Bruins Patrick Brown, Vinni Lettieri Clear Waivers
3/31: Both Bruins forwards have cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. They will now be eligible to be assigned to the minor leagues.
3/30: The Boston Bruins have placed forwards Patrick Brown and Vinni Lettieri on waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Both players have been up and down between the major and minor rosters this season, after each successfully clearing waivers in October.
Lettieri has been the slightly more utilized forward between the pair. He’s appeared in 19 games this season and scored two goals and three points, while tacking on four penalty minutes and a minus-eight. It’s another season of low-scoring for Lettieri, after he entered the season with just 27 points in 128 career NHL games. He’s been far more exciting in the minors this season – with 20 goals and 48 points in 46 games ranking him second on the Providence Bruins in scoring. Lettieri is one of just 15 AHL skaters still scoring above a point-per-game pace through 20-or-more games. While his NHL scoring has stayed consistently low, he’s been a routine force in the minors. Lettieri has rivaled point-per-game scoring in every AHL season since 2020-21 – including netting a career-high 49 points in 48 games of the 2022-23 campaign. With a succesful pass through waivers, Lettieri could be in a great spot to break that career-high in his age-30 season.
Brown has performed a slight step behind Lettieri all year long. He has just one assist in 13 NHL games, and 44 points in 52 AHL games, on the season. He too entered the year with little NHL momentum behind him – entering 2024-25 with just 25 points in 149 career games. But his minor-league scoring does mark a small breakout after Brown managed just 32 points in 42 AHL games last season, and 21 points in 60 games of his last full AHL season in 2019-20. He spent the gap between the AHL stints playing routine minutes with the Philadelphia Flyers, and filling an extra forward role with the Vegas Golden Knights and Ottawa Senators. The journeyman Brown is now settled with the Bruins, and could soon head to support Providence’s Calder Cup Playoffs push after they clinched a spot last weekend.
Of note, neither player will be able to return to the NHL this season should they be claimed off of waivers. They’ll instead have to be assigned to their new team’s minor league program and potentially support a different Calder Cup race.
Wild Brendan Gaunce, Devin Shore Clear Waivers
3/31: Both Wild forwards have cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. They will now be eligible to be assigned to the minor leagues.
3/30: The Minnesota Wild have placed depth forwards Brendan Gaunce and Devin Shore on waivers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Both players have bounced between rosters all season long. Shore was placed on, and cleared, waivers in each of September, December, January, and February – while Gaunce was successfully waived in September.
While he’s often been the first cut when Minnesota needs roster flexibility, Shore has spent the large majority of his season on the NHL roster. He’s stepped into 51 games on the year and recorded five points, six penalty minutes, and a minus-six from Minnesota’s fourth line. Shore has also been returned to the minors for 14 games on the year. He has a productive 10 points, six penalty minutes, and minus-11 in those appearances. While he hasn’t found much scoring at either level, this year has marked the most Shore has played in one NHL season since 2016-17 and 2017-18 – when he played through two full seasons with the Dallas Stars. Those were career years for Shore, giving him the platform to score a career-high 33 and 32 points respectively. He’s fallen into the role of journeyman depth forward in the years since, playing through tenures with the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, and Seattle Kraken.
While Shore has provided Minnesota with a veteran presence in their extra forward slot, Gaunce has found his footing at the top of the AHL Iowa Wild lineup. He has 15 goals and 29 points in 35 AHL games this season, good for fifth on the roster in scoring. Those appearances have been intercut with 12 games in the NHL lineup, though Gaunce has only tallied one assist, four penalty minutes, and a minus-four at the top flight. He’s bounced between the NHL and AHL over the last three years, after a quick pit stop in Sweden’s SHL in the shortened 2020-21 campaign. He scored a career-high 39 points in 46 AHL games last season and has 29 points in 189 career NHL games.
Of note, neither player will be able to rejoin the NHL should they be claimed off waivers due to the post-Deadline roster rules . They will instead need to be assigned to their new club’s minor-league program.
Blue Jackets Sign Guillaume Richard To Entry-Level Contract
The Blue Jackets signed defenseman Guillaume Richard to a two-year, entry-level contract beginning with the 2025-26 season, the team announced. The rearguard is coming off his senior season at Providence College and was going to become an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 15 if not signed. Richard’s deal carries a cap hit of $867.5K and pays him a $775K NHL salary, $92.5K signing bonus, and $57.5K games played bonus each season, PuckPedia reports.
Richard, a 2021 fourth-round pick, has been a steady contributor on the Providence blue line over the last four seasons. A defensive-minded D-man with good puck skills, he totaled 9-45–54 with 73 PIMs and a +24 rating across 139 games for the Friars. This year, he served as an alternate captain and tied for the team lead in scoring among blue-liners.
He doesn’t crack the top 15 in a loaded Columbus prospect pool (Scott Wheeler of The Athletic), but the organization evidently likes his tools enough and hopes he can be a bottom-pairing piece someday. That likely won’t be as soon as next season, but he should be in contention for a heavy workload on the farm with AHL Cleveland. The 6’2″ lefty will have a couple of years to prove he’s on the right track developmentally before potentially reaching restricted free agency in 2027.
The Quebec City native becomes the 31st player under contract for Columbus next season, leaving them with 19 open spots. They have 24 pending free agents in the organization, so a good portion of them won’t be coming back. It’s worth noting the Jackets are at the 50-contract limit for this year, so they didn’t have the option to sign Richard to a contract that begins immediately.
Sharks Reassign Luca Cagnoni, Patrick Giles
The Sharks have reassigned defenseman Luca Cagnoni and forward Patrick Giles to AHL San Jose, reports Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The moves indicate fellow rearguard Vincent Desharnais is likely to return tomorrow from the upper-body injury that’s kept him out of the last two games, while sending down Giles gets San Jose back down to 14 healthy forwards on the active roster after signing Cameron Lund out of college earlier this month.
Cagnoni returns to the Barracuda after receiving his first career recall on March 18. The 5’9″ lefty is receiving NHL ice time ahead of schedule after being selected in the fourth round less than two years ago. Still, he’s forced his way into consideration amid a standout offensive rookie campaign in the minors. The 20-year-old had 13-31–47 through 56 AHL games before getting called up, ranking second on the team in scoring.
His NHL debut went about as well as expected. He suited up in a couple of blowout losses but managed an even rating in last night’s 8-1 drubbing at the hands of the Kings. He posted one assist through five games but was extremely involved offensively, posting seven shots on goal and 23 shot attempts. Averaging 17:37 per game, his 4.60 shot attempts per game rank fourth on San Jose this season behind Macklin Celebrini, the since-traded Jake Walman, and Tyler Toffoli. It was difficult to gauge his defensive impact in sheltered minutes, but early returns on his play-driving ability are good.
Giles, acquired from the Panthers for Vítek Vaněček earlier this month, gets demoted for the first time since the move. The 25-year-old Maryland native was a healthy scratch for the first time in his Sharks tenure last night, so it’s not unforeseen. He has a goal in eight games in a San Jose uniform, his first NHL point after going scoreless in nine games with Florida to begin the year. The 6’5″ pivot continues to struggle in the faceoff dot, winning 38% of his draws since the trade, so his utility down the middle remains limited and doesn’t make him the most appealing bottom-six option for the Sharks at present. He had just 5-2–7 in 39 games with AHL Charlotte before the trade, so the Barracuda shouldn’t be expecting a meaningful offensive impact from Giles down the stretch.
Stars Sign Harrison Scott To Entry-Level Contract
The Stars signed undrafted free agent forward Harrison Scott to a one-year entry-level deal for next season, PuckPedia reports Monday. The deal carries a cap hit of $975K and pays him a base salary of $877.5K in the NHL and $85K in the minors, and includes a $97.5K signing bonus.
Scott, 24, is coming off a standout senior season with the University of Maine. He led the club in scoring with 18-17–35 in 38 games, tying in goals with recently-signed Avalanche prospect Taylor Makar. All those totals were career highs, as was his +13 rating.
The San Jose native began his collegiate career with Bentley in 2021, posting 26 points in 65 games for the program before transferring to Maine ahead of his junior season. He put up 15-12–27 in 37 games to break out with the Black Bears, so his progress toward his senior totals was linear.
Scott checks in at 6’0″ and 185 lbs and will aim to make a seamless transition to professional hockey with AHL Texas next season. He’ll need to do well enough in his first professional season to warrant a qualifying offer from the Stars, as he projects to be a restricted free agent next summer. He’s the second player from our Brian La Rose’s preview of forwards on the college free agent market to sign today, joining the Islanders’ Joey Larson.
While Scott’s age means he likely doesn’t top out as anything more than a fourth-line energy piece at the NHL level, he adds some juice to a Stars club that’s graduated almost all its impact prospects to full-time NHL roles.
Avalanche Sign Taylor Makar To Entry-Level Deal
The Avalanche announced they’ve signed forward Taylor Makar to a one-year entry-level contract for the 2025-26 campaign. The younger brother of Colorado superstar Cale Makar will finish the season on a tryout with AHL Colorado. His contract carries a cap hit of $925K and breaks down to an $832.5K base salary, a $92.5K signing bonus, and an $80K minors salary, per PuckPedia.
Colorado selected the Makar in question with their seventh-round pick in the 2021 draft. The 6’4″, 209-lb forward was coming off an injury-plagued junior ‘A’ season with the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League at the time, but he was solid when dressed with 19 points in 16 games. The Bandits, of course, are where Cale played his junior hockey before Colorado selected him fourth overall in 2017.
Like his older brother, Taylor committed to UMass and jumped to the collegiate ranks after being drafted. The grinder never found much of a role on the squad, though, and recorded 15-7–22 in 85 games before entering the transfer portal following his junior season. After landing with the University of Maine for his senior year, the 24-year-old managed to outproduce his totals with UMass in just 38 games. He finished second on the No. 3 team in the country in scoring, posting 18-12–30 in 38 appearances with a +24 rating. Maine’s season ended last Friday after they were upset by Penn State in the regional semifinals of the national tournament.
Makar is a long shot to crack the NHL roster next year, given the weakness of his collegiate resume as a whole, but his senior year breakout is promising as he looks to capture a significant AHL role. He’ll be a restricted free agent in 2026. Colorado now has 30 players under contract for next season.
Capitals Sign Ryan Leonard To Entry-Level Contract
11:59 a.m.: The Capitals confirmed Leonard’s deal, confirming it’ll carry the maximum ELC cap hit of $950K.
10:39 a.m.: The Capitals are expected to sign top forward prospect Ryan Leonard out of Boston College, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. He’ll sign a three-year entry-level contract beginning immediately and will likely make his NHL debut tomorrow against his hometown Bruins.
Leonard turning pro is far from unexpected. Selected eighth overall by Washington in 2023, he’s spent the last two seasons dominating collegiate play with Boston College. A natural center who can shift to the right wing, he boasts 61 goals, 48 assists and 109 points across 78 NCAA outings – giving him the most goals in the country by a margin of 16 since 2023-24. The 20-year-old has also posted a combined +66 rating over his past two collegiate seasons, often centering fellow 2023 first-rounder and Rangers prospect Gabe Perreault.
While Leonard’s time at BC didn’t result in a national championship, he’s won gold medals for the United States at top-level international junior play in three consecutive seasons. He captained the Americans at this year’s World Juniors, leading the team’s forwards in scoring with 5-5–10 in seven games.
The younger brother of former Sharks winger John Leonard now looks to prove he can be an impact goal-scorer at the NHL level with immediate effect. He’ll have a ton of support in a deep Washington lineup that leads the league in scoring with 3.63 goals per game, driven by a stratospheric team shooting percentage of 13.1. In terms of actual shot generation, the Caps rank a concerning 21st in the league at 27.6 per game. Adding one of the best shooters outside the NHL down the stretch should help boost that number slightly heading into postseason play, where he’ll compete to land a top-nine role ahead of names like Anthony Beauvillier, Brandon Duhaime, Andrew Mangiapane, and Taylor Raddysh.
This year aside, the news kicks off what should be an illustrious career for Leonard in D.C. as he aims to eventually take over as the team’s top sniper when Alex Ovechkin decides to end his record-breaking career. He’s the clear-cut No. 1 prospect in Washington’s system, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic opines, and ranks as the No. 4 forward prospect in the NHL behind Ivan Demidov, Will Smith, and Berkly Catton.
Ensuring Leonard is available for next season’s lineup is an essential piece of the puzzle for the Caps, who guarantee a cost-effective top-nine contributor to replace a pending UFA like the high-priced Mangiapane ($5.8MM AAV). They’ll have north of $12MM in cap space to fill just four roster spots, per PuckPedia – all at forward – allowing them to be a legitimate threat to sign one of the top 10 players available this summer.
With Leonard’s ELC going into effect immediately, it’ll expire and make him a restricted free agent following the 2026-27 campaign. That’s the same summer in which Ovechkin’s, John Carlson‘s, and Connor McMichael‘s current deals expire, along with a few other important depth contributors.
Image courtesy of Eric Canha-Imagn Images.
Flames Interested In Callum Tung
The Flames are among the teams interested in signing college free agent netminder Callum Tung out of UConn, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Monday’s 32 Thoughts podcast.
Tung, 21, backstopped UConn to its first national tournament appearance in program history this season. While they won their regional semifinal matchup against Quinnipiac, they lost in overtime to Penn State last night in the regional final, ending their campaign.
The freshman didn’t have a huge workload this season, only making 15 appearances. He stole the crease from Panthers draft pick Tyler Muszelik late in the season, finishing the year with a sterling 2.01 GAA and .933 SV% with a 10-4-1 record.
Tung, a British Columbia native, appeared at Calgary’s development camp last year. The 6’3″, 198-lb netminder is a late bloomer, only graduating to a full-time player at the junior ‘A’ level last season with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the British Columbia Hockey League. Nonetheless, his quick ascension over the past couple of seasons has him looking to turn pro just two years after logging significant time in the junior ‘B’ Pacific Junior Hockey League.
As Friedman notes, the Flames face an uphill battle in landing him. They’ve already made one splash on the goalie market in college free agency this year, signing 23-year-old Owen Say out of Notre Dame. That gives them five goalies signed or under team control for next season, not including the goalie who ended Tung’s season last night. Penn State’s Arsenii Sergeev is a Flames prospect, going to them in the seventh round of the 2021 draft. Ironically, he transferred from UConn last summer and could also sign his ELC with the Flames after leading the Nittany Lions to their first Frozen Four appearance.
Islanders Sign Joey Larson To Entry-Level Deal
The Islanders inked right-winger Joey Larson to an entry-level contract. It’s a one-year deal for next season, and it’s unclear whether they plan on having him join AHL Bridgeport for the remainder of 2024-25.
The 24-year-old undrafted free agent turns pro out of Michigan State, where he spent the latter two of his three collegiate seasons after transferring from Northern Michigan. Compared to most NHLers, the 6’1″, 196-lb forward has had a significantly delayed development path. Initially eligible for selection in the 2019 draft, he was playing as low as the Tier II junior North American Hockey League as late as the 2020-21 campaign – by which virtually any drafted player in his age group would have been either wrapping up a major junior career, playing against professionals in Europe, or skating in the college ranks.
[Related – 2025 College Free Agency Preview: Forwards]
That hasn’t stopped Larson from being a productive collegiate player, even if his age played a significant factor in how much he was able to contribute. He posted 39-44–83 in 111 NCAA appearances, including 10-14–24 in 37 games with the Spartans this season. That output was the lowest of his trio of college seasons, down from the career-high 16 goals and 32 points he scored in 38 games with Michigan State in 2023-24.
Aside from taking up a contract spot, there’s no downside in signing Larson to see how he adjusts to the pros. Still, it’s surprising to see him land an NHL deal when more productive college free agents his age, like Hobey Baker finalist Liam McLinskey, have had to settle for AHL contracts.
Bruins Recall Jeffrey Viel
The Bruins announced that they have recalled left-winger Jeffrey Viel from AHL Providence under emergency conditions. The move indicates that not only will Patrick Brown and Vinni Lettieri likely remain on Boston’s roster for tomorrow’s game against the Capitals after hitting waivers yesterday, but that an undisclosed forward is questionable for the contest in addition to Mark Kastelic staying sidelined with his upper-body injury.
Viel, 28, signed a two-year, partial two-way deal in free agency last offseason. An undrafted free agent signing by the Sharks in 2019 out of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, he’s also since spent time in the Jets organization before landing with Boston. A heavy-hitting minor-league depth piece, he’s gotten into four games of NHL action with the Bruins this year on three previous recalls, marking his first appearances at the top level since April 2023 with San Jose.
He’s still spent most of the year in Providence. Over 62 games, he’s scored 12-22–34 with 136 PIMs and a +15 rating, the former of which ranks third in the AHL. A willing fighter, he’s demonstrated a decent scoring tough at the minor-league level and has arguably been the P-Bruins’ best two-way winger this season.
He may get a fifth look in the lineup as a disappointing season in Boston draws to a close. He didn’t record a point in his earlier appearances, logging nine PIMs while averaging just 7:44 per game. In 53 career NHL showings, the majority of which came in 2021-22 with the Sharks, Viel has 3-2–5 with a -10 rating and a whopping 148 PIMs, on pace for a full-season total of 229.
Kastelic is set to remain out of the lineup for a fifth straight game. The 26-year-old sustained an upper-body injury on March 20 against the Golden Knights and will have only seven more chances to return to Boston’s lineup this season after the Washington game. He has a career-high 5-9–14 scoring line in 61 games for the Bruins, who signed him to a three-year, $4.7MM extension in January.