Canadiens Rumoured To Have Interest In Young Blueliner
While the Montreal Canadiens have been as silent as can be in both the free-agent and trade markets, at least when it comes to finalizing deals, GM Kent Hughes has been busy putting pen to paper with the team’s young players. There was no urgency in signing Ivan Demidov and Jakub Dobes on paper. They still had a year left on their deal, but taking care of those contracts a year in advance means the Canadiens no longer have to worry about them. Demidov wouldn’t have been eligible for an offer sheet next season, but Dobes could have been, and the situation the Anaheim Ducks find themselves in right now is a cautionary tale if ever there was one.
Their budding first-line center, Leo Carlsson, has signed an offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers for an $18 million cap hit. Cutter Gauthier is an RFA, and while he cannot sign an offer sheet, he is no doubt closely monitoring the Carlsson situation. Defenseman Pavel Mintyukov is an RFA as well, but like Carlsson, he could sign an offer sheet, and several teams are reportedly interested, including the Canadiens, according to David Pagnotta.
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That seems rather surprising considering that Mintyukov is a left-shot defenseman, something the Canadiens are definitely not lacking. Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson, Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj are all lefties, just like Adam Engstrom, who’s knocking on the Canadiens’ door and has seen enough AHL action.
However, it was clear in the playoffs that Martin St-Louis didn’t have much trust in Xhekaj and Struble. If the Habs can find a right-shot defenseman to play alongside Hutson, Guhle would go back to the left side, and neither of them would have to be used. But that’s proven to be a tough challenge.
Matvei Michkov and Pavel Mintyukov were going AT IT, and Mintyukov wanted to fight but Michkov wasn't interested 😳😅 pic.twitter.com/sbtPQJl4WY
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 19, 2026
If the Canadiens were to go for Mintyukov, it would certainly mean more movement. The 22-year-old was the 10th overall pick at the 2022 NHL draft, and in three NHL seasons, he has put up 69 points in 204 games while averaging 18:04 of ice time. There’s no denying that he has a lot of talent and potential, but is he what the Canadiens need? He does have a game that’s more rugged than Mike Matheson or Noah Dobson; he has landed 82 hits this past season after landing 81 and 85 in his first two seasons.
With the Ducks currently dealing with the fallout of the Carlsson offer sheet, it would be another for GM Pat Verbeek if another team were to offer sheet Mintyukov, which may make him amenable to a sign-and-trade deal for the blueliner, who’s yet another client of Gold Star agent Dan Milstein. Could Verbeek be willing to send the talented blueliner to Montreal in exchange for another left-hand defenseman and some futures? That remains to be seen, but acquiring Mintyukov without unloading another left-shot defenseman wouldn’t make sense for the Canadiens.
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Random Thoughts about the Leo Carlsson offer sheet, Pavel Mintyukov and Shane Wright
About once every 15 years the Flyers go crazy with an offer sheet. In 2012, it was for Shea Weber to a $110 million contract for 14 years. Nashville would match that, but go on to trade Weber soon after.
The Flyers were back in the lab, concocting a scheme to make Leo Carlsson the highest paid player in the NHL at the age of 21, before he even has a 30-goal or 70-point season under his belt. And so it will be, with Carlsson making $18 million annually for the next five years, either with Philadelphia or Anaheim if they take the poison pill and match – as their previously promised would happen.
It’s an interesting move that has turned the hockey world on its head. The Flyers needed to do something bold and a franchise player is about the only piece missing for their young core. It takes a massive overpay to have a chance to poach another team’s restricted free agent, and no one can say they didn’t take that big swing. They’ll hope/expect their next four first round picks that they’d send to Anaheim if they don’t match would all be out of the lottery and down towards the end of the draft. If so, the high trade price isn’t that bad.
The Ducks have long been playing with fire with their young players. Getting contracts out of Anaheim has often been pulling teeth – Mason McTavish, Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras have all been without contracts when training camps have started in recent years (it’d be inaccurate to call it a hold out, when they don’t have a contract in the first place). This team drags their feet to suppress salary as long as they can, which now ironically has come back to bite them big time and ruin their whole cap structure. The lesson to other teams is clear: don’t forget what the second word in RFA means (free), let your young star players hit restricted free agency at your own peril. Anaheim has learned that lesson today.
Anaheim could be in more trouble, the sharks (not the NHL team but the whole league) are reportedly circling now that there’s blood in the water.
The Penguins traded their 2027 third round pick in the deal to acquire Hendrix Lapierre. That takes away a lot of this summer’s offer sheet ability (which goes to show the expectation/plan didn’t include much by way of trying offer sheets), but Pittsburgh
AFP and Evolving Hockey has Mintyukov’s projected salary at $3.4ish million AAV if it goes two years on a bridge deal. Another team could put further strain on Anaheim’s position if Mintyukov agreed to a short-term deal worth $4.775 million. The Ducks might have cap space to match – they’d still have $20m in room if they match Carlsson’s deal – but they do still have the non-offer sheet eligible Cutter Gauthier to sign and round out a blueline that lost talent.
On the whole, it wouldn’t make since for ANA to let Mintyukov go if it cost $4.775 million to match, regardless of what happens with Carlsson, but now they’re exposed to answering questions a team would rather not have to answer. If an NHL team really wanted Mintyukov, they would have to do what the Flyers did and go strong – offer him in the $7 million range for five years (requiring a first and third round pick transferred to Anaheim). Forcing the issue and raising the stakes to wildly high proportions is the way to go in order to accomplish the goal.
The Pens don’t have their third round pick, and perhaps no interest in giving up a future first, so they will be sitting those proceedings out. They’ll surely be interested observers in seeing what happens with Carlsson – and pulling hard for Anaheim to match and keep their young star player.
—
Another situation to watch: Shane Wright.
The fourth-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Wright just completed his second full season, with 12 goals and 27 points in 74 games. As the trade deadline approached, his name was out there, particularly in Seattle’s attempt to land Artemi Panarin. (Panarin was laser-focused on Los Angeles, with many teams — not only the Kraken — unable to bribe him elsewhere.)
Wright’s still available, and there’s motivation to make it work, although disagreement on the commitment.
“I can confirm that we have had positive conversations with GM Jason Botterill, and he has agreed to move Shane this summer to a team in need of a top young centre,” Wright’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, said Wednesday.
Botterill would not comment. Other executives who’ve spoken to Seattle said there’s obviously an agreement between team and agent to work together, but the Kraken made it extremely clear they expect a fair price and won’t be pressured into anything they don’t want to do. In other words, they are making no guarantees.
Shane Wright checks every box for the type of players that the Penguins target these days for being a young player, with talent that still needs to truly blossom. Targeting or identifying the players is one thing, actually acquiring them is another. Seeking a “fair price” for a 22-year old former fourth overall pick that has scored 71 points in the NHL in the last two seasons – and still barely scratched the surface of what could be unlocked presents a tricky scenario.
Surely Seattle isn’t going to let that guy go for cheap, he has breakout potential and they’ve invested a lot in him. At the same time, finding a buyer to pay a premium for what’s been an uneven career naturally is going to be a tough ask.
It’s worth watching for the Penguins, they have a ton of forwards on the NHL roster now but could always use a 22-year old center with significant upside for the present and future. Whether or not they have the right assets to make a deal with the Kraken, plus the interest in parting with whatever that right deal is, could be anyone’s guess.
4 Ex-Blue Jackets Are Among The NHL's Top Free Agents Left
NHL free agency may have slowed down now that July 1 has passed, but there are still a good number of unrestricted free agents (UFAs) who have not signed with teams. A decent number of them are former Columbus Blue Jackets players, as Patrik Laine, Nick Blankenburg, James van Riemsdyk, and Danton Heinen have all not landed new deals yet.
Laine spent four seasons with the Blue Jackets from 2020-21 to 2023-24 before being dealt to the Montreal Canadiens following his trade request. The skilled winger spent most of his time with the Canadiens injured and played in just five games last season for Montreal.
Blankenburg spent his first three NHL seasons with the Blue Jackets from 2021-22 to 2023-24. He recorded new career highs with eight goals, 16 assists, and 24 points in 61 games last season split between the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche. With this, the former Blue Jackets blueliner should eventually find a new home.
van Riemsdyk spent the 2024-25 season with the Blue Jackets, where he recorded 16 goals and 36 points in 71 games. He followed that up this past season by posting 15 goals and 31 points in 72 games with the Detroit Red Wings. The potential for him to land a one-year deal or PTO with another NHL team is there. That is assuming that the 37-year-old does not retire.
As for Heinen, he finished this past season with the Blue Jackets after they acquired him from the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the Egor Chinakhov trade. In 33 games with Columbus following the move, the 10-year veteran posted five goals and five assists.
Ex-Sabres Blueliner Is NHL's Top Defenseman Free Agent Left
The NHL has seen most of this year's top unrestricted free agents (UFAs) sign their new contracts. While this is the case, there are still some decent players who have yet to be signed.
Interestingly, a former Buffalo Sabres blueliner is the best UFA defenseman still available for the taking: Logan Stanley.
It is a bit surprising to see that Stanley has not found a new home at this point in the off-season. The 6-foot-7 defenseman just had the best season of his NHL career so far in 2025-26 and is right in his prime at 28 years old. Yet, at the time of this writing, he is still looking for his next contract.
With Stanley now being the top UFA defenseman still on the market, it feels inevitable that he will find his new home soon. Teams will always value big defensemen who play an edge, and Stanley fits that description.
Stanley showed last season that he can also produce some offense from the point, as he set new career highs with nine goals, 17 assists, and 26 points in 76 games split between the Winnipeg Jets and Sabres. He also recorded 110 hits and 128 penalty minutes.
It will be interesting to see where Stanley ends up, but he could be a good fit on multiple teams.
Blues Reportedly Among Several Teams Interested In Hurricanes' Alexander Nikishin
The St. Louis Blues are looking to add young but established players this off-season, highlighted by the additions of Connor McMichael and Mason MacTavish.
Now, a recent report indicates that the Blues are trying to do so again, this time with Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin.
Nikishin is a 24-year-old left-handed defenseman who just completed his rookie season with the Hurricanes, winning the Stanley Cup. In the regular season, Nikishin posted 11 goals and 33 points in 81 games while averaging 18:11 of ice time.
In the playoffs, Nikishin’s role diminished, and he played in 17 of 19 games. However, he was on the receiving end of a heavy hit in the first round against the Ottawa Senators, recording just one assist and averaging just 14:50.
Despite his role diminishing, Nikishin remains a very solid two-way defenseman who can play in any situation. In his time in the KHL and briefly on the Hurricanes’ second power play unit, Nikishin demonstrated the ability to quarterback a power play. He has a heavy shot, but also possesses the vision to distribute the puck from the blueline.
On the defensive side, Nikishin boasts a 6-foot-3, 218-pound frame and uses his long reach to knock pucks off his opponents’ sticks. Physically, Nikishin doesn’t fear getting involved, as he threw 132 hits and blocked 94 shots.
NHL Rumor Roundup: Latest Buzz On Jason Robertson, Dylan Larkin And Alexander NikishinContract talks continue between the Stars and Jason Robertson, the Red Wings set a high asking price for the Wild for Dylan Larkin, and the Rangers were interested in Alexander Nikishin.In the regular season, Nikishin posted a Corsi For percentage of 58.39 percent, an expected goals percentage of 55.56 percent, and a high-danger for percentage of 53.8 percent at 5-on-5 according to naturalstattrick.com.
Adding Nikishin to the lineup would give the Blues four left-handed defensemen, as he would join Philip Broberg, Cam Fowler, and Theo Lindstein.
The Hurricanes have placed a high price tag on Nikishin, and recently, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that teams interested in Nikishin will have to take Jesperi Kotkaniemi as well.
Nikishin is currently a restricted free agent but is ineligible to receive an offer sheet. If the Blues are serious about a trade, the only path is through a trade.
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Former Canucks In New Places: 2026 Free Agency Edition
Free agency in the NHL is off to a flying start. After the first four days, teams around the league have over 200 contracts and committed over one billion dollars. With this in mind, here is a look at where players who were part of the Vancouver Canucks organization in 2025-26 have signed during Free Agency 2026.
Danila Klimovich:
1 Year, $850,000 AAV, Philadelphia Flyers
Former Canucks Forward Danila Klimovich Signs With The FlyersDanila Klimovich is headed to the Philadelphia Flyers. Teddy Blueger:
2 Years, $2.5 million AAV, Toronto Maple Leafs
Former Canucks Forward Teddy Blueger Signs With The LeafsFormer Canucks forward Teddy Blueger is now a member of the Toronto Maple LeafsCurtis Douglas:
2 Years, $1.25 million AAV, Seattle Kraken
Former Canucks Forward Curtis Douglas Signs Two-Year Deal With Seattle KrakenEx-Canucks forward Curtis Douglas is now a member of the Seattle Kraken. Jiří Patera:
1 Year, $850,000 AAV, Boston Bruins
Chase Stillman:
1 Year, $850,000 AAV, Detroit Red Wings
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Canadiens Players Are Not Taking It Easy
It may be summertime, but the Montreal Canadiens’ top players have already started gearing up for next season. Ivan Demidov now has the keys to the Canadiens’ CN Sports Complex in Brossard and skates multiple times a day; he has taken Alexander Zharovsky under his wing and brings him along, too, until the youngster must head back to Russia for the KHL season, which starts much earlier than the NHL's. When Demidov’s on his way out, he stops to sign autographs for fans despite the unbearable heat outside.
Lane Hutson, who was in town for the Habs’ development camp, joined his road roommate on the ice in Brossard as both worked intensely with Adam Nicholas ahead of the prospects' ice time. After that, he stuck around to watch the organization’s future on the ice and to give the rookies a presentation.
Even the bests of the bests cam improve their skating working with Adam Nicholas #GoHabsGo@thehockeynews#THNpic.twitter.com/0icvflnphJ
— Karine Hains (@KarineHains) July 2, 2026
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Alex Carrier, Jake Evans, and Zach Bolduc all signed up to play in the three-on-three Living Sisu hockey league starting July 7th at Hockey Etcetera.
Players do not have to be in Montreal to work out, though. This week, pictures of Juraj Slafkovsky training in his native Slovakia alongside Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak surfaced on Instagram.
Juraj Slafkovsky training with Erik Cernak in Slovakia 🇸🇰 pic.twitter.com/ijqhtlxZCB
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) July 3, 2026
Meanwhile, newly re-signed goaltender Jakub Dobes spoke to the media live from his summer home in St. Louis after signing his new contract and said he would keep training there for three to four weeks before moving back to Montreal to continue preparing for the season.
Watching them all go this summer, it feels like the NHL season is right around the corner. It’s not that far away since the NHL has decided to start earlier this time around, having a condensed preseason and a longer 84-game regular season. The preseason games will be played from September 19 to 26. Last season, the Canadiens held their golf tournament on September 15 and their preseason games from September 22 to October 4th. We can therefore expect the season to start at the end of September or the start of October at the latest.
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Predators sign newcomer Mavrik Bourque to a 6-year, $33 million contract
Apr 28, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Stars center Mavrik Bourque (22) looks on before the game between the Stars and the Wild in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Nashville Predators signed newcomer Mavrik Bourque to a six-year, $33 million contract Saturday.
The 24-year-old Bourque was acquired from Dallas on Wednesday in a trade that also sent defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin to the Predators.
Bourque had career highs with 20 goals and 21 assists in 82 games for the Stars last season.
Islanders draft pick Malte Gustafsson has all pieces for quick rise: ‘Sky’s the limit’
Malte Gustafsson hasn’t allowed himself to think about it yet, to envision a future Islanders blue line with him and Matthew Schaefer — both first-round picks, both left-handed, both just 18 years old — in prominent roles.
“He’s very, very grounded and humble when it comes to his journey,” recalled Tom Jankovic, his head coach with the HV71 under-20 team and assistant coach with Sweden’s under-18 national team.
When Schaefer introduced Gustafsson in Buffalo as the Islanders’ selection at No. 13 in last month’s NHL draft, there was something fitting about the duo overlapping.
One obvious piece of their future welcomed another one who could possibly — and rapidly — play his way into it.
Gustafsson, who said it’d be amazing to skate with Schaefer, rose quickly through the ranks in Sweden as an indispensable defenseman and plans to play for HV71 again next season.
After that, though, the Islanders might have a decision to make with the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder who “came as advertised” to development camp last week, Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer said.
“I think he will be a top Swedish defenseman in the NHL someday,” Jankovic told The Post. “If it’s when he’s 24 or when he’s 28, I don’t know, but I think he will be there because he has all the tools. He has the right mindset.”
There’s no rush, either. Gustafsson planned to improve his offensive game and add muscle next season in the Swedish Hockey League.
Niklas Eriksson, his HV71 head coach who took over near the end of last season, said that he can use the larger rinks in Sweden to prepare for the smaller ones in North America.
It’ll force Gustafsson to simplify his game and to make first passes quickly, something on which he’ll get to work while likely logging 20-plus minutes a game and filling roles on both the power play and penalty kill.
Jankovic thought Gustafsson, a self-described “annoying” defenseman, would get picked earlier in the draft.
He can skate alongside both defensive and offensive defensemen, seamlessly complementing both and able to pick up either role when needed.
He constructed a two-way game where size, reach and an ability to carry the puck became his defining traits, and his movement near the blue line and passing ability could make him an option to quarterback a power-play unit in the NHL — perhaps the Islanders’ second one behind Schaefer, Jankovic said.
“He has so many tools when it comes to what he can do,” Jankovic said, “so I think that’s his biggest strength, and as a coach, you want that on the ice.”
Even before the draft, Gustafsson appeared in plenty of games with stakes attached.
He collected 12 points in 19 games with the under-20 team last season and added another three points in 27 regular-season games in the SHL.
He helped Sweden earn a gold medal at the U18 World Championship, skating over 28 minutes against Canada in the quarterfinals, over 29 against Czechia in the semifinals and another 26:39 against Slovakia in the gold-medal game.
Gustafsson helped HV71’s men’s team avoid relegation in the SHL, too, by contributing to their sweep in a best-of-seven series between the 13th- and 14th-place teams — with massive financial ramifications at stake if HV71 lost.
He quarterbacked the second power-play unit and impressed general manager Johan Hult with how he handled the pressure of those games.
“How I use my size and length to shut down players, play physical, really being annoying on the ice, showing that I’m there,” Gustafsson told The Post after the Islanders’ development camp scrimmage last week, “I think that’s the biggest part of my game.”
And if Gustafsson adds strength in his legs to become more explosive, Hult said, he’ll “be even more annoying, that’s for sure.”
Hult found it difficult to describe a ceiling for him because, in his eyes, “the ceiling is not set.”
Gustafsson could represent Sweden in the Olympics.
He could live up to Jankovic’s prediction as one of the best Swedish defensemen in the NHL.
He could make the five other teams who took other defensemen ahead of the Islanders in the first round look foolish.
That would all unfold years in the future.
That takes more than an initial introduction at development camp to actually achieve.
This — the draft, the HV71 games, the final SHL season before taking the leap to what’s next — has been just the start for Gustafsson.
“I think the sky’s the limit for this kid,” Jankovic said.
Avalanche Sign Veteran Defenseman Christian Wolanin To One-Year, Two-Way Deal
Christian Wolanin has spent years proving he belongs one phone call away from the NHL. On Saturday, that call came from the Colorado Avalanche, who signed the veteran defenseman to a one-year, two-way contract.
The deal carries a salary of $850,000 at the NHL level and $400,000 in the AHL.
It’s a depth move designed to handle injuries, call-ups, and the long grind of an 84-game season that inevitably creates openings on the blue line. However, there's a clear incentive built into the deal: if Wolanin puts in the work and performs well enough to earn a promotion, he can cash in on NHL opportunities and NHL paydays. Even at the AHL level, however, $400,000 remains a solid salary.
The former 107th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft brings both experience and production in the minors. Wolanin has bounced between NHL opportunities and extended AHL stretches throughout his career, carving out a reputation as a steady puck-moving defenseman who can run a power play and contribute offensively when given the chance.
That offensive profile has followed him at nearly every stop. From his junior days in the USHL through his time at North Dakota, Wolanin steadily climbed the ladder before reaching the NHL with the Ottawa Senators. In 79 NHL games split between Ottawa, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Buffalo, and St. Louis, he has recorded six goals and 17 assists for 23 points, with his more consistent impact coming in the American Hockey League.
Across more than 300 AHL games, Wolanin has been a reliable offensive presence from the blue line, highlighted by a standout 2022–23 season with the Abbotsford Canucks when he posted 55 points in 49 games. He followed that with another strong stretch the next year and most recently added 31 points in 53 games with the Providence Bruins, continuing a long track record of production wherever he lands.
There’s also a familiar hockey lineage tied into the signing. Wolanin is the son of Craig Wolanin, a former NHL defenseman who played more than 600 games and won a Stanley Cup with the franchise during its Quebec Nordiques era after the move to Colorado in 1996.
For Wolanin, it’s another opportunity to stay in the mix and push for NHL minutes over the course of the season.
Report: There Remains Hope For Patrick Kane To Return To Red Wings
Right now, the main storyline for the Detroit Red Wings is the ongoing saga stemming from the explosive trade request from captain Dylan Larkin in early June.
And while the Red Wings have signed free agent forward Viktor Arvidsson and acquired Keegan Kolesar via trade, there remains some doubt on whether or not future Hall of Fame forward Patrick Kane will sign another extension.
While there was expressed mutual interest in another contract, Kane remains unsigned through the first four days of free-agency; he'd previously inked one year deals on June 30 of both 2024 and 2025.
And while Kane has been linked to a pair of divisional rivals in the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs, he's reportedly still open to returning to Detroit.
According to NHL Insider Chris Johnston, there remains an avenue for Kane to sign another extension.
Chris Johnston: Re Patrick Kane: I know he hasn't fully closed the door on Detroit - Nielson Show (7/3)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) July 4, 2026
Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
Additionally, according to fellow Insider Pierre LeBrun, Kane is "keeping the door open" on what would be a third full campaign in Detroit.
Patrick Kane is going to market today while keeping the door open to Detroit.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 1, 2026
Kane, who was limited to 67 games in 2025-26, finished fifth overall on the club in scoring, tallying 16 goals with 41 assists while seeing regular time on the power-play.
Red Wings Sign Veteran Forward Viktor Arvidsson On the opening day of the NHL free-agency period, the Detroit Red Wings are adding some veteran talent up front with the signing of Viktor Arvidsson. Among the milestones that Kane hit last season was scoring his 500th career goal, along with becoming the highest-scoring American-born player in NHL history.
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Colorado Avalanche Can’t Afford To Lose Artturi Lehkonen
The Colorado Avalanche don’t have many true “must-keep” players. Artturi Lehkonen is one of them.
The soft-spoken Finnish winger has become one of the most reliable clutch performers in the NHL, a player whose value rises the deeper the stakes get. Call him Mr. Clutch, call him Mr. Big Time — the label has followed him for years, and it’s not going away any time soon. He has one year remaining on a five-year, $22.5 million deal signed in July 2022.
One of the primary reasons Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic targeted Lehkonen was his ability to score meaningful goals in meaningful moments. That reputation was cemented in 2021, when he delivered arguably the biggest goal in nearly three decades of Montreal Canadiens hockey, scoring in overtime to send Montreal to the Stanley Cup Final, where it ultimately fell in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Everything changed the following season when Sakic struck at the trade deadline, acquiring Lehkonen from Montreal in exchange for Justin Barron and a 2024 second-round pick, with the Canadiens retaining 50 percent of his salary.
From the moment he arrived in Colorado, the “clutch” reputation only grew. Lehkonen scored another overtime winner in the Western Conference Final to send the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup Final after a sweep of the Edmonton Oilers, then delivered the defining moment of the run — the Cup-clinching goal in Game 6 — securing the third Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
His big-game résumé has even carried beyond the NHL. At the Milano Cortina Olympics, Lehkonen brought that same timing to the international stage, scoring the decisive goal in a 3–2 comeback win for Finland at Rho Arena to send his country into the semifinals in what marked its fifth appearance in six Olympic tournaments featuring NHL players.
For Colorado, the conclusion is straightforward: this is not a player you gamble with. An extension feels inevitable. The only real question is structure — term and AAV — with injury history likely shaping how both sides approach the deal.
Lehkonen has dealt with a notable injury history throughout his career. Of his 12 documented absences, a significant portion stem from upper-body issues, particularly his shoulder — roughly three-quarters of his injury history. He underwent shoulder surgery in May 2024 to repair substantial damage and also endured a difficult 2023 season that included finger surgery and a neck injury requiring a brace, which ultimately led to a stint on long-term injured reserve.
Durability remains the primary concern. Lehkonen has only completed a full 82-game regular season once in his career — a number that will rise to 84 games in 2026–27.
That said, it’s a risk the Avalanche are well aware of and willing to manage given what he provides when healthy. Lehkonen is an elite two-way winger with high-end penalty-killing ability, driven by relentless pressure that disrupts opposing power plays and consistently creates shorthanded chances. Offensively, his game is built on timing and positioning — consistently finding soft ice in dangerous areas and finishing plays around the net.
He also plays a far heavier game than his frame suggests. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 179 pounds, Lehkonen routinely battles larger defensemen and pays the physical price for it. He absorbs contact, creates contact, and rarely avoids the dirty areas, even if it means ending up on the ice. That willingness is part of what makes him so valuable.
Lehkonen is coming off another strong season with 21 goals and 27 assists for 48 points in 70 games, just shy of his career-high 51 points set in 2022–23.
At 31 years old — a milestone he reached on the day of publication — he remains exactly the type of player contenders don’t replace, they retain, even if it costs more the second time around.
Sabres Avoid Offer Sheet Dilemma; Add Villalta For Goalie Depth
The NHL was thrown on its ear on Friday by the news that the Philadelphia Flyers had signed Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson to a five-year, $90 million offer sheet, making him the highest-paid player in the NHL. The 21-year-old was selected second overall in 2023 and scored a career-high 29 goals in his third NHL season. The Flyers, desperate to acquire a top-line center, are prepared to surrender four first-round picks as compensation if the Ducks do not match the offer sheet by July 10.
Anaheim did not dip into free agency on July 1 and cleared out restricted free agent defenseman Olen Zellweger in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres last week because they were holding back cap space to sign RFA’s Carlsson, winger Cutter Gauthier and defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, but are now in a vulnerable position if they match the offer sheet, since it will leave Anaheim only $17 million in cap space to re-sign Gauthier (who scored 41 goals last season), and add to a short-handed defensive corps.
Ducks GM Pat Verbeek had a chance to sign Carlsson to an extension throughout last season, but his modus operandi was on display last summer with forward Mason McTavish, who held out until training camp before signing a seven-year, $49 million extension (he was traded to St. Louis last weekend).
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Buffalo Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen wisely was proactive on the restricted free agent front with winger Zach Benson, signing the 21-year-old to a seven-year, $52.5 million extension before becoming eligible for an offer sheet. While it is always speculated that offer sheets will become the rule rather than the exception, the increasing salary cap and the gentleman’s agreement between rival GM’s may be going the way of the do-do bird, which will force teams like the Ducks and the Sabres to either match deals to young emerging players for more money than they would choose to, or prepare to accept draft pick compensation and become feeder systems for more financially powerful clubs.
The Sabres trade of goalie Devon Levi to Edmonton for a 2028 third round pick last week left the club with a pair of young and inexperienced goalies in 2022 secoond-rounder Topias Leinonen and 21-year-old Scott Ratzlaff. The pair split time between AHL Rochester and ECHL Jacksonville last season, but totalled only 21 games with the Amerks, leaving the Sabres affiliate without a full time starter. On Saturday, the club signed veteran minor-leaguer Matt Villalta to a one-year, two-way contract.
The 27-year-old spent last season with AHL Tucson (AHL affiliate of the Utah Mammoth) and had a 16-12-3 record, 3.10 GAA, and .895 save percentage in 33 games.
A third-round draft pick by Los Angeles in 2017, Villalta has seven years of AHL experience between the Ontario Reign and Roadrunners, and will likely split duties with one or both of the Sabres young goalies in Rochester, while the other will get playing time in Jacksonville.
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Buffalo Sabres Sign Former Utah Goaltender
After trading Devon Levi to the Edmonton Oilers earlier this week, the Buffalo Sabres have added to their goalie depth.
The Sabres have announced that they have signed goaltender Matt Villalta to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season.
Villalta spent all of this past season in the AHL with the Tucson Roadrunners. In 33 games with the AHL club during the 2025-26 season, he posted a 16-12-3 record, an .895 save percentage, and a 3.10 goals-against average.
While Villalta did not play a game for the Utah Mammoth this past season, he made NHL appearances during both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. In three career NHL games split between the Arizona Coyotes and Utah, the 6-foot-3 goalie has a 1-1-0 record, a 3.64 goals-against average, and an .867 save percentage.
With the Sabres having Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, and Colten Ellis, Villalta has been signed to help out Buffalo's AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
In 235 career AHL games, Villalta has a 123-83-20 record, a .903 save percentage, a 2.93 goals-against average, and 10 shutouts.