Nikolaj Ehlers remains unsigned 30 hours into NHL free agency, as the top player available weighed his options Wednesday and suitors awaited his decision that could be one of the final big moves of the offseason.
Ehlers was already a rarity as a sought-after free agent who let the opening day of free agency go by without signing a contract, opting instead to sit back and consider his options. Carolina, Tampa Bay and Washington were considered among the teams interested in pursuing the 29-year-old from Denmark who played his first nine seasons with Winnipeg.
“We’ve had talks with his agent,” Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said Tuesday. “He’s taking his time to field offers. He’s obviously a very popular person right now, and we’re waiting to see where that goes.”
Ehlers and his camp watched Tuesday as fellow winger Brock Boeser re-signed in Vancouver for just over $50 million and older forward Mikael Granlund got $7 million annually from Anaheim. With the salary cap increasing a record amount to $95.5 million and a lack of high-end talent available, Ehlers could sign the most lucrative contract among players changing teams this summer.
Veteran defenseman Brent Burns agreed to terms with Colorado on a contract for next season. The 2017 Norris Trophy winner is 40 and past his prime, but he averaged nearly 23 minutes a game on Carolina’s run to the Eastern Conference final and will likely only be asked to play in a third-pairing role with the Avalanche.
Burns is back in the West where he spent his first 18 NHL seasons before the last three with the Hurricanes.
After signing Andrew Mangiapane late Tuesday night, Edmonton signed Curtis Lazar on Wednesday for the league minimum $775,000. They’ll take spots of departing wingers Connor Brown and Corey Perry, who departed after back-to-back trips to and losses in the final.
“It’s nice to have some new faces to come into your group,” Oilers GM Stan Bowman said. “They bring a bit of a different energy. They weren’t here last year when we made the (final) and the year before, so I think they’re hungry to get that far in the playoffs.”
The New York Islanders signed Maxim Shabanov after the sought-after KHL forward drew interest from multiple teams interested in bringing him to North America.
The New York Rangers agreed to terms with Taylor Raddysh on a two-year contract worth $3 million, New Jersey re-signed Cody Class for $5 million over the next two seasons, Pittsburgh added Anthony Mantha for $2.5 million and Alexander Alexeyev for $775,000, St. Louis signed Pius Suter for two years and $8.25 million and Detroit got Mason Appleton for $4.8 million over two years.
Ehlers being unsigned is almost certainly holding things up for forwards such as Anthony Beauvillier, Jack Roslovic Jeff Skinner, who could be part of a Plan B or C for those who don’t land their first choice.
Defensemen Dmitry Orlov and Matt Grzelcyk and goaltenders Ilya Samsonov and Alexandar Georgiev are also still available.
“Day 1 is always a little bit hectic and crazy,” said San Jose GM Mike Grier, who made multiple moves but still needs to spend more to get to the salary floor. “We’ll kind of see how things shake out. After (Tuesday night), things will settle down and teams will kind of regroup and see what’s out there and the free agents will do the same.”
St. Louis put veteran defenseman Nick Leddy on waivers. Leddy has one year left on his contract at a salary cap hit of $4 million.
It’s unclear how much — or how long — 24-year-old Buffalo Sabres restricted free agent Bowen Byram will sign for, though general manager Kevyn Adams said he would match any offer sheet aimed at poaching him. Trading Byram is also a possibility.
“I’ve maintained the same position that if there’s a deal out there that makes sense for us that we think improves our roster, we’re open to it,” Adams said. “But if there’s not, we’re not in a situation where we’re looking to move him out or looking to move him for futures and stuff like that.”
AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo, New York, and AP Sports Writer Aaron Beard in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
FILE - Winnipeg Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers plays during an NHL hockey game, Thursday, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's photo portrait display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has had references to his two impeachments removed, the latest apparent change at the collection of museums he has accused of bias as he asserts his influence over how official presentations document U.S. history.
The wall text, which summarized Trump's first presidency and noted his 2024 comeback victory, was part of the museum's “American Presidents” exhibition. The description had been placed alongside a photograph of Trump taken during his first term. Now, a different photo appears without any accompanying text block, though the text was available online. Trump was the only president whose display in the gallery, as seen Sunday, did not include any extended text.
The White House did not say whether it sought any changes. Nor did a Smithsonian statement in response to Associated Press questions. But Trump ordered in August that Smithsonian officials review all exhibits before the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The Republican administration said the effort would “ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
Trump's original “portrait label," as the Smithsonian calls it, notes Trump's Supreme Court nominations and his administration's development of COVID-19 vaccines. That section concludes: “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.”
Then the text continues: “After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837– 1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term.”
Asked about the display, White House spokesman Davis Ingle celebrated the new photograph, which shows Trump, brow furrowed, leaning over his Oval Office desk. Ingle said it ensures Trump's “unmatched aura ... will be felt throughout the halls of the National Portrait Gallery.”
The portrait was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, who is credited in the display that includes medallions noting Trump is the 45th and 47th president. Similar numerical medallions appear alongside other presidents' painted portraits that also include the more extended biographical summaries such as what had been part of Trump's display.
Sitting presidents are represented by photographs until their official paintings are commissioned and completed.
Ingle did not answer questions about whether Trump or a White House aide, on his behalf, asked for anything related to the portrait label.
The gallery said in a statement that it had previously rotated two photographs of Trump from its collection before putting up Torok's work.
“The museum is beginning its planned update of the America’s Presidents gallery which will undergo a larger refresh this Spring,” the gallery statement said. “For some new exhibitions and displays, the museum has been exploring quotes or tombstone labels, which provide only general information, such as the artist’s name.”
For now, references to Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton being impeached in 1868 and 1998, respectively, remain as part of their portrait labels, as does President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation as a result of the Watergate scandal.
And, the gallery statement noted, “The history of Presidential impeachments continues to be represented in our museums, including the National Museum of American History.”
Trump has made clear his intentions to shape how the federal government documents U.S. history and culture. He has offered an especially harsh assessment of how the Smithsonian and other museums have featured chattel slavery as a seminal variable in the nation's development but also taken steps to reshape how he and his contemporary rivals are depicted.
In the months before his order for a Smithsonian review, he fired the head archivist of the National Archives and said he was firing the National Portrait Gallery's director, Kim Sajet, as part of his overhaul. Sajet maintained the backing of the Smithsonian's governing board, but she ultimately resigned.
At the White House, Trump has designed a notably partisan and subjective “Presidential Walk of Fame” featuring gilded photographs of himself and his predecessors — with the exception of Biden, who is represented by an autopen — along with plaques describing their presidencies.
The White House said at the time that Trump himself was a primary author of the plaques. Notably, Trump's two plaques praise the 45th and 47th president as a historically successful figure while those under Biden's autopen stand-in describe the 46th executive as “by far, the worst President in American History” who “brought our Nation to the brink of destruction.”
Barrow reported from Atlanta.
People react to a photograph of President Donald Trump on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Visitors to the National Portrait Gallery walk past the portrait of President Donald Trump, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Visitors stop to look at a photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
A photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Anna Johnson)
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
