Penguins Ink Philip Tomasino To One-Year Contract

The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed right winger Philip Tomasino on Tuesday.

Tomasino, acquired last season from the Nashville Predators for a fourth-round pick, has been a streaky scorer for the Penguins. At 23, the Penguins are hoping that Tomasino can develop into a more consistent forward who projects to fill out a middle-six role with the team.

Penguins general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas noted to the press on Monday that conversations were continuing with both Tomasino and Connor Dewar's respective camps; the signings of both were announced simultaneously Tuesday afternoon.

It is unclear if Tomasino attracted interest from other clubs before signing with the Penguins. He earned a slight raise on his one-year, $825,000 contract, while Dewar took a slight pay cut on his. 

The young forward has shown ample promise, playing alongside center Evgeni Malkin for stretches last year. He amassed 11 goals and 23 assists in 50 games for the Penguins after notching only one assist in 11 games with the Predators.

The Penguins are hoping that he fills a top-nine role and becomes a solid component in their efforts to return to contention.

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Feature image credit:  Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Penguins Trade Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic To San Jose For Third-Round Pick

After much anticipation about the Pittsburgh Penguins' goaltending situation heading into the 2025-26 season, the dam has finally broken. 

On Tuesday, the Penguins traded goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick. Nedeljkovic is signed through the end of the 2025-26 season with a cap hit of $2.5 million.

Nedeljkovic, 29, spent the last two seasons as one half of the tandem with Tristan Jarry in Pittsburgh. There were mixed results in both campaigns, and last season, Nedeljkovic finished the season 14-15-5 with a 3.12 goals-against average and an .894 save percentage.

 With Nedeljkovic out of the picture for the Penguins, it opens the door for one of Pittsburgh's young goaltending prospects to share the workload with Jarry next season. The obvious candidate is Joel Blomqvist, who had two short NHL stints last season. 

The first stint went well for Blomqvist. The second? Not so much. Overall, the rookie finished 4-9-1 with a 3.81 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage.

Pittsburgh also has goaltending prospects in Sergei Murashov and Filip Larsson, both of whom figure to be in the mix for NHL playing time next season.

After the trade, the Penguins now have 28 picks in the next two drafts, including six in the first three rounds in 2026.

Penguins Re-sign Forward Connor Dewar To One-Year ContractPenguins Re-sign Forward Connor Dewar To One-Year ContractAfter non-qualifying all but one of their pending-restricted free agents (RFAs), it appears that the Pittsburgh Penguins are bringing at least one of them back on a free agent contract.

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Feature image credit: Timothy T. Ludwig - Imagn Images

Sharks Sign John Klingberg, Philipp Kurashev & Adam Gaudette In Free Agency

The San Jose Sharks have announced that they have signed John Klingberg, Adam Gaudette and Philipp Kurashev to contracts.

Kurashev, 25, signed a one-year $1.2 million deal. He had seven goals and seven assists for 24 points in 51 games last season with the Chicago Blackhawks. He was left unqualified by the Blackhawks and now joins a young Sharks team where he will be given an elevated role within their lineup.

As for Klingberg, he signed a one-year deal $4 million deal. He is a 32-year-old defenseman that can help lead the power play unit and mentor some of the younger players on the back end.

Lastly, Adam Gaudette has signed two-year deal $4 million deal that carries an AAV of $2 million per season. Last season with the Ottawa Senators he scored 19 goals and seven assists for 26 points in 81 games. 

The Sharks are not in the market to add a ton of big names. They want to surround the younger players with depth players that don’t take away from the ice time of the Macklin Celebrinis and Will Smiths.

The Sharks still need to spend upwards of $20 million to reach the cap floor. With the free agent market starting to thin out, there could be a chance that GM Mike Grier looks at the trade market to add players and salary cap.

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Toronto Maple Leafs Re-Sign Dakota Mermis, Sign Travis Boyd, Michael Pezzetta, And Benoit-Olivier Groulx

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced they have signed forwards Travis Boyd, Michael Pezzetta, and Benoit-Olivier Groulx and re-signed defenseman Dakota Mermis. 

Mermis signed a two-year contract that is worth $812,000 annually. The veteran will likely be a key member of the Toronto Marlies blueline next season. 

The 31-year-old played three games for the Maple Leafs and one game for Utah HC last season, he also had seven points in 32 games for the Marlies. After an injury in training camp he was placed on waivers, claimed by Utah, and later re-claimed by Toronto

The Alton, Ill., native has 146 points in 463 career AHL games and 13 points in 78 career NHL games. He won the 2022 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award as AHL's Man of the Year for Community Service. 

Boyd signed a one-year, $775,000 contract. He will likely serve in an offensive and leadership role with the Marlies. 

The 31-year-old recorded 22 goals and 53 points in 63 games with the Iowa Wild last season and went pointless in three games with the Minnesota Wild. He has 225 points in 284 career AHL games and was named to the AHL Second All-Star Team in 2017. 

He had eight points in 20 games for the Maple Leafs in the 2020-21 season.

Groulx signed a two-year contract that pays him $812,000 annually. 

The 25-year-old recorded 37 points in 47 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack last season. 

A second round selection of the Anaheim Ducks in 2018, he has five points in 65 career NHL games and 127 points in 192 career AHL games. 

Pezzetta also signed a two-year contract that pays him $812,000 annually. He last appeared in the AHL in 2021. 

The 27-year-old had no points in 25 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season. 

The Toronto, Ont., native has 25 points and 186 penalty minutes in 115 career AHL games and 38 points in 200 NHL games. 

Groulx, Boyd and Pezzetta appear to be replacements on the Marlies for the recently departed Alex Steeves and Nick Abruzzese. 

Check out The Hockey News' Toronto Maple Leafs team site for more updates. 

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Photo Credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Why The Maple Leafs Didn’t Qualify Pontus Holmberg As Player Signs With Lightning

Pontus Holmberg is moving on from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Holmberg agreed to a two-year contract with the Lightning worth $3.1 million. The annual average value of the deal would be $1.55 million. Holmberg exits the Maple Leafs organization after three seasons with the club.

The 26-year-old, who was a restricted free agent at the end of this season, wasn't qualified by the Maple Leafs. After a year which saw him score seven goals and 12 assists in 68 games, Toronto chose not to qualify Holmberg because he had arbitration rights.

"Well, once he gets into the market, he becomes open to everybody. And really, it wasn't necessarily a situation we didn't like the player, we did. He had arb rights," Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving said on Tuesday afternoon.

"I think when you see players go free, sometimes people don't understand the rights that are associated with certain players. Up until 5 o'clock yesterday, if we were to qualify him, he then kicks into arbitration mode or he's attached to an arbitration filing, and that elevates the number. So we weren't able to, between us and Pontus's side, find a number that we felt fit for us.

"Now, once you get into the UFA, a lot of times that number will come down because you're not attached to the arbitration. So we like Pontus. We've had discussions and talked to each other prior to us not qualifying him, but I think it's probably a fair bet to say that he has hit the market and we'll see where it goes."

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And Treliving was right. Four hours after Holmberg hit the open market, the Lightning snatched up the forward.

Holmberg's time with the Maple Leafs ended after being drafted by Toronto in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft. At the time, it was unknown what the forward would become, but as the years progressed, Holmberg played his way into a bottom-six role with Toronto.

In 159 games with the Maple Leafs, Holmberg scored 19 goals and 30 assists for 49 points.

The Lightning also signed former Toronto forward Nick Abruzzese to a one-year, two-way contract. Toronto's former fourth-round pick only played 11 NHL games with the Maple Leafs, scoring one goal and two assists in that span.

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After losing Holmberg, Abruzzese, and Alex Steeves to free agency, the Maple Leafs have re-signed Dakota Mermis and signed Michael Pezzetta and Benoit-Olivier Groulx to two-year deals with an $812,500 AAV. They also added Travis Boyd on a one-year, $775,000 contract.

(Top photo of Holmberg: Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)

Rangers Sign Veteran Center Justin Dowling To A Two-Year Contract

Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The New York Rangers have signed forward Justin Dowling to a two-year contract. 

It’s a one-way deal the first year, two-way the second year. During the first season, Dowling will earn $775,000 while he’ll make $775,000 during the second season when at the NHL level and a minimum of $450,000. 

Dowling has played seven seasons in the NHL for the Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, and New Jersey Devils.

In 152 career games, the 34-year-old center has recorded nine goals, 17 assists, and 26 points while averaging 10:37 minutes. 

Dowling is coming off a season where he played 52 games for the Devils, the most throughout his NHL career.

Blue Jackets Sign Center Isac Lundeström

The Columbus Blue Jackets are signing center Isac Lundeström to a two-year contract. The contract will be worth $1.3 million per season. 

Lundeström has 337 NHL games under his belt, all for the Anaheim Ducks. He's scored 35 goals and totaled 84 points in his career. 

One scouting report said of Lundeström, "Powerful skater... ability to carry the puck deep using good puck protection on both sides to then put dangerous pucks in front from down low."

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