Zeev Buium is expected to sign with the Minnesota Wild soon
Michael Russo: Could see the Minnesota Wild signing defenseman Zeev Buium to his entry-level contract this weekend, practicing on Monday and then making his NHL debut on Tuesday.
The Carolina Hurricanes hope to get Alexander Nikishin’s visa’s real soon
Tom Gulitti: The Carolina Hurricanes have signed Alexander Nikishin and they hope to get him to the U.S. by Monday or Tuesday. They’re trying to get him a U.S. and Canadian visa.
The Hurricanes play in Montreal on Wednesday and Ottawa on Thursday. If they aren’t able to get a Canadian visa, they could send him to Chicago of the AHL.
Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky: “We want to make sure he gets into at least one game in North America before we get to the playoffs, so he has a chance to play in our system.”
The Tampa Bay Lightning may be forced to trade a top prospect
Sportsnet: Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2022 first-round pick, 31st overall, Isaac Howard decided to return to Michigan State for his senior year. If he’s not signed to his entry-level contract before August 15th of 2026, he would become an unrestricted free agent. The Lightning will now have to consider trading his rights as opposed to potentially losing him for nothing.
“I think the Lightning know that the odds are now against them and that he probably is not going to be part of their organization, but nobody said anything bad about him,” Friedman said on Friday’s episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast. “Basically, what I was told, because nobody really wanted to get into mud slinging, they just didn’t see eye to eye. … Whatever the path Howard saw and the path the Lightning saw, it didn’t line up.”
Howard led the NCAA in scoring with 52 points and was third in goal scoring with 26 goals.
The Lightning could look to trade him at the draft.
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