NHL Hockey Player News

The Panthers entered the postseason with neither of their goaltenders from the previous season under contract. Now, after acquiring Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, they completed their goaltending tandem on Tuesday by acquiring Jacob Markstrom from the New Jersey Devils. The 36-year-old Markstrom has struggled with consistency throughout his career and is coming off an unencouraging 2025-26 season, during which he posted a pedestrian 3.07 GAA and .883 SV% in 44 appearances (23-19-1). That said, he will be joining a stronger defensive Florida Panthers team and hopes to return to the form he has had in previous seasons.

Drouin has one year left on his deal that carries a $4.0M cap-hit. According to PuckPedia, Drouin's buy-out will carry a $1.33M cap-hit for 2027 and 2028. Drouin, who had just one goal and two assists (three points) in nine games with the Blues after being acquired in the Brayden Schenn trade, will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

The Panthers entered the postseason with neither of their goaltenders from the previous season under contract, looking to revamp the position, and Schmid was their first acquisition. The 26-year-old Schmid spent most of the 2025-26 season with the Vegas Golden Knights, earning a career-high 34 starts due to numerous injuries above him on the team's goaltending depth chart. That said, he was serviceable when called upon, posting a 2.59 GAA and .893 SV% with a 16-10-6 record.

Avon is an undrafted forward that has spent the past three seasons playing in the AHL. The 22-year-old saw some success in 2025-26 in his first season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, scoring 24 points (10G / 14A) in 45 games.

St. Ivany has split time between the AHL and NHL the past few seasons. He was on track to get a larger look with Pittsburgh in the NHL in 2025-26, but his season was derailed by injuries, playing just 20 games and recording seven assists. The 26-year-old defenseman will likely be vying for a position on Winnipeg's opening-night roster in the 2026-27 season.

Gustafsson has been unable to establish himself as a full-time NHLer and will hope a change of scenery, joining the Pittsburgh Penguins, can inspire some confidence and more consistent play. The 26-year-old forward has played 149 career NHL games, all with the Winnipeg Jets, but he spent the entire 2025-26 season in the AHL, where he scored 32 points (10G / 22A) in 48 games with the Manitoba Moose.

DeSimone has battled for NHL playing time throughout his career and finally became a regular fixture on the blueline for the Utah Mammoth in 2025-26, earning himself a two-year contract extension. The 31-year-old defenseman scored eight points (2G / 6A) last season in 40 games.

Roy has seen limited action at the NHL level over the past two seasons and hopes to reestablish himself in a more regular role in 2026-27 with the Utah Mammoth. The 22-year-old forward, a fifth-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, spent most of 2025-26 in the AHL, where he scored 45 points (23G / 22A) in 57 games with the Laval Rocket.

Ivan's RFA rights were acquired from the Avalanche on Sunday and he signs a one-year, two-way deal with the Bruins. The 23-year-old forward spent most of the 2025-26 season in the AHL, where he had 26 points (11G / 15A) in 66 games with the Colorado Eagles. He'll likely start the 2026-27 season in the AHL, but should be one of the first players summoned to Boston.

Roed is an undrafted forward that played collegiate hockey with Bemidji State University for two seasons before making his professional debut at the AHL level in 2023-24. The 23-year-old scored 38 points (11G / 27A) last season in 65 games with the Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL).