The Vancouver Canucks have signed veteran defenceman Guillaume Brisebois to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
A third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Brisebois has been with the Canucks' AHL-affiliate since the 2017-18 season, playing for both the Utica Comets (2017-18 to 2020-21) and Abbotsford Canucks (2021-22 to present). He is one of only three players drafted by the Canucks before 2016 still with the organization.
Brisebois has served predominantly as a depth defender for the Canucks organization throughout his time with Vancouver. He made his NHL debut on February 14, 2019 against the Los Angeles Kings and scored his first-career NHL goal on March 14, 2023 versus the Dallas Stars.
Though he spent most of the 2025-26 season injured, Brisebois did end up skating in nine games for Abbotsford, scoring a goal and an assists during this span of time.
Brisebois was set to become a free-agent come July 1.
Jan 3, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Guillaume Brisebois (55) handles the puck against the Nashville Predators in the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
The Vegas Golden Knights are making moves. On Tuesday, they announced their second trade in as many days, sending defenseman Kaedan Korczak to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Parker Wotherspoon.
The Golden Knights are only on the hook for paying Wotherspoon $500,000, as the Penguins are retaining 50% of his contract. They also gained another $2,750,000 in salary cap relief by dumping the 25-year-old Korczak, whose four-year, $3,250,000 contract extension had not yet kicked in.
The Golden Knights drafted Korczak with the 41st overall pick in 2019. He’d taken the steps towards becoming an every-night NHLer, and he got his chance last year without Alex Pietrangelo in the lineup. However, Korczak never lived up to the contract extension he signed last July, and he was inconsistent in a sheltered role. His struggles continued in the postseason, and Korczak eventually lost his roster spot to Dylan Coghlan.
Parker Wotherspoon is 28 years old and is coming off a career year in which he scored 3 goals and 30 points in 80 games. He isn’t the biggest player, and he’ll be the runt of the litter on the Vegas blueline. However, Wotherspoon is one tough customer, as he was second among all Penguins players in hits with 162. He’s a smooth-skater who is dangerous in transition, so he’ll fit right in with the other Golden Knights defensemen.
Acquiring Wotherspoon, a left-shot defenseman, almost certainly marks the end of Jeremy Lauzon’s time in a Golden Knights sweater. Lauzon will become an Unrestricted Free Agent on July 1st, and after the postseason he had, he is due for a raise that the Golden Knights most likely couldn’t afford to pay him.
As per usual, the Golden Knights have been linked to just about every big name on the trade block. Their flurry of activity, combined with how efficiently they’ve freed up salary cap space, probably signals that something big is coming.
Oct 11, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic (17) during the second period against the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Former NHL player Milan Lucic has gone from being a one-time Buffalo Sabres’ antagonist to landing a job as a pro scout, the team announced as part of a series of hirings and promotions on Tuesday.
Lucic joins the Sabres weeks after announcing his retirement in ending a 17-year NHL career. The 38-year-old spent his first eight seasons with Boston, where Lucic won a Stanley Cup in 2011.
And it was with the Bruins where Lucic drew the ire of the Atlantic Division-rival Sabres and their fans. He was particularly vilified for bowling over Sabres goalie Ryan Miller during a game in Boston in November 2011.
Miller missed several weeks with a neck injury and, following the game, called the 240-pound Lucic as “gutless,” for hitting a player 50 pounds lighter. Meantime, Sabres players were criticized for not stepping in to defend their star goalie.
The Sabres announced their front office additions made under first-year Buffalo general manager Jarmo Kekalainen.
Buffalo pro scout Stacy Roest was promoted to director of player personnel and GM of the Sabres minor league affiliate in Rochester.
Sabres development coach and former player Tim Kennedy was promoted to director of player development. He will be joined by Derek Dorsett, who was hired as a forward development coach.
Former NHL player Jarkko Ruutu takes over as the team’s European development coach, and rejoins Kekalainen after the two previously worked together in Columbus.
Neil Komadoski was hired as assistant director of pro scouting, following 16 seasons working in a scouting role for the Vancouver Canucks.
The Los Angeles Kings have completed Peter Laviolette's coaching staff for the 2026-27 season, announcing the additions of Phil Housley as associate coach and Chris Hajt and Ray Whitney as assistant coaches.
Assistant coach Derik Johnston and goaltending coach Mike Buckley will remain on Laviolette's staff after serving in those roles last season.
Housley reunites with Laviolette after previously working alongside him with both the Nashville Predators and New York Rangers. The Hockey Hall of Famer most recently spent two seasons as an assistant coach in New York before joining the Kings.
The 62-year-old brings more than a decade of NHL coaching experience. Before his time with the Rangers, Housley served as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres from 2017-19 and spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the Arizona Coyotes. He began his NHL coaching career in Nashville, where he worked under Laviolette from 2013-17 and helped guide the Predators to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history.
During his 21-year playing career, Housley appeared in 1,495 NHL games, recording 338 goals and 1,232 points. Both totals rank fourth all-time among NHL defensemen. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015 after earning seven NHL All-Star selections and representing the United States internationally on multiple occasions.
Hajt joins the Kings after spending nine seasons with the Ontario Reign, Los Angeles' American Hockey League affiliate, where he most recently served as associate coach. His time with the organization included six playoff appearances, two Pacific Division titles and a trip to the Western Conference Final.
The 47-year-old also has previous NHL coaching experience, serving as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons under Housley.
Before joining Ontario, Hajt helped the Manchester Monarchs capture the 2015 Calder Cup and previously spent six seasons behind the bench with the Ontario Hockey League's Guelph Storm, where he was part of the club's 2014 OHL championship team.
Whitney enters the NHL coaching ranks following a distinguished 22-season playing career that included 1,330 regular-season games and 1,064 career points.
Selected 23rd overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 1991 NHL Draft, Whitney played for eight NHL organizations and won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 under Laviolette. He later spent three seasons as a professional scout with Carolina before coaching youth hockey in Arizona.
The Kings also confirmed Johnston and Buckley will remain on the coaching staff.
Johnston returns after serving as an assistant coach last season, while Buckley continues as goaltending coach following his work with the Kings and his role as Team USA's goaltending coach at the Winter Olympics.
With the announcement, the Kings have finalized Laviolette's first coaching staff as they prepare for the 2026-27 season.
Slowly but surely, the Pittsburgh Penguins are making some sneakily good moves to add depth to their prospect pool on the blue line.
For two offseasons in a row, Penguins' president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas has identified defense as an area of concern that the Penguins need to improve upon. In the summer of 2025, he went out and grabbed left defenseman Parker Wotherspoon traded to the Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday - who became a staple on the top pairing next to a vintage-form Erik Karlsson. There is also the up-and-coming righty in Harrison Brunicke, who will likely see more time at the NHL level next season.
Since then, Dubas has continued to add. And one of those additions is an NCAA product who possesses some nice upside.
"Obviously, it was a dream come true. Something you want to happen since you were a little kid," Livanavage said of making his debut. "Just such a surreal moment, and, you know, the guys in the locker room are awesome. To be around some of the best in the world, it was lot of fun and something that I always look back on and I'm super grateful for."
Prior to making his debut, Livanavage was able to hang around Sidney Crosby and some of the Penguins' other veterans in the press box and during practices, learning as much as he could from them before taking the ice against the Blues.
"I don't know what most people put him at, but he's definitely a top-three player to ever play the game," Livanavage said. "So, to be able to sit next to him and pick his brain and see what he does on a day-to-day basis was... I don't think you can really get any better than that. So, just super grateful, and [he's] an awesome leader."
Even though his debut last spring was something he'll never forget, Livanavage is ready to turn the page. And he is gunning for a spot on the Penguins' opening night roster out of training camp.
Livanavage, a USHL product, put up some impressive numbers with the Chicago Steel in junior hockey before committing to the University of North Dakota, where he spent the last three seasons. The 22-year-old recorded 14 goals and 82 points to go along with a plus-40 in 117 games with North Dakota, and he helped lead them to the NCAA National Championship last season, where they lost to the University of Denver.
"It was awesome. Anytime you're playing for a championship at any level, it's incredible," Livanavage said. "Not the outcome we wanted, but just a special group that we had, and the bond in the locker room that we had, it was pretty special. Like, those teams don't come around very often, so it was just an unbelievable year, and I'm just so thankful for that program and the opportunity they gave me."
His collegiate hockey experience - like many other NCAA prospects have echoed - allowed him the time to get into the gym and work on some off-ice training ventures that he didn't get the opportunity to pursue otherwise with his junior hockey schedule. The Gilbert, Ariz. product said the five days between games during the week allowed him to put on size, recoup his body, and better condition him to play against increasingly bigger competition.
He is well aware that putting on even more size would benefit him in readying for NHL competition, as he wants to keep building on his 5-foot-11, 190-pound frame. And, well, if what Livanavage said about his summer is true, he has already begun to accomplish that.
"This summer, it's just getting bigger and stronger," he said. "You know, being able to play against men. Just coming out and working as hard as I can and just being ready for training camp from the first day. I feel good right now, and I'm super excited to get going.
"I put on about 15 pounds this summer already. I feel like the weight gain in the summer, you know, it's challenging, but it's just something you have to do if you want to play at that level. And you, obviously, want to play there. It's anything you have to do to play at that level, so like I said, it's been 15 pounds this summer and a couple more to go."
New NCAA free agent signee Jake Livanavage arrives at PPG Paints Arena for his first day on the job and immediately gets to shadow a top-five player of all-time.
Gotta be a pretty cool day for him, parked next to Sidney Crosby in the press box. They're isolated from the others.
Of course, Livanavage is one of the older players at the Penguins' annual prospect development camp this year. But, he sees it as an opportunity to get to know more guys - and, especially, guys around his age who he's played against in the past - in the organization in addition to the NHL talent he got to spend some time around in the last month of the 2025-26 season.
He also knows every development opportunity with the organization gives Pittsburgh the chance to be reminded why they called him in the first place. And Livanavage certainly remembers that Zoom call with Pittsburgh prior to signing.
There were other opportunities. But, added onto the fact that Pittsburgh has a rich winning history, Livanavage said that the Penguins felt like the right place to go immediately after he spoke with him - and he couldn't ask for a better culture to help foster his growth and development.
"Honestly, [in] my first zoom call with them, I got off the phone and just felt comfortable," he said. "It was a little bit of back and forth figuring out what we wanted and stuff like that, but when it came down to it, I just felt comfortable coming off the zoom call, and right away, it was just kind of like, 'I think that's it. Like, that's where I want to be.'
"I think the development they put into their players and how much, top to bottom, they care about their prospects and everything, it's super special. You don't get that everywhere."
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 07: Kaedan Korczak #6 of the Vegas Golden Knights passes the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins at T-Mobile Arena on March 07, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The Pittsburgh Penguins made their first big transaction of the off-season by trading out defenseman Parker Wotherspoon to Vegas for Kaedan Korczak.
The Penguins have acquired defenseman Kaedan Korczak from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Parker Wotherspoon.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired defenseman Kaedan Korczak from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Parker Wotherspoon, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.
Korczak, 25, is signed through the 2029-30 season and carries an average annual value of $3.25 million. Pittsburgh is retaining 50% of Wotherspoon’s contract.
The 6-foot-3, 206-pound defenseman has spent the last five-plus seasons in the Vegas Golden Knights organization. Last season, Korczak recorded three goals, 13 assists and 16 points in 78 games with Vegas and notched three assists in 13 games en route to the Stanley Cup Final.
In 155 career NHL games, Korczak has tallied four goals, 33 assists, 37 points and a plus-31 and added another three assists in 14 career playoff games. The defenseman spent parts of his first four professional seasons with the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League and tallied 39 points (7G-32A) in 134 games.
The Yorkton, SK native has represented Team Canada at the 2021 World Junior Championship and 2019 World Under-18 Championship, winning a silver medal in 2021.
Korczak was originally drafted in the second round (41st overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft by Vegas.
The move has cap implications, the Pens are retaining half of Wotherspoon’s already reasonable $1.0 million salary for Vegas to gain as much space as possible. Korczak carries a $3.25 million cap hit and as mentioned above is signed for the next four seasons on an extension that doesn’t kick in until tomorrow.
One of my radio broadcasts last season was in Vegas. This was the gist of what I gleaned on Kaedan Korczak, the 6-3, 206-pound defenseman: "Intelligent two-way defender who loves to mix it up. Bigger guy who can skate."
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) June 30, 2026
The right shooting defenseman averaged just under 16 minutes per game for Vegas last year. He fits right in the wheelhouse of what the Penguins have sought after in terms of age, 25, and showing some good metrics that the team will hope can flourish stepping up a level.
Wotherspoon performed well for the Penguins, in a first pairing role on the left side on a pair with Erik Karlsson. This move could be a harbinger of things to come as Pittsburgh remakes their blueline now that the already weak left side loses a key member and certainly looks like a place the team will need to add to this summer in another trade or by signing a free agent.
The Florida Panthers traded for their second goaltender in as many days, acquiring Jacob Markstrom in a deal with the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday that all but certainly signals the end of Sergei Bobrovsky’s storied run in South Florida.
The Panthers sent Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist and the rights to pending restricted free agnet Ben Steeves to the Devils for Markstrom and winger Angus Crookshank.
Florida got goalie Akira Schmid from Vegas on Monday night for a 2028 third-round pick.
The Devils traded goalie Jacob Markstrom to the Panthers. Getty Images
“Jacob is an established veteran leader in this league who possesses size and a relentless drive to win,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. “We are excited for him to compete alongside our established group and return to South Florida.”
Bobrovsky, 37, backstopped Florida to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and ’25 and another trip to the final in ’23.
Markstrom, 36, is beginning a two-year contract at an annual salary cap hit of $6 million. That was signed by former Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald, who left the organization in April.
Moving on from him is the first big roster shakeup for successor Sunny Mehta. New Jersey now has Jake Allen in net and will likely go shopping for his tandem mate in free agency.
The trade likely ends Sergei Bobrovsky’s time with the Panthers. NHLI via Getty Images
Rodrigues, who turns 33 on July 28, gives the Devils another top-nine forward. The Panthers shed his salary of just over $3 million after getting Brady Tkachuk from Ottawa to play with brother Matthew.
In other moves around the NHL, the St. Louis Blues put winger Jonathan Drouin on unconditional waivers to buy out the final season of his contract. They got Drouin at the trade deadline from the New York Islanders as part of the return for Brayden Schenn.
Apr 5, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; New Jersey Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom (25) looks on during warm-up before the game against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
David Kirouac-Imagn Images
The Florida Panthers traded for their second goaltender in as many days, acquiring Jacob Markstrom in a deal with the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday that all but certainly signals the end of Sergei Bobrovsky’s storied run in South Florida.
The Panthers sent Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist and the rights to pending restricted free agnet Ben Steeves to the Devils for Markstrom and winger Angus Crookshank. Florida got goalie Akira Schmid from Vegas on Monday night for a 2028 third-round pick.
“Jacob is an established veteran leader in this league who possesses size and a relentless drive to win,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. “We are excited for him to compete alongside our established group and return to South Florida.”
Bobrovsky, 37, backstopped Florida to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and ’25 and another trip to the final in ’23.
Markstrom, 36, is beginning a two-year contract at an annual salary cap hit of $6 million. That was signed by former Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald, who left the organization in April.
Moving on from him is the first big roster shakeup for successor Sunny Mehta. New Jersey now has Jake Allen in net and will likely go shopping for his tandem mate in free agency.
Rodrigues, who turns 33 on July 28, gives the Devils another top-nine forward. The Panthers shed his salary of just over $3 million after getting Brady Tkachuk from Ottawa to play with brother Matthew.
In other moves around the NHL, the St. Louis Blues put winger Jonathan Drouin on unconditional waivers to buy out the final season of his contract. They got Drouin at the trade deadline from the New York Islanders as part of the return for Brayden Schenn.
NHL free agency officially opens at noon ET on Wednesday, July 1, but there is plenty of action on June 30 as teams get in shape for the annual signing period.
Already, the Florida Panthers changed up their goaltending with two trades and the St. Louis Blues took a step to buy out Jonathan Drouin.
The Panthers announced that they acquired goaltender Jacob Markstrom from the New Jersey Devils and Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Panthers' 2025-26 goalies, two-time Stanley Cup winner Sergei Bobrovsky plus Daniil Tarasov, are pending unrestricted free agents.
Here are live updates on NHL transactions from Tuesday, June 30:
Parker Wotherspoon is heading to Vegas, with 50% of his salary retained, for Kaedan Korczak. Wotherspoon had a career-best 30 points last season. The move saves the Golden Knights $2.75 million in cap space.
The Panthers give up Evan Rodigues, Jesper Boqvist and Ben Steeves in the Markstrom deal and also get back minor league forward Angus Crookshank. They give up a 2028 third-round pick in the Schmid deal.
Bobrovsky, 37, won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles with the Panthers and two Vezina trophies earlier in his career. But he was coming off the worst save percentage of his career and was reportedly seeking a long-term deal. The Panthers then changed plans.
Markstrom, 36, is also coming off a subpar season, but he's signed for two years at $6 million a year. He began his NHL career with the Panthers.
The Devils land versatile forwards who can play up and down the lineup in Rodrigues and Boqvist. New Jersey has Jake Allen in net, but will need to find a goalie in free agency or via trade.
Schmid was available because the Golden Knights have Carter Hart and Adin Hill in net.
The goaltender will get two years at a $2 million average. He was acquired on Friday, June 26, for a first-round pick and will get a shot in the NHL as a backup to Utah's Karel Vejmelka. The Red Wings' 2021 first-round pick played in only one NHL game with Detroit.
The team placed Drouin on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buying out the final year of his contract. He had been acquired from the Islanders in the Brayden Schenn trade.
Drouin, 31, had three points in nine games after the trade and 24 points overall. He has had three 50-point seasons, the latest in 2023-24 with the Avalanche.
Former Detroit Red Wings top prospect Sebastian Cossa wasted little time settling into his new organization, agreeing to a two-year contract extension with the Utah Mammoth worth $2 million per season, according to insider Frank Seravalli.
The deal comes shortly after Cossa arrived in Utah via a trade with Detroit during Friday night's 2026 NHL Draft in Buffalo. The Red Wings sent the towering goaltending prospect to Utah in exchange for the 23rd overall pick, a selection Detroit used to draft Kamloops Blazers forward JP Hurlbert.
The move signaled a clear shift in direction for the Red Wings' crease plans, while giving Utah a young netminder many view as a future NHL starter.
Cossa, drafted 15th overall by Detroit in 2021, spent the past season delivering one of the most dominant performances in the AHL. Playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins, the 6-foot-6 goaltender posted a 26-8-4 record to go along with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage across 39 appearances.
With his draft pedigree and physical tools, Cossa now gets a fresh opportunity in Utah for the next, where he's expected to push for meaningful crease time alongside incumbent Karel Vejmelka. The two-year extension locks in cost certainty for the Mammoth as they evaluate Cossa's readiness to handle a larger NHL workload, while giving the young goaltender stability as he transitions to a new franchise.
The Mammoth will likely ease Cossa into NHL duty, seeing if he truly is prepared for the jump to the top level. If not ready, Utah could continue to feed the 23-year-old AHL reps with spot starts as he adjusts to the pro level, though his AHL track record suggests he could push for a larger role sooner rather than later.
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
The Philadelphia Flyers have made one of their first re-signings of the 2026 offseason, keeping one of their own for another season.
On Tuesday, TSN NHL insider Darren Dreger reported that the Flyers and depth forward Carl Grundstrom, acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the Ryan Ellis trade, have agreed to a one-year contract worth $1 million.
The Flyers cannot officially announce the deal until Wednesday, when free agency opens for the NHL.
Grundstrom, 28, scored nine goals, four assists, and 13 points in 47 games for the Flyers last season, primarily featuring in a bottom-six role, and occasionally playing with Noah Cates and Matvei Michkov because of his speed.
With the departures of Nick Deslauriers and, more recently, Garnet Hathaway, the Flyers had a need for a depth energy winger, and they will keep one around with Grundstrom.
Plus, Nikita Grebenkin only just returned from a four-month absense due to a mystery on Tuesday, and he'll need the offseason to continue to recover and get back up to speed.
With Grundstrom back in the mix, the Flyers still need to re-sign free agents Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Grebenkin, Luke Glendening, Garrett Wilson, Noah Juulsen, and Rodrigo Abols, though not all will be back in Philadelphia next season.
The Flyers have approximately $32 million in cap space to work with after re-signing Grundstrom.
The New Jersey Devils traded veteran goaltender Jacob Markstrom and Utica Comets forward Angus Crookshank to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday afternoon in exchange for forward Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, and Ben Steeves, per TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
LeBrun added that New Jersey is not retaining any salary in the move.
The 36-year-old netminder, who began his NHL career with the Panthers, earned a record of 23-19-1 with the Devils last season with a 3.07 goals-against average and an .883 save percentage. He is entering the first season of a two-year, $12 million contract with a $6 million cap hit.
New Jersey acquired Markstrom from the Calgary Flames on June 19, 2024 in exchange for defenseman Kevin Bahl and a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Recently, the Panthers acquired former Devils goaltender Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights.
We have acquired goaltender Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for our third-round selection in the 2028 NHL Draft.
Rodrigues, 32, scored 11 goals and collected 20 assists over 69 games with the Panthers in 2025-26. He was part of Florida's 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup championship teams.
Boqvist began his career in New Jersey and spent four seasons with the club before leaving for the Boston Bruins organization. As an unrestricted free agent, he signed with the Panthers in 2024, where he won his first Stanley Cup.
Steeves, 24, is a undrafted left winger who spent last season in American Hockey League (AHL), with the Charlotte Checkers. He appeared in 72 games and collected 45 points.
This story will be updated.
Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
The St. Louis Blues have announced that they have placed former Montreal Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin on waivers for the purpose of buying out his contract.
Drouin signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the New York Islanders this past off-season. However, he ended up being traded to the Blues in the deal that sent Brayden Schenn to the Islanders.
Drouin getting bought out comes after he had four goals and 24 points in 64 games split between the Islanders and Blues last season. This included him recording a goal and two assists in nine games for St. Louis after the trade.
With Drouin set to be bought out, he will become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) once he clears waivers. The former Canadiens forward has the potential to generate some interest around the NHL, especially with this year's free agency class being weak. However, he may have to settle for a one-year, prove-it deal after how his last season went.
Drouin spent six seasons with the Canadiens from 2017-18 to 2022-23, where he recorded 48 goals, 138 assists, and 186 points. His best season in Montreal was in 2018-19, when he recorded 18 goals and 53 points in 81 games.
The Florida Panthers are acquiring goaltender Jacob Markstrom and winger Angus Crookshank from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, and Ben Steeves, as first reported by TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.
The Devils will not be retaining any salary on Markstrom’s contract, meaning the Panthers will be on the books for the next two seasons paying Markstrom an average annual salary of $6 million.
Markstrom was once a Panther, playing 43 games with Florida from 2010 to 2014. Markstrom was originally a second-round pick of the Panthers.
The 36-year-old was dealt to the New Jersey Devils two seasons ago, but never found his footing. In the most recent campaign, Markstrom posted an .883 save percentage and a 3.07 goals-against average in 44 games as the Devils missed the playoffs.
Crookshank is a 26-year-old AHL winger with 29 games of NHL experience. Throughout his career, he’s posted solid AHL numbers, scoring 185 points in 262 games.
Heading the other way were two Panthers regulars, as well as an AHL forward.
Rodrigues, who will now be joining the fifth team of his NHL career, served as a valuable, versatile forward for the Panthers in their back-to-back Stanley Cup wins. His ability to play on the wing or up the middle, as well as in the bottom six or top six, will truly be missed.
GM Bill Zito has been vocal about his admiration for Rodrigues, but moving the 32-year-old forward was clearly a price to pay to make the money work.
Also included in this deal is Jesper Boqvist, who has filled a role similar to Rodrigues’, just not as effectively. Despite that, Boqvist played more than 70 games in both of his Panthers seasons. Boqvist was originally a second-round pick of the Devils and played four seasons with the organization.
Steeves led the Charlotte Checkers in points last season, notching 23 goals and 45 points in 72 games. Although he was never given the opportunity to play an NHL game with the Panthers, he was trending in the right direction and was recently tendered a qualifying offer, likely to facilitate this trade.
The Panthers, following this trade, now have just under $4.5 million in salary cap space to sign Akira Schmid and make some depth moves.
This is the first trade Zito and former Panthers assistant GM Sunny Mehta have conducted with one another.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.
See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source.Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
