Let’s catch up on a busy week of NHL transactions, starting with the doings of the Florida Panthers’ Atlantic Division rivals.
The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired forward Dakota Joshua from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. Joshua, 29, played in 57 games last season with the Canucks, missing the first part of the season as he recovered from surgery to treat testicular cancer. He finished the campaign with seven goals and 14 points.
Toronto also signed forward Miroslav Holinka to a three-year, entry-level contract. Holinka was selected in the fifth-round of the 2024 draft. He produced 19 goals and 45 points in 47 WHL games with the Edmonton Oil Kings last season.
The Buffalo Sabres signed Radim Mrtka to a three-year, entry-level contract. Buffalo selected him with the ninth pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Mrtka joined the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds last November and suited up in 43 regular season games, recording three goals, 35 points and a plus-10 rating. Prior to that, the towering 6-foot-6 right-shot defenseman played for Ocelari Trinec of the Czechia’s Extraliga.
Buffalo also signed forward Jake Leschyshyn to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K. Leschyshyn, 26, totaled 24 points (13G/11A) in 69 games last season with the Hartford Wolf Pack, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers.
Unrestricted free agent forward Joe Veleno inked a one-year contract worth $900K with the Montreal Canadiens. Veleno put up five goals and five assists in 56 games with the Detroit Red Wings before he was traded to Chicago. He scored three goals and added four assists in 18 games with the Blackhawks.
Detroit signed forward Carter Bear to a three-year, entry-level contract. Bear was the 13th overall pick at the 2025 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old forward led the WHL’s Everett Silvertips with 82 points in the 2024-25 season despite partially tearing his Achilles tendon on March 9.
The Ottawa Senators re-signed forward Xavier Bourgault to a one-year, two-way contract. Bourgault, a former first-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers, spent last season with AHL Belleville and put up 12 goals and 14 assists in 61 games.
John Farinacci signed a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K to remain with the Boston Bruins. Farinacci produced ten goals and 38 points in 58 games with AHL Providence. He scored a goal for the Bruins in his NHL debut in the season finale against the New Jersey Devils.
Dysin Mayo penned a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 28-year-old defenseman played in 58 regular-season games for AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights last season. He collected eight goals and 11 helpers.
The Anaheim Ducks re-signed goaltender Lukáš Dostál to a five-year contract worth $32.5 million, avoiding arbitration. In 54 games last season, the Brno, Czechia native went 23-23-7 and recorded a .903 save percentage and a 3.10 goals-against average with one shutout.
Defenseman Drew Helleson re-upped with the Ducks inking a two-year contract worth $2.2 million. The 24-year old Helleson, who was a second-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2019, played in 56 games with the team last season, finishing with four goals, 13 points and 47 PIM.
Anaheim also re-signed forward Jan Mysak and goalie Calle Clang to one-year, two-way contracts worth $775K. Both players spent the 2024-25 season in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls. Mysak scored 18 goals and added 24 assists in 68 games. Clang went 11-13-4 and posted a 3.13 GAA and . save percentage.
The Winnipeg Jets locked up forward Gabriel Vilardi, signing the forward to a new six-year worth $45 million. Vilardi became a restricted free agent on July 1 after completing a two-year, $6.88 million deal. The 25-year-old had career highs in 2024-25 with 27 goals, 34 assists, 61 points and 71 games.
Winnipeg also re-signed forward Parker Ford to a two-year, two-way contract worth $1.63 million. Ford played in his first three NHL games and scored his first career goal last season. He also appeared in 41 games with the Manitoba Moose and produced 14 goals and 21 points.
The Chicago Blackhawks signed Anton Frondell, who was the No. 3 overall pick in last month’s draft, to a three-year, entry-level contract. Frondell produced 11 goals and had 14 assists last season in 29 regular-season games for Djurgarden of Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan. He was part of the reason the team earned promotion to the top-level Swedish Hockey League this year.
Chicago added to its organizational depth at the goaltender position, announcing the signing of undrafted 22-year old Russian netminder Stanislav Berezhnoy to an entry-level contract. The deal is for two seasons and carries a $975,000 salary cap hit, running through the 2026–27 season.
The Blackhawks also re-signed defenseman Louis Crevier to a two-year contract worth $1.8 million. Crevier split time between Chicago and AHL Rockford last season. In 32 games with the Blackhawks he scored three goals and added an assist. He scored on goal and assisted on three others in 15 games with the IceHogs.
Unrestricted free agent Michael Carcone has returned to the Utah Mammoth, signing a one-year contract worth $775K. Carcone posted seven goals and 19 points in 53 games with Utah last season after putting up 21 goals and 29 points in 2023-24.
The Mammoth also re-signed veteran forward Cameron Hebig to a two-year, two-way contract worth $1.55M. Hebig produced 26 goals and 21 assists in 67 games with the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL last season. He has yet to play an NHL game.
The Winnipeg Jets have re-signed defenseman Tyrel Bauer to a one-year, two-way contract worht $775K. In his third season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, Bauer had two assists in 59 games and dropped the gloves seven times.
Defenseman Domenick Fensore signed a one-year, two-way deal to remain with the Carolina Hurricanes. Fensore appeared in his first two NHL games with Carolina last season and also saw duty in 67 AHL games with the Chicago Wolves, where he produced nine goal and 23 points.
The Calgary Flames re-signed center Rory Kerins and defensemen Yan Kuznetsov and Jeremie Poirier, the NHL club announced Thursday. Kuznetsov signed a two-year, two-way deal worth $812,500 a season that becomes a one-way contract in the second year while Kerins and Poirier inked one-year, one-way contracts worth $775K. Kerins led the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers in scoring last season with 61 points (33G/28A) and had four assists in five games with the Flames. Kuznetsov, from had a career-best 21 points (6G/15A) and led the Wranglers with a plus-21 rating in 72 games with the Wranglers in 2024-25. Poirier had five goals and 37 assists in 71 games with the Wranglers last season.