2025 NHL Training Camp Rosters
Originally published Sep. 4
The NHL’s 32 clubs are beginning their full training camps ahead of the 2025-26 regular season. They’ve all announced their full camp rosters – a list that most will need to chop in half in order to get to the 23-player roster limit by the time opening night rolls around on Oct. 7.
Players who are attending via PTOs and those who aren’t participating due to injury are listed in the total counts. This page will be updated as cuts are made – a new feature here at PHR for the 2025-26 season. This article will be continually updated as more announcements come in.
Anaheim Ducks
Roster size: 25/23
Last updated Oct. 5, 7:34 p.m.
Forwards (15): Leo Carlsson, Sam Colangelo, Cutter Gauthier, Mikael Granlund, Ross Johnston, Alex Killorn, Chris Kreider, Mason McTavish, Nikita Nesterenko, Ryan Poehling, Beckett Sennecke, Ryan Strome, Troy Terry, Frank Vatrano, Tim Washe
Defenseman (7): Radko Gudas, Drew Helleson, Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, Ian Moore, Jacob Trouba, Olen Zellweger
Goaltenders (3): Lukáš Dostál, Ville Husso, Petr Mrázek
IR: F Jansen Harkins (upper body, proj. return Nov. 22)
SOIR: F Coulson Pitre (upper body, indefinite)
Boston Bruins
Roster size: 23/23
Last updated Oct. 5, 7:37 p.m.
Forwards (14): Viktor Arvidsson, John Beecher, Michael Eyssimont, Morgan Geekie, Tanner Jeannot, Mark Kastelic, Marat Khusnutdinov, Sean Kuraly, Elias Lindholm, Fraser Minten, Casey Mittelstadt, David Pastrňák, Jeffrey Viel, Pavel Zacha
Defensemen (7): Jordan Harris, Henri Jokiharju, Hampus Lindholm, Mason Lohrei, Charlie McAvoy, Andrew Peeke, Nikita Zadorov
Goaltenders (2): Joonas Korpisalo, Jeremy Swayman
Buffalo Sabres
Roster size: 23/23
Last updated Oct. 5, 7:39 p.m.
Forwards (15): Zach Benson, Justin Danforth, Josh Doan, Mason Geertsen, Jordan Greenway, Tyson Kozak, Peyton Krebs, Jiri Kulich, Beck Malenstyn, Ryan McLeod, Joshua Norris, Jack Quinn, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Jason Zucker
Defensemen (6): Jacob Bryson, Bowen Byram, Rasmus Dahlin, Ryan Johnson, Owen Power, Conor Timmins
Goaltenders (2): Alexandar Georgiev, Alex Lyon
IR: D Michael Kesselring (undisclosed, week-to-week), G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower body, week-to-week), D Mattias Samuelsson (upper body, week-to-week)
Calgary Flames
Roster size: 24/23
Last updated: Oct. 2, 1:46 p.m.
Forwards (14): Mikael Backlund, Blake Coleman, Matthew Coronato, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Matvei Gridin, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, Justin Kirkland, Adam Klapka, Ryan Lomberg, Martin Pospisil, Yegor Sharangovich, Connor Zary
Defensemen (8): Rasmus Andersson, Kevin Bahl, Jake Bean, Joel Hanley, Daniil Miromanov, Brayden Pachal, Zayne Parekh, MacKenzie Weegar
Goaltenders (2): Devin Cooley, Dustin Wolf
Carolina Hurricanes
Roster size: 23/23
Last update: Oct. 5, 7:41 p.m.
Forwards (13): Sebastian Aho, Jackson Blake, William Carrier, Nikolaj Ehlers, Taylor Hall, Mark Jankowski, Seth Jarvis, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jordan Martinook, Eric Robinson, Jordan Staal, Logan Stankoven, Andrei Svechnikov
Defensemen (7): Jalen Chatfield, Shayne Gostisbehere, K’Andre Miller, Alexander Nikishin, Mike Reilly, Jaccob Slavin, Sean Walker
Goaltenders (3): Frederik Andersen, Pyotr Kochetkov, Brandon Bussi
SOIR: F Juha Jaaska (undisclosed, indefinite)
Kings Place Kyle Burroughs On IR
The Los Angeles Kings have placed defenseman Kyle Burroughs on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. He sustained the injury after blocking a shot in Los Angeles’ October 1st preseason win over the Utah Mammoth. Despite being forced to miss the first two weeks of the season to an IR placement, Burroughs has already returned to skating per Kings’ content manager Zach Dooley. That’s positive news as the 30-year-old, Vancouver-native looks to push into his sixth NHL season.
Burroughs began his pro career in the New York Islanders system. He was originally drafted in the seventh-round of the 2013 NHL Draft, but didn’t turn pro full-time until the 2015-16 season. After a brief start in the minors, Burroughs climbed to an everyday role with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He held onto the team’s enforcer role through the next five seasons, ultimately recording 82 points and 419 penalty minutes in 313 games with the club. Despite that, Burroughs didn’t make his NHL debut until he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 2020. He debuted with the team – playing five games – in the same season, then played through his full rookie season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2021.
Burroughs has clung to a seventh-defender role in the three seasons since his rookie year. He played roughly half of Vancouver’s 2021 and 2022 seasons, as well as 33 games of L.A.’s 2024-25 season. The only full year of Burroughs career came with the San Jose Sharks in 2023-24, when he posted eight points and 71 penalty minutes in 73 games. He’s a depth-chart bruiser, who could find a better rut with the Kings this year after the team lost Andreas Englund to the Nashville Predators in February. Englund had 11 points and 93 penalty minutes in 93 games with the Kings between 2023 and 2025.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/5/25
With final rosters due Monday evening, teams are down to their final few rounds of cuts. We’re keeping tabs on all of today’s demotions here as clubs near their final 23-man roster to open the season:
Chicago Blackhawks (per team announcement)
D Nolan Allan (to AHL Rockford)
F Ryan Greene (to AHL Rockford)
D Taige Harding (to AHL Rockford)
F Gavin Hayes (to AHL Rockford)
D Kevin Korchinski (to AHL Rockford)
F Paul Ludwinski (to AHL Rockford)
F Martin Misiak (to AHL Rockford)
F Oliver Moore (to AHL Rockford)
F Samuel Savoie (to AHL Rockford)
F Aidan Thompson (to AHL Rockford)
F Dominic Toninato (to AHL Rockford)
D Cavan Fitzgerald (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
F Brett Seney (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
G Mitchell Weeks (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
D Ty Henry (to OHL Erie)
Dallas Stars (per team announcement)
F Justin Hryckowian (to AHL Texas)
F Cameron Hughes (to AHL Texas)
F Arttu Hyry (to AHL Texas)
D Vladislav Kolyachonok (to AHL Texas)
Minnesota Wild (per team announcement)
F Hunter Haight (to AHL Iowa)
D Matt Kiersted (to AHL Iowa)
Montreal Canadiens (per team announcement)
F Owen Beck (to AHL Laval)
F Florian Xhekaj (to AHL Laval)
D Adam Engstrom (to AHL Laval)
New Jersey Devils (per team announcement)
D Ethan Edwards (to AHL Utica)
D Mikael Diotte (to AHL Utica)
D Topias Vilen (to AHL Utica)
Ottawa Senators (per team announcement)
F Stephen Halliday (to AHL Belleville)
San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)
F Cameron Lund (to AHL San Jose)
F Quentin Musty (to AHL San Jose)
F Colin White (to AHL San Jose)
Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)
F Oscar Fisker Molgaard (to AHL Coachella)
F Ville Ottavainen ( to AHL Coachella)
St. Louis Blues (per team announcement)
F Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (to AHL Springfield)
F Dalibor Dvorsky (to AHL Springfield)
F Otto Stenberg (to AHL Springfield)
D Leo Loof (to AHL Springfield)
D Theo Lindstein (to AHL Springfield)
Vancouver Canucks (per team announcement)
D Victor Mancini (to AHL Abbotsford)
D Tom Willander (to AHL Abbotsford)
Snapshots: Toews, Drouin, O’Regan
Jonathan Toews was at Winnipeg Jets practice today, reports Jets team reporter Mitchell Clinton. Toews had been out on a day-to-day timeline since leaving Tuesday’s preseason game against the Minnesota Wild with an injury. While it is not immediately clear if Toews will be fully healthy for the Jets’ preseason opener, this is nonetheless a positive development for both the Jets and Toews himself.
Toews’ health is one of the most significant storylines to watch in Winnipeg this season, as the three-time Stanley Cup champion is attempting to return to full-time NHL action after missing both 2023-24 and 2024-25 due to the lingering effects of long COVID and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. Toews was a valuable player when he was last in the NHL, scoring 37 points in 2021-22 and 31 points (in 53 games) in 2022-23. The Jets have been searching for a steady second-line center to pencil in behind Mark Scheifele since the retirement of Bryan Little, and Toews will be the latest player to get a chance to prove he can handle the responsibility.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Jonathan Drouin is back at New York Islanders practice after missing three practices due to illness, reports Newsday’s Andrew Gross. Drouin returns to full health at an important time as the Islanders prepare to finalize their roster and enter the 2025-26 regular season. Drouin signed a two-year, $4MM AAV contract this past summer to bring him to Long Island, a solid reward for the player after he revitalized his career as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. Drouin, who scored 37 points in 43 games last season, is currently pencilled into the Islanders’ top line alongside Bo Horvat and fellow offseason addition (and fellow former Montreal Canadien) Emil Heineman.
- Former San Jose Sharks forward Danny O’Regan has found a place to play for 2025-26. The 31-year-old former AHL Rookie of the Year and Boston University star has signed a one-year contract with the DEL’s Schwenningen Wild Wings. The Wild Wings’ translated press release indicates that the team made the signing in part as a response to the fact that offseason import signing Tim Gettinger is facing an extended absence due to injury. While O’Regan won’t provide the physicality Gettinger brings, he does bring more offensive touch – he scored a healthy 27 points in 65 KHL games last season and has a superior scoring record in the AHL when compared to Gettinger.
Waivers: 10/5/25
With season-opening rosters due Monday evening, NHL clubs must place players on waivers today in order to be eligible to reassign them to the AHL in advance of tomorrow’s roster deadline. As a result, today features a significant number of waived players. All players from yesterday’s waivers cohort cleared except for Brandon Bussi, who was claimed by the Hurricanes. Today’s set of players comes courtesy of Frank Seravalli. Here is today’s waiver wire:
Boston Bruins
D Jonathan Aspirot
F Matej Blumel
G Michael DiPietro
F Alex Steeves
Buffalo Sabres
Carolina Hurricanes
Colorado Avalanche
D Jack Ahcan
D Keaton Middleton
Detroit Red Wings
D Erik Gustafsson
D Justin Holl
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Minnesota Wild
G Cal Petersen
F Tyler Pitlick
Montreal Canadiens
F Sammy Blais
G Kaapo Kahkonen
New Jersey Devils
D Calen Addison
G Nico Daws
F Jonathan Gruden
F Mike Hardman
F Nathan Legare
Ottawa Senators
F Arthur Kaliyev
F Hayden Hodgson
F Jan Jenik
F Olle Lycksell
D Lassi Thomson
G Mads Sogaard
Philadelphia Flyers
San Jose Sharks
Seattle Kraken
St. Louis Blues
G Colten Ellis
D Hunter Skinner
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
D Matthew Benning
D Dakota Mermis
F Michael Pezzetta
D Henry Thrun
Utah Hockey Club
Vegas Golden Knights
Winnipeg Jets
F Walker Duehr
D Ville Heinola
Washington Capitals
F Ethen Frank
G Clay Stevenson
As this is the “final” day of preseason waivers, there are a greater number of notable names in today’s waivers group than is normally expected. In Boston, Blumel and Steeves had received some compliments for their ability to provide an offensive spark early in training camp, but neither was able to make the final roster as competition ratcheted up a few gears. The most likely candidate to be claimed in Boston isn’t even Steeves or Blumel, it’s DiPietro, owner of a .927 save percentage in 40 AHL games last season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that there is some interest around the league in DiPietro.
In Carolina, Primeau finds himself on waivers which is not entirely a surprise. For a more detailed breakdown of the Hurricanes’ situation at goalie, refer to our coverage of the team’s waiver claim today. In Detroit, two veteran defensemen with a combined 2025-26 cap hit of $5.4MM find themselves waived. Holl has struggled immensely as a Red Wing and is in the final year of his $3.4MM AAV deal, while Gustafsson scored just 18 points in 60 games in his debut season in Detroit, a notable decline from the 31 points he posted in 2023-24 and the 42 he managed in 2022-23.
With the Canadiens, the team’s reassignment of a handful of young forwards today could have signaled Blais would make the team, but his placement on waivers does counteract that. Since a reassignment of Blais would give the Canadiens just 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies on their active roster, it’s possible that the Canadiens are waiving Blais today to give them some roster flexibility to potentially find someone on the waiver wire tomorrow.
Daws is another netminder noted by Friedman as a potential candidate to be claimed, as the 24-year-old faced a very difficult task of trying to unseat veteran Jake Allen for the Devils’ backup role. Daws had just a .893 save percentage for AHL Utica last season but did show some flashes at the NHL level, to the tune of a .939 save percentage in six games.
In Ottawa, Lycksell could not translate a solid preseason into a roster spot, as the Senators have elected to keep up with what was likely their plan all along – to have Lycksell be one of the top scorers for AHL Belleville – and have kept Nick Cousins on their final roster over Lycksell. Ottawa also moved to waive Kaliyev, whose claim on an NHL job now appears to have slipped after three years as a regular NHLer in Los Angeles.
The Flyers chose to waive Grundstrom today after claiming him, indicating that their acquisition of the player today was more a matter of making the deal work (perhaps San Jose was especially interested in getting Grundstrom’s $1.85MM cap hit off its books) than it was adding the player to help lighten the pressure on its young players to fill bottom-six roles.
All of Toronto’s waived players have some NHL experience on their résumés, especially Benning (464 games) and Pezzetta (200 games). Benning spent more of last season in the AHL, while Pezzetta hasn’t played in the AHL since 2021-22, and was a steady spare forward and energy role player for the Canadiens from 2021 through early 2025.
In Winnipeg, Heinola is a former top prospect whose injuries and inability to earn the trust of the Jets’ coaching staff has thus far kept him out of the NHL. With his placement on waivers today, it appears that streak is set to continue. Friedman also noted that there is some interest in Capitals netminder Stevenson, a 26-year-old undrafted player who struggled in 2024-25 but was brilliant the year prior.
Carolina Hurricanes Claim Brandon Bussi
The Carolina Hurricanes have claimed netminder Brandon Bussi off of waivers from the Florida Panthers, according to a team announcement. The Hurricanes also announced a corresponding move, placing goalie Cayden Primeau on waivers for the purposes of reassignment to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.
On paper the Hurricanes’ NHL tandem of Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov appears set in stone, and makes this move something of a surprise. It’s possible the Hurricanes made this claim with an eye to goaltending depth in the AHL, but with Primeau already in place as the organizational number-three (assuming he clears waivers) there doesn’t appear to be a significant need to add Bussi.
As a result, at this point, the clearest explanation for this waiver claim is that it is insurance, similar to how the Sabres signed Alexandar Georgiev before an injury to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was ever reported.
With that said, in the case that there is not an un-reported injury that prompted this waiver claim, there is another potential explanation that relates to the current state of the Hurricanes’ goalie depth:
Taking a wider-view look at the Hurricanes’ situation in net overall, the situation behind Primeau in Chicago (assuming he clears waivers) is somewhat more wide open. The Wolves currently roster three goalies below Primeau on the depth chart: Ruslan Khazheyev, Amir Miftakhov, and Nikita Quapp. The trio, combined, have just 42 games worth of AHL experience, and just one Khazheyev, played in the AHL last season. (.876 save percentage in 20 games played)
Quapp, 22, spent 2024-25 with Düsseldorf in the German DEL, and is entering his first pro season in North America. Miftakhov, 25, was stellar in 2024-25 with the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan (.927 save percentage in 30 games) but has not played in North America since his 2021-22 split between the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch and ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears.
So, with that in mind, the reasoning behind this waiver claim becomes a bit clearer. Assuming there is no at-this-point unreported injury to either of the two Hurricanes’ starters, and assuming the Hurricanes do not have an appetite to carry three goalies on their roster for an extended period (they’ll need to because of this claim, at least for Monday), it seems as though Bussi could end up on waivers at some point in the short-term future.
If this waiver claim was indeed made with an eye to reinforcing the Wolves due to the trio of young goalies’ relative inexperience at the AHL level, it is understandable that the club would elect to claim Bussi. As things currently stand, the Hurricanes are one claim of Primeau, or one Primeau injury, from having to rely on that aforementioned trio to provide all of the goaltending for AHL Chicago. While it’s possible one (or more) of that trio is more than up to the task of playing a heavy workload without much prior AHL experience, the Hurricanes can’t be blamed if they have some uneasiness considering that prospect.
So, with this claim of Bussi, they have given themselves an opportunity to protect Chicago from that potential scenario. The 27-year-old Bussi is an ideal candidate for this kind of waiver claim for multiple reasons. First and foremost, he has no NHL experience, so he would not be the kind of goalie a team in need of NHL reinforcement in net would be expected to claim. That increases the odds Bussi will pass through waivers should the Hurricanes attempt to send him down.
Additionally, the Florida Panthers’ AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, are still left with four netminders under contract after Bussi’s claim. Although none of Cooper Black, Kirill Gerasimyuk, Evan Cormier, or Michael Simpson are particularly experienced at the AHL level, the sheer volume of netminders set to compete for a role in the crease in Charlotte would, theoretically, decrease the odds that Florida will try to re-claim Bussi should Carolina try to sneak him through waivers.
If one of those goalies has been particularly impressive in the training camp/preseason process and looks poised to steal a greater role in the AHL than the Panthers previously expected, those odds of a re-claim from the Panthers would decrease further still.
Bussi’s stellar performance in the AHL thus far in his career (.915 save percentage across 111 games) does complicate those odds, but if the Hurricanes have room to keep him on their NHL roster through Monday, it may be worth the chance of trying to place him back on waivers in order to reinforce Chicago. Based on their claim today, it appears the Hurricanes might agree.
This entire AHL explanation could be rendered meaningless if one of the Hurricanes’ NHL goalies is injured, of course, or if the Hurricanes surprisingly decide they want to carry three goalies.
Cole Perfetti Out Week-To-Week With Ankle Sprain
10/5/25: Jets head coach Arniel told the media, including team reporter Mitchell Clinton, that Perfetti has an ankle sprain and will be out on a week-to-week basis.
10/4/25: Last night’s preseason shootout victory proved costly for the Winnipeg Jets, as young standout forward Cole Perfetti left with a lower-body issue. As noted by Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press, Head Coach Scott Arniel said that the “first glance doesn’t look great”.
In the closing seconds of the second period, Perfetti came in on the forecheck and finished a routine check on Kevin Bahl, but landed awkwardly and came up gingerly, possibly favoring his right leg. The 23-year-old did not return to the game.
Further details on the injury have not yet come out, but if Perfetti is set to miss time, it would be a tough blow to the Jets as they look to maintain high expectations, given last season’s Presidents’ Trophy, albeit without longtime star Nikolaj Ehlers, who left in free agency. With captain Adam Lowry out for the start of the season, along with Dylan Samberg, who will miss several weeks with a broken wrist, the injury bug has bitten the Jets already, and hopefully, Perfetti will not be sidelined for long.
Perfetti, drafted tenth overall in 2020, took a few years to establish himself, but after a 2024-25 season where he appeared in all 82 games and broke the 50-point mark, many expect another step forward this season.
With final rosters being finalized in the next two days, it will be interesting to monitor Winnipeg’s corresponding moves as the team still has several extra forwards. Fans will certainly also watch urgently for updates on Perfetti.
Philadelphia Flyers Acquire Carl Grundström
The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired forward Carl Grundström and defenseman Artem Guryev from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick and the contract of Ryan Ellis. The condition on the sixth-rounder is that the Sharks will receive either the Flyers’ sixth-round pick or the Columbus Blue Jackets’ – whichever is higher in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft order.
The Flyers appear to have made this trade for multiple reasons. First and foremost, trading away Ellis’ contract (runs through next season at $6.25MM AAV with $10MM in actual cash still to be paid out) not only saves the Flyers quite a bit of money, it also allows the team to avoid utilizing long-term injured reserve (LTIR) in order to gain cap relief.
Since Ellis’ injuries will keep him from ever playing again, the Flyers have, for almost all of Ellis’ tenure with the team, utilized LTIR to work around the defenseman’s $6.25MM cap hit. They’ll no longer need to do so, which will allow them to accumulate cap space over the course of the season. Since LTIR provides an allowance for a team to exceed the salary cap’s upper limit (rather than, say, a player on LTIR’s cap hit simply “no longer counting”) a team utilizing LTIR for relief cannot bank away cap space over the course of the season. Should the Flyers find themselves in position to potentially make additions at the trade deadline, this additional flexibility will come in handy.
Beyond just the financial motivations behind the trade, the Flyers also have an on-ice motivation to acquire a player like Grundström. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported yesterday that the performance of a few of the Flyers’ younger forwards in training camp and the preseason was “underwhelming,” specifically naming two roster hopefuls (Alex Bump and Jett Luchanko) as players who did not meet expectations.
If the Flyers indeed believe their younger forwards who they may have expected to claim NHL jobs aren’t quite ready yet, it is understandable that they would seek outside reinforcement. The 27-year-old Grundström is a winger with nearly 300 games of NHL regular-season experience, who also brings 17 games of playoff experience. He was a steady bottom-six winger for the Los Angeles Kings from late 2020 through early 2024, before he was traded to the Sharks in June of that year.
Grundström’s season in San Jose was one he’d like to forget, though, as he scored just nine points in 56 games and averaged just 9:35 time-on-ice per game. He did not reach the standard of performance in San Jose that he set in Los Angeles, and as a result the Sharks have moved on. It’s an extremely important season for Grundstrom, whose two-year, $1.85MM AAV is set to expire in June. He’ll now look to carve out a role in the Flyers’ bottom-six to maintain his status as a full-time NHL player. (Update: The Flyers placed Grundström on waivers Sunday, indicating that he’s ticketed for the AHL, rather than fourth-line duty in Philadelphia.)
The other player the Flyers acquired in this trade is Guryev, a big 6’4 Russian blueliner. Guryev was a fifth-round pick of the Sharks at the 2021 draft and has spent the last two seasons with the Sharks’ minor-league affiliates. He played in 31 AHL games in his debut professional campaign in 2023-24 but spent all of 2024-25 in the ECHL. His entry-level contract expires after this season.
From the Sharks’ perspective, this deal accomplishes multiple things. Firstly, the team has cleared $1.85MM off its books by trading away Grundström, and while the winger is an experienced veteran, he never earned head coach Ryan Warsofsky’s trust, and the team has other players it can utilize in Grundström’s vacated fourth-line role.
The deal also adds another draft pick for San Jose, and those two goals come at a relatively limited cost. While the actual cash cost of Ellis’ contract is somewhat steep, there have been some (unconfirmed) reports that Ellis’ contract is insured, in which case the actual expenditure on the part of the Sharks’ organization would be limited.
From a cap hit perspective, this is more a matter of the Sharks trying to maximize the position they have found themselves in, rather than an attempt to materially alter their salary cap circumstances. Because of Logan Couture‘s early retirement due to injury, the Sharks were already expected to utilize LTIR for the next two seasons. That the team acquired Carey Price‘s contract from the Montreal Canadiens was reflective of their reality – they expect to be in LTIR, and as a result have sought opportunities to maximize their position.
This trade is another effort by the Sharks to do so, and while the return is somewhat limited, it’s still Grier executing on an opportunity to add assets to the organization. And with the Sharks still rebuilding (and prized young centers Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith still two years away from RFA status) the Sharks won’t be pressed to accumulate cap space and walk the salary cap tightrope the way other clubs have had to.
While this is hardly an Earth-shattering trade for either club, it is an example of each team working to maximize its respective positions. In a world where fans seek to assign a “winner” and “loser” to every transaction, this trade looks unlikely to have either, it’s simply two teams working together to make a deal that is likely to pay (likely marginal) dividends to each side.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Chicago Blackhawks To Sign Matt Grzelcyk
The Chicago Blackhawks will be signing defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to a one-year NHL contract, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Grzelcyk, who is repped by Quartexx’s Sean Coffey, had been with the Blackhawks for their preseason and training camp on a PTO. He has now earned a deal to remain there on a full-time basis. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the deal is worth $1MM over its one-year term. The Blackhawks have now officially confirmed the signing.
Grzelcyk played in three preseason contests for the Blackhawks, though he did not register a point. It was somewhat surprising to see Grzelcyk sign a PTO in Chicago, as his performance in 2024-25 suggested he would not have an issue finding another NHL contract.
In the summer of 2024 Grzelcyk signed a one-year, $2.75MM deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and that was coming off of the least productive season of his NHL career, one in which he scored just 11 points in 63 games.
So after a season in which Grzelcyk found his way onto the Penguins’ power play and scored a career-high 40 points in 82 games, it was generally believed that Grzelcyk would have no issue finding an NHL deal for 2025-26. But that proved not to be the case, as Grzelcyk lingered on the open market and settled for a PTO with the Blackhawks
Perhaps the 2023 free agency of Erik Gustafsson can be pointed to when evaluating why Grzelcyk had such a difficult time on the open market, despite his 40 points of production. Like Grzelcyk, Gustafsson is also an offensively-oriented defenseman without penalty-killing ability or much shutdown value. And like Grzelcyk, Gustafsson entered his unrestricted free agency in 2023 coming off of a season where he produced quite well – 42 points in 70 games.
But just as Grzelcyk experienced this past summer, offers for Gustafsson were softer than some may have expected, and he chose to sign a one-year, $825K contract with the New York Rangers, a far lower number than most expected for a blueliner with his production. We even noted in our coverage at the time our surprise at the relatively low cost of the contract despite Gustafsson’s production.
Of course, things ended up working out for Gustafsson as he parlayed a 31-point season with the Rangers (one that included a deep playoff run) into a two-year, $2MM AAV deal with the Detroit Red Wings. Although a similar long playoff run is highly unlikely for the Blackhawks, Grzelcyk will likely be hoping that he can continue to follow Gustafsson’s trajectory and have a strong year that prompts stronger leaguewide interest next summer.
Grzelcyk will be competing with some talented young defensemen in Chicago for a spot on the team’s power play, and 2022 first-rounder Sam Rinzel appears to be, at this stage, his most significant barrier to obtaining the role of first-unit puck distributor. But the path to at least a second-unit deployment is far clearer, which means this is a somewhat ideal situation for Grzelcyk. And seeing as this contract is just for one year at a limited cap hit, strong performance for the still-rebuilding Blackhawks could, later in the season, even earn the veteran blueliner a trade to a contender in need of defensive reinforcement.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Atlantic Notes: Ekblad, Veleno, Cowan, Supplemental Discipline
Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad left last night’s chaotic preseason contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning early, after just 41 seconds of ice time. His removal from the game came just after Lightning forward Scott Sabourin – a longtime AHL bruiser – delivered a big hit (and a punch to the head) of Ekblad. There has been no further update on Ekblad’s status and whether he suffered an injury, though as preseason games between rivals this preseason have featured unusually intense physical play, it would be no surprise to learn Ekblad was removed from the game for precautionary reasons.
If his removal was indeed precautionary, it would appear such a move was a wise one by the Panthers. Yesterday’s game featured a whopping 312 penalty minutes and 16 ejections, with the Panthers themselves getting an eye-popping 17 power play opportunities in their 7-0 victory. The game also earned Tampa’s Roman Schmidt a hefty fine from the Department of Player Safety for cross-checking Carter Verhaeghe. It is unsurprising that the Panthers would look to be careful managing Ekblad, as the 2014 number-one overall pick has been somewhat injury-prone throughout his 732-game NHL career. Ekblad has not been healthy for a full season’s slate of games in the 2020’s, and has played in fewer than sixty games in each of the last two NHL campaigns.
Other notes from the NHL’s Atlantic Division:
- 306-game NHL veteran Joe Veleno has been a standout player of the Montreal Canadiens’ preseason and training camp, wrote both Sportsnet’s Eric Engels and The Athletic’s Arpon Basu. Basu wrote that it is “safe to assume” that Veleno’s performance this training camp and preseason has earned him a spot on the team’s season-opening NHL roster, which would be a crucial development for Veleno, who signed a one-year, $900K contract in Montreal in July. Veleno was bought out of his last contract by the Seattle Kraken, and appeared to be at a crossroads regarding his NHL future. The 2018 first-rounder appeared to lose his grip on a regular NHL role in Detroit and Chicago, just one year after scoring a career-high 12 goals and 28 points. Now it appears Veleno has found a strong fit with his hometown Canadiens, and could end up filling some of the role occupied last season by Christian Dvorak.
- Toronto Maple Leafs 2023 first-rounder Easton Cowan has been a hugely successful star player for the OHL’s London Knights, but hasn’t yet made his debut in professional hockey. That is about to change, and Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube indicated to the media (including The Hockey News’ David Alter) that Cowan’s debut could come in the NHL. Berube said that he believes Cowan is NHL-ready, and that his readiness has given the club “decisions to make” in terms of who to keep on its NHL roster. The Memorial Cup winner and 2-time OHL champion showed his pro-readiness in scoring 39 points in 17 postseason contests with the Knights last season.
- The NHL Department of Player Safety announced initial supplemental disciplinary actions resulting from yesterday’s violent preseason contest between the Panthers and the Lightning. Defenseman J.J. Moser will have a hearing for boarding Jesper Boqvist, Sabourin will have a hearing for his aforementioned hit (and more) on Ekblad, while Gage Goncalves and Roman Schmidt will each be fined the maximum-allowable amount under the CBA ($3,125 and $2,098.52, respectively) for cross-checking. The dates and times of Moser and Sabourin’s respective hearings have not yet been determined.