NHL Hockey Player News

Bakersfield (AHL) shored up its offensive on Monday as Edmonton signed Cameron Wright to a one-year, two-way contract worth $952,000 AAV. The 26-year-old forward spent 2023-24 split between Bakersfield (AHL) and Fort Wayne (ECHL) and had a combined 16 goals and 26 points in 52 games played.

Vrana has spent the entire training camp with Washington on a PTO and has earned himself a one-year, $775,000 contract on Monday. The 28-year-old left-winger is entering his ninth NHL season and will hope to play in more than 50+ games for the first time since 2019-20. In 21 games with St.Louis in 2023-24, he had two goals, six points and eight PIMs.

Minnesota may be riding three netminders this season between Wallstedt, Filip Gustavsson, and Marc-Andre Fleury, but showed their faith in Wallstedt being their goalie of the future with a two-year contract extension. Wallstedt was the 20th overall pick of the Minnesota Wild in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and spent most of the 2023-24 campaign in Iowa (AHL), posting a solid 2.70 GAA and .910 SV% in 45 games (22-19-4).

Since his first full NHL season in 2015-16 as a member of the Nashville Predators, Watson has established himself as one of the premier enforcers in the league and will add some grit and toughness to an up-and-coming Red Wings squad. The 6'4 Watson spent last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, tallying four points (2G / 2A), 85 hits, and 93 penalty minutes in 33 games.

Webber is a towering 6'7 defenseman who was drafted 99th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old has spent the last four seasons playing collegiate hockey for Boston University, scoring 16 points (1G / 15A) in 123 combined games.

Pacioretty was impressive while on a PTO for the Maple Leafs, scoring five points (2G / 3A) in four preseason games. The 35-year-old Pacioretty has six 30-goal seasons under his belt but has been limited to only 91 games over the past three seasons due to ongoing Achilles injuries. He scored 23 points (4G / 19A) in 47 games with the Washington Capitals last season.

Lorentz signed a PTO with the Maple Leafs at the beginning of training camp and has earned himself a one-year contract. The 28-year-old Lorentz was in and out of the lineup for the Florida Panthers last season, tallying three points (1G / 2A) in 38 games. He will serve as a bottom-six forward for the Maple Leafs this season.

Höglander is coming off his first full season with the Canucks and has been rewarded with a three-year contract extension after scoring 36 points (24G / 12A) in 80 games. In addition, Höglander was tied for second amongst all Canucks' forward with a +23 plus/minus. The 23-year-old Swede is projected to play alongside Aatu Raty and Conor Garland on the third line.

Yamamoto had spent training camp with Utah on a PTO and earned himself a one-year, two-way contract on Sunday. The 26-year-old is entering his eighth NHL season and had eight goals and 16 points in 59 games with Seattle in 2023-24.

After prolonged contract negotiations kept Swayman out of the Bruins' training camp, the two sides have finally reached an agreement on a massive eight-year contract extension worth $66 million. Swayman cemented his part in the Bruins' crease last season after posting a tremendous 2.53 GAA and .916 SV% in 44 games (25-10-8). The American netminder is expected to see the majority of action between the crease for the Bruins this season but will be backing up Joonas Korpisalo in the team's debut on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers.

Labanc was on a PTO with New Jersey but has earned himself a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. The 28-year-old winger played the previous eight seasons in San Jose but had a down year in 2023-24 with only two goals, nine points and a -27 plus/minus in 46 games played.

Pearson was originally brought to Vegas on a PTO but has signed a one-year, $775,000 contract to remain with the Golden Knights for the 2024-25 season. The 32-year-old left-winger is entering his 12th NHL season with his fifth different team and had five goals, 13 points and 21 PIMs in 54 games played in 2023-24 with Montreal.

After a successful PTO in Calgary, the Flames have signed 13-year veteran Tyson Barrie to a one-year, $1.25 million contract. The 33-year-old is joining his fifth NHL franchise after putting up a goal, 15 points, 16 PIMS and a -10 plus/minus in 41 games with Nashville in 2023-24.

Basha was Calgary's 2024 2nd-round pick (41st overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Flames on Sunday. The 18-year-old left-winger has already returned to Medicine Hat (WHL) for his fourth season of junior hockey this year after putting up 30 goals and 85 points as the Tigers third highest scorer in 63 games played in 2023-24.

St.Louis solidified their offensive depth on Monday as they came to a one-year, two-way agreement with 24-year-old Nikita Alexandrov. The tall centre was expected to take a step forward in his sophomore campaign in 2023-24, but struggled offensively with only two assists, four PIMs and 15 SOG in 23 games played. He will look to add on to the three goals and nine career points he has amassed through his 51 NHL games played across two seasons.

Alriksson was Vancouver's 2023 4th-round pick (107th overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Canucks on Sunday. The 19-year-old Swedish forward is entering his second season with Guelph (OHL) after a strong rookie campaign in 2023-24 which saw him put up 17 goals, 33 points and 35 PIMs in 67 games played. He will return to the Storm for his sophomore season in 2024-25.

Mateiko was Washington's 2024 3rd-round pick (90th overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract on Friday worth $889,167 AAV. The 18-year-old Latvian winger is expected to return to Saint Johns (QMJHL) for his third season of junior hockey after joining the Sea Dogs from Latvia in 2022-23. Mateiko was drafted after putting up 23 goals, 43 points and 20 PIMs in 49 games in 2023-24.

Gill was Philadelphia's 2024 2nd-round pick (59th overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract worth $975,000 AAV with the Flyers on Friday. The 18-year-old towering defenseman is expected to return to Rimouski (QMJHL) for the 2024-25 season where he put up 12 goals, 46 points and 62 PIMs during his Sophomore campaign in 65 games in 2023-24.

Philadelphia added to Lehigh Valley's (AHL) goaltending depth on Wednesday after they signed Eetu Makiniemi to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000. The 25-year-old goaltender has spent the previous two seasons with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) and had an 8-8-0 record, .900 SV% and 3.14 GAA in 18 games in 2023-24. He made his NHL debut and only career appearance in 2022-23 with San Jose and appeared in two games.

After a long drawn-out summer of negotiations, Cole Perfetti and Winnipeg have agreed to a two-year, $6.5 million contract extension ($3.250,000 AAV) on Monday. The 22-year-old was Winnipeg's 2020 1st-round pick (10th overall) and is entering his fourth season with the team. In 2023-24, he had career highs in goals (19), points (38), games played (71), powerplay points (11) and SOG (142).