Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

Panthers Sign Jonah Gadjovich To Two-Year Extension

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Florida Panthers have agreed to a two-year contract extension with left-winger Jonah Gadjovich. The deal will carry a $905K cap hit, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Florida announced the deal on Gadjovich’s 27th birthday

Few Panthers have a role as defined as Gadjovich’s. He is the team’s go-to enforcer, with a tremendous 164 penalty minutes in just 81 games between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. Only two players across the league – Austin Watson and Matt Rempe – averaged more penalty minutes per game played in that span, and Gadjovich still recorded more total PIMs than both. He scored just eight points in the same stretch, and added three points and 33 PIMs in 16 playoff appearances.

Interestingly, Gadjovich has found a way to avoid the penalty booth to start this season – instead boasting one assist and a plus-one in three games. He has not been one for hte positive side of the scoresheet at the NHL level. Through parts of six NHL seasons, Gadjovich has only managed 19 points in 163 career games. He’s racked up the penalties, though, earning 17 PIMs in his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks in 2020-21 and since raising that number to 312 PIMs on his career.

While he’s found a clear way to be productive in the NHL, Gadjovich wasn’t always the default hitter in his lineup. He has racked up 46 points and 81 PIMs in 103 AHL games, and stood out as a dangerous scorer in junior hockey, with 89 goals, 155 points, and 175 PIMs in 228 OHL games.

But those days seem to be in the past. Gadjovich has evolved into Florida’s go-to option when they need a big hit, or big fight, to help turn the tides. He fills important fourth-line minutes and will now stick in that spot for two more seasons. That role has already led Gadjovich to two Stanley Cup wins, and should continue to be profitable as the Panthers have yet to lose this season.

East Notes: Letang, Soucy, Lorentz, Livingstone

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Only having one shift in the third period of tonight’s contest against the New York Rangers, many began to wonder if Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang was dealing with an injury. That is indeed the case. According to Seth Rorabaugh of The Tribune-Review, Letang is being evaluated for an undisclosed injury.

Despite missing a few games last year due to injuries, Letang hasn’t dealt with any serious issues since suffering a stroke early in the 2022-23 campaign. Since returning, he’s appeared in 95.2% of all potential contests for the Penguins.

In the offseason, the Penguins indicated that they’d like to limit Letang’s usage this season. However, before tonight’s game against the Rangers, in which he played 15:29, Letang has averaged nearly 25 minutes a game, leading the team by a significant margin.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • On the other side of tonight’s contest between the Penguins and Rangers, the winning team is dealing with a defenseman injury of its own. After only appearing in 6:35 of tonight’s game, the Rangers announced that blueliner Carson Soucy left the game due to an upper-body injury. There could be cause for concern given the nature of the injury. Attempting to hit Penguins forward Rickard Rakell, Soucy missed the body check completely, flying awkwardly into the boards.
  • In a separate Eastern Conference matchup, this time in the Atlantic Division, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost forward Steven Lorentz to an upper-body injury. Lorentz’s departure from tonight’s game came early in the first period after being hit by Detroit Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot. He skated in 1:17 of tonight’s game, and the Maple Leafs added no further comments on the severity of his injury.
  • According to a team announcement, the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, the main affiliate of the Florida Panthers, have signed defenseman Jake Livingstone to a contract for the 2025-26 season. The Minnesota State University alumnus has spent the last two years with the Milwaukee Admirals after debuting with the Nashville Predators in the 2022-23 season. In that two-year stint with the Admirals, Livingstone scored nine goals and 33 points in 127 games.

Atlantic Notes: Kulikov, Lindholm, Batherson, Ratzlaff

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Late last night, the Florida Panthers quietly moved defenseman Dmitry Kulikov to the injured reserve. Unfortunately, although the team hasn’t commented on his status, reporting from George Richards of Florida Hockey Now indicates that it could be a long-term absence for their bottom-pairing blueliner.

The injury occurred during the Panthers’ win over the Philadelphia Flyers, their second game of the season. After attempting to hit Flyers forward Bobby Brink partway through the second period, Kulikov left the game after appearing to hurt his right wrist.

Passing along a note from head coach Paul Maurice, Richards’ report suggests that surgery is on the table for Kulikov, and that the team would make a more concrete decision this evening. Since the IR placement is retroactive to Thursday night, Kulikov is eligible to return from the IR on October 16th. However, if he requires surgery to repair his wrist, he’ll be out significantly longer.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • Another defenseman in the Atlantic will be sidelined, though not as long as Kulikov. According to Steve Conroy of The Boston Herald, Boston Bruins blueliner Hampus Lindholm is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed ailment. Lindholm left the team’s overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks after having only skated in 4:26 of the action.
  • In more positive injury news, the Ottawa Senators could be getting a major boost to their forward core. Although he was ruled out for the team’s recent game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, forward Drake Batherson alluded to a return tonight or Monday in an interview with Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen. Remarkably, the Senators’ first game of the year was the first Batherson has missed since the 2021-22 campaign, playing in 246 consecutive regular-season contests for Ottawa.
  • In an update unrelated to injuries, the Buffalo Sabres have shifted around some of their organizational goaltending depth. According to a team announcement, the Sabres have reassigned netminder Scott Ratzlaff to the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen. Ratzlaff, 20, who was selected with the 141st overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, spent last season with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, managing a 23-19-4 record in 49 games with a .910 SV%.

Penguins Activate Bryan Rust, Assign Ville Koivunen To AHL

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Penguins have made a pair of roster moves heading into tonight’s matchup against the Rangers.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they have activated winger Bryan Rust off injured reserve.  To make room on the roster, forward Ville Koivunen has been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Rust had been dealing with a lower-body injury that held him out for most of the preseason as he only got into one exhibition contest.  Since he had missed plenty of time by then, Pittsburgh was able to easily move him to injured reserve to start the season and spare another roster cut for the time being.

Last season, the 33-year-old had a career year, notching 31 goals and 34 assists in 71 games, setting personal bests across the board while averaging just under 20 minutes a night of ice time.  Considering that he is making an affordable $5.25MM through the 2027-28 campaign and that Pittsburgh is looking to rebuild its roster, that resulted in him being involved in a lot of trade speculation although no move came to fruition.

Rust will likely rejoin Pittsburgh’s top line alongside Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell, a trio that had lots of success last season.  Koivunen had been in that spot as a placeholder to start the year but was held off the scoresheet in his two outings.  Given that he is waiver-exempt, he was a safe choice to send down for the time being.

Last season, Koivunen made quite the first impression down the stretch.  He was brought up at the end of March and got into eight games with Pittsburgh.  While he didn’t score, he picked up seven assists in those outings while playing over 18 minutes a night, making a strong push for a longer-term stint on the roster.  That won’t be happening for the time being but it stands to reason that he’ll be one of their top recall candidates whenever injuries arise or a roster spot is opened up, such as a trade or if Benjamin Kindel is returned to junior if the team opts to not burn the first year of his entry-level contract.  That decision will come once he reaches the nine-game mark which could come within the next few weeks.

Red Wings Activate James Van Riemsdyk

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Red Wings announced Saturday that they’ve activated winger James van Riemsdyk from the non-roster list and assigned defenseman Erik Gustafsson to AHL Grand Rapids to open a spot on the active roster. Gustafsson previously cleared waivers on Monday, so he doesn’t need them again for today’s demotion.

van Riemsdyk, 36, will presumably be making his Red Wings debut tonight when they host the Maple Leafs, where he played from 2012-18. JVR joined Detroit on a one-year, $1MM deal with up to $750K in performance bonuses in free agency this past summer after churning out 16 goals in 71 games with the Blue Jackets last year, his most since the 2021-22 season. He’s far from being the 60-point producer he was at his peak but has still averaged a healthy 41 points per 82 games over the last four seasons.

Based on line rushes at yesterday’s practice, van Riemsdyk is likely to draw in for Elmer Söderblom in a fourth-line role alongside Michael Rasmussen and Mason Appleton. That means rookies Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Emmitt Finnie, and Axel Sandin Pellikka will all remain in the lineup after making their NHL debuts in Detroit’s opening-night 5-1 loss to the Canadiens.

van Riemsdyk had missed most of training camp while on personal leave, so he landed on the non-roster list to begin the year as he got back up to game speed in practice. He and Appleton were the most notable signings from what was otherwise a relatively quiet free agency period for the Red Wings.

The reassignment for Gustafsson is the easy path to take after his waiver clearance. The lefty signed a two-year, $4MM contract in 2024 that, like a good portion of general manager Steve Yzerman’s recent free-agent pickups on the blue line, hasn’t worked out all that well. He only made 60 appearances last season due to a combination of a late-season injury and healthy scratches, and his standing on the team in this year’s camp was further limited by the emergence of Sandin-Pellikka and a new batch of newer, cheaper UFA pickups in Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic.

Gustafsson will still count for $850K against the cap for the Wings while in the minors. After being scratched for Detroit’s season opener, he’ll now be ticketed for his first AHL action in eight years, last recording 17 points in 25 games for Rockford while in the Blackhawks organization in 2017-18.

Minor Transactions: 10/10/2025

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Although no NHL teams are set to play tonight, the wider hockey world isn’t without its fair share of games. Numerous junior hockey teams are set to play tonight, as well as NCAA hockey programs and clubs in European professional leagues. Even though the season is now fully underway almost everywhere in pro hockey, teams are still completing transactions and player movement remains as alive as ever. Here, we’ll rundown today’s player movement from around the hockey world:

  • After signing two PTO’s to start the season, 255-game NHL veteran Scott Harrington has found a full-time contract for the 2024-25 season. The 32-year-old defenseman signed a two-year AHL contract with the Belleville Senators, and as is customary for AHL contracts, the financial terms of the deal were undisclosed. Harrington began this past preseason on a PTO with the Nashville Predators before he was released, and then signed a PTO in Belleville. Once a regular depth defenseman for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Harrington last played in the NHL in 2022-23, skating in 17 games for the Anaheim Ducks. He spent last season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, scoring five points in 49 games. For the purposes of the AHL’s development rule, Harrington is considered a veteran player.
  • Former Buffalo Sabres forward Nicholas Baptiste has signed a contract with HK Dukla Trencin of the Slovak Extraliga. The 30-year-old is a former OHL star who has been on quite the pro hockey journey since leaving North America in 2021-22. Baptiste began with Liiga’s Ilves Tampere, scoring 35 points in 52 games en route for the league’s bronze medal. He spent the following year in Germany with the Cologne Sharks, before returning to Tampere to play with Tappara, where he would end up winning the Liiga title. Baptiste began last season in the KHL with Vityaz Moscow Region, but left to join the DEL’s Augsburg Panthers after scoring just three points in 11 games in Russia. Now he’ll continue his pro career in Slovakia, joining 277-game AHL veteran and fellow former CHL star Jordy Bellerive.
  • In what is the latest example of a player deciding to join an NCAA hockey program after already making his pro debut, New York Islanders draft pick Justin Gill has enrolled at Merrimack College and joined their ice hockey program. Gill is a 2023 fifth-rounder of the Islanders who signed an AHL contract last July. He spent 2024-25 in the Islanders’ minor-league system, scoring seven points in 35 games for the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders and 22 points in 23 games for the ECHL’s Worcester Railers. According to College Hockey Insider’s Mike McMahon, the NCAA cleared Gill’s eligibility to play this past week.
  • Seattle Kraken 2025 seventh-round pick Karl Annborn has been sent to HockeyAllsvenskan club Vasteras IK for a full-season loan. The 18-year-old right-shot blueliner is under contract with SHL side HV71, but split time this season between HV71’s senior team (where he received limited minutes in seven SHL games) and the club’s J20 Nationell squad. With this loan to Sweden’s second-tier league, Annborn will see a path to more consistent ice time against professional competition, and he skated in just over 14 minutes in his debut with Vasteras today. Although Annborn was a seventh-rounder at this year’s draft, he was ranked higher by some outlets, including 32nd among International skaters by NHL Central Scouting and 126th overall by EliteProspects.
  • Former Kamloops Blazers alternate captain Brodi Stewart began his professional career playing for four seasons in Austria, working his way up from the AlpsHL’s Steel Wings Linz to Linz’s most senior team, the ICEHL’s Black Wings. Now, he’s set to make his North American pro debut. Per the ECHL’s Transactions Wire, Stewart signed a standard player contract with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones. The 5’11 forward wasn’t a big scorer in Linz, managing just 27 points across 105 ICEHL games. But Stewart did manage to help Linz make a run to Game 7 of the league’s semifinals, where they fell to EC-KAC.
  • The OHL’s Flint Firebirds announced the addition of Michigan native Darian Anderson, meaning the 18-year-old prospect will continue his junior hockey career in the OHL, rather than the USHL where he played in 2024-25. The 6’3 forward, who has made a verbal commitment to play college hockey at Clarkson University, played in 44 games for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars last season, scoring 16 points. Anderson was drafted by Flint in the fifth round of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection, and now that selection will pay dividends for the junior hockey franchise.
  • 23-year-old Frolunda HC forward Noah Hasa has signed a three-year contract extension to remain with his team for the foreseeable future. A product of Frolunda’s youth system, Hasa worked his way up their junior hockey ranks before ultimately serving as captain of their J20 Nationell team. He broke into Frolunda’s first team on a full-time basis in 2023-24, after spending one year on loan in HockeyAllsvenskan with Vasterviks IK. In his first two seasons in the SHL, Hasa scored 19 points in 95 games, though he is off to a faster start in 2025-26, scoring four points in 10 games.
  • Former Bemidji State University defenseman Ruslan Pedan has signed a one-year KHL contract to play 2025-26 with Admiral Vladivostok. The 30-year-old blueliner is set to play in his 300th career KHL game when he makes his debut for Admiral, and he spent the last two seasons playing for Vityaz Moscow Region. Pedan has bounced around Russia’s top pro league since leaving the NCAA at the end of the 2015-16 season, first splitting time between the KHL and second-tier VHL before breaking into the KHL on a full-time basis in 2020-21 with the since-rebranded Kunlun Red Star.

Anaheim Ducks Reassign Tim Washe

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The former captain of the National Championship-winning Western Michigan University Broncos is headed to the AHL. According to a team announcement, the Anaheim Ducks have reassigned forward Tim Washe to the San Diego Gulls.

Washe joined the Ducks organization last season after winning the National Championship against Boston College, signing a one-year entry-level deal. He played in two games for Anaheim down the stretch, going scoreless while averaging 7:44 of ice time per game.

Unfortunately, though he technically made the team’s roster out of training camp, Washe didn’t feature in the Ducks’ opening night loss to the Seattle Kraken. Although his leadership and work ethic have impressed Anaheim’s coaching staff, he was only on the roster to fill in for the injured Ryan Strome. Given that Strome was only dealing with a mild injury, today’s news indicates he’ll be activated from injured reserve next week after the Ducks return from the road trip that they’ve already ruled him out for.

He can’t be counted in the same tier as Anaheim’s other up-and-coming forward prospects, but Washe could find some staying power in a bottom-six role. He was impressive for the Broncos last season, scoring 16 goals and 38 points in 42 games. Still, the Clarkson, MI native is already 24 years old with only two games of professional experience under his belt. After he spends a few months with the AHL Gulls, the Ducks will have a clearer picture of how much he could contribute at the NHL level.

Predators Activate, Reassign Matthew Wood

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Predators have activated forward prospect Matthew Wood from season-opening injured reserve and loaned him to AHL Milwaukee, according to the AHL’s transactions log. He was in contention for a roster spot in camp, but his injury, combined with RFA Luke Evangelista signing a contract to return to the Preds, squeezed him out of a role. He sustained a lower-body injury early in the preseason and was listed as week-to-week, but has been skating for a couple of days, so he’s evidently cleared to return and will begin his season in the minors.

Wood is entering his first full professional season and the second year of his entry-level contract. Nashville selected him No. 15 overall in the 2023 draft out of UConn, but he transferred to Minnesota for his junior season and tallied 17 goals and 39 points in 39 games there last year before making the call to turn pro. He finished out the year on the Preds’ roster and made six appearances, recording an assist and eight shots on goal while averaging 11:35 per game.

Wood, who remains waiver-exempt through 2027-28 unless he hits 160 career NHL games first, will thus make his AHL debut in the coming days. Ranked as the No. 5 prospect in Nashville’s system by NHL.com, he should be ticketed for a heavy role for Milwaukee out of the gate. It would be surprising not to see him make a legitimate push for a call-up and add to his NHL games played total this season once he gets his feet under him again following his injury. The 6’4″ winger was on the Hockey East All-Rookie Team back in his draft year and ended his collegiate career at age 20 with three seasons already under his belt, scoring a 44-57–101 line in 109 career appearances for the Huskies and Golden Gophers.

Jets Reassign David Gustafsson

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Oct. 10: Gustafsson cleared waivers and will head to the AHL, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Oct. 9: The Jets will place forward David Gustafsson on waivers today, head coach Scott Arniel said (via Murat Ates of The Athletic). He’ll be designated as a non-roster player in the interim to make room for Jonathan Toews, who was placed on injured reserve at the beginning of the week but is being activated before tonight’s home opener. It’s the first time in Gustafsson’s seven-year career in North America that he’s been exposed to the wire.

Winnipeg could have easily ferried waiver-exempt prospects Parker Ford or Brad Lambert to AHL Manitoba instead, so seeing them instead risk losing Gustafsson on waivers is a notable development. Neither Ford nor Lambert is projected to be in tonight’s lineup, but they’ve now both broken camp with the Jets in earnest alongside fellow youngster Nikita Chibrikov.

Gustafsson, 25, has been a sound two-way depth piece but never developed offensively as Winnipeg hoped for when selecting him in the second round of the 2018 draft. He’s never pushed his way above a 13th/14th forward role and has only averaged 25 appearances per year over his six NHL campaigns. He’s been a non-factor on the scoresheet as a result, never scoring more than three goals or seven points in a season. Over the last three years, only 13 forwards with at least 100 games played have produced a lower points per game than Gustafsson’s 0.157 clip.

Of course, no one will produce many points when their ice time is as limited as Gustafsson’s is. He averaged 8:59 per game last year, and that’s 11 seconds above his career average. He does carry value as a fourth-line fill-in down the middle due to his faceoff acumen, boasting a 51.2% success rate in 689 career trips to the dot. He also had impressive possession impacts last season, controlling 51.0% of shot attempts at even strength despite 74.4% of his zone starts coming in the defensive end.

If he clears waivers, he’ll head to Manitoba. He hasn’t seen AHL ice since recording three assists in six games on a conditioning stint in the 2023-24 season. His last full-time assignment to the Moose was in 2021-22, when he put together a respectable 15-15–30 scoring line in 47 games.

Avalanche Activate Ilya Solovyov

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Avalanche have added defenseman Ilya Solovyov to their active roster, according to Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports. He started the year on the non-roster list, awaiting his work visa after Colorado claimed him off waivers from the Flames last week. The Avs cleared a roster spot earlier in the week by assigning fellow defender Jack Ahcan to the minors.

As a result, Solovyov has been cleared to practice with the team and will be available for Colorado’s third game of the season tomorrow. They’re 2-0-0 to start the year after handling the Kings on opening night and eking out a 2-1 win over the Mammoth yesterday. The Avs’ defense has held up decently well so far as constructed, so it’s likely Solovyov could be relegated to the press box for a while unless an injury occurs. The team has hovered around a league-average 29 shots against per game but has been propped up by a hot start between the pipes from Scott Wedgewood, who’s saved 56 of 58 shots faced for a .966 SV%, while starter Mackenzie Blackwood remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Even still, the 25-year-old Solovyov is ticketed for his most regular NHL role yet. The 2020 seventh-round pick had been a tweener for the last two years in Calgary, making 10 appearances in 2023-24 and five in 2024-25. He’s got four assists and a -6 rating in those 15 career contests and averaged 15:49 per game. The 6’3″ lefty was a physical force in those call-ups, recording 25 blocks and 26 hits, but overall struggled to control possession with a 47.0 CF% at even strength. The Avs will be hoping to boost that last number if he gets more consistent reps in the lineup.

Solovyov was waived to begin last season as well, but made it through. His claim came on the heels of a career year in the minors, posting a 6-22–28 scoring line and a +8 rating in 59 showings for AHL Calgary.

It might be worth watching if he gets a spot in the lineup over Sam Malinski in the coming days. Their third pairing of Malinski and Josh Manson, both righties, has only controlled 41.7% of expected goals so far, while their top two pairings have both logged an xGF% of at least 60, per MoneyPuck. Solovyov’s claim was no doubt influenced by the fact that he’s a left shot, an area of Colorado’s depth chart lacking NHL-caliber depth behind Devon Toews and Samuel Girard.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top