Snapshots: Danforth, Gillis, Berezkin, Worlds
Sabres forward Justin Danforth had a year to forget, getting into just four games this season, breaking his kneecap in his last one. Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald relays that the 33-year-old ultimately underwent two surgeries, one to repair the initial injury and one to repair some lingering cartilage which dashed any hopes of a return before the season ended. Danforth is believed to be nearing full health now which should allow for close to a full offseason of training. He has one year left on his contract with a $1.8MM AAV and with Buffalo facing a potential cap crunch with several players needing new deals, Danforth’s roster spot may not be completely secure heading into 2026-27.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Before the Maple Leafs hired John Chayka as their new GM, one of the speculative candidates for the job was former Vancouver GM Mike Gillis. Speaking on a recent Sekeres & Price podcast (audio link), Gillis indicated that he never interviewed for the GM role as had been suggested. Instead, he was interviewed for a specific role that ultimately wasn’t filled, ending his candidacy in a hurry. Based on his comments, the role either would have been a team president one where he reshaped the rest of the front office but ultimately, the hirings of Chayka and Mats Sundin didn’t see a president named.
- With the KHL playoffs now over, Oilers broadcaster Bob Stauffer suggests (Twitter link) that it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team sign Maxim Berezkin. The 24-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2020 and has been a full-time KHL player for basically the last four seasons. It was thought that Edmonton wanted to sign him last summer but Berezkin ultimately decided to stay home for one more year. That might not have been the best move development-wise, as he scored just seven goals in 62 games this season with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, although he managed 25 assists as well.
- Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and Ducks center Leo Carlsson have declined invitations to play for Sweden at the Worlds, reports Hockey Sverige’s Uffe Bodin (Twitter link). Both players were eliminated in the second round and the Swedes were holding two spots open on their roster in case they could entice one of them to go. Instead, they’ve since registered former San Jose defenseman Tim Heed to fill out their roster for the tournament.
Snapshots: Duggan, Walsh, DiDomenico
New Jersey Devils director of player development Meghan Duggan has been hired as general manager of PWHL Hamilton, one of the new expansion teams joining the highest level of professional women’s hockey. The hire means Duggan will leave the Devils organization after a half-decade in her player development role. Hailey Salvian of The Athletic notes that Duggan has had some association with the PWHL during her time in New Jersey, serving as special consultant to the hockey operations staff and as a member of the league’s player safety committee.
As a player, Duggan was a highly-decorated captain of the U.S. National Team. Her career in hockey operations began on the coaching staff of Clarkson University’s women’s hockey program in 2014-15, and she coached there for two seasons while also playing in the now-defunct CWHL and NWHL, precursor leagues to the PWHL. In 2021, she was hired by the Devils as director of player development. It seems likely that the Devils, led by a new GM in Sunny Mehta, will look to fill Duggan’s former role at some point this summer.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Former Devils minor-league defenseman Reilly Walsh has signed a one-year contract extension with KHL club Barys Astana. The 27-year-old blueliner was a third-round pick of the Devils at the 2017 draft. A near point-per-game defenseman while he played college hockey at Harvard, Walsh developed into a quality offensive top-four defenseman at the AHL level. He crossed the 40-point plateau twice and had a total of 159 points in 304 career AHL games. Walsh scored 32 points in 70 games for the Ontario Reign in 2024-25, but with over 260 games at the professional level, he was no longer considered a “development player” by the AHL’s development rule, a factor that has prompted many quality AHL players to take contracts overseas. He signed with Astana and played very well there in 2025-26, scoring 16 goals and 46 points, tied for the team lead in scoring with Mike Vecchione, a fellow AHL veteran who left the North American pro ranks last summer.
- Chris DiDomenico, a former Ottawa Senators forward, has decided to leave the Swiss National League after eight seasons as a top player there. DiDomenico has signed with the SHL’s IF Björklöven, per a team announcement. The 37-year-old forward played in 24 games for the Senators in 2017-18, having been signed by the team after two seasons as a quality top-six forward in the Swiss top division. Two members of the Senators’ coaching staff at the time, head coach Guy Boucher (SC Bern) and associate coach Marc Crawford (ZSC Lions), had coached against DiDomenico prior to arriving in Ottawa. DiDomenico was not the only forward the Senators signed out of Switzerland at that time, though he was not as successful in the NHL as fellow signing Tom Pyatt. DiDomenico returned to Switzerland in 2018 and has been a star forward there for the last eight years. Now, he’ll look to bring those qualities to Sweden.
Snapshots: Foligno, Legault, KHL
Minnesota Wild winger Marcus Foligno told The Athletic’s Joe Smith that it would be a “no-brainer” for his brother Nick Foligno to accept a contract extension with the Wild, assuming he is offered one. Foligno said his brother “showed he’s a great role piece for this team” and “likes the makeup of the team” moving forward. With that said, the elder Foligno brother, Nick, said he needs to discuss all of the possibilities for his playing future with his family, and that he will need to be “100 percent committed” if he’s to continue his career with the Wild.
Foligno, 38, was a solid contributor in Minnesota after they acquired him in a mid-season trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. Though he didn’t produce much offense (just four points in 17 regular-season games) he did hold his own on the penalty kill and as a physical presence in the bottom-six. Smith also noted that Foligno, a former captain for two NHL teams, became a “respected voice in the room” for the Wild. If he’s to return in Minnesota, Foligno would likely need to take a steep pay cut from the $4.5MM he earned on his last deal. When Foligno signed that contract, he was in the midst of a season that he finished with 17 goals and 37 points in 74 games. It’s unlikely Foligno will reach that level of scoring again, but he still has something to offer NHL teams, and his brother hopes he’ll do so in Minnesota.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- The AHL announced today that Chicago Wolves defenseman Charles-Alexis Legault has been suspended one playoff game “as a consequence of a boarding incident” in his team’s playoff game against the Grand Rapids Griffins on May 19. A video of the play in question can be found here. Legault appeared to drive Griffins forward Amadeus Lombardi into the boards, after Lombardi had already tripped and was sliding on the ice. Grand Rapids ended up winning the game in overtime thanks to a goal from first-round pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, but the Wolves retain a 2-1 series advantage. They can end Grand Rapids’ season tonight in game four, but will have to do so without Legault.
- Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL won their second consecutive Gagarin Cup title earlier today, defeating Ak Bars Kazan in six games. Lokomotiv’s roster is full of players who are either NHL prospects or who were formerly members of NHL organizations. Their leading scorer, Alexander Radulov, was a lethal scoring winger for the Dallas Stars from 2017 to 2022. Winger Richard Pánik is a former NHL 20-goal scorer. The team also has a few NHL prospects, including 2020 Edmonton Oilers draft pick Maxim Berezkin, and Nashville Predators 2024 first-rounder Yegor Surin. Per Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean, Predators Assistant GM and Director of Scouting Jeff Kealty said Surin “would be an NHL player” right now if not for his contract with Lokomotiv, which runs through 2026-27.
Snapshots: Lehkonen, Zary, Malhotra
A welcome addition has returned to the Avalanche lineup, as Artturi Lehkonen is back tonight for Game 1 against Vegas as they’re missing superstar Cale Makar.
The last time the forward played, his Avalanche dropped Game 3 to Minnesota, at the time looking like a series which could have been much more interesting than it eventually became. While he was out Joel Kiviranta slotted in, a scratch tonight as he did not find the score sheet in limited usage.
Always a dependable role player who excels in every area, Lehkonen joins the second line, centered by Brock Nelson and opposite Nicolas Roy. Colorado handled business while he was away dealing with an upper-body injury, but with six points in seven playoff games, Lehkonen is a key factor who steps up consistently in the playoffs. This will be the third time the 30-year-old skates in the Conference Final, first doing so with Montreal, and in both times his team moved along to play for the Stanley Cup.
Elsewhere across the league:
- In an article where he looked into Calgary Flames trade candidates this summer, Anthony DiMarco of The Daily Faceoff wrote on forward Connor Zary’s unhappiness within his role, playing on the wing instead of down the middle. The 24-year-old, a first round selection back in 2020, on paper fits into the Flames plans as they move into what could be an aggressive rebuild over the next few years. However, posting just 25 points on the season, his development has stalled out in Alberta, raising the need for a fresh start elsewhere. There’s no shortage of similar players who offer a potential 1-1 swap, perhaps even a young defenseman for Calgary’s needs, but Zary’s $3.78MM AAV, carrying through the 2027-28 season, would be a factor in any discussion.
- The Vancouver Canucks reportedly rejected a team from interviewing their AHL head coach Manny Malhotra, according to TSN’s Mike Johnson on yesterday’s edition of OverDrive. After much speculation ended in an internal promotion for their general manager position (Ryan Johnson) it could be the same behind the bench, after Adam Foote was fired yesterday. Let go after just one year, of course it was a brutal season, but the decision suggests that the Canucks have somebody in mind who they’d not be willing to lose this summer. Assuming Johnson’s suspicions to be true, it very well might be the longtime NHLer who played as a Canuck from 2010-2013. An assistant at the NHL level with Vancouver as well as the Maple Leafs, Malhotra took over in AHL Abbotsford in 2024, leading them to their first Calder Cup title alongside Johnson. Connections not ending there, his son, Caleb Malhotra, is gathering noise as a possible selection of the team at third overall in the draft next month should they target a center.
Snapshots: Gauthier, Lee, Genborg
Ducks winger Cutter Gauthier sustained two fractured vertebrae late in the regular season and played through it in the playoffs, reports Zach Cavanagh of The Sporting Tribune (Twitter link). The 22-year-old had a great sophomore year, tallying 41 goals and 28 assists in 76 games to lead Anaheim in scoring. Even while playing through the injury in the postseason, Gauthier led the Ducks in scoring there as well, picking up four goals and eight helpers in 12 appearances, a strong end to his year before he reaches restricted free agency this summer.
On that front, Eric Stephens of The Athletic notes that talks on a new contract have yet to start. Ducks GM Pat Verbeek has quickly earned a reputation for being a tough negotiator, with several prominent contracts dragging out into training camp in recent years, including this season with Mason McTavish. He also has Leo Carlsson as a prominent pending RFA. Gauthier is someone who Anaheim would likely want to sign to a long-term deal, with AFP Analytics suggesting that a seven-year pact could check in at around $8.5MM per season. We’ll see if this will be something that gets worked out quicker than their recent summer talks.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Predators prospect Ryker Lee won’t suit up for Team USA at the Worlds after all, relays FloHockey’s Chris Peters (Twitter link). Named to the original squad, he only played in pre-tournament action and was never formally added to the roster. That leaves an open spot for them to fill over the coming days, speculatively being someone who just has been or will soon be eliminated from the playoffs. Lee, the 26th overall pick last June, had 15 goals and 15 assists in 35 games in his freshman year at Michigan State.
- Red Wings prospect Eddie Genborg has been released from his ATO with AHL Grand Rapids, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 19-year-old spent this season with SHL Timra, picking up 25 points in 43 games and then joined the Griffins in March after signing his entry-level deal. A 2025 second-round pick, Genborg played in 13 games during the regular season for them, picking up a goal and two assists while suiting up a couple of weeks ago for one playoff contest. However, he sustained an injury and hadn’t played since. Now, his season has come to an end and he will likely return to Grand Rapids for the 2026-27 campaign.
Snapshots: Mastrosimone, Porter, Predators Draft Pick
The Charlotte Checkers, AHL affiliates of the Florida Panthers, have signed forward Robert Mastrosimone to a one-year AHL contract extension. As is custom for AHL contracts, the financial terms of the deal were not made public. A 2019 second-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings, Mastrosimone played four seasons of college hockey (three as a Boston University Terrier, one as an Arizona State Sun Devil) before turning pro in 2023-24. A point-per-game scorer at ASU, Mastrosimone struggled through the first two years of his pro career with the Toronto Marlies, putting up just 29 points in 95 games.
The Marlies didn’t re-sign Mastrosimone for a third year, and instead he signed a one-year deal in Charlotte. In October, it looked as though Mastrosimone had lost his spot in the AHL, as he was sent down to the ECHL after the Checkers signed veteran Tyler Motte to a PTO. By early December, Mastrosimone had worked his way back into the AHL by scoring nine goals and 15 points in 13 ECHL games. That stint in the third tier seemed to make a major difference for Mastrosimone, as he took his AHL performance to a new level after being recalled. He finished the 2025-26 season with 13 goals and 32 points in 49 games for the Checkers, and could be on the way to establishing himself as a full-time AHL middle-six scorer. With today’s extension news, he’ll get to continue on that path with the Checkers.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- USA Hockey announced today that former NHLer Kevin Porter has been hired as a head coach for the U.S. National Team Development Program. Per Sean Shapiro of Elite Prospects, Porter will coach the NTDP’s U18 team. Porter spent last season as an assistant coach for the U18’s, and also coached the United States to a gold medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, their first win at the tournament since 2003. Before coaching at the NTDP, Porter was an assistant coach with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins from 2020-21 through 2023-24. As a player, Porter had a 249-game NHL career and also served as a captain in the AHL with the Rochester Americans.
- As a result of the Vegas Golden Knights’ victory over the Anaheim Ducks last night, a win that propelled them to the Western Conference Finals, the 2027 third-round pick Vegas surrendered to the Nashville Predators will officially upgrade to a 2027 second-round pick. The Golden Knights sent what was originally a conditional third-round pick to Nashville as part of last summer’s Nicolas Hague/Jeremy Lauzon trade. The development gives the Predators another second-round pick to work with in next year’s draft, and means that, barring any further trades, the club will go three consecutive years with two second-round picks in the draft. The club acquired a 2026 second-rounder from the Minnesota Wild in last year’s Gustav Nyquist trade, and a 2028 second-rounder from the Wild in this past season’s Michael McCarron deal.
Snapshots: Wild, Avalanche, Liiga
Minnesota Wild defenseman Zach Bogosian is out tonight, with Jeff Petry slotting in, noted by Michael Russo of The Athletic. The soon-to-be 36-year-old, already not the fleetest of foot, has been battling a lower body injury which cost him Game 2 of the series. In nine playoff games, he’s averaging 12:45 a night, not surprisingly coming away with no points as a traditional shutdown rearguard.
Petry, another veteran at age 38, makes his third playoff appearance of the spring for the Wild after a five year hiatus, last doing so as a Canadien in 2021. No longer a high point-getter, Petry’s possession metrics at five-on-five have actually held steady, over the 53% mark in corsi for with the Wild in a small sample size.
Down three games to one in the series, it’s fair to wonder if this could be it for either of the veterans, if unable to extend their season tonight. Petry has the distinction of being one of seven remaining active players from the 2006 draft class, while Bogosian is one of two active former Atlanta Thrashers (the other being Evander Kane). Before that’s even any possibility though, the Wild have a prime chance to capitalize on a banged up Colorado lineup.
Elsewhere:
- On the opposite side, the Avalanche are again missing Artturi Lehkonen and Sam Malinski, relayed by Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports. Colorado has run it back with their same lineup from Game 4’s win, featuring Jack Ahcan on the third pairing, plucked right from the AHL in the midst of the Calder Cup Playoffs, and Joel Kiviranta on the fourth line. Both Lehkonen and Malinski are out with upper-body ailments which have sidelined them since Game 3.
- Tappara have brought home the 2026 Liiga Championship, their fourth since 2022. They defeated KooKoo in Game 7, after a memorable series which had previously brought the longest postseason game in league history, a four overtime marathon where Columbus prospect Oiva Keskinen netted the game winner for the eventual champs. Projected 2026 first round picks Oliver Suvanto and Juho Piiparinen were also part of the championship roster, the forward and defenseman thought to be late-first round options. In terms of other notable names, the youngsters skating alongside former fifth overall selection Olli Juolevi, as well as 20-year-old top Tampa Bay prospect Benjamin Rautiainen.
East Notes: Gudbranson, Malenstyn, Xhekaj
Among the pending unrestricted free agents the Columbus Blue Jackets have on their roster, few are more experienced than veteran defenseman Erik Gudbranson. Earlier this month, Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff reported that the Blue Jackets will part ways with Gudbranson, but today The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reported that such a decision is premature. Both Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell and Gudbranson’s agent Pat Morris of Newport Sports Management told Portzline that “no such conversation has taken place.” Furthermore, Portzline wrote that “The Blue Jackets are hoping to sign Gudbranson” though actual negotiations on a deal have not yet begun.
Gudbranson, 34, has been with the Blue Jackets for the last four seasons, playing out a four-year, $4MM AAV free agent contract he signed with the club in the summer of 2022. A veteran of over 800 NHL games, Gudbranson has struggled to stay healthy in each of the last two campaigns. Shoulder surgery limited him to just 16 games played in 2024-25, while hip and upper-body injuries kept him to just 37 games this past year. It’s likely that if Gudbranson does re-sign in Columbus, it’ll be on a contract with a pay cut from the $4MM AAV he earned on his last deal.
Other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- Buffalo Sabres forward Beck Malenstyn was fined $3,515.63, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement, for goalie interference against Montreal Canadiens netminder Jakub Dobes. The play in question happened midway through the second period of last night’s game three. Malenstyn crashed the net hard and barrelled into Dobes, making seemingly little effort to avoid significant contact with the goalie. He was assessed a minor penalty on the play and Montreal scored on the ensuing power play to make it a 4-1 contest. Malenstyn, a physical fourth-line forward, scored 14 points in the regular season and led all Sabres players with 282 hits.
- Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj was fined $3,385.42, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for roughing Buffalo Sabres forward Sam Carrick. The play in question came at the end of the game, during a scrum. While the players were tussling, Xhekaj delivered a punch straight to Carrick’s head, dropping the veteran forward to the ice. The game was Carrick’s first in the lineup since March 31, as he was sidelined with an arm injury. Like Malenstyn, Xhekaj is one of his team’s most physical players, leading the Canadiens in hits this season with 178 in 65 games.
Snapshots: Flyers Injuries, Oilers, Celebrini
With their season coming to an abrupt end yesterday, injuries affecting the Philadelphia Flyers have begun to be revealed. Bill Meltzer of Flyers.NHL.com shared that Owen Tippett is dealing with a sports hernia, Cam York was playing through a fractured rib, and Christian Dvorak was battling a separated shoulder.
By yesterday’s Game 4, the Flyers were running with a patchwork lineup, including Carl Grundström and rookie Oliver Bonk, both of whom spent time in the AHL this year.
Tippett was unable to skate in any of the four second round games against the Hurricanes, with an ailment which was not revealed at the time. If he had limped into a game, a full tear would have been possible, which would greatly affect his health moving into next season. The 27-year-old tied his career high in goals this year (28) and played in all but one regular season contest, the best of his career to this point. He should be all set for next fall.
Meanwhile, both York and Dvorak played through their injuries. York skated in 24 minutes or more in each of the last three games against Carolina. The 25-year-old appeared hampered at times, but his overtime series winning goal over Pittsburgh was an unforgettable moment.
Finally, Dvorak came away with four assists, impressively not missing a single game despite his injury. It was a season to remember for the 30-year-old, setting a career high with 51 points in 80 games, and earning a five-year extension with the team.
Elsewhere across the league:
- The Edmonton Oilers face an off-season of changes after a disappointing first round exit, but as written by The Fourth Period, that may not include Connor Ingram, Jason Dickinson, and Connor Murphy, who are expected to explore being re-signed. Dickinson, 30, effectively replaced Adam Henrique as a third line center. Mostly a shutdown penalty killer, he did find the back of the net twice in the playoffs, capable of providing a scoring spark at times. He’d require a serious pay cut from his current $4.25MM to stay with the Oilers. Another former Blackhawk, the 33-year-old Murphy played top four minutes in Edmonton, starting 58% of his shifts in the defensive zone as a stay-at-home sidekick for Darnell Nurse, the duo anchoring the penalty kill. Finally, as far as depth goaltenders go, Ingram brought above average results at a .899 save percentage and 2.60 goals-against-average, but Edmonton must find a solution with Tristan Jarry in order to avoid leaning on the persevering 29-year-old Ingram so heavily again.
- Sharks 19-year-old superstar Macklin Celebrini has been named captain of Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Championships. It’s a passing of the torch of sorts, as he’ll lead alongside veteran assistants Ryan O’Reilly and John Tavares despite being the youngest skater on the team. Celebrini is no stranger to the international circuit, leading Canada in the World Juniors, and already a top line star at the highest stage, last February in Milan where he came away with a silver medal. A face of the future of Canada Hockey, the Vancouver native wasted no time, recording three points earlier today in a resounding 6-1 exhibition defeat of France.
Team Canada Notes: Bouchard, Nurse, McKenna, Whitecloud
A pair of Edmonton Oilers defensemen are going to represent Canada at the upcoming IIHF Men’s World Championships: Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse. (Reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger) The addition of Bouchard gives Canada a player who could very well end up the top offensive defenseman at the tournament. The 26-year-old is coming off of a season where he scored a career-high 21 goals and 95 points. The addition of Nurse gives Canada another NHL top-four defenseman with extensive playoff experience. Nurse averaged 20:58 time on ice per game this season, No. 2 on the Oilers.
Bouchard has yet to represent Canada as a professional, but represented his country in international tournaments in junior hockey. He was part of Team Canada at the World Juniors in the 2018-19 season though his team lost in the quarterfinals. Nurse, on the other hand, has represented Canada at two World Championships: 2018 and 2019. Canada lost the bronze medal to the United States in Nurse’s first trip to the tournament, and won a silver medal in his second.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Top 2026 NHL draft prospect Gavin McKenna will not join Team Canada for the upcoming tournament, reversing earlier reports that indicated he would. TSN’s Darren Dreger reported the decision as a group choice meant to allow McKenna to focus his attention on the upcoming scouting combine. McKenna has long been considered the front-runner to go No. 1 overall at this year’s draft, though Corey Pronman of The Athletic recently characterized the race for No. 1 as being more wide-open.
- Another defenseman will join the Canadian entry into IIHF Worlds: Calgary Flames blueliner Zach Whitecloud, as reported by Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg. This won’t be the 29-year-old blueliner’s first trip to the World Championships. He represented Canada at the 2022 tournament, scoring four points in 10 games for a Canada team that fell in overtime in the gold medal game against Finland.