Canadian
goaltender Chris Driedger, 31,
has signed a one-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk, the KHL club
announced on Tuesday.
For
Driedger, who spent the 2024-25 season in the Florida
Panthers and Winnipeg
Jets organizations
but spent the entire season in the AHL,
this will be his first time playing for a team outside North America.
“With
the signing of Chris Driedger,
we have
filled
both goalie positions for next season,” said
Traktor GM Alexei Volkov, himself a former NHL goaltender. Driedger
is slated to share the crease with Sergei Mylnikov Jr., the son of a
former NHL and Soviet national team goalie.
Volkov
said that Driedger “is
in
the prime of his goalie career. He’s a large goalie who played
decently in the NHL and became a World Championship medalist.
Now Chris needs a new challenge, which he will get at Traktor. I’m
confident that our organization and coaching staff will help him
with a quick adaptation and reach the top level of the KHL.”
Driedger,
who hails from Winnipeg, played junior hockey for the WHL’s
Tri-City Americans and Calgary Hitmen, was chosen in the third round,
76th
overall, by the Ottawa
Senators in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
Between
2014 and 2024, Driedger played 67 NHL regular-season games for the
Senators, Panthers and Seattle
Kraken, compiling a record of 31-24-5 with a goals-against
average of 2.45, a save percentage of .917 and five shutouts. He also
played three playoff games for Florida in 2021.
Internationally,
Driedger played in six of Canada’s 10 games at the 2022 IIHF World
Championship in Finland, backstopping the team to a silver medal.
Driedger,
whose NHL rights are for now retained by Winnipeg, joins a Traktor
team that includes former NHLers Vladimir Zahkarov and Jordan Gross,
as well as prospects
Arseni Koromyslov (St.
Louis Blues),
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (Toronto
Maple Leafs),
Matvei Guskov (Minnesota
Wild)
and Vasili Glotov (Buffalo
Sabres).
In 217 career AHL appearances over 10 season Driedger had a record of 106-78-19 with a .910 SP and 2.74 GAA.
A third round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2012, Driedger has a 31-24-5 record, .917 SP, and 2.45 GAA in 67 career NHL appearances with the Senators, Florida Panthers, and Seattle Kraken.
The 31-year-old backstopped the Coachella Valley Firebirds to the 2024 Calder Cup Finals, was an AHL All-Star in 2019-20, and led the league in save percentage (.924) in 2018-19. He appeared in six games and won a silver medal with Team Canada at the 2022 World Championship.
Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' AHL Page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.
This summer’s free agent crop lacks marquee names beyond Mitch Marner, Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, and Nikolaj Ehlers. Still, as Jonas Siegel of The Athletic points out, it doesn’t mean…
The 26-year-old last played in Game 4, allowing three goals on 17 shots before Calvin Pickard replaced him and backstopped the Oilers to a comeback overtime win. Pickard, 33, conceded four goals on 18 shots in Game 5 at home as the Panthers took a 3-2 series lead.
Edmonton faces elimination for the first time in this year's playoffs – the Oilers won the first round in six games, and it only took them five games to win in the second and third rounds.
But Skinner has played in do-or-die games before in the Stanley Cup playoffs – six times so far in his career, to be specific.
In those games, Skinner has a 4-2 record with a combined .908 save percentage and 2.30 goals-against average.
Four of those elimination games came in last year's Cup final.
After losing the first three games of the 2024 final to the Panthers, Skinner and the Oilers went 3-1 in the next four matches. Skinner had a .935 save percentage and 1.76 goals-against average in that span, including allowing only one goal on 33 shots in Game 4 and a .952 SP in Game 6. In Game 7, Skinner stopped 19 of 21 shots for a .905 SP in the Oilers' 2-1 loss.
Skinner also started for the Oilers in Game 7 of the second round against the Vancouver Canucks in 2024. Edmonton limited the Canucks to 17 shots, but Skinner allowed two goals for a .882 save percentage in the 3-2 Oilers win.
The third-round draft pick in 2017 played his first game facing elimination in the NHL playoffs on May 14, 2023, in Game 6 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas scored on Skinner four times on 17 shots, with Jonathan Marchessault recording a natural hat trick in the second period. Jack Campbell replaced Skinner in net for the third period in the Golden Knights' 5-2 win. Vegas went on to defeat the Panthers in the Cup final.
In this year's playoffs, Skinner lost starting duties to Pickard in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings and in Game 5 of the final. When Pickard suffered an injury in the second round, Skinner recorded three shutouts in his next five starts to eliminate the Golden Knights and tie the Western Conference final against the Dallas Stars at 1-1.
"That's been the most impressive over my time with him, especially being a young goalie, is being able to bounce back," Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins told reporters. "It's not always going to be easy. There's always going to be difficulties, especially as a goalie, whether it's your fault or not. He has an ability to silence everything around him and focus on the task at hand. It's been impressive. He has an infectious personality, and it's been fun to watch."
Cayden Lindstrom is officially heading to Michigan State University. After a postseason return to the Canadian Hockey League for Medicine Hat Tigers, the Columbus Blue Jackets prospect opted to leave…
Mitch Marner becomes eligible to sign with any team on July. 1 and as the free agency window approaches, the situation revolving around the most sought-after free agent and the Vegas Golden Knights has become clearer.
The anticipation around an unrestricted free agent signing hasn't been this high since Artemi Panarin signed with the New York Rangers and John Tavares signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's rare for a 27-goal and 102-point player to be available on the free agent market, but due to Marner's struggles and seemingly impending fallout with the Maple Leafs, it's provided an excellent opportunity for several teams, including the Golden Knights.
The market for Marner has become clear. Among the Golden Knights, the Carolina Hurricanes, Utah Mammoth, Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks have expressed interest. Many insiders haven't ruled out the Maple Leafs just yet, and Friedman reported that Marner's camp has offered teams meetings on July 1st, and the Maple Leafs are one of the teams.
Friedman also stated that "his eyes are on Vegas when it comes to Mitch Marner."
Signing Marner won't be a simple task. Several reports have indicated that teams, such as the Hurricanes, Mammoth and the Ducks, are willing to offer Marner a contract of north of $14M, something that the Golden Knights likely won't be able to do. Even if the Golden Knights find a middle ground with Marner between $12M-13M, the Golden Knights would have to make several moves to fit him under the salary cap.
Players who could be sacrificed in their pursuit include Ivan Barbashev, Nicolas Hague and William Karlsson. Friedman has also been the leading reporter in the discussions about the uncertainty of Alex Pietrangelo's future, doubling down and mentioning that from the people he's talked to, they wouldn't be surprised if he's played his last game in the NHL. The Golden Knights would be allowed to put his $8.8M cap hit on the LTIR, but it still wouldn't be enough for the organization to sign Marner and legally play him.
Stay updated with the most interesting Golden Knights stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News to never miss a story.
The Montreal Canadiens signed forward Vinzenz Rohrer to a three-year entry-level contract, finalizing a deal well deserved for the young prospect. The Austrian winger, a 2022 third-round pick, earned the…
Detroit Red Wings reportedly one of three top contenders to land Florida Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad in free agency.
The Florida Panthers play Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals Tuesday with it being their potential last chance to leave an impact with this team. Many of the key players are pending free agents including top defenceman Aaron Ekblad.
Florida's first overall pick back in 2014 may be finally leaving the team he's spent his entire 11-year NHL career with in favour of more money elsewhere. One of the reported top suitors for Ekblad is the Detroit Red Wings.
It's no secret the Red Wings are looking to fill holes on their backend and Ekblad could work as a solid foundational piece towards the future. The 29-year-old Windsor native grew up with the Red Wings always in his life, with Detroit just across the river.
This should give the Red Wings a notable leg up over the competition as they are his hometown team of sorts and would allow Ekblad to be close to home where his family resides.
It's very early on in the process as another Stanley Cup with the Panthers could make an impact on his final decision but if Ekblad does choose to test the market, Detroit is one of the favourites if not the favourite to land him.
Ekblad is known for his size, poise, and two-way game that helped him log 33 points in 56 games this past season while averaging nearly 24 minutes of ice time.
Despite a 20-game suspension in March for violating the NHL’s performance-enhancing substance policy, Ekblad returned to the lineup and has played a key role in Florida returning to the Stanley Cup Finals for the third straight season. This postseason, he's recorded 12 points through 18 games.
The 2025 NHL draft is a huge one for the Flyers’ rebuild.
Not only does Danny Briere have a lot of high-round picks at his disposal, but he also could be creative in how he uses them.
“There are all kinds of possibilities here,” the Flyers’ general manager said in April. “I think it’s really exciting going into it. It’s powerful to have so many picks like that. I think a lot of teams will be wanting to have discussions with us to make some things happen — teams that don’t have picks or teams that want to tweak things.”
So it’s a busy time for the Flyers leading up to the draft, which will be held June 27-28. The first round is Friday at 7 p.m. ET, while Rounds 2-7 are Saturday starting at noon ET.
“There are really good players in this draft,” TSN director of scouting Craig Button said May 27 in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Maybe people say it’s not a good draft; I’m not buying it. I think this draft has got lots of good players.”
The Flyers are slotted to make 11 picks, including three first-rounders and four second-rounders. Their first-round selections will come at No. 6 (own pick), No. 22 (Sean Walker trade) and either No. 31 or 32 (Oilers trade).
Before the draft arrives, we’re breaking down first-round targets for the Flyers.
Next up:
Jackson Smith
Position: Defenseman Height: 6-foot-4 Weight: 199 Shoots: Left Team: Tri-City
Scouting report
Smith is that modern defenseman who is super fun to watch. He skates and handles the puck like a forward, darting up the ice and carving through coverages with all kinds of maneuvers.
“I think teams will gravitate toward him just for the simple fact that the style he plays is the style that’s being played in the NHL, where are a number of players are having success at that,” Dan Marr, the vice president of NHL Central Scouting, said last Wednesday in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. “So he’s definitely offensively wired. He’s a D-man that likes to have the green light, so that when there’s an opportunity, he can skate and lead a rush with the puck.”
Fueled by that ability and confidence, Smith put up 54 points (11 goals, 43 assists) in 68 regular-season games for the 2024-25 Americans. He had a plus-2 rating on a team that had a minus-34 goal differential and led all WHL defensemen in overtime goals with three. He also just turned 18 years old last month.
As the 13th-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting, Smith has the key ingredients to be a team’s power play quarterback in the future.
“He has got a really good game at the offensive blue line,” Marr, who worked in scouting and player development for over 20 years, said. “Power plays today are so important to teams, so I just think because he brings an offensive punch, he has got some size and his skating is good, teams are going to find him appealing.”
At the 2025 IIHF U-18 World Junior Championship that ended last month, Smith recorded four goals, an assist, 17 shots and a plus-7 rating in seven games for gold-winning Team Canada.
Just like any offensive-minded blueliner, Smith will have to eventually prove he can defend against pros and be reliable enough in his own zone. What helps his case is that he has the size to do it.
“I don’t want to say that he’s not responsible defensively, but all these young D-men, all of them have to learn how to play defense in the National Hockey League,” Marr said. “And that’s teachable. What’s harder to teach is the offensive game that he brings.”
(Rembrandt Rivas Photography/Tri-City Americans)
Fit with Flyers
Centers are prevalent toward the front of this draft and the Flyers should have a decent shot at landing one. But if their top names go off the board, perhaps Smith will be high on their list as the second-best defenseman in the class.
Cam York and Emil Andrae, two of the Flyers’ young lefty shots, don’t have a ton of length, so Smith would add some size there down the road. His potential to run the point should be intriguing; the Flyers have sported an NHL-worst 13.7 power play percentage over the last four seasons combined.
But Smith may end up being somewhat of a reach for the Flyers at No. 6 and gone before they’re back on the clock at No. 22.
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All 12 teams that will compete in the men’s tournament of the 2026
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Ex-NHL D-Man Jordan Gross Changes KHL TeamsAmerican
defenseman Jordan Gross, 30, has signed a one-year contract with
Traktor Chelyabinsk, the
KHL club announced on Friday. Gross played his first season in
Europe last season in the KHL with Dinamo Minsk, where he recorded 42
points in 77 regular-season and playoff games. 
