The Washington Capitals acquired forward Andrew Mangiapane from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick, the teams announced Thursday.
He's under contract for the 2024-25 season with a $5.8-million cap hit and can become an unrestricted free agent next summer. His deal includes an eight-team no-trade list, according to CapFriendly.
Mangiapane chipped in with 14 goals and 40 points - including 36 at even strength - in 75 outings this past season, his seventh with the Flames. Calgary selected him in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL Draft.
The 28-year-old's best statistical season came in 2021-22 when he amassed 35 tallies and 20 helpers while appearing in all 82 games. He's reached the 40-point plateau in each of the past three campaigns.
Mangiapane has totaled 109 goals and 215 points in 417 career NHL contests.
Calgary now has just under $29 million in cap space as a result of the move.
"Today's trade provides us with an increase in valuable draft capital, and we have continued to emphasize the importance of how upcoming drafts will influence the future of our franchise," Flames general manager Craig Conroy said in a statement. "Additionally, this move affords us with more salary cap and roster flexibility to make decisions after July 1."
Mangiapane's agent said his camp never requested a trade but wasn't completely surprised by the deal, per Sportsnet's Eric Francis.
The Capitals, meanwhile, have been focused on adding to their forward group. They acquiredPierre-Luc Dubois from the Los Angeles Kings for goaltender Darcy Kuemper last week.
Washington is currently $2 million over the cap, but the team projects to have a tad over $7 million in space if Nicklas Backstrom remains on long-term injured reserve.
Vancouver Canucks rearguard Quinn Hughes brought home his first career Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman in 2023-24.
Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi and Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar were the other two finalists. The Professional Hockey Writers Association votes on the award at the end of the regular season.
Hughes led all defensemen with 75 assists and 92 points - including 54 at even strength - while appearing in all 82 games this season. He joined Henrik Sedin as the second player in Canucks history to record over 70 helpers in one season while breaking his own franchise benchmark for the most points by a rearguard in a single campaign.
The 24-year-old also ranked first among all blue-liners in goals above replacement (24.9) and wins above replacement (4.1).
Prior to Hughes, a Canucks defenseman had never been named a Norris Trophy finalist.
Josi won the hardware in 2020 and was nominated for a third time after leading all blue-liners with 23 goals and ranking third with 85 points in 82 games. He also tied for the second-most game-winners by a rearguard with five.
Makar was named a finalist for the fourth straight campaign after ending the season with a career-high 90 points and 69 assists in 77 outings. He owned the best point-per-game rate (1.17) among all defensemen.
Erik Karlsson took home the Norris Trophy last season as a member of the San Jose Sharks.
Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck is the 2024 winner of the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender.
Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko and Florida Panthers veteran Sergei Bobrovsky were the other two finalists. The general managers of all 32 NHL teams vote on the honor at the end of the regular season.
A two-time winner of the hardware, Hellebuyck won his first Vezina Trophy in 2020.
The 31-year-old was once again a workhorse for the Jets this season as they secured their second 100-point campaign in franchise history. Hellebuyck appeared in the third-most games (60) and faced the the third-most shots (1,798) in the league while posting 37 victories. Despite his hefty workload, he tied for third in save percentage (.921) and sixth in goals against average (2.39) among all goalies to appear in at least 20 games during the regular season.
Hellebuyck also led his peers in goals saved above average (29.35), goals saved above expected (39.35), wins above replacement (6.8), and goals above replacement (41.5) by a wide margin.
He took home the William M. Jennings Trophy after Winnipeg allowed the fewest goals against (198) in the NHL.
Demko, meanwhile, was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy for the first time after registering a .918 save percentage and 2.45 goals against average across 51 appearances. He recorded 35 victories, only three off Alexandar Georgiev for the league lead, despite missing 14 games with a knee injury.
Lastly, Bobrovsky has won the honor twice in his career, most recently in 2017. He was in contention for the hardware this season after logging 36 wins along with a .915 save percentage and 2.37 goals against average. His six shutouts were tied for the most in the league.
Linus Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy last season as a member of the Boston Bruins.
Chicago Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best rookie in 2024.
Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber and New Jersey Devils blue-liner Luke Hughes were the other two finalists. Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association vote on the honor at the end of the regular season.
Here's how the voting shook out:
Connor Bedard wins the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. Here are the voting totals. pic.twitter.com/ufmETOBTCA
Despite missing 14 games with a fractured jaw, Bedard led all first-year players with 22 goals and 61 points - 14 more than Hughes and Faber in second place.
The 2023 first overall pick was the key driver of the Blackhawks' offense, factoring in on 34% of their 178 goals this campaign. Bedard became the third player in NHL history to lead his team in points at the age of 18, joining Sidney Crosby (2005-06) and Steve Yzerman (1983-84).
Bedard also posted the best campaign by a teenage rookie in Chicago's record books since Patrick Kane in 2007-08.
Faber tied Bedard for the most assists in the rookie class (39) and matched Hughes for the most points by a first-year rearguard (47). He also led all rookies and the Wild in average ice time (24:58) while being tasked with shutting down his opponents' top players nightly.
Hughes led all rookie defensemen with nine goals. He also recorded the most ice time (21:28) on the Devils, a role he was forced into due to the amount of injuries on New Jersey's blue line.
Seattle Kraken center Matty Beniers won the Calder Trophy last season.
Pending unrestricted free-agent forward Elias Lindholm is going to the open market, TSN's Darren Dreger reported on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."
The Vancouver Canucks acquired Lindholm from the Calgary Flames in late January in exchange for winger Andrei Kuzmenko, defense prospects Joni Jurmo and Hunter Brzustewicz, a 2024 first-round pick, and a 2024 fourth-round selection.
Lindholm amassed six goals and 12 points in 26 regular-season games while averaging fewer than 18 minutes of ice time per contest with Vancouver. He added 10 points in 13 playoff games before the Canucks were eliminated in the second round by the Edmonton Oilers.
The 29-year-old is due for a raise on his $4.85-million cap hit. Evolving-Hockey projects Lindholm to sign a seven-year pact with an average annual value of $7.962 million.
Vancouver was busy Thursday, signing forward Dakota Joshua and defenseman Tyler Myers to a four-year, $13-million pact and a three-year, $9-million contract, respectively. Both players could've hit the open market as free agents July 1.
The Canucks now have around $14.5 million in projected space when accounting for Tucker Poolman's $2.5-million cap hit on long-term injured reserve, per CapFriendly.
Everyone had a take about this. You had a take about this. It took up way too much airtime.
The drama started when Senators rookie Ridly Greig took a slap shot at an empty net to seal Ottawa's 5-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Irate at Greig's method of scoring, Morgan Rielly cross-checked the forward up high and was awarded a five-game suspension as a result.
It was all anyone talked about for weeks. Ryan Reaves' snappy "make hockey violent again" slogan dominated headlines. Even Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar entered the debate on Team Rielly.
For better or for worse, this was one of the most dominant storylines of the season, so we'd be remiss to leave off the empty-net goal heard around the world - even if it's just an honorable mention.
10. Noted goal-scorer Tristan Jarry 🚨
Nov. 30, 2023
Goalie goals are always fun!
Tristan Jarry became the 14th netminder to light the lamp in NHL history when his 200-foot dart capped off the Pittsburgh Penguins' 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. We've now been able to enjoy a goalie goal in back-to-back campaigns after Linus Ullmark pulled off the feat last year, and we thank them for their service.
The best part? That wasn't Jarry's first time finding the back of the net in a professional game. Almost exactly five years before his NHL tally, he scored in an AHL matchup.
Maybe Jarry can one day join Martin Brodeur as the only netminders with multiple regular-season goals at the NHL level.
Was this the only lacrosse goal scored this season? No.
Apologies to Trevor Zegras and Andrei Svechnikov for leaving their freakish athletic feats off the list, but we had to go with the Chicago Blackhawks rookie for this one.
Surprising absolutely no one, Bedard buried a Michigan goal in just the 33rd NHL game of his career. Sure, lacrosse goals aren't considered as show-stopping and unforgettable as they were a few seasons ago, but there's something to be said for how swiftly the 2023 first overall pick could pull it off at the NHL level.
We're still trying to figure out how the puck stayed on Bedard's stick throughout the sequence. Wizardry, perhaps?
We can usually rely on Matthew Tkachuk for some between-the-legs magic but, this time, the mantle belongs to Vilardi.
If this was a definitive ranking of the regular season's best tallies on the man advantage, this one would probably take the top spot.
Let's recap: Vilardi posted right in front of Juuse Saros on the power play, took a pass from teammate Mark Scheifele, guided the puck between his feet and behind his back, and somehow roofed it into the top corner. Oh, and he did it all in one fluid motion. The Jets forward barely needed to move his skates.
Winnipeg arguably won the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade for this play alone (sorry for the potshot, L.A. Kings fans, your moment on these rankings is coming).
7. Owen Tippett hit the spin move 🔁
Jan. 18, 2024
Man, we're dizzy just watching this one.
Pour one out for depth defenseman Joel Hanley, who got absolutely posterized on this play.
Tippett showed no fear bearing down on Hanley while storming into the Dallas Stars' zone. The Philadelphia Flyers forward did a full 360° spin directly in front of the rearguard and, with his back to his opponent, shovelled an excellent backhand rip right into the top corner.
He scored another beauty three days prior (again with around five-and-a-half minutes remaining in the third period, weird!), but we're partial to Tippett's spin-o-rama bonanza.
6. Jonathan Quick's still got it 😏
Dec. 29, 2023
The Quick renaissance was one of the best storylines of the 2023-24 season, and nothing emphasized his resurgence quite like this save.
The veteran was in a sticky situation following a turnover and first made a solid pad stop on Florida Panthers forward Nick Cousins. The rebound dangerously squirted out to Eetu Luostarinen, but the New York Rangers goaltender was able to get his back leg up in time to make the acrobatic save.
Friendly reminder that Quick was 37 years old when he did this. It would've been the save of the year if it wasn't for another NHL long-hauler balling out in the playoffs, but more on that later.
Stutzle may "hate" watching baseball and find it "pretty boring," but he's still got a heck of a swing on him.
As time winded down in overtime, Drake Batherson attempted to find his Senators teammate in front of the Detroit Red Wings' net, but the pass was intercepted by a sprawling Shayne Gostisbehere's stick.
With the puck now in midair, Stutzle waited for it to drop below the crossbar before batting it past James Reimer. It's the closest thing you can get to a walk-off home run swing in the NHL, and it was glorious. The German's big-time celebration in front of a hyped-up crowd in Sweden was just the icing on the cake.
We can't help but wonder if Stutzle's incredible goal has given him a bigger appreciation for America's favorite pastime.
4. Connor McDavid apparently had enough of Dallas 🥱
Would any list counting down the top plays of the season be complete without a little McDavid action? We think not.
The Edmonton Oilers superstar produced no shortage of jaw-dropping sequences during his dominant postseason run, but his goal against the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final is our favorite.
Just look at what McDavid did to star defenseman Miro Heiskanen on this play. He pylonized him. That isn't a word, but it should be. It's the only way to accurately describe what happened. McDavid made Heiskanen a non-factor with some elegant stick work before shovelling the puck past Jake Oettinger - who's no slouch, either.
The goal set the tone for the Oilers, who went on to win the contest 2-1 and punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.
3. Sergei Bobrovsky channels his inner Hasek 🙅
April 23, 2024
This one is hands down the best save of the season. Playoff Bob was alive and well this spring, but he might've gotten a little help from Dominik Hasek through some kind of witchcraft for this play.
In Game 2 of the opening round, Lightning defenseman Matt Dumba was wide open, and the puck was on its way to him. It seemed like a guaranteed go-ahead goal. Unfortunately for him, Bobrovsky had other ideas.
The Panthers netminder appeared to be out of the play, but he somehow recovered and lurched across the crease with his back to Dumba, robbing the veteran rearguard with his left arm.
It was just preposterous. It's going to populate highlight reels for a long, long time.
2. Aleksander Barkov with the assist of the year 🤹♂️
March 4, 2024
It's been more than three months and we're still trying to figure out how Barkov pulled this off. He's finally starting to get his flowers as one of the best, most complete players in the league, but this is next level and, frankly, shouldn't be possible.
His first touch on the puck bounced into the air, but did Barkov stop and regroup? No, that would be lame. Instead, the Panthers captain juggled the airborne puck up and over Rangers rearguard K'Andre Miller's stick.
With the wobbling puck now on the ice, Barkov brought it from his backhand to his forehand while falling, then somehow sent it over to Sam Reinhart, who made sure his teammate's efforts didn't go to waste with the perfect finish.
Nasty. This is undoubtedly the best assist of the year.
This goal was so good that the Kings posted an 11-hour video on YouTube showing it on repeat - and they were right to do it. If our calculations are correct, the supercut shows the play around 780 times, and every watch would be worth it.
In what was by far the best moment of his breakout 2023-24 season, Byfield dragged the Columbus Blue Jackets within an inch of their lives. The Kings forward turned on the jets in the offensive zone and got around Zach Werenski by dangling the puck through the defenseman's legs.
The play looked like it might have been over as Byfield only had one hand on his stick as he bypassed Werenski, but the youngster kicked the puck back to his blade to keep it alive. He finished it off by beating Elvis Merzlikins with a backhand shot while on one knee.
The Oilers admirably rallied from a 3-0 series deficit against the Florida Panthers, but the Cardiac Cats held on with a 2-1 victory Monday night to secure their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
"You knew it was gonna be tight, you know, Game 7 for the Cup. ... It's tough. They did a good job of shutting things down," McDavid said. "We had our looks, just didn't find it."
McDavid technically didn't go home empty-handed as he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the postseason, but it wasn't the hardware he wanted.
"I guess an honor with the names on that trophy, but," the superstar said, trailing off.
McDavid is now the sixth player in NHL history to hold the mantle of playoff MVP as a member of the losing side. He didn't return to the ice to accept the trophy.
"I don't think he cares (about winning the Conn Smythe)," Leon Draisaitlsaid. "It speaks to how amazing of a hockey player he is. But no player in the world that wants to win a Stanley Cup more than him. He does everything right every single day just to win it one day. It's really hard, especially him being sad, being disappointed at the end."
"He's the greatest player to ever play in my books," he continued. "So many things that a lot of people don't see that he does. His work ethic, he singlehandedly turned our franchise around pretty much. Just love sharing the ice with him. He's a really really special person."
Despite the sting of defeat, McDavid said he was "proud" of the resiliency his team showed all year.
Edmonton was tied for last place in the league in November before a coaching change helped the team climb its way out of the basement and into the Stanley Cup Final.
"We were behind the eight ball almost immediately," McDavid said with a chuckle. "We fought an uphill climb for months and months and months. It just sucks."
He added: "We were right there. Right there."
Draisaitl, meanwhile, said he hopes his team can take something positive from the disappointing loss.
"I think for the most part, it's just learning lessons, right?" he said. "We've done that over the last couple of years very well and implemented those lessons. But it's tough to drag a lesson out of this one when you're really one shot or two shots away from accomplishing everything."
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid was voted the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as MVP of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Monday night.
McDavid is just the second skater and sixth player to win the honor as a member of the losing side and the first since goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere in 2003.
The superstar was an undeniable force in these playoffs, ending the spring with 42 points in 25 games - just five points short of Wayne Gretzky's record for the most all time in a single postseason.
Speaking of the Great One, McDavid broke Gretzky's benchmark for the most assists in one playoff with a whopping 34 helpers.
McDavid became the third player to record at least 40 points in one postseason, joining Gretzky (1985, 1988, 1993) and Mario Lemieux (1991).
The 27-year-old also became the first skater to record back-to-back four-point outings in the Stanley Cup Final as he helped the Oilers stave off elimination in Games 4 and 5 against the Florida Panthers.
He produced 12 multi-point outings this spring and was held off the scoresheet seven times, including in Games 6 and 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Edmonton selected McDavid with the first overall pick of the 2015 NHL Draft.
The winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy is selected by members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.
The Boston Bruins traded goaltender and 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for netminder Joonas Korpisalo, forward Mark Kastelic, and the 25th overall pick in this year's NHL draft, the teams announced Monday.
Ottawa will retain 25% of Korpisalo's $4-million cap hit as part of the deal. He's under contract for four more seasons.
Boston will save around $1.165 million in cap space as a result of the move, according to PuckPedia.
The Bruins are getting their 2024 first-round pick back in the trade. They initially sent the pick to the Red Wings as part of the swap that brought Tyler Bertuzzi to Boston ahead of the 2023 trade deadline. Detroit then packaged the pick to the Senators last July to acquire Alex DeBrincat.
In the 2023-24 campaign, Ullmark posted a 22-10-7 record as well as a .915 save percentage and 2.57 goals against average while sharing the crease with Jeremy Swayman. However, Swayman - a pending restricted free agent in line for a hefty raise - effectively claimed the starting job in the playoffs.
Ullmark is under contract for the 2024-25 season on a $5-million cap hit, but he can become an unrestricted free agent once it expires.
He's eligible to sign an extension on July 1, but the expectation is that he's prepared to play out the year without putting pen to paper, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported during the Game 7 broadcast of the Stanley Cup Final.
The 30-year-old is one year removed from a dominant campaign that saw him go 40-6-1 while helping the Bruins set new NHL records in wins (65) and points (135). That success didn't translate into the postseason, where Boston was ousted in the first round in a major upset by the Florida Panthers.
Korpisalo signed a five-year, $20-million with the Senators as a free agent last summer, but his first season in Ottawa didn't go according to plan. He registered a 21-26-4 record across 55 appearances to go along with an .890 save percentage and 3.27 goals against average.
The 30-year-old Finn also ranked second last among all netminders in goals saved above average (-19.42) and dead last in goals saved above expected (-13.6) at all strengths during the regular season, according to Evolving-Hockey.
Korpisalo showed promise after being acquired by the Los Angeles Kings in 2022-23, posting a .921 save percentage in 11 regular-season appearances before logging an .892 clip across six playoff games.
The Bruins signed 25-year-old goaltender Brandon Bussi to a one-year, two-way deal earlier on Monday. He registered a .913 save percentage and a 23-10-5 record for the AHL's Providence Bruins this season.
Kastelic, meanwhile, registered five goals and five assists in 63 games for the Senators this past campaign. Ottawa selected the 25-year-old in the fifth round of the 2019 draft.
Eric Tulsky knows he's in for a tough challenge to kick off his first season as general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes.
"This is a complicated offseason, I think we all know that," he said Wednesday during his introductory press conference, per The Hockey News' Ryan Henkel. "There's a lot of free agents, and we're gonna have to work to be creative on solutions to keep the team moving forward."
The Hurricanes' previous general manager, Don Waddell, flocked to the Columbus Blue Jackets in May. Carolina promoted Tulsky from his role as assistant, tabbing him to solve its summer dilemma.
"We have a lot of truly outstanding players and people and we probably aren't gonna be able to keep all of them and that's gonna hurt," Tulsky said. "It's gonna hurt us on the ice and it's gonna hurt us in the locker room.
"At the same time, that does open up opportunity for some of the players we have to step into bigger roles on the ice and in the locker room."
Tulsky first joined the Hurricanes in 2014 after the organization was impressed by his analytics chops as a blogger. He also holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry and physics from Harvard and a doctorate in chemistry from Cal.
Despite his untraditional background, Tulsky doesn't think his promotion will spur "a huge shift" for the team philisophically.
"We didn't hire ChatGPT to be the GM," he said. "There are things that an NHL career brings, certain experiences that people who played in the league have that are an advantage to them.
"There are experiences outside of playing in the league that can be an advantage, too. ... So it's not like a hockey career is a prerequisite for doing this job."
The Hurricanes were eliminated by the New York Rangers in the second round of the postseason. Carolina has been one of the league's premier regular-season teams for the past four campaigns and has made the playoffs for six straight years, but it hasn't seen the Stanley Cup Final in that stretch.
"Nobody is satisfied with that," Tulsky said. "Nobody goes into the business dreaming of having a lot of regular-season points and winning a round or two. So the goal is to find ways to keep getting better. And the good news for us is we are well positioned to keep taking steps."
Tulsky has seemingly been busy during his brief time at the helm. Carolina is reportedly shopping Guentzel's rights and testing the market for Necas while working on a long-term deal for defenseman Jaccob Slavin. Tulsky also signed blue-liner Jalen Chatfield to a three-year, $9-million deal earlier in June when he still had the interim tag.