The Buffalo Sabres have re-signed Bowen Byram to a 2-year contract with a cap hit of $6.25 million.
The contract covers Byram’s remaining 2 RFA seasons and he will be UFA-eligible at the end of the deal.
Byram, 24, had 7 goals and 31 assists in 82 games last season for the Sabres.
The San Jose Sharks have signed Jeff Skinner to a 1-year, $3 million contract.
Skinner, 33, had 16 goals and 13 assists in 72 games for the Oilers last season. He signed a 1-year contract with the Oilers after being bought-out by the Sabres last summer.
The San Jose Sharks have acquired Ryan Reaves from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Henry Thrun.
Reaves, 38, has 1 more season left on his contract at a cap hit of $1.35 million. He split last season between the AHL and NHL.
Thrun, 24, had 2 goals and 10 assists in 60 games for the Sharks last season. He became expendable with the Sharks’ recent additions of Nick Leddy and Dmitri Orlov on the left side of their defense.
The Colorado Avalanche have re-signed Josh Manson to a 2-year contract extension with a cap hit of $3.95 million.
This contract will start in 2026-27 as Manson is signed through 2025-26 at a cap hit of $4.5 million.
Manson, 33, had 1 goal and 14 assists in 48 games for the Avalanche last season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired Mat Dumba and a 2028 2nd round pick from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Vladislav Kolyachonok.
Dumba is signed through 2025/26 at a cap hit of $3.75 million. They have been trying to move his cap hit for some time now, and eventually paid a 2nd round pick to do so.
Dumba, 30, had 1 goal and 9 assists in 63 games for the Stars last season.
Kolyachonok, 24, had 2 goals and 5 assists in 35 games split between Utah and Pittsburgh last season.
The Florida Panthers have re-signed Mackie Samoskevich to a 1-year, $775,000 contract.
The forward will still have 4 RFA seasons after this contract is complete.
Samoskevich, 22, had 15 goals and 16 assists in 72 games with the Panthers last season. He will be competing for ice time in a very crowded forward group. If Evan Rodrigues is moved out for cap reasons, Samoskevich should have a path to top-9 minutes,
The Edmonton Oilers have acquired Isaac Howard from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Sam O’Reilly.
The Oilers also signed Howard to a 3-year entry level contract.
Howard, 21, was the Hobey Baker winner as the best player in college hockey in 2024-25. He made it known he wasn’t going to sign with the Lightning, and he was set to be a UFA on August 15, 2026.
O’Reilly, 19, isn’t the caliber of prospect that Howard is, but he was the 31st overall pick for the Oilers in 2024, and a solid return for the Lightning for a player they were prepared to lose anyways.
The Carolina Hurricanes have signed Nikolaj Ehlers to a 6-year contract with a cap hit of $8.5 million.
Ehlers was widely rumored to be strongly considering both the Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals in free agency.
The winger reportedly valued an opportunity to play big minutes including the 1st powerplay unit and a market that is out of the spotlight. He checks both those boxes with the Hurricanes.
Ehlers, 29, had 24 goals and 39 assists in 69 games with the Jets last season.