Brad Marchand staying with Panthers on six-year contract: Report originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Brad Marchand isn’t just staying with the Florida Panthers, he is committing to the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs for six more years.

Yes, you read that right.

The 37-year-old veteran is signing a six-year contract worth just under $32 million with the Panthers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Monday. The salary cap hit will be less $5.5 million, which is pretty good value for Florida.

If Marchand plays out this entire contract, he’ll be 43 years old when it expires.

Hearing Brad Marchand is closing in on a six-year extension in Florida…just under $32M is the total.

The Panthers pulled it off. Verrrrrrrrrrry impressive

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 30, 2025

Marchand spent 15-plus seasons with the Boston Bruins before they dealt him to the Panthers at the trade deadline in March.

He made a seamless transition to the Panthers lineup and was arguably their best player in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He tallied 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 23 postseason games, including six goals in the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers. The Panthers won the series in six games to secure back-to-back championships.

The Panthers have done a masterful job re-signing their own free agents this offseason. In addition to Marchand, Florida has kept top-six center Sam Bennett (eight years, $64 million) and star defenseman Aaron Ekblad (eight years, $48.8 million).

The Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Utah Mammoth reportedly were going to have interest in Marchand if he hit the free agent market Tuesday, but now those teams will have to pursue other options.

Former St. Louis Blues star Vladimir Tarasenko is once again heading to a new team. 

The Detroit Red Wings have announced that they have traded Tarasenko to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for future considerations. 

We have acquired right wing Vladimir Tarasenko from Detroit in exchange for future considerations. pic.twitter.com/YdyexgYu01

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) June 30, 2025

Tarasenko had been in the rumor mill since before the 2025 NHL trade deadline, as he just did not fit in well with the Red Wings. In 80 games with the Original Six club in 2024-25, he posted 11 goals, 33 points, and a minus-13 rating.

Tarasenko's goal will to now have a bounce-back season with the Wild from here. When looking at his past success, he undoubtedly has the potential to turn things back around. If he does, he could be a very solid addition to the Wild's middle six. 

In 644 games over 11 seasons with the St. Louis Blues from 2012-13 to 2022-23, Tarasenko recorded 262 goals, 291 assists, 553 points, and a plus-57 rating. His time with the Blues ended when he was traded to the New York Rangers at the 2023 NHL trade deadline. Since then, he has had stops with the Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers, and Red Wings. Now, he is heading to Minnesota. 

Report: Blues Still Trying To Re-Sign Veteran ForwardSt. Louis Blues forward Radek Faksa is one of the team's most notable pending unrestricted free agents (UFA) with July 1 being just one day away. However, while the start of free agency is just about here, the possibility of him staying in St. Louis is still there.

Photo Credit: © Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

The Buffalo Sabres are in the midst of a reshuffle of their roster for next season and the bottom end of their blueline is the area where the upheaval is the most stark. If you look at the turnover from the opening night roster last season, Dennis Gilbert was dealt to Ottawa along with Dylan Cozens for Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker at the trade deadline, Connor Clifton was shipped to Pittsburgh for Conor Timmins, and Henri Jokiharju was sent to Boston for a 2026 fourth round pick.

Jokiharju, who was a pending unrestricted free agent when the Sabres traded him in March, re-signed with the Bruins on Monday to a three-year, $9 million contract extension. The 26-year-old had 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in 60 games with Buffalo and Boston last season, and is expected to play on the Bruins bottom pairing 

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Acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019 in a swap for Alex Nylander, the former first-round pick had 81 points (19 goals, 62 assists) in 351 games over six seasons with the Sabres, playing at times with Dahlin on the club’s top pairing and higher in the lineup than maybe he should have because of a lack of options on the right side.  

The Sabres at this point are going to look different on defense to start next season, with righties Michael Kesselring (acquired in the JJ Peterka deal last week), Timmins (a restricted free agent) and Bernard-Docker on the right side. There is still a possibility of more changes, as Mattias Samuelsson and/or Bowen Byram could be moved this summer, leaving only Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power as defensemen who are certain to be back. 

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly attempting a last-minute effort to re-sign pending unrestricted free agent Steven Lorentz.

"With the free-agent market due to open in a little more than 24 hours, the Maple Leafs are exploring whether they can get something done with pending UFA Steven Lorentz to keep him in Toronto," TSN and The Athletic's Chris Johnston reported on X.

Lorentz scored eight goals and 11 assists in 80 games with the Maple Leafs last season, setting a new career-high in assists and tying that in points. The fourth liner also had 199 hits in the regular season, the second-most behind defenseman Simon Benoit (204).

The 29-year-old didn't find the back of the net through the playoffs, but did have two assists in 13 games, both coming against the Florida Panthers in the second round. He was third on Toronto in hits in the playoffs with 42, trailing only Bobby McMann (49) and Max Pacioretty (61).

Lorentz, a lifelong Maple Leafs fan, signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with Toronto last October after entering the team's training camp on a professional tryout. He played with the Florida Panthers in the season prior and skated in 16 games for the club en route to their first Stanley Cup win.

Report: Maple Leafs Are Frontrunners For Brad Marchand If He Hits Open Market, Could Still Re-Sign With PanthersIf Brad Marchand hits the open market on Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs will reportedly be among several teams interested in the forward's services. And likely one of the frontrunners to land him.

The three former Panthers on Toronto—Lorentz, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Anthony Stolarz—were presented with Stanley Cup rings ahead of their first game in Florida this past season on Nov. 27.

This news comes amidst a busy time in the NHL with one day remaining until free agency opens. Already being reported is that Toronto could be the frontrunners to land Brad Marchand if he doesn't re-sign in Florida. There's also the potential of a sign-and-trade involving Mitch Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights.

On Friday afternoon, John Tavares signed a four-year, $17.55 million contract with an annual average value of $4.38 million. Forty-eight hours later, the Maple Leafs and Matthew Knies reportedly agreed on a six-year, $46.50 million extension and an AAV of $7.75 million.

Golden Knights Trade Nic Hague To Predators: What It Means For Maple Leafs And Mitch Marner Trade TalksAs speculation intensifies around a potential trade of Mitch Marner's negotiating rights from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Vegas Golden Knights, one potential trade piece is now off the table. Early Monday morning, multiple reports surfaced that Golden Knights defenseman Nic Hague was being dealt to the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and forward Colton Sissons. Hague is also expected to sign a four-year extension worth $5.5 million per season.

Knies' deal is yet to be made official by Toronto.

TSN and The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun also reported that the Maple Leafs could be interested in pending UFA Michael Pezzetta when free agency opens. The 27-year-old was born in Toronto and didn't have a point in 25 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season.

He could fill the void that could come with Group 6 UFAs Alex Steeves and Nick Abruzzese, plus UFA Alex Nylander, potentially testing the open market. Pezzetta has 15 goals and 23 assists in 200 career NHL games with the Canadiens.

Why New Maple Leafs Prospect William Belle Wants To Model His Game Around Capitals' Tom WilsonWilliam Belle and a few of his new University of Notre Dame teammates were assembling a couch when his phone began to erupt with messages.

According to PuckPedia, the Maple Leafs have $13.57 million in cap space after the Tavares and Knies extensions.

(Top photo of Lorentz: Ed Mulholland / Imagn Images)