Johansson has 13 goals and 28 points in 60 games this season. The pending unrestricted free agent was traded to the Capitals at last year's deadline by the Seattle Kraken.
The 32-year-old has a cap hit of $1.1 million.
Johansson spent the 2020-21 campaign with the Wild, tallying six goals and 14 points in 36 games. He appeared in three postseason contests with Minnesota as well.
After acting as a third party for salary retention purposes twice in February, Johansson is the first player Minnesota has added in advance of the trade deadline.
General manager Bill Guerin expressed his interest last week in being "very active" prior to the deadline.
Minnesota is third in the Central Division with a 33-21-6 record.
Puljujarvi has five goals and 14 points in 58 games this season. The 24-year-old tallied a career-high 14 goals and 36 points in 2021-22.
The Oilers aren't retaining any of Puljujarvi's $3-million cap hit, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. He's an impending restricted free agent.
Puistola was drafted in the third round in 2019 by the Hurricanes. The 22-year-old winger has had a breakout campaign in Finland, scoring 15 goals and 38 points in 56 games. His exclusive rights are set to expire June 1, which would make him an unrestricted free agent.
The Detroit Red Wings signed defenseman Jake Walman to a three-year extension Tuesday with an average annual value of $3.4 million.
Walman has five goals and 10 points through 40 games this season while averaging 18:55. He was a pending unrestricted free agent.
The extension is all base salary and includes a 10-team no-trade list for each season of the contract, according to CapFriendly.
The 27-year-old has blossomed on the Red Wings' top pairing with Moritz Seider. In 324:29 at five-on-five, the duo have posted a 52.6% Corsi-for and 58.2% expected goals-for, according to Natural Stat Trick. They lead both categories among Detroit pairings that have played at least 100 minutes.
Walman was acquired by the Red Wings on Mar. 21, 2022, along with Oskar Sundqvist and a 2023 second-round pick from the St. Louis Blues for Nick Leddy and Luke Witkowski. He signed a one-year contract worth $1.05 million as a restricted free agent in August.
The Red Wings are fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 28-23-8 record. They are three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild-card position in the Eastern Conference.
As top names continue to drop off the board in the lead-up to Friday's trade deadline, more focus is shifting to players in the secondary market, a number of whom can make a notable impact should they move by the end of this week.
Here are five under-the-radar NHLers who teams should target before the trade deadline.
Nick Schmaltz, Arizona Coyotes
Norm Hall / National Hockey League / Getty
A name recently appearing in trade rumors is Arizona Coyotes forward Schmaltz. If the 27-year-old is available, multiple teams should be seriously interested in the underrated winger.
Acquiring a player with term remaining on their contract can be tricky at the trade deadline. This is especially true when the player has a significant salary. In Schmaltz's case, his $5.85-million cap hit through 2025-26 is a tough deal to bring in for any contending team.
That being said, a few teams that can certainly make it work and have the need. The Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes are likely in the market for a top-six forward and have maneuverability both this year and into the future.
Considering Schmaltz has a 10-team no-trade list that kicks in this summer, it makes a lot of sense for the Coyotes to entertain offers now.
Schmaltz's scoring has flown under the radar over the past two seasons. His 0.92 points per game since the start of 2021-22 ranks 60th in the leagueamong players with at least 82 games played over this span. That's ahead of the likes of Alex DeBrincat, Sam Reinhart, and Nikolaj Ehlers.
The Wisconsin native is a high-end playmaker. According to Corey Sznajder's tracked data, Schmaltz is in the 90th percentile or above in shot assists, chance assists, high-danger assists, and rush assists. He's also among the league's best entering the offensive zone with the puck on his stick (97th percentile in carry entries) and exiting the defensive end with control (95th percentile in pass exits).
Should he be traded, Schmaltz would be among the highest-impact players to move despite not being one of the top names.
He's been a potent threat when on the ice over the past three seasons. Since 2020-21, Vrana ranks among the league's most efficient goal-scorers at five-on-five.
Player
Games
5-on-5 goals/60
Auston Matthews
178
1.77
Jakub Vrana
80
1.62
David Pastrnak
179
1.39
Max Pacioretty
92
1.38
Filip Forsberg
158
1.35
He's also missed significant time due to various injuries, didn't play in the early part of the 2022-23 campaign while receiving care from the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, and cleared waivers in January.
There may not be a bigger boom-or-bust player available at the deadline than Vrana. Despite his $5.25-million cap hit through next season and all of the risks involved, he's still a worthwhile swing at the deadline.
Simply put, goal-scorers with Vrana's upside don't typically become available. Everyone recognizes that he isn't an Auston Matthews- or David Pastrnak-level scorer, but he doesn't need to be for his cap hit to be worth it. Middle-six wingers who can score as efficiently as Vrana are valuable. Factor in the likelihood of the Red Wings adding a sweetener to move the contract, and there's too much potential to pass on.
It'd be a shame if Vrana doesn't move at the deadline and continues to spend time in the AHL. Someone should take the gamble, whether it be a team on the playoff bubble with cap space or a club that misses out on Timo Meier and pivots to try and find goal-scoring elsewhere.
It's safe to assume the Capitals aren't done shedding players from their roster after trading their best healthy defenseman. Another Washington blue-liner that should be on many teams' radars is Jensen.
The 32-year-old is in the midst of a splendid year, having already broken his career high in points with 24 while playing 20:58 per game, the highest mark of his NHL tenure.
Jensen has often gone overlooked despite being a consistently strong defensive presence. Since he became a full-time NHLer in 2017-18, only Chris Tanev has accumulated more defensive goals above replacement.
Player
Games
Def. GAR
Chris Tanev
354
37.9
Nick Jensen
420
37.4
Jonas Brodin
399
35.3
Brandon Carlo
376
33.6
Charlie McAvoy
359
32.6
Jensen's excellent defensive metrics are thanks in large part to a superb ability to retrieve pucks and break out of the zone with control. From Corey Sznajder's tracked data, Jensen is in the 98th percentile in defensive zone retrievals and 97th percentile in carry exits.
Numerous teams in the playoff mix could use a defender like Jensen. As underrated as he is, it wouldn't be a surprise to see a bidding war develop for the Minnesota native.
Dante Fabbro, Nashville Predators
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
A drop in production has resulted in Nashville Predators defenseman Fabbro reportedly becoming available. Still only 24 years old, the former first-round pick makes for a prime buy-low candidate at the deadline.
With just eight points through 43 games, a career-low 15:57 per game, and an impending $2.4-million qualifying offer in the summer, the market for Fabbro likely leans toward teams on the outside of the playoff picture with cap space.
Don't let the basic stats fool you - Fabbro is still a quality puck-moving blue-liner. He's in the 95th percentile in pass entries and the 90th percentile in pass exits, results based largely on his league-leading success rate retrieving the puck in the defensive zone, according to Corey Sznajder's tracked data.
Two teams that would be smart to inquire about Fabbro are the Ottawa Senators and the San Jose Sharks.
The Senators are still in need of a top-four right-side defenseman. Fabbro's ability to break the puck out of the defensive zone makes for an intriguing potential fit with Jake Sanderson and their exciting top-six forward group.
As for the Sharks, Fabbro played his first two years at Boston University under current San Jose coach David Quinn. He knows the player well, and the Sharks have plenty of ice time to go around to help build Fabbro's stock back up.
Mikey Eyssimont, San Jose Sharks
Kavin Mistry / National Hockey League / Getty
Prior to 2022-23, Eyssimont was a full-time AHLer with one notable offensive season under his belt as a professional.
This season, Eyssimont has taken his opportunity in the NHL and run with it, spending the early part of the campaign with the Winnipeg Jets and later being claimed off waivers by the Sharks.
Across 38 games with the two teams, the 26-year-old has four goals and 13 points. Nothing remarkable, but solid production nonetheless.
Eyssimont begins to stand out as an intriguing target when you look a bit deeper. He leads the Sharks at five-on-five in Corsi For rating (58.1%) and expected goals for (64.1%), outscoring the opposition 16-14 as well. Even in Winnipeg, Eyssimont was posting above-average metrics.
As a result of his strong play, Eyssimont has gone from playing 9:16 in his Sharks debut to featuring on the top line and playing 19:13 in his most recent outing.
Of course, that's not to suggest Eyssimont is a top-line player. With a league-minimum cap hit of $750,000 and restricted free-agent status in the summer, the Littleton, Colorado, native would make for a truly under-the-radar add for a capped-out playoff team looking to bolster depth at the bottom of their lineup.
Sat and Bik break down the game as the Canucks win 5-4 over Dallas as Thatcher Demko returned to action. Hear from Randip Janda following the game, Rick Tocchet and Thatcher Demko!
This podcast was produced by Ben Basran
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
Hayes has three seasons remaining on his pact after this one and would come with a cap hit of about $7.14 million. The Flyers would realistically have to retain some of that salary to make a deal work.
His contract carries a 12-team no-trade list, but Seravalli reports that Carolina, Colorado, and Minnesota aren't on it.
A first-time All-Star this season, Hayes ranks second on the Flyers with 17 goals and 48 points in 60 games. He's just two points away from surpassing his previous career high that he set with the New York Rangers in 2016-17.
All three potential suitors could use some help down the middle.
The Avalanche have turned to J.T. Compher to fill in as second-line center following Nazem Kadri's offseason departure but are lacking high-quality depth.
Carolina could use an upgrade on Jesperi Kotkaniemi behind Sebastian Aho, and the Hurricanes have yet to join the arms race currently going on in the Eastern Conference.
Wild general manager Bill Guerin said recently he wants to reward the team for its hot streak of late by being "very active" ahead of the deadline. However, Minnesota's dead-cap space will rise to nearly $15 million in 2023-24 and 2024-25 due to the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.
Dan and Sat have instant reaction to the Riley Stillman trade and other headlines around the Canucks ahead of the deadline. Hear from Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli on everything making news this week, plus Don Taylor stops by as well!
This podcast was produced by Josh Elliott-Wolfe.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The Vancouver Canucks activated No. 1 goaltender Thatcher Demko from injured reserve Monday, the team announced. He'll start Monday's game against the Dallas Stars.
Vancouver assigned fellow netminder Arturs Silovs to the AHL in a corresponding move.
Demko hasn't played since suffering a lower-body ailment Dec. 1 against the Florida Panthers. The 27-year-old - who finished seventh in Vezina Trophy voting last year - has endured a poor season, posting an .883 save percentage in 15 contests.
Silovs, 21, posted a .908 save percentage in four games with the Canucks.
Between Demko, Silovs, Collin Delia, and Spencer Martin, the Canucks rank last in the NHL with a team save percentage of .872 entering Monday.
