NHL Player News

Blomqvist landed a two-year, $1.75 million contract with Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Blomqvist didn't play in a game with Pittsburgh this past season, but he performed well with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, going 16-5-4 with a .913 save percentage and a 2.40 GAA over 26 outings. The 24-year-old is the No. 3 goaltender on the Penguins' organizational depth chart, so he may not see much time with the big club in 2026-27 on the condition that Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov are healthy.

Silovs agreed to terms on a one-year, $2.8 million contract with the Penguins on Sunday.

Silovs made 39 appearances in his first year with the Penguins in 2025-26, posting a 19-12-8 record, 3.07 GAA and .887 save percentage. The Latvian netminder will certainly have to prove himself in 2026-27 to earn a longer contract next year, which might be difficult if Silovs can't command more playing time than Sergei Murashov and Joel Blomqvist, the latter of whom the Penguins signed to a two-year contract Sunday.

Villalta signed a one-year, two-way contract with Buffalo on Saturday.

Villalta posted a 16-12-3 record with a 3.10 GAA and an .844 save percentage across 33 regular-season appearances for AHL Tucson in 2025-26. He will probably spend most, if not all, of the 2026-27 campaign with AHL Rochester.

Hlavaj inked a one-year contract with Toronto on Friday.

It's a two-way contract for the goalie, per PuckPedia. Hlavaj figures to enter the season as Toronto's No. 4 backstop and will likely spend the year in the minors sharing the crease with Artur Akhtyamov. In 22 games with AHL Iowa last year, the 25-year-old Hlavaj went 7-11-4 with an .887 save percentage and 3.28 GAA.

Rittich signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Devils on Thursday, per PuckPedia.

Rittich had a 14-10-3 record, 2.76 GAA and .894 save percentage in 30 regular-season appearances with the Islanders in 2025-26. The 34-year-old netminder hasn't logged more than 34 games in a single regular season since 2019-20, but he might get a chance to do so with the Devils. New Jersey traded Jacob Markstrom (undisclosed) to Florida on Tuesday, which means Rittich is likely to open 2026-27 in a timeshare with Jake Allen. The 25-year-old Nico Daws might also be a factor, especially if he has a convincing training camp.

Dobes signed a three-year, approximately $16 million contract with Montreal on Thursday.

Dobes made 43 regular-season appearances for the club last year in which he posted a 29-10-4 record, 2.78 GAA and .901 save percentage. The 25-year-old backstop figures to head into the 2026-27 campaign as the No. 1 option, but he will likely face challenges from Jacob Fowler for starts.

Merilainen signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract with the Senators on Thursday.

Merilainen had an 8-10-1 record, 3.51 GAA and .860 save percentage in 20 regular-season appearances with Ottawa in 2025-26. While those results leave plenty to be desired, the 23-year-old has the potential to bounce back. However, he'll have to compete with Samuel Ersson during training camp to earn the No. 2 job behind Linus Ullmark. If the 23-year-old Merilainen doesn't do enough to win an NHL roster spot, then he'll return to the minors to continue to hone his game.

Andersen signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Oilers on Wednesday, per PuckPedia.

The deal's value could increase to $2.8 million with performance bonuses. Andersen can earn up to $1 million in bonuses for games played, and an additional $200,000 per playoff round the Oilers win in which he plays at least half of the games. It's a worthy gamble for the Oilers, who will get a Stanley Cup-winning goalie on the roster to pair with Tristan Jarry, as well as a quality depth option in Devon Levi. Given the various question marks with all three netminders, it wouldn't be surprising for Edmonton to carry all three throughout the season.

Patera signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Bruins on Wednesday.

Patera has some NHL experience under his belt, but he's spent most of his career in the minors. He went 12-14-4 with a 2.63 GAA and .910 save percentage over 30 regular-season appearances with AHL Abbotsford last year. However, he could compete for the No. 2 role behind Jeremy Swayman with his new team.

Sogaard signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Lightning on Wednesday, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Sogaard has seen limited NHL playing time over the past five seasons, making only 31 appearances for Ottawa. Across 27 regular-season outings with AHL Belleville in 2025-26, he went 7-13-4 with a 3.69 GAA and .874 save percentage.