NHL Hockey Player News

The Capitals acquired Sourdif's RFA rights a couple of days ago and wasted no time inking him to a two-year deal. The 23-year-old winger spent most of the 2024-25 season in the AHL, where he had 34 points (16G / 18A) in 43 games, but he could be a candidate to join the Capitals' fourth line in 2025-26.

One of the biggest expected off-season free agents will not be hitting the open market after Florida announced Friday that they have signed Sam Bennett to an eight-year, $64 million contract extension ($8 million AAV). The 29-year-old is coming off an impressive Conn Smythe-winning playoff performance, with 15 goals, 22 points and a +6 plus/minus in 23 games played.

The 2020 No.8 overall pick had another decent, but unspectacular season in 2024-25, scoring 15 goals with 24 assists (39 points) in 74 games. He's now averaging 45 points (18G / 27A) per 82 games for his NHL career, so the Sabres signed him to a two-year bridge deal to see if he can unlock any more offence.

Brindley was a second-round pick (No.34 overall) in 2023 but had an underwhelming first pro season, scoring just six goals and 11 assists (17 points) in 52 games with Cleveland (AHL). Colorado's pipeline was pretty empty, so adding a player like Brindley while shedding $7.75M AAV was a tidy piece of business.

Wood's contract certainly isn't the best, as he has four more years at $2.5M AAV, but he's a physical bottom-6 winger that will help Columbus replace some of the wingers they let walk in free agency. Most recently, Wood missed 45 games in 2024-25, finishing the season with just four goals and four assists in 37 games.

After six and a half years in Boston, Coyle was traded to the Avalanche at the deadline last year, and only scored two goals with 11 assists (13 points) in 19 games. WIth the Avalanche pressed up against the salary cap, a third-line centre making $5.25M was a luxury they could not afford. With Columbus, Coyle will settle in behind Sean Monahan and Adam Fantilli on the depth chart and could make Cole Sillinger expendable in a trade this summer.

Saad was signed mid-season after being bought out by the Blues and had 14 points (6G / 8A) in 29 games with the Golden Knights. At $2.0M AAV, Saad is a cheap middle-6 winger that can still provide some offence, having averaged 40 points (21G / 19A) per 82 games over the last three seasons.

Heineman is no stranger to being included in big trades, he was traded to Calgary as a part of the Sam Bennett trade, then traded to Montreal as a part of the Tyler Toffoli trade, and now to the Islanders for Noah Dobson. The 6-foot-2, 198 lbs winger was a full-time NHLer in 2024-25, and finished with 18 points (10G / 8A), 64 SOG and 173 hits in 62 games while playing just 11:24 TOI/gm. He'll likely fill a similar bottom-6 role with the Islanders.

Dobson was acquired from the Islanders in a sign-and-trade, so the Canadiens were able to lock him up to an eight-year deal and get a $5.5M AAV raise from his previous contract. Dobson is one of the NHL's best goal-scoring defensemen, having posted double-digit goals in four straight seasons. He ranks 14th among blueliners with 46 goals during that stretch. In Montreal, he'll have to battle with the likes of Lane Hutson for PP1 time, and his most likely path to that usage is if Montreal uses both of them on the same unit.

Dobson had a breakout 70-point campaign in 2023-24, but followed that up with just 39 points (10G / 29A) in 71 games last season. Some of that can be attributed to the Islanders' power-play dipping from 19th (20.4%) to 31st (12.6%), resulting in 12 fewer power-play assists. In Montreal, he'll be a huge minute eater, but a bounce-back fantasy season could be tougher to come by because of Lane Hutson. Obviously, they could end up together on the top PP unit, but he's now got significantly more competition for PP time, even if it wasn't always fruitful in New York.

Lagesson provides nothing more than organization depth for the Red Wings. He spent most of the 2024-25 season in the AHL, where he had three goals and six assists (nine points) in 23 games with Grand Rapids. He's got 107 career NHL games, including seven with the Red Wings last season, so Detroit will call on him in a pinch.

Tavares takes a massive pay-cut to stay with his hometown team. Even at age-34, Tavares looked every bit of No.2 centre in 2024-25, posting 38 goals with 36 assists (74 points) in 74 games. He'll once again settle in behind Auston Matthews on the centre depth chart in 2025-26 and will likely be a 30-30 player for the third time in four years.

Frederic was acquired from the Bruins at the trade deadline but only appeared in one regular season game due to injury. He obviously made an impression on the organization during their postseason run, where he had four points (1G / 3A), 22 SOG and 85 hits in 22 games. The eight-year deal helped keep Frederic's AAV down, but it's a lot of term for a player that was on-pace for just 21 points last season.

Sourdif was a third-round pick (No.87 overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft, who has appeared in just four NHL games since. In 2024-25, he spent most of the season in Charlotte (AHL), where he had 34 points (16G / 18A) in 43 games. Sourdif will likely battle for a bottom-6 role with the Capitals in training camp.

Rybinski is coming off his third and most successful AHL season with Hershey and has earned himself a one-year, two-way contract extension worth $775,000 with Washington. The 24-year-old forward was the Capitals' 2019 5th-round pick (136th overall) and is expected to spend 2025-26 back with Hershey, where he had 10 goals and 35 points in 60 games last season.

Minnesota made a minor trade on Thursday after acquiring winger Cameron Butler from Columbus for forward Brendan Gaunce. Butler is a 23-year-old undrafted right-winger who made his only NHL appearance in 2023-24 with the Blue Jackets. He struggled to produce offensively in 2024-25, only scoring two goals and three points in 37 games played.

Columbus acquired a depth forward on Thursday after trading for Branden Gaunce from Minnesota for AHL forward Cameron Butler. Gaunce, 31, spent most of 2024-25 as a healthy scratch for the Wild, which led to him only putting up an assist and a -4 plus/minus in 12 games played. He returns to familiar territory in Columbus, where he spent three seasons between 2021-2024 and had 12 points in 59 games played.