The Nashville Predators have lost another player in free agency as defenseman Marc Del Gaizo signed with the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday. 

He agreed to a one-year, $775,000 contract, making as much as he did this past season in Nashville. 

Del Gaizo was drafted by the Predators 109th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft out of UMass Amherst.

This past season, he split time between Nashville and Milwaukee, scoring nine points in 46 games with the Predators and 12 points in 30 games with the Admirals. Del Gaizo also had five points in 10 playoff games with Milwaukee. 

Del Gaizo had two different contracts during his two years in Nashville. During the 2023-24 season, he had an annual hit of $850,833. He made about $75,000 less this year. 

General manager Barry Trotz said that the goal of free agency was to improve the defense, which likely included adding depth. Del Gaizo is on the rise, as last season was the most NHL games he had played in a single season. 

The Predators have about $10.1 million in salary cap space. 

During this free agency period, the Predators have signed two defensemen: Nicolas Hague from the Vegas Golden Knights and Nick Perbix from the Tampa Bay Lightning. They have also extended a qualifying offer to Luke Evangelista. 

Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and center Colton Sissons were traded to Vegas as part of the trade with Hague. 

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- When the Montreal Canadiens made a splash on the trade front and acquired defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders, Logan Mailloux felt like he was on borrowed time.

So when the defenseman was traded to the St. Louis Blues by the Canadiens for forward Zack Bolduc on Tuesday, there was perhaps a sense of relief, and one of appreciation that the 22-year-old will get the opportunity to be a full-time NHL player.

"After I’d seen the Dobson trade come in to Montreal, it was a little bit of a logjam there on the back end, to be honest," Mailloux admitted on Tuesday. "They’ve got some young guys there, some other guys as well. When that happened, I thought there might be a chance (of getting traded). I didn’t really know anything until today. I’m really excited to get to St. Louis and get the chance to play."

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said as much, when he announced that Mailloux, who has all of eight games' worth of experience at the NHL level, including seven last season (two goals, two assists), has a job here and it's up to him to keep it.

"We think he's NHL-ready now," Armstrong said. "I talked to him, I told him he'll have the opportunity to ... he has a job now. It's his job to come into camp and keep it."

This wasn't going to be the case in Montreal, which chose Mailloux with the 31st pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, 14 spots after the Blues selected Bolduc at No. 17, and the 6-foot-3, 213-pound right-handed shot is more than grateful.

"I’m really excited to come to St. Louis," Mailloux said. "I think they’ve got a great group of guys, and I’m really looking forward to continuing my journey, on and off the ice. Coming to St. Louis and being able to make a positive impact, whether it’s on the ice or off the ice, I think I want to come in there and be able to do some good.

"It’s pretty nice, to be honest. I think they’re giving me a chance here trading for me. I think they gave up a good prospect, a good player. I think I’m NHL ready as well. I think I’m ready to make that jump full-time. Hopefully, come in here and be able to contribute to some wins and some success next year."

Mailloux, who had 80 points (26 goals, 54 assists) in 135 games playing for Laval of the American Hockey League the past two seasons, attributes his success to playing well both offensively and defensively. He's known as an offensive defenseman but feels his positive play stemmed from both ends of the ice.

"I think it was my play on both sides of the puck this year," he said. "I think that’s one of the areas that I made a step compared to my first year. I think I was playing more of a complete game, being physical and trying to provide some offense when I can. Just being able to be out there and be a reliable player.

"I think when I came in my first year, I was a little more raw. I didn’t play too much hockey before that, to be honest. Had one full year of junior in the OHL (with the London Knights), but other than that, I had some injuries and some stuff going on before that. I think coming in and being able to play two full seasons in Laval, I didn’t really miss a game. Just being able to fully round out my game, I think, was definitely a big step I made this past year."

Even if the Blues parted with Bolduc, who came into his own with 36 points (19 goals, 17 assists) in 72 regular-season games last season and flourished when Jim Montgomery took over as coach in late November, Mailloux falls into the mix of a lineup that's got a group of 10 players at 25 or younger.

"They’ve got a good team there," Mailloux said. "It’s pretty exciting to see what they have going on. Got a bunch of young talent, some guys who’ve put up some really good seasons and some young guys who are up and coming as well. I think, hopefully, I fit right in with that age group as well. I’m really excited to get going and hopefully win some games for a long time here."

It was another slower-than-usual July 1 for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. In contrast with previous years, they stayed away from the big-name free agents, instead opting to sign depth pieces to short-term contracts.

Some fans aren’t thrilled about the lack of splashy moves, but Penguins general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas was transparent about his intentions and followed through with them.

“I think it’s like we’ve discussed. They’re not going to be the long-range, big-money guys in their 30s. It just doesn't fit at all with what we’re going to do,” Dubas told the media over the weekend.

While the organization hasn’t officially declared a rebuild, its actions speak volumes. That process arguably began at the 2024 trade deadline, when the Penguins dealt star forward Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes. It continued last offseason with the free-agent signings of defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and forward Anthony Beauvillier.

They were paid in extra draft picks to take on forwards Cody Glass and Kevin Hayes, signaling a focus on asset accumulation. Over the next two years, the Penguins have been aggressively stockpiling draft capital.

This free agency mirrored last year’s approach. The team signed defensemen Alexander Alexeyev, Parker Wotherspoon, Caleb Jones, and Phil Kemp, along with forwards Justin Brazeau, Anthony Mantha, and Rafael Harvey-Pinard.

Mantha is expected to take on a role similar to Beauvillier’s from last season—contributing roughly 15 goals before potentially being flipped at the trade deadline. Beauvillier tallied 13 goals and 20 points in 63 games last season (in Pittsburgh) and netted the Penguins a second-round pick from the Washington Capitals. 

If Mantha, who is recovering from knee surgery due to an ACL injury he sustained in the 2024-25 season, can produce at a healthy rate, the Penguins might expect a better return than the second-round pick the Capitals paid for Beauvillier.

Mantha also brings much-needed size to the lineup, a point Dubas has emphasized repeatedly in media appearances. He wants the Penguins to be bigger and harder to play against.

Brazeau and Wotherspoon help in that department, too. Brazeau, a towering 6’6” forward, isn’t shy about playing a physical game. He chipped in 11 goals and 22 points across 76 games with the Bruins and Wild last season and plays a responsible two-way game. He’s exactly the kind of player playoff teams value at the deadline.

Wotherspoon addresses the left side of the defense—a major focus for Dubas this offseason. He's a strong skater, dependable in his own zone, and can handle third-pairing minutes with ease. While he won’t bring much offense, his reliability fills a pressing need.

There’s still more work to be done on the left side of the defense, but Wotherspoon is a step in the right direction after last year’s struggles at the position.

Jones, Harvey-Pinard, Alexeyev, and Kemp will compete for roster spots in training camp. If they don’t crack the NHL lineup, they’ll provide valuable depth in Wilkes-Barre, where the Penguins are looking to improve their AHL affiliate’s performance next season.

The Penguins might not be a playoff team in 2025–26, but this methodical approach is part of a larger plan to return to contention. There’s also time for more moves before the season starts. The team has a surplus of forwards and will be looking to their young talent—Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, and Tristan Broz—to push for full-time NHL roles.

McGroarty and Koivunen looked NHL-ready by the end of the 2024–25 season, but they’ll still need to earn their spots in camp and the preseason.

Forwards Connor Dewar and Philip Tomasino are also returning after signing one-year deals on Tuesday. Though they reached free agency when Dubas chose not to extend qualifying offers, both ultimately re-signed.

The last two free-agent periods may have looked different for Pittsburgh, but they’ve been necessary. The real heavy lifting still lies ahead, but this was undoubtedly another step in the right direction.

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Featured Image Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Ahead of free agency, Pittsburgh Penguins' GM and POHO Kyle Dubas said he wanted to improve the team's left-side defense.

And he appears to be putting some names into the mix for next season.

On Wednesday, the Penguins signed former Washington Capitals defenseman Alexander Alexeyev to a one-year, one-way contract worth $775,000. This comes after the Capitals did not qualify Alexeyev, as he was an RFA.

The #LetsGoPens signed 25 y/o LD Alexeyev to 1 year $775K 1-way deal.

Was a UFA after not being qualified by WSH

Rep'd by Craig Oster @TheHockeyAgencyhttps://t.co/0jpCfSI3k5

— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 2, 2025

A former first-round pick by Washington in 2018 (31st overall), Alexeyev, 25, is a big, physical presence on the blue line. He uses his 6-foot-4, 229-pound frame to shut down opponents and clear the net-front, and that bigger, "hard-to-play-against" style has been a point of emphasis for GM and POHO Kyle Dubas in terms of adding to the roster, especially on the back end.

In 80 career regular season games with the Capitals, Alexeyev has registered a goal and eight points. He also appeared in 10 playoff games for Washington in 2025. 

Alexeyev - along with the newly signed Parker Wotherspoon, prospect Owen Pickering, and veteran blueliners Ryan Shea and Ryan Graves - figures to be in the mix for a larger role in the top-four for the Penguins this season.

NHL News: Penguins Sign Big Former Oilers DefensemanThe

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Just one day into on-ice activities at development camp, the hype around top Philadelphia Flyers prospect Porter Martone is already growing.

The 18-year-old, who turns 19 on Oct. 26, is steadfast in his belief of his ability to make the NHL right away. This week is just an opportunity, in Martone's eyes, to set himself up for an early Flyers debut.

It's not unreasonable, either; Jett Luchanko, who had only turned 18 years old on Aug. 21 last summer, made the Flyers out of training camp and played in four NHL games before returning to his OHL club, the Guelph Storm.

But Martone's goal is to make it and stick. Any other outcome will be ironed out later.

"For me, my mindset is, play in the NHL next year. If the management staff here thinks otherwise, that's when there will be a talk with my agent and me," Martone said of his future, and potentially going the college route, at development camp Wednesday. "Right now, my goal is to make the NHL and have a big summer. Really gain some strength in the lower body and come into camp and try to earn my spot.

"For me, I want to go and play a full regular season in the NHL next year."

Openly advocating for himself and having that confidence at a young age is key, especially given that Flyers GM Danny Briere floated Martone by name as a potential injury replacement for Tyson Foerster, who could be at risk of missing the start of the 2025-26 season due to an injury and subsequent infection.

NHL Free Agency: Flyers Quickly Knock Out 3 Big NeedsThe

"Obviously, when you come into camp, you have to earn your job. You're not going to just get it given to you," Martone added. "If I get the opportunity to come in, I want to give it my all and try to earn my spot on the opening night roster. If I do, that's a dream come true to play with the Flyers organization. That doesn't come without the work that needs to be put in."

And should Martone make the Flyers outright, he'll be one of the youngest debutants in franchise history. Captain Sean Couturier, for example, debuted only two months before he turned 19, so he'd be a nice sounding board for Martone in that event.

Until then, though, Flyers fans can take solace in the fact that Martone's mind is already in the right place, and his talent and work ethic will take him where he needs to go.

The 2025 No. 6 pick is very similar to Matvei Michkov in that regard, and perhaps it's not a coincidence that they approach the game itself similarly, too.

The New York Islanders announced on Wednesday afternoon that they have signed forward Emil Heineman to a two-year extension. Per TVA's Renaud Lavoie, the deal carries a $1.1 million cap hit.

The 23-year-old was part of the package from Montreal in exchange for defenseman Noah Dobson, who has since signed an eight-year extension worth $9.5 million.  

Here's our story from the day of the trade, June 27, on one of the newest Islanders wingers:

Heineman scored 10 goals with 8 assists for 18 points with the Canadiens last season in a bottom-six role. The 2024-25 season was the first full season for the Swede, who was drafted in the second round by the Panthers in 2020.

He has bounced around multiple NHL teams, having been part of both the Sam Bennett trade to Florida and the Tyler Toffoli trade to Calgary.

Characterized by a high motor and versatility, Heineman maintains a strong two-way presence and can play both sides on the wing.

In sheltered minutes with Montreal, Heineman was a defensive piece for head coach Martin St. Louis and provided strong forechecking.

With Islanders’ head coach Patrick Roy, Heineman should click similarly and shore up New York’s forward depth.

The winger is a restricted free agent whose deal expired at the end of the 2024-25 season.

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David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Kai Russell contributed to this story. 

PHOTO: David Kirouac-Imagn Images