The Buffalo Sabres have acquired defenseman Nathan Beaulieu from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a third-round pick in 2017, the Canadiens announced Saturday.
Beaulieu appeared in 74 games this season, recording four goals and 24 assists. The 24-year-old is a restricted free agent.
Beaulieu is a former first-round pick by the Canadiens, drafted 17th overall in 2011.
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The Arizona Coyotes are trading goaltender Mike Smith to the Calgary Flames, reports TSN's Bob McKenzie.
Calgary will send the rights to defensive prospect Brandon Hickey and a conditional third-round pick to the Coyotes, and netminder Chad Johnson is also going to Arizona in the deal, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
The third-round pick becomes a second-rounder if the Flames make the playoffs, reports Arizona Sports' Craig Morgan.
The Coyotes will retain 25 percent of Smith's salary, according to McKenzie. The 35-year-old has two seasons left on his contract at an annual cap hit of about $5.67 million.
Earlier this offseason, Smith submitted a list of eight teams to which he'd agree to be dealt, according to LeBrun.
The Flames' goaltending situation was uncertain entering the summer, as both Johnson and Brian Elliott are pending unrestricted free agents.
Smith went 19-26-9 with a 2.92 GAA and .914 save percentage in 55 games behind a porous Coyotes defense in 2016-17.
He'll depart the desert ranked third on the franchise's all-time save percentage and GAA lists, having faced the most shots and having made the most saves in club history.
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Winnipeg Jets defenseman Tobias Enstrom has reportedly agreed to waive his no-movement clause ahead of the expansion draft, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
The move would permit the Jets to shield two other defensemen - Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba - plus seven forwards, should they opt for the 7-3 protection route.
Enstrom tallied 14 points in 60 games last season. The 32-year-old has one year remaining on his contract, carrying a $5.75-
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Linus Ullmark knows how to pick them.
The Buffalo Sabres netminder announced his nuptials over social media on Saturday, doing so in style:
It's been a good week for the Swedish goaltender, who on Tuesday agreed to a two-year extension with the Sabres.
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The Columbus Blue Jackets are reportedly willing to pay a significant price to ensure several of their players aren't chosen by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
The Blue Jackets have agreed to trade the 24th overall selection in the entry draft and a prospect (not Pierre-Luc Dubois or Sonny Milano) to the Golden Knights for assurances that the new franchise will take either Matt Calvert, William Karlsson or Ryan Murray in the expansion draft, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports.
That would prevent the Golden Knights from nabbing one of Josh Anderson, Joonas Korpisalo, Jack Johnson or David Savard
The deal will be announced during the expansion draft on Wednesday, according to the report.
It would leave the Blue Jackets without a pick in the first two rounds of the entry draft, because their second-round selection now belongs to the Vancouver Canucks as compensation for the hiring of head coach John Tortorella.
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Something bigger may be brewing for the Arizona Coyotes.
After pulling off a minor deal that saw Nick Cousins move from the Philadelphia Flyers to the desert, general manager John Chayka appears to have his eyes on New York Rangers center Derek Stepan, and he's reportedly not alone.
According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, the Coyotes are one of multiple teams with "serious interest" in Stepan.
Stepan has four years remaining on a contract that carries a salary cap hit of $6.5 million. That deal has a no-trade clause over the next two seasons, and a modified no-trade clause in the final two seasons. As McKenzie noted, that clause doesn't kick in until July 1, meaning the Rangers are free to trade him for the best possible return.
Following a postseason series loss to Ottawa, Stepan said he was ashamed of his play. He registered one goal and three assists in six games against the Senators.
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The Philadelphia Flyers traded forward Nick Cousins and goaltender Merrick Madsen to the Arizona Coyotes for a fifth-round draft pick in 2018 and forward Brendan Warren, the Coyotes confirmed Friday.
Cousins is coming off his first full season in the league after being drafted in the third round in 2011. He split the 2015 and 2016 seasons between the NHL and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League.
The 23-year-old was rather unimpressive in his first full stint, scoring six goals and adding 10 assists in 60 games.
Madsen is coming off his third year at Harvard University where he posted a record of 28-6-2 with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.
Has one more year before Flyers had to sign him, I believe. Wasn't going to happen this summer though. Too many other prospects. https://t.co/DXQJZucUd7
— Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) June 17, 2017
As for the Flyers, they receive Warren - a 2015 third-round selection of the Coyotes - in addition to the fifth-round pick. He's spent the last two years at the University of Michigan where he's tallied eight goals and 27 points in 73 contests.
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It's heating up in Vegas.
Golden Knights general manager George McPhee isn't expecting to get much - if any - sleep early next week, given that he and his staff will have only a few days to make their expansion draft selections.
"We may have to go around the clock because we will only have 72 hours to put our team together," McPhee told Kevin Allen of USA TODAY Sports. "And there is going to be a lot of negotiating with teams and players and a lot of debate and discussion among ourselves about who is the right fit."
The other 30 teams have until 5 p.m. ET on Saturday to hand in their protected lists, and the Golden Knights will receive them at 10 a.m. ET the next morning after they've been vetted by the league for adherence purposes.
From that point, Vegas will make its selections - one player from each team - and that list must be submitted by 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
Already, McPhee and his staff have been putting in long days, not that anyone is complaining.
"It is non-stop," McPhee said. "There aren't many lulls, and if there are lulls, we need that time to go back and review teams and anticipate moves.
"We want to do a really good job, and that’s important," he added. "But it’s been a fantastic experience from Day 1. We hired intelligent, experienced people and it’s been a pleasure to work with them. We are very well-prepared. So the process has been enjoyable. There’s an intensity to it, but we have great chemistry in the room so it’s been fun."
The official roster reveal will be made at the NHL Awards ceremony on June 21, hours after Vegas submits its list to the league.
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