Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
The Calder Cup Playoffs are still underway but planning for the 2026-27 season is already well underway.
With the start of the upcoming season more than four months away, several NHL organizations and their AHL affiliates have begun making moves to build their rosters and depth charts. Whether those players stay in the NHL this fall or go to the AHL remains to be seen. The NHL Draft, development camp, anticipated tournaments, and training camp will all help determine those lists. There are training gaps to be filled.
Here’s a look at the teams in the NHL’s Eastern Conference that have made moves that include players who have competed in the AHL this season and those who could sign two contracts for next season. A look at the Western Conference will follow later.
Boston Bruins (Providence Bruins)
Forward Lukas Reichel he performed well after Boston acquired him from the Vancouver Canucks at the March NHL trade deadline.
Reichel, who went to the Chicago Blackhawks as the 17th pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, will try to settle with Boston on a new one-year contract extension. He split 27 games in the AHL between the Abbotsford Canucks and Providence and finished with 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists). He appeared in 10 regular season games with Boston and had three points (one goal, two assists) and appeared in one Stanley Cup Playoff game. Before being traded to Boston, he also played 19 games between Chicago and Vancouver. In total, he played 198 NHL games and another 148 in the AHL.
Carolina Hurricanes (Chicago Wolves)
With teams still active in both the Stanley Cup and Calder Cup Playoffs, Carolina’s management has also been active. The Hurricanes have long shown a tendency to use the AHL heavily to improve, and they continue to have strong prospects.
Their latest addition is a defender Noel Fransen from Färjestad of the Swedish Hockey League. Fransen, 20, played 13 games with Färjestad and another 38 for BIK Karlskoga of the HockeyAllsvenskan, where he had 14 points (six goals, eight assists). He went to the Hurricanes in the third round of the 2024 NHL Draft. Wolves striker Charlie Cerrato also has a three-year entry-level contract that will take effect next season. Cerrato, 21, had 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists) in just 23 games for Penn State as a sophomore. He signed a tryout agreement with the Wolves on March 31 and has appeared in one playoff game with them so far. Carolina took him in the second round of the second round of last year’s NHL Draft.
The Hurricanes organization won the Calder Cup in 2019 (with Charlotte) and 2022 (with Chicago).
New York Islanders (Hamilton Hammers)
Former AHL and NHL defenseman Jay McKee will lead the first-year Hammers in their first season at TD Coliseum.
McKee, 48, spent the last five years as a head coach in the Ontario Hockey League. He returns to Hamilton, where he coached the OHL Bulldogs to the league championship in 2021-22.
McKee’s professional playing career spanned 14 seasons, including 802 games in the NHL with the Buffalo, St. Louis and Pittsburgh. He also played 24 games in the AHL with Rochester after being selected by the Sabers in the first round of the 1995 NHL Draft.
New York Rangers (Hartford Wolf Pack)
After the Wolf Pack finished last in the AHL with a record of 26-38-5-3, change swept the team’s coaching staff. Rangers management chose not to bring back the head coach Grant Potulny so are the assistant coaches Paul Mara again Jamie Tardif. In addition, Tanner Glass takes over as New York’s director of player development, replacing Jed Ortmeyer.
Philadelphia Flyers (Lehigh Valley Phantoms)
Every organization needs a reliable option to join an NHL program when needed or to compete for the top goal-setting job of an AHL affiliate. Flyers will be available Alexey Kolosov to help fill that role next season with a one-year contract extension.
Still just 24 years old, Kolosov went 15-21-2 with a 2.98 GAA and an .895 save percentage in 38 games for the Phantoms. He split Lehigh Valley’s goal-setting career with the rookie prospect Carson Bjarnasonand those two will have another chance to compete for placement on Philadelphia’s scoring depth chart. Some goal depth will always be there Keith Petruzzelli signing a one-year AHL contract extension. Petruzzelli split time between the Phantoms (six games) and their ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals.
Tampa Bay Lightning (Syracuse Crunch)
Tampa Bay is already doing well by keeping players from a Syracuse team that produced a second place finish in the North Division.
Strong nose forward Scott Sabourin he will stay in the organization on a one-, two-year contract. The 33-year-old split this season between Tampa Bay (26 games) and Syracuse (24 games). Tampa Bay also re-signed a defenseman Maxim Groshev on a two-year, two-way contract while moving forward Nick Abruzzese he got a one-year, two-way contract. The protectors Tommy Miller (one year) again Matteo Pietroniro (two years) and have new AHL contracts with the Crunch.
Washington Capitals (Hershey Bears)
Washington has put together a tough schedule with Hershey this season. Now forward Theodor Niederbach will compete with some of those prospects for the job in Washington this fall after the Capitals signed the 24-year-old to a one-, two-year deal.
Niederbach comes to Washington from the SHL’s highly regarded Frölunda organization. He had 32 points (13 goals, 19 assists) in 52 regular season games and also helped Frölunda win the Champions Hockey League.
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
