Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman isn’t going anywhere.
Hedman, who played with Tampa Bay for the first 15 seasons of his NHL career, signed a four-year, $32 million contract extension Tuesday to stay with the Lightning through the 2028-29 campaign.
Hedman, 33, had 76 points (13 goals, 63 assists) in 78 games last season.
In 1,052 career games, Hedman has 156 goals and 572 assists. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion and six-time All-Star, won the Norris Trophy in 2018 as the league’s top defenseman and took home the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2020 as the playoffs’ MVP.
In other moves, Tampa Bay signed Emil Martinsen Lilleberg to a two-year, $1.6 million extension while signing free agent Cam Atkinson to a one-year, $900,000 contract.
–Pavel Buchnevich re-signed with the St. Louis Blues, a six-year, $48 million extension.
Buchnevich, 29, finished last season with 63 points (27 goals, 36 assists) in 80 games, his third with St. Louis. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the New York Rangers (2016-21) and had 162 goals and 239 assists in 517 games during his NHL career.
The Blues were also active in the trade market, acquiring forward Radek Faksa from the Dallas Stars in exchange for compensation for a future draft pick. St. Louis also sent future considerations to the Ottawa Senators, getting forward Mathieu Joseph and a 2025 third-round pick in return.
Corey Schueneman and Adam Jiricek (entry-level contract) have also signed with the Blues. Joseph’s brother, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, is also reportedly joining the team.
–Defenseman Jake Middleton remains with the Minnesota Wild after signing a four-year, $17.4 million contract extension.
Middleton, 28, played 80 games in 2023-24, recording seven goals and 18 assists. He played parts of three seasons with Minnesota after the San Jose Sharks traded him to the Wild in March 2022.
Middleton has 57 points (14 goals, 43 assists) in 239 career games with San Jose (2018-22) and Minnesota.
–Forward Victor Olofsson joins the Vegas Golden Knights on a one-year, $1,075,000 contract.
Olofsson, 28, spent his entire six-year career with the Buffalo Sabres, totaling 182 points (90 goals, 92 assists) in 314 games.
In just 51 games last season, Olofsson had seven goals and eight assists. He had scored 20 goals in each of the previous two seasons.
–The Toronto Maple Leafs made some noise by signing free agents Dakota Mermis, Philippe Myers and Cédric Paré to one-year contracts.
Mermis, 30, played a career-high 47 games for Minnesota last season, recording three goals and five assists. Myers, 27, has played just five games for Tampa Bay in 2023-24, while Pare, 25, has yet to see the ice in an NHL game.
–The Rangers, winners of the Presidents’ Trophy last season, have added free agents Casey Fitzgerald and Bo Groulx.
Groulx played 45 games with the Anaheim Ducks in 2023-24, while Fitzgerald only spent time in the AHL.
–As they chase a second straight Stanley Cup title, the Florida Panthers have added MacKenzie Entwistle to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 and are reportedly bringing in Nate Schmidt to a one-year, $800,000 deal.
–The San Jose Sharks, coming off the worst season in the NHL, signed Lucas Carlsson to a two-year contract and Jimmy Schuldt to a one-year deal.
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