According to Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal, there are no long-term concerns for the recent 19th overall pick of the Vegas Golden Knights, Trevor Connelly. The young forward prospect will not participate in the World Junior Summer Showcase and was limited to one scrimmage the the Golden Knights’ development camp due to a knee injury. Connelly is committed to Providence College for the 2024-25 NCAA season and is still expected to start the season on time. [SOURCE LINK] According to Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal, there are no long-term concerns for the recent 1 ..read more

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic released the summer edition of his Top 100 drafted NHL prospects rankings. Not surprisingly, Macklin Celebrini tops the list and is one of 22 players from the 2024 NHL entry draft. Philadelphia Flyers 2023 first-round pick Matvei Michkov is the second-ranked prospect just ahead of Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov who rounded out the top 3. Celebrini’s soon-to-be teammate Will Smith ranked eighth on the list and was the second of six San Jose Sharks prospects to make Wheeler’s top 100. The six prospects for San Jose was the most among any team alongside the ..read more

The Golden Knights have brought in forward Callahan Burke and defenseman Robert Hägg on one-year deals for 2024-25, per their CapFriendly pages. Burke’s is a two-way deal paying him $775K in the NHL and $300K in the minors, while Hägg’s contract is a one-way worth $775K. Burke, 27, began his professional career as an undrafted free agent signing by the AHL’s Colorado Eagles in 2020 out of Notre Dame. The Massachusetts native worked his way up the organizational ladder, playing a season and a half for the Eagles before earning an entry-level deal from the Avalanche in December of 2021 ..read more

After forward Jonathan Marchessault signed a five-year, $27.5MM contract with the Nashville Predators at the start of free agency, one of the main questions surrounding his departure from the Vegas Golden Knights is how hard the team tried to retain him. Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game reports that Vegas offered Marchessault a similar salary but the years offered were well off his expectations. Questions will surely arise about why the Golden Knights were unwilling to offer one of the original ’misfits’ a five-year term; especially if they were willing to compete with other teams on salary. Marc ..read more

The Vegas Golden Knights have signed goaltender Akira Schmid to a two-year, one-way contract with a salary of $875K in both seasons, per CapFriendly. It’s been under a week since the Golden Knights acquired Schmid and Alexander Holtz from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Paul Cotter and a third-round pick in 2025. Due to his approximate $850K salary from 2021-2024, Schmid’s qualifying offer with Vegas would have been close to $900K, which the team decided not to extend to Schmid. Only on the free agent market for a few days, Schmid officially joins the Golden Knights with plans on startin ..read more

1:17 p.m.: Vegas has confirmed the Olofsson signing. 12:20 p.m.: The Golden Knights are expected to add some depth scoring in the form of UFA winger Victor Olofsson, PuckPedia reports. It’ll be a one-year deal worth $1.075MM, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. With the signing, the 28-year-old Olofsson leaves the only NHL home he’s ever known. A seventh-round pick of the Sabres, Olofsson ended up giving Buffalo great value for such a late-round selection. While a well-documented one-dimensional talent, he’s a three-time 20-goal scorer and is two years removed from a career-best ..read more

With over 180 deals signed during the first day of free agency yesterday, some smaller names may have gotten lost in the shuffle. Here’s a list of names that have inked two-way deals with Pacific Division clubs since the market opened yesterday, per CapFriendly. Some of these may have been included in our main coverage yesterday, while others went under the radar. All contracts carry the league-minimum $775K cap hit unless stated otherwise). Those listed here are likely to begin 2024-25 with each team’s AHL affiliate. Anaheim Ducks none Calgary Flames G Devin Cooley (two years) F&nbs ..read more

The Golden Knights have found Logan Thompson’s replacement on the open market, inking Ilya Samsonov to a one-year pact today, per a team release. They’ve also re-signed RFA forward Pavel Dorofeyev ($1.835MM AAV) and defenseman Kaedan Korczak ($825K) to two-year deals (per PuckPedia). It’s a $1.8MM cap hit for Samsonov, GM Kelly McCrimmon confirmed. Vegas may have honored a reported trade request by dealing Thompson to the Capitals for a pair of third-round picks over the weekend, but they’ve now had to settle for a more expensive and arguably worse replacement on the o ..read more

The Vegas Golden Knights will shore up some depth at the forward position as player agent Dan Milstein reports the team has signed forward Zach Aston-Reese worth $775K at the NHL level and $475K in the AHL. They’re also bringing in depth forward Tanner Laczynski on a two-year, one-way deal worth $775K, per PuckPedia. This move continues Aston-Reese’s journey across the NHL, with his last stop coming on a two-way deal with the Detroit Red Wings. Aston-Reese spent the bulks of that deal in the AHL, recording 14 goals and 30 points in 61 appearances and adding two points in nine playoff game ..read more

The Devils are in the market for a top-six forward today, and they may end up as one of the finalists for Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, per ESPN’s Kevin Weekes. They’ll be one of many teams making Stamkos’ agent’s phone ring off the hook today. TSN’s Bob McKenzie also expects the Ducks, Hurricanes, Predators and Red Wings to make aggressive pushes for the future Hall-of-Fame forward. A return to Tampa Bay is extremely unlikely for Stamkos, whose 555 career goals and 1,082 games played have all come in a Lightning uniform. They weren’t close to an extension as of last weekend, and their sig ..read more