Cayden Lindstrom, Jackson Smith To Return To NCAA
Cayden Lindstrom and Jackson Smith, two of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ top prospects, will not turn pro at the conclusion of their respective freshman campaigns in college hockey. Instead, each will return and play their sophomore season in college, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reported today.
That Lindstrom has decided to remain in college hockey is not a massive surprise. The 20-year-old, who plays at Michigan State, missed all of 2024-25 as he managed a back injury that ultimately required surgery. Health issues stalled Lindstrom’s first year of development after he was selected No. 4 overall at the 2025 draft, and that has left Columbus likely more willing to be patient with his growth.
In addition to the impact his back surgery had on his development, another factor contributing to Lindstrom’s decision is his uneven freshman campaign. Portzline wrote that Lindstrom “has been challenged by NCAA-level hockey, perhaps more than most expected,” as he posted just three goals and 10 points in 29 games. He became more productive as the season went on, and showed real flashes of the talent that made him such a tantalizing prospect in his draft year.
But the reality Columbus has had to deal with is simply because of just how much time Lindstrom missed due to injury (even dating back to his draft campaign, when he was limited to 36 regular season and playoff contests in the WHL), he’s not on the same developmental timeline as the players drafted around him.
Both Beckett Sennecke (2025’s No. 3 pick) and Ivan Demidov (2025’s No. 5 pick) have been two of the league’s most impressive rookies this season. Columbus and Lindstrom would surely prefer for his development, in an ideal world, to have played out on an accelerated track the it has for those two wingers. But both Sennecke and Demidov have enjoyed good health over the last two years in a way Lindstrom simply has not.
With the Blue Jackets making a push for the playoffs this season, and boasting a deep group of centers that includes Adam Fantilli, Charlie Coyle, Sean Monahan, Cole Sillinger, and Boone Jenner (who has played more wing since the team added Monahan, but is a natural center), there is not an immediate roster need that might push the team to bring Lindstrom to the pro ranks early.
Instead, the team’s success at the position gives them the flexibility to keep Lindstrom in college and allow him to develop at his own pace. If he can have a healthy, productive sophomore campaign with the Spartans, it’s entirely possible we’ll see Lindstrom in the NHL next spring. Despite his injuries, Lindstrom could still very well end up a dynamic No. 2 center behind Fantilli for the team, giving the club an enviable set of promising young players at the position.
Pivoting to Smith, his return to Penn State for his sophomore season is more of a surprise. The No. 14 pick of the 2025 draft has had a strong debut campaign with the Nittany Lions, scoring 11 goals and 26 points in 34 games. He was named a second-team Big Ten All-Star and set the record for the most goals in a single season by a defenseman in Penn State program history.
According to Portzline, “the Blue Jackets have been delighted” with the improvement in Smith’s defensive game over the course of the season, and are content to have him spend another year in an environment where he’s excelling.
Columbus has been one of the league’s best teams since bringing veteran coach Rick Bowness behind their bench, and stand a real chance of reaching the playoffs. But despite having a real chance to play into the spring, it does not appear the Blue Jackets will be doing so with the help of some of their top prospects. Instead, Blue Jackets fans will likely be able to see both players at another rink in Columbus – at Ohio State, whenever the Spartans or Nittany Lions make the trip to play the Buckeyes.
Snapshots: Winterton, Pilling, Jarry
The Seattle Kraken announced today that forward Ryan Winterton has taken a temporary leave of absence to attend to a family matter. The Kraken did not provide further detail and requested that the privacy of Winterton and his family be respected. As is always the case with situations like these, what happens on the ice is secondary. With that said, Winterton’s absence does have lineup implications for a Kraken team that is still under pressure to chase down a playoff spot.
Winterton had missed Seattle’s last two games with an illness. Before then, he had been on one of the stronger runs of his young NHL career. He scored a goal and an assist in Seattle’s 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers on March 15, and had a solid five points in his last 11 games playing largely in a bottom-six capacity. When he was last in the lineup, Winterton occupied a fourth-line left wing spot, skating alongside Ben Meyers and Jacob Melanson. 21-year-old Jani Nyman, who has 18 goals and 27 points in just 29 AHL games this season, was placed into that fourth-line role with Winterton sidelined.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- The Minnesota Wild have interest in signing NCAA free agent center Nathan Pilling of the University of St. Thomas, Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic reported today. Pilling, who turns 22 in June, ended his first campaign of college hockey with 15 goals and 29 points in 38 games. The Calgary native, who was a point-per-game pivot in his final campaign in the WHL, has previously been tied to two NHL teams. He attended the development camp of the San Jose Sharks in 2024, and the Ottawa Senators in 2025. Pilling was ranked as the No. 5 NCAA free agent by the team at Elite Prospects, with the outlet projecting him as a “potential bottom-6 checker” with “versatile upside.”
- Veteran netminder Tristan Jarry will return to the crease for the Edmonton Oilers at some point during the team’s upcoming two-game road trip, head coach Kris Knoblauch told the media today. Jarry hasn’t made a start since surrendering seven goals in a loss to the Dallas Stars, which was on March 12. The 30-year-old began the season with a strong 14 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins, posting a .909 save percentage and 9-3-1 record. He’s struggled mightily since his trade to Edmonton, though, putting up a grisly .855 save percentage and 4.17 goals-against average in 15 games. With the Oilers looking to build momentum and lock down a playoff spot in a wide-open Pacific Division, they’ll be hoping Jarry can rediscover some of the form he had at the start of the season.
San Jose Sharks Reassign Laurent Brossoit
The San Jose Sharks announced today that veteran goalie Laurent Brossoit has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.
Brossoit was originally recalled on March 13, and he ended up serving as a backup for four of the five games the team played while he was on the roster. He got one start, a tough 7-4 road loss to the Ottawa Senators on March 15, in which he made 23 saves on 29 shots and was tagged with the loss.
Yaroslav Askarov, who is a full-time NHL goalie for the Sharks, had been sidelined for a little over a week with a lower-body injury. That’s what prompted Brossoit’s recall. Today, Askarov returned to practice in full. As Brossoit is San Jose’s organizational No. 3 goalie, Askarov’s return from injury has cost him his spot on the team’s NHL roster.
A tough start in Ottawa shouldn’t distract from what has been a solid campaign for Brossoit. He missed all of the 2024-25 season recovering from knee surgery and other lower-body issues, and ended up dealt from the team he originally signed with, the Chicago Blackhawks, earlier this year.
Chicago originally signed Brossoit to a $3.3MM AAV deal after he posted a stellar .927 save percentage in 23 games as a backup for the Winnipeg Jets, and at that point, he was a year removed from playing eight playoff games en route to a Stanley Cup Championship with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Injuries kept Brossoit from ever suiting up with the Blackhawks, but he’s earned his way back to the NHL with the Sharks. He’s had a strong season at the AHL level, going 11-2-1 in 14 games for the Barracuda, posting a .915 save percentage along the way.
Sharks’ Ryan Reaves Out Week-To-Week
A top enforcer will be out of the San Jose Sharks lineup for the short-term. Winger Ryan Reaves is out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury, head coach Ryan Warsofsky told Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Reaves only played 19 seconds of Saturday’s loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. He injured his finger in a fight with Flyers winger Garrett Wilson just two minutes into the game, though it’s not clear if that is the injury he faces now, or what specifically went wrong.
Either way, the Sharks will move forward without one of the few remaining enforcers in the NHL. Reaves has racked up 37 penalty minutes in 50 games this season, including five fights. He also leads the Sharks in hits with 160.
Those numbers are well below the heights that Reaves reached through his 16-year NHL career. He posted a career-high 126 penalty minutes in 63 games of the 2013-14 NHL season, including 12 fights. His career-high in hits came in the 2019-20 season, when Reaves racked up 316 hits in 71 games with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Years later, Reaves continues to serve as a valuable fighter protecting a young Sharks roster. He has been sparingly used over the second-half of the season, with only five appearances since February started. He only averaged 7:15 in ice time in those appearances, excluding his early exit on Saturday.
San Jose will turn to Pavol Regenda to step back into the lineup for Reaves. Regenda has nine goals and 10 points in 21 NHL games, and 12 points in 28 AHL games, this season. At 6-foot-4, he brings the physical presence that Reaves leaves behind, though San Jose may also have to lean on Kiefer Sherwood to match Reaves’ hit totals. Meanwhile, Reaves will look to get back to full health in time to step into one of San Jose’s remaining 14 games this season.
Golden Knights Sign Pavel Moysevich
The Vegas Golden Knights have signed 2024 third-round pick Pavel Moysevich to a three-year, entry-level contract per Moysevich’s agent, Dan Milstein. The Golden Knights later confirmed the deal.
Moysevich, 21, has long been regarded as one of many high-end goalie prospects in the SKA St. Petersburg pipeline. He was one of eight goalies to play for SKA’s VHL club this season, which limited his chance at routine starts all season long. Moysevich was also out of the lineup from mid-November until late-January. In total, Moysevich earned just 10 starts this season. He recorded five wins, a .917 save percentage, 2.41 goals-against-average, and one shutout in those appearances and dressed for an additional 23 games as backup. His stat line fell from the numbers he posted through the last two VHL seasons – a 14-8-2 record, .926 SV%, and 2.17 GAA. Around those games, Moysevich also played in 31 KHL games, netting a .912 SV%, 2.45 GAA, and nine wins.
Moysevich now measures in at six-foot-seven, two inches taller than his draft-year measurements. He still moves with speed and athleticism despite that, giving Vegas an exciting prospect to add to a shallow goalie depth chart. Moysevich should immediately compete with Carl Lindbom and Cameron Whitehead, both 22, for starts in Henderson. Lindbom has posted a .922 SV% in 27 games while Whitehead, playing in his first pro season, has a .878 SV% in 14 games. When he moves to North America, Moysevich could take on the role of Jesper Vikman, who played 18 games with the Silver Knights before being traded to the Washington Capitals in Vegas’ Trade Deadline acquisition of Nic Dowd.
Predators Sign Fedor Svechkov To Two-Year Extension
The Predators announced this afternoon that they’ve signed center Fedor Svechkov to a two-year extension worth $2.5MM, yielding an average annual value of $1.25MM. He was set to be a restricted free agent this summer without arbitration rights.
Svechkov, 23 next month, is in his second NHL season after being drafted 19th overall in 2021. Since making his debut for the club in November 2024, he’s been a serviceable fourth-line piece but not much more. He’s put up an 11-19–30 scoring line in 110 career games with a -23 rating. Touted as a two-way center, he’s made progress in that department this year with a 51.1 CF% and 50.7 xGF% at 5-on-5, but his limited offensive utility thus far has kept him from climbing above 11 to 13 minutes of ice time per game.
This year, he’s shooting at just 5% and has three goals and 13 points through 58 games. He’s struggled on faceoffs, although his 42.9% win rate is up from his untenable 36.7% mark as a rookie. Given that he hasn’t excelled in any particular area outside of his possession impacts this year, he’s been in and out of the lineup. The Preds took advantage of his continued waiver-exempt status to assign him to AHL Milwaukee in late January, where he had five goals and eight points in just 10 games before being added back to the roster in early March.
Nashville’s trades sending Michael McCarron and Cole Smith out of town at the trade deadline have provided more security in the lineup for Svechkov in the last couple of weeks. He’s still only averaging 11:06 per game since the deadline as the Preds’ fourth-line center between fellow developing first-rounders Reid Schaefer and Joakim Kemell, but has a 1-2–3 scoring line and 14 shot attempts in eight games in that span. His new deal, which makes him an RFA in 2028, should lock him into Nashville’s #4C slot again next season.
Flyers Sign Alex Ciernik To Entry-Level Deal
The Flyers announced this afternoon that they’ve signed winger Alex Ciernik to a three-year, entry-level deal beginning next season.
Ciernik, 21, was a fourth-round pick back in 2023 who still had another year before Philly risked losing his signing rights. The son of former NHLer Ivan Ciernik, the Slovak national was selected out of Södertälje SK in Sweden’s second division, where he’s spent most of his development since. He was a solid producer in that league on subsequent stops with Västerviks IK and the Nybro Vikings from 2023-25, posting a 15-22–37 scoring line in 72 games across those two seasons, and even got his first look in North America on a tryout with AHL Lehigh Valley to close out last year.
Ciernik’s offense saw significant regression here in 2025-26, though. He started the season against the toughest competition of his career, transferring to Finland’s top-division Liiga to suit up for Pelicans. He managed just three points in 19 games before being released, though. He opted to return to Nybro to finish out the year, but his sluggish pace persisted, putting up only a 2-3–5 scoring line with a -7 rating in 21 outings.
It’s a tad surprising to see Philly extend an entry-level offer with his stock at a low point, but they’ve evidently liked the whole body of work the 5’10” winger has provided over the last few years. Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports ranked Ciernik as the #20 prospect in the system last month, and according to Dobber Prospects, he’s the eighth-ranked winger in their system. The deal, which PuckPedia reports carries a $1.008MM cap hit, is not eligible for a slide and will make him a restricted free agent at age 24 in 2029.
Red Wings Reassign Axel Sandin-Pellikka
The Red Wings announced that they’ve reassigned defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka to AHL Grand Rapids. It’s the first minor-league stint of the season for the rookie, who was temporarily assigned to Grand Rapids at the trade deadline to make him eligible to suit up in the AHL down the stretch.
While Sandin-Pellikka was promptly recalled back to the NHL roster on deadline day, he hasn’t played since. He was usurped from his second-pairing role alongside Ben Chiarot when the team acquired veteran Justin Faulk from the Blues, pushing the righty to the press box. He’s now been scratched in seven straight contests after appearing in 63 consecutive games to begin his NHL career.
A gifted puck-mover, Detroit selected Sandin-Pellikka 17th overall in 2023. The hope was that he could be a plug-and-play top-four piece after parts of three seasons of professional hockey in his native Sweden. He got that kind of deployment to start the season after a strong training camp. The results haven’t been pretty, though. He has posted a 6-13–19 scoring line but has paired it with a team-worst -21 rating while his ice time has slowly eroded. Only seven of those points came on the power play, as he was quarterbacking the team’s second unit before Faulk’s arrival.
His development isn’t served by sitting and watching, at least not for this long a stretch. As such, Detroit will get the 6’0″ righty some premier minutes in Grand Rapids, where he’s eligible to stay through the postseason. He’ll be logging well over 20 minutes a night there as he looks to get his game back and re-establish himself as a full-time NHLer next fall.
Projecting Patrik Laine’s Future After This Season
Canadiens forward Patrik Laine is headed for free agency this summer. Despite a limited free agent market, he isn’t expected to attract much interest after another season marred by injuries.
Laine has only played five games this season, with just one assist, and until the trade deadline, he was a frequent topic of trade rumors as Montreal hoped to clear salary. Reports indicate he was mentioned in discussions with both the Maple Leafs and Flyers.
Laine hasn’t been a good fit with the Canadiens, and as summer approaches, it’s almost certain he will be wearing a different NHL jersey next season, likely at a cap hit significantly lower than his current $8.7MM salary. The question remains whether NHL teams will be interested and whether a good fit exists for the 2016 second overall pick.
Despite the injuries and inconsistencies that have challenged Laine’s career over the past half-decade, his shot remains among the best in the NHL, especially from long range, where he continues to be an elite scorer even if he hasn’t displayed his full skill set this year. Last season, Laine scored 20 goals in just 52 games, and he still likely projects as a 20- to 25-goal scorer despite limitations in nearly every other aspect of his game.
But that is the core issue with Laine: he is limited in what he can do, and his analytics away from the puck are appalling. This will cause many NHL teams to hesitate before considering him a viable free-agent target.
Laine has long been a liability in puck possession, and it wasn’t any better last season, when he was mainly used in an offensive role but still hindered his teammates’ possession. Given his health concerns, especially regarding his skating and agility, it’s unlikely these metrics will improve. This means any team that acquires Laine will need to isolate and shelter him, which is acceptable if he is earning close to the league minimum on a one-year deal.
When considering comparables, there aren’t many. In fact, this year, AFP Analytics can’t even project Laine’s potential contract for the 2026-27 season because there isn’t enough information available on Laine, which makes sense given that he’s only played five games this season.
A potential comparison who is by no means an exact match would be Anthony Mantha of the Penguins, who is currently earning $2.5MM on a one-year “prove it” deal he signed last summer. Mantha had a consistent track record of scoring 20 goals before last season, but he suffered a season-ending ACL injury and missed most of the year with the Calgary Flames. After posting just seven points in 13 games with Calgary, the 31-year-old bet on himself last summer, and it appears to be paying off as he looks set to be one of the top UFAs available this summer, which should give him a chance at a long-term contract in the coming years.
Although Mantha and Laine are very different players, there aren’t many better comparisons, but Jeff Skinner provides another example of what free agency could mean for Laine. Skinner has spent the last two seasons signing one-year, $3MM contracts as a UFA. However, like Mantha, he is over 30, at 33. Similar to Laine, Skinner is a fairly one-dimensional offensive player who can score goals but does little else, especially away from the puck, where he’s not exactly a Selke Trophy candidate.
Looking at Mantha and Skinner as reasonable comparables, since both are wingers, have notable flaws in their games, and can score, what can Laine expect in free agency? Mantha received a one-year, $2.5MM deal last summer, while Skinner signed a one-year, $3MM contract with San Jose.
Laine has several factors that position him above Mantha and Skinner. Laine was the second overall pick; he’s three years younger than Mantha was during his recent free agency and five years younger than Skinner. There’s a solid argument that Laine is a purer goal scorer than both Mantha and Skinner, which is mainly shown by his NHL career goal numbers. All these points suggest that Laine deserves a larger payday than both Mantha and Skinner.
But Mantha is arguably a more complete player than Laine, and Skinner has a longer track record of scoring goals than Laine. Those factors will work against Laine, but overall, he probably deserves a more substantial one-year contract than Mantha or Skinner received last summer. That said, this is a very thin free-agent crop, and teams will be desperate on July 1st to add scoring, which could make Laine appealing to more than one team despite the warts on his resume.
Where Laine ends up remains uncertain, but some contending teams facing the salary cap hurdle would likely be interested in acquiring a motivated, scoring forward at a low cost. Colorado and Dallas come to mind as possible destinations, as do the Penguins, who may lose Mantha to free agency unless they can negotiate a deal. In any case, Laine desperately needs to find a suitable fit if he wants to secure another lucrative NHL contract.
Niko Mikkola, Uvis Balinskis Out For Season
Niko Mikkola‘s and Uvis Balinskis‘ seasons are over. The Panthers defenders are both out four to six weeks with a knee injury and an undisclosed fracture, respectively, head coach Paul Maurice told Jameson Olive of NHL.com. Both will be ready for training camp in the fall.
Mikkola, 29, entered the season at a high point in his career. The 6’6″, 204-lb shutdown lefty excelled in a top-four role for the Cats with a career-high 22 points and +12 rating en route to their second straight Stanley Cup. He cashed in as a result, landing an eight-year, $40MM extension late in training camp that kicks in starting next season. He finishes his 2025-26 campaign with a 3-8–11 scoring line in 68 games with a -1 rating, averaging 20:21 of ice time per game.
It wasn’t a huge dropoff by any means, but this was clearly Mikkola’s worst season out of his three in Florida. His 1.71 hits per game were his lowest since his rookie season with the Blues, and his 51.8% Corsi For percentage and 50.9% expected goals for percentage at 5-on-5 were good, but still his worst possession outputs as a Panther. He was without his usual partner, Seth Jones, for over two months due to an upper-body injury, which played a significant role in that dropoff. Jones’ injury forced Balinskis to step into a top-four role for much of the last several weeks, and those results were disastrous: just a 41.1 xGF% and a team-worst 3.16 xGA/60, per MoneyPuck.
Balinskis, 29, has been fine in a more sheltered third-pairing role on his natural left side but hasn’t been able to handle elevated minutes, especially when forced onto his off side. The 6’0″ Latvian averaged a career-high 16:22 ice time per game across 54 contests, contributing a 5-10–15 scoring line, but had a career-worst -13 rating while seeing a dropoff in his shot attempt creation from 2.61 per game last season to 2.43. He has the worst possession numbers on Florida’s blue line across the board (min. 100 minutes at 5-on-5) with a 50.7 CF%, 46.7 xGF%, and 50.2% scoring chances for percentage, per Natural Stat Trick.
With Florida out of playoff contention, the absences will only serve for depth names – namely, the recently recalled Michael Benning – to get more consistent reps down the stretch. Jones returned to the lineup a few games ago, so Florida’s defense isn’t in complete disarray, but they’re now down to six healthy names on the active roster and will likely recall a name from AHL Charlotte before tomorrow’s game against the Kraken for insurance.