Predators Place Nicolas Hague, Matthew Wood On IR
Having already been absent due to noted injuries, the Nashville Predators have confirmed the fate of two. As confirmed by Brooks Bratten, Nashville’s beat reporter, Nic Hague is expected to miss 2-3 weeks due to an upper-body injury, while Matthew Wood is week-to-week.
Hague was hardly able to debut with the Predators, going down early in the team’s preseason opener against Florida on September 21st. Having been acquired in the offseason from Vegas and promptly signed to a four-year deal worth $5.5MM per season, Hague’s absence solidified two smooth puck-moving defenders on the team, Nick Blankenburg and Spencer Stastney. Nashville already has a glut of left-handed defenders, and while they will miss Hague’s size, there are plenty of names to fill the void. It had been thought he could be out longer, so perhaps there is some relief for GM Barry Trotz, who made an effort to overhaul his defensive core and add more size this summer.
Nashville’s top defense prospect, the electric Tanner Molendyk, made a strong case to make the team, but was sent down yesterday and will begin his pro career with AHL Milwaukee.
Meanwhile, Wood suffered a lower-body injury in the Preds’ Gold Star Showcase scrimmage. It was especially unfortunate, as the top prospect was rolling in camp and making a strong case to remain with the club, having bypassed the AHL last season after coming out of college on a six-game NHL audition.
With Luke Evangelista finally signed today, two youngsters, Joakim Kemell and Ozzy Wiesblatt, seem to have made the cut due to Wood’s ailment. Kemell, a right-handed sniper, plays a role relatively similar to Wood with real top-six potential, while Wiesblatt, despite being a former first-round pick (2020, San Jose), projects as a likely bottom-six energy forward.
Flyers Open To Trading Emil Andrae
As the deadline for final rosters looms, many teams have final decisions to make, including Philadelphia, with one seat remaining at their table. Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff writes that Emil Andrae is on the outside looking in and may find himself with a new club soon.
Andrae, originally drafted by Philadelphia in 2020 (54th overall), has flashed legitimate potential over the last three seasons with AHL Lehigh Valley, but seemingly has not made enough of an impression on new Head Coach Rick Tocchet, as well as being surpassed on the organizational depth chart. As is usually a point of emphasis for the black and orange, Andrae’s stature is a downside, at 5’9”, as the Flyers look for more size on their blueline’s bottom half, given Jamie Drysdale and Cam York’s presence.
Di Marco noted that the Flyers’ third pairing was open coming into the season, and especially with Rasmus Ristolainen’s injury, opportunities were plentiful. One by one, certain candidates have fallen out of favor. It is thought that Dennis Gilbert and Noah Juulsen will round out the Flyers’ defense corps, beating out once-promising youngsters Helge Grans and Andrae.
Neither Gilbert nor Juulsen are names that jump out on the page at this point, both in their late-twenties, but both bring over 100 NHL games of experience to the table. Juulsen also comes in from Vancouver, having played for Tocchet for the last three seasons.
Adam Ginning also remains firmly in the mix for Philadelphia, despite just 11 NHL games under his belt so far, but at 6’2”, he may have the upper hand over Andrae, and makes an imposing pair with fellow sizable lefty Egor Zamula.
Di Marco says that although there is no clear market for Andrae, and the Flyers are just “open” to making such a move, they would be likely seeking a third-round pick or a similar defensive prospect. Players in Andrae’s mold appear in the waiver wire often, especially at this time of year. Yet still being just 23, it will be interesting to see if the Flyers can recoup value for their 2020 second-round selection, or if the Sweden native will return to Lehigh Valley as a key contributor and push for another call-up.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/4/25
Less than 72 hours remain until opening night rosters are due on Monday evening. Teams are down to their final few rounds of cuts as a result, but some have more work to do than others. We’re keeping tabs on all of today’s demotions here as clubs near their final 23-man form to open the season:
Buffalo Sabres (per team announcement)
D Radim Mrtka (to AHL Rochester)
F Noah Ostlund (to AHL Rochester)
New Jersey Devils (per team announcement)
F Thomas Bordeleau (to AHL Utica pending waiver clearance)
F Angus Crookshank (to AHL Utica pending waiver clearance)
F Brian Halonen (to AHL Utica pending waiver clearance)
F Zack MacEwen (to AHL Utica pending waiver clearance)
D Dmitry Osipov (to AHL Utica)
D Colton White (to AHL Utica pending waiver clearance)
Pittsburgh Penguins (per team announcement)
D Alexander Alexeyev (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pending waiver clearance)
F Tristan Broz (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Robby Fabbri (released from PTO)
D Ryan Graves (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pending waiver clearance)
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pending waiver clearance)
F Avery Hayes (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Bokondji Imama (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pending waiver clearance)
G Sergei Murashov (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
D Owen Pickering (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Samuel Poulin (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pending waiver clearance)
Utah Mammoth (per team announcement)
F Cameron Hebig (to AHL Tucson pending waiver clearance)
G Matt Villalta (to AHL Tucson after clearing waivers)
Tampa Bay Lightning (per team announcement)
G Brandon Halverson (to AHL Syracuse after clearing waivers)
Vancouver Canucks (per team announcement)
F Nils Aman (to AHL Abbotsford after clearing waivers)
F Max Sasson (to AHL Abbotsford)
G Nikita Tolopilo (to AHL Abbotsford)
Winnipeg Jets (per team announcement)
G Dom DiVincentiis (to AHL Manitoba)
Summer Synopsis: Montreal Canadiens
With training camps now upon us, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective. Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled. Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason. Next up is a look at Montreal.
The Canadiens were hoping to be in the mix for the playoffs last season and a late-season surge not only allowed them to do that, but it also allowed them to sneak into the postseason, perhaps a little earlier than anticipated. While they were quickly dispatched by Washington in the opening round, their movement this summer suggests that they’re expecting to take another step forward in their rebuilding process this season.
Draft
2-34 – F Alexander Zharovsky, Ufa (MHL)
3-69 – F Hayden Paupanekis, Kelowna (WHL)
3-81 – D Bryce Pickford, Medicine Hat (WHL)
3-82 – G Arseni Radkov, Tyumen (MHL)
4-113 – F L.J. Mooney, U.S. U18 (NTDP)
5-145 – G Alexis Cournoyer, Cape Breton (QMJHL)
6-177 – D Carlos Handel, Halifax (QMJHL)
6-189 – D Andrew MacNiel, Kitchener (OHL)
7-209 – D Maxon Vig, Cedar Rapids (USHL)
It’s not very often that a team trying to emerge from a rebuild trades two first-round picks instead of adding to its prospect cupboard but the Canadiens did just that, dealing the 16th and 17th selections (forward Victor Eklund and defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson) as part of a draft-day swap that saw them add a top-pairing defenseman, a move we’ll get to shortly.
They also made a pair of moves on the second day of the draft, trading up for their first two selections, including two second-round selections to get Zharovsky. The winger showed lots of raw offensive skill in Russia’s junior league last season before making his KHL debut in the playoffs. He’s likely at least a couple of years away from being considered to move to North America but if he develops as planned, he could be a top-six piece down the road.
Paupanekis was the other player they moved up for. A big center who showed some flashes of offensive upside with a capable defensive game, they’re hoping that he could be a bottom-six option down the road. Pickford was picked in his second year of eligibility after averaging nearly a point per game in the regular season while adding 24 points in 18 playoff contests. He’s eligible to turn pro next season and could be an intriguing offense-first blueliner in a few seasons.
The rest of Montreal’s selections qualify as longer-term projects. Mooney is the headliner from the list, a player whose skill level is pretty high offensively with a ceiling higher than many drafted ahead of him. However, he’d also be one of the smallest players in the NHL if he makes it which undoubtedly contributed to his drop on draft day but midway through the draft, Montreal felt it was worth the gamble.
Trade Acquisitions
F Zachary Bolduc (from Blues)
D Noah Dobson (from Islanders)
D Gannon Laroque (from Sharks)
The Canadiens swung arguably the biggest trade of the summer to bring Dobson in from New York. Included in the swap was an eight-year, $76MM sign-and-trade contract, making him the highest-paid skater in franchise history in terms of AAV. Clearly, Montreal feels that his drop in points to 39 (down from 70 the year before) is something that isn’t going to be continued while they’ll be counting on him to take a step forward in his defensive game as well. If all goes according to plan, they’ll have a right-shot top-pairing defender locked up through his prime years, checking off a key part of their rebuilding checklist although with Lane Hutson in the fold, he may not get as many prime offensive chances as he did with the Islanders.
Bolduc comes over in a one-for-one swap with St. Louis that saw a pair of 2021 first-round picks get moved for each other. Bolduc had a strong second half last season, ultimately coming up just short of 20 goals while also bringing a bit of physicality to their bottom six. Montreal will be expecting him to pick up where he left off and fill a similar role with them this season. As for Laroque, he was acquired merely as a contract matcher in the swap with the Sharks. He didn’t play at all last season and wasn’t invited to camp this year, suggesting his playing days are likely done.
UFA Signings
F Alex Belzile (one year, $775K)*
F Sammy Blais (one year, $775K)
D Nathan Clurman (one year, $775K)*
D Marc Del Gaizo (one year, $775K)*
G Kaapo Kahkonen (one year, $1.15MM)
F Joe Veleno (one year, $900K)
*-denotes two-way contract
^-denotes re-signing
As has been the case under GM Kent Hughes, Montreal largely stayed on the sidelines when it came to free agent additions this summer. Their most expensive signing – Kahkonen – is likely to start in the minors (assuming he clears waivers), a sign of how little they spent here. Veleno, bought out by Seattle back in June, is someone who should break camp with the Canadiens but is likely ticketed for a limited role to start the year. Blais is on the borderline for a roster spot while the others are all ticketed for the minors.
RFA Re-Signings
G Jakub Dobes (two years, $1.9MM)
F Sean Farrell (one year, $775K)*
D Jayden Struble (two years, $2.8MM)
D William Trudeau (one year, $775K)*
*-denotes two-way contract
Struble’s first two seasons were nearly mirror images of each other. There were times when he flashed top-four upside and other stretches where he struggled to simply get in the lineup. This bridge deal allows both sides more time to see if there’s a full-time spot for him in Montreal while it’s front-loaded, yielding a cheaper qualifying offer two years from now.
Dobes started the season in the minors but a late-December recall saw him get off to quite the start, winning his first five games, including several against some of the better teams in the league. On the flip side, he struggled more down the stretch and with fewer than 20 games played (including playoffs), he’s still rather inexperienced. Montreal will be hoping that he can shoulder a bit more of the workload after Sam Montembeault was among the league leaders in games played last season.
Departures
F Joel Armia (signed with Kings, two years, $5MM)
F Alex Barre-Boulet (signed with Avalanche, one year, $775K)*
F Christian Dvorak (signed with Flyers, one year, $5.4MM)
F Brandon Gignac (signed with Kloten, NL)
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard (signed with Penguins, one year, $775K)*
F Emil Heineman (trade with Islanders)
D Noel Hoefenmayer (signed with Sochi, KHL)
G Connor Hughes (signed with Lausanne, NL)
G Gustav Lindstrom (signed with Djurgarden, SHL)
D Logan Mailloux (trade with Blues)
F Michael Pezzetta (signed with Maple Leafs, two years, $1.55MM)
G Cayden Primeau (trade with Hurricanes)
G Carey Price (trade with Sharks)
D David Savard (retirement)
F Xavier Simoneau (NHL rights relinquished but signed AHL deal with Laval)
*-denotes two-way contract
In the NHL, the center market is often a market of its own. The contract given to Dvorak is a good example of that. He has yet to record 40 points in a season but his defensive game and faceoff ability coupled with a scarcity of available options yielded this deal, one that agents will undoubtedly be trying to use as a benchmark moving forward. Armia was another longer-term bottom-six piece in Montreal who is moving on. While he hasn’t produced enough offensively to live up to his first-round draft selection, he has carved out a viable career as a strong checker. Filling their roles defensively could be challenging for the Canadiens this season.
Heineman was the other piece in the Dobson swap. He got off to a strong start in his first full NHL season before being hit by a car in Utah, landing him on IR and upon his return, his production dropped. Nonetheless, the Isles feel he still has another level to get to. Still just 23, Heineman has been traded three times now for quality players, Sam Bennett, Tyler Toffoli, and Dobson. Pezzetta was a regular on the roster for the past few years but played sparingly overall, being healthy scratched more than 50 times.
Savard was another fixture on Montreal’s penalty kill and was eighth in total blocked shots last season. However, he was struggling as the season went on and knew by the playoffs that he was nearing an end to his playing days. Dobson is his replacement, though he’ll play a much bigger role overall. Dobson’s addition also was enough security to part with Mailloux in the Bolduc trade. Mailloux has shown himself to be a strong offensive defenseman in the minors and even in his brief taste of NHL action. His defensive game is an area of some concern and the Blues will be hoping to help him take some steps forward on that front as he looks to be a full-time regular for them this season.
With Price entering the final year of his contract and an early-September bonus paid, the Canadiens gave up a fifth-round pick to send him to the Sharks, allowing themselves to get out of LTIR. He hasn’t played since a five-game stint late in 2021-22 and won’t play again. Primeau was the backup heading into last season but struggled mightily, leading to his clearing waivers and Dobes coming up. However, he finished strong in the minors which was enough for Carolina to send a seventh-round pick for him to add to their goalie depth.
Salary Cap Outlook
The Price trade significantly altered Montreal’s cap situation for the upcoming season. Instead of being several million deep into LTIR and facing a certain bonus overage penalty for the fourth year in a row, they have over $4.5MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. While they’ll want to keep a significant chunk of that for bonuses (around half of that), that should still allow them to bank ample in-season flexibility to cover injuries and, if they’re in a push for a playoff spot, try to make a late-season addition or two.
Key Questions
What Will Laine Bring To The Table? Patrik Laine’s first season with Montreal was certainly eventful. He suffered a knee injury in the preseason, causing him to miss nearly two months. Upon returning, he became a power play dynamo, finishing fourth in the league in power play goals scored with 15 (two off the lead) despite missing 30 games. However, he only managed five goals at even strength and as the season went on, his playing time and role dropped amid concerns about his five-on-five play. The end result was a career-low ATOI. Now healthy, he’s entering a contract year and it feels like he’s a big Wild Card heading into the season. Can he re-establish himself as a legitimate top-six threat at even strength and position himself for a long-term agreement? Or will he continue to be primarily a power play gunner, something that would have him staring down a significant dip in pay from his $8.7MM AAV.
How Will They Fill The 2C Role? While Montreal made a big move to add Dobson on the back end, they weren’t successful in adding an impact center, something they and many other teams struck out on. As a result, they enter the season with largely the same options and questions as before. Can Kirby Dach stay healthy and take a step forward in his development? While Alex Newhook has started on the wing two straight years, he has finished down the middle each time. Can he be a full-time option and push for that spot? Recently, Oliver Kapanen has seen some preseason action in that role but he has just two assists in 18 games thus far in his early NHL career. Can one of them step up or will that be a weak spot again this season?
What Type Of Impact Will Demidov Have? The Canadiens were able to get Ivan Demidov out of his KHL contract late in the season, allowing him to get into a couple of regular season games and their five playoff outings, showing flashes of the upside that made him the fifth overall pick just a year ago. Can he have a similar type of impact as fellow countryman Matvei Michkov and give Montreal a second offensive line, something they’ve been lacking for a while?
Photos courtesy of Wendell Cruz and Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.
West Notes: Kempe, Cooley, Stars
While Kings forward Adrian Kempe made it known that his desire was to get a contract extension in place before the start of the season, it’s not looking like it will happen. Part of the reason for that might be the comparable his camp is using. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (video link) that Toronto’s William Nylander is believed to be one of the comparables that Kempe’s camp is using. Nylander is in the second season of an eight-year, $92MM contract and has reached the 80-point mark in four straight years, including a 97-point effort in 2023-24. Meanwhile, Kempe has yet to reach that plateau although he has topped 70 the last two seasons. The difference, of course, is the much different salary cap environment now compared to when Nylander’s deal was signed but it’s not surprising that Los Angeles GM Ken Holland would be resistant to make an offer around that price point.
More from out West:
- While Logan Cooley won’t play in Utah’s preseason finale tonight, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports relays (Twitter link) that the team has a good feeling that he’ll be ready to go for their season opener next week. The 21-year-old was injured earlier this preseason against Colorado. Cooley took a big step forward last season, going from 44 points in his rookie year to 65 in his sophomore campaign. It’s fair to say that the Mammoth hope that he will take another step in the right direction this season, the final year of his entry-level deal.
- The Stars are currently locked into a lease to play at American Airlines Center in Dallas through the 2030-31 season but it appears that they’re already looking ahead. Eric Fisher and Daniel Roberts of Front Office Sports report that the organization is looking at Plano as a possible destination to build a new arena. Arlington is also believed to be in consideration as well. At this point, the team hasn’t ruled out staying where they are either but with these projects often taking a long time to put together, it’s not surprising that they’re already looking into their options despite having six years left on their current agreement.
Waivers: 10/4/25
With a little over 48 hours remaining before season-opening rosters need to be submitted to the league, it’s expected to be a very busy weekend on the waiver wire. Not surprisingly, it’s another big list of players on waivers today as 17 players have been put there, per PuckPedia. Meanwhile, all 12 players on waivers yesterday passed through unclaimed, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Here’s today’s list of players on the wire:
Dallas Stars
F Cameron Hughes
D Vladislav Kolyachonok
Florida Panthers
D Tobias Bjornfot
G Brandon Bussi
New Jersey Devils
F Thomas Bordeleau
F Angus Crookshank
F Brian Halonen
F Zack MacEwen
D Colton White
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
D Alexander Alexeyev
D Ryan Graves
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard
F Bokondji Imama
F Samuel Poulin
San Jose Sharks
Utah Hockey Club
Graves is the headliner in today’s class, primarily due to his contract which has four years left on it. We covered his situation in more detail earlier today.
Among the rest of the players, Bjornfot is no stranger to being in this situation but he has been claimed twice before. He spent most of last season in the minors with Florida but did get into 14 games with the Panthers and has 134 games at the top level under his belt. Alexeyev played sparingly last season with Washington not wanting to risk losing him for nothing on waivers but it appears that Pittsburgh doesn’t have that same level of hesitance. Meanwhile, Kolyachonok was claimed off waivers by the Penguins back in February before being flipped to Dallas over the summer so it’s possible another team might have their eye on him as well. Gilbert signed with the Flyers this summer after splitting last season between Ottawa and Buffalo but while the thought was that he’d at least be able to land a seventh role, that isn’t the case.
As for the forwards, San Jose’s White is by far the most experienced with 323 NHL appearances. However, he has primarily been an AHL player in recent years and it’s likely that he will clear and be assigned to the Barracuda. Poulin was a 2019 first-round pick but hasn’t seen much time with the Penguins, including just seven games last season. But at 24, he’s young enough to potentially be of interest to a team that wants to take a longer look at him. Bordeleau held his own in 27 games with the Sharks in 2023-24 but only played once for them last season before being moved in July in a swap of AHL players. But like Poulin, he’s young enough (23) to potentially draw attention.
These players will be on waivers until 1:00 PM CT on Sunday.
Devils Issue Multiple Injury Updates
One of the goals of the preseason is to get through things injury-free or as close to it as possible. While plenty of teams have been successful on that front over the past few weeks (at least so far), the Devils have not been one of those. Speaking with reporters (video link), head coach Sheldon Keefe provided updates on several players, with most of them not of the positive variety.
Prospect blueliner Seamus Casey was having a strong training camp but that has come to a sudden conclusion. He is now dealing with an undisclosed injury with Keefe noting that he won’t be on skates for the foreseeable future. The 21-year-old had four goals and four assists in just 14 games with New Jersey last season while also notching 18 points in 30 games with AHL Utica. It looked like he had a realistic chance of breaking camp with the team but instead, he’ll start the season on season-opening injured reserve where he’ll have a prorated cap charge relative to the percentage of time he was on New Jersey’s roster last season.
The one good injury tidbit also came on the back end. Brett Pesce skated Friday after leaving their last preseason game early. At this point, his availability for opening night remains up in the air but the fact he was skating suggests that he either will be available for that game or should be back soon after. Pesce had 17 points and 138 blocked shots in 72 games last season while averaging over 21 minutes a night of playing time.
Meanwhile, up front, winger Stefan Noesen has been dealing with a groin injury that he played through last season and re-aggravated over the summer. While the hope was that he was making some progress in recovery, Keefe noted that he is not yet close to playing. The 32-year-old had a career year last season, collecting 22 goals and 41 points in 78 games while chipping in with 152 hits but now he won’t be available on opening night either.
The same can be said for center Juho Lammikko. After spending the last three seasons in Switzerland with Zurich, he signed a one-year, $800K contract to try to return to the NHL. However, Keefe indicated that he is out for the near future as well. Notably, his contract is a one-way pact, meaning it will count in full against New Jersey’s salary cap while he’s injured, even if he’s ultimately going to be ticketed to play in Utica.
Minor Transactions: 10/4/25
With the preseason wrapping up today, some teams will be recalling players they’ve already cut to give them one more game or they will be returning players recently brought up for that purpose. We’ll keep track of those moves here along with any other minor transactions.
- The Sabres announced that defensemen Vsevelod Komarov and Zach Metsa have been returned to AHL Rochester. Komarov is entering his second professional season while Metsa was one of the top-scoring blueliners in the minors last season, notching 46 points with the Amerks.
- The Devils have brought up forwards Jack Malone and Matyas Melovsky from AHL Utica, per a team release. Malone had 13 points in 57 games with the Comets in his first professional campaign while Melovsky is entering the first year of his entry-level deal after putting up 83 points in 57 games with QMJHL Baie-Comeau last season.
- The Blackhawks announced that they’ve recalled more than half a lineup from Rockford for their preseason finale. Returning from AHL Rockford are goalie Mitchell Weeks, defenseman Cavan Fitzgerald, Taige Harding, and Kevin Korchinski, plus forwards Gavin Hayes, Paul Ludwinski, Martin Misiak, Samuel Savoie, Brett Seney, Aidan Thompson, and Dominic Toninato.
- Veteran defenseman Andrej Sustr was let go from his NHL PTO last weekend. However, he has found a new team to try out for as Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News relays (Twitter link) that the 34-year-old has inked a PTO deal with AHL Bridgeport. Sustr split last season between Czechia and Finland and hasn’t played in North America since 2022-23 when he split time between Minnesota and Anaheim’s farm teams.
- The Avalanche announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forwards Chase Bradley, Maros Jedlicka, Taylor Makar, Jayson Megna, Tristen Nielsen, and T.J. Tynan, along with defensemen Sean Behrens and Alex Gagne from AHL Colorado. They were all cut earlier in training camp and should be sent back to the Eagles in short order following their game tonight.
- The Rangers announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled goalie Callum Tung and forward Casey Terrance from AHL Hartford. Tung will be entering his first full professional campaign after signing with New York out of college late last season while Terrance was acquired this past offseason as part of the Chris Kreider trade.
- As expected, a day after recalling forward Shane Bowers, defenseman Braden Hache, and goalie Jakub Skarek from AHL San Jose, the Sharks announced (Twitter link) that all three players have been returned to the Barracuda.
- A day after recalling him, the Oilers announced (Twitter link) that they’ve sent goaltender Matt Tomkins back to AHL Bakersfield. Tomkins is in his first season with Edmonton and cleared waivers earlier this week.
- The Lightning have brought a few players back for their preseason finale. The team has recalled forwards Dylan Duke, Boris Katchouk, Scott Sabourin, and Wojciech Stachowiak, plus defensemen Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Roman Schmidt from AHL Syracuse, per a team release.
Predators Re-Sign Luke Evangelista To Two-Year Deal
Oct. 4, 11:02 AM: The Predators have officially announced the signing, confirming the $3MM AAV.
Oct. 4, 9:28 AM: Evangelista’s deal pays him $2.25MM in 2025-26 and $3.75MM in 2026-27, according to PuckPedia. That backloaded structure results in the maximum possible qualifying offer of $3.6MM, or 120% of his cap hit.
Oct. 3: The list of players who saw NHL action last season and remain restricted free agents is down to just two. That number is soon set to be cut in half. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (Twitter link) that the Predators and Luke Evangelista are making progress tonight on a contract; TSN’s Darren Dreger adds (Twitter link) that an agreement is expected to be reached soon while Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic indicates (Twitter link) that it should be a two-year deal worth $3MM per season.
The 23-year-old was a second-round pick by Nashville back in 2020, going 42nd overall. Evangelista spent a good chunk of his first full professional season in the minors back in 2022-23. However, following a 24-game stint that season that saw him record 15 points in a late-season recall, he has been a full-time player with the Predators ever since.
Evangelista’s first full NHL campaign saw him pick up 16 goals and 23 assists in 80 games despite averaging less than 14 minutes a night of playing time. That earned him some down-ballot support in Calder Trophy voting for Rookie of the Year as he finished ninth in balloting that season. He was limited to just one goal in the playoffs that season but expectations were high that Nashville had a legitimate middle-six contributor that could be relied upon.
Last season, Evangelista had 10 goals and 22 helpers in 68 games, producing at pretty much the same clip as the year before. While it would be fair to say they were hoping he’d take a step forward offensively, staying at almost the exact same point-per-game rate was notable in a season that saw a lot of Predators underwhelm offensively as an early-season speculative contender wound up missing the playoffs altogether and not by a small margin.
Considering that he had two seasons of similar production under his belt, Evangelista was a safe bet to land a bridge deal; a long-term pact likely wouldn’t have been feasible for either side. That makes the fact that it has taken this long to get a deal done rather puzzling. While it’s believed that the two sides briefly explored a three-year agreement, those talks didn’t last long given the gap in expected salary, putting the sides back to a two-year agreement. Clearly, both sides were pretty dug in with what they thought was fair in terms of money and only the threat of the season starting early next week with him still unsigned was enough to get this across the finish line.
Evangelista will once again be a restricted free agent in the 2027 offseason. However, there will be one big difference next time, that being his arbitration eligibility. As long as one of the two sides files for a hearing, the case will be resolved sometime in August that summer, preventing things from getting to this point next time.
Penguins To Waive Ryan Graves
The Penguins announced (Twitter link) a significant list of cuts today as they work towards getting their season-opening roster in place. Among those are five waiver placements, headed up by veteran defenseman Ryan Graves who will officially hit the wire at 1 PM CT today.
It wasn’t that long ago that the 30-year-old was viewed as a key shutdown defender. Over his two seasons with New Jersey, he went from being a role player (going back to his Colorado days) to a consistent top-four player. That helped earn him a six-year, $27MM contract with Pittsburgh back in 2023 as they were hoping that he could be a defensive anchor for them for a long time.
That hasn’t happened. In the first season of the deal, his offensive numbers dipped to just three goals and 11 assists after two straight years of at least 26 points. On top of that, he struggled in Pittsburgh’s defensive system and started to see his ice time cut later in the year.
That proved to be a sign of things to come for last season. Instead of showing improvement in his second year with the team, things continued to go in the wrong direction. As a result, Graves only got into 61 games (managing just four points) while averaging less than 15 minutes per night as he was deployed as a number-six defender when he was in the lineup.
That led to some speculative talk about a buyout this summer which clearly didn’t come to fruition. However, with the acquisitions of Connor Clifton and Mathew Dumba in trades over the offseason plus a strong training camp from prospect Harrison Brunicke, there simply isn’t a spot for Graves on their opening roster.
Given his recent struggles and the fact that he has four years left on his contract, it’s safe to say that Graves will pass through unclaimed on Sunday and be assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. From there, he can try to rebuild some confidence and try to work his way back to Pittsburgh. But few would have seen this coming just two years ago when he was given one of the bigger deals in free agency.
Joining Graves on the waiver wire from today’s moves are defenseman Alexander Alexeyev along with forwards Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Bokondji Imama, and Samuel Poulin.