NHL Hockey Player News

Pionk had six goals and 20 assists (26 points) in 73 games with the Rangers in his first full NHL season in 2018-19. Like Trouba, Pionk is also a restricted free agent on July 1st, but will command a lot less money and will allow the Jets to get Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor this offseason. Winnipeg loses a top-pairing defenseman and get a player who looks like nothing more than a third-pairing player with modest offensive-upside.

Hannikainen spent the entire season with the Blue Jackets, where he recorded seven points (4G / 3A) in 44 games. Hannikainen will likely continue to serve as a fourth-line/reserve forward for the Blue Jackets in 2019-20.

Karlsson was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st but the Sharks have locked him up through the 2026-27 season. Karlsson’s new $11.5M cap-hit, represents a $5.0M raise and makes him the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL. After a slow-start and an injury plagued season, Karlsson posted his lowest point total (45) since 2012-13, but his point-per-game number (0.849) was right there with his most recent seasons.

Duclair was acquired from the Blue Jackets as a part of the Matt Duchene trade and drastically improved his numbers in Ottawa. Duclair saw over 1:30 TOI more per game with the Senators and scored eight goals with six assists (14 points) in 21 games. With a lack of talent in Ottawa heading into 2019-20, Duclair should continue to play a middle-6 role for the Senators.

The Capitals acquired Hagelin from the Kings in February and the veteran winger put his early-season struggles behind him, posting 11 points (3G / 8A) in 20 games with Washington. Hagelin had a 56.7 CorsiFor% and led all Capitals forwards in PK TOI/GM (2:21) after being acquired.

Gaunce spent most of the 2018-19 season in the AHL, where he led all Crunch defensemen with 46 points (10G / 36A) in 59 games. During his brief time in the NHL, the 29-year-old has two goals and three assists in 34 combined games with the Avalanche, Stars, Penguins and Lightning.

Glass appeared in 527 career NHL games, scoring 23 goals with 45 assists (69 points) and 658 penalty minutes with the Panthers, Canucks, Jets, Penguins, Rangers and Flames. Glass played this past season in France but is set to return to North America where he will take a player development role with the Rangers.

Maatta was a first-round pick in 2012 but fell out of favour in Pittsburgh this past season. The Penguins brought in Jack Johnson and acquired Erik Gudbranson at the trade deadline and continued to push Maatta down the depth chart. The 24-year-old has had some injury issues throughout his career and is coming off of a season where he had 14 points (1G / 13A) in 60 games. Maatta, who has three years left at $4.083M AAV, will likely play on the Blackhawks third pairing.

Kahun was an undrafted free-agent who came to North America this year after spending four years in Germany. The 23-year-old winger had 13 goals and 24 assists (37 points) in 82 games with the Blackhawks and will likely be a replacement for Matt Cullen and Garrett Wilson as a bottom-6 forward for the Penguins.

Phaneuf had two years left on his seven-year contract that carries a $7.0M cap-hit. Phaneuf was acquired from the Senators in the middle of the 2018 season and registered just four goals and 12 assists (16 points) in 93 games with the Kings.

Lilja is an undrafted free agent who has been in the Swedish Elite League since the 2015-16 season. This past season he led Djurgardens IF with 37 points (12G / 25A) in 52 games.

Bournival was originally a third-round pick of the Avalanche (No.71 overall) in 2010. The 27-year-old winger had 12 goals and 10 assists (22 points) in 113 career NHL games and appeared in over 200 AHL games.

MacDonald had one year left on his six-year contract that carries a $5.0M cap-hit. His buyout will carry a $1.167M cap-hit this season and $1.917M next. Terminating MacDonald’s contract opens up a roster spot for some of the Flyers’ up-and-coming young defensemen like Samuel Morin.

Luoto played the last three seasons in the Finnish Elite League and recorded 16 points (8G / 8A) in 58 games with Tappara Tampere. Luoto and Patrik Laine were teammates for several Tappara teams growing up, including their U18 and U20 teams

Lyubushkin had four assists in 41 games with the Coyotes this season. The 25-year-old defenseman came to the NHL after spending six years in the KHL. Lyubushkin will likely serve as the Coyotes No.6/No.7 defenseman in 2019-20.

Ingram, who was selected in the third-round (No.88 overall) in 2016, split his 2018-19 season between the AHL and ECHL. The 22-year-old was 14-7-0 with a 2.26 GAA and .922 SV% with Syracuse (AHL) and 8-2-0 with a 2.81 GAA and .914 SV% with Orlando (ECHL). With Pekka Rinne entering his age-37 season, Ingram could serve as the Predators’ future No.2 behind Juuse Saros.

Olofsson was originally selected in the second-round in 2013 and ended up with Montreal after spending the first four years of his career the Wild’s organization. Olofsson had eight assists in 41 games with Minnesota last season and had one assist in just two games with Laval (AHL).

In his second season with the Islanders, Eberle struggled in the regular season, posting just 37 points (19G / 18A) in 78 games but cranked it up in the playoffs. Eberle got hot in the first two rounds of the postseason, leading the Islanders with nine points (4G / 5A) in eight games. Eberle joins Andrew Ladd and Nick Leddy as players earning $5.5 AAV from the Islanders.

Niskanen, who has a modified no-trade clause, has two years left on his seven-year deal that carries a $5.75M cap-hit. While with Washington, Niskanen never turned out the offensive production that he did in his final year in Pittsburgh, earning himself that huge deal. Since signing with the Capitals, Niskanen is tied for 38th among defensemen with 156 points (29G / 127A) in 390 games. He had eight goals and 17 assists (25 points) in 80 games a season ago.

Gudas is heading into the final year of his four-year deal that carries a $3.35 million cap-hit, versus Niskanen’s two remaining years at $5.75 million. Gudas is coming off of one of his best offensive seasons, scoring four goals with 16 assists (20 points) in 77 games. Gudas was second on the Flyers in hits (255) and tied for third in blocked shots (133). He will help bolster the Capitals penalty-kill, where he played 2:37 per game last year—second among Flyers skaters.