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Panthers Sign Mike Benning To Two-Way Contract

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The Panthers have signed RFA defenseman Mike Benning, according to a team release. The deal is a two-way pact, although financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Benning remains in the Florida organization after spending his first two professional seasons with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers while he played out his entry-level contract. While he missed nearly 20 games last season due to injury, he upped his offensive production to 23 assists and 32 points in 54 games after posting 26 points in 72 games in his rookie season for Charlotte. That wasn’t enough to get him an NHL call-up, though, and he became an RFA this summer without a top-level game to his name.

As a 10.2(c) player with fewer than three years of professional experience, Benning was ineligible to sign an offer sheet or to request an arbitration hearing upon receiving a qualifying offer in June. He was locked into a new deal with the Panthers as a result, one that presumably includes a raise over the $80K minors salary dictated by his ELC and maintains his waiver-exempt status for one more season.

A fourth-round pick by the Cats in 2020, Benning always faced an uphill battle for NHL minutes because of his 5’9″, 176-lb frame. Despite that, he was a dominant two-way threat in college at the University of Denver. His standout sophomore season in 2021-22 saw him record a 15-23–38 scoring line with a +32 rating in 41 appearances. Not only did he help the Pioneers to an NCAA championship, but he was also named the MVP of the national tournament. He recorded 34 points in 39 games the following season to be named the NCHC’s best offensive defenseman before turning pro with the Panthers in 2023.

Because of his underwhelming frame, he’ll need to become an undeniable offensive force at the minor-league level to sniff an NHL role. While he’s steadily improved since making his pro debut, that hasn’t quite happened yet. Today’s deal gives him another year of runway and ideally at least one call-up opportunity to prove he could at least be effective as a power-play specialist.

The Panthers have now filled 45 of their 50 contract slots for 2025-26. They have no other unsigned RFAs remaining, at least among players who haven’t already agreed to contracts overseas.

Morning Notes: Hutson, Papaioannou, Rodrigue

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Extension talks between the Canadiens and pending 10.2(c) RFA Lane Hutson are still in their preliminary stages but have been “very amicable,” sources tell RG’s Marco D’Amico.

D’Amico deep dives into a couple of peculiarities impacting Hutson’s next deal, the first of which is his inability to receive an offer sheet next summer due to his lack of professional experience. That takes significant pressure off the Canadiens to rush things with the reigning Calder Trophy winner while also somewhat limiting Hutson’s leverage to command north of $10MM per season on a mid-to-long-term deal, as some have speculated.

After erupting for 60 assists and 66 points in all 82 games in his first crack at the NHL, Hutson will be up for his first standard contract at just 22 years old with five years of team control remaining. That means a long-term deal may not be in the cards – a four-year contract would give them one more try at negotiating with Hutson under team control and would allow him to land a payday at age 26 amid his peak.

That could result in a more conservative cap hit in the $8.8MM to $9.5MM range when an extension does get done eventually, D’Amico writes, citing other 10.2(c) comparables in the past few years like Brock Faber, Quinn Hughes, and Jake Sanderson. They’re also likely keeping talks quiet until another 10.2(c) RFA defenseman, Luke Hughes, signs his next deal with the Devils to give Hutson’s camp a more recent comparable to work with.

More from around hockey today:

  • The ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers have named Ryan Papaioannou as their new head coach, their NHL parent Penguins announced. Papaioannou, 41, had been the GM and head coach of the junior ’A’ Brooks Bandits since 2009-10, spending nearly all of that time in the Alberta Junior Hockey League until they moved to the British Columbia Hockey League last season. He guided the Bandits to five AJHL titles, one BCHL title, and won AJHL Coach of the Year honors three times (2013, 2019, 2022). He succeeds Derek Army, who left to become an assistant coach with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, as Pittsburgh’s second-tier affiliate bench boss.
  • Former Oilers depth netminder Olivier Rodrigue has signed a one-year contract with Kazakhstan’s Barys Astana in the KHL, per a club announcement. The 25-year-old had spent the last five years in Edmonton’s system, primarily with AHL Bakersfield, but was not given a qualifying offer this summer following a tough campaign. He was limited to a .897 SV%, 3.12 GAA, and an 18-16-8 record in 41 showings for Bakersfield. He also made his NHL debut, allowing four goals on 29 shots across one start and one relief appearance.

Blue Jackets Sign Mikael Pyyhtia To Two-Way Deal

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Blue Jackets RFA Mikael Pyyhtia has signed a two-way deal for 2025-26, the team announced. The winger was one of two remaining RFAs in Columbus alongside defenseman Daemon Hunt.

His deal will carry a league-minimum salary in the NHL and will be accompanied by a $100K AHL salary and a $140K guarantee, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. It’s only the second pro deal Pyyhtia has signed after inking his entry-level contract in 2022.

Pyyhtia, 23, was a fourth-round pick by the Jackets in 2020. He worked his way up the development ladder in the coming years and made his NHL debut in the closing days of the 2022-23 season.

Columbus has slowly increased his NHL workload, up from two games to 17 in 2023-24 before he appeared in 47 contests – over half the team’s games – last season. Routinely serving in the No. 13-15 range on the Jackets’ forward depth chart, the 6’0″ Finnish winger managed four goals and three assists while averaging 12:06 per game. He saw some penalty kill deployment, nearly 1:30 per game.

Overall, Pyyhtia’s possession impacts were fine but underwhelming. He posted a relative Corsi share of -4.5% at even strength with a 57.0 dZS%, and a relative Corsi share of -2.2% on the PK.

He’ll check back in a similar role in 2025-26, with a roster spot out of camp a possibility but not a guarantee. He would need to clear waivers if he doesn’t make the team and is assigned to AHL Cleveland. He’ll compete with veteran depth like Zach Aston-Reese while fending off competition from younger names like Luca Del Bel Belluz and Jack Williams.

Seattle Kraken Sign Ryker Evans To Two-Year Deal

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The Seattle Kraken have come to terms with their lone remaining restricted free agent. According to a team announcement, the Kraken have signed defenseman Ryker Evans to a two-year, $4.1MM ($2.05MM AAV) contract through the 2026-27 NHL season.

The Kraken selected Evans with the 35th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft. He was coming off a solid, albeit shortened, year with the WHL’s Regina Pats, scoring three goals and 28 points in 24 games with a -4 rating. The following year, again with the Pats, Evans posted an even better 14 goals and 61 points in 63 games with a +9 rating.

Evans immediately made a name for himself in the Kraken’s organization. Seattle started him with their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, in the 2022-23 season, and he responded well with six goals and 44 points in 71 games with a +19 rating. Still, the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs put him over the top in terms of prospect rankings, scoring five goals and 26 points in 26 games with a +13 rating en route to a berth in the Calder Cup Final. He was included on the AHL All-Rookie Team at season’s end.

Despite being on everyone’s radar as one of the better prospects in Seattle’s system, Evans’ transition to the NHL didn’t go as smoothly as hoped. He skated in 36 games for the Kraken in the 2023-24 season, but only mustered one goal and nine points with a -5 rating. Still, his 54.2% CorsiFor% at even strength and 91.3% on-ice save percentage at even strength proved he was ready to play in the sport’s top league.

Given those indications in his underlying metrics, Evans earned a full-time spot on the Kraken’s roster this past season. Finishing the season with five goals and 25 points in 73 games with a -12 rating while averaging 19:29 of ice time per game in a top-four role. His underlying metrics dropped somewhat, but that’s to be expected with twice as much playing time.

Even though Evans is a promising young two-way defenseman on Seattle’s roster, his only drawback is that he doesn’t offer them anything different than what they’ve been accustomed to in the past few years. The Kraken only finished with one defenseman scoring more than 40 points last season (although Vince Dunn would have had he not missed time due to injury). Evans can be a solid offensive contributor, but he’s not expected to push for the 60 or even 50-point plateau.

Still, he’s already beaten out Jamie Oleksiak in terms of positioning on the team’s depth chart, and his spot in the lineup isn’t expected to be altered by Seattle’s signing of Ryan Lindgren this summer. He’ll likely see his ice time grow year-on-year, especially if the Kraken begin phasing out some of their older talent.

Wild Sign Jack Johnson To PTO

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The third-overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft feels he has more in the tank. According to a team announcement, the Minnesota Wild have signed veteran defenseman Jack Johnson to a professional tryout agreement.

Johnson, 38, is coming off a one-year agreement with the team he’s spent the most years of his career with, the Columbus Blue Jackets. His performance did little to inspire confidence in his playing abilities, as he only managed six assists in 41 games while averaging 12:52 of ice time per game. Johnson was arguably the worst defenseman on the Blue Jackets last season, finishing with the second-lowest CorsiFor% at even strength (44.8%), and the lowest (by a considerable margin) on-ice save percentage at even strength (85.5%).

In Johnson’s defense, it’s notable that he is only two years removed from a relatively productive season with the Colorado Avalanche. He scored three goals and 16 points in 80 games, averaging nearly 15 minutes of ice time during the 2023-24 campaign. It could be because he was surrounded by better talent in Denver, but Johnson managed a far better 49.1% CF% and 92.7% oiSV%.

Still, it’s hard to imagine where Johnson fits into the Wild’s defense, even if he has a strong training camp and preseason. Minnesota boasts one of the better defensive units in the league, which is even more impressive considering Jonas Brodin isn’t expected to start the season on time. Assuming a healthy unit, the Wild’s seventh defenseman would theoretically become Zach Bogosian or David Jiříček.

Unlikely to accept a demotion to the American Hockey League at this stage of his career, Johnson may be using his PTO with the Wild as a means to find an opportunity with a different organization, as many players do with this style of agreement.

Mikko Kokkonen Signs With Linköping HC

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The AHL’s Toronto Marlies are losing a quality defenseman from the past few years. According to a team announcement, the SHL’s Linköping HC has signed Mikko Kokkonen to a one-year contract for the 2025-26 season.

Kokkonen was drafted with the 84th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Finnish Liiga’s Jukurit program. During his draft season, he scored three goals and 19 points in 56 games with a -16 rating. While the scoring may not be impressive at face value, he tied for the team lead among defensemen, which is notable for one of the youngest players on the roster.

His offensive production declined in the subsequent two seasons, recording four goals and 20 points in 89 games, along with a -23 rating from the start of the 2019-20 season to the end of the 2020-21 campaign. Still, the AHL Marlies brought him over for a brief time, and he performed well, scoring one goal and seven points in his first 11 contests.

He returned overseas for the 2021-22 season, scoring one goal and 15 points in 58 games, this time with the Liiga’s Pelicans. The 2022-23 season marked his full-time transition to North American hockey, and the transition was less than pleasant. Finishing the season without a goal, he only managed six assists in 36 contests.

The following two years were much more successful, finishing with eight goals and 33 points in 115 games, and adding another assist in five Calder Cup playoff matches. Linköping will be Kokkonen’s first appearance in the SHL, and he’ll play a part in helping them keep their heads above water for a second straight season. Last season, Linköping finished six points ahead of MoDo Hockey, narrowly avoiding relegation.

Stars Sign Nathan Bastian

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The Stars have added some depth on the wing as the team announced that they’ve signed Nathan Bastian to a one-year, one-way contract.  The agreement will pay the league minimum of $775K.  GM Jim Nill released the following statement:

Nathan will add forward depth and a physical presence to our lineup, both of which will be valuable to our organization. We’re looking forward to watching him take the next step of his career with the Stars and are excited to welcome him to Dallas.

The 27-year-old has parts of six NHL seasons under his belt, most of which came with New Jersey, which drafted him in the second round back in 2016.  Before now, his only time away from the Devils since that time came when Seattle selected him in the 2021 Expansion Draft but just two months later, the Kraken waived Bastian with New Jersey quickly reclaiming him.

Last season, Bastian played in 59 games for the Devils, picking up four goals and six assists along with 138 hits in just under 11 minutes per night of playing time.  That stat line lines up with most of his seasons as he has yet to reach 20 points in a single year while he has only hit the double-digit mark in goals once, that coming back in 2021-22.  However, he averages 223 hits per 82 games played, giving the Stars some extra physicality in their lineup.

Dallas has largely stayed quiet as expected in free agency this season with the bulk of their moves coming from either re-signing players or making trades.  As things stand, he’s likely to battle with Oskar Back and Colin Blackwell for playing time on the fourth line while starting out as the 13th forward is a realistic outcome as well.

At the moment, the Stars project to be very tight against the salary cap with a 23-player roster coming in just a few hundred thousand below the Upper Limit, per PuckPedia.  Accordingly, this could very well be it for their free agent moves with a big chunk of their roster from last season’s run to the Western Conference Final returning as from here on out, any addition will require money coming off their books as well.

Avalanche Re-Sign Joel Kiviranta

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The Avalanche announced that they’ve re-signed forward Joel Kiviranta to a one-year deal. The deal is worth $1.25MM against the cap, AJ Haefele of DNVR Sports reports.

Kiviranta, 29, returns to Colorado on the heels of a career year. The winger set career highs in goals (16), assists (7), points (23), appearances (79), and average time on ice (12:31) in 2024-25. He now signs his third consecutive one-year deal with the Avs in free agency after initially joining the organization on an AHL contract in 2023.

On a per-game basis, though, that’s not too far off from his career averages. Kiviranta, who initially made the jump to North America in 2019 with the Stars as an undrafted free agent, has consistently produced at a 15-to-20-point clip per 82 games, albeit usually in lesser minutes. That increased deployment this season, getting more consistent reps while also seeing some looks in the Avs’ top nine, helps explain the boost in production. His 19.0% shooting rate, well above his career average of 10.9%, had something to do with that as well.

Nonetheless, the Finnish winger has firmly established his floor as a defensively responsible plug-and-play fourth-line piece. Despite his smallish 5’11”, 185-lb frame, he finished third on the Avs last season with 114 hits with some of the better even-strength possession impacts on the club.

While the Avs still have some holes in their middle and bottom-six forward group to fill, retaining Kiviranta is a significant step toward relaxing the strain on some inexperienced or overtaxed depth pieces who likely would have needed to shoulder regular minutes out of the gate otherwise, especially with checking winger Logan O’Connor starting the year on injured reserve. As things stand, Kiviranta could get a crack at third-line minutes on opening night if younger names like the recently acquired Daniil Gushchin or Ivan Ivan don’t command those minutes with a strong training camp performance.

Image courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

Minor Signings: Russell, Berdin, Welsh

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The ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates have signed forward Mitchell Russell for the 2025-26 campaign, per a team announcement.

Russell, 24, was an undrafted free agent signing by the Sharks in 2022 from the OHL’s North Bay Battalion. Injuries limited him out of the gate, making just two appearances for the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder in his first professional season.

The 6’0″, 194-lb winger didn’t see NHL ice over the duration of his three-year, entry-level contract. He was non-tendered in June, making him an unrestricted free agent after he scored two goals in 12 games for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda and a 19-25–44 scoring line in 81 games for Wichita over his brief pro career.

He’ll now head to Savannah, the second-tier affiliate of the Panthers, to further his pro career. The team only has eight players under contract for 2025-26, including Russell, and will no doubt have most of their roster filled out by loans from their AHL parent, the Charlotte Checkers.

More minor moves from around the sport:

  • Former Jets goaltending prospect Mikhail Berdin is on the move in his native Russia, with the KHL announcing he’s signed a one-year deal with Ak Bars Kazan. Berdin, who became a Group VI unrestricted free agent in 2023, was limited to just 11 appearances last season with Avangard Omsk. He was spectacular when available, though, recording a .929 SV%, 1.87 GAA, and a 7-1-2 record. If the 27-year-old puts up a season like that for Ak Bars, he should put himself in contention for an NHL contract next summer.
  • Journeyman defenseman Nicholas Welsh has signed with the Manchester Storm of the EIHL, the United Kingdom’s highest level of competition. Welsh, 28, was a dynamic threat in the QMJHL and racked up 181 points in 329 junior games for Shawinigan and Moncton but only sniffed a pro career in North America, recording three points in 17 games for the Sabres’ AHL affiliate in Rochester in 2020-21. He’s since made stops in Slovakia, Germany, Finland, and Austria. He ended last season with Liiga’s KooKoo, where he had four points in 14 combined regular-season and playoff games.

West Notes: Isogai, Popovic, Nelson

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Earlier today, the AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, the Ontario Reign, announced a two-year AHL contract for an up-and-coming name from Canada’s Western Hockey League. The Reign shared that they’ve signed forward Kenta Isogai. No financial details were released.

The 20-year-old native of Nagano, Japan, recently completed his second season in the WHL. Though he started his WHL career with the Wenatchee Wild for the 2023-24 season, he was acquired by the Victoria Royals for the end of the season. He excelled at the WHL level, scoring 63 goals and 166 points in 123 games, achieving a +49 rating, along with 10 goals and 25 points in 16 postseason contests.

Given that he was also named to the WHL’s First All-Star Team last year, it’s a little surprising that Isogai has gone undrafted over the past few years. He’s a little undersized, but not to a serious degree, and should be given every opportunity to succeed in AHL Ontario.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • According to a team announcement, the Colorado Avalanche have hired Mark Popovic as their new skills coach. It’ll be Popovic’s first formal coaching position at the NHL level, although he’s been working as an informal consultant for the Avalanche for the past few years. He’s better known for his playing career at the AHL level, where he scored 36 goals and 134 points in 359 games from 2002 to 2007. He played under 100 games in the NHL with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Atlanta Thrashers.
  • The ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders, affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, announced today that they’ve signed forward Jaxon Nelson to an ECHL contract for the 2025-26 season. The former captain of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers had been playing for the AHL’s Providence Bruins the past few years, to disappointing results. Still, Nelson is only two years removed from scoring 19 goals and 31 points in 39 games for Minnesota.

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