NHL Hockey Player News

Ryabkin was Carolina's 2025 2nd round pick (62nd overall) and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Hurricanes on Wednesday. The 18-year-old Russian forward impressed in his first season in North America with Muskegon (USHL) in 2024-25, putting up 19 goals, 30 points and 70 PIMs in 27 games played.

After appearing in two games with the Senators in 2024-25, Jan Jenik will remain with Ottawa after signing a one-year, two-way contract extension on Monday. The 24-year-old forward is expected to start 2025-26 with Belleville (AHL) but will provide Ottawa with some offensive depth if they happen to face injury problems. He had 12 goals, 29 points and 75 PIMs with Belleville in 2024-25.

Ottawa added to its defensive depth on Monday after it announced the signing of Cameron Crotty to a two-year, two-way contract. The 26-year-old has appeared in two NHL games with two different organizations (ARI, MIN) since making his debut in 2023-24. He is expected to start 2025-26 in Belleville (AHL) after captaining Iowa (AHL) with 10 assists in 64 games played last season.

Barrie announced his retirement from professional hockey on Monday morning after 14 seasons in the NHL with five different organizations (COL, EDM, NSH, TOR, CGY). The 34-year-old struggled to find consistent ice time in 2024-25 with Calgary, appearing in only 13 games and scoring a goal and adding three points. He was an offensive force throughout his 14-year career, putting up 110 goals and 508 points in 822 total games played.

Minutes after news of Matthew Tkachuk's offseason surgery dropped, Florida announced they had signed Luke Kunin to a one-year, $800,000 contract on Friday. The 27-year-old appeared in 75 games between Columbus and San Jose in 2024-25, picking up 11 goals, 18 points and 55 PIMs. He is expected to play a depth role in Florida's bottom-six this season.

Tkachuk is without a timetable to return after it was announced on Friday that the superstar had undergone surgery a few weeks back and is expected to miss the start of the 2025-26 regular season. There had been rumours swirling that the 27-year-old would miss some time this season after missing 30 games due to injury in 2024-25. Tkachuk is expected to remain out as late as January, and will hope to return to the Panthers before the Olympic break, where he has produced over a point-per-game since joining three seasons ago.

A long summer of trade rumours has ended for Marco Rossi on Friday after Minnesota announced they had signed the forward to a three-year contract extension worth $5 million AAV ($15M total). The 23-year-old was Minnesota's 2020 1st-round pick (9th overall) and took a massive step forward in 2024-25, posting career highs in goals (24), assists (36), points (60), plus/minus (+3) and PPP (16) across 82 games played. He is expected to continue developing in Minnesota's top six and be a key contributor in 2025-26.

After just 56 total NHL games played, Chicago has locked up Frank Nazar for the next eight seasons after signing the 21-year-old to a seven-year contract worth $6.59 million AAV ($46.13M total) on Thursday. Nazar was Chicago's 2022 1st round pick (13th overall) and opened some eyes with nine points in his final eight games to end last season and close his rookie campaign out with 26 points in 53 games played. He is expected to center Chicago's second line and remain on their top power play as we head into the 2025-26 season.

Colorado added some much-needed offensive depth on Wednesday with the signing of Victor Olofsson on a one-year, $1.575 million contract. The 30-year-old right-winger had 15 goals and 29 points in 56 games with Vegas in 2024-25 after spending the previous six campaigns in with the Buffalo Sabres. He is expected to play a top-nine role in Colorado and should see some power-play time on the second unit, despite that unit rarely seeing the ice.

Martin was the 5th overall selection in this year's NHL Entry Draft and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Nashville on Wednesday. The 18-year-old center saw his draft stock skyrocket in 2024-25 after an impressive 33-goal, 72-point campaign with the Soo Greyhounds (OHL). He will compete for a spot on Nashville's roster to start the 2025-26 season, but is expected to return to the Soo for the majority of the season.

Hunt will remain in Columbus's organization after the 23-year-old signed a one-year, two-way contract extension on Friday. The skilled defenseman was a key piece of the deal, which sent David Jiricek to Minnesota last November. He's appeared in 13 NHL games throughout his young career, picking up an assist and a -1 plus/minus. He is expected to start 2025-26 in Cleveland (AHL), where he had two goals and 14 points in 48 games last season.

New York announced the signing of a pair of goaltenders on Sunday after they signed ECHL starter Tayln Boyko to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The 22-year-old will provide New York with plenty of goaltending depth after he posted a .913 SV% and 20-8-5 record with Tulsa (ECHL) in 2024-25. He is expected to start 2025-26 as Hartford's (AHL) backup.

New York brought back their 2024-25 AHL starter on Sunday after they announced the signing of Dylan Garand to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The 23-year-old was New York's 2020 4th-round pick (103rd overall) and appeared in 39 games as Hartford's (AHL) starter in 2024-25, posting a 20-10-9 record alongside his .913 SV% and 2.73 GAA. He is expected to return as Hartford's starter for the 2025-26 season, but has a shot to make his NHL debut if the Rangers run into any injury issues.

After three semi-successful seasons on Long Island, Hudson Fasching has signed with Columbus on a one-year, two-way contract to provide some offensive depth for the Blue Jackets. The 30-year-old winger struggled with the Islanders in 2024-25, putting up just two goals and four points in 43 games played. He is expected to battle for a bottom-six role in Columbus and will hope to return to the 19-point form we witnessed across 49 games in 2022-23.

Gagne was a former 6th-round pick (2021) with Tampa Bay but failed to sign an entry-level contract with the Lightning and has now signed a two-year entry-level contract with Colorado. The 23-year-old defenseman will join the Colorado Eagles (AHL) after a successful senior season where he captained the University of New Hampshire (NCAA) in 2024-25 with four goals and 17 points in 35 games played.

Hamonic will join his fifth NHL organization in his 16th season after he signed a one-year, $1 million contract with Detroit on Friday to provide some defensive depth. The 35-year-old stay-at-home defender appeared in 59 games with Ottawa in 2024-25, picking up a goal, seven points, and a -16 plus/minus. He is expected to compete for a spot in Detroit's third defensive pairing to start the season.

After two seasons in Charlotte (AHL), Michael Benning is expected to return to the Checkers after the 23-year-old signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with Florida on Thursday. The puck-moving defenseman has yet to make an NHL appearance but has excelled with the Checkers in his last two seasons, putting up an impressive nine goals, 32 points and 34 PIMs in 54 games played last season.

Pyyhtia will return for a fourth season in Columbus after signing a one-year, two-way contract extension on Wednesday. The 23-year-old left-winger was Columbus's 2020 4th-round pick (114th overall) and appeared in 47 games with the Blue Jackets in 2024-25, picking up career highs with four goals, seven points and 32 SOG. He is expected to play a depth role for the Blue Jackets for the upcoming season.