Category: Sports News

Florida Panthers pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) Aaron Ekblad remains without a contract extension, with July 1 rapidly approaching. If this does not change by then, he will become a UFA and would be an incredibly popular target around the league. 

In a recent episode of TSN Insider Trading, NHL insider Pierre LeBrun said that he believes Aaron Ekblad is the Panthers' pending UFA most likely to test the market on July 1. In addition, he named the Utah Mammoth and Dallas Stars as two teams who could sign him if he becomes available. 

"Aaron Ekblad, I think, is the pending UFA that ends up going to market," LeBrun said. "I'm not saying that 100%, but that's where signs are right now. Terms has been an issue there. Potential landing spots in Utah and Dallas, depending on what those teams do on the trade market."

INSIDER TRADING…

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WATCH: https://t.co/2SsBM6zxY3pic.twitter.com/cOdvYFEzgq

— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) June 26, 2025

The Mammoth pursuing Ekblad would certainly make a lot of sense. They are a club on the rise, looking to get into the playoffs, and they recently traded right-shot defenseman Michael Kesselring to the Buffalo Sabres in the JJ Peterka trade. Thus, they could use another top-four, right-shot defenseman. If Ekblad signed in Utah, he would instantly become their top right-shot blueliner. 

The Stars being interested in Ekblad would also be understandable, as it is no secret that the right side of their defense is their biggest weakness right now. However, they also have very little cap space, so they would need to move out some salary to have any chance of bringing in a star blueliner like Ekblad. 

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The Buffalo Sabres pulled off the first of what is expected to be a series of trades early Thursday morning, swapping restricted free agent winger JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth for defenseman Michael Kesselring and winger Josh Doan, but going into NHL Draft day on Friday, GM Kevyn Adams is focused on fielding offers for RFA defenseman Bowen Byram

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast, the Vegas Golden Knights have interest in Byram, who have questions on the blueline due to the injury status of Alex Pietrangelo and RFA blueliner Nicolas Hague, but the Golden Knights may have to do some cap cutting by trading players if they want to add Byram and be in the bidding war for Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner.  

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Friedman indicated that the market for Byram had been not as brisk as the Sabres would have liked. The 23-year-old is a top pairing caliber defenseman who can rush the puck. That could be because as an RFA, a club trading for Byram would not only have to trade NHL players to acquire him (which is what Buffalo is looking for in return), and would have to sign him to a long-term extension for significant dollars. 

Sabres winger Alex Tuch’s name has been speculated on, but Friedman said that Buffalo is looking to extend the veteran forward when he becomes eligible on July 1. He also mentioned that Buffalo may have inquired about two-time Stanley Cup winner Bryan Rust, who reportedly is being shopped by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 33-year-old scored a career-high 31 goals last season for the Pens, does not have any no-trade protection, and is signed for three more years at $5.125 million per season.  

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As multiple outlets reported yesterday, including RG.org’s Marco D’Amico and Journal de Quebec’s Kevin Dube, the Montreal Canadiens are very interested in right-shot blueliner Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders, and they’ve even made an offer. Furthermore, according to TVA Sports’ Anthony Martineau, the 25-year-old defenseman would have Montreal at the top of his list of destinations, although he has no leverage to choose where he will land.

The Islanders’ first-round pick and 12th overall at the 2018 draft has already proven he can be successful in the NHL. In the 2023-24 season, he even put up 70 points in 79 games, but this last season, his production was way down with just 29 points in 71 games, and perhaps that’s where the issue is for the Isles. The Canadiens' interest in Dobson should come as no surprise since he had previously been identified as a potential target.

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Dobson is set to become an RFA on July 1, and according to Andy Strickland, a journalist covering the St. Louis Blues, the rearguard wants a contract that would pay him over $10 million per season. Why is a St. Louis-based journalist reporting this? Simply because the Canadiens are not the only team interested in adding Dobson to their roster, the Blues and the Columbus Blue Jacketsare also deep in talks with Mathieu Darche to try to land the blueliner.

Whichever way you look at it, acquiring Dobson will not be cheap; this is not a Trevor Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers kind of deal, nor will it be a Ryan Poehling and two picks type of return. Dobson’s stock on the market is much higher than that of the former Anaheim Ducks forward who had been on the trade block for a long time. In addition to the acquisition cost, the contract cost will also be a factor, given the reported asking price.

The amount sought by Dobson makes his availability at least more logical. Lou Lamoriello had reportedly been interested in trading him for some time, and when Darche took over, we wondered if the defenseman would still be available. The Islanders’ new GM has not publicly stated that he is entertaining offers for himself. Still, neither has he come out to say he isn’t going anywhere, unlike he did in Bob Horvat and Matthew Barzal’s cases, which leads me to believe that he is indeed seriously considering a deal.

The Islanders may be on the clock here as well, because while they will retain Dobson’s rights come July 1, he would be a prime candidate for an offer sheet given how much of a hot commodity he is. New York currently has just under $21 million in cap space, but only has 17 of 23 contracts signed, with Dobson, Alexander Romanov, Simon Holmstrom, and Maxim Tsyplakov all needing new deals. All of these players are arbitration-eligible, but that process is never good for a team’s relationship with an athlete. Sitting in a room telling an arbitrator why the player isn’t as good or worth as much as he thinks he is for hours is hardly a pleasant experience, and it should be avoided whenever possible.

If Darche were to trade Dobson, he would get himself some breathing room to sign the remaining members of his team. He could receive players who are likely to help sooner rather than later, and it could be at a reasonable cost, especially if they are still in their ELC contract.

Which brings me to the Canadiens’ likely offer, but to land Dobson, Montreal would probably need to trade one or even two of its first-round picks at the upcoming draft. Given that Dobson is a right-shot defenseman, one of the top prospects at the position. Which could mean either Logan Mailloux or David Reinbacher. I get the sense that Montreal would be more open to sacrificing Mailloux, who’s the most NHL-ready of the two, but Reinbacher’s ceiling is likely higher than his teammate’s with the Laval Rocket.

Logan Mailloux scores on the powerplay with a rocket of a shot. Tie game. #LavalRocketpic.twitter.com/nHFToSc59H

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) May 14, 2025

Given the fact that there are plenty of suitors to acquire Dobson, the price would more than likely involve another one of the organization’s top prospects, and Owen Beck would seem like a good candidate. I don’t see Montreal even entertaining the idea of offering Michael Hage at this stage, considering his offensive ceiling is likely higher than Beck’s. Could the Islanders ask for Arber Xhekaj in the deal as well? I wouldn't exclude that possibility since they lost some grit and physicality with Matt Martin's retirement. 

If the Canadiens were to be the winning bidder, however, what would signing Dobson mean financially? If they pull the trigger on the trade, it will be because they know they’ll be able to sign the player long-term, and with his asking price, he would instantly become the Habs’ highest-paid player.

For those saying he shouldn’t be earning more than Nick Suzuki, it’s time to let go of that concept. The captain’s contract was signed back in 2021 in a post-COVID flat cap world. It’s already impressive that Kent Hughes managed to keep Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky under that number.

Last year, the salary cap stood at $88 M. This upcoming season, it will be at $95.5M, the year after that at $104 M and finally, in 2027-28 it will be set at $113.5 M. What that means it that there will be bigger salaries and more players earning more money. Suppose the Canadiens believe that Dobson is the right fit both on and off the ice and are comfortable offering him a contract exceeding $10M. In that case, it will necessarily mean that Lane Hutson will be seeking a similar, if not even higher, deal. Given the fact that Kaiden Guhle is locked in for five years at $5.55 M, it wouldn’t necessarily be unreasonable to entertain the thought of having your two top-pairing defenseman earn 10-plus million in this new financial context.

We are getting ahead of ourselves here, as Dobson hasn’t been traded to Montreal yet, but I fully expect that we’ll know sooner rather than later who the Dobson-derby winner is.

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The Chicago Blackhawks have some talented young players. A lot of them, however, are defensemen. Although they have some high-end talent, the forward depth in the organization isn't as strong.

Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar have the highest ceiling, but they are both undersized offensive players. The Blackhawks would like to add a little more skill to join those guys, and they would like it even more if it came from a bigger player. 

One option, if that is the route they want to go, is to select Brampton Steelheads forward Porter Martone. He is a hard-hitting power forward who comes with a tremendous amount of offensive talent. 

In 57 games played with Brampton during the 2024-25 season, Martone scored 37 goals and added 61 assists for 98 points. For being a big guy that is hard to play against in all three zones, Martone's offensive production is noteworthy. 

NHL (@NHL) on XPorter Martone’s got quite the highlight reel. 🔥 #NHLDraft (📽️: @OHLHockey & @OHLSteelheads)

Kyle Davidson has doubled down on his belief that Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar are centers. His selection at the 2025 NHL Draft could help drive that point home. Martone is the best winger in the draft (unless one of the top centers turns out to be a wing long-term), and he'd be a great fit with one of Bedard or Nazar on an even-strength all-purpose line. 

It has been a while since the Blackhawks last had a power forward who was considered to be elite. Sometimes, a winger with offensive capabilities who can also be big and strong is needed in the NHL. That fact is especially true, knowing the stature of both Bedard and Nazar. Giving them more room on the ice to make plays is something that Martone could excel at. 

Martone has the ceiling to be one of those guys whose attitude and strength drive him to be an elite player. Is he going to be like the Tkachuk brothers once he reaches the big leagues? Maybe. If he models his game after them, at a minimum, he will give whichever team that selects him an honest effort every night. 

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The Philadelphia Flyers are one of a few teams picking at the top of the 2025 NHL Draft that are tough to get a read on, but the big picture is starting to narrow in down to a few prospects.

Meeting up with media in Los Angeles ahead of the first round of the draft Friday night, top winger prospect Porter Martone said he's had last-minute meetings with the Flyers and Boston Bruins, who pick right after Philadelphia at 7.

But Martone isn't the only one.

James Hagens, one of the top center prospects in the 2025 draft, echoed the same, revealing (and confirming reports) that he also met with the Flyers after the NHL scouting combine.

At the time of this writing, there seems to be a lot of variance in the public sphere as to where Martone and Hagens fall in the draft.

Both are widely considered to be top-5 talents, and yet both could make it by the Flyers at No. 6 and end up in places like Boston, Seattle, Anaheim, or even Pittsburgh.

It's possible the recent addition of Trevor Zegras changes the Flyers' minds a little bit, given Martone is 6-foot-3 and Hagens is 5-foot-11. And even then, there's the caveat that Martone is a right winger, which the Flyers already have an overabundance of as is.

It may come off as doing due diligence more than anything, but the Flyers could have always done extra private meetings with players other than Hagens or Martone.

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Then again, the Flyers have been scouting them and monitoring their progress since the 2024 IIHF Men's U18 World Championships last May.

Notably, top Flyers prospect Jett Luchanko played for Canada in that tournament, and he was drafted 13th overall by Philadelphia just over a month later.

Hagens was there, too, casually putting up nine goals and 22 points in seven games for the Americans, leading the tournament in scoring and breaking Nikita Kucherov's record for points in a single tournament.

Martone was no slouch either, putting up five goals and 17 points in his seven games for Canada. For comparison, Matvei Michkov, albeit a year younger than Hagens and Martone, had 12 goals - a tournament record for Russia - and 16 points.

The Flyers have surprised us before - as recently as this time last year - but it would be difficult to imagine passing on either Martone or Hagens, let alone both.

Hagens might get preferential treatment as a natural center, but who can say? What can be said is the Flyers are highly likely to land one of the two best offensive talents in the entire 2025 NHL Draft class.