The New Jersey Devils have announced that they have signed defenseman Jonathan Kovacevic to a five-year, $20 million extension that carries him through the 2029-30 season. It contains a 10-team no-trade team list for the first two years of the deal. Kovacevic, 27, is having a career year as he’s put up one goal and 13 assists for 14 points in 63 games. Kovacevic will become the only the second Devil’s defenseman, along with Brenden Dillon, who has played in every game after the team announced that Dougie Hamilton is out week to week with a lower-body injury. The Grimsby, Ontario, was traded by the Montreal Canadiens to New Jersey last year for a 2026 fourth-round draft pick. Kovacevic has been a solid piece for the Devils defensive core this season. He was originally drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2017 NHL Draft and has spent time with the Winnipeg Jets, Montreal Canadiens, and New Jersey Devils. In 206 NHL games, he’s put up 10 goals and 32 assists for 42 points.
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Now that the Devils have signed Kovecevic, they have only two defensemen unsigned for next season: Luke Hughes and newly acquired defenseman Brian Dumoulin. There’s almost no doubt that the Devils will want to re-sign Hughes long-term as he’s an RFA this summer. Dumoulin, 33, is in the final year of his two-year, $3.15 million deal that he signed with the Seattle Kraken in 2023. It will be interesting to see if the Biddeford, Maine native can earn a contract with the Devils this off-season.
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According to a team announcement from the San Jose Sharks, the Sharks have traded forward Daniil Gushchin to the Colorado Avalanche for forward Oskar Olausson. The former is still a restricted free agent while Olausson has one year remaining on his entry-level contract. It’s a change-of-scenery trade for both forwards, with the beneficiaries being the two teams’ respective AHL affiliates. The only noticeable difference between the two is that Gushchin is considered more NHL-ready, but isn’t quite good enough to be an NHL regular. The Yekaterinburg, Russia native was drafted by San Jose with the 76th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft. He was coming off a relatively impressive season with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, scoring 22 goals and 47 points in 42 games with a +21 rating. After another season in Muskegon and one with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs, Gushchin became a full-time player for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda beginning in the 2022-23 campaign. He has enjoyed plenty of offensive success throughout his time with the AHL’s San Jose, scoring 70 goals and 150 points in 182 games, with one goal in four postseason contests. Unfortunately, Gushchin has left much to be desired on the defensive side of the puck, owning a -48 career rating. Still, Gushchin’s ability to score will make the AHL’s Colorado Eagles that much harder to play against, given that they led the AHL in scoring last season with 250. Unlike Gushchin, the Avalanche used a first-round selection to draft Olausson, who went 28th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. He was a top-level talent for HV71’s U20 team, scoring 14 goals and 27 points in 16 games. Olausson transitioned to North American hockey a year later, scoring 26 goals and 49 points in 55 games split between the OHL’s Barrie Colts and Oshawa Generals. Given his success in one of the top Canadian major junior leagues, the Avalanche hoped Olausson could be a key contributor in a few years. Unfortunately, his play with AHL Colorado has zapped much of that hope. Since joining the Eagles ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, the same year Gushchin became a full-time AHL player, Olausson has scored 33 goals and 66 points in 163 contests, with one goal and eight points in 17 playoff games. Both players have spent limited time in the NHL since making their professional debuts. Gushchin has the edge, featuring in 18 games compared to Olausson’s four. Still, neither player should be expected to drastically improve those totals in 2025-26, unless their NHL club sustains multiple injuries to their forward core.
There is not a bigger sporting event in North America than the Super Bowl, and tickets are only getting more expensive every year. There is also a ridiculous secondary market for tickets where seats sell for well above the original face value. It is usually fans or ticket resellers going for a quick profit. But as was reported on Friday, sometimes it can be players in the NFL looking to make a profit. According to multiple reports, including the Associated Press and ESPN, more than 100 players are facing fines and potential suspensions for selling their allotment of tickets to this year's Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs for above face value. Players are reportedly facing fines of one-and-a-half times the face value they originally paid for the tickets, while they are also prevented from purchasing tickets to the Super Bowl for the next seasons. The Associated Press obtained a memo from the NFL detailing the violation and investigation. That memo was as follows: “Our initial investigation has determined that a number of NFL players and coaches, employed by several NFL Clubs, sold Super Bowl tickets for more than the ticket’s face value in violation of the Policy. This long-standing League Policy, which is specifically incorporated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement, prohibits League or Club employees, including players, from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket’s face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket, whichever is less. We are in the process of completing our investigation into this matter, but the investigation has revealed that club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of ‘bundlers’ who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value.” If players are not willing to pay the fine, they could be facing suspension from the league. It seems unlikely that any of the players — none of whom have been named, or their teams — would refuse to pay such a fine. It's also one of those moments where you can say, professional athletes — they're still normal people trying to make a quick buck. The most logical answer here is perhaps some of the players caught up in this are younger players who have not yet struck it rich on a big contract or perhaps even practice squad players who are not making top dollar.
The Las Vegas Raiders just stunned the league by releasing defensive tackle Christian Wilkins after only one year with the team. After signing a four-year, $110 million contract, he struggled with injuries in 2024. This was supposed to be a big bounce-back year for Wilkins, but after a dispute between the two sides in regard to how to handle his foot injury, the team decided it was best to part ways. Now, a premier interior disruptor is suddenly available. Assuming his medicals get checked out soon, there should be a lot of interest around the league. Where should he land? Dallas Cowboys Dallas has needed a dominant interior presence for quite some time. Osa Odighizuwa is an awesome threat, but he is only solid against the run. Alongside him, the team will be banking heavily on 2023 first-rounder Mazi Smith, who has been disappointing so far. With Dallas looking to return to the playoffs, adding a stud like Wilkins could give Dallas one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. San Francisco 49ers The 49ers added some young bodies in CJ West and Alfred Collins, yet neither offer a proven, all-around talent like Wilkins could if healthy. The 49ers defensive line was horrid outside of Nick Bosa in 2024, but by adding Wilkins, the team would now have a solid cast of starters with Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, Wilkins and Kevin Givens/Jordan Elliott. Miami Dolphins A return to Miami makes a ton of sense for both sides. The Dolphins know exactly how to use Wilkins, he knows the building and players, and the transition would be very easy. Miami needs help in the interior defensive line; by plugging Wilkins back into his old role, he could offer the quickest path to high-level impact. Detroit Lions With Levi Onwuzurike out with injury and Detroit needing more juice on the defensive line, adding a proven disruptor like Wilkins could make some sense. He could provide more depth while he gets fully healthy, and he can join a legit Super Bowl contender. His energy and mentality could be a good fit for a Dan Campbell-led squad. Jacksonville Jaguars The Jaguars defense is average in the interior, but they have excellent edge-rushers who would benefit greatly from a strong disruptor up the middle. Wilkins could balance the front, help in the run defense and allow more one-on-ones for their premier edge-rushers. For a team that wants to return to the playoffs as soon as possible, adding a veteran like Wilkins could be a worthy bet to make.
The Green Bay Packers are adding one extra offensive piece to the roster. On Friday, the team claimed running back Israel Abanikanda off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers. He had been waived by the Niners, where he spent seven months, on Thursday. Abanikanda played college football at Pittsburgh and was drafted in the 2023 fifth round by the New York Jets. He was cut by the Jets last December and claimed by the 49ers right thereafter. Because his original rookie contract has never been terminated, he is now under control of the Packers through 2026. The running back only had playing time in regular season games during his rookie season. Abanikanda appeared in six games, with 22 carries for 70 yards (3.2 yards per attempt), plus seven receptions in 11 targets for 43 yards. In 2023, he played 7% of the offensive snaps and 1% of the special teams snaps for the Jets. Since Israel Abanikanda played for Nathaniel Hackett and Kyle Shanahan, he has a fairly decent understanding of the Green Bay Packers' offensive scheme under Matt LaFleur, which will help his transition throughout training camp. Profile Back in 2023, Abanikanda was projected as a third/fourth-round prospect by NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein. His one-cut ability, important for LaFleur's offensive style, was highlighted on his draft report. "A zone-scheme runner with early down size, Abanikanda can be a bit inconsistent with his reads and tempo early in the run. However, he has plant-and-go agility and is able to snap off cuts at tight angles to elude short-area traffic when needed. He has terrific top-end speed to gash a poorly fitted run front, but he needs to run with better discipline and downhill decisiveness to stay ahead of NFL speed. Abanikanda isn't much of a third down option, but he does have the size and talent to compete for a RB2/3 slot early on with a chance to move up the depth chart in time." — Lance Zierlein. Depth The Packers are relatively short at running back because undrafted rookie Amar Johnson started camp in the active/non-football injury list. He can be activated at any time, but it makes sense to add one more option to the backfield meanwhile. The top of the depth chart has Josh Jacobs, last year's third-round pick MarShawn Lloyd, and holdovers Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks. Most likely also competing for a practice squad spot is another undrafted rookie, Jalen White. Green Bay already had an open roster spot, so no corresponding move is necessary. The Packers have already had three practices during camp. The next one is on Sunday. Green Bay's first preseason game happens on August 9, curiously against the Jets at Lambeau Field.
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