season in the NHL plus another $3.5MM in potential bonuses. Schaefer was limited to just 17 games with OHL Erie last season and was sidelined for the final few months after suffering a fractured clavicle in the second game of the World Juniors. That said, he was dominant enough in his two-plus months of action to move him up the draft rankings, making him the consensus number one selection in this year’s class. By signing now, Schaefer is no longer NCAA-eligible should he not make New York’s roster.
Vesey Heads Overseas: Veteran winger Jimmy Vesey had strong interest in free agency, just not from NHL clubs. Teams from several leagues tried to sign him and in the end, he decided to sign in Switzerland, inking a two-year deal with Geneve-Servette. The 32-year-old had a limited role with both the Rangers and Avalanche last season, notching eight points in 43 games. Originally drafted by Nashville back in 2012, he decided not to sign with them, kickstarting a rarely seen process that saw him reach August 15th free agency and meet with many teams before joining the Rangers. Overall, Vesey has played in 626 career NHL games over parts of nine seasons, tallying 101 goals and 93 assists.
Panthers Unlikely To Move Rodrigues: With Florida sitting $3.725MM over the salary cap per PuckPedia, many have been waiting for the other shoe to drop; who would be moved to get them back into compliance? The answer is, for now at least, no one, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Panthers are unlikely to move forward Evan Rodrigues, the one player they could part with to get close to being cap-compliant. Instead, it appears their intention is to start the season using LTIR with winger Matthew Tkachuk acknowledging that surgery is likely needed to fully repair the adductor injury he dealt with in the playoffs. If that happens, he’d be expected to miss multiple months, allowing Florida to keep the rest of the group intact for at least a little while longer though they’d have to get compliant whenever Tkachuk was cleared to return.
Winger Signings: While Vesey signed overseas, two other UFA wingers found NHL contracts. First, the Avalanche agreed to a one-year, $1.25MM deal with Joel Kiviranta. The 29-year-old had a surprising 16 goals with Colorado last season after his previous career high in points in a single season was 11. The deal gives Kiviranta a well-deserved raise while still being a reasonable enough price tag should his production drop back to normal levels. Meanwhile, the Stars dipped their toes into the market as well, signing Nathan Bastian to a one-year, $775K contract. The 27-year-old had 10 points and 138 hits in 59 games with New Jersey last season. He’ll battle for a spot on the fourth line in training camp.
Varlamov To Resume Skating: Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov didn’t play at all last season after November due to a lingering knee injury. They felt it was necessary to add some insurance in free agency when they signed David Rittich to a one-year deal. However, it appears that Varlamov could be ready for training camp as he’s expected to resume skating in the near future. The 37-year-old still has two years left on his contract at a $2.75MM AAV and while he’s coming off a down (injury-riddled) year, he has been one of the better backups in recent years. Getting him back to form would be a nice boost heading into the season.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol-Imagn Images.
Poll: Who Will Be The Next RFA To Sign?
The summer is winding down across the NHL, but a rich group of remaining restricted-free agents are keeping multiple teams from closing their books just yet. There are still multiple top, young players awaiting contracts for the 2025-26 season – including top-line features like Luke Hughes, Marco Rossi, and Mason McTavish. Pending any holdouts, it seems hard to imagine any of the top names not finding a new deal before the start of the season. But who will get the assurance next?
Hughes seems like a confident bet. There’s no denying the warm relationship between his family and the New Jersey Devils organization, and both team and player have already expressed interest in locking up a long-term contract. But that desire has been the exact hang-up in contract negotiations, as the Devils sit with just over $6.1MM in available cap space, per PuckPedia. Hughes scored 44 points in 71 games last year, and 47 points in 82 games in the year prior. That scoring is the second-most from any U23 defender in the NHL over the last two seasons, just behind Jake Sanderson (95 points) and ahead of Brock Faber (76 points).
Both Sanderson and Faber have already found their contracts for the future – each signing eight-year deals with cap hits north of $8MM. That seems to set a clear market for what Hughes, but it’s a price tag that New Jersey is currently priced out of. Landing a new deal with Hughes will seemingly take a gentleman’s agreement, or a supplemental move like parting with the $1.15MM cap hit of Kurtis MacDermid.
New Jersey’s holdups could pave way for Anaheim Ducks center McTavish to land a deal first. McTavish is another undeniable talent, who worked his way to a lofty 22 goals and 52 points in 76 games last season – good for second on the Ducks in scoring. He seems well set up for another big step next season, on an improved Ducks lineup with a new head coach. But McTavish’s continued divide with a rich Ducks team – currently wielding $20.54MM in cap space – has many speculating about what the two sides could be disagreeing on. That dialogue has made McTavish a top option for any team considering a late-summer offer sheet, though Anaheim’s rich cap space would make it tough to successfully buy McTavish. Instead, it seems the two sides will be tasked only with deciding between a short-term bridge deal or a deal that carries McTavish through his prime.
The Minnesota Wild will be facing a similarly challenging question with top center Marco Rossi. Rossi is another player who managed a true breakout last year, with 24 goals and 60 points in 82 games. He stepped into a prime role with the Wild in the second-half of the year, taking on the top-line center role with Joel Eriksson Ek out with injury and routinely earning north of 20 minutes of ice time. Rossi looked up to the task, but then was surprisingly relegated to a fourth-line role for Minnesota’s six postseason games. The Wild are clearly at ends with the question of whether Rossi’s 5-foot-9 frame can stand up to a true #1 role. That hang-up has made Rossi’s situation perhaps the most likely to drag through the pre-season. And still, it’s hard to imagine Minnesota will give up easily on their most recent top-10 draft pick. Rossi could be a strong candidate for a short-term, prove-it contract – which would give Minnesota the time to figure out his lineup role. The Wild sit with just over $9.4MM in cap space.
There are plenty of strong candidates to sign next outside of the big three names. The gap between the Calgary Flames and impressive center Connor Zary has been revealed as narrow. Multiple players have already carved out lineup roles with their signing team, and now only need the deal to prove it – players like Seattle’s Ryker Evans and Nashville’s Luke Evangelista. And other teams are merely one contract away from a full book, like the Vegas Golden Knights with winger Alexander Holtz. Any of those situations could quickly cave, and land another promising young player with the ramp they need for next season.
Who do you think will sign next? Answer in the poll below and let us know why in the comments:
Which RFA Will Sign Next?
-
Luke Hughes 0% (0)
-
Mason McTavish 0% (0)
-
Marco Rossi 0% (0)
-
Connor Zary 0% (0)
-
Luke Evangelista, updated 0% (0)
Total votes: 692
Mobile users click here to vote.
Morning Notes: Roslovic, Bonk, Avalanche
The free agent market for centerman Jack Roslovic is growing richer by the day. In addition to garnering interest from multiple teams across the league, Roslovic has also received multiple offers from teams in Russia’s KHL, per Dylan Griffing of EliteProspects. Those offers will likely ring on deaf ears for a centerman who has spent the last nine seasons in the NHL, but they will ramp up the pressure on NHL clubs to get a deal in place.
Roslovic is certainly worth the late-summer intrigue. He’s filled the role of gritty and responsible bottom-six center through multiple stops in the league. His career began with the Winnipeg Jets, who drafted Roslovic at 25th-overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. The Jets provided a chance for Roslovic to plant his feet in the NHL, but he didn’t find a true breakout until a 2021 move to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He scored 34 points in 48 games of the shortened 2021 season with Columbus – or, an 82-game pace of 58 points – then followed it up with 45 points and 44 points in two full seasons. He’s since toured through stops with the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes, and continues to offer a mix of gritty physical and near-40 points each season. That standing will make him a desirable asset for all leagues, though a stay in the NHL seems all-but-guaranteed.
Other notes from around the league:
- Philadelphia Flyers prospect Oliver Bonk shared that his sights are set high for his first professional season in a motivated interview with Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. He shared that his goal will, of course, be to make the Flyers lineup out of training camp – but that he’s putting equal attention towards making sure he keeps his eyes set on the ultimate goal, no matter the outcome of camp. Bonk is coming off an incredibly successful junior hockey career, capped off with a Memorial Cup win with the OHL’s London Knights. He scored 54 points in 69 games this season, and 73 points in 78 games in the 2023-24 campaign. It will be an uphill battle to jump straight to the NHL, but Bonk will have the upper hand as a 6-foot-2, 210-pound defender with speed and puck-moving ability.
- The Colorado Avalanche could be searching for depth forwards for the extent of another season. A recent breakdown of their roster by Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now reveals a shortage of talent at the center position – a group that the Avalanche have long struggled to stock fully. The Avalanche will have the benefit of getting a full year out of 25-year-old center Jack Drury, who split last season between Colorado and Carolina. But in the mixed year, Drury’s 18 points in 72 games still looks meager. A lack of depth could offer Drury – or a player currently on the outside, like Ivan Ivan – a chance to show his might before the Avalanche have time to bring in another new face. Colorado currently sits with a little more than $2MM in available cap space, per Puckpedia.
Latest On Matthew Tkachuk
Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk is continuing to work his way back from an adductor injury sustained during the 4-Nations Face-Off tournament in February. The injury ended Tkachuk’s regular season early, though he played through it for all 23 games of Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup. Now, Tkachuk is paying the price of a long-term injury, and faces the often uncomfortable question of whether to undergo surgery to address the ailment. Tkachuk told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski that surgery would require him to miss the first two-or-three months of the regular season.
That’s a long time for Florida to be without one of their top scorers. Tkachuk finished the year ranked third on the team in points (57) even despite missing the last 30 games of the regular season. Luckily, the St. Louis-native has shown a consistent knack for being able to play through, and above, painful injuries. He tied for Florida’s scoring lead during the postseason, with eight goals and 23 points in as many games. It was an incredibly impressive performance, given Tkachuk entered the postseason having not played a game for three months.
That ability to bounce back to form could make a delayed start to the season a bit easier to stomach. Wyshynski emphasized previous reports that one of Tkachuk’s main goals for next season is to play for Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics. A few-month absence would put him back on the ice just weeks ahead of the NHL’s midseason break, and could provide a chance for 10-to-15 games worth of conditioning. That may be a short window for the average player, but Tkachuk’s ability to quickly jump back onto the scoresheet should only be emphasized on the international stage.
He scored three points in three games at the 4-Nations tournament, his first time representing America at a Men’s National tournament. Prior to that, Tkachuk managed 11 points in seven World Junior Championship games in 2016, 12 points in seven games at the World U18 Championship in 2015, and seven points in six games at the World U-17 Hockey Championship in 2014.
Around his spot appearances with Team USA, Tkachuk has managed a star-studded NHL career. He earned his first 100-point campaign in the 2021-22 season – netting 104 points in 82 games with the Calgary Flames – and then one-upped it with 109 points in 79 games with the Florida Panthers in the next season. Tkachuk was also rarely injured, averaging 74 games and 72 points per season before the 2024-25 campaign. Last year’s shortened season brought his career averages down to 71 points in 71 games each season.
That scoring precedent will make Tkachuk a must-include for the Olympic roster, should he be healthy in time for the tournament. He shared that he was “50/50” on undergoing surgery when the season came to a close, and has spent the off-season taking the time to ensure he’s making the right decision. If he does go under the knife, Florida could be due for a big boost of cap space through the first-half of the season.
Five Key Stories: 7/28/25 – 8/3/25
The arbitration period has come to an end with the final few players settling before the point of getting to a hearing. Those deals are included in the key stories from the past seven days.
Kings Re-Sign Last RFA: The Kings took care of their final remaining restricted free agent, signing winger Alex Laferriere to a three-year, $12.3MM contract. The 23-year-old has two full NHL seasons under his belt with his 2024-25 campaign being a solid one as he collected 19 goals and 23 assists in 77 games while working his way into being a regular in the top six. He also chipped in with a trio of helpers in their first-round playoff exit at the hands of Edmonton. Laferriere didn’t have salary arbitration eligibility this summer but he will when this deal expires in 2028. At that point, he’ll be a year away from unrestricted free agency.
Not Retiring Yet: While Nicklas Backstrom’s NHL contract quietly came to an end last month, his career isn’t over just yet as he has signed a one-year deal with SHL Brynas. The 37-year-old didn’t play at all last season and was limited to just eight games in 2023-24 after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery, a procedure that ended his NHL career, one that saw him eclipse 1,000 points in a little over 1,100 games with Washington. Backstrom now returns to the program that he grew up in as he looks to extend his playing career a little longer.
Three For Samberg: The first player to get to the point of filing arbitration briefs, Dylan Samberg and the Jets had quite a gap to bridge. However, they were able to reach an agreement, working out a three-year, $17.25MM contract. The deal buys Winnipeg two extra years of team control while those two years will also see Samberg have a six-team no-trade clause. After being more of a depth player for his first few seasons in the NHL, the 26-year-old had a breakout season, logging over 21 minutes a night on the back end while becoming their most trusted shutdown defender. Samberg also had his best offensive season, collecting 20 points in 60 games plus three more in the playoffs when his ice time went past 24 minutes per contest.
Flames Extend A Forward: One player who didn’t need a new contract right away was Flames forward Martin Pospisil, whose bridge deal runs through the upcoming season. However, he has a new pact in place as the two sides agreed on a three-year, $7.5MM extension that runs through the 2028-29 campaign. The 25-year-old is coming off his first full NHL campaign but was quieter than expected offensively, notching just four goals in 81 games although he did add 21 assists. Pospisil was also one of the hit leaders league-wide last season, picking up 301 while spending a bit of time down the middle. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent when this deal expires.
More Arbitration Avoidances: Two more players also got contracts done to avoid an arbitration hearing. Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble reached a two-year, $2.825MM pact well before hearing submissions were due. He played in 56 games for the second straight season, collecting 13 points and 124 hits in a little under 15 minutes a night of playing time. Meanwhile, Toronto and winger Nicholas Robertson got to the point of exchanging pre-hearing numbers but settled the next day just above the midpoint on a one-year, $1.825MM contract. Robertson had a career-high 15 goals in 69 games last season but also spent time as a healthy scratch, especially during the playoffs when he only made three appearances. Both players will be arbitration-eligible RFAs at the end of their respective deals.
Photo courtesy of James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images.
Predators’ Spencer Stastney Considered Retirement Before 2024-25 Season
Nashville Predators defenseman Spencer Stastney joined Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas on the 32 Thoughts podcast to speak out about the challenges he’s faced with continuing his hockey career. Stastney opened up about a long struggle with mental health challenges and defeated feelings towards his hockey career. He shared that those feelings peaked at the end of the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs, and pushed him as far as job-searching and pulling together the paperwork needed to file for retirement. He was just 24 at the time.
Stastney hit that low point amidst some of the brightest moments of his young career. He moved to professional hockey in 2022, following a productive four years at the University of Notre Dame. Stastney stood out in his rookie AHL season thanks to his shutdown defense, even despite scoring just 19 points in 72 games on the full season. His early showings were enough to earn the first eight NHL games of his career, where Stastney chipped in his first two assists.
A strong start at the AHL level earned Stastney great standing headed into the 2023-24 season. He took full advantage of the opportunity – netting 20 points in 44 AHL games, and four points in 20 NHL games before the end of the regular season. But through it all, he shares that his feelings of anxiety towards the sport were growing. Stastney took part of the 2023-24 season off to attend the NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program. He returned in time for the postseason, and appeared in both the Stanley Cup and Calder Cup Playoffs. But Stastney shares that by the time Milwaukee was defeated, he was happy that the season was over.
It was that feeling – relief juxtaposed by his teammates’ anguish over an early exit – that pushed Stastney to consider calling his career to an early close. He shared that he didn’t feel his feelings were fair to his teammates, and that he quickly felt that stepping away from the sport to pursue other work would provide the reset he needed. He moved forward with those feelings, even as his agency filed for contract arbitration and successfully earned a two-year contract extension.
But a new deal wasn’t going to be what spurred Stastney back into the sport. Instead, he details extensive consultations with the Nashville Predators’ team therapist as the thing that helped him to realize and address the roots of his feelings. Stastney skipped Nashville’s training camp for the 2024-25 season, and didn’t return to the ice until early December. He quickly returned to a top-pair role in Milwaukke when he came back, and earned an NHL call-up after just 10 games in the minor leagues. Stastney would effectively split the 2024-25 season between the major and minor rosters, netting three points in 23 NHL games and 17 points in 26 AHL games.
Those performances, and a renewed sense to continue moving forward with hockey, is where Stastney sits now. He emphasized that he’s still figuring out his relationship with the sport, but intends to move forward as a continued member of the Predators organization. He’s a true shutdown defender, with a great reach and imposing physical presence, even in a lanky build. The Predators have shown clear trust in Stastney’s ability to handle a depth NHL role – and a full season of determination could be all it takes to earn a full-time spot on the NHL roster.
While Stastney figures out his path forward, the Predators will rest assured that their patrol over player’s mental health continues to effectively serve their organization. The 32 Thoughts Podcast harkened back to former Predators Brian McGrattan and Jordin Tootoo, who both worked with Nashville’s therapy team and the NHLPA Player Assistance Program during their own time in the organization. Both went on to have successful, decade-long careers in pro hockey. Their ability to overcome challenges, and a clear focus on prioritizing player health, is a hardy show of resilience for any players facing similar challenges.
Snapshots: Barkey, Samberg, Schaefer
The Philadelphia Flyers have leaned fully into the rebuild since Daniel Briere was hired as general manager in 2023. They’ve moved out multiple veterans in exchange for draft capital – and built out one of the league’s strongest prospect pools as a result. It’s a group full of blue chips, including star OHL scorer Denver Barkey, who told Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia that he’s ready for the challenge of his first pro season, and another attempt to make the NHL roster.
Barkey scored an impressive 102 points in 60 total games this season, good for second among London Knights’ forwards behind Easton Cowan (108). It was an impressive season, capped off by a Memorial Cup win, but Barkey told Hall that he knows pushing into pros will be a tough feat for a 5-foot-9 winger. He received plenty of praise from the Flyers development team, including team consultant Patrick Sharp, despite that.
Another hot hand will raise interesting questions about the Flyers’ deployment next season. Barkey will join players like Alex Bump, Jett Luchanko, and Oliver Bonk in pushing to make the roster. Philadelphia ranked as the third-youngest lineup in the league last season, but could be swayed to lean even further into the youth movement with a couple of strong training camp performances.
Other notes from around the league:
- More has been revealed about Dylan Samberg‘s three-year extension with the Winnipeg Jets. Most notably, the deal will carry a modified no trade clause in its final two years, per PuckPedia. That’s a nice bit of security for Samberg, from a team known for hanging onto their hard-working defenders. Samberg has spent the last four years in Winnipeg. But that’s a junior tenure compared to Neal Pionk and Dylan DeMelo, who have been in Winnipeg for six years, and Josh Morrissey, a Jet for all 10 years of his career. Samberg earned a strong role as a shutdown defender last season, and finished the year with a team-leading plus-34. He’ll look to continue digging his feet into the defensive end with a few more years in Winnipeg.
- New York Islanders first-overall pick Matthew Schaefer played his first competitive game of the calendar year today – stepping up as Team Canada’s top left-defender in their bout against Team Finland at the World Junior Summer Showcase. Canada lost the matchup by a score of 6-3, with Schaefer recording no scoring. He also played in a split-team scrimmage between Canada Red and White yesterday, with no scoring. Despite that, his show of smooth and confident hockey are a welcome sign of recovery after he sustained a broken collarbone in December’s World Junior Championships. Schaefer scored 22 points in 17 OHL games prior to his injury, and hasn’t yet declared his intentions for next season.