Category: Ice Hockey

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Born eight minutes earlier than his twin brother, Liam, Marcus Ruck is fine with ceding NHL draft bragging rights.

All that mattered to Ruck on Saturday was being selected with the 39th pick in the second round by Pittsburgh in following his brother, who was drafted 22nd overall by the Penguins a day earlier.

“He can brag to me all he wants. I’m just so happy to be with him. I know he won’t brag, but if he wanted to, he could,” Ruck said. “To be with him, it’s so special.”

The twins are from Osoyoos, British Columbia, and spent the past two-plus seasons as one of the Western Hockey League’s most productive tandems in Medicine Hat. Marcus led the WHL with 108 points last season, while Liam, a right wing, finished second with 104 points.

Liam was projected to go first, and when the Penguins chose him, Markus began looking ahead to No. 39, Pittsburgh’s next turn to pick.

“I didn’t have a preference of when, I just knew where I wanted to go and who I wanted be with,” he said, noting his brother kept his spirits up overnight. “He kept me calm and told me it was going to happen. So for it to happen, it’s awesome.”

The NHL said this marked the fifth time twin brothers were selected by the same team in the draft, in a group that includes Hall of Famers Daniel and Henrik Sedin going second and third to Vancouver in 1999.

The Rucks were part of a family theme in a draft that had Caleb Malhotra going third to Vancouver, where his dad was just hired as the Canucks head coach.

The Calgary Flames opened the third round by selecting WHL Vancouver forward Joe Iginla. He’s the youngest son of Hall of Famer and longtime Flames star Jarome Iginla, and his selection came after older brother Tij went No. 6 to Utah in the 2024 draft.

Rogowski picks hockey over baseball

Whatever doubts Brooks Rogowski had in choosing hockey over baseball quickly evaporated following the first pick in the second round.

The 18-year-old from Livonia, Michigan, had taken his seat with his family on the draft floor, when NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly announced Rogowski being selected at No. 33 by Vancouver.

“The relief was immediate. You hear your name called and all the stresses just kind of fall off you,” Rogowski said.

And the selection validates the choice the 6-foot-7, 235-pound Rogowski made two years ago. In picking hockey, after being drafted by the OHL Oshawa Generals, he put baseball behind him — and to the regret of his father and uncle, who both enjoyed minor-league baseball careers.

His father, Casey, was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and his uncle, Ryan, drafted by the Dodgers.

“Obviously they’re still sad about baseball, but I think this was the right decision,” Rogowski said. “You know, get to wear a nice jersey, so I think that they’re more than happy with that.”

Rogowski is committed to play at Michigan State in two years, and appreciates he still has plenty of room to develop after growing up focusing more on baseball.

“I have a lot more to improve,” he said. “You have a lot of these guys who have been doing this for a long time. I’m still relatively new to it, and I think there’s a lot more to me that needs to come out.”

As a rookie, Rogowski had 11 goals and 23 points in 66 games with Oshawa, and built on that with 42 points (15 goals) in 46 games last season.

Not bad for the former first baseman.

“Exactly. It’s very different,” Rogowski said comparing the two sports. “I have always been a decent hockey player, but I think the rapid growth, I can attribute to athletic ability.”

A day after pop icon Justin Bieber took the stage to announce the Toronto Maple Leafs taking Penn State forward Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 pick, there were several notable highlights over the final six rounds on Saturday.

Golden Knights 2nd-round pick forfeited

The second round featured just 31 selections with the Vegas Golden Knights forfeiting their 63rd pick after being sanctioned by the league for violating media regulations. Former Vegas coach John Tortorella was also fined $100,000 for refusing to speak to reporters following a second-round-series-clinching Game 6 victory at Anaheim.

At No. 40, the Florida Panthers used their first pick of the draft on right winger Simas Ignatavicius. Though born in Memphis, Tennessee, he relocated with his family to their native Lithuania, a nation that by his count has four hockey rinks.

Though his father played basketball, Ignatavicius was drawn to hockey at age 3 while watching a practice at a rink inside a shopping mall. Six years ago, the 18-year-old moved to Switzerland to develop his skills.

— Doman Szongoth went No. 156 to Buffalo in becoming the fourth Hungarian player selected in the NHL draft, and first since Janos Vas in 2002.

— Six Czech goalies were selected, and led by Tobias Trejbal, who went No. 42 to Calgary.

— Teams completed 20 trades, with the most notable involving St. Louis acquiring defenseman Brandon Carlo from Toronto for picks No. 73 and 76.

The St. Louis Blues acquired Brandon Carlo from the Toronto Maple Leafs during the NHL draft on Saturday, those teams’ latest steps to remake their rosters during an offseason of upheaval.

St. Louis sent the Nos. 73 and 76 picks to Toronto for the 29-year-old defenseman.

Carlo lasted just 88 games with the Leafs after they sent a first-round pick, a fourth-rounder and highly regarded forward prospect Fraser Minten to Boston for him at the deadline in March 2025. That was with the previous regime in charge, and general manager Brad Treliving was fired two months ago and replaced weeks later by John Chayka, and they only got to keep the pick this year because they won the lottery for the No. 1 overall pick.

This is the third trade of the week for the Blues, who are also in transition as GM-in-waiting Alexander Steen is set to take over for seasoned executive Doug Armstrong next week. Armstrong in his final days at the helm has been plenty busy.

On Tuesday, he traded Jordan Kyrou to Washington for fellow forward Connor McMichael, prospect Milton Gastrin and the No. 16 pick, accumulating a league-high four in the first round. On Friday night, he sent two of them to Anaheim for 23-year-old Mason McTavish, who is signed through 2031.

Carlo provides some dependable veteran stability on the right side on defense, especially if the Blues decide to trade Colton Parayko or Justin Faulk as part of their summer overhaul. He is going into the final year of his contract at a salary cap hit of just under $3.5 million.

“We’re excited (Carlo has) got his size and length, his ability to kill plays, his experience,” Armstrong told reporters in Centene, Missouri. “Getting stronger up front and having strong goaltending, we think we’re going to be more competitive than we were last year.”

Toronto used the third-round picks on Canadian winger Zach Olsen and Swedish defenseman Mans Gudmundsson.

Hurricanes get John Carlson’s rights

The reigning Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes jumped the queue to talk to John Carlson before the 36-year-old defenseman can become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday. They sent the 192nd pick and the rights to pending restricted free agent forward Kyle Masters to Anaheim to get an exclusive negotiating window with Carlson.

Traded to the Ducks by the Capitals less than 13 hours before the deadline in March, Carlson is believed to want to get back on the East Coast for family reasons. He spent his first 16-plus NHL seasons with Washington and helped the team win the Cup in 2018.

More trades at the NHL draft

New Nashville president of hockey operations and GM Chris MacFarland spent his first few weeks on the job largely adding players he was familiar with from his time in Colorado. On Saturday, he added fresh blood from the East by acquiring big, Swedish winger Adam Edstrom in a trade with the New York Rangers.

The Predators sent the 148th pick in the draft (a fifth-rounder) and the rights to minor leaguer Massimo Rizzo to New York. The Rangers, who also traded Brett Berard to Montreal on Friday, are not expected to tender Rizzo a qualifying offer and would make him an unrestricted free agent.

The Avalanche traded Ivan Ivan to the Bruins for Fabian Lysell in a swap of young forwards.

MORRISVILLE, N.C. — At first glance, Carolina Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky doesn’t have a ton to do with the roster as the Stanley Cup champs head into the offseason.

Then again, the Hurricanes have never been the type to just sit back, either.

They’re fresh off beating the Vegas Golden Knights to claim the Cup for the second time, the first coming 20 years ago when coach Rod Brind’Amour was captain. The team has most of its core locked up to long-term deals, though that won’t stop the Hurricanes from looking to bolster the roster all the same.

“There’s always room to improve, there’s always spots we can get better,” Tulsky said Friday night after the first round of the NHL draft.

“Our goal is to build a team that even when we’re not playing our best, even when we have some injuries, we still can win the Cup. ... We need to keep taking steps to get to where we can be favorites year in and year out no matter what comes our way.”

On Saturday, Tulsky bought an exclusive negotiating window with pending free agent defenseman John Carlson, sending a late pick to Anaheim to jump the queue ahead of the market opening Wednesday.

What business is ahead on the roster?

The Hurricanes headed into the offseason with 36-year-old veteran Frederik Andersen — who anchored the net during Carolina’s 12-1 march through the Eastern Conference playoffs — as their biggest-name unrestricted free agent. Reserve forward Nicolas Delauriers and seventh defenseman Mike Reilly were the other unrestricted free agents, though the Hurricanes signed Deslauriers to a two-year deal on the stage of their downtown-Raleigh championship rally.

There’s another variable with defenseman Alexander Nikishin. The 24-year-old former top prospect became a lineup regular and worked in the third pairing through the playoffs, so the Hurricanes must decide whether to sign him — bridge or long-term — or potentially trade him.

Nikishin’s name has been popular for trade speculation. Tulsky said the Hurricanes had to pivot quickly to draft preparations and next week’s start of free agency, so contract negotiations for him hadn’t been a priority yet.

“It’s easy to punt for a little bit and let the dust settle and take care of the things that are pressing, then figure out where we’re going to go from there,” Tulsky said.

There’s another issue to monitor: the health of top-line forward Seth Jarvis. Tulsky said Jarvis is expected to be out up to six months after shoulder surgery, a timeline that would could linger into next season. That could open a lineup spot for rising prospect Bradly Nadeau or someone else.

The Hurricanes haven’t been afraid to take big swings

The Hurricanes had been aggressive before in trying to push a perennial playoff team over the top, notably by adding Jake Guentzel and Mikko Rantanen to find more high-end finishers. But they ended up dealing Guentzel’s rights to Tampa Bay in summer 2024 shortly before his expected departure in free agency, then had to move Rantanen after just 13 games in 2025 when it became clear he wouldn’t sign an extension.

The latter deal, however, worked in securing forward Logan Stankoven as the primary return from the Rantanen pivot. Stankoven centered the second line with Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake that scorched its way through the playoffs, with that trio combining for 25 goals and 55 points in the playoffs.

The question now is how much to tinker after rolling to a 16-3 playoff record en route to the Cup, especially with the roster set to return largely intact.

The motivation, though, won’t change.

“I promise you, we’re going to try to do it again,” Brind’Amour told fans during the team’s championship rally.

Carolina’s roster is filled with players locked up on long-term deals

Five of Carolina’s top nine forwards are signed through at least 2030-31, while physical forward Andrei Svechnikov is signed through 2028-29. Among the outliers, 37-year-old captain Jordan Staal — who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP — and Jordan Martinook each have one more year on their deals.

Staal wasn’t ready to retire on a high note, telling The North State Journal after the June 20 parade: “No, I want to win another one.”

As for defensemen, Jaccob Slavin and K’Andre Miller are notably lined up through 2032-33, while top-four defenseman Sean Walker is signed through 2028-29. Blue-liners Jalen Chatfield and Shayne Gostisbehere are each entering their final contract year.

Beyond Andersen in net, Stanley Cup Final hero Brandon Bussi is entering a three-year deal signed in February and reserve Pytor Kochetkov has one more year on his deal.

“That can’t make you complacent,” Tulsky said of winning the Cup. “That can’t have you saying, ‘You know what? We’re fine where we are.’ Other teams are taking steps, things change year to year. We need to keep finding ways to get better every time we can.”

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Defenseman Brandt Clarke has agreed to a five-year, $37 million deal to stay with the Los Angeles Kings.

The Kings announced the deal Friday for Clarke, the eighth overall pick in 2021 who has grown into the new cornerstone of their defense.

Clarke had career highs of eight goals and 32 assists while playing in all 82 regular-season games last season for the Kings, who lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. He was third in the NHL with 185 blocked shots, and he finished fourth on the LA roster in scoring.

The 23-year-old Clarke spent parts of the past four seasons with the Kings, but has been an NHL regular for only two years. Los Angeles general manager Ken Holland still saw enough to lock down the mobile defenseman through the 2030-31 season.

The Kings hired Peter Laviolette as their head coach earlier this month, and Clarke’s offensive skill fits well into the team’s possible evolution away from its traditional defense-first mentality to a more aggressive club under Laviolette.

Clarke was the Kings’ most prominent restricted free agent heading into the summer, but Holland also must make decision on unrestricted free agents Andrei Kuzmenko and Scott Lawton.

DENVER — Joe Sakic wasn’t content to simply run it back. Far from it, even if the Colorado Avalanche did have the best record in the regular season.

“Super Joe,” his nickname as a Hall of Fame player, has certainly lived up to his reputation of “Trader Joe” since stepping back into his role of GM for the Avalanche. He already has orchestrated several deals in this young offseason.

Because if there’s one thing Sakic knows all about, it’s championship windows. His squad, back in the day, won a pair of Stanley Cup trophies in 1996 and 2001.

The Avalanche are in the midst of another window with Nathan MacKinnon, captain Gabriel Landeskog and Cale Makar leading the way (they won in 2022). Sakic is giving the team a mini-reboot after the Avalanche were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.

“We’re trying to move on to next year, but if we’ve got to look back, that’s what it was — we just didn’t play well,” Sakic said Friday night before the start of the NHL draft. “We’re always looking to find a way to just, even if it’s a little bit better, to try and get better.”

Sakic inherited the GM job again — on top of his responsibilities as president of hockey operations — when Chris MacFarland recently left for the front office of the Nashville Predators.

The good friends already have executed several trades, with Sakic sending Ross Colton to MacFarland’s Predators and later Jack Drury.

“We weren’t friends,” Sakic cracked. “No, it was good. (MacFarland) did what he thought was best for his group. I thought we did what was best for our group. Obviously, those decisions for us really were cap decisions, freed up some space. We couldn’t have brought everybody back.”

Not done tinkering with the roster, Sakic made a splashy deal with Columbus that sent Valeri Nichushkin to the Blue Jackets for draft picks. It’s a way to free up space given Nichushkin had four more seasons left on his contract at a salary cap hit of $6.125 million. That savings could be used to negotiate a long-term extension with Makar, a two-time Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenseman.

“They’re tough decisions,” Sakic said. “But when you have a cap you’re dealing with and you’re trying to make the best decisions for your team to try and get under — it was a tough phone call to make to Val for the great things he’s done for our organization.”

Sakic used some of the resources to re-sign blueliners Brent Burns and Brett Kulak on Friday. The 41-year-old Burns will return for a 23rd season and another crack at a Stanley Cup title that’s eluded him. He is a powerful leader in the locker room and a reliable player on the ice. Burns enters the 2026-27 season needing 57 games to tie Phil Kessel for the longest regular-season ironman streak in NHL history.

Burns is set to earn the veteran minimum of $850,000 and can make up to $3 million in incentives, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because financial terms were not disclosed.

Sakic certainly knows the value of a grizzled defenseman: He had Hall of Famer Ray Bourque on board when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2001.

Also back is Kulak, who agreed to a five-year contract from the Avalanche worth a reported $22.5 million. The 32-year-old Kulak was acquired by the Avalanche on Feb. 24 as part of a deal with Pittsburgh. He averaged just over 19 minutes of ice time in 27 regular-season games.

Sakic doesn’t figure to be done revamping this roster, either. The Avalanche could always use another forward or two.

“It’s going to be the players that we feel are a good fit for us, for what we’re trying to do,” Sakic said. “Hopefully it works out. If it doesn’t work out, we’re going to have a good amount of cap space and draft capital for things to happen during the year.

“There’s no panic on our end. We’re not rushed. If we’ve got to start out with some kids this year to see what they got, what they can do, we’re perfectly happy with that as well.”

Pavel Dorofeyev is heading to the New York Rangers as part of a trade at the NHL draft on Friday night, as they hope the high-scoring winger helps supercharge their retooling effort.

The Rangers acquired Dorofeyev from Vegas for the Nos. 26 and 92 picks this year, plus a conditional first-rounder in 2028. The 25-year-old is coming off scoring 12 goals on the Golden Knights’ run to the Stanley Cup Final.

On their way there, they defeated the Utah Mammoth, who also made a big subtraction by sending a winger to the Eastern Conference. JJ Peterka is going to the Boston Bruins for the No. 23 pick and Florida’s top-10-protected ’28 first-rounder.

Peterka is changing places for a second consecutive offseason following his move from Buffalo just over a year to the day ago. The 24-year-old from Germany now gets to play for the league’s only German coach, Marco Sturm.

“I would like to thank JJ for his commitment to our organization,” Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said. “JJ is a great person and will be a dynamic player for Boston.”

Midway through the first round, the St. Louis Blues acquired forward Mason McTavish from Anaheim for the Nos. 15 and 29 picks, getting a player entering his prime at 23 who’s signed through 2031 at a salary cap hit of $7 million.

The Mammoth flipped the 23rd pick to Detroit for 23-year-old restricted free agent goaltender Sebastian Cossa.

Pre-draft trades aplenty

Getting Dorofeyev was New York GM Chris Drury ‘s second move of the day after sending forward Brett Berard to Montreal for defenseman William Trudeau, who has been in the minors and is still awaiting his NHL debut.

Also Friday, Buffalo got defenseman Olen Zellweger, who also needs a new contract, from Anaheim for the 45th pick and forward prospect Anton Wahlberg. Zellweger, who turns 23 in September, replenishes depth for the Sabres after they traded Bowen Byram to Chicago earlier in the week.

Chicago sent winger Andre Burakovsky to Ottawa for a 2027 sixth-round pick. Burakovsky joins the Senators more than three decades since his dad, Robert, played 23 games for them in the 1993-94 season.

The Blackhawks clear his $5.5 million salary cap hit off the books for next season, while the Senators get a 31-year-old winger who has twice won the Stanley Cup.

General manager Steve Staios said the Senators were happy to add a player of Burakovsky’s pedigree because he “adds skill and playmaking ability to our forward group.”

Staios was busy in the hours before adding Burakovsky, acquiring the rights to goaltender Samuel Ersson and re-signing another pending restricted free agent, defenseman Jordan Spence. Ottawa sent a 2027 fifth-rounder to rival Toronto for Ersson, whom the Maple Leafs got along with Emil Andrae in a cap space-clearing trade with Philadelphia for Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit.

Spence, 25, signed a four-year, $20 million contract. He was a big part of the team enduring injuries at the position and still making the playoffs, scoring a career-high seven goals and finishing with 31 points while skating an average of nearly 19 minutes over 73 games.

“Jordan was an excellent addition to our hockey club and proved to be a valuable asset on our blue line and stepped up when it counted last season,” Staios said. “We’re excited to have him as part of our core group.”

Teams take care of in-house business

Colorado re-signed defensemen Brent Burns and Brett Kulak, fresh off winning the Presidents’ Trophy and losing in the conference final to Vegas.

Burns, 41, signed for next season, his 23rd in the league, at the veteran minimum of $850,000 and can make up to $3 million in incentives, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because financial terms were not disclosed.

Burns has skated in 1,007 consecutive regular-season games and is 58 away from passing Phil Kessel for the longest ironman streak in NHL history.

Kulak got a five-year contract from the Avalanche worth a reported $22.5 million. President of hockey operations and franchise great Joe Sakic is reshaping the roster after reclaiming GM duties when Chris MacFarland left for Nashville.

The Islanders re-signed defenseman Tony DeAngelo to a two-year contract worth $9 million. He will count $4.5 million against the salary cap through the 2027-28 season.

DeAngelo, 30, is returning to the Islanders for a second full season after joining them upon returning to the NHL from a stint in the Russia-based KHL in January 2025.

“Tony has been great since he’s been here,” GM Mathieu Darche said on a video call with reporters after the draft. “It’s tough to find puck-moving defensemen, never mind a right-shot puck-moving defenseman, so Tony’s a big part of our team. We’re excited to have him back.”

Los Angeles re-signed defenseman Brandt Clarke for $37 million over the next five years.