NHL Player News

Thrun was traded to the Maple Leafs from the Sharks on Thursday in exchange for Ryan Reaves.

This is a bit of an odd trade on the surface for the Sharks, and one that may not benefit Thrun on an individual level. San Jose's offseason acquisitions of John Klingberg, Nick Leddy and Dmitry Orlov brought a more veteran group of defenders into the mix, which may have left Thrun without a regular role in 2025-26. That said, he's no lock to play with his new team, and he almost certainly won't be in the power-play mix immediately with Toronto. Thrun had 12 points in 60 appearances in 2024-25, and if he can't win a job in training camp, he may have to spend part of the year with AHL Toronto.

Manson signed a two-year, $7.9 million contract extension with the Avalanche on Thursday, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. His new deal runs through the 2027-28 campaign.

Manson has one season remaining on his four-year, $18 million contract, so his new agreement won't start right away. He's taking a bit of a cut in pay, but Manson will celebrate his 34th birthday Oct. 7, so the Avalanche are locking him up late into his career. Manson had a goal, 15 points, 28 PIM, 65 shots, 105 hits and 59 blocks in 48 regular-season appearances in 2024-25. He has appeared in at least 70 regular-season games in just one of the last six seasons, which is a significant concern, but Manson does offer plenty of grit from the blue line when healthy.

Dumba and a 2028 second-round pick were acquired by Pittsburgh from Dallas on Thursday in exchange for Vladislav Kolyachonok.

Dumba had a goal, 10 points, 60 PIM, 57 shots, 70 hits and 60 blocks in 63 regular-season appearances with Dallas in 2024-25. He's entering the second campaign of a two-year, $7.5 million contract, so Pittsburgh is receiving the draft pick as compensation for allowing Dallas to free up some much-needed cap space with this trade. Dumba used to be a top-pairing defenseman, and he recorded at least 20 points in seven straight campaigns from 2015-16 through 2021-22. However, he's fallen substantially in recent years, averaging just 15:18 of ice time last season and spending the entire 2025 playoffs as a healthy scratch. Dumba is celebrating his 31st birthday July 25, so a comeback isn't completely out of the question, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him start the season as part of Pittsburgh's third pairing unless the Penguins make further moves to their blue line over the summer.

Kolyachonok was traded to the Stars from the Penguins on Thursday in exchange for Matt Dumba and a 2028 second-round pick.

Kolyachonok began the 2024-25 campaign with Utah and joined Pittsburgh after being waived in February. In total, he made 35 regular-season appearances between the two clubs, logging two goals, five assists, 31 blocked shots, 27 hits and 10 PIM while averaging 13:01 of ice time. He'll presumably have a chance to compete for an Opening Night roster spot with his new club during training camp, but he could have to spend some time in the minors.

Woo signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Canucks on Tuesday.

Woo registered two goals, 18 points, 90 PIM and a plus-14 rating over 67 regular-season appearances with AHL Abbotsford in 2024-25. The right-shot blueliner also had one goal and five helpers across 22 appearances during the team's Calder Cup championship run. The 2018 second-round pick has never suited up in an NHL game, so he shouldn't be expected to see time with the big club in 2025-26.

Bowey inked a one-year contract with Augsburger of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga on Friday, Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey reports.

Bowey played last season with AHL Cleveland, picking up three goals and 12 assists in 60 regular-season contests. He had a professional tryout during training camp in 2024 with the Rangers, but he was released. The 30-year-old has played 158 games at the NHL level in his career, scoring five times while adding 35 assists.

Leddy was claimed off waivers by the Sharks on Thursday, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

The Sharks are adding another veteran to their defensive corps after inking Dmitry Orlov to a two-year contract earlier in the day. Leddy has one more year remaining on his four-year, $16 million contract. He had only two goals and three assists across 31 regular-season games in 2024-25, missing most of the season with a lower-body injury. Leddy should be a top-four defenseman with the Sharks and will likely regain a spot on the power play after being a non-factor with the man-advantage over his last three years with the Blues.

Orlov signed a two-year, $13 million contract with San Jose on Thursday, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports.

Orlov has spent his 13-year NHL career in the Eastern Conference and now will head west to give the Sharks another veteran defenseman. Orlov had six goals, 22 assists, 117 shots on goal and 101 hits across 76 regular-season appearances with the Hurricanes in 2024-25. He should be a middle pairing on the blue line for San Jose this season.

Burns signed a one-year contract with the Avalanche on Wednesday.

Per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, it's a $1 million contract with up to $3 million in bonuses for games-played thresholds. Burns will join a contending team for his age-40 season. With Cale Makar firmly entrenched on the top power-play unit, Burns will likely see time on the second unit and may see reduced ice time in all situations. Burns was limited to 29 points in 82 regular-season contests last year and has declined significantly in each of the last two seasons, but he's still averaged over 20 minutes of ice time per game, so he's far from running on empty even this late in his career. He has played in 925 consecutive games and would become the second player in league history to play in 1,000 games without an absence if he stays healthy for the vast majority of 2025-26.

Alexeyev signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Penguins on Wednesday, according to Wes Crosby of NHL.com.

Alexeyev had no points, a plus-2 rating, seven shots, nine hits and 14 blocks across eight regular-season appearances with the Capitals in 2024-25. He did spend the 2024-25 campaign primarily with Washington, and his lack of appearances can mostly be attributed to how often he was a healthy scratch. Alexeyev might find himself in a similar spot with Pittsburgh by making the team but not drawing into the lineup often.