
The Vegas Golden Knights will shore up some depth at the forward position as player agent Dan Milstein reports the team has signed forward Zach Aston-Reese worth $775K at the NHL level and $475K in the AHL. They’re also bringing in depth forward Tanner Laczynski on a two-year, one-way deal worth $775K, per PuckPedia.
This move continues Aston-Reese’s journey across the NHL, with his last stop coming on a two-way deal with the Detroit Red Wings. Aston-Reese spent the bulk of that deal in the AHL, recording 14 goals and 30 points in 61 appearances and adding two points in nine playoff games. It was a down year, underlined by Aston-Reese’s lack of scoring through three NHL appearances.
Aston-Reese was once a stoutly-valued fourth-liner, staking his claim with five meager years with the Pittsburgh Penguins between 2017-22. He was traded to the Anaheim Ducks ahead of the 2023 trade deadline as a part of a package for Rickard Rakell that also featured goaltender Calle Clang, forward Dominik Simon and the second-round pick used to select top defense prospect Tristan Luneau.
Aston-Reese would play in just 17 games with the Ducks, posting four points, before leaving the team for the Toronto Maple Leafs in free agency. Toronto brought Aston-Reese a career-high 77 games, though his scoring remained meager, at just 14 points. Now in Vegas, Aston-Reese should provide an added layer of forward depth, though his overall NHL upside appears to be close to snuffed out.
Vegas also adds Laczynski for the same depth purposes, signing him after a breakout season in the AHL that saw Laczynski post 17 goals and 44 points in 49 games. It was the first high-scoring year of Laczynski’s professional career, which has been hampered at all levels by injury since his debut in the 2020-21 season. He’s suffered a string of hip and lower-body injuries, even requiring two separate hip surgeries in 2021. A healthy year ahead could pay dividends for Laczynski and the Golden Knights – with scoring upside evident but a full season hard to come by.
More must-reads:
Alexandre Texier’s name was in the rumour mill overnight, and no one would have believed that the Canadiens de Montréal would have added the Frenchman to their roster during the season, until they saw he was available. His contract was terminated by the St. Louis Blues, and since the Habs were dealing with several injuries, his low salary and skills were still attractive to the Habs. Texier can’t be expected to propel the Montreal club’s offense, but he can still get some interesting flashes on limited playing time. In short, Mathias Brunet asked Simon “Le Snake” Boisvert about the Frenchman’s new arrival in Montreal. Let’s just say that Le Snake isn’t the biggest fan of the Habs’ newcomer. “At some point he’s going to make a beautiful play, a beautiful goal and then everyone’s going to go crazy, but the reality is that out of 82 games, Alexandre Texier is not a National League player.” – Simon Boisvert Let’s face it, though. The St. Louis Blues (who are struggling this season) didn’t let Texier go for fun. He will most likely never be a regular player in an NHL top-9. As Le Snake mentions, he’s not a top-6 player, and he’s not a tough, energetic player to play on a fourth line. However, when you look at the Habs situation, with all the injured forwards, Texier will certainly get the job done while he’s here. Mathias Brunet also asked him if he’d ever liked Texier in the past, for example, in his draft year, and Le Snake immediately replied, “Never.” Check out the clip above, Mathias Brunet’s reaction is worth $1,000. Overtime – This is excellent. – His efficiency rate is truly incredible. – Sherwood is truly underrated. He gave away 462 body checks last year and collected 40 points, including 19 goals in 78 games. At a salary of $1.5M for this season (last year of contract), he will certainly be coveted by contending teams. – I agree. – Read on.
The Florida Gators won't be hiring Lane Kiffin as their next head coach, but there's a new top candidate in Gainesville. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall is now the leading candidate for the head coaching position. Sumrall has also reportedly withdrawn his name from consideration for the HC role at Auburn, leaving his options open between remaining at Tulane and moving to Florida. The Gators stand at 3-8 before Saturday's rivalry game against Florida State and have fired former head coach Billy Napier after a 3-4 start to his fourth season in the Swamp. Thamel reported on Friday that Florida had stopped considering Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin as a candidate, amid Kiffin's upcoming decision to either stay at Ole Miss or accept the head coaching job at LSU. Why Florida would be interested in Jon Sumrall According to Thamel, Sumrall is expected to decide by Sunday whether he will stay in New Orleans or move southeast to Gainesville. Sumrall, 43, is in his second year at Tulane, having taken over after Willie Fritz was named head coach at the University of Houston. Sumrall maintained the momentum of Tulane's football program established by Fritz, leading the Green Wave to the American Athletic Conference championship game a year ago. This season, No. 24 Tulane is 9-2 heading into Saturday's regular season finale against Charlotte. A win on Saturday night would secure a home game for the Green Wave in the AAC championship against North Texas. If Sumrall and Tulane win the AAC title, a College Football Playoff spot could be possible. With Sumrall's impressive record as a head coach — 41-11 between his tenures at Troy and Tulane — it's easy to see why the powers that be in Gainesville have identified him as the top target in Florida's coaching search now that Kiffin is out of the running.
Fresh off a Thanksgiving win on Thursday against the Detroit Lions on the road at Ford Field in Detroit, the Green Bay Packers made a notable move to reunite with kicker Lucas Havrisik. Green Bay parted ways with Havrisik just before the Lions game, but on Friday, the team announced that he’s back in the fold after getting signed to the practice squad roster. Via Green Bay’s official website: “The Green Bay Packers signed K Lucas Havrisik (HAVE-ruh-sick) to the practice squad. General Manager Brian Gutekunst announced the transaction Friday.” Lucas Havrisik insurance for now for the Packers It can be recalled that Havrisik saw action in three games in the 2025 NFL season for Green Bay in place of the then-injured Brandon McManus. In those games, the former Arizona Wildcats kicker went 4-for-4 on his field goals, including a franchise record-setting 61-yard make in Week 7’s 27-23 win in Glendale over the Arizona Cardinals. He was also 7-for-9 on extra-point attempts, with both misses happening in Week 11’s 27-20 victory against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. McManus is healthy and perfect in the two games since he returned to action, so there is no reason for the Packers to give his spot to someone else so Havrisik will just be insurance for now for Green Bay, which has a Week 14 date with the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field.
The Minnesota Vikings are set to start rookie undrafted free agent Max Brosmer against the Seattle Seahawks, as starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy is out with a concussion. It's a tough one for the Vikings, who have dealt with quarterback injuries all season long, starting with McCarthy's high ankle sprain in Week 2, and Carson Wentz's brutal left shoulder injury suffered in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns. It's been that kind of season for the 4-7 Vikings, but arguably the most brutal aspect has been not knowing if McCarthy is the future at quarterback. With Sunday's game, the Vikings are going to get their first look at Brosmer, who has been compared by many to the elevation of Brock Purdy, including me back in August. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler takes damning shot at J.J. McCarthy The chance for Brosmer to emerge is a huge one, as the Vikings are starving for any kind of good quarterback play. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler broke down how both the Vikings and other teams feel about him "Max Brosmer, huge showcase for this guy. The Vikings know that they have something in Max Brosmer," said Fowler on Saturday morning's Sports Center. "They felt like he had a really good preseason. I talked to multiple teams who said he was cool and calm and collected in the preseason action. He's an undrafted free agent, so the expectations aren't overly high, but I'm told, just from a mental preparation standpoint, he's been really good, and they feel like, hey, maybe something can happen here." Fowler didn't stop there, comparing him to Purdy, who share very similar career arcs, with the sole difference being that Purdy was the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, whereas Brosmer was one of the UDFAs with the most guaranteed money. "It was around three years to the day, Randy, that Brock Purdy made his debut week 12 of the 2022 season. He started for the 49ers. Rest is history. Now, he's one of the, you know, top 10 to 12 best quarterbacks in the league. That's a lot of expectation to put on this guy. However, you know, there is some symmetry here. Yeah, you have Kevin O'Connell's offense. They've got weapons." Fowler didn't end there, as the final line came in like a dagger in terms of McCarthy's performances this season. "They feel like, at the very least, he's going to be probably more mentally prepared than they've had this season with the struggles [at quarterback]." Calling Brosmer more mentally prepared than both McCarthy and Wentz is incredibly damning, and it could be why they decide to ride it out with Brosmer the rest of the season if things continue to go well. This isn't the first time that we've had negative words seemingly come out of the Vikings' building about this team, including McCarthy, this season, but this might be the worst of them all. Will Brosmer end up being the next guy for the Vikings? Only time will tell, but it certainly looks possible. window.addEventListener('message', function (event) {if (event.data.totalpoll event.data.totalpoll.action === 'resizeHeight') {document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-383').height = event.data.totalpoll.value;}}, false);document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-383').contentWindow.postMessage({totalpoll: {action: 'requestHeight'}}, '*'); This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Nov 29, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!



