Category: NHL

Why Bruins should pursue Nikolaj Ehlers on Day 1 of NHL free agency originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Bruins have taken care of most of their own free agents, including a flurry of new contracts over the last couple days.

The most notable deal was a six-year, $33 million contract for restricted free agent forward Morgan Geekie. Finding common ground with Geekie was important for the Bruins considering their lack of scoring depth. Geekie scored 33 goals last season — the second-most on the B’s behind David Pastrnak.

But the Bruins aren’t going to significantly improve offensively on internal development alone. Outside reinforcements are needed. The trade market is the best place for the Bruins to acquire a top-six forward. And the Bruins have several good prospects and future draft picks to dangle in potential trades.

The 2025 free agent class isn’t very strong — especially with Mitch Marner and Brad Marchand already off the board — but there are some impact forwards worth targeting, and one that fits what the Bruins need is Nikolaj Ehlers.

He was the Winnipeg Jets’ first-round pick in 2014 (No. 9 overall) and has played for them ever since.

The 29-year-old left wing has been one of the most consistent goal scorers in the league during his Jets career. He has tallied 20-plus goals in seven of the last nine seasons, and the two years he didn’t were 2020-21 (COVID-shortened year) and 2022-23 (missed a bunch of games due to injury).

Ehlers tallied 63 points (24 goals, 39 assists) in 69 games last season.

He was fantastic on the power play, too, posting six goals and 16 assists with the man advantage. He would be a nice addition to the Bruins’ power-play, which ranked 29th out of 32 teams with a 15.2 percent success rate in 2024-25.

Ehlers is more than a goal scorer. He’s a pretty good playmaker, too. He has tallied 30-plus assists five times, including each of the last two seasons. The Bruins don’t have any elite playmaking centers, so it would help to have wingers capable of consistently creating scoring chances for teammates. Ehlers fits that description.

One concern with Ehlers is durability. He missed 20 games in 2021-22, 37 games in 2022-23, none in 2023-24 and 13 games last season.

Signing him could use up most of the Bruins’ remaining salary cap space. The Bruins have about $12.7 million in cap space right now, per PuckPedia, and The Athletic projects Ehlers could get a contract in the range of six years and $8.1 million per season.

Ehlers is a legitimate top-six forward in the prime of his career. If the Bruins want to get back in the playoff mix as soon as next season, it would make sense to pursue Ehlers when the free agent market opens Tuesday at noon ET.

The Vancouver Canucks have re-signed center Aatu Räty to a two-year contract extension. The deal will carry an AAV of $775,000 and will keep the 22-year-old in Vancouver until the end of the 2026-27 season. Räty was scheduled to become a restricted free agent after wrapping up his entry-level contract. 

In a statement, GM Patrik Allvin wrote, "Aatu had a strong year in Abbotsford and also showed some promise when being called up to the NHL. It was another good step in his development as he continues to learn and grow as a pro. We expect him to have a good summer and come to training camp in September ready to compete for a job in Vancouver."

Räty set a new career high this season with 33 games played at the NHL level. The left-shot center scored seven goals while recording 11 points. Räty was also strong in the faceoff dot, winning 57.7% of his draws. 

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As for his time in the AHL, Räty played 43 regular season games with the Abbotsford Canucks recording 40 points. He also played six games in the post-season before suffering an injury. Räty will be competing for a full-time spot on the NHL roster and is a front-runner for a spot in the bottom six. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.

The Vancouver Canucks have re-signed BC local Arshdeep Bains to a two-year contract that will keep him within the organization until the end of the 2026-27 season. According to PuckPedia, both years of the deal will pay $775,000. 

“Arshdeep had another solid season in Abbotsford as he continues to develop and mature,” said Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin in a statement. “His game found another gear late in the AHL playoffs when he stepped up and helped lead the way offensively with several big goals. Arsh is now familiar with our system and style of play, and we expect him to push hard for a spot in September.”

Bains was first acquired by the Canucks back in 2022 after Vancouver signed him to a three-year entry-level contract. He played 13 games with Vancouver in the 2024-25 season and made his NHL debut the season prior against the Colorado Avalanche. He scored his first NHL goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 26, 2024. 

Throughout this season, Bains has made a mark as one of the Abbotsford Canucks' most consistent forwards both offensively and defensively. He led Abbotsford in points during the 2024-25 regular season, scoring 11 goals and 32 assists in 50 games played. In the team's Calder Cup campaign, he finished second in scoring with seven goals and 17 assists in 24 games. All seven of his postseason tallies came within the final eight games of the playoffs. 

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Bains is not the only member of the Calder Cup-winning Abbotsford team to receive a new deal, as Max Sasson, Guillaume Brisebois, and Aatu Räty also agreed on extensions today. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired Matias Maccelli from the Utah Mammoth in exchange for a conditional third-round draft pick in 2027, which will convert to a second-round draft pick in 2029 if Maccelli record at least 51 points in the 2025-26 NHL season.

The 5-foot-11 winger had eight goals and 10 assists in 55 games last season. He’s a play-maker who broke out into the NHL in 2022-23 when he led all rookies in assists. He also received Calder Trophy consideration and ultimately landed on the NHL’s all-rookie team that same season.

In acquiring Maccelli, the Leafs are betting that they are buying low on a season that saw the Finnish player have a dip in production. Some of that was attributed to dips in production from his linemates. If paired with elite talent in Toronto, there is certainly potential for the player to see a rebound next year. A deeper dive into the analytics of his season showed a player where contributed 1.78 shot assists above average per 60 while leading the NHL in generating chances off the rush. 

Other critics of Maccelli's style focus on his play away from his puck, which could use some improvement. It's believed the lack of hard-nosed physical play led to him falling out of Utah's top-six forward group and that will be something he will need to get better at under Craig Berube, who demands a hard-nosed, heavy north-south game.  But with a skilled player like Mitch Marner seemingly on his way out of Toronto, a play-making winger was needed. He isn't Marner, but there was a good reason for Toronto to give this a shot, given the low cost.

The 24-year-old Maccelli carries a salary cap hit of $3,425,000 for next season. After that, the player will be a restricted free agent.

Macccell first exhibited his skillset when he moved to the United States to play in the USHL beginning in 2017. In his second season, he scored 31 goals and 41 assists in 62 games. The Arizona Coyotes selected him in the fourth round (98th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft.

In his first season in professional hockey, he scored 13 goals and 27 assists in 43 games with Ilves Tampere, winning the Liiga rookie of the year award. The Coyotes subsequently signed him to a three-year entry-level contract at the end of that season 2019-20 season.

Leafs salary cap situation following trade

After acquiring Maccelli, the Leafs have $10,145,581 in salary cap space, according to PuckPedia.com as they get set to enter the feee agency period, which opens at noon E.T. on July 1.

(Headline Photo Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images)

Report: Maple Leafs Are Frontrunners For Brad Marchand If He Hits Open Market, Could Still Re-Sign With PanthersIf Brad Marchand hits the open market on Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs will reportedly be among several teams interested in the forward's services. And likely one of the frontrunners to land him.

Report: Maple Leafs Trying To Re-Sign Steven Lorentz Before Free Agency OpensThe Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly attempting a last-minute effort to re-sign pending

Maple Leafs Prospects Easton Cowan And Ben Danford Highlight 2025 Development Camp RosterThe Toronto Maple Leafs have announced

The Vegas Golden Knights have traded defenseman Nicolas Hague and a conditional third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Jeremy Lauzon and Colton Sissons. 

🔄 The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired Jeremy Lauzon and Colton Sissons from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Nicolas Hague and a 2027 third-round pick. #VegasBornpic.twitter.com/sxYZoEnC3Y

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 30, 2025

Lauzon, 28, is a seven-year NHL defenseman who has played for the Nashville Predators, Seattle Kraken, and Boston Bruins. He has appeared in 316 NHL games, including 187 with the Predators, recording 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) over four seasons. Lauzon set career highs during the 2023–24 season with six goals, 14 points, and 383 hits in 79 games. He has also made four appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, twice with the Bruins and twice with the Predators, skating in a total of 22 postseason games.

Sissons, 31, is a right-shot forward who’s appeared in 690 games with Nashville owning 221 points (95 Goals, 126 Assists) and holds a plus-18 rating over 11 seasons. Known for his physical style of play, Sissons leads all Nashville Predators skaters in hits since the 2015–16 campaign, accumulating 1,131, including a career-high 188 in the 2021–22 season. In the 2023–24 regular season, he set personal bests with 15 goals and 30 total points across 72 games. 

Sissons has appeared in 71 playoff games, tallying 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points. He played in all 22 games during Nashville’s memorable run to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, contributing 12 points (6 Goals, 6 Assists) and finishing with a plus-7 rating. One of his most iconic performances came in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final that year, when he recorded a hat trick to help the Predators clinch their first-ever trip to the championship round. Nashville will retain 50% of Sissons’ salary as part of the trade. 

One of our first draft picks and a Stanley Cup Champion.

Thank you for everything & best of luck, Haguer! 🦒#VegasBornpic.twitter.com/y35TXHR72C

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 30, 2025

Hague has signed a four-year, $22 million contract with the Predators. 

PHOTO COURTESY: Golden Knights

The Buffalo Sabres made a pair of trades before and during the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles which were as much about changing the makeup of the roster as they were about trimming the budget of the club in advance of the beginning of free agency on July 1. 

The JJ Peterka trade brought back two players in defenseman Michael Kesselring and forward Josh Doan under contract for 2025-26. Kesselring will make $1.4 million and is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent next summer, so the Sabres have control over him for two seasons. Doan is on the final year of his entry-level contract, and after this season Buffalo has four years of control over him before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. 

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Peterka obviously wanted out of Buffalo, but it is not clear if it was an issue with the organization being a perennial non-playoff club, if it was that the Sabres would not give him a significant raise and a long-term contract or all of the above. Clearly, the Sabres were not willing to pay a 23-year-old who at this point was not a complete two-way player the five-year, $38.5 million deal that Utah signed him to, and they did not want draft picks had Peterka gone the way of an offer sheet.

The trade sending a 2025 second round pick and defenseman Connor Clifton to Pittsburgh for defenseman Conor Timmins and minor leaguer Isaac Beliveau was an obvious salary dump. GM Kevyn Adams indicated that it was likely that Clifton would not be back after the final year of his three-year, $10 million deal, and that the Sabres had coveted Timmins for awhile, but not mentioned was the fact that they gave up a high draft pick to save likely $2 million in salary if Timmins takes his qualifying offer. 

After re-signing winger Jack Quinn to a two-year, $6.75 million contract extension, the Sabres now have just under $21 million going into free agency on Tuesday, but it remains a question whether this summer will be different than other recent ones where Adams is on a budget and leaves significant cap space unspent.       

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced their roster for this year's development camp.

All six of Toronto's selections from the 2025 NHL Draft (No. 64, Tinus Luc Koblar; No. 86, Tyler Hopkins; No. 137, William Belle; No. 153, Harry Nansi; No. 185, Rylan Fellinger; No. 217, Matthew Hlacar) will be in attendance for the three-day camp.

Seventeen of Toronto's draft picks, including the 2025 selections, and picks from previous drafts will be present, highlighted by Easton Cowan and Ben Danford. The other names on the list are 2024 picks, Miroslav Holinka, Victor Johansson, Matthew Lahey, Nathan Mayes, Sam McCue, Alex Plesovskikh; 2023 picks, Noah Chadwick, Hudson Malinoski; and 2022 third-round pick Nick Moldenhauer.

The Maple Leafs will also have four NHL-signed players at the camp: Luke Haymes, John Prokop, Blake Smith, and Borya Valis. All four players played at least one AHL game with the Toronto Marlies after signing in the spring.

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Four players signed to AHL contracts, including Ryan Kirwan, Rhett Parsons, Chas Sharpe, and Landon Sim will attend the camp. Aside from Sim, who won the Memorial Cup with Cowan and the London Knights, all three players have appeared in a professional game.

A total of 48 players (29 forwards, 15 defensemen, and four goaltenders) are attending development camp this year. All four goaltenders are free-agent invites; none of Toronto's drafted goaltenders will be at the camp.

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The three-day camp will feature approximately 10 hours of on-ice work for the prospects from Thursday, July 3, to Saturday, July 5. Maple Leafs assistant general manager, player development, Hayley Wickenheiser, will speak at the beginning and end of the camp.

(Top photo of Cowan: John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images)

Brad Marchand staying with Panthers on six-year contract: Report originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Brad Marchand isn’t just staying with the Florida Panthers, he is committing to the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs for six more years.

Yes, you read that right.

The 37-year-old veteran is “closing in on” a six-year contract worth just under $32 million with the Panthers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Monday. The salary cap hit will be less than $5.5 million, which is pretty good value for Florida.

If Marchand plays out this entire contract, he’ll be 43 years old when it expires.

Marchand spent 15-plus seasons with the Boston Bruins before they dealt him to the Panthers at the trade deadline in March.

He made a seamless transition to the Panthers lineup and was arguably their best player in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He tallied 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 23 postseason games, including six goals in the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers. The Panthers won the series in six games to secure back-to-back championships.

The Panthers have done a masterful job re-signing their own free agents this offseason. In addition to Marchand, Florida has kept top-six center Sam Bennett (eight years, $64 million) and star defenseman Aaron Ekblad (eight years, $48.8 million).

The Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Utah Mammoth reportedly were going to have interest in Marchand if he hit the free agent market Tuesday, but now those teams will have to pursue other options.

The Detroit Red Wings traded right winger Vladimir Tarasenko to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for future considerations.

Tarasenko has one season left on a two-year contract with a $4.75-million cap hit. He heads to the Wild, his sixth NHL team since the start of 2022.

The 33-year-old spent the first 10 seasons of his NHL career with the St. Louis Blues, which selected him 16th overall in the 2010 NHL draft. During that time, he won the Stanley Cup in 2019.

In his 11th season, the Blues traded him to the New York Rangers in January 2023. He played the rest of the season for the Blueshirts before signing a one-year contract with the Ottawa Senators in free agency.

After 57 games with the Senators, which were on their way to missing the playoffs, they traded Tarasenko to the Florida Panthers at the NHL trade deadline in 2023-24. Tarasenko had 14 points in 19 games with the Panthers before putting up five goals and nine points in 24 games en route to the Panthers' first-ever Stanley Cup championship.

Tarasenko signed with the Red Wings as a UFA in 2024. This past season, he recorded 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games, both career lows in seasons when he played at least 40 games. His average ice time of 14:47 was the lowest since his rookie campaign in 2012-13.

Now, the Red Wings made a cap dump by trading him to Minnesota. They now have nearly $23.2 million in projected cap space, according to PuckPedia. They have five pending UFAs, including Patrick Kane, and three pending RFAs, including Jonatan Berggren.

As for the Wild, they get a sniper who can play up and down the lineup and potentially bounce back from the relatively low production in 2024-25. His shooting percentage this past season was 8.3 percent, the second-lowest of his career, in which he usually scores on between 10 percent and 15 percent of his shots.

Right winger Gustav Nyquist is among Minnesota's pending UFAs, so if he's out, Tarasenko fits right in for improved depth and secondary scoring.

The Wild still have just under $13 million in projected cap space, with three pending depth UFAs and pending RFA Marco Rossi, who's been a subject of trade speculation.

Tarasenko, a 6-foot-1, 219-pound NHL veteran from Yaroslavl, Russia, has 304 goals and 358 assists for 662 points in 831 career regular-season games. He also has 49 goals and 73 points in 121 post-season contests. He was voted to the NHL's second all-star team in 2014-15 and 2015-16, and he's played in four NHL All-Star Games.

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Former St. Louis Blues star Vladimir Tarasenko is once again heading to a new team. 

The Detroit Red Wings have announced that they have traded Tarasenko to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for future considerations. 

We have acquired right wing Vladimir Tarasenko from Detroit in exchange for future considerations. pic.twitter.com/YdyexgYu01

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) June 30, 2025

Tarasenko had been in the rumor mill since before the 2025 NHL trade deadline, as he just did not fit in well with the Red Wings. In 80 games with the Original Six club in 2024-25, he posted 11 goals, 33 points, and a minus-13 rating.

Tarasenko's goal will to now have a bounce-back season with the Wild from here. When looking at his past success, he undoubtedly has the potential to turn things back around. If he does, he could be a very solid addition to the Wild's middle six. 

In 644 games over 11 seasons with the St. Louis Blues from 2012-13 to 2022-23, Tarasenko recorded 262 goals, 291 assists, 553 points, and a plus-57 rating. His time with the Blues ended when he was traded to the New York Rangers at the 2023 NHL trade deadline. Since then, he has had stops with the Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers, and Red Wings. Now, he is heading to Minnesota. 

Report: Blues Still Trying To Re-Sign Veteran Forward

Photo Credit: © Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

The Buffalo Sabres are in the midst of a reshuffle of their roster for next season and the bottom end of their blueline is the area where the upheaval is the most stark. If you look at the turnover from the opening night roster last season, Dennis Gilbert was dealt to Ottawa along with Dylan Cozens for Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker at the trade deadline, Connor Clifton was shipped to Pittsburgh for Conor Timmins, and Henri Jokiharju was sent to Boston for a 2026 fourth round pick.

Jokiharju, who was a pending unrestricted free agent when the Sabres traded him in March, re-signed with the Bruins on Monday to a three-year, $9 million contract extension. The 26-year-old had 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in 60 games with Buffalo and Boston last season, and is expected to play on the Bruins bottom pairing 

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Acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019 in a swap for Alex Nylander, the former first-round pick had 81 points (19 goals, 62 assists) in 351 games over six seasons with the Sabres, playing at times with Dahlin on the club’s top pairing and higher in the lineup than maybe he should have because of a lack of options on the right side.  

The Sabres at this point are going to look different on defense to start next season, with righties Michael Kesselring (acquired in the JJ Peterka deal last week), Timmins (a restricted free agent) and Bernard-Docker on the right side. There is still a possibility of more changes, as Mattias Samuelsson and/or Bowen Byram could be moved this summer, leaving only Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power as defensemen who are certain to be back. 

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly attempting a last-minute effort to re-sign pending unrestricted free agent Steven Lorentz.

"With the free-agent market due to open in a little more than 24 hours, the Maple Leafs are exploring whether they can get something done with pending UFA Steven Lorentz to keep him in Toronto," TSN and The Athletic's Chris Johnston reported on X.

Lorentz scored eight goals and 11 assists in 80 games with the Maple Leafs last season, setting a new career-high in assists and tying that in points. The fourth liner also had 199 hits in the regular season, the second-most behind defenseman Simon Benoit (204).

The 29-year-old didn't find the back of the net through the playoffs, but did have two assists in 13 games, both coming against the Florida Panthers in the second round. He was third on Toronto in hits in the playoffs with 42, trailing only Bobby McMann (49) and Max Pacioretty (61).

Lorentz, a lifelong Maple Leafs fan, signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with Toronto last October after entering the team's training camp on a professional tryout. He played with the Florida Panthers in the season prior and skated in 16 games for the club en route to their first Stanley Cup win.

Report: Maple Leafs Are Frontrunners For Brad Marchand If He Hits Open Market, Could Still Re-Sign With PanthersIf Brad Marchand hits the open market on Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs will reportedly be among several teams interested in the forward's services. And likely one of the frontrunners to land him.

The three former Panthers on Toronto—Lorentz, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Anthony Stolarz—were presented with Stanley Cup rings ahead of their first game in Florida this past season on Nov. 27.

This news comes amidst a busy time in the NHL with one day remaining until free agency opens. Already being reported is that Toronto could be the frontrunners to land Brad Marchand if he doesn't re-sign in Florida. There's also the potential of a sign-and-trade involving Mitch Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights.

On Friday afternoon, John Tavares signed a four-year, $17.55 million contract with an annual average value of $4.38 million. Forty-eight hours later, the Maple Leafs and Matthew Knies reportedly agreed on a six-year, $46.50 million extension and an AAV of $7.75 million.

Golden Knights Trade Nic Hague To Predators: What It Means For Maple Leafs And Mitch Marner Trade TalksAs speculation intensifies around a potential trade of Mitch Marner's negotiating rights from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Vegas Golden Knights, one potential trade piece is now off the table. Early Monday morning,

Knies' deal is yet to be made official by Toronto.

TSN and The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun also reported that the Maple Leafs could be interested in pending UFA Michael Pezzetta when free agency opens. The 27-year-old was born in Toronto and didn't have a point in 25 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season.

He could fill the void that could come with Group 6 UFAs Alex Steeves and Nick Abruzzese, plus UFA Alex Nylander, potentially testing the open market. Pezzetta has 15 goals and 23 assists in 200 career NHL games with the Canadiens.

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According to PuckPedia, the Maple Leafs have $13.57 million in cap space after the Tavares and Knies extensions.

(Top photo of Lorentz: Ed Mulholland / Imagn Images)

The Philadelphia Flyers desperately need their 2025 NHL draft class to be highly productive if their rebuild is going to show progression.

They took some big swings (Porter Martone) and some gambles (Jack Nesbitt) while adding some needed size. How it all turns out down the road will help define a franchise that has been stuck in neutral for way too long.

Brent Flahr, assistant GM, has had a mixed record since the Flyers hired him in December 2018 and have had him heading their draft board since 2019.

Hired by then-GM Chuck Fletcher, Flahr has overseen seven drafts with the Flyers, including this year’s.

During that time, he has had some good draft selections (Tyson Foerster in 2020), some puzzling ones (Cam York over Cole Caufield in 2019) and some that turned out superbly (Matvei Michkov in 2023).

He also made a wise choice, but as it turned out, set back the franchise by selecting Cutter Gauthier in 2022. Gauthier looks like a future star. The problem is he forced the Flyers to trade him because he didn’t want to play in Philadelphia.

Here’s a look at the Flahr-led drafts during his Flyers tenure:

2019

This will forever be known as the draft in which the Flyers bypassed Caufield. Twice. 

In hindsight, the decision isn’t as disastrous because of Bobby Brink’s development. Still, the decision to bypass Caufield stings.

Caufield was an electric scorer going into that draft, but the Flyers questioned his lack of size at 5-foot-7 and 170 pounds. He has proven his stature didn’t matter. 

The right winger, drafted 15th overall, has been a big-time scorer for the Montreal Canadiens ever since he became a full-time player in 2021-22. In the past four seasons, he has scored 23, 26, 28 and 37 goals for the Canadiens.

Instead of drafting Caufield, Fletcher made two deals and got two players early in the 2019 draft: York and Brink. The latter is a smallish player regarded as Caufield lite. York is still developing but has been mediocre, while Brink had 12 goals and 41 points last season, both career bests.

Would you rather have York and Brink over Caufield? Probably not. 

Flahr gets a C-minus in this draft.

2020

Flahr took right winger Foerster at 23rd overall. Defenseman Emil Andrae was taken 54th and has a chance to be a regular. 

You can quibble that the Flyers should have taken right winger JJ Peterka instead of Foerster, but the latter has been very solid. Peterka, a German, was taken 34th overall by the Buffalo Sabres and has scored 28 and 27 goals over the past two seasons, respectively. Foerster scored 20 goals as a rookie and 25 goals last season.

Give Flahr a B-plus for his first-round pick in this draft.

2021

The Flyers didn’t have a first-rounder in this draft but selected Samu Tuomaala in the second round and goalie Aleksei Kolosov in the third. 

Among the players who were available when Tuomaala was chosen 46th overall: Matthew Knies (29 goals this past season with the Toronto Maple Leafs), Logan Stankoven (14 goals) and productive defenseman J.J. Moser. Tuomaala has been up and down with the AHL Lehigh Valley.

Flahr gets a C in this draft.

The Calgary Flames And The League Among The Winners And Losers From The 2025 NHL DraftIt almost feels impossible to designate winners and losers on the day that the NHL draft goes down. The whole point of the NHL draft is to build for the future, and with the inexact science that is the NHL draft, no one really knows who won and lost the day the picks are made. 

2022

For the Flyers, this draft included Gauthier (fifth overall) and Alex Bump (fifth round, 133rd overall).

In fairness, Gauthier didn’t tell the Flyers he didn’t want to play for them until a few months after the NHL draft, so Flahr and the rest of the draft board should be absolved. If they had known, the Flyers might have chosen center Marco Kasper, who went eighth to the Detroit Red Wings. That would have changed the dynamics of where the center-needy Flyers are today. 

In his first full season, Kasper had 19 goals last year and blossomed into the Red Wings’ No. 2 center.

Give Flahr a B-plus for this draft.

2023

This is Flahr’s best draft. By far. 

Besides taking star-in-the-making Michkov with the seventh overall pick, the Flyers added to their future nucleus by drafting Oliver Bonk (first round, 22nd overall), Carson Bjarnason (second round), Denver Barkey (third round) and goalie Egor Zavragin (third round).

Bravo, Mr. Flahr. He gets an A-plus for this draft.

2024

Speedy center Jett Luchanko (13th overall) was the Flyers’ top pick, and the jury is still out on him after a strong OHL season in 2024-25. He doesn’t turn 19 until Aug. 21. Flahr’s grade for this draft is incomplete.

2025

The Flyers chose right winger Martone sixth overall, and the power forward has drawn comparisons to the hard-nosed Tkachuk brothers, Matthew and Brady, so it’s hard to argue with the pick. 

That said, Philly desperately needed a future No.1 center, and bypassing James Hagens raised some eyebrows. Philadelphia fans will watch closely the development of Martone and Hagens. 

Flahr’s biggest gamble was trading two late first-round picks to the Pittsburgh Penguins to move up to No. 12, where the Flyers selected 6-foot-5 center Nesbitt. Most draft experts rated in the mid-20s to high 30s – Ryan Kennedy had him ranked 20th, while Tony Ferrari had him 51st. He is regarded as a future third-line center.

Flahr’s grade for this draft won’t be known for a few years. He did add size – lots of size – and talent later in the draft, so the hope is that not getting a future No. 1 center won’t haunt him.

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The start of free agency is just about here, so it is going to be a very busy time in the NHL. The St. Louis Blues will certainly be a team to watch once free agency opens, as they should be looking to add to their roster after their successful 2024-25 season. 

One of the Blues' clear top needs is another skilled center. Due to this, they should have a clear top target once July 1 is here - Dallas Stars forward Mikael Granlund.

Given the Stars' current salary cap situation, the expectation is that Granlund will become an unrestricted free agent (UFA). When noting that Sam Bennett, John Tavares, and Ryan Donato have all re-signed with their current clubs, Granlund is now arguably the best pending UFA center left. Thus, the Blues should seriously consider pursuing him if he officially hits the market.

When looking at Granlund's numbers from this past season, he would be a realistic option for the Blues' second-line center spot and power play if signed. In 83 games split between the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars, he posted 22 goals, 44 assists, and 66 points. Yet, he is also known for his smart two-way play, so he would also give the Blues another player to work on their penalty kill if brought in. 

On a short-term deal, Granlund would be a very good player for the Blues to sign as they look to take another step forward in 2025-26. It will be intriguing to see if they make a push for Granlund this summer from here.

NHL Rumors: Insider Names New Potential Suitor For Jordan Kyrou All eyes will be on

Photo Credit:  © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

If Brad Marchand hits the open market on Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs will reportedly be among several teams interested in the forward's services. And likely one of the frontrunners to land him.

The Athletic and TSN insider Pierre LeBrun reported on Sunday morning that while Marchand could return to Florida, the Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, his former club, hope to speak with the forward if he's a free agent on July 1.

Further to that report, TSN's Darren Dreger appeared on TSN 1050's First Up with Aaron Korolnek and Carlo Colaiacovo on Monday morning, adding to LeBrun's report, which came a day earlier.

"This is very much a personal decision. The family influence is strong for Brad Marchand, his wife, and his children. I mean, most still believe he's going to stay in Florida, that Bill Zito's going to find a way to get it done," Dreger said.

"As Pierre LeBrun alluded to, I believe yesterday on X, there's a world where you could see Marchand going back to Boston. And if that happens, I suspect that the term would be longer, not that it would play out, but primarily, that decision, if it went that way, would be because of what I just said. Just the pull of family, right?

"But Toronto is in the conversation, no doubt about it. As long as Toronto can be in the conversation. If all of a sudden, on the open market tomorrow, Brad Marchand says I need $8.5-9 million from the Maple Leafs, I'm not so sure they can make that happen."

Golden Knights Trade Nic Hague To Predators: What It Means For Maple Leafs And Mitch Marner Trade TalksAs speculation intensifies around a potential trade of Mitch Marner's negotiating rights from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Vegas Golden Knights, one potential trade piece is now off the table. Early Monday morning,

Dreger also reported on X that the Utah Mammoth could be a team that targets the veteran forward if he becomes a free agent.

Everyone remembers Marchand's Stanley Cup playoff with the Florida Panthers: 10 goals (two of which were overtime winners), 10 assists for 20 points in 23 games, and the moment he lifted the cup over his head again.

Matthew Knies Avoids Restricted Free Agency, Inks Long-Term Deal With Maple Leafs: 6 Years, $7.75M AAVMatthew Knies will be a Toronto Maple Leaf for six more years.

Though at 37 years old, you have to wonder how much longer Marchand can play to that standard. However, teams like the Maple Leafs, who are in win-now mode, aren't really looking at the age factor too much. They want a Stanley Cup, and it appears they believe Marchand can help get them there.

"As far as I can gather, the Leafs’ biggest bet on July 1 is apparently going to be an attempt to sign Brad Marchand," The Athletic's James Mirtle wrote. "That would obviously eat up a huge percentage of their remaining cap space — likely in the $8 million range — with the understanding the 37-year-old would be a big part of their top-six for the next few years."

We'll see what transpires over the next 24 hours regarding Marchand's future, Mitch Marner's negotiation rights, which could be traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, and Matthew Knies' extension, that's not been made official yet.

If Mitch Marner Leaves in Free Agency, Could the Maple Leafs Pursue Tampering Charges?Just when you thought Mitch Marner’s seemingly inevitable exit from Toronto couldn’t get more nasty, a new report has emerged. The Toronto Maple Leafs may be preparing to take action.

It's going to be a wild pre and start to free agency, which begins at 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

(Top photo: John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images)