Category: Sports News

Compared to a year ago, the start of free agency was very quiet for the Nashville Predators. 

During the 2024 offseason, the Predators landed two of the hottest forwards in the market: Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. 

This year, its focus was "fixing the defense," and that's exactly what the Predators did, adding two defensemen: Nicolas Hague from the Vegas Golden Knights and Nick Perbix from the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

"We've got some great prospects on the way, but I felt two things: we wanted to get bigger and we want to get younger," Predators General Manager Barry Trotz said. "The deal we made with Vegas with that in mind. You're getting a 6-foot-6 defenseman [Hague] who we project is going to be in a top 4 and is going to play high minutes." 

Nashville definitely has height in its defense, averaging 6-foot-2-inches among its rostered defensemen. Perbix bumped that average as he is 6-foot-4-inches. 

This is going to be a heightened role for Hague, as he primarily played in Vegas' bottom pairing. This past season, he had 12 points in 68 games, 40 penalty minutes, and was a minus-2.

He has a hard shot, but Hague is below the league's 50th percentile when it comes to skating and speed bursts. 

Trotz believes that Hague is a good addition to the roster, giving the Predators needed depth on the backend and helping the team achieve it's overall goal of making the defense better. 

"If you can't defend, you can't win," Trotz said. 

One of the most significant talking points of the offseason has been the Predators' lack of depth at center. Nashville drafted one center, Brady Martin, fifth overall, and has not picked up one in free agency yet. 

While the Predators are still "shopping" the market, Trotz said improving center depth is going to rely on stronger play along the wings and more consistency at defense. 

 "On paper, it's not a deep center group. There's different ways to win," Trotz said. 

The Predators also extended a qualifying offer to forward Luke Evangelista, who reached the end of his three-year, entry-level contract. The Predators' 2020 second-round draft pick scored 32 points in 68 games last season. 

In need of more help from the wing and wanting a younger look, Trotz went so far as to call Evangelista "the future." 

"We're just trying to find a term that fits," Trotz said on Evangelista's qualifying offer. "I would like to go longer. The agents are hesitant to go longer on term."

After extending a crop of players within the organization, the Vancouver Canucks have signed some free agents to short-term deals. Around 2:00 pm PT today, the team announced that they have signed forward Mackenzie MacEachern to a two-way, two-year contract. MacEachern spent the past two seasons with the St. Louis Blues organization. 

MacEachern, a forward, was drafted 67th overall by the Blues in 2012. He played in three seasons with Michigan State University, scoring 33 goals and 35 assists in 108 games played with the team. From there, he spent two seasons with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, before making his NHL debut for the Blues on January 10, 2019. In his first NHL season, he tallied three goals and two assists in 29 games played, and was part of the St. Louis team that won the Stanley Cup against the Boston Bruins. 

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MacEachern proceeded to spend the next three seasons with St. Louis, playing 51 games in the 2019–20 season and slotting into the lineup for five of their postseason matches. He had eight goals and six assists in 86 games with the Blues before signing with the Carolina Hurricanes in free agency in 2023. While he didn’t play a regular season game for the Hurricanes, he did take part in eight of the team’s playoff games, scoring a goal and an assist. 

In another short stint with the Blues in the 2024-25 season, MacEachern had 12 goals and 20 assists in 40 games with their AHL affiliate, the Springfiled Thunderbirds. 

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The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed right winger Philip Tomasino on Tuesday.

Tomasino, acquired last season from the Nashville Predators for a fourth-round pick, has been a streaky scorer for the Penguins. At 23, the Penguins are hoping that Tomasino can develop into a more consistent forward who projects to fill out a middle-six role with the team.

Penguins general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas noted to the press on Monday that conversations were continuing with both Tomasino and Connor Dewar's respective camps; the signings of both were announced simultaneously Tuesday afternoon.

It is unclear if Tomasino attracted interest from other clubs before signing with the Penguins. He earned a slight raise on his one-year, $825,000 contract, while Dewar took a slight pay cut on his. 

The Penguins have signed Philip Tomasino and Connor Dewar to one-year contracts.

Both contracts run through the 2025.26 season, with Tomasino’s contract carrying an AAV of $1.75 million and Dewar’s contract carrying an AAV of $1.1 million.

Details: https://t.co/21gxsCEXwSpic.twitter.com/TnU5uwzlFy

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 1, 2025

The young forward has shown ample promise, playing alongside center Evgeni Malkin for stretches last year. He amassed 11 goals and 23 assists in 50 games for the Penguins after notching only one assist in 11 games with the Predators.

The Penguins are hoping that he fills a top-nine role and becomes a solid component in their efforts to return to contention.

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Feature image credit:  Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

After much anticipation about the Pittsburgh Penguins' goaltending situation heading into the 2025-26 season, the dam has finally broken. 

On Tuesday, the Penguins traded goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick. Nedeljkovic is signed through the end of the 2025-26 season with a cap hit of $2.5 million.

Nedeljkovic, 29, spent the last two seasons as one half of the tandem with Tristan Jarry in Pittsburgh. There were mixed results in both campaigns, and last season, Nedeljkovic finished the season 14-15-5 with a 3.12 goals-against average and an .894 save percentage.

 With Nedeljkovic out of the picture for the Penguins, it opens the door for one of Pittsburgh's young goaltending prospects to share the workload with Jarry next season. The obvious candidate is Joel Blomqvist, who had two short NHL stints last season. 

The first stint went well for Blomqvist. The second? Not so much. Overall, the rookie finished 4-9-1 with a 3.81 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage.

Pittsburgh also has goaltending prospects in Sergei Murashov and Filip Larsson, both of whom figure to be in the mix for NHL playing time next season.

After the trade, the Penguins now have 28 picks in the next two drafts, including six in the first three rounds in 2026.

Penguins Re-sign Forward Connor Dewar To One-Year ContractAfter non-qualifying all but one of their pending-restricted free agents (RFAs), it appears that the Pittsburgh Penguins are bringing at least one of them back on a free agent contract.

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Feature image credit: Timothy T. Ludwig - Imagn Images

The San Jose Sharks have announced that they have signed John Klingberg, Adam Gaudette and Philipp Kurashev to contracts.

Kurashev, 25, signed a one-year $1.2 million deal. He had seven goals and seven assists for 24 points in 51 games last season with the Chicago Blackhawks. He was left unqualified by the Blackhawks and now joins a young Sharks team where he will be given an elevated role within their lineup.

As for Klingberg, he signed a one-year deal $4 million deal. He is a 32-year-old defenseman that can help lead the power play unit and mentor some of the younger players on the back end.

Lastly, Adam Gaudette has signed two-year deal $4 million deal that carries an AAV of $2 million per season. Last season with the Ottawa Senators he scored 19 goals and seven assists for 26 points in 81 games. 

The Sharks are not in the market to add a ton of big names. They want to surround the younger players with depth players that don’t take away from the ice time of the Macklin Celebrinis and Will Smiths.

The Sharks still need to spend upwards of $20 million to reach the cap floor. With the free agent market starting to thin out, there could be a chance that GM Mike Grier looks at the trade market to add players and salary cap.

Sharks Sign William Eklund To Three-Year Contract ExtensionThe San Jose Sharks have signed William Eklund to a three-year contract worth $16.8 million. The contract carries an average annual value of $5.6 million, which is a great cap hit for a bridge deal for a team on the back half of a rebuild like San Jose. San Jose Sharks Issues 2025 Qualifying Offers The San Jose Sharks have announced their 2025 qualifying offers to their pending restricted free agents. In total, they had 11 RFAs. They only offered three players qualifying offers and are letting eight players walk to free agency without any return. From The Archive: ALL HAIL MARLEAUThe Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features. Sharks Not Expected To Offer Long-Term Deals In Free AgencyAccording to San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier, they aren't expected to be handing out any long-term contracts this free agency. Meet The New Sharks: 2025 Draft ClassThe 2025 NHL Entry Draft has come and gone, and after a weekend where fans questioned the format of the new decentralized draft, the San Jose Sharks came away with quite a few new prospects in their prospect pool. In this article, let’s take a look at all of their new players.

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced they have signed forwards Travis Boyd, Michael Pezzetta, and Benoit-Olivier Groulx and re-signed defenseman Dakota Mermis. 

Mermis signed a two-year contract that is worth $812,000 annually. The veteran will likely be a key member of the Toronto Marlies blueline next season. 

The 31-year-old played three games for the Maple Leafs and one game for Utah HC last season, he also had seven points in 32 games for the Marlies. After an injury in training camp he was placed on waivers, claimed by Utah, and later re-claimed by Toronto. 

The Alton, Ill., native has 146 points in 463 career AHL games and 13 points in 78 career NHL games. He won the 2022 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award as AHL's Man of the Year for Community Service. 

Boyd signed a one-year, $775,000 contract. He will likely serve in an offensive and leadership role with the Marlies. 

The 31-year-old recorded 22 goals and 53 points in 63 games with the Iowa Wild last season and went pointless in three games with the Minnesota Wild. He has 225 points in 284 career AHL games and was named to the AHL Second All-Star Team in 2017. 

He had eight points in 20 games for the Maple Leafs in the 2020-21 season.

We’ve signed forwards Travis Boyd, Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Michael Pezzetta, and re-signed defenceman Dakota Mermis pic.twitter.com/kq4A38VAfQ

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 1, 2025

Groulx signed a two-year contract that pays him $812,000 annually. 

The 25-year-old recorded 37 points in 47 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack last season. 

A second round selection of the Anaheim Ducks in 2018, he has five points in 65 career NHL games and 127 points in 192 career AHL games. 

Pezzetta also signed a two-year contract that pays him $812,000 annually. He last appeared in the AHL in 2021. 

The 27-year-old had no points in 25 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season. 

The Toronto, Ont., native has 25 points and 186 penalty minutes in 115 career AHL games and 38 points in 200 NHL games. 

Groulx, Boyd and Pezzetta appear to be replacements on the Marlies for the recently departed Alex Steeves and Nick Abruzzese. 

Check out The Hockey News' Toronto Maple Leafs team site for more updates. 

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Photo Credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Pontus Holmberg is moving on from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Holmberg agreed to a two-year contract with the Lightning worth $3.1 million. The annual average value of the deal would be $1.55 million. Holmberg exits the Maple Leafs organization after three seasons with the club.

The 26-year-old, who was a restricted free agent at the end of this season, wasn't qualified by the Maple Leafs. After a year which saw him score seven goals and 12 assists in 68 games, Toronto chose not to qualify Holmberg because he had arbitration rights.

"Well, once he gets into the market, he becomes open to everybody. And really, it wasn't necessarily a situation we didn't like the player, we did. He had arb rights," Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving said on Tuesday afternoon.

"I think when you see players go free, sometimes people don't understand the rights that are associated with certain players. Up until 5 o'clock yesterday, if we were to qualify him, he then kicks into arbitration mode or he's attached to an arbitration filing, and that elevates the number. So we weren't able to, between us and Pontus's side, find a number that we felt fit for us.

"Now, once you get into the UFA, a lot of times that number will come down because you're not attached to the arbitration. So we like Pontus. We've had discussions and talked to each other prior to us not qualifying him, but I think it's probably a fair bet to say that he has hit the market and we'll see where it goes."

Why Matthew Knies 'Wanted To Go Long-Term' On Six-Year Extension With The Maple LeafsToronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies was never interested in signing an offer sheet.

And Treliving was right. Four hours after Holmberg hit the open market, the Lightning snatched up the forward.

Holmberg's time with the Maple Leafs ended after being drafted by Toronto in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft. At the time, it was unknown what the forward would become, but as the years progressed, Holmberg played his way into a bottom-six role with Toronto.

In 159 games with the Maple Leafs, Holmberg scored 19 goals and 30 assists for 49 points.

The Lightning also signed former Toronto forward Nick Abruzzese to a one-year, two-way contract. Toronto's former fourth-round pick only played 11 NHL games with the Maple Leafs, scoring one goal and two assists in that span.

'My Favorite Player Growing Up Was Mats Sundin' Nicolas Roy Reacts To Be Traded To Maple Leafs In Mitch Marner DealNic Roy was on a trip with family and friends when he found out that he was being traded from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

After losing Holmberg, Abruzzese, and Alex Steeves to free agency, the Maple Leafs have re-signed Dakota Mermis and signed Michael Pezzetta and Benoit-Olivier Groulx to two-year deals with an $812,500 AAV. They also added Travis Boyd on a one-year, $775,000 contract.

(Top photo of Holmberg: Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)

The New York Rangers have signed forward Justin Dowling to a two-year contract. 

It’s a one-way deal the first year, two-way the second year. During the first season, Dowling will earn $775,000 while he’ll make $775,000 during the second season when at the NHL level and a minimum of $450,000. 

Dowling has played seven seasons in the NHL for the Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, and New Jersey Devils.

In 152 career games, the 34-year-old center has recorded nine goals, 17 assists, and 26 points while averaging 10:37 minutes. 

Dowling is coming off a season where he played 52 games for the Devils, the most throughout his NHL career.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are signing center Isac Lundeström to a two-year contract. The contract will be worth $1.3 million per season. 

Lundeström has 337 NHL games under his belt, all for the Anaheim Ducks. He's scored 35 goals and totaled 84 points in his career. 

One scouting report said of Lundeström, "Powerful skater... ability to carry the puck deep using good puck protection on both sides to then put dangerous pucks in front from down low."

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Blue Jackets Lose Justin DanforthBob McKenzie has reported that forward Justin Danforth has signed with the Buffalo Sabres on a two-year deal with an AAV of $1.8 million. Columbus Brings Back Owen Sillinger On A One-Year DealColumbus has brought back Owen Sillinger, signing him today to a one-year, two-wat contract.

Connor Bedard is the most important figure in the Chicago Blackhawks organization. He is one of the NHL's brightest young stars with the potential to be a superstar in the league. 

As of July 1st, he is eligible to extend his contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. This is a deal that will come with a big raise, but a well-earned one for an incredibly productive teenager. 

By the middle of Bedard's first non-entry-level contract, it may be seen as a bargain based on his production. General Manager Kyle Davidson may overpay him a little bit at first to get some of his prime locked up at a fair number.

Through 150 career NHL games, Bedard has 45 goals and 83 assists for 129 points. That is one of the most productive starts to a career for a teenager in recent NHL history. The fact that he hasn't even come close to reaching his potential as a player speaks volumes.

If he can develop the intensity and 200-foot game that comes with being a top-line center, the Blackhawks will have hit a home run with the 2023 first overall pick. 

On Tuesday, after Day 2 of Development Camp wrapped up, Davidson spoke to the media, and Bedard's next contract was a topic of conversation. He talked about extensions with not only Bedard, but also other players who are a year away from being a restricted free agent. 

"We have had some conversations with a couple of those players," Davidson said. "Nothing imminent. I think the new salary cap marketplace is going to stall some of that. It is going to make some of these a little more drawn out than maybe they would have been in the past on a more flat cap." 

Part of developing good young players is having to pay them when their time comes. Bedard and his teammates are no exception. 

When talking about Bedard specifically, Davidson confirmed that he is in contact with the player and his camp. 

"We are talking," Davidson said. "I think that's an indicator of an openness to discuss. I think he made his thoughts very clear at the end of the season and then subsequently in interviews about (how) he's committed to Chicago and wants to be here long term. We obviously want him long term, so there is mutual agreement there."

If the Blackhawks are going to take a step in the rebuild at any point in the next handful of years, it will have to be with Connor Bedard leading the way. The coaches know that, management knows that, and the rest of the league knows that. 

"If we're able to get something done, that would be fantastic," Davidson said. "If we don't, I think it's probably more so out of the uncertainty around how the league and the system is going to be growing or impacted moving forward than anything player/team related."

It isn't a contract that is going to get done quickly, but the early stages of it are underway. 

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The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward Sammy Blais to a one-year contract worth $775,000, per TSN's Chris Johnston. 

Blais recorded 40 points in 51 regular season games with the Abbotsford Canucks before a tremendous playoff performance where he had 19 points and 77 penalty minutes in 23 games to help the Canucks win the Calder Cup. 

The 29-year-old last played in the NHL in 2023-24 and notched seven points in 53 games with the St. Louis Blues. 

The Montmagny, Que., native has 71 points in 257 career NHL games and 145 points in 199 career AHL games. He will fight for a bottom-six role with the Canadiens and can be relied upon to produce offense with Laval if he ends up in the AHL next season. 

Sammy Blais is heading to Montreal on a one-year contract, per @reporterchris. pic.twitter.com/RBm4y9uLW1

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) July 1, 2025

Blais has a winning track record, he was a member of the 2019 Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. He also recorded eight points in 10 games, including two goals in the gold medal game, to help Canada win the gold at the 2023 World Championship. 

Check out The Hockey News' Montreal Canadiens team site for more updates. 

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Photo Credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images