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Erik Brännström has played in North America since 2018 but multiple Swedish media sources are reporting that he will return to Europe next season.

HockeyNews.se is reporting that the 25-year-old Swedish defenseman is most likely headed to Switzerland, where he would sign a long-term deal – a scoop attributed to an Expressen.se article behind a paywall.

The website further notes that Genève-Servette and HC Lugano are two teams in Switzerland’s National League who have room to add imports to their rosters. Both teams that have generally not been afraid to pay well for talent, particularly Genève, although both teams also struggled and missed the playoffs this past season.

Lugano Dismisses Coach Krupp And Several Noteworthy Players Just days after the team saved its position in Switzerland’s National League by defeating HC Ajoie in a playout series, HC Lugano parted ways with head coach Uwe Krupp and several notable players, including goaltender Adam Húska, defenseman Valtteri Pulli, and forwards Mark Arcobello, Daniel Carr, Radim Zohorna and Aleksi Peltonen.

Originally from Eksjö, Sweden, Brännström played junior hockey and turned pro with HV71 in nearby Jönköping.

Brännström was a first-round pick, 17th overall, by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017 and was moved to the Ottawa Senators in a 2019 multi-player deal that saw Vegas acquire Mark Stone.

From 2019 to 2024, Brännström’s career was fairly stable – mostly playing in the NHL for Ottawa with occasional assignments to the Belleville Senators, the team’s nearby AHL farm team.

However, this season has been quite chaotic for the diminutive, puck-moving defenseman. He signed as a free-agent with the Colorado Avalanche in the summer but was traded to the Vancouver Canucks before the season began. After playing 28 games in Vancouver, he was dealt to the New York Rangers as part of the J.T. Miller trade in late January and then traded again to the Buffalo Sabres just prior to the trade deadline. He has not played an NHL game for either of the latter two teams.

Overall, Brännström has 77 points and 162 penalty minutes in 294 NHL regular-season games.

If he signs in Switzerland, it will be Brännström’s second tour of duty there, although the first one only lasted 10 games with the SCL Tigers in the autumn of 2020 while the start of the NHL season was delayed by pandemic-related restrictions.

Victor Soderstrom Wins Borje Salming Trophy As SHL’s Top Defenseman Victor Söderström has been named the top defenseman in the Swedish Hockey League for the 2024-25 season. As a result, he has been awarded the Börje Salming Trophy.

Gabe Perreault is expected to wear the number 94 for the New York Rangers as he makes his NHL debut on Wednesday night and there’s some deep history behind that decision.

His father, Yanic Perreault repped the number 94 when he played in the NHL. 

Gabe revealed that it was actually Yanic who suggested and inspired him to use that very same number. 

“Growing up, I’ve always had a number with a 4 in it,” Gabe said. “When I talked to my Dad, I think he suggested it a little bit, so definitely because of him a little bit.”

Through Yanic’s 14 seasons in the NHL, he played for the Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, Chicago Blackhawks, and Phoenix Coyotes. 

After two seasons at Boston College, Gabe signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Rangers on Monday and now he’s ready to carry on his father’s legacy in the NHL. 

It’s people like Yanic who helped Gabe get to this point, so it’s only right he pays homage to him. 

“I’ll be excited,” Gabe said about his NHL debut. “Obviously, a little bit nervous. But I know that's part of it. That's expected, but I'd be super grateful and really thankful for everyone that's helped me get to this point.”

LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights are back in the postseason, a place they've become all too familiar with since arriving in the NHL eight years ago.

Despite Tuesday's 3-2 home loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Knights clinched a playoff berth for the seventh time in eight seasons when the Utah Hockey Club beat the Calgary Flames, 3-1, earlier in the night.

Now comes the biggest question: Who will the Golden Knights face in the first round?

If the Golden Knights win their fifth Pacific Division crown, they'll face whatever team is sitting atop the Western Conference Wild Card standings. But if a late-season collapse drops them into second or third place, behind either the Oilers or Los Angeles Kings, the Knights will face one of those two teams.

Here's a glance at Vegas' first-round possibilities, with its 2025 season series and overall (regular season and postseason) records in parentheses:

LOS ANGELES (1-3, 22-15-3): The Kings are the last team the Knights want to face in the opening round, a highly unlikely scenario considering it would take a late-season surge by the Oilers to win the Pacific Division. Though Los Angeles was the original team everyone thought Vegas would have a built-in rivalry with, considering the proximity, the Knights' postseason drama with San Jose overshadowed things. Since then, there have been other postseason clashes that have stolen Vegas' attention, including epic series against Minnesota, Colorado and Dallas. If these two eventually meet this postseason, the rivalry everyone hoped for will undoubtedly come to light.

EDMONTON (2-2, 15-14-3): The Oilers are the defending Western Conference champions, and will have the same rage the Florida Panthers had last season, one year after losing to the Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final. Whomever gets Edmonton in the postseason, regardless of the round, will have to deal with a charged-up Connor McDavid, who finally got to the Final, and now with a whiff of the Cup, will be eager to get back there. Vegas beat the Oilers in six games two years ago, en route to winning its Stanley Cup. That series could still fuel things two summers later.

ST. LOUIS (2-0-1, 18-9-3): As of Wednesday, the Blues hold the top spot in the Wild Card race, and would be the Golden Knights' first-round opponent. It's one of the teams Vegas has had the most success against of the possibilities. That doesn't make the Blues any less dangerous, though. Since a rather disappointing 25-26-6 start to the season, the Blues are on a 16-2-1 run since Feb. 23. During that stretch, the Blues rank No. 1 with 16 wins and 33 points. They also lead the NHL in that span with a 3.84 goals-for average and rank No. 2 in allowing just 2.00 goals per game.

MINNESOTA (3-0, 19-15-1): The Wild looked as if they might challenge for the Central Division after opening the season on winning runs of 18-4-4 through Dec. 6, and 27-12-4 through Jan. 11. Since then, however, the Wild have lost 18 of 32 games (14-18-2) while being outscored 96-73. With seven games left on their docket, four of them are on the road, including back-to-back games in New York against the Rangers and Islanders on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. With as hot as the Blues have been, it's looking more and more like the Wild will be facing division-rival Winnipeg in the opening round, not the Knights.

CALGARY (2-0, 15-8-1): The Knights still have two games left with the Flames, who have an outside chance at catching Minnesota or St. Louis. The Flames have caught fire, no pun intended, having won five of eight after Tuesday's loss in Salt Lake City. With five of its last eight games in Calgary, the Flames can do their part and just need help from the Blues and Wild.

VANCOUVER (2-0, 20-7-3): The Knights still have two games left with the Canucks, who opened the season 16-9-5 through mid-December, but haven't given off playoff vibes ever since. The Canucks have lost 26 of their last 44 (18-18-8), and in that stretch since Dec. 18, rank 29th in the league with their 2.59 goals-for per game average. Vancouver is an unlikely candidate to make a surprise appearance in the Wild Card round, but it remains mathematically alive.

UTAH (2-1, 19-10-0 as Arizona): Utah is clinging to its playoff hopes by a thread, and likely isn't making the postseason. But thanks to a 13-7-3 run since Feb. 4, Utah has an outside chance to sneak by Calgary and Vancouver, if the Wild and Blues slip into a downward spiral. The problem for Utah is that even with a winning record during its winning run, it's been outscored 74-68.

After going 2–2–2 on their six-game road trip, the Vancouver Canucks are now preparing for a three-game homestand in which they’ll take on a crop of division rivals. Tonight, Vancouver will host the Seattle Kraken at 7:30 pm PT. Their next games are a set of back-to-backs on the weekend, when they’ll take on the Anaheim Ducks at 1:00 pm PT on Saturday, and the Vegas Golden Knights at 7:00 pm PT on Sunday. It’s very likely that the Canucks’ chance at competing in the playoffs will be dictated during this week, so let’s take a look at how these three games may shape the end of Vancouver’s regular season. 

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Vancouver’s first game of the homestand is against the Kraken, who have already been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with a record of 31–38–6 and 68 points. They come into this game having lost 3–1 to the Dallas Stars on Monday. Seattle holds a relatively steady position towards the middle of the league in terms of most stats — their power play is 24th in the NHL with a success rate of 18.9%, while their penalty kill is 21st with an effectiveness of 76.9%. In the season series, Vancouver has won one of three games against the Kraken, dropping their first game 5–4 after letting in four straight Seattle goals. Their only win came in a 4–3 shootout victory to start 2025. As it stands, if Vancouver wins in regulation against the Kraken tonight, their playoff odds rise to 9.59% threshold. A regulation loss will drop their chances to 2.19%, as per MoneyPuck.com. 

The next match Vancouver has at home is against the Ducks on Saturday in the first of the team’s final back-to-back this season. Currently, both Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen are expected to be available to start. Given the fact that Demko started on Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets and will be starting tonight against Seattle as well, it would make the most sense for Lankinen to take the game against the Ducks to give him some rest. With their 33–33–8 record and 74 points, mathematically speaking, Anaheim has already been eliminated from playoff contention. Right now, their power play is operating at a near league-worst 12.6%, while their penalty kill is 28th with a success rate of 73.6%. Anaheim’s last trip to Vancouver was exactly a month ago, on March 5, in a game that the Canucks narrowly won 3–2. 

Vancouver takes on Vegas in the second half of this weekend’s back-to-back. The Golden Knights (45–21–8) will also be playing in the second half of a back-to-back, as they take on the Calgary Flames the night before. As the current Pacific Division leader in points with 98, and a difference of five points between themselves and the next team (the L.A. Kings), Vegas has already clinched their playoff spot and is expected to play against the team in the Western Conference’s first wild card spot. With a power play percentage of 30.6%, Vegas has the highest-ranked power play in the NHL. One area where Vancouver may be able to take advantage of them, however, is on the penalty kill. Right now, Vegas’ PK is running at a 75.5% effectiveness rating, placing them at 25th behind the Buffalo Sabres, Kraken, and Boston Bruins. Vancouver’s last matchup against the Golden Knights was directly after the 4 Nations Faceoff, in a game that they lost 3–1. Sunday will not be the only time the Canucks face Vegas to round out their season, as the Golden Knights will also be visiting Vancouver on April 16 for game 82. 

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