{"id":778149,"date":"2026-07-03T18:19:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T18:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/778149\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T18:19:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T18:19:15","slug":"minor-signings-07-03-26-pro-hockey-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/778149\/","title":{"rendered":"Minor Signings: 07\/03\/26 \u2013 Pro Hockey Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Ethan Hetu<\/a> |
\n at July 3, 2026 10:30 am <\/p>\n

Although the overwhelming majority of the heavy lifting is done for much of the league, teams continue to scour the free agent market to address their depth and improve their AHL affiliates. Today, several recognizable names have signed, and we will continue to update the list throughout the day. Here are today\u2019s minor signings:<\/p>\n

The Syracuse Crunch, AHL affiliates of the Tampa Bay Lightning, have signed veteran defenseman Jarred Tinordi<\/a> to a one-year AHL contract extension<\/a>. As is customary with AHL deals, the financial terms were not disclosed and are not expected to be made public. The 34-year-old spent all of last season in Syracuse, posting eight points and 84 penalty minutes in 44 games. The 6\u20196\u2033, 230-pound rearguard is a veteran of over 200 NHL games but hasn\u2019t appeared at the game\u2019s highest level since getting into 52 contests with the 2023-24 Chicago Blackhawks. He was a key penalty-killer for the Crunch last season and is likely to resume that role in the fall.
\nThe Rochester Americans (BUF) signed veteran center Matthew Peca<\/a> to a two-year AHL contract. Peca, 33, spent the last three seasons as captain of the Springfield Thunderbirds before a trade to the Crunch late in 2025-26. An all-situations, do-it-all No. 1 center at the AHL level, Peca is expected to take on a substantial role for the Americans. Rochester is almost certain to lose its top center from last season, Konsta Helenius<\/a>, to the NHL, so Peca\u2019s signing is an important addition for the club. A former AHL All-Star, Peca scored 47 points in 63 games last season and has 404 points in 544 career AHL contests.
\nThe Thunderbirds, who made a deep postseason run despite trading Peca away in the middle of last season, have signed veteran AHL star T.J. Tynan<\/a> to a one-year contract<\/a>. Tynan, 34, has achieved just about everything a player could hope to accomplish at the AHL level: he\u2019s a two-time league MVP, has led the league in assists three times, been named an All-Star four times, has served as team captain, and even won a Calder Cup title. While the 5\u20198\u2033, 160-pound forward has been limited to just 31 career NHL games and hasn\u2019t scored his first NHL goal, he has established himself as one of the AHL\u2019s legitimate stars. While his goal-scoring is down into the single digits, he did manage 50 points in 67 games for the Colorado Eagles last season, and will almost certainly feature on the first line for the Thunderbirds in the fall.
\nThe Providence Bruins have made a signing to bolster their defense, adding blueliner Tobie Bisson<\/a> on a one-year AHL contract<\/a>. Although Bisson has yet to make his NHL debut, the 29-year-old has racked up 321 career games played at the AHL level and established himself as a legitimate top-four defenseman in the league. Bisson occupied a top-four role for the Laval Rocket in 2025-26, also serving as a key penalty killer for the club. That\u2019s the kind of role Bruins fans can expect him to take on next season.
\nThe Utica Comets re-signed captain Ryan Schmelzer<\/a> to a one-year AHL contract extension, per a team announcement<\/a>. The 32-year-old pivot has captained the Comets since 2021-22, and has been a staple of the Devils\u2019 minor-league teams since their affiliate was the Binghamton Devils. A native of Western New York, Schmelzer has stayed in the state for the entirety of his hockey career, stretching back to his junior hockey days captaining the Buffalo Jr. Sabres. He captained Canisius college and signed out of the NCAA with the ECHL\u2019s Adirondack Thunder before joining Binghamton the following fall. While Schmelzer\u2019s production has declined from his career-high of 52 points (2023-24 season) he still managed 27 points in 66 games last year. He is still waiting on the chance to make his NHL debut.
\nThe Comets also re-signed goaltender Jeremy Brodeur<\/a> and forward Jack Malone<\/a>, while adding defenseman Eamon Powell<\/a>, forward Gabe Klassen<\/a>, and goaltender Seth Eisele<\/a> as free agents. Malone, 25, has spent the last two seasons with Utica and has 22 points in 103 career AHL games. Brodeur, 29, is the son of legendary New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur and posted a .908 save percentage in 41 games at the ECHL level last year. Powell, 24, had seven points in 23 games for Charlotte as a rookie AHL defenseman last season, and previously spent five years as a strong NCAA blueliner with Boston College. Klassen, 23, is a two-time WHL All-Star who scored 43 points in 65 ECHL games as a rookie pro in 2024-25. He made it to the AHL on a full-time basis last season and impressed, scoring 17 goals and 36 points in 56 games. Eisele, 27, has a .917 save percentage in 50 games played across his two-year ECHL career.
\nThe Rocket have announced the signings of four players to AHL contracts. Defenseman Braden Hach\u00e9<\/a>, 23, has signed a two-year, one-way deal after registering 11 points and 120 penalty minutes in 72 games for the San Jose Barracuda last season. Goaltenders Hunter Jones<\/a> and Kevin Mandolese<\/a> have each signed one-year, one-way contracts. Mandolese, 25, split last season between spot starts for the AHL\u2019s Crunch and Charlotte Checkers, and playing in 12 games for HKm Zvolen in the Slovak league. Jones, also 25, spent most of last season in the ECHL with Trois-Rivi\u00e8res Lions, going 17-10-1 with a .917 save percentage. The team also signed netminder Francesco Lapenna<\/a>, 23, to a one-year, two-way deal. Lapenna made nearly 150 starts across four different QMJHL clubs in his junior hockey days, and has been one of the best goalies in Canadian USports hockey over the last three years. He dipped his toes in the waters of pro hockey late in 2025-26, posting a 5-0-1 record and .959 save percentage in six games with Trois-Rivi\u00e8res.
\nIowa announced<\/a> the signings of six players to AHL contracts yesterday. Forwards Bradley Marek<\/a>, Gerald Mayhew<\/a>, Nick Rh\u00e9aume<\/a>, and Braidan Simmons-Fischer<\/a> signed one-year, one-way deals, while defenseman Mike Koster<\/a> and forward Drew Kuzma<\/a> signed one-year, two-way contracts. All but Rh\u00e9aume and Kuzma played for Iowa at some point last season. The biggest name here is Mayhew, a 33-year-old veteran who first played for Iowa in 2017. Mayhew has a career-high of 61 points in the AHL and led the team in scoring last season with 22 goals and 42 points. He also has 57 career NHL games played and 13 career NHL goals. Marek, 25, has 25 points in 109 games for Iowa across the last two years. Simmons-Fischer, who stands 6\u20197\u2033, 220 pounds, posted 10 points in 40 ECHL games for the Allen Americans in 2025-26 and got into six games for Iowa. Rh\u00e9aume, 24, notched 15 goals, 33 points, and 137 penalty minutes for the ECHL\u2019s Cincinnati Cyclones last season. Koster, a 2019 fifth-round pick, split last year between ECHL Iowa (38 games) and AHL Iowa (13 games), while Kuzma, 23, was a spring ECHL signing out of Lindenwood University and had eight points in 13 games for the Greensboro Gargoyles.
\nThe Calgary Wranglers signed<\/a> three players to AHL contracts: Luke Philp<\/a>, Carter Wilkie<\/a>, and Ryder Boulton<\/a>. Philp is the big name of the group as he has some NHL experience. The Canmore, Alberta native played for the Flames\u2019 AHL affiliate (then based out of Stockton, California) from 2019 to 2022, posting 21 goals and 44 points in 66 games during the 2021-22 campaign. Philp has a career-high of 29 goals and 53 points in 60 AHL games from the 2022-23 season. This past season, he scored 35 points in 52 games for F\u00e4rjestad BK of the SHL. Boulton, 20, is the son of former NHL enforcer Eric Boulton<\/a> and scored eight points in 48 games for the OHL\u2019s Brantford Bulldogs last season, winning an OHL Title and Memorial Cup. Wilkie, a 26-year-old center, was in the Flames organization last year and split 2025-26 between the AHL and ECHL levels.
\n28-year-old center Garrett Pilon<\/a>, who has three times crossed the 40-point plateau at the AHL level, signed a deal<\/a> with Barys Astana in the KHL. The move confirms his exit from North American professional hockey after an eight-year career spent mostly in the AHL. Pilon does have three career NHL games and has scored his first NHL goal. The 28-year-old is a 2016 third-round pick by the Washington Capitals who won a Calder Cup championship with the team in 2024. Pilon earned an AHL salary of $300K last season, playing out the final year of a two-year, two-way contract he signed in the summer after winning that championship.
\nFormer Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Jurco<\/a> has signed with his hometown team, HC Kosice of the Slovak Extraliga, according to a team announcement<\/a>. A Kosice native, Jurco played for the club in youth hockey but left in 2009 to join the QMJHL\u2019s Saint John Sea Dogs. A Calder Cup champion with 221 games of NHL experience, Jurco has spent the last half-decade in the KHL, most recently with Tolyatti Lada. While he has yet to feature in the country\u2019s top domestic league, Jurco has represented Slovakia internationally, and was part of the country\u2019s historic bronze medal win at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.<\/p>\n

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