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Around the NHL: Sharks acquire Ryan Ellis, Wild extend Gustavsson, Blackhawks sign Grzelcyk
Retired defenceman Ryan Ellis.
Photo credit: Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Jeremy Tingly
Oct 6, 2025, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 6, 2025, 08:54 EDT
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Welcome to a new season of Around the NHL, as the puck drops on the 2025-26 NHL season on Tuesday. There’s a triple-header lined up with action wisely spread across a few different start times, as Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks kick things off by visiting the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at 5:00pm est.
The Pittsburgh Penguins visit their former head coach Mike Sullivan on Broadway, as they take on the New York Rangers beginning at 8:00pm ET, followed by the late game in Los Angeles, with the Kings hosting the Colorado Avalanche.
For this season of Around the NHL, expect the very latest on the trade market, signings, injury reports, stats leaders, upcoming big games on the schedule, and much much more. Here’s our first edition in 2025-26:

San Jose Sharks acquire Ryan Ellis from Philadelphia Flyers

The San Jose Sharks now have loads of ‘dead cap space’, after they facilitated a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers to acquire defenceman Ryan Ellis, and a conditional sixth-round draft pick, in exchange for former Maple Leaf forward Carl Grundstrom, and defenceman Artem Guryev.
Ellis hasn’t played an NHL game since the 2021-22 season due to a torn psoas muscle in his back. His contract has two more years on it at a $6.25 million cap hit, and now the Sharks add his cap hit alongside Carey Price’s $10.5 million AAV for this season.
Grundstrom heads to Philly to try and wing a role within the Flyers’ bottom six. He’s coming off a down season, appearing in just 56 games, scoring three times and adding six assists. He’s due $1.8 million AAV this season, his final year of his deal.
Guryev, on the other hand, hasn’t made his NHL debut yet, and spent the entire 2024-25 season with the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL. Guryev has one year left at $860,000 cap hit.

Minnesota Wild lock up Filip Gustavsson

Wild general manager Bill Guerin has been spending a ton of money of late, as after the team locked up Kirill Kaprizov to the richest contract in NHL history, Minnesota has now extended goaltender Filip Gustavsson on a five-year contract, worth $6.8 million AAV.
With Marc-Andre Fleury off to retirement, the Wild lock in Gustavsson, who was sensational last season. The 27-year-old netminder posted a .914 save percentage, along with a 2.67 goals against average in 58 games. Gustavsson posted five shutouts during the regular season, and looks to lead the Wild back into playoff contention this season.
Gustavsson will earn $3.75 million AAV this season, his last of his current deal. He’ll be sharing the Wild’s crease with one-time top prospect Jesper Wallstedt. The 22-year-old Wallstedt has just five NHL games under his belt, and this will be the first season he seems somewhat regular action.

Chicago Blackhawks sign Matt Grzelcyk to a one-year contract

The Chicago Blackhawks were impressed by veteran defenceman Matt Grzelcyk during his professional tryout agreement, enough so to sign him to a one-year contract for the 2025-26 season.
Grzelcyk was surprisingly left unsigned heading into the late stages of the offseason, and the Blackhawks swooped in and invited him to camp, which now results in him fighting for top-four minutes this year. Grzelcyk is a solid two-way option for Chicago, and is coming off a 40-point season with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Blackhawks do have some injury troubles on their back end heading into the new year, so the veteran Grzelcyk gives them some more stability, and someone who can help run the power play while Alex Vlasic is nursing an injury.

Quick hits from around the NHL:

  • Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti is out week-to-week with a ankle sprain.
  • 43 players were placed on waivers Oct.5, including former Toronto Maple Leaf defenceman Justin Holl.
  • Carolina Hurricanes claimed goaltender Brandon Bussi off waivers from the Florida Panthers.
  • Heading into the 2025-26 season, Montreal Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov is the frontrunner for the Calder Trophy, handed out to rookie of the year.
  • It appears 24-year-old goaltender Jet Greaves has won the starter’s role for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins waived defenceman Ryan Graves, who has four years left on his deal at $4.5 million AAV.
  • Mike Sullivan is expecting ‘mixed feelings’ when he’ll host his former team on Tuesday in New York.
  • After some concern, it appears Jonathan Toews is healthy enough to start the season with the Winnipeg Jets.
  • 2026 top prospect Gavin McKenna scored his first NCAA goal over the weekend, leading Penn State to victory.
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