Day 2 of NHL free agency was quieter than Day 1, but there were several key moments.
The NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer revealed he will be back for his 22nd season, while one of the top 2026 draft picks signed for his first.
Alex Ovechkin signed a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals, letting him add to this NHL records and pursue others. He’s 10 goals behind Wayne Gretzky’s record of 1,016 combined regular season and playoff goals.
Ovechkin and the Capitals have a solid chance of getting back to the playoffs after adding Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, Boone Jenner and Vincent Desharnais in the offseason. The Capitals captain’s deal is structured with bonuses to allow the team to fit everyone until the salary cap.
Meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks signed No. 2 overall pick Ivar Stenberg to an entry-level contract. The team said it had the Swedish forward ranked first on its draft list.
Here are highlights from Day 2 of NHL free agency, including an extension to Jakub Dobes and a trade between the Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames:
Claude Giroux, Patrick Kane, Anthony Mantha, Vladimir Tarasenko, Michael Bunting, Eeli Tolvanen, John Klingberg, Logan Stanley.
The Sharks signed the No. 2 overall pick to a three-year entry-level contract. Sharks director of player development Todd Marchant said be believes Stenberg is ready to play in the NHL.
Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell said Zach Werenski confirming he wanted to stay in Columbus was “music to my ears.”
Waddell also addressed the status of Kirill Marchenko: “I’ve had discussions with his agent, which we won’t discuss right now, but Marchenko is going to be a Blue Jacket when the season starts.”
The general manager also announced that rugged defenseman Erik Gudbranson was re-signing. He’s getting a one-year, $1.75 million deal.
The extension kicks in during 2027-28 and his cap hit will be $5,357,575. ‘Dobes had 29 wins last season and starred in the first two rounds and the early part of the Eastern Conference finals before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Canadiens have been busying signing their core to long-term deal, with Ivan Demidov getting eight years on July 1. He, Dobes, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Lane Hutson and others are signed through 2030 or beyond.
No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna wears No. 72. So does newly signed goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. McKenna says Bobrovsky should get the number.
“Bob, he’s won two Stanley Cups, so if he wants that number, he’s going to get that number,” McKenna told reporters.
McKenna said he’ll have to think about another number because the Maple Leafs have retired his other choices, 9 and 27.
Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong said the team had no comment on whether it will match the Devils’ one-year, $4.775 million offer sheet to Barrett Hayton. They have seven days from July 1 to decide.
“There’s a lot of options that we can perform at this time,” he said. “All I can say is teams use it and it seems to be happening more and more in the National Hockey League and we’ll come up with what we feel is best for the team.”
He’ll get $1.6 million in the one-year deal. Shabanov played for the Islanders last season after coming over from Russia., getting 18 points in 44 games The Islanders didn’t give him a qualifying offer.
Minnesota has been busy after a quiet first day, and Shabanov put up good numbers in Russia.
The Capitals re-signed the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer to a one-year deal. Ovechkin, who will turn 41 in September, will earn $1 million in salary, a $4.75 million games-played bonus (10 games) and a $3.25 million signing bonus. The contract will carry an average annual value of $4.25 million.
Ovechkin, who has a record 929 goals, rejoins a bolstered Capitals team that added Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch, Boone Jenner and Vincent Desharnais.
The Wild acquire forward Blake Coleman and defenseman Olli Määttä from the Flames for defenseman Jake Middleton, a 2027 third-round pick, a 2028 fourth-round pick and a 2029 second-rounder.
The Wild will be Maatta’s seven NHL team.
The deal, according to The Athletic, is defenseman Jake Middleton to the Flames for Coleman and Olli Maatta with Calgary retaining 50% of Coleman’s salary. Draft picks also are involved. Coleman is the key to the deal. He won two Stanley Cup titles with the Lightning and provides secondary scoring on a team that let Mats Zuccarello go to free agency. Coleman had 20 goals last season and 30 goals in 2023-24. He and Maatta kills penalties.
He gets one year at $900,000. He gets to spend a full season with brother Marcus after coming over in a trade from the Blackhawks last season. He is a former captain of the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets.
He gets three years. The Maple Leafs continue remaking their bottom six after adding Nick Paul, Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons and Teddy Blueger Duhaime totaled 324 hits in his two seasons with the Capitals and has topped 200 twice.
He gets a three-year deal. After moving out some depth scoring in Ross Colton and Jack Drury, the Avalanche add back. Schwartz is a six-time 20-goal scorer and had 26 goals in 2024-25 with the Kraken.
Claude Giroux, Patrick Kane, Anthony Mantha, Vladimir Tarasenko, Michael Bunting, John Klingberg, Logan Stanley and others are still out there.
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