Fresh off of his second career Stanley Cup victory, Vladimir Tarasenko has signed a two-year, $9.5 million contract ($4,750,000 AAV) with the Detroit Red Wings. The 32-year-old is entering his 13th NHL season with his fifth team and had 23 goals, 55 points and a +13 plus/minus in 76 games between Ottawa and Florida in 2023-24.
Brink broke into the NHL finally in 2023-24 after two full seasons in the AHL and has earned himself a two-year, $3 million contract extension ($1,500,000 AAV). The 22-year-old right-winger was Phildaelphia's 2019 2nd-round pick (34th overall) and had 11 goals, 23 points, 81 SOG and 10 PIMs in 57 games in 2023-24.
Anaheim added to its bottom six on Wednesday as they added Carson Meyer on a one-year, two-way contract. The 26-year-old had spent the last three seasons with the Blue Jackets after being drafted by them in the 2017 sixth round (179th overall). In 2023-24, he appeared in 14 games with Columbus, scoring a goal, two points, two PIMs and a -2 plus/minus.
Burke has been with the Avalanche organization since turning pro in 2021 but has appeared in just three NHL games since then. Burke spent most of the 2024 season in the AHL, where he had 16 goals and 23 assists (39 points) in 57 games with the Colorado Eagles. Look for him to start the 2024-25 season in the AHL.
Carolina added some defensive depth early Wednesday morning as the team announced it has signed Riley Stillman to a one-year, two-way contract. The 26-year-old defenseman last played in the NHL in 2022-23 and has four goals and 26 points in 158 career games. He spent the entire 2023-24 season with the Rochester Americans (AHL) and had two goals and six points in 47 games played.
Kelemen will remain with the Utah organization after signing a one-year, two-way contract extension on Wednesday. The undrafted 24-year-old left-winger appeared in 10 games for Arizona in 2023-24 and had an assist, five SOG and a -2 plus/minus while averaging only 7:40 TOI/GP.
Ottawa drafted Matthew Andonovski in the 5th round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft (140th overall) and has signed him to a three-year, entry-level contract. The 19-year-old defenseman just completed his third season in Kitchener (OHL) and had seven goals and 32 points in 65 games played.
Lundell was a massive piece in Florida's first-ever Stanley Cup victory with 17 points (3G/14A) in 24 playoff games and has earned himself a six-year extension worth $30.0 million ($5.0M AAV). The 22-year-old was Florida's 2020 1st round pick (12th overall) and has 112 points (43G/69A) in 216 career games played in three seasons.
Haman-Aktell came to North America last season and sept most of the year in the AHL, where he had 11 points (2G / 9A) in 55 games with the Hershey Bears. He did appear in six games with the Capitals but will likely start 2024-25 in the AHL again.
Sutter has been strictly an AHLer since being selected by the Capitals in the third-round in 2018. He's coming off the best season of his AHL career, scoring nine goals with 14 assists (23 points) in 66 games.
After two years in Colorado, Johnson returns to the Blue Jackets where he played from 2012 to 2018. At age 37, Johnson will likely be nothing more than a No.6 or No.7 defenseman in Columbus this season. He had 16 points (3G / 13A) in 80 games a season ago.
Motte is a fourth-line penalty killer who has just 60 points (31G / 29A) in 247 games over the last five seasons. Motte won't provide much offence but should help a Red Wings' penalty kill that was 14th in the NHL (79.6%) a season ago.
Barron has spent the last three seasons with Tucson (AHL), where he's combined for 29 goals and 33 assists (62 points) in 182 games. Since being drafted in the seventh-round in 2016, Barron has yet to appear in an NHL game.
Driedger had two outstanding seasons with the Panthers in 2020 and 2021 before being claimed by Seattle in the expansion draft. While with the Panthers, he was 21-8-4 with a 2.07 GAA and .931 SV% across two seasons. However, he had a 2.93 GAA and .900 SV% in 29 games (26 starts) with the Kraken and played in just two NHL games during the 2024 season. With Anthony Stoalrz now in Toronto, Driedger will battle with Spencer Knight for the role of Sergei Bobrovsky's backup in 2025.
The Blues selected Jiricek with the No.16 overall pick in this year's NHL Draft. The 18-year-old blueliner spent the 2024 season in Czechia, posting one assist in 19 games with Plzen HC. He also represented Czechia at the World Juniors but played just one game before suffering a knee injury that forced him to miss the rest of the tournament.
After three years in Winnipeg, Schmidt was bought out this summer and lands with the Panthers on a one-year deal. He reconnects with former head coach Paul Maurice, who was behind the Jets' bench in 2022. Most recently, Schmidt had 14 points (2G / 12A) in 63 games while also racking up 66 hits and 76 blocked shots.
Pare was a sixth-round pick of the Bruins in 2017 but spent the last two season with the Colorado Eagles (AHL), and tallied 35 points (14G / 21A) in 61 games in 2024. He will start the 2025 season with the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
Myers had a really strong year in the AHL in 2024, posting 23 points (4G / 19A) and a plus-29 rating in 61 games for the Syracuse Crunch. He'll likely be an AHLer to start 2024-25 but gives the Maple Leafs some nice organizational depth on the right side of the blueline. He appeared in five NHL games with the Lightning last year and has 158 career games under his belt.
Mermis spent most of 2024 with the Minnesota Wild, where he set career highs in games (47), goals (3), assists (5) and points (8). Expect him to start 2024-25 in the AHL--he had 26 points (5G / 21A) in 63 AHL games in 2023.
After serving a 41-game suspension for gambling, Pinto had 27 points (9G / 18A) in 41 games upon making his season debut on January 21st. The 23-year-old will serve as the team's No.2 centre behind Tim Stützle and will look to build on the 19-goal and 22-assist per 82-game pace he's set in his first two full seasons.
