According to a team press release, the Winnipeg Jets have inked Walker Duehr to a two-year contract. The 28-year-old finished the 2025-26 season with three NHL games played; the rest of his time was spent with the Manitoba Moose, the AHL affiliate, where he scored 17 goals for 34 points in 62 games on his one-year $775K contract.
The Sioux Falls, SD native originally signed with the Calgary Flames back in 2021, spending four years with the organization on two two-year deals after spending four years at Minnesota State University. The 6-foot-3 forward earned $1.66MM ($827.5K) on the first of his two Flames deals, followed by $1.65MM ($825K AAV) through 2025. He also spent his 2024-25 campaign in San Jose, playing eight NHL games and splitting time with the Barracuda, the AHL affiliate in the 2024-25 season.
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According to Mattias Persson of SportExpressen, forward Oliver Okuliar is expected to sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins, as he is finalizing negotiations. The 26-year-old Slovakian scored 29 points in 46 SHL games with Skellefteå AIK and added 13 points in 15 playoff games on the way to an SHL championship. He also tallied nine points in 11 games internationally, which included the IIHF Worlds and Olympics. The Trencin native signed a one-year contract with the Florida Panthers before signing in Sweden after scoring 41 points in 69 AHL games with the Charlotte Checkers under Florida’s organization. Pittsburgh originally acquired Okuliar’s rights in a trade on June 13th with Florida.
According to a team press release, the New York Islanders have signed defenseman Ethan Bear to a one-year, two-way deal. The 28-year-old scored 27 points in 40 AHL games played with the Islanders affiliate in Bridgeport on a one-year, $775K contract in 2025-26. Prior to his time with New York, Bear has been a journeyman in the NHL. The Regina, Saskatchewan native has played for five teams since being selected in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton traded Bear to the hurricanes in 2021, where he spent one season there before Carolina dealt him away to Vancouver in the 2022-23 season. His last NHL games up to this point were in Washington, where he played 24 NHL games with the team in 2023-24