The Nashville Predators have acquired Erik Haula from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Jeremy Hanzel and a 4th round pick.
Haula, 34, has 1 more season on his current contract, with a cap hit of $3.15 million and a salary of $2.4 million. He had 11 goals and 10 assists in 69 games for the Devils last season.
Haula previously played for the Predators in the 2020-21 season.
The Chicago Blackhawks have re-signed Ryan Donato to a 4-year contract extension with a cap hit of $4 million.
Donato, 29, had 31 goals and 31 assists in 80 games with the Blackhawks last season. He was eligible to be a UFA on July 1.
The Edmonton Oilers are close to re-signing Trent Frederic to an 8-year contract extension with a cap hit of around $4 million, reports Andy Strickland.
The Oilers acquired Frederic in a March trade along with Max Jones that sent Maximus Wanner and 2nd and 4th round picks to the Oilers.
Frederic, 27, played 22 playoff games for the Oilers on their road to the Stanley Cup Finals. He had only 1 goal and 3 assists as his effectiveness was limited recovering from a high-ankle sprain. He is eligible to be a UFA July 1.
The New York Rangers have re-signed Matt Rempe to a 2-year contract extension with a cap hit of $975,000.
The deal is presumably a 1-way contract, which would appeal to Rempe who spent 18 games in the minors last season on an AHL salary.
Rempe, 22, will have 2 more RFA seasons after this contract expires.
The Anaheim Ducks have acquired Chris Kreider and a 4th round pick from the New York Rangers in exchange for prospect Carey Terrance and a 3rd round pick.
Kreider, 34, has 2 more seasons left on his contract at a cap hit of $6.5 million.
It was a challenging season for Kreider, who had 22 goals and 8 assists in his final 68 games as a Ranger. He was named as available in a memo GM Chris Drury sent to all general managers, which leaked early in the season. He battled a back injury and was a healthy scratch in a December game as well.
The Rangers open up $6.5 million in cap space, which they will use to address holes in their roster. That might include a defenseman, or two if they move on from K’Andre Miller.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have hired Dan Muse as their next head coach.
Muse had been an assistant coach with the New York Rangers over the past 2 seasons. Previous to that he served as head coach of the U.S. National Team Development Program, assistant coach for the Nashville Predators and head coach of USHL’s Chicago Steel.
The Colorado Avalanche have re-signed Brock Nelson to a 3-year contract extension with a cap hit of $7.5 million.
The Avalanche acquired Nelson from the Islanders in March for a package including prospect Calum Ritchie and a future 1st round pick.
Nelson, 33, was eligible to be a UFA on July 1st. In 80 games split between the Islanders and Avalanche last season, he had 26 goals and 30 assists.
The Philadelphia Flyers have re-signed Noah Cates to a 4-year contract extension with a cap hit of $4 million.
This new 4-year deal buys Cates’ last remaining RFA season and 3 UFA seasons.
Cates, 26, had 16 goals and 21 assists in 78 games with the Flyers last season.