Firehose

The 2026-27 NHL regular season begins Sept. 29.

Leading up to the season opener, NHL.com is identifying six things to watch for each team. Today, the Chicago Blackhawks.

Last season: 29-39-14, eighth in Central Division; missed Stanley Cup Playoffs

Coach: Jeff Blashill (second season)

Starting the season without Connor Bedard will be tough on the Blackhawks. The center is expected to be out until November after having surgery on his left shoulder, which he injured while practicing in Vancouver on July 2.

Bedard has been Chicago’s leading scorer in each of his three seasons in the NHL, even though he’s sustained an injury that’s kept him out of double-digit games in two of those seasons. He led them last season with 75 points (30 goals, 45 assists) in 69 games.

His absence will test the Blackhawks’ depth at center immediately, and the onus will be on those remaining including Frank Nazar, Anton Frondell, Oliver Moore and Ryan Donato. Forward Roman Kantserov, who’s coming over from Russia, said he’s played center as well, but more likely he’ll be on the right wing.

Patrick Kane reflects on his return to the Blackhawks during White Sox vs. Cubs

Let’s start with scoring. The Blackhawks need much more of it after averaging 2.56 goals per game last season (30th in the NHL).

Adding familiar face and three-time Stanley Cup winner Patrick Kane (two-year, $16 million contract) should help stoke the offense. Forward Tyler Bertuzzi needs to score like last season, when he had 58 points (32 goals, 26 assists) in 79 games.

Nazar will look to improve off last season when he had 41 points (15 goals, 26 assists) in 66 games. The Blackhawks also need stronger defense after allowing 3.29 goals per game last season (27th in the League).

Bowen Byram, who they acquired from the Buffalo Sabres and signed to a six-year, $75 million contract ($12.5 million average annual value) on July 1, is expected to boost a young defense group. Spencer Knight must be steady in goal, where he was 19-25-11 with a 2.82 goals-against average, .902 save percentage and three shutouts in 55 games last season.

It’s a bit of a toss-up between Byram and Kane, but we’re going with Byram, because of the expectations heaped on him in the present and future. The 25-year-old has not been a No. 1 defenseman in his previous stops.

He was behind Cale Makar with the Colorado Avalanche and Rasmus Dahlin with the Sabres. The Blackhawks, however, see him as their No. 1.

He’ll likely play on the right side with Alex Vlasic, 25, who’s had to shoulder a lot the past few seasons with a young defense. The Blackhawks gave up a lot for Byram (the Nos. 4 and 45 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft and defenseman Louis Crevier) and signed him to a big deal.

Now to see Byram live up to it all.

Bowen Byram on six-year extension with the Blackhawks

Kantserov enters training camp with some high expectations. The Blackhawks see him as a top-line wing, and he was expected to play with Bedard before the latter’s injury.

The 21-year-old had the best season of his Kontinental Hockey League career last season when he had 64 points (36 goals, 26 assists) in 63 games with Mettalurg. Kantserov doesn’t lack confidence; you notice that from the first moment you talk to him.

Adjusting to the North American ice and speed of the NHL game are going to be the two biggest challenges facing him, but Kantserov skated this summer in the New York City area with fellow Russian players and some New York Rangers. If he can adjust quickly, he and the Blackhawks will be in great shape.

Frondell showed great promise when he made his NHL debut late last season. Now it’s time for him to build on it.

The 19-year-old had nine points (three goals, six assists) in 12 games with the Blackhawks after finishing with 28 points (20 goals, eight assists) in 43 games with Djurgardens of the Swedish Hockey League last season. Frondell spent most of last season at right wing, but the Blackhawks want to move him to center.

That will benefit their depth and it’s a position he’s played before. Much like Kantserov, Frondell is confident in his abilities.

He’s ready to help Chicago on a grander scale.

Tyler Bertuzzi -- Anton Frondell -- Roman Kantserov

shine in competition. Galvas is clearly the latter and there is real reason to pay attention to the 20-year-old second-round pick.

Penguins Lines Mikhail Ilyin-Bill Zonnon-Atley Calvert Carter Sanderson-Markus Ruck-Liam Ruck Pierce Mbuyi-Brayden Edwards-Jordan Charron Tiernan Shoudy-Daniel Russel-Traves Hayes Defense Jake Livanavage-Harrison Brunicke Tommy Galvas-Finn Harding Tyler Duke-Peyton Kettles Goal: Xavier Wendt Prospects Report Card Tommy Galvas: Holy Cow Two straight strong games, and Sunday was probably better than Saturday.

Galvas’s high points were the highest, and he was easily the best player on the ice Sunday. He scored the beaut to tie the game 2-2 with an end-to-end rush around a few would-be defenders.

He was often active on the rush, and he displayed an ability to see and seize opportunity. He showed speed and puck smarts.

For the most part, he was electric. “Yeah, he looks sick.

I mean, obviously you’ve seen that shootout goal (Saturday), which was gross. Like I don’t even know,” said 2026 third-round pick Pierce Mbuyi.

“And then he’s just so so calm with the puck. I feel like every time he gets it, he’ll make a play.

And he’s always open. It seems, he’s always just making the right play.

So he’s awesome to watch.” There was also a third-period penalty kill, in which Galvas stole the puck near the top of the zone and went for a skate into the offensive zone, one-on-one, and around the net, before passing it back to teammate Tyler Duke at the red line. Now, before anyone pencils him in as a potential NHL’er this season, there were some plays that also highlighted his challenges to get to the next level.

In the first period, 24-year-old Red Wings free agent Theo Rochette spun him around and stole the puck at the top of the zone for a shorthanded breakaway. Detroit also scored the tying goal, 3-3, when Galvas went deep into the offensive zone, was easily rubbed out against the wall, quickly lost the puck, and didn’t get to his man near the net in the defensive zone.

Consequently, Detroit had numbers in the Penguins’ blue paint. His rush with a one-goal lead and six minutes remaining was the epitome of his game.

He breezed by a couple of opponents on the backhand deep into the offensive zone, but was then outnumbered in the corner. It was a beaut until that moment, but with a lead late in the game, the play is to move the puck and get back.

Instead, Galvas pressed the issue and lingered with the forwards. No harm, no foul, but that’s a lesson he’ll need to learn.

His size at 5-foot-10, 168 pounds, is going to be a challenge, but boy howdy, he’s got some game-changing skills. There was talk after the draft that he would return home to Czechia to play this season, but the Penguins might well be convinced to accelerate his development in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Liam Ruck/Markus Ruck: An Education The toughest thing for scorers at the next level is to learn how to find space. To that axiom, the puck avoided the Rucks, especially Liam, Sunday.

They did not make the notebook with any offensive chances, or even noteworthy possessions. Instead, they were fighting for space, often in vain.

L. Ruck’s shots were into shin pads.

M. Ruck’s high point was a shovel pass at center to spring linemate Carter Sanderson for a goal.

But the line was largely held in check. Jake Livanavage: Expecting More Livanavage, 22, is one of the more experienced players on the Penguins’ roster, with three years of NCAA experience at the University of North Dakota and one NHL game.

However, even the scouts who spoke with PHN were ambivalent regarding his performance. He wasn’t invisible.

Wasn’t good. Wasn’t bad.

But overall, kind of disappointing because he didn’t make more of an impact. Peyton Kettles: More Work The Penguins’ 2025 second-rounder is a big defenseman, but lost most of last season due to injury, returning only for the Memorial Cup.

However, he’s showing real signs of rust and will need to improve his skating. He’s a step slow to the puck, which only puts more pressure on his defensive zone game.

There’s no reason to pass any judgment yet. Team: B+ Despite their big guns remaining quiet Sunday, the Penguins were pretty good.

After they settled, everything went their way.

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings lost 4-3 Sunday to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the NHL Prospects Tournament, but several made a favorable impression with their willingness to go the net.

DETROIT — One night, you score the shootout winner for the Detroit Red Wings, and you’re the hero. The next night, you accidentally kick the puck past your own goalie for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ game-winning goal.

That was Kienan Draper’s reality. The son of Red Wings assistant GM and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper was the hero of Saturday’s 4-3 shootout win over Dallas.

Sunday, a centering pass from Pittsburgh’s Jordan Charron banked off Draper’s skates past Wings goalie Michal Orsulak, giving the Penguins a 4-3 victory over the Detroit rookies.

Theo Rochette scored for the Red Wings on the first shift of the game. Defenseman Jacob Truscott and Adam Levac also scored.

Also tallying for the Penguins were Carter Sanderson, Brayden Edwards, and Tomas Galvas.

With the score tied 3-3 late in the second period, Detroit was about to be afforded a 5-on-3 power play for 1:46. However, Red Wings Jesse Kiiskinen got involved in a post-whistle scuffle and was assessed a minor penalty for roughing, wiping out the two-man advantage.

The Red Wings were 1-for-8 on the power play in the loss.

“Yeah, I mean, we didn’t do very well on them,” coach Dan Watson said. “I think our guys got tired one right after the other.

You have two units, you try to switch them up. But I think the execution just overall in our power play wasn’t very good.”

The Detroit rookies get Monday off. Then the tournament wraps up Tuesday when the Red Wings play the Columbus Blue Jackets rookies at 2 p.m.

in the Belfor Training Center at Little Caesars Arena.

As expected, it was a busy week in the NHL with a lot of roster activity heading toward training camp while unfortunately, a trio of alumni passed away as well. We’ll run down the active player news in our key stories.

Golden Knights Extend Two: Vegas has taken care of two of its pending free agents early. First, the team signed Braeden Bowman to a six-year, $20.4MM extension.

The 23-year-old made his NHL debut last season, notching 26 points in 54 games, securing a regular role in the lineup for the Golden Knights. Vegas is banking that he can handle a similar role for the foreseeable future and if he does, this will be a team-friendly pact.

Meanwhile, captain Mark Stone also inked a club-friendly deal, signing a two-year, $18MM extension. The 34-year-old tied his career high in points last season with 73, reaching the mark in just 60 games.

Between that and his strong two-way play, he’d have been able to secure a bigger deal on the open market next summer had he tested free agency. Instead, Stone takes a small cut money-wise as his current deal carries a $9.5MM cap charge.

Hanging Them Up: A pair of unrestricted free agents have decided to call it a career. First, blueliner John Klingberg announced his retirement at the age of 34.

He played in 700 games over parts of a dozen NHL seasons and finished up reasonably well, notching 27 points in 56 games with San Jose last season. A productive blueliner offensively, Klingberg potted 92 goals and 351 assists for his NHL career.

Meanwhile, goaltender Connor Ingram has also hung up his skates and will be returning to school. The 29-year-old started training camp in Utah last season and was eventually moved to Edmonton where he grabbed a hold of the starting role at times.

In between a pair of stints in the Player Assistance Program, Ingram posted a 3.01 GAA and a .901 SV% in 134 games over parts of five NHL seasons. His best came in 2023-24 when he made 48 starts and led the league in shutouts.

Kreider On The Move: Veteran winger Chris Kreider was in a pair of moves this week. With the Ducks needing to free up cap space and not wanting to part with assets to move a contract, they worked out an agreement to mutually terminate Kreider’s contract, making him an unrestricted free agent.

That deal had $4MM in salary and a $6.5MM cap charge. Two days later, he found his next team, signing a one-year deal with Montreal.

The agreement carries a $2.15MM salary plus $3.25MM in performance bonuses between games played ($2MM) and goals ($1.25MM). Kreider is coming off a 22-goal, 50-point season and will give the Canadiens a veteran winger who seems likely to slot in alongside sophomore winger Ivan Demidov in an effort to balance out their attack.

Seven For Minten: Recently, Bruins center Fraser Minten expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of signing a long-term extension. He got his wish, as the two sides agreed on a seven-year, $50.4MM extension that begins next season.

The 22-year-old was acquired from Toronto at the 2025 trade deadline along with a first-round pick for defenseman Brandon Carlo, a deal that has worked out extremely well for Boston. In his first full NHL campaign, Minten had 17 goals and 18 assists in 82 games while playing a responsible defensive game.

Viewed as a future core piece for the Bruins when they got him, this deal now cements that belief.

Clarity On Larkin: There will be no holdout from Red Wings center Dylan Larkin heading into training camp with his trade request not fulfilled. In statements from both him and the team, it was confirmed that the veteran will be at training camp and will speak with the new incoming leadership group (whenever they’re hired) about the future direction of the organization.

Meanwhile, the team indicated that they will enter the upcoming season without a captain (the role previously held by Larkin). Larkin had his fifth straight 30-plus-goal campaign in 2025-26 but requested a move early this offseason.

However, no team on his small list of teams he’d be willing to go to was able to put up a package to former GM Steve Yzerman’s liking while the file is now on hold until a new GM is in place.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect.

Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include some draft-day dealings, Jason Robertson’s future in Dallas, and more. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in last weekend’s column while we have one more coming next weekend from our latest call for questions.

rayk: Do you know or hear why Chicago traded a fourth-round pick to NJ to move up from #37 to #35 to draft Roobroeck? Did they have intel that Calgary was going to draft Roobreck at #36 rather than the other LW they drafted (Harrington)?

(If NJ wanted Roobroeck, I doubt they make the deal.)

I don’t know this specifically but I think this comes down to Kyle Davidson not wanting to take a chance. While Ryan Roobroeck didn’t have a great year, he was rated as a first-round pick heading into the season.

Chances are that they had him rated in their first round on their board. And if that’s the case, a future fourth-round pick to move up two slots to get the guy you want is a worthwhile price to pay.

It’s possible that they had an inkling that Calgary might want him. While teams are pretty tight-lipped with these things, sometimes, word leaks that a team likes a certain player.

It could be that this was the case here. Meanwhile, New Jersey took someone most publications rated as a later-round pick, so they didn’t mind sliding down and adding an extra asset.

I suspect they were taking Matias Vanhanen (who they got at 37) had they not made the trade.

As a result of their extended rebuild, Chicago has a boatload of prospects. It’s not like they’re a team with a thinned-out system that shouldn’t be trading two picks for one.

They can afford to make these types of moves. Besides, chances are, some of their prospects may ultimately be dealt for picks down the road if there isn’t a spot for them so they’ll be able to recover some of their moved-out selections eventually.

If they’re high on Roobroeck’s ceiling, this was an easy move for them to make.

letsgonats: A similar question. Did UT have intel that the Caps were going to take Ethan Belchetz at #18 so UT traded up to LAK to snag him at #17?

(They traded #19 and #83.)

He seems to be a potential next gen Tom Wilson who was drafted 14 years ago so getting his replacement in the system would seem to be a smart move.

The same answer could apply here in that Utah has a very deep prospect pool and could easily afford to move an extra pick to move up to make sure they get their guy. In this case, Belchetz is the type of player that the Mammoth don’t have a ton of in their system and diversifying their forward group makes sense.

But I should also note that some teams have a type when it comes to prospect profiles and the Capitals are a team that prioritizes size a bit more than others in drafts. Not with every pick, of course, but they will take shots at trying to land power forwards.

It’s possible that Utah had learned that Washington had interest in Belchetz. It’s also possible that they just looked at Washington’s draft history and reasonably inferred that the Capitals were likely targeting him and decided a trade-up was needed to make sure they got their guy.

bottlesup: With Jason Robertson signing a one-year, $12MM deal, do you think Jim Nill will get him on a long-term deal once Tyler’s contract is off the books?

Yes, I expect that will happen. So far, this has played out as I expected it to as the only realistic way that they could afford to keep him without moving anyone else off the roster was to do a one-year pact.

(And even then, there still may very well be some minor roster juggling needed.) Robertson has made it clear that his desire is to stay in Dallas long-term, turning down big money from Seattle in a sign-and-trade proposal. Meanwhile, the Stars have made it clear they want to keep him as well despite their attempt to trade him.

Let’s look at the money. Robertson’s $12MM will be off the books next summer, as will Seguin’s $9.85MM.

Seguin will be 35 when his next deal begins and with how injury-prone he has been, he’s not getting a raise. If anything, it’s possible Dallas tries to get him to go year-to-year with incentives as they’re doing with Jamie Benn.

But even if not, if you broke up that $21.85MM between the two of them, that should be enough. If Robertson moves up into the $14MM to $15MM territory, that will still allow them to pay Seguin a market-rate contract.

Even if Seguin wants more than that, the Upper Limit of the salary cap is projected to jump by another $9.5MM next summer. Add that money to the mix and there has to be enough to make it work.

Both sides surely would have preferred to work out a long-term pact now but that just wasn’t viable. It will be soon enough and it should get done, potentially as early as January when he’s eligible for an extension.

Bart ctg2: Seems Sabres and Flyers could make a deal to benefit both of them. Flyers need a center.

Sabres have three prospects that fill that need. Helenius, Kulich, and Ostlund.

What kind of trade, in your opinion, would there be if Michkov was part of it?

There’s a big difference in the centers you listed. Jiri Kulich and Noah Ostlund are NHL-caliber youngsters but are either of them impact top-line pieces?

I don’t think they will be. They could be middle-six options and Philadelphia already has some of those in the mix.

They’re not going to trade Matvei Michkov to fill the center spot with secondary options.

Konsta Helenius is in a different tier. A little less proven than the other two thus far, he showed signs last season that he could be an impactful middleman down the road.

Philadelphia could certainly use someone with his ceiling down the middle. But so could Buffalo.

Tage Thompson is more of a winger at this point of his career. Josh Norris has too long of an injury history to be trusted as a top center.

That leaves Ryan McLeod, Peyton Krebs, Kulich, and Ostlund down the middle. That’s not good enough for a team with an eye on contending, unless Kulich surprises me and becomes a top liner.

Basically, if given the choice between Helenius or Michkov, I think Buffalo takes Helenius which takes the idea of a trade here off the table.

I don’t think the Flyers are ready to give up on the idea of Michkov being a key part of their core group. If he lives up to his potential, he can be a play-driving winger that doesn’t necessarily a need a true top center with him.

And even if GM Daniel Briere is willing to trade him, Michkov is coming off a down year. Wouldn’t it make more sense to wait until his value rebounds somewhat?

Moving Michkov could happen but it doesn’t feel like the right time and Buffalo doesn’t feel like the right fit.

Duke II: Lightning Round:

Which three have the best long-term scoring future (goals more important than assists)?

Group 1 – Stenberg, Perreault, Ritchie, Brink, and Frondell?

Group 2 – Rossi, Chinakhov, Howard, Martone, and Yurov

Group 1 – In no particular order, give me Otto Stenberg, Gabriel Perreault, and Anton Frondell. Calum Ritchie is more of a pure playmaker and I’m not sure he’s in a great environment to showcase his offensive talents.

I’m leery that Bobby Brink will be much more than what he has been in recent years which is a better third-liner than a second-liner. Perreault looked solid last season, Frondell impressed down the stretch, and Stenberg was a top-two pick for a reason and heading into an offensive environment with San Jose.

Group 2 – I’m not overly bullish that Isaac Howard is going to get a lot of offensive minutes in Edmonton so I can rule him out. The other is a little trickier.

I’m skeptical that Egor Chinakhov is going to maintain his half-season in Pittsburgh but I expect Marco Rossi’s ceiling is going to be more of a playmaker. If you’re bullish on Chinakov, add him to the other two (Porter Martone and Danila Yurov) but if you’re more leery, Rossi would be the third option.

Jolly Roger: When the two-line pass offside was eliminated, the game only benefited from that. Do you think that the same could happen if the blue lines were removed from the ice?

The offside rule is supposed to prevent breakaways. However, if a forward is waiting for a breakaway pass close to the opposite net and there is a D guarding him there, that would free up space in the attacking zone, resulting in more scoring.

And the attacking zone would become bigger (unlimited if fact), freeing up yet more space.

There would also be fewer stoppages, improving the flow of the game.

And at least one linesman would become unnecessary.

I think there’s a big difference between removing the two-line pass and eliminating offside. The former allowed for some stretch plays to open up and eliminated some unnecessary stoppages.

That was a nice tweak.

But getting rid of the bluelines is a complete overhaul. It means teams could freely place an attacker in the offensive zone at all times, hoping for the home-run pass.

Generally speaking, these ‘cherry-pickers’ are not thought too highly of when it happens now; imagine teams basing a strategy around that. I don’t think it would be pretty.

Reducing whistles isn’t a bad thing, although television executives who like some form of reliable stoppage patterns for commercials would disagree with me. And their opinion matters an awful lot, given how much TV deals fund the league.

I imagine the NHL Officials Association would put up a stink about it being implemented as well for obvious reasons.

I say try it in an All-Star Game. Most players are only skating at half-speed anyway and defense is largely non-existent anyway.

If you want to make it a one-off spectacle, that’s probably something enough people could get behind.

Jolly Roger: Has playing a game on the North Pole even been discussed as a publicity stunt?

The NHL doesn’t tend to announce where they’re considering putting outdoor games or ones they have considered but have chosen not to go to. With that in mind, I can’t say with certainty that it has never been discussed but it would shock me if it was.

For starters, there isn’t an existing stadium that could hold a game. That means on top of building the ice surface as they do for outdoor games and Stadium Series contests, they’d have to haul out and set up bleachers as well.

Or play with no fans, something that wouldn’t appeal to the league with events like these designed to make some money. Yes, there was the Lake Placid game during COVID but that was a one-off with a lot less travel.

There’s also one other element to consider and that’s the temperature. Some of the outdoor games in Canada have gotten a bit iffy in terms of it being perhaps a bit too cold to try to play in, though they’ve soldiered through it.

Go that much further north and it’ll only be colder. I can’t see teams volunteering to put their players through it, nor do I think the NHLPA would approve even if some did.

It’d be a fun one-off stunt for sure but I’d be stunned if it was even being considered let alone ever happening.

Photo courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images. </em

The Boston Bruins prospects are in Buffalo for a pair of games against the Buffalo Sabres prospects.

The Bruins opened the Prospects Showcase with a 6-2 win over Buffalo at LECOM Harborcenter on Sunday. Five different Bruins scored, while Max Lundgren picked up his first win in the Spoked B.

It did not take long for the action to get started. Riley Duran played the puck around the boards, and it took a bounce off the stanchion.

Attilio Biasca, crashing toward the net, jumped on the puck and opened the scoring 25 seconds into the game.

Cullen McCrate, the Bruins’ seventh-round pick in the 2026 draft, took a hooking penalty. Dylan Dumont tied the game at the 5:43 mark.

A few minutes later, McCrate drove a shot toward Scott Ratzlaff’s crease. The shot was blocked on its way in, and the puck landed on Dans Locmelis’ stick.

Locmelis, in his first game action since undergoing shoulder surgery in March, buried the loose puck and regained the lead.

The Bruins carried a 2-1 lead into the first intermission and used the first 10 minutes of the second period to extend it.

The Bruins got their first power play of the night in the second period. Cullen McCrate, again, drove a shot on goal.

Nolan Renwick, who signed an AHL contract with the P-Bruins this summer, redirected the puck past Ratzlaff.

The only player with NHL experience got on the board just 76 seconds later. James Hagens made a quiet line change, waited behind the crowd, and picked his spot.

Doman Szongoth added the Sabres’ second power-play goal at the 11:34 mark of the second period to make it 4-2.

Buffalo’s Brayden Holberton knocked Cole Chandler down, and Nolan Renwick retaliated, taking down the Sabres forward. Holberton turned and landed a few punches.

Thomas Zocco, a camp invite from Staten Island, New York, picked his corner in the dying seconds of the second period, giving the Bruins a 5-2 lead as they went back to the locker room.

The Sabres changed goalies ahead of the third period, giving 6-foot-8 goalie Talyn Boyko his first look with the organization.

That didn’t stop the Bruins from scoring, though. James Hagens scored his second goal of the evening on the power play, collecting a feed from Nolan Renwick and finding the top corner.

The Bruins’ power play connected twice on Sunday night, and Hagens’ second goal closed the game’s scoring.

The Bruins and Sabres are back at LECOM Harborcenter Monday afternoon for a game at 12:00 PM. Ryan Johnston of 98.5 The Sports Hub will be on the play-by-play, with Buffalo’s Rob Ray providing color commentary.

The game can be found at BostonBruins.com or the Bruins + TD Garden mobile app.

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A rookie camp injury could cut down the San Jose Sharks’ training camp roster. Winger Cameron Lund sustained an upper-body injury on a hit delivered by Los Angeles Kings defenseman Jared Woolley in a friendly matchup on Saturday per Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News.

Lund briefly tested the injury before leaving for the final two periods. He will be held out of San Jose’s Sunday exhibition against the Utah Mammoth while his injury is examined.

As things stand, Lund will carry a questionable tag into San Jose’s training camp which begins on Thursday.

Lund was set to enter the 2026-27 season as a name to watch. He played through his first pro season last year, marked by a productive 25 points in 37 games with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

Lund also earned an 11-game run with the Sharks at the end of the 2024-25 season, after signing an entry-level contract following three years at Northeastern University. He scored three points in his only NHL stint to date.

Next season will be about finding another gear as the 22 year old enters his second pro season. A 2022 second-round pick, Lund has long held the attention of scouts with his strong shot and physical drive into the slot.

He was a routine scorer throughout his junior career, producing for both Northeastern and the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers. Lund only made one appearance at an international junior tournament, scoring four goals and five points at the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Lund could secure a top-six role in the Barracuda lineup to begin the season, unless his injury sticks around into the regular season. A strong start would put him into competition with Adam Gaudette, Barclay Goodrow, and Ty Dellandrea for a depth role in the Sharks’ lineup.

This afternoon the Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they’ve brought in defenseman Carson Soucy on a professional tryout agreement.

The 32-year-old lefty spent last season in New York, starting on Broadway with the Rangers where he skated in 46 games. In late January the veteran was traded to the rival Islanders in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick, going on to play in 30 games on Long Island, completing the season with 12 points in 76 games as a shutdown defender.

As a solid bottom-pairing option teams have been happy to pick up and staple onto their penalty killing units, traded for a real asset during the winter, it’s somewhat unexpected that Soucy would eventually be unable to secure a guaranteed contract. AFP Analytics projected he’d be worth a two-year deal worth around $2.15MM.

Working a bit against him is his left-handedness. Mike Reilly, for example, settled for a two-way contract in Carolina earlier this week.

The market was nicer to right-handers, with veterans Erik Gudbranson and Zach Bogosian fetching one-year extensions, while Radko Gudas and Vincent Desharnais both received eyebrow raising contracts with significant term.

For what he faces in Columbus, the aforementioned Gudbranson’s veteran leadership solidifies his place on the roster at age 34. It’ll be Jake Christiansen who he’ll directly compete with, the 27-year-old a pending UFA at $975k who played in 40 games last year, a drop from his 68 the year prior.

With a 28th ranked penalty kill last season, there’s a need for somebody like Soucy, although with seven adequate NHL options on the roster already there’s not an obvious fit as things stand.

Drafted in the fifth round of the 2013 draft by Minnesota, Soucy went on to play for the Wild from 2017-21 as a bottom pairing option with physicality, capping out at 55 games during the 2019-20 campaign, never a constant presence in the lineup. Selected by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL expansion draft, he had a sudden offensive burst with ten goals and 21 points during the Kraken’s inaugural season.

Breaking through with ice time around 17 minutes a night as a sixth defender and playing in 78 games during 2022-23, Soucy was an early foundational piece for Seattle on the back-end, often playing with Will Borgen. An above-average penalty killer and shot-blocker, he hit the market three years ago and moved on to Vancouver on a three-year deal worth $3.25MM.

Two years ago Soucy enjoyed the most ice time of his career (18:22) but with things going south in Vancouver he was traded to the Rangers for a third-round pick, re-uniting with Borgen, and coming one game short of 100 with the Canucks. Catching on with the Islanders ten months later, Soucy was effectively a depth filler while Alexander Romanov was out, taking third pairing minutes at 15:27 and somewhat surprisingly starting 54.2% of his five-on-five shifts in the offensive zone.

Soucy will have a chance to debut with the Blue Jackets on his way to vying for a contract in eight days, as they’ll kick off the preseason against Detroit.

Image Credit: Alexander Wohl-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect

For the past five seasons, the Los Angeles Kings have been a consistent Stanley Cup playoff team. However, their effectiveness was sapped in the middle of last season, when star left winger Kevin Fiala suffered a devastating leg injury at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Fiala missed the remainder of the Olympic tournament and the 2025-26 regular season. Unfortunately, his health has come into question again with this week’s news that he’ll miss the start of training camp after undergoing surgery directly related to his Olympic injury.

And that could put a serious crimp in the Kings’ playoff hopes this season.

Certainly, Kings GM Ken Holland has tried his best to stock the organization’s shelves with above-average talent. But TheHockeyNews.com’s off-season power rankings series ranked Los Angeles 22nd in terms of the talent Holland has brought in this summer.

Veterans Mats Zuccarello, Erik Haula and Corey Perry aren’t going to hurt the team, but if Fiala is out for any significant stretch of time, should the Kings really be expected to get into the post-season?

Indeed, in an increasingly competitive Pacific Division, Los Angeles is going to be facing incredible pressure just to be a Stanley Cup playoff team in 2026-27, let alone be a true Cup front-runner.

The Anaheim Ducks – who finished in third place in the Pacific – could be better. The San Jose Sharks – who finished only four points behind the Kings – are almost certainly going to be better.

And the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights are basically locks to be a playoff team. Thus, there’s a very real possibility that Los Angeles could be pushed out of the playoff picture – not the best look in the first year of the post-Anze Kopitar era.

If Fiala does miss any significant time, the Kings will need others to step up.

That list starts with star left winger Artemi Panarin as well as star center Adrian Kempe, as well as 24-year-old forwards Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere. Byfield has shown spurts of greatness, but he hasn’t elevated his game to land in the upper echelons of the NHL’s rankings of top young players, posting 24 goals and 49 points in 79 games.

The expectations for Laferriere are different than Byfield’s. But while Laferriere put up 21 goals and 44 points in 82 games last year, the competitive ceiling for Laferriere isn’t as high as it’s been projected to be for Byfield.

It can't be expected of Laferriere to compete with the league's top offensive producers. Is he a solid contributor who will be part of the core in L.A.?

Sure he will. But expecting him to do what Fiala can do when healthy is a stretch.

Holland is now hoping his summer acquisitions step up in the absence of Fiala. Zuccarello is a perfectly serviceable contributor.

Haula is a decent depth player. And Perry is trying to squeeze all the juice out of his career in what could prove to be his final NHL season.

Asking them to do all the heavy lifting while Fiala is sidelined is more than a little unfair.

But the blunt truth is that the Kings have spent all but $1.775 million of their salary cap this season. What you see is what you get.

Absent some internal improvement, Los Angeles is in danger of taking a backward step this year. And if Fiala winds up spending weeks and months on the sidelines, the Kings may be in serious trouble before training camp begins.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are adding some depth to their blue line ahead of training camp.

Defenceman Carson Soucy has signed a professional tryout contract with the Blue Jackets, the team announced Sunday.

Soucy, 32, began last season with the New York Rangers, but was dealt to the Islanders ahead of the trade deadline for a third-round pick.

In 76 games between the two teams, the Viking, Alta., native tallied five goals and seven assists, while playing to a minus-six rating. He also logged 91 blocked shots and 105 hits.

Since being drafted in the fifth round (137th overall) in 2013, Soucy has split time between the Minnesota Wild, Seattle Kraken, Vancouver Canucks, Rangers and Islanders. He has 32 goals and 67 assists in 441 games over eight seasons.

Leo Carlsson's offer sheet did more than make him the highest-paid player in the NHL on an annual basis. It reshaped the entire NHL contract landscape, and the Anaheim Ducks star knows it.

Speaking at the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Carlsson addressed the fallout from his five-year, $80 million offer sheet, which was tendered by the Philadelphia Flyers and matched by Anaheim. It was a deal that sent shockwaves through the league and sparked a wave of rising contracts across the board.

Carlsson said he's heard directly from his peers about the impact. "Players are thanking me," he said, according to Mark Lazerus, acknowledging the new market his contract helped create.

But that shift has come with real consequences in Anaheim. Carlsson was asked about the Ducks placing veteran Chris Kreider on waivers in a bid to eventually terminate his contract and clear cap space.

The Ducks, who weren’t at all properly prepared to handle an offer sheet of this size, now have to sign Cutter Gauthier, and eventually Beckett Sennecke. The team, run by GM Pat Verbeek, is in a financial squeeze created by Carlsson's own deal.

"Chris, he's leaving, but he's also really happy for me as well," Carlsson said. "It's a hard business.

NHL Rumor Roundup: Cutter Gauthier Reportedly Rejects Ducks Offer, Latest Buzz On Pavel Zacha The cost of signing Cutter Gauthier remains high for the Anaheim Ducks. Meanwhile, there's ongoing speculation over Pavel Zacha's future with the Boston Bruins.

That it is, and the rest of the NHL is learning it too. The ripple effect is wide-reaching.

It goes well beyond the Ducks. Following Carlsson's offer sheet, several other young NHL stars saw their markets shift as teams reassessed what top-tier talent is worth.

RFAs like Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini all became more expensive propositions for their respective teams. Bedard signed a $15-million-per-year contract over five years.

Celebrini came in with an $18.8-million cap hit over the same term. Not long after, Cale Makar signed a massive eight-year deal for $20.4 million per year.

His situation was different as a 27-year-old superstar defenseman and UFA, but the trend was obvious. Big salaries are here, and $9- to $10-million cap hits

After a very good season last year, the Montreal Canadiens were almost completely silent this summer when it came to improving their roster.

However, this weekend, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes made up for not making additions with two key moves.

On Saturday, the Habs signed veteran left winger Chris Kreider to a team-friendly, one-year contract. Then, on Sunday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that Montreal re-signed right winger Zachary Bolduc to a four-year contract extension worth $4.2 million per season.

Those moves leave the Canadiens approximately $4.3 million in salary cap space, according to puckpedia.com, with only RFA defenseman Arber Xhekaj to sign, who isn’t in a position to command all of that cap space just for himself. And that almost assuredly means Hughes has created a sliver of cap space to use during the season.

It’s all shaping up to be a masterwork in team-building by Hughes and the president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton. The truth is, Montreal lost a lot of experience and leadership when they traded right winger Brendan Gallagher to the Vancouver Canucks.

The Habs had to retain half of Gallagher’s $6.5-million cap hit to make the trade palatable for Vancouver, but his offensive production had fallen off a cliff, and he no longer fit into Montreal’s deep-and-talented roster.

Certainly, signing Kreider helps the offensive bottom line for the Canadiens. This is a player who produced at least 20 goals in 11 of his past 12 seasons, most of his time with the New York Rangers.

This is a player with 958 games of regular-season experience, as well as 135 games of Stanley Cup playoff experience, posting 50 goals and 83 points in the post-season. Kreider is a fantastic addition for the Habs, and one who isn’t committed beyond this coming season.

Meanwhile, signing the 23-year-old Bolduc locks up an up-and-coming winger who is part of Montreal’s long-term future.

In his first year with the Canadiens last season after coming over from the St. Louis Blues, Bolduc’s offensive numbers actually took a dip last season, falling from 19 goals and 36 points in 72 games in 2024-25 to 12 goals and 30 points in 78 games last season. But progress isn’t always linear, and the Habs have decided to put Bolduc’s mind at ease for the next four years, knowing he’s under contract.

And now, while the Canadiens may still eventually be looking for a second-line center, the team they’re going to training camp with should seriously excite Habs fans. Hughes and Gorton have methodically turned over the roster, and although no NHL team is perfect, Montreal is almost assuredly going to be a playoff team in the highly competitive Atlantic Division.

One of the best parts of the job Canadiens management has done is the fact that they still have all of their first-and second-round draft picks in the next three drafts. Because of that, Hughes can coordinate major in-season trades, and that will only improve the Habs.

And Montreal’s development system is excellent, so their future looks as bright as virtually any team in the league.

The Atlantic can only send a maximum of five teams to the post-season, so Montreal's work is cut out for them just to get out of their division in the playoffs. In many respects, this is still a team fine-tuning its identity, and Montreal’s core now can continue growing and evolving.

The Canadiens could soon enough be dealing with in-season issues, as all teams do. But Hughes and Gorton have painstakingly put this Montreal team together, and the full blossom of the lineup should frighten the Habs’ opponents.

There’s no two ways about it – the Habs are for real, they’re only getting better – and a fantastic regular-season and longer post-season run no longer feels like a distant goal. Rather, it feels like that’s what’s expected, and if you support the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge, the 2026-27 campaign could be one of the best in the fabled organization’s incredible history.

Zachary Bolduc signed a four-year, $16.8 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday. It has an average annual value of $4.2 million.

The 23-year-old forward became a restricted free agent July 1 after he had 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) in 78 regular-season games for the Canadiens and seven points (three goals, four assists) in 19 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Selected by the St. Louis Blues in the first round (No. 17) of the 2021 NHL Draft, Bolduc has 75 points (36 goals, 39 assists) in 175 regular-season games with the Blues and Canadiens, and eight points (three goals, five assists) in 26 playoff games.

He was acquired by Montreal in a trade with St. Louis for Logan Mailloux on July 1, 2025.

The Canadiens signed forward Chris Kreider to a one-year contract on Saturday, two days after the forward’s contract was terminated by the Anaheim Ducks.

Montreal is set to begin training camp later this week after reaching the Eastern Conference Final last season, when it lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games. The Canadiens play their 2026-27 season opener at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sept.

29 (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN).

Detroit Red Wings goaltending prospect Trey Augustine is prepared for a new challenge after excelling for three years at Michigan State.

A year ago, still healing from an Achilles injury, Detroit Red Wings 2025 first-round pick Carter Bear was left a spectator on the sidelines during the club’s NHL rookie games against the Dallas Stars.

Saturday, in Detroit’s NHL rookie tournament opener against the Dallas Stars, Bear was a man on a mission. He fired a game-high 10 shots on goal during a 4-3 shootout win by the Red Wings.

Bear was dangerous on almost every shift, displaying a shooter’s nose for the net.

“He goes to the net,” Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson said. “He has no problem going to the hard areas, whether it’s digging along the wall, in the corners, or around the net front.”

This will be Bear’s first season in pro hockey, likely playing for Watson and the Griffins. He knows it’s going to be a quantum leap stepping up from junior.

Bear is doing his utmost to be prepared for his new reality.

“I think obviously it’s pro now,” Bear said. “That’s a whole new level of hockey.

Way different than junior.

“It’s faster, so you gotta be smarter and stronger.”

One thing about Bear is that he’s a good listener. Another positive quality is that he is also asking lots of questions.

“I talk to [Red Wings development director] Dan Cleary a lot,” Bear said. “What they want me to work on, for sure.”

Author of 76 goals over the past two seasons with the WHL Everett Silvertips, the Red Wings ar counting on Bear to bring that offensive game to the NHL while operating as a power forward.

“I just need to work on the game that Detroit wants me to work on,” Bear said. “Focus on that and trust Detroit, whatever their best development is for me.

Just trusting with that. And I think it’ll all work out.”

The six-foot, 186-pound left-winger spent his summer striving to improve his skating stride. In the gym, the strategy was to build up his strength so he’s ready to battle against men.

Watson doesn’t think that will be an issue for Bear.

“A lot of times you’re going to be facing some physicality around the net,” Watson said. “He has no problem going there.

And I think you saw some of the speed, the skill he brings, but he’s also responsible.

“I think he’s going to be a really good player. He’s just again, learning the pro style of hockey.

But with him, it’s his willingness to do the hard things.”

The Montreal Canadiens have locked up another young forward to a new deal.

Zachary Bolduc signed a four-year, $16.8-million deal. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Sunday.

Bolduc will carry a $4.2 million cap hit coming off his entry-level contract.

Bolduc had 12 goals and 18 assists in 78 regular-season games in 2025-26. He also led all Montreal forwards with 170 hits, ranking second on the team behind defenceman Arber Xhekaj.

The 23-year-old from Trois-Rivières, Que., also dressed for the team’s 19 playoff games, producing seven points (three goals, four assists) and being second on the team with 47 hits.

Montreal acquired Bolduc from the St. Louis Blues for defenceman Logan Mailloux back on July 1, 2025.

Bolduc was a first-round pick (17th overall) by the Blues in the 2021 NHL draft. He has 75 points (36 goals, 39 assists) in 175 career games across three seasons between St. Louis and Montreal.

-- With files from the Canadian Press

The Canadiens have signed forward Zachary Bolduc to a four-year extension with a $4.2MM AAV, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, and later confirmed by the team.

A restricted free agent after his first season in Montreal which brought 12 goals and 30 points in 78 games, the Habs are set to keep the Quebec native around for the next four years which are full of optimism with a well-executed rebuild having reached its completion.

Acquired from St. Louis in July 2025 in exchange for defenseman Logan Mailloux, a classic 1-1 positional swap between talented young first-rounders, Bolduc looked to break out after his 19 goals with the Blues two years ago. It definitely looked that way early on, scoring in each of his first three games.

As the year wore on his production capped out more modestly, ending with six fewer points year-over-year despite an uptick in ice time to 13:38 which equaled about one more shift per game. Even then, still just 23, he has all the traits to be a valuable complementary piece in the middle-six at the least, having a high-end shot which gives him a 25+ goal upside.

The Canadiens already have dynamic talent sorted out at the top of their lineup, and it’s players like Bolduc who take on the important role of supplementing the group.

Never jumping out on the score sheet last season, partially due to a 31-game goal drought, Bolduc’s presence was felt in the playoffs as the Canadiens unexpectedly reached the Eastern Conference finals. His forechecking and two-way game, chipping in offensively at key times, proved his worth to the club.

There was speculation of a possible trade to land a second-line center but it was never truly substantiated. During the summer it was reported that either a two-year bridge deal or a longer term deal with five years were discussed, and after today’s news, they’ve effectively met somewhere in the middle with cap savings the benefit of a shorter term and less team control.

Listed as a center, playing as a pivot during his impressive QMJHL career with the Quebec Remparts which included a Memorial Cup in 2023, Bolduc mostly stuck on the wing last year. Lining up for 19 draws, he came away winning half of them, solid results to speak to his upside down the middle but far too small a sample size.

Unlikely to ever become a full time center in Montreal, his flexibility to jump into the dot when needed on occasion is always useful. As for his special teams contribution, Bolduc saw meaningful time on the Habs’ 10th ranked power play’s second unit, 1:36 a game.

He came away with three goals and six points on the man-advantage.

Just last month it looked like a sign-and-trade was a possibility, but even after adding another winger in Chris Kreider yesterday, apparently general manager Kent Hughes found no beneficial trade scenarios to explore. His team has adequate cap room for a contender moving into the upcoming season.

Still holding $4.2MM after this week’s moves, they’ll need to work something out with 25-year-old defenseman Arber Xhekaj, the last of their RFA group.

Not a perfect match on term, Bolduc’s contract can be otherwise compared to fellow 23-year-old Collin Graf’s three-year agreement worth $4.25MM, a reward from his 21-goal, 46-point breakout. 24-year-old Alex Laferriere of Los Angeles is also in the range, with two of his three year contract remaining with a $4.1MM AAV, who also netted 21 goals last season.

Taking a step comfortably into the 40+ point range at the level of those two players will be needed for Bolduc at his new contract value, and it will be curious to see how Kreider’s role affects the newly signed winger who will be hungry to get rolling in camp.

The Tampa Bay Lightning's core players are on the wrong side of 30, and they haven't gotten out of the first round in four years. In addition, there is another exhibit to this coming season that needs the full attention of management.

The problem is that their best player, Nikita Kucherov, the reigning and two-time Hart Trophy winner, is not signed beyond 2026-27.

To be fair, it's not necessarily a real problem. They have until July 1, over eight months away, to lock him up.

But NHL teams would like to avoid that situation at all costs.

But there are some unique pressure points here, and they have to be discussed as part of the reason why it's imperative to get this agreement locked in as soon as possible. Here's why Tampa might be worried about Kucherov's future.

1. KUCHEROV IS 33 YEARS OLD

Players who are most likely to leave in free agency tend to be on the younger side and don't have tens of millions of dollars in the bank already. While Kucherov is only wrapping up his third contract, any extension he signs should probably be long-term so that Tampa can spread its financial commitment to him over as many years as possible.

It's not that they should be concerned he'll look for a better situation, but rather that he's going to want mega money on a long-term deal, basically all of which will be years when his effectiveness is declining.

2. NEW CBA KICKS IN ON SEPT.

16

The point of signing him as soon as possible is that you can lock in a relatively small dollar amount for a longer term, right? Kucherov is younger than Brad Marchand and Radko Gudas, who got long-term deals with the Florida Panthers that take them into their 40s, and even a declining superstar player is likely to be quite effective into his 30s, or beyond that if you're lucky.

An eight-year deal would allow Tampa to spread a lot of money over as many years as possible.

But the ability to sign eight-year contracts won't be around for much longer. On Sept.

16, that maximum drops to seven years, which, in theory, might be harmful to Tampa's cap picture.

3. TAMPA MAY NOT HAVE MANY COMPETITIVE YEARS LEFT ANYWAY

Brayden Point is 30, Jake Guentzel 31, Andrei Vasilevskiy 32, Victor Hedman 35, John Carlson 36. If they didn't get out of the first round in any of the last four post-seasons, how certain is it that they'll improve or maintain those results next year, the year after that, the year after that, and so on?

Losing Kucherov, or even facing the threat of losing him, would slam shut a window that might already be pretty near to"closed.

With all that said, though, there are reasons not to be worried about this situation.

1. THEY CAN PAY HIM ANYTHING HE WANTS

With how many star players are on the Lightning, you would think they don't have a lot of salary cap space. Quite the opposite.

With literally every big-name player on the roster besides Kucherov signed for at least next season, they are sitting on over $30 million in projected cap space in 2027-28. If he wants max money for some reason?

No problem. They'll have almost $9 million more to sign whoever they want to round out the roster.

2. WHY WOULD HE LEAVE?

Kucherov is a lifelong Bolt, and Tampa Bay is definitely a destination, with no state income tax and warm weather. The fact is that, up until July 1, the Lightning can give him one more year than anyone else, regardless of whether he signs today, on Halloween, or on June 30.

That's one more year over which to spread the money so the cap works better, or just one more year to have a steady income.

Even if he doesn't want max term, how many teams are going to be more compelling options for him at this point in his career? What's left for him to accomplish?

It's like that old narrative of Steven Stamkos going to market in 2016. There's no reason for him to take his immense talent elsewhere, even if another team could make him a sweeter offer than Tampa.

And that's especially true because, at that point, Stamkos and Kucherov hadn't even won their Cups there.

At this point, there's basically no reason to believe this isn't going to end with Kucherov spending the rest of his career in Tampa. Maybe something happens that changes the course for all involved, but it feels incredibly unlikely.

Nobody leaves this Tampa team of their own accord unless, like Stamkos, it's obvious they don't have their preferred role there.

Tampa is not going to take away the reigning MVP's preferred role. So any expectation other than re-signing feels premature.

The Canadiens surprised some when they signed forward Chris Kreider to a one-year deal yesterday, worth $2.15MM in base salary with performance bonuses attached. Those details have now become apparent, according to PuckPedia.

Most notably, the pact includes a no-movement clause, as the Massachusetts native sought security closer to home after the sudden ending on the West Coast. Kreider will net another $2 million at just ten games played, as well as $250k at 10/20/30 goal milestones.

If somehow the veteran goes nuclear and reaches 40 goals, a level only seen once with his 52 tallies five years ago he’d, rightfully, earn another $500k.

Finding his way to Quebec as his second Original Six franchise seemed impossible years ago, as a player not much endeared by the Canadiens faithful after crashing into goaltender Carey Price during the 2014 Eastern Conference finals, ending the star’s postseason in a play Montreal thought was reckless at the time. Of course time to move over a decade later, the past history is still one many fans haven’t forgotten.

Adding another winger, especially the former Ranger himself, wasn’t thought to be much of an urgent need in Montreal at this point. However, since he suddenly became an unrestricted free agent after being mutually let go by Anaheim three days ago, one can make sense of what he brings to the table.

The 35-year-old is now the oldest and most experienced Hab by a considerable margin over players like Phillip Danault, Josh Anderson, and Mike Matheson. The fact that those three had made up the team’s seniority group speaks to the youth on the roster.

Kreider’s 135 playoff games of experience is far and away the most out of the group, and assuming the durable forward gets into at least 42 games this upcoming season he’ll reach the 1,000 game mark, which could happen as soon as New Year’s. It’ll be a unique situation for Kreider to play under Martin St. Louis, his own teammate from early in his New York career.

Elsewhere across the league:

Vegas top prospect Trevor Connelly went down yesterday after a brutal hit in a scrimmage versus Utah prospects but thankfully it sounds like he’s avoided a serious injury. According to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, the 2024 first-rounder should return before the end of camp.

Mammoth prospect Gabe Smith, a 2024 fourth-round selection known for his physicality out of the QMJHL at 6’4″, earned a major penalty after aggressively hitting Connelly into the boards which led to a dropping of the gloves as Connelly stayed down. A team hardly able to round up high-end prospects as a result of their aggressive title pursuit from Day 1, the Golden Knights have high hopes for the winger, 20, who PHR’s Gabriel Foley believes could be their next breakout forward.

Looking the part with 49 points in 46 games during his first full AHL season, Connelly is unanimously ranked as Vegas’ #1 prospect and he should debut at some point in 2026-27.

Retired NHL winger Alex Chiasson has joined the Washington Capitals as a full-time scout, per Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network. A member of the team’s beloved 2018 Stanley Cup winning roster, the 35-year-old has gotten right to work at the team’s rookie camp this weekend, having served as a consultant last year.

A Montreal native, Chiasson was selected in the second round by Dallas in 2009 and went on to play in 651 games, a highlight obviously lifting the cup during his one-and-only year in D.C. which impressively started only on a professional try-out agreement.

A player who accepted PTOs at multiple stops across his career, only to catch on thanks to his work ethic and net-front abilities, he’s naturally a great fit to help scout and mentor the next generation of youth. Calling it a career in January 2025, last playing in the NHL with the Red Wings in 2022-23, Chiasson remains with his former team which has put together an excellent prospect pool all while keeping their window open for Alexander Ovechkin in the twilight of his career.

As we enter the 2026-27 season, there are some teams that are facing some serious questions. Every campaign, we see some NHL teams step back, and there are multiple clubs that could experience that in the coming season.

With that, here's a look at three teams that could be on the verge of rebuilding, depending on how their seasons go this year.

The Winnipeg Jets are going to be a very fascinating team to watch this season. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck recently confirmed that he has requested a trade out of Winnipeg, so he could be on the move at any time.

If the Jets end up granting Hellebuyck's trade request and move him, that is going to put them in an incredibly difficult spot. They are already coming off a disappointing 2025-26 season that saw them miss the playoffs after winning the Presidents' Trophy the year before that.

Trading Hellebuyck would only make them worse and could very well make them become one of the NHL's worst teams.

Due to this, trading Hellebuyck could open the door for them to move on from more of their core players.

Although the Los Angeles Kings just snuck into the playoffs last year, they also won only 35 games and only qualified for them due to their 20 overtime losses. Along with losing captain Anze Kopitar to retirement, the 2026-27 season could be a long year for Los Angeles.

The Kings added a few players this off-season, like Mats Zuccarello, Erik Haula, and Erik Gustafsson, as well as bringing back Corey Perry. Overall, they made some moves that could be solid, but it is hard to predict with full confidence that they will be a playoff team.

If the Kings end up taking a step back, it could be what leads to them starting a rebuild or at least a retool. Their roster has plenty of flaws and not a lot of firepower.

The Detroit Red Wings may currently be on a 10-year playoff drought, but they have been out of their full-on rebuild for a while now. They have been trying to become a playoff team for multiple seasons now but have continued to fall short.

Now, there is even more uncertainty about the Red Wings, as Dylan Larkin requested a trade earlier this off-season. If Detroit ends up moving Larkin and the Red Wings once again have a bad year in 2026-27, it could very well lead to them making more significant changes.

The Wings are entering this season with several notable pending UFAs, like Alex DeBrincat, Justin Faulk, John Gibson, Andrew Copp, and Mason Appleton. So, if this season goes south for Detroit again, it could lead to them starting another rebuild or at least being relatively aggressive sellers.

A few weeks ago, Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Don Waddell expressed optimism that the team would sign restricted free agent center Adam Fantilli to an extension before training camp. Unfortunately, in the remaining hours of the final weekend before training camp begins, no contact has materialized.

Furthermore, it appears much will have to change before camp starts on Wednesday to get Fantilli to sign on the dotted line. According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, there has been little, if any, progress between the Blue Jackets and Fantilli.

It’s a mystery what disagreement remains between Columbus and arguably the team’s top center. The leading theory is that Fantilli and his representation are seeking a deal similar to the contracts signed by the two players drafted ahead of him in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Earlier this summer, due to an offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson signed a five-year, $90MM ($18MM AAV) extension in Orange County. In the Midwest, Connor Bedard signed a five-year, $75MM ($15MM AAV) extension with the Chicago Blackhawks.

So far, Carlsson has been an identical comparison to Fantilli. Carlsson has scored 61 goals and 141 points in his first 201 professional games, while Fantilli has netted 67 goals and 140 points in his first 213 contests.

Still, Carlsson’s path to an extension required an extra hurdle, while Bedard signed an extension directly with Chicago.

From the Blue Jackets’ perspective, they can’t reach that level with Fantilli. According to PuckPedia, Columbus has approximately $12.65MM in cap space.

The Blue Jackets can still make Fantilli one of the league’s highest-paid players, but they would be operating far closer to the salary cap’s Upper Limit than they typically do.

Regardless, with other important extensions on the horizon for Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko, the Blue Jackets can’t afford to be without one of their best offensive talents for much longer. As training camp begins next week, one of the sides will have to bend for a contract to be finalized.

The first game of the Red Wings prospect tournament is over, with Detroit managing a thrilling last-second comeback to force overtime and the shootout. Kienan Draper, son of Kris Draper, scored the game-winner in the shootout to give the Red Wings prospects the win over the Dallas Stars prospects.

‘He called his shot. He told us, ‘I’ve got the next one, guys.

And he delivered. So good for him.’ Said Grand Rapids Griffins head coach Dan Watson.

The Red Wings prospects looked sharp for much of the night, though the team gave up back-to-back goals in the second period to go down 3-1 against the Stars. However, the youngsters were able to claw their way back to a tie thanks to goals from Noah Dower-Nilsson and Theo Rochette in the third period.

Trey Augustine, in his debut in the starter’s net for the Red Wings prospects, recovered well from the second period and was lights out after the second goal, including being perfect in the shootout against Dallas to help get the team the win.

The Red Wings have a lot of interesting players to watch in Grand Rapids this year, including Augustine in his first full pro season after a standout career at Michigan State University.

Meanwhile, former Anaheim Ducks center Chris Kreider landed with the Montreal Canadiens after terminating his contract with Anaheim. The Atlantic Division has found itself with some pretty clear winners and losers this offseason, and the Canadiens have firmly established themselves as a winner by securing the veteran 20-goal scorer.

Carter Bear, the Red Wings’ 2025 first-round pick, looked sharp playing against the rest of the prospect pool. Bear had 10 shots on goal and had more than a couple of dangerous chances that could have gone for goals, though the winger had to settle for just an assist on the night.

The former Everett Silvertips captain has made a strong impression as he looks to turn pro. Whether that ends up being with Grand Rapids or Detroit first will depend on the rest of his training camp.

The Boston Bruins are back on the ice today.

The Bruins are in Buffalo today for their first game of the Prospects Showcase. The Bruins have 23 prospects (16 with the organization, seven invites) in western New York, and they’ll be out of there by dinnertime tomorrow.

Day two of Fan Fest (Worcester) was cancelled due to the weather forecast.

Dec 9, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs (37) makes a save against Anaheim Ducks left wing Chris Kreider (20) during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Connor Hellebuyck is stuck in self-imposed limbo on the NHL trade market because other players can block trades to Winnipeg.

Adam Fantilli is stuck in contract limbo because he’s one of the rising young players who wants Leo Carlsson’s money. And the Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to avoid being stuck in limbo altogether.

Yes, the season is here. Elsewhere in the Daily, Elias Pettersson is drawing praise from teammates for his summer prep and new mindset.

And Chris Kreider told several teams not to claim him on waivers. For those of us lamenting the irritations and extra coinage required to watch sports, I have good news in the form of bad news for a sport.

The F1 switch to Apple TV, which I understand most of you don’t really care about, has produced disastrous results. More stats were released this week, but in their biggest races, viewership was down as much as 68% compared to their previous years on ESPN.

That is massive. It’s good to know there’s a boundary, and even American F1 fans who understand that (we) live in a niche market have drawn a line and won’t pay $13 a month just for the races and to watch the otherwise insipid Morning Show.

Nope, we’ll wait for Ted Lasso to finish up, buy it for a month, then dump it. But F1 — tough luck.

And thanks for showing the other sports that they WILL lose money in the long run if they play the streaming shell game. Now, about WWE with their 30-day streaming delay…

Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Residual questions. Which young player could surprise at camp, why do players sign here despite Kyle Dubas’s reputation for overstuffing his camp rosters, and what are the best and worst-case scenarios for this Penguins season?

Vince Comunale submitted a thoughtful piece. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, it’s a good time to look at how hockey has healed in times of strife.

Steelers Now: It’s Game 1. Here are the injuries, depth charts, forecast, predictions, and betting lines for the Steelers vs. Falcons.

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now Sportsnet: The 32 Thoughts Podcast dropped some big chatter on the big names. Is Connor Hellebuyck stuck in Winnipeg because other goalies are blocking trades to the ‘Peg?

And what are his takeaways from interviews with Quinn Hughes and Zach Werenski? Here’s the podcast.

NHLtraderumors.me: Adam Fantilli skipped the Columbus Blue Jackets team golf outing as he awaits a new contract. Now, Aaron Portzlie reports there has been little to no progress between the team and the player.

The Vegas Golden Knights signed captain Mark Stone to a two-year, $18 million contract. The Athletic ($): Chris Kreider signed a one-year, $2.15 million deal with the Montreal Canadiens.

However, Pierre LeBrun reports that Kreider’s agents told teams not to claim him on waivers. Kreider left about $1.85 million on the table this season.

And buried within another story about the short shelf life remaining of the Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin rivalry, Mark Lazerus buried a little nugget about the Seattle Kraken players who were angry about Jason Robertson rejecting a trade to Seattle. I’ve been told there are three Seattles.

There is the city known as Seattle, and there are two little towns just outside of Seattle where the tech folks have moved that are nice. TSN: A new look for Elias Pettersson?

That is the hope for the Vancouver Canucks, who are still all-in on the remaining six years of Pettersson’s contract. At least Brock Boeser sees a difference in Pettersson from this summer.

Philly Hockey Now: OK, you hate ’em, you really hate ’em, but they are also the team that is in closest competition with the Penguins. Here is the projected lineup of the Philadelphia Flyers.

With NHL training camps opening later this week, the vast majority of UFAs who played for the Detroit Red Wings last season are still without work.

James van Riemsdyk, Cam Talbot, Travis Hamonic, and David Perron haven’t found a team willing to take them. Only Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) was able to land a new home.

In the Red Wings world, UFA stands for unemployed free agents.

One ex-Detroit player did find a new home in the past week, though. Dmytro Timashov will be playing in the Slovak League.

He has signed with HK Nitra.

On the eve of the KHL season, Admiral Vladivostok bought out Timashov’s contract.

“I actually don’t know what happened,” Timashov told Swedish website Hockey Sverige.

Timashov played five games for the Red Wings during the 2021-22 season.

The Swiss National League is also about to get underway, and EV Zug may be without a key player who once played for the Red Wings.

Czech forward Dominik Kubalik left the club’s final preseason game with a lower-body injury without any contact from another player. After examining Kubalik’s injury, team officials hope it’s only a muscle ailment, not a structural issue.

Kubalik was a 20-goal scorer for Detroit in 2022-23. He was part of the package that Detroit dealt to the Ottawa Senators in the Alex DeBrincat trade.

There are reports out of Sweden that Swedish international forward and former Red Wings player Jacob de la Rose will be signing an extension to remain with HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the Swiss National League. His contract is set to expire at the end of the current season.

De la Rose played 61 games for the Wings in 2018-19 and 2019-20. He was dealt to the St. Louis Blues for forward Robby Fabbri.

The Czech Extraliga season is also underway. Liberec will be counting heavily on a pair of former Grand Rapids Griffins to lead the way.

Analytically, team captain Radek Simek rates as the best defenseman in the league. He was a Griffins player for nine AHL games late in the 2023-24 season after Detroit acquired him in a trade with the San Jose Sharks.

Up front, Jakub Rychlovsky is back playing in his homeland following two seasons in Grand Rapids. When Rychlovsky most recently played in the Czech Extraliga in 2023-24, he led the league in goals, potting 26 in 51 games for Liberec.

He already has three points in three games with Liberec this season.

It isn’t often that you see a guy with 28 NHL games on his resume playing in a rookie tournament, but for Detroit Red Wings prospect Nate Danielson, it’s more about the games he didn’t play.

A hip injury shut him down for most of the second half of last season. Game action of any kind is vital as he seeks to get back up to speed so he can make a run at an NHL job this fall.

“He needs this,” stressed Dan Watson. The Grand Rapids Griffins coach is running the Detroit bench during the Red Wings’ NHL Rookie Tournament.

The event started Saturday at the Belfor Training Center. Detroit rallied from a 3-1 third-period deficit to beat the Dallas Stars rookies 4-3 in a shootout.

“Some of these guys that have been around for a couple of years, they don’t want to play in these tournaments for different reasons, but he needs this,” Watson said.

“It’s been seven months, I think, since his last competitive game, and we want to give him the best chance heading into camp.

“And so I think this is a great warm-up for him. A great opportunity to compete against other people other than just, you know, like summer hockey skates.

So I think this is big for him, and I thought he looked good tonight.”

Danielson collected an assist on the night and fired six shots on goal. It was his first real game action since February 18 of last season.

He played that night for the Griffins in an AHL game against the Cleveland Monsters.

During his stint with the Red Wings, Danielson displayed tenacity and the ability to be a responsible, 200-foot player. What was alarmingly lacking from his game was any semblance of offensive upside.

He accounted for only two goals and five assists.

“I’d say probably the base thing is just like the execution, probably the pacing,” Danielson said of the challenges of his first NHL experience. “And then, I feel like up there, if you make a mistake, it’s going to get capitalized on.”

Even without the uncertainty surrounding the trade request of Red Wings first-line center Dylan Larkin, the need for offense down the middle is desperate. Veterans Andrew Copp, JT Compher, and Michael Rasmussen certainly aren’t going to be consistent point producers.

Is Marco Kasper a center or a winger? Is he the 19-goal guy of his rookie season, or the nine-goal guy of last season?

If Danielson could fill that void, it would make his selection at ninth overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft look like a wise choice.

“I don’t know if there’s one specific thing that I’m missing,’ Danielson said. “I feel like just kind of a bunch of things.

“I mean, just get better: be a better skater, get stronger, get bigger, get faster. I think having that experience will help me next time I go.”

See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source Congested NHL rookie tournaments are even less conducive for special teams work than forgettable September exhibitions for veterans. With only a practice or two under their belts, the top prospects of the Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators flailed away on the power play all Saturday evening in Gatineau, Que., with eight Toronto chances coming up empty.

Ottawa did manage one on six tries, but gave up a go-ahead goal, short-handed, to Borya Valis, before it rallied in the third to set up Jaxon Cover, 4-3, with 2:11 to go in overtime. Luke Haymes, with four NHL games for the Leafs last year, tapped in Blake Smith’s pinball rebound before Valis’s breakaway.

After two huge playoff assists in the AHL Marlies’ Calder Cup run in June, the goal was a good omen for the 22-year-old right winger. But Kasper Halttunen’s second point of game, a beautiful pass to Eskild Bakke-Olsen, answered Valis, while London Knights grad Cover thieved a puck to win it.

There were many Leaf sweaters in the stands at the Slush Puppy Centre, some no doubt thinking ahead they would witness the unofficial debut of NHL first overall pick Gavin McKenna. But the Leafs revealed after Friday’s practice that the left winger wouldn’t be risked Saturday, or Sunday versus Winnipeg, with Toronto’s main camp about to begin.

So, the large management contingent, including associate coach Daniel Alfredsson in his first visit to his old homestead, could grade a few other forwards, such as Norwegian national Tinus Luc-Koblar, Haymes and Miroslav Holinka. They also checked out the highly regarded home-grown defensive pairing of Ben Danford and Noah Chadwick, joined by 2026 second round OHLer Alexander Bilecki.

Another former Knight, free agent Sawyer Boulton, opened the scoring. Goalie Jackson Parsons, who recorded his first AHL shutout against the Marlies for Belleville last season, stared down all those Toronto power plays, a few curtailed by Leaf infractions.

Ottawa coach Andrew Campbell, the one-time Marlies captain, was glad to see Finnish winger Halttunen fire one past Toronto netminder Timofei Obvintsev on a first-period advantage, a penalty he had also drawn. “He can shoot it,” praised Campbell to Ottawa media earlier in the week of the second-round pick of San Jose from 2023.

“He has that innate, raw ability to put the puck in. I’m excited to see him this weekend.” Obintsev made some nice stops through overtime, though Landen Hookey beat him from distance in the second period.

The Leafs have 2026 Latvian draft pick Patrik Plumins on the trip to start Sunday afternoon’s game against the Jets. Lhornby@postmedia.com X: @sunhornby Why it will be hard for PTO NIck Blankenburg to make the Leafs defence Is Leafs captain Auston Matthews engaged?

DETROIT – Trey Augustine and Arno Tiefensee turned aside shot after shot in the shootout as the first 14 shooters failed to score.

MONTREAL — A $2.15-million, one-year contract for a six-foot-three, 232-pound, 35-year-old winger who has over 1000 games of NHL experience and is still producing at a reasonable rate is hardly a gamble.

You could even say the Montreal Canadiens stole Chris Kreider after the remainder of the player’s six-year, $45.5-million contract with the Anaheim Ducks was ripped up on Thursday.

There was one year left on it, with $4 million owed to Kreider, and he turned away from it — and from bigger-money deals, according to his agent, Matt Keator — to come to Montreal for what will be a maximum of $5.4 million if he achieves bonuses for games played and goals scored.

We’re not yet sure how many games Kreider will have to play, nor how many goals he’ll have to score to max out, but potting 22 goals over 75 games last season landed him in a Canadiens jersey.

The rest, from what we were told, was about fit and comfort for both the player and the team.

Yes, the connection between Kreider and former New York Rangers general manager and current Canadiens president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton certainly helped. As did the one between him and former-Rangers-teammate-turned-Canadiens-coach Martin St. Louis.

And with beloved former Rangers athletic therapist Jim Ramsay and former team services maven Alex Case now in Montreal, Kreider will feel that much more at home.

Perhaps not as much as the Boxford, Mass., native might have felt had he chosen to don the spoked B of the Boston Bruins…

The Canadiens were looking for more offensive punch and felt confident Kreider could bring some of it. They were hoping for more speed and size on the wing and believed Kreider could bring some of it.

They were angling for special-teams depth and were convinced Kreider could bring some of it.

They’ll hardly pay him anything if he fails to, and they’ll be happy to pay him the maximum he can earn if he succeeds, making this an easy decision.

If management was concerned about how Canadiens fans would receive Kreider, they probably got over it, thinking the player’s willingness to regularly crash the net would win them over.

Oh sure, up until Saturday morning, Kreider was still public enemy No. 1 in Montreal for going skates-first into Carey Price during Game 1 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Final. But if Kreider hadn’t fully shed that status by the time his contract with the Canadiens was announced on Saturday afternoon, we’re betting he will as soon as he barrels his way to the crease and scores his first goal at the Bell Centre.

That Kreider is still good enough to have it assisted on by any of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slakfovsky or Ivan Demidov is a big part of the draw here; he’s been a top-six forward since stepping into the league in 2013, and there’s little doubt he can still be one in Montreal.

If not for the Ducks needing to free up cap space to give 41-goal scorer Cutter Gauthier the enormous extension he’s about to get, Kreider would likely still be one in Anaheim. He was a fixture on the top line last season, but he became a far less permanent one on the summer day linemate Leo Carlsson signed Philadelphia’s bank-breaking offer sheet, which the Ducks inevitably decided to match.

Still, Kreider’s departure leaves a hole in Anaheim — and not just at five-on-five, where the bulk of his 25 points were produced alongside Carlsson and Troy Terry.

He also averaged over three minutes per game on the power play, and he even chipped in 30 seconds per game on the penalty kill.

Even if those ice-time allotments flip in Montreal — the Canadiens could use more help on the penalty kill than on the power play — Kreider will be just as relevant here as he was in Anaheim. Especially when you factor in his experience.

The Canadiens, who were the youngest participant in last year’s playoffs, need it. Especially with former elder statesman Brendan Gallagher now in Vancouver.

Kreider arrives two years older than any of his Canadiens teammates, and with at least 226 more games played in the league (regular season and playoffs combined) than any of them. That’s worth close to $2.15 million on its own.

His friendly deal also leaves the team with $7.63 million of cap space, which is a healthy amount to not only sign Zachary Bolduc and/or Arber Xhekaj but also make other changes between now and the start of the season.

We believe general manager Kent Hughes is currently working very hard to make sure Kreider isn’t the last one.

Canadiens, Chris Kreider agree to one-year contract

Best, worst scenarios for every Atlantic Division team

DETROIT — Trey Augustine showed what the fuss is all about, making eight consecutive shootout saves to power the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-3 SO win against the Dallas in their first NHL Prospect Tournament game.

Former Michigan player Kienan Draper, son of assistant general manager Kris Draper, scored Detroit’s lone shootout goal on the team’s eighth attempt. The Red Wings only reached overtime and a shootout because free agent signee Theo Rochette scored with 1:14 left in regulation and Detroit’s goalie pulled.

Augustine has been ranked among the NHL’s best young goalie prospects for the past two seasons. He’s the Red Wings goalie of future, although he will play this in Grand Rapids this season.

Poise and superb positioning are among his chief strengths. That showed in the overtime and shootout.

“I felt a lot better throughout the game,” Augustine said. “I think that’s just because I’m playing hockey again.

There’s nothing like playing games and developing for like younger guys, including myself coming in here. It’s good to get a couple of games in before we head to training camp.”

Finnish prospect Jesse Kiiskinen also scored a power-play goal for Detroit at 8:16 of the second period to tie the game 1-1.

Sutter Muzzatti, the former Notre Dame player acquired from the Nashville Predators, and Carter Bear drew the assists.

What a difference a year has made for 2025 first-round pick Bear, who was coming off an injury last season and couldn’t get going in Detroit’s training camp. He was Detroit’s most visible offensive player in this game, racking up 10 shots on goal.

Noah Dower Nilsson scored with under six minutes left in the third period to pull Detroit within one goal. Theo Rochette scored the tying goal late in the third with the goalie pulled.

Coach Dan Watson said Draper’s GWG was a called shot. “Let’s put it that he told us, “I’ve got the next one guys.’ and he delivered.”.

Former Notre Dame player Muzzazi, son of former NHL goalie Jason Muzzatti, shows some promise. He is a 6-foot-6 forward who kills penalties and offers a net-front presence on the power play.

The Michigan native has offensive instincts. Detroit’s top line at the start of the game was Nate Danielson centering Bear and Kiiskinen.

The Dallas go-ahead goal in the second period was scored by Charlie Paquette, who played for the Red Wings as a free invitee two years ago in this tournament. Then he was drafted by Dallas and played for the Stars in the rookie tournament last year and now this season.

With Augustine pulled, Detroit offseason free-agent addition Theo Rochette sent the game to overtime with a goal with 1:14 remaining in regulation. Danielson and Anton Johansson assisted.

He was a 22-goal scorer in the Swiss League last season. The Red Wings brought him over to determine his AHL/NHL potential.

The Red Wings outshot Dallas 17-4 in the first period, but the Stars outshot them 25-23 the rest of the game

The Detroit rookies play the Penguins rookies at 7 p.m. Sunday at Little Caesars Arena.

When the Oilers decided to take a swing on controversial veteran head coach Mike Babcock earlier this summer, it wasn’t a half-hearted gamble. Edmonton loaded him up with a three-year deal with a coach’s option for a fourth, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports.

The total money is unclear, but that’s certainly quite the guarantee for a bench boss who didn’t make it through training camp during his last return attempt with the Blue Jackets. Babcock, a three-time Stanley Cup Finalist and one-time winner with the Red Wings in 2008, hasn’t coached an NHL game since before the COVID-19 pandemic, having been fired by the Maple Leafs early in the abbreviated 2019-20 campaign.

Every summer, several NHL teams make major moves they hope will propel them into Stanley Cup contention, and every fall, some of those teams begin to feel buyer’s remorse for their summer aggressiveness. Unfortunately for these teams, buyer’s remorse is rarely short-lived and often leads to years of pain; eventually, people lose their jobs.

Good examples include the Nashville Predators in 2024 and the Calgary Flames in the summer of 2023. This fall and winter, there will be teams that feel buyer’s remorse for their summer moves.

So, who could they be?

The San Jose Sharks were among the most aggressive teams this past summer, acquiring Michael Kesselring, Jacob Trouba, Mason Marchment, and Darnell Nurse. The Kesselring and Marchment moves were solid, with Kesselring having the potential to jump into the Sharks’ top four, but the Trouba and Nurse moves could be disasters for the emerging Sharks.

This dynamic has been written about extensively on PHR, but the combination of Trouba and Nurse counts $17.5MM against the Sharks’ cap, and both are on the wrong side of 30. That’s not to say that either player isn’t useful; they both are NHL players.

But their games have warts, which isn’t a deal for defensemen making north of $8MM.

Nurse remains a capable defenseman with a decent skill set, though it isn’t what it once was. For Nurse, the issue has never really been the regular season, although last year wasn’t great.

No, the issue for Nurse and, to be honest, for Oilers fans, was his play in the playoffs, not in any one season but over five seasons. As David Staples of the Edmonton Journal pointed out, Nurse struggled in the playoffs nearly every year Edmonton made it, making him a lightning rod for criticism when games mattered most.

Had Nurse simply been his regular-season self, fans in Edmonton might have begrudged his $9.25MM cap hit, but it wouldn’t have been a major issue overall, just a slight overpay. But when your second-pairing defenseman (who’s paid like a number one defenseman) turns into a below-replacement-level player, that’s a huge issue.

Hopefully, Nurse figures out his game in the playoffs for San Jose; otherwise, they will regret the trade immensely.

Sliding over to Trouba, we’ve written about him as well this summer. The 32-year-old had a bounce-back season last year in Anaheim and is prime for regression this year.

Folks may forget that it was less than two years ago that the New York Rangers dumped Trouba as a cap dump to the Ducks. With the rising salary cap, Trouba was able to catch a raise on his new deal with the Sharks, signing for four years at $8.25MM annually.

As we wrote earlier this summer, that contract for Trouba isn’t likely to age well and will almost certainly lead to buyer’s remorse for the Sharks. Much like Nurse, Trouba will eat up a lot of minutes for San Jose.

He will also make some good offensive plays and lay some big hits in the process. But he will also do a lot of running around in his own end and make a ton of mistakes as he chases the big hits and big plays.

If his skating holds up, he won’t be a disaster, but if his legs go at all in the next few years, this contract could become a problem.

Next up are the Chicago Blackhawks and a couple of questionable moves they made to make the roster resemble that of a playoff contender. The Patrick Kane signing wasn’t an especially good move, but it’s not the contract the Hawks will regret in the coming years.

Bowen Byram was acquired along with Jordan Greenway from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the fourth overall pick, the 45th overall pick, and defenseman Louis Crevier.

Byram is a highly skilled offensive defenseman who can carry the puck and create chances for his teammates. If he fits with Chicago and plays as he did last year alongside the Blackhawks’ top players, he could drive play without hurting the team.

However, if his play reverts to what it was before last season and in the few years prior, the contract will be a major problem for the Blackhawks. Despite his obvious on-ice talents, Byram hasn’t demonstrated that he is an NHL number-one defenseman, yet Chicago gave up a package and signed him to a contract that says he is.

There has long been a gap between Byram’s on-ice results and the skill set he shows when you use the eye test to evaluate his play. Byram is a phenomenal skater and can lead rushes or simply join them, depending on the rush dynamic.

He can also skate his way out of trouble, use his playmaking to set up teammates, or pivot to his shot, which is both accurate and heavy. On the flip side, Byram’s defense is poor; his puck-watching in his own end is a problem, and his defensive reads leave much to be desired.

Should Chicago find Byram the right teammates to support him, he’ll be fine. But if they can’t, it could be a long year for both Byram and the Blackhawks.

Finally, we have the Washington Capitals, who were arguably the NHL’s most aggressive team this summer. The Capitals made some major moves, including a sign-and-trade for forward Alex Tuch, the trade for Jordan Kyrou, and UFA signings such as Boone Jenner and Vincent Desharnais.

Not all of these moves will lead to buyer’s remorse, but three have the potential to go sideways, two of which could happen in a hurry. The Kyrou trade was a solid piece of business for the Capitals, and it’s hard to find fault with the move.

However, Tuch, Jenner and Desharnais all carry significant risk, and the latter carries risk without much upside.

Tuch has been a perennial 30-goal scorer for the past handful of seasons and has the potential to pile up a few good years with Washington’s formidable offense. Tuch is a smart player and should continue to score for a few seasons, but he has already begun to lose some speed and isn’t as willing as he once was to battle along the boards.

He still carries a lot of value, but the concern for Washington is that if he continues to lose skating, it could begin to impact his overall game, which is a lot of risk for a guy being paid $10.5MM per season over the next eight years. Tuch is already 30 and could decline over the next few years, which is likely part of why the Buffalo Sabres were so hesitant to meet his contract demands.

Power forwards don’t age as gracefully as other NHLers, and as Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic put it, “A lot of Tuch’s comps had a relatively harsh age curve that could spell trouble for Washington.”

Beyond Tuch’s mega deal, the Jenner deal was another pricey acquisition for a player whose best days are likely behind him, or very close to being so. Jenner should be a third-liner on the Capitals and bring some leadership, although it’s hard to quantify the leadership a 13-year veteran with exactly one (seven-game) playoff series win will bring.

Jenner adds to the Caps’ center depth, isn’t afraid to get his nose dirty, and will likely remain a tough player to play against and a decent playmaker. But his two-way forward reputation should be set aside, as he is no longer the defender he once was, and that could become a problem in the latter half of this contract if he isn’t able to contribute offensively and his defensive play continues to taper off.

The Capitals likely view the gamble here as a chance to take runs at a Stanley Cup while Alex Ovechkin is still in the NHL, and in a vacuum, it makes sense. It could be short-sighted if Jenner’s play falls off.

Finally, we have defenseman Desharnais, whose signing might have been the most head-scratching at the start of free agency. Washington gave the 30-year-old $4.2MM per season on a four-year deal for a lightly used third-pairing defenseman who produces almost no offense and has fairly pedestrian metrics.

Desharnais is a purely defensive defenceman who can suppress opponents with his long reach and physicality but doesn’t do much else well. He is an NHL defender but isn’t much more than a sixth- or seventh-pairing defenseman, which is a big reason for the sticker shock when folks saw his contract details.

It’s clear Washington sees utility in his skill set, but at the moment it’s hard to justify that kind of acquisition cost, and there is a strong possibility that the Capitals end up regretting the deal fairly early in the term.

While not every move in this article will go sideways for the acquiring team, many teams end up regretting their summer moves, and it’s common for what a general manager does on July 1st to end up costing them their job. It’s no guarantee that San Jose, Chicago, and Washington will all regret their work this summer, but one or more moves could lead to someone losing their job if things go south.

See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source After forward Max Domi was ruled out of training camp for medical reasons, the Maple Leafs have added one more veteran for next week’s beginning of workouts. Defenceman Nick Blankenburg has signed a professional tryout contract with Toronto.

The 5-foot-9 Minnesota native split last season with the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche. He recorded 24 combined points in 61 games, and appeared in five playoff games with the Avs, registering a goal.

During the 2024-25 season, Blankenburg played 60 games with the Preds and had 16 points. It looked like he could match the potential he showed as an offensive blueliner with the University of Michigan.

Undrafted, he joined the Columbus Blue Jackets at the end of his senior year as a Wolverine. But the odds would seem greatly stacked against Blankenburg, given the Leafs added a puck-moving defenceman of the same stature in Emil Andrae in a summer trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, and there will be only four exhibition games for all Toronto defencemen, incumbents and AHL Marlies, to be assessed by management and coaches.

Lhornby@postmedia.com X: @sunhornby Is Leafs captain Auston Matthews engaged? Why Cliff Fletcher's celebration of life was just the party he wanted

Chris Kreider signed a one-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The 35-year-old forward had his contract terminated by the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, one day after he was placed on unconditional waivers and went unclaimed. He had one season remaining on the seven-year, $45.5 million contract ($6.5 million average annual value) he signed with the New York Rangers on Feb.

24, 2020.

Kreider had 50 points (22 goals, 28 assists) in 75 regular-season games and seven points (two goals, five assists) in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games last season, his first with the Ducks after being traded by the Rangers for forward prospect Carey Terrance and a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft on June 11, 2025.

In 14 NHL seasons with New York and Anaheim, Kreider has 632 points (348 goals, 284 assists) in 958 regular-season games and 83 points (50 goals, 33 assists) in 135 playoff games.

He has scored at least 20 goals 11 times, including a career-best 52 in 2021-22, tied with Adam Graves for second-most in a season for the Rangers behind the 54 by Jaromir Jagr in 2005-06.

Kreider joins a Canadiens team which finished third in the Atlantic Division last season (48-24-10) and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.

The Montreal Canadiens have signed left winger Chris Kreider to a one-year contract, the team announced on Saturday.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that this new deal with the Habs costs $2.15 million, with the opportunity for bonuses to add $3 million on top of his base salary.

Kreider, 35, signs this contract with Montreal after his previous contract was mutually terminated with the Anaheim Ducks, making him a UFA on Thursday. That previous deal was a seven-year agreement with a $6.5-million salary cap hit.

Though the final year of his contract fell through with the Ducks, he's coming off a great season. Kreider scored 22 goals and 50 points, finishing sixth on Anaheim in scoring and fourth in goals.

He also averaged 17:03 of ice time in 75 games last year.

Kreider is going into his 15th NHL season, having played 958 regular-season games in his career.

He was also solid for the Ducks in the post-season. In Anaheim's 12 playoff games, Kreider scored two goals and seven points.

He's been a post-season presence in the past, playing a total of 135 games and providing 50 goals and 83 points.

Kreider joins the Canadiens' payroll as one of the lower-paid forwards on the team. His $2.15-million cap hit ranks 10th among Montreal's forwards, with RFA Zack Bolduc still requiring a new contract before the start of the 2026-27 season.

After this acquisition, the Canadiens have a little over $7.5 million remaining in salary cap space. That space will need to be used to re-sign Bolduc, as well as defenseman Arber Xhekaj.

Chris Kreider is heading to Montreal.

The Canadiens have agreed to a one-year contract with Kreider for the 2026-27 season, the team announced on Saturday.

The deal is worth $2.15 million but could reach $3 million with bonuses, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Kreider spent last year with the Anaheim Ducks after 13 seasons with the New York Rangers. He was waived by the Ducks for the purposes of contract termination on Wednesday in an effort to ease their salary-cap crunch.

The 36-year-old skated in 75 games last season, registering 22 goals and 28 assists. He has not dipped below the 20-goal mark in any season since 2017-18.

Kreider could reach the 1,000-game milestone with the Canadiens as he enters this season at 958. He has 348 goals and 284 assists.

The Boxford, Mass. native will bring a veteran presence to the Canadiens roster that is coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

Kreider has been booed in Montreal since colliding with Carey Price during a playoff series with the Rangers in 2014. Price did not play again that spring because of a resulting knee injury.

—With files from The Associated Press

The Canadiens have agreed to terms with winger Chris Kreider on a one-year deal, the team announced Saturday. The deal includes a base salary of $2.15MM with up to $3MM in potential additional performance bonuses, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

It didn’t take long for the former 50-goal man to find a new home after unexpectedly becoming a free agent earlier this week. Kreider, who was entering the final season of a seven-year, $45.5MM extension he inked with the Rangers back in 2020, was placed on unconditional waivers by the Ducks for the purpose of contract termination.

By mutual agreement, Anaheim freed up his $6.5MM cap hit to devote toward a new deal for restricted free agent Cutter Gauthier, while Kreider, who waived his modified no-trade clause to facilitate the move to Orange County last summer, gets to return to a more familiar Eastern Conference environment.

The fit was speculated about since Kreider officially hit unrestricted free agency two days ago, and there’s on-ice sense to it. The 35-year-old is a significant middle-six improvement on the wing after a resurgent season in Anaheim, even if he’s not the second-line center the Habs are still eager to find.

Nonetheless, there will be shock. Kreider has long been one of the more vilified names among the Montreal fanbase.

Way back in the 2014 Eastern Conference Final, Kreider lost an edge on a breakaway as a result of contact with Montreal defender Alexei Emelin in Game 1 and caused a season-ending knee injury to star Habs netminder Carey Price as a result, robbing Montreal of one of its best chances at a Stanley Cup in recent memory.

Still, Kreider, who’s become increasingly injury-plagued in the twilight of his career, has started to hit his stride again. A disastrous 2024-25 campaign in New York limited him to just 30 points (22 goals, eight assists) in 68 games, the only time he’s averaged under half a point per game in a full season in his 14-year career.

In an unfamiliar system in Anaheim, the goal-scoring stayed relatively sluggish, but his overall game saw improvement. He finished the year with a 22-28–50 line in 75 games, his sixth time hitting the 50-point mark.

His 15.8% shooting rate was above career average as well, but he mustered only 1.85 shots on goal per game – also a career-low, excluding his 23-game run as a rookie with the Rangers in 2012-13.

Kreider can still munch minutes, having averaged 17:03 per night for the Ducks. He will undoubtedly get his fair share of power play time, although the Habs’ plethora of younger star power will likely keep him off the top unit.

Where he slots in at even strength remains to be seen. There is an argument for him to get a look as the second-line left wing opposite of youngster Ivan Demidov, a role he held for several years in New York behind Artemi Panarin on the depth chart, but Alex Newhook’s strong 2026 playoff run may have earned him that job to start.

It’s hard to imagine him slotting in any lower than a third-line role.

For now, the move doesn’t carry many salary cap implications for Montreal. They had $9.78MM in projected space to start the season before the signing, per PuckPedia, so they’ll still have a bit of clearance even if Kreider nets all his performance bonuses.

They still do, however, need to re-sign RFAs Zachary Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj. If their combined cap hits exceed $4.63MM, Montreal could end up incurring a bonus overage penalty in 2027-28 if Kreider collects his maximum $5.15MM in compensation and the Habs aren’t smart about in-season cap accrual.

Image courtesy of Brad Penner-Imagn Images.

Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.

Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

As we do each year, PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2026-27 season, though in a slightly different format than before. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.

All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Pacific Division, next up are the Flames.

Current Cap Charge: $89,116,666

Cap Space: $14,883,334

Potential Bonuses: $1.5MM (around half could be reached)

Dead Cap: $3.85MM ($2.4MM retention for Blake Coleman, $1.4MM retention for Nazem Kadri)

Still To Sign: F Brennan Othmann

Othmann was acquired last season but didn’t see much action with his new team, only suiting up twice. He’s eligible for waivers this year and could hang around at the end of a 23-man roster.

Given those expectations, his deal should check in at the minimum salary with the only issue being how much in a two-way agreement is guaranteed money.

Expiring Contracts (RFA): F Adam Klapka ($1.25MM), D Yan Kuznetsov ($812,500)

Klapka played his first full NHL season in 2025-26, providing plenty of physicality while chipping in with 18 points in a fourth-line role. A similar showing coupled with arbitration rights could land him a short-term deal around double his current price tag.

Kuznetsov is an under-the-radar blueliner to keep tabs on. He surprisingly cleared waivers last fall but after just 10 games with the Wranglers, he was back with the Flames for good, taking on big minutes fairly quickly in a top-four role.

He’ll need to play in 22 games to retain his RFA rights which he should do, barring injury. If he remains in a top-four role, he could push past $4MM on a short-term deal, perhaps approaching $6MM on a longer-term pact that buys out several UFA years.

Expiring Contracts (UFA): F Morgan Frost ($4.375MM), D Joel Hanley ($1.75MM), D Brayden Pachal ($1.187,500), F Ryan Strome ($5MM), F Maxim Tsyplakov ($2.25MM)

Strome was acquired effectively as an early cap-clearing move at the trade deadline from Anaheim, giving him a fresh start. While last year was one to forget, he had six straight seasons of 40-plus points before 2025-26.

If given a prominent role, Strome could get back to that level and land something around this price point. If he remains in more of a depth role, then his AAV could fall to somewhere starting with a three.

Frost is an intriguing pending UFA. He didn’t take a big jump forward offensively in his first full season with Calgary but he has three seasons of 40-plus points under his belt and will hit the open market at 28.

Given the demand for centers, he could creep up toward the $6MM mark on his next deal. Tsyplakov had an impressive rookie year in 2024-25 to earn this contract, then had a disastrous season that saw him traded and waived.

Moved to Calgary this summer, he’ll look to rebound. If he doesn’t, he could very well be back in the KHL next season.

Hanley has been a depth defender for several years now and is coming off a career high in games played, helping to earn this deal. He’ll be 36 on his next deal and seems likely to go year-to-year given his role.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see his price tag come down, assuming his games played total dips this season. Pachal is in a similar boat, fighting for regular ice time on a team that is trying to integrate some younger pieces.

If he stays in the reserve role he had last season, it’s hard to forecast him receiving any sort of meaningful raise.

Projected Upper Limit: $113.5MM

Current Cap Charge: $70,041,666 (16 players signed)

Cap Space: $43,458,334

Potential Bonuses: $1.5MM (around half could be reached)

Dead Cap: $1.4MM (Kadri retention)

Frost and Kuznetsov are the headliners from Calgary’s free agent class. They’ll easily have the money to re-sign them and still have more than ample space to add other pieces if GM Craig Conroy wants to flip the switch on the rebuild.

If not, they’re likely to hover closer to the salary floor.

Expiring Contracts (RFA): F Matvei Gridin ($953,750), F Samuel Honzek ($909,166 + $500K in ‘A’ bonuses), D Zayne Parekh ($953,750 + $1MM in ‘A’ bonuses), F Connor Zary ($3.775MM)

The Flames and Zary opted for a bridge deal last summer and he responded with his lowest point total yet. Still, there’s room for optimism that he’ll bounce back and be a capable second liner.

If so, he could push past $6MM on his next deal. If not, he probably would be looking at only a small raise.

Gridin impressed in a half-season of work last year. The 2024 first-rounder should be a full-timer in 2026-27 and could push for top-six playing time fairly quickly.

If that happens, he could be a candidate to skip the bridge pact and sign long-term with what would be a hefty price tag if all went well. If he has more of a path like Zary though, then the bridge pact would probably fall in the $4MM range.

Honzek has a chance to establish himself as a full-timer this year as well but right now, he projects as more of a bottom-six piece. That makes his bonuses unlikely to be reached while he profiles as a bridge candidate contract-wise.

Unless the offense comes around, he won’t be able to reach where Zary is on his current pact.

Parekh was slow-played last year, to put it lightly, to make sure he didn’t accrue a year toward UFA eligibility. He has a lot of offensive upside which gives him a chance to get his price tag up quickly, if he produces.

Contracts given to Brandt Clarke and Pavel Mintyukov (more than $7MM for five years) stand out as potential comparables if things go well. Meanwhile, he has a chance of hitting at least some of his offensive bonuses, depending on his place on the depth chart and power play.

Expiring Contracts (UFA): F Mikael Backlund ($3.25MM), G Devin Cooley ($1.35MM), F Joel Farabee ($5MM), D Zach Whitecloud ($2.75MM)

Farabee bounced back last season, giving the Flames reasonable second-line production at a price tag that’s reasonable for that role. Getting back to 50 points might be tricky but if he can stay at the 20-goal mark, he has a chance to stay around this price point.

However, his output is also in the range where he could be squeezed out as has happened to several free agent wingers this summer. Backlund’s new deal looks like a bargain relative to market value.

Yes, he’s 37 which played a role in that price tag but there’s no reason to think he can’t be a third-line center over the course of this contract. He clearly wants to stay in Calgary and another short-term pact around this price point could be doable.

Whitecloud is someone to keep an eye on. More of a third-pairing player with Vegas, his role changed considerably after being acquired as part of the Rasmus Andersson trade; he averaged more than 20 minutes per game down the stretch.

If that continues to be how he’s deployed, as a top-four, right-shot defenseman, he could be a candidate to draw considerable interest in free agency. He’d be 31 at the time and players with that profile don’t hit the open market too often.

A max-term contract (seven years if he re-signs, six otherwise) could be doable at more than double his current price tag. If the Flames wind up moving him to a team that deploys him like Vegas did, however, his value would take a hit.

His case is one to monitor as a result.

Cooley got his first shot at a full-time backup job and made the most of it, earning a quick extension that already looks on the team-friendly side. If he has two more years like last season’s performance, he should more than double this price tag in free agency, even if he remains simply a regular backup goaltender.

Forecasted Upper Limit: $123MM

Current Cap Charge: $51.1MM (8 players signed)

Potential Bonuses: None

Dead Cap: $1.4MM (Kadri retention)

There could be some pricey contracts from the 2028 class, with Gridin and Parekh being candidates to skip bridge deals while Zary should get a boost as well. Meanwhile, Whitecloud could be eyeing a significant boost of his own.

However, given Calgary’s cap space, they will have plenty of room to accommodate these.

Expiring Contracts (RFA): None

Expiring Contracts (UFA): D Jacob Middleton ($4.35MM), F Martin Pospisil ($2.5MM)

Pospisil had a rough year last season while dealing with injuries but had at least 24 points and 238 hits in each of the two previous campaigns. If he can stay healthy and get back to those levels, he could approach the $4MM mark given some of the comparables we saw this summer.

Middleton comes over from Minnesota in the Blake Coleman trade and it will be interesting to see if he has the same role increase as Whitecloud. He was more of a third-pairing piece last year but had been a top-four option for a few years before that.

If he gets back there, he could approach $6MM or so on his next deal. If he’s used more like he was last season on the third pair, however, then he might just be looking at a small bump from this.

Forecasted Upper Limit: $133.5MM (8.5% increase)

Current Cap Charge: $42.85MM (6 players signed)

Potential Bonuses: None

With a fairly small free agent class, Conroy can afford to keep both players and put most of the projected cap increase toward upgrading his roster as by this point, they should be back to trying to push for a playoff spot.

Expiring Contracts (RFA): None

Expiring Contracts (UFA): F Yegor Sharangovich ($5.75MM)

Sharangovich had a great first year in Calgary in 2023-24 to earn this contract but has struggled since then. He bounced around their lineup and has produced more like a third liner at a price tag well above that.

The rising cap should help the negative value standpoint but if the Flames are closer to the cap ceiling by then, this contract could be a problem for them. He has a long way to go to rebound enough to earn this type of money on his next deal.

For that season, there will be a new CBA in place so trying to forecast the cap and cap space basically becomes a guessing game. Accordingly, we’ll go back to the old Deep Dive format for players signed beyond the 2030-31 campaign.

At this point, Sharangovich shouldn’t feel like a huge priority to worry about so Calgary should have extra wiggle room to work with cap-wise at this time.

D Kevin Bahl ($5.35MM through 2030-31)

F Matthew Coronato ($6.5MM through 2031-32)

F Jonathan Huberdeau ($10.5MM through 2030-31)

D Simon Nemec ($7.25MM through 2030-31)

G Dustin Wolf ($7.5MM through 2032-33)

Huberdeau was supposed to be a top-line player for Calgary to help replace Matthew Tkachuk but that hasn’t happened. He has been more of a second liner and is coming off an injury-riddled campaign.

He’ll be 38 when this deal is up and it wouldn’t be shocking if there wasn’t another contract. Otherwise, he’ll be going year-to-year at a much lower price tag.

Coronato skipped the bridge deal to get this agreement. He actually led the team in scoring last season, albeit with just 45 points, effectively second-line production.

As this deal ages, this price tag will be more appropriate for someone in that role, even if his production stays at this level. If it improves, he could check in closer to $10MM on his next pact, especially since he’ll only be 29 at that time.

Nemec got the change of scenery he was hoping for to try to prove that he can be a top-pairing player. If he can do so with the Flames, this will be a nice bargain and he’ll be eyeing a double-digit AAV on his next deal.

If he’s more of a second-pairing piece, the increase may be much more incremental. Bahl has logged some hard minutes over his two seasons in Calgary.

He won’t produce much offensively to push his price tag toward Nemec’s territory, for example, but as a steadying second-pairing piece, he could land an extra million or two on his next contract.

Smaller goalies don’t often get the runway that taller ones do but Wolf has shown himself to be a legitimate starting netminder, capable of stealing games. That last bit may not be ideal in a rebuild but it bodes well for the future.

If Wolf stays on his current trajectory, he’ll be looking at a double-digit AAV on his next contract, making him one of the top-paid netminders in the league.

The salary cap shouldn’t be an issue for the Flames anytime soon. They have more than ample space in the short term, giving them lots of flexibility to re-sign their current players.

Eventually, when they emerge from their rebuild, they should have plenty of room to add veteran pieces to supplement their current group.

Photo courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect.

While there are still several unsigned RFAs around the NHL who still don't have contracts for the season that starts in a few weeks, many more are on expiring deals that could cost their employers a lot of money.

At a time when teams seem to be terrified of letting even a UFA enter the final year of his deal without an extension in place, they remain content to let RFAs play contract years and, potentially, put themselves in a position for a huge extension.

These are some key youngsters in that group to watch as 2026-27 begins.

1. WILL SMITH, LW, SAN JOSE SHARKS

We all saw what Macklin Celebrini got from the San Jose Sharks. While Will Smith isn't likely to approach the $18.8-million average annual value the superstar center did, the asking price is certainly rising for all players who, like Smith, were second on their team in points.

Coming off his second season in the NHL, Smith registered 24 goals and 35 assists for 59 points in 69 games. His numbers seem poised to take another big step in 2026-27.

If so, the Sharks might suddenly, and almost out of nowhere, find themselves paying two guys more than $15 million apiece on their second contracts.

2. KIRILL MARCHENKO, RW, COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

Kirill Marchenko might not be playing for his next deal as auditioning to get traded.

After he put up 58 goals and 83 assists for 141 points over the last two seasons - 45th in league-wide scoring - he can ask for a lot of money. But rumors have persisted all season that he may not want to be with the Columbus Blue Jackets long-term.

As such, every goal he scores and every assist he picks up will not only net him a few more dollars, but also increase interest in him around the league.

Columbus has said they won't trade him without a deal that makes them better, so he can increase that interest with a strong season.

3. MATVEI MICHKOV, LW, PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

Matvei Michkov's continued up-and-down situation with the Philadelphia Flyers has now stretched across two coaches, and it seems that all involved want a clean slate for this season.

But even with those difficulties - benchings, public criticisms, etc. - Michkov has produced, scoring 20 goals and 51 points in 81 games last year. A little more understanding between himself and coach Rick Tocchet could go a long way toward getting him closer to being a point-a-game player in his contract year.

4. LUKE EVANGELISTA, RW, NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Luke Evangelista just got traded to the New Jersey Devils. And since their scoring depth has been sorely lacking, he, along with fellow newcomer Anthony Mantha, will be put in a position to put up a ton of secondary offense.

Can he improve on his 12 goals in 81 games last year? Probably, because he shot under seven percent last season.

So if he combines that with more assists, there's a real chance he and the Devils find a fruitful deal beyond this season.

5. JOEL HOFER, G, ST. LOUIS BLUES

Taken as a whole, Joel Hofer's 2025-26 season was quite good for the St. Louis Blues. But he was still a little too prone to having a bad night or three mixed in with some stellar performances.

But with Jordan Binnington in a contract year himself, now is the chance for Hofer to definitively take the starting position and smooth out his night-to-night game.

If it goes well, he could get the same kind of deal the Blues gave Binnington several years ago (six years at $6 million per season), or do even better than that.

6. RYAN LEONARD, RW, WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Ryan Leonard's rookie year was very good, seeing him putting up 20 goals and 45 points in 75 games. Lots to like.

But then the Capitals went out and added a ton of offensive depth this summer.

Leonard is a natural right winger, but he played the left side a bunch last year, so it seems that experiment will continue. But as Alex Ovechkin ages, can Leonard pick up a little more power-play time, shooting opportunities, and other roles that will put him in line for a big raise from his entry-level deal?

It's one of the key storylines of the Washington Capitals' season and could be a big decision point for their future as well.

The upcoming fourth season of the PWHL will see massive progress in expanding when it comes to viewership, team expansion, and the overall growth of women's hockey.

With training camp opening on Nov. 18 and pre-season beginning Nov.

22, here are some of the major storylines going into the 2026-27 season.

A 72-player rookie class across six rounds, including 42 forwards, 22 defenders, and eight goaltenders, with eight countries represented, including five U.S. Olympic gold medalists and 23 Olympians in total.

Caroline Harvey was selected first overall by the Vancouver Goldeneyes and is the first defender to be selected first overall in a PWHL draft. Harvey was drafted from the University of Wisconsin, where she captained the team during the 2025-26 season and made the USA Olympic team, scoring two goals and nine points.

Her last season with the Wisconsin Badgers was her best, as she notched 64 points in 33 NCAA outings.

Abbey Murphy, drafted second overall from the University of Minnesota to the Seattle Torrent, had 40 goals and 66 points in 31 games, leading the NCAA in points per game in 2025-26. Meanwhile, she averaged a point per game at the 2026 Olympics, assisting the United States to their gold medal with seven points in seven games.

Tessa Janecke from Penn State University, selected third overall by PWHL Las Vegas, one of the four expansion teams, is the franchise's first-ever draft pick. Her time with Penn State ends with her as the all-time leader with 201 points during her four-year campaign.

She also contributed to the gold medal in Milano Cortina.

Hamilton, San Jose, Detroit, and Las Vegas are the four expansion teams to join the league this coming season.

During Phase Two, titled the “foundational period,” the four new franchises had five foundational players selected.

PWHL Detroit: Daryl Watts, who was the first player to sign with a 2026 expansion team, Hannah Bilka, Jesse Compher, Britta Curl-Salemme, and Cayla Barnes.

PWHL Hamilton: Emily Clark, Nicole Gosling, Brianne Jenner, Alina Muller, and Kayle Osborne.

PWHL Las Vegas: Erin Ambrose, Mae Batherson, Kendall Cooper, Hilary Knight, and Hayley Scamurra.

PWHL San Jose: Anne Cherkowski, Rory Guilday, Kristin O’Neill, Corinne Schroeder, and Maddi Wheeler.

U.S. BROADCASTING RIGHTS DEAL SIGNED

The first-ever season-long U.S. television agreement was signed with Scripps Sports, a broadcaster serving college and professional sports with partnerships with the WNBA, the NWSL, WTGL, MLV, and PCL.

With the addition of the PWHL partnership, Scripps Sports will televise a featured Saturday'Game of the Week,' while having three national broadcast windows each week airing on ION, the company's national sports and entertainment network, which reaches 128 million households nationally and will return as the home for the Walter Cup final while airing a Walter Cup playoff series.

With so much excitement surrounding the upcoming season, there are some standout skaters who will not take the ice at all or will be delayed in the 2026-27 season.

Marie-Philip Poulin is a big missing presence, undergoing surgery in July to repair a torn ACL and meniscus in her right knee. Choosing to delay surgery while helping to lead the Montreal Victoire to a Walter Cup championship, she faces a nine- to 12-month recovery timeline, which leaves the 35-year-old missing most, if not all, of the PWHL season.

Blayre Turnbull, who has served as the captain of the Toronto Sceptres since their inaugural season, is the first player to miss a season on maternity leave while expecting her first child. She is expected to return at the beginning of the 2027–2028 season.

Earlier this week, there was a late entrant to the free agent market when the Ducks and winger Chris Kreider agreed to a mutual contract termination. The move opened up needed cap space for Anaheim while Kreider now gets to pick where he wants to play next.

While initial reporting said that Kreider’s desire is to return to the East, that doesn’t mean he’s only considering teams in the Eastern Conference. His agent, Matt Keator, told Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe (Twitter link) that while Kreider’s preference is indeed to sign in the East, he will entertain all options

With training camps now only a few days away from getting underway, we’ll likely start to see an uptick in tryout contracts in the near future. It appears one of those will come from the Maple Leafs as Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe reports that defenseman Nick Blankenburg will attend training camp with Toronto.

The 28-year-old has had a chance to play more of a regular role the last two seasons after being more of an organizational depth piece beforehand. Blankenburg had 16 points in 60 games with Nashville in 2024-25, while averaging over 19 minutes per night in what was a breakout year of sorts for him.

Blankenburg was able to build on that last season. He had 21 points in 49 games with the Predators in a little under 18 minutes per night but with Nashville being destined to miss the playoffs, he was moved to Colorado at the trade deadline.

The Avalanche flipped a fifth-round pick to acquire Blankenburg to deploy him in the depth role he had previously been more accustomed to. He got into a dozen regular season games with the Avs, notching three points while adding a goal in five playoff contests, though in much less ice time than he had before the swap.

Blankenburg consistently posts positive possession and underlying numbers but didn’t have much success on the open market this summer. A big part of that likely has to do with his size as he stands just 5’9, a size that not many teams are comfortable with having on their back end unless it’s an elite performer.

Toronto isn’t necessarily one of those teams after new GM John Chayka targeted blueliner Emil Andrae in a pre-draft trade with Philadelphia.

As far as depth tryouts go for training camp, Blankenburg is a wise one for Toronto. Chris Tanev is still working his way back from surgery and if he’s not cleared for the start of the season despite his hopes to be so, Blankenburg could serve as a viable extra piece.

Toronto is more than $2.75MM above the Upper Limit, per PuckPedia. However, Max Domi will be out for the start of training camp while recovering from offseason surgery and is a strong candidate to land on LTIR.

That would give the Maple Leafs enough wiggle room to add Blankenburg on a minimum-salary deal (or close to it) and still be in cap compliance when the regular season starts for them later this month.

” A favourite Cliff Fletcher remark as one of his team meetings, post-game bar sessions or a family-and-friends party he’d arranged kept swelling in numbers. Friday night at the Hockey Hall of Fame would’ve topped ‘em all, just as the beloved NHL exec had planned his celebration of life.

About 300 people came from a few blocks away to right across North America and Europe to honour the man who influenced half a dozen NHL cities and beyond, won a Stanley Cup, re-ignited love of the moribund Maple Leafs and enriched the lives of so many on the ice and at all levels of the sport.

Fletcher, whose last role was a senior advisor of the Maple Leafs, died at his home in Arizona in June at age 90, “earning his pay cheque until the very end” son Chuck Fletcher reminded the crowd. But he’d stipulated long before that grief should give way to a gathering of those who shared his 70-year hockey journey to retell some of the game’s greatest stories.

“That was the true gift of my Dad – he stayed connected,” daughter Kristy eulogized. “He was incapable of holding a grudge, even when he had reason to.

He just thought life was too short.” Who did Fletcher influence among hockey executives? On the Great Hall’s stage, beside the Cup he won with Calgary in 1989, beneath his smiling portrait from his 2004 induction, the accolades rolled out from management cronies.

They stretched back to his formative days; Scotty Bowman (Montreal and St. Louis), David Poile (Atlanta Flames) and Kyle Dubas, only in his 20s when he began a special bond with Cliff as Leaf assistant GM that continued as GM of Pittsburgh. In another corner, Fletcher’s peers Ken Holland, Lou Nanne, Brian Burke and Jim Devellano congregated.

Which prominent players did Fletcher trade? Those players that ’the Silver Fox’ was most notable for wheeling and dealing – Lanny McDonald, Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark – all gave heartfelt tributes.

Mats Sundin was applauding at the back, the controversial 1994 centrepiece of the Clark trade, indebted to Fletcher for a career change to Leafs captain, franchise points leader and who just inherited his advisor role. The Flames won their Cup in the Forum of Fletcher’s native Montreal, well represented Friday by Poile, who shared an Atlanta parking lot trailer with his boss before their expansion team arena was built and original play-by-play man Jiggs McDonald.

Coach Terry Crisp led the Calgary contingent, including Jamie Macoun, Rick Wamsley and Ric Nattress, all part of Fletcher’s record 10-player trade when he switched roles to Toronto. Chuck, Kristy, Fletcher’s wife, Linda, his sisters and four grandchildren shared personal stories, Chuck recounting being Ray Shero’s assistant with Pittsburgh and the latter suggesting Cliff, in his second stint with the Leafs, would give the Pens a break acquiring Toronto defenceman Hal Gill.

But Cliff gave his son no quarter in trying to bluff and squeeze and eventually getting an extra draft pick out of him. Cliff Fletcher, Calgary's Stanley Cup architect and Maple Leafs GM, dead at age 90 Inside story of Cliff Fletcher, hockey's greatest dealmaker from those who knew him How Cliff Fletcher made an impact on new Maple Leafs coach Jim Hiller What is Fletcher’s legacy?

Grandson Will wore the ‘89 Flames’ Cup ring bequeathed to him on Friday; brother Owen the 1993 Norris Division championship bauble created for the Leafs; Chuck’s son Keith his Hall of Fame ring. Attendees also spanned player agents, scouts, trainers, broadcasters and beat writers.

Many of us in the latter group appreciated that tap on the shoulder from Fletcher after what appeared to be a slow day and routine morning practice. “Don’t make dinner plans with your family tonight,” he’d warn, a tip that a trade or signing was imminent.

There was the loyal old guard of Gardens’ employees; media relations, accountants, usherettes, and maintenance workers whom Fletcher would load on the Leafs road trip charter at playoff time in reward for their unglamourous service. “He treated the Zamboni driver the same as the team owner,” said son-in-law Jim Neish.

Host Gord Miller repeated another famous Fletcher axiom in closing Friday’s salute: “If the worst thing they can say about you is that you were too good to people, I’m okay with that.” Lhornby@postmedia.com X: @sunhornby

The Vegas Golden Knights have put pen to paper on a contract extension for captain Mark Stone, the team announced on Saturday. Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon signed the 34-year-old to a two-year deal at $9 million per season against the salary cap.

This contract for Stone will kick in following the upcoming season, will activate for 2027-28, and will expire after 2028-29.

Stone is going into the final year of his eight-year, $76-million contract, which costs $9.5 million against the cap. That was the first deal he signed with Vegas.

The right winger's new deal is a $500,000 cut from his current deal.

Selected 178th overall in the sixth round of the 2010 draft by the Ottawa Senators, the veteran is entering his 16th NHL season and his ninth with the Golden Knights. Since joining Vegas in 2018-19, he's played 400 regular-season games for the club, scoring 136 goals and 396 points.

This past year, Stone notched 28 goals and 73 points in 60 appearances. He also scored an additional seven goals and 12 points in 17 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, helping his team reach the final.

Stone, third in all-time points for the Golden Knights, is just 21 points behind Jonathan Marchessault's 417 points as the franchise's all-time leading scorer. Stone also has a Stanley Cup under his belt, as Vegas hoisted the Cup in 2023.

Internationally, the Winnipeg native was a big part of Team Canada, representing his nation at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics. At the Olympics, Stone registered two goals and four points, tying for seventh on the team in scoring.

Mark Stone signed a two-year, $18 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. It has an average annual value of $9 million and begins next season.

The 34-year-old forward is in the final season of an eight-year, $76 million contract ($9.5 million AAV) he signed with Vegas on March 8, 2019, and could have become an unrestricted free agent. His 73 points (28 goals, 45 assists) in 60 games last season were third on the Golden Knights, and he had 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help Vegas reach the Stanley Cup Final, a six-game loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

"Mark and I have talked probably the most out of any player this summer just because I think he's a very good captain," first-year coach Ryan Craig told the Golden Knights website on Aug. 28.

"He's somebody that we talk about a legacy, that wants to win another Stanley Cup, that wants to continue to build that. He's a good conduit for me between our team.

"I think he's very, very well respected in our dressing room. It meant a lot to me that he showed up on the day I was announced head coach.

I think we've had some very good face-to-face conversations, some phone conversations. He's going to be somebody along with our leadership group that I lean a lot on.

You talked about the grind of the season and those kinds of things that we have to make sure we're on the same page.

Stone missed 16 games last season from Oct. 20-Nov.

24 with a wrist injury, a 6-4 win at the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 25 and was sidelined five games from March 3-10 with a lower-body injury.

He also did not play Games 4-6 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Anaheim Ducks and Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche because of an undisclosed injury, returning for Game 3 of the conference final to help the Golden Knights to a four-game sweep.

Stone, acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 25, 2019, was named the Golden Knights' first captain Jan.

13, 2021. He became the first player in the NHL modern era (since 1943-44) to help a team win the Stanley Cup for the first time as its first captain when he had the third hat trick in a Cup-clinching 9-3 victory against the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Final.

His 84 points (43 goals, 41 assists) in 102 games are the most in Golden Knights playoff history since they joined the NHL as an expansion team for the 2017-18 season.

The Golden Knights on Sept. 10 signed forward Braeden Bowman to a six-year, $20.4 million contract ($3.4 million AAV) that also starts next season.

They open the regular season at home in Craig's NHL head coaching debut against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sept. 29.

The NHL's newest GMs were busy this summer. Heading into the 2026-27 season with a heavy to-do list, John Chayka overhauled much of the Toronto Maple Leafs roster, Chris MacFarland moved pieces for the Nashville Predators, Sunny Mehta built a deeper roster with the New Jersey Devils, and Jarmo Kekalainen, in his first off-season, managed heavy turnover with the Buffalo Sabres.

Who did the most admirable job of all the new GMs in the NHL? Grading each of their first off-seasons with their teams is subjective, given that only Buffalo has played games under the new regime.

Nonetheless, here are our grades for those four GMs.

CHRIS MACFARLAND, NASHVILLE PREDATORS: C+

MacFarland reshaped the middle six of his roster, adding Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Mavrik Bourque, Alex Kerfoot and Nils Hoglander. However, he did so by giving up former first-rounders Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L'Heureux.

He did get picks back in the Luke Evangelista trade to the Devils, but moving the 24-year-old right winger weakened the Predators' lineup.

The feeling is that he’s improved the roster enough to avoid being a lottery team, but how competitive they’ll be remains unclear.

JOHN CHAYKA, TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: B

Far and away the busiest off-season of the four GMs on this list. He made seven trades, several signings, a total front-office and coaching overhaul, plus landing Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick.

The Darren Raddysh sign-and-trade and Nick Paul acquisition from the Tampa Bay Lightning were strong moves. The Sergei Bobrovsky bet - three years at $7 million per season for a 38-year-old - is the biggest swing that could either look brilliant or bad.

There are questions in Toronto. They lack a true No. 1 defenseman.

JARMO KEKALAINEN, BUFFALO SABRES: B+

It’s a lot to lose, both Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram, in the same off-season following one of the best runs by the franchise in years. But Kekalainen got assets back.

He leveraged their exits into the fourth overall pick of the 2026 draft, defenseman Olen Zellweger, Louis Crevier, and other assets, while also locking up Zach Benson to a seven-year contract and re-signing Peyton Krebs and Zellweger.

Tuch and Byram were essentially forced departures, and many GMs in that position might have struggled to maximize value out of their respective exits. If there’s a reason to be critical, it’s because he didn’t land the big goalie.

There’s still time, as the Sabres are one of the teams possibly linked to Winnipeg Jets star Connor Hellebuyck.

SUNNY MEHTA — NEW JERSEY DEVILS: A

Mehta made two headline moves, both well received. He flipped the disgruntled defenseman Simon Nemec to the Calgary Flames for two protected first-rounders, a second, and a prospect.

He then added Evangelista to give the Devils one of the deeper forward groups in the NHL.

Adding Anthony Mantha on a two-year, $9.5-million contract may turn out to be one of the more savvy moves of the off-season. And if New Jersey can somehow land Quinn Hughes, Mehta would be the clear winner among all new GMs.

It must be noted that there are questions in the crease after sending Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers. They'll be turning to Jake Allen, Nico Daws and David Rittich between the pipes next season.

The captain of the Golden Knights won’t be moving on when his current contract expires next summer. Instead, Mark Stone will be staying in Vegas as the team announced that they’ve signed the winger to a two-year, $18MM contract extension.

The 34-year-old has spent parts of seven years with the Golden Knights after being acquired from Ottawa late in the 2018-19 season. The swap has proven to be quite effective for Vegas as Stone, when healthy, remains a legitimate top-line winger.

Meanwhile, the package that went to the Senators featured three players who are now out of the league, defenseman Erik Brannstrom and forwards Oscar Lindberg and Egor Sokolov.

Stone has played in 400 games for Vegas since the swap, tallying 396 points overall. However, he has yet to play more than 66 games in a single season for the Golden Knights as he continues to deal with lingering back issues that required multiple surgeries, a ruptured spleen, and some recent upper- and lower-body injuries last season.

Vegas was able to use LTIR on Stone to its full advantage on multiple occasions, a loophole that has subsequently been tightened with the requirement of cap-compliant playoff lineups.

Despite the injuries, near point-per-game two-way forwards are hard to come by and are quite valuable. Stone’s actually coming off his best season from a point-per-game perspective, tallying 28 goals and 45 assists in just 60 games; his 73 points matched a career high from 2018-19 but he needed 77 games to reach the mark then.

The veteran had a productive postseason, notching a dozen points in 17 contests but was slowed by a lower-body injury sustained in the second round that caused him to miss time then and in the Western Conference Final. He also suited up for Canada at the Winter Olympics, picking up four points.

This deal actually represents a small pay cut from his current contract. Stone will have a cap hit of $9.5MM for the upcoming season.

His current deal contains a no-move clause and while that information is not yet known, it would be surprising if that wasn’t the case with this new one as an incentive to leave money on the table. It’s fair to say that Stone would have have been able to command more than this had he made it to the open market next summer where he likely would have been one of the top players available.

Meanwhile, he’ll get to extend his stay with an organization that he has had plenty of success with – including a Stanley Cup title in 2023 – while staying with a team willing to be patient in terms of his ongoing injury management. It’s unlikely that either side is expecting Stone to play more than he has been in recent years as they look to make sure he’s as healthy as possible for the playoffs or late-season postseason push.

With the signing, Vegas now has $91.975MM in commitments for the 2027-28 season to 16 players, per PuckPedia. They still have several pending unrestricted free agents of note to try to lock up, headlined by center William Karlsson, defenseman Parker Wotherspoon, and goaltender Carter Hart.

Photo courtesy of Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports.

We saw a pair of offer sheets this summer around the NHL with New Jersey’s offer to Utah’s Barrett Hayton and a record-setting offer from Philadelphia to Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson; both were ultimately matched. While no others were signed, it doesn’t mean that others weren’t pursued.

One of the targets who ultimately didn’t sign one was Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson. The blueliner acknowledged to Aftonbladet’s Anton Johansson that there was some interest from other teams this summer but declined to go into further details than that.

Meanwhile, there had only been cursory talks prior to Steve Yzerman’s departure as GM with a short-term offer put on the table that went nowhere.

Edvinsson’s situation, of course, is in flux at the moment with the Red Wings without a full-time GM at the moment. While acting GM Shawn Horcoff has some flexibility to make smaller moves, a contract of this magnitude will be left to the new top executive, whenever they’re hired.

The 23-year-old has quickly become a core piece of Detroit’s back end, chipping in a bit offensively and logging some big minutes. Last season, Edvinsson had nine goals and 16 assists in 72 games while recording 148 blocks in more than 22 minutes per night of playing time.

He is developing into the top-pairing player the Red Wings hoped he would be when they drafted him sixth overall in 2021.

Edvinsson indicated earlier this week that he will take the rare step of attending training camp without a contract. Most restricted free agents don’t do so, although in this case, Edvinsson’s situation is somewhat rare himself.

The absence of a contract to this point isn’t due to a holdup in discussions but rather that there isn’t someone on Detroit’s end designated to hold those discussions. That means it’s not the typical situation where the player is holding out to try to get a better deal.

Even so, it would be surprising to see Edvinsson take part in the preseason. He’d be capped at two games anyway under the new rule preventing veterans with 100 or more games of NHL experience from suiting up more than twice.

But that would still be risking injury if he did play in his allotted games which could materially affect contract discussions.

In the meantime, with Tuesday’s deadline to sign an eight-year deal looming, it’s looking less and less likely that Edvinsson will be signing one of those, especially with no new GM in place yet. Whenever Yzerman’s replacement is hired, it’s safe to say that Edvinsson’s case will be priority number one to make sure he’s locked up under contract before their regular season opens up on October 2nd.

Nov 8, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals center Hendrix Lapierre (29) skates with the puck as Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) defends in the third period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images The offseason is blessedly at an end, and within days the Pittsburgh Penguins will begin answering questions both publicly and on the ice.

Why trade for Hendrix Lapierre and keep adding players who would fill similar roles? Why not acquire a third reliable left-handed defenseman?

Will they trade away veterans? Those are just a few of the escalating questions hovering beneath the bigger picture of the Penguins’ potential this season.

And for the record, some around the Washington Capitals organization were even excited by the Penguins acquiring Lapierre because they thought the popular human would get a fresh start and a new chance. After all, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas handed over a 2027 third-round draft pick and a 2028 fifth-round draft pick for him, but he would appear to be no better than the 13th forward this season.

Beyond Lapierre, there are a handful of players hoping for that big chance, but they will likely be hampered, if not restricted, by having only three full-squad practice days before preseason games and cuts begin. In fact, word around the team Friday was that a few soft decisions had already been made, though they could be changed with performances that merit consideration.

Following PHN’s Q&A Thursday, there remained some larger questions and deeper analysis to address. More Penguins Questions Why do free agents continue to sign here since they would likely be aware of GMKD’s track record of oversigning players?

Is it the possibility of playing with Crosby/Malkin? Do they not have better options elsewhere?

— Dsb I have wondered that, too, but there is a very definitive and specific answer, at least from the team side. While Dubas has touted the Penguins as a destination for players seeking both opportunity and the elite support through the sports science department and coaching, it would seem only the latter is true.

In the case of Lapierre, or even David Gustafsson, who has 149 NHL games to his credit and was acquired in a trade for Jack St. Ivany, opportunity is sparse. While the Penguins have not yet released their training camp roster, there will likely be very few tryouts or invites beyond contract players.

To specifically answer why the Penguins have no issue adding players well above the depth threshold, it is simply because Dubas does not fear losing players on waivers. He briskly confirmed that in one of his first press conferences.

Following the Erik Karlsson trade, Dubas spoke on Aug. 7, 2023, and addressed his philosophy.

“We’re not going to be afraid to use waivers to get flexibility or lose guys. I’ve never operated that way.

You never know. You have this fear that if you put a guy on waivers, he’s going to go elsewhere,” said Dubas that day.

“We’ll just put them on (waivers), and we’ll wish them well. If they go and show us they’re better elsewhere, we’ll be happy for them.” But no, D, if I were in that bubble space and had options, it doesn’t sound like you or I would choose the Penguins.

Which young player could surprise at training camp and make the roster like Kindel did last season? My picks are Tommy Galvas and Jake Livanavage.

Rob71 You may have one with Livanavage. It’s unlikely, but he does have a lefty stick and one game of NHL experience.

Livanavage skates quite well and had a full college career at the University of North Dakota—a blue-blood program playing in the “Palace on the Prairie,” perhaps the most beautiful hockey rink in North America, the Ralph Engelstad Arena. Livanavage is undersized at 5-foot-10, 174 pounds, and will most likely need some AHL seasoning, but he does have a chance.

But we have to be real about Galvas. In development camp and the first day of practice for the Prospects Challenge, he hasn’t been a standout.

He’s incredibly light at 5-foot-10, 168 pounds, and while scouts like his skating, he’s playing slowly, probably still “thinking” here. Galvas is 20 years old, but he’s a late bloomer, which is why he was undrafted in his first two drafts.

Move him to your long-range radar. If there is anyone who will steal that third-pairing lefty spot, it will be 2022 first-rounder Owen Pickering.

What are this season’s best-and worst-case scenarios, and what would be the downstream effects of each? -GovP The easy answer is playoffs or a first-overall pick, eh?

However, in that answer also lies both a duality and a polarity of the Penguins’ current path. Would getting a top-three pick be a worst-case scenario for a rebuilding team?

Heck no. Would making the playoffs be a bad thing? Of course not, and it certainly beats winning too many games to get a top-10 pick but missing the postseason altogether.

So, the worst-case scenario for this team is in the middle. Keeping Erik Karlsson for a playoff run but missing the playoffs.

Keeping veterans, such as Rickard Rakell, but winding up with the 15th overall pick. That would be regrettable.

Frankly, that’s by far the worst-case scenario. Anything else has enough silver linings and positive effects to be a good thing in the long run.

Commit this to memory for next June: The top players (Bo Byram, Brady Tkachuk) were acquired in trade packages that included a top-10 pick, while multiple players (Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Dorofeyev, etc.) were acquired for a top-16 pick, which then required significant additional compensation. The worst-case scenario is the middle.

The Toronto Maple Leafs made extensive roster renovations this summer, remaking their entire bottom-six forward group and their goaltending tandem while also adding a couple of defensemen. But while new Maple Leafs GM John Chayka has done yeoman’s work remaking his lineup, the best-laid plans of any team can be waylaid by the injury bug.

Thus, depth is incredibly important for the Leafs this season. They can’t afford to miss the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second straight year, and they can’t let injuries be an excuse for faltering and free-falling down the Atlantic Division standings.

Which players in Toronto will be leaned on if some NHLers start the season with fall by the wayside due to injuries? In no particular order, here are five of those players.

For much of last season, Bo Groulx was an afterthought, almost certainly destined to spend the entire year in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies. However, numerous injuries gave him an opening on the Leafs.

The 26-year-old Groulx took full advantage of it by putting together his best NHL performance by far: in 13 games, he posted three goals and five points.

Groulx is entering the final season of his contract, and he’s going to start the season in the American League. But if the Maple Leafs need to bring someone up, Groulx is likely to be one of the first players recalled.

Chayka made a slew of moves, but one under-the-radar signing was Zack MacEwen. The 30year-old right winger has played only 24 NHL games in the past two seasons, and he’s been the nuclear option as a feisty, physical force.

MacEwen will have healthy competition as the Leafs’ enforcer with left winger Michael Pezzetta, who played only nine games with the Buds last season. But Chayka clearly values depth at every position, including the enforcer role, and that means MacEwen and Pezzetta could wind up seeing time with the Leafs this year.

The 24-year-old Jacob Quillan had a terrific season with the Marlies, putting up 36 points in 40 regular-season games, while adding nine points in 19 playoff games in Toronto’s Calder Cup championship. Quillan also played in 23 games for the Maple Leafs last season, generating two assists and three points.

Toronto’s additions up front have pushed Quillan down the depth chart, and he’s also part of the pre-Chayka administration. But Quillan can play center or wing, and if the Maple Leafs run into a number of injury-related issues, Quillan could get another shot to impress and stay in the NHL this year.

4. Artur Akhtyamov, G

The Leafs cut back on their goalie depth this summer, trading Joseph Woll to the Philadelphia Flyers and sending Dennis Hildeby to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Chayka traded his goalie depth to better balance his lineup, but while Artur Akhytyamov played his first three NHL games this past season, it was his dominant performance with the Marlies that made Maple Leafs management comfortable with dealing Woll and Hildeby.

Indeed, in 22 AHL playoff games last year, Akhtyamov posted a stunning .923 save percentage and a 2.22 GAA. The 24-year-old goaltender is signed to a three-year contract paying him just $900,000 per season, and should Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz run into any problems, including injury or performance issues, Akhtyamov will be the first one to get the call in the crease.

Ben Danford has been one of the Maple Leafs’ prized youngsters since they drafted him with the 31st-overall pick in the 2024 entry draft. The 20-year-old blueliner spent much of the 2025-26 campaign with the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs, but Danford got his first taste of professional hockey when he joined the Marlies for their playoff run.

In 16 post-season contests with the Marlies, Danford posted two assists and three points. But he was never drafted with the expectations of being a major point-producer.

He’s projected as a stay-at-home D-man, and if the Leafs’ blueline takes a significant hit, Chayka will probably give Danford first crack at asserting himself as an NHLer.

Dec 31, 2025; St. Paul, Minnesota, USA; Sweden forward Eddie Genborg (25) scores a power play goal on USA goalie Brady Knowling (35) as defensemen Luke Osburn (2) closes in during the second period in group play during the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship at Grand Casino Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images We won’t know for sure whether Trey Augustine will be in net today for the Detroit Red Wings against the Dallas Stars in the NHL Prospects Tournament until players come out for the warmup.

But it would be appropriate given his importance to Detroit’s long-term plans. There is no prospect with a greater chance to have an impact than the former Michigan State goalie Augustine.

With Sebastian Cossa now playing in Utah, Augustine and Michal Postava are the team’s goalies of the future. Augustine, 21, is a technically sound, poised netminder with a quick glove hand.

The biggest rub against him is that his 6-foot-1 length is below league average for goalies and he needs work on his rebound control. That all adds up to Augustine having special status among prospects.

It would be symbolic to see him in net for half of the game against Dallas today at the NHL Prospects Tournament. This marks the start of his first full season with the organization.

(He did play two games for Grand Rapids last spring). Today’s game starts at 6:30 at Little Caesars Arena.

It is being streamed live for Michigan residents and a small section of Ohio at DetroitRedWings.com

The Boston Bruins prospect pool is back on the ice, and the veterans are just a few days away.

Rookie camp opened yesterday at Warrior Ice Arena, continues today, and leads into a pair of games in Buffalo. One Bruins prospect provided a positive update on his shoulder surgery in March, while another spoke on the journey it took to get to Boston.

Bruins Fan Fest also starts today in Warwick!

Saturday, September 12, 9:30 AM: Rookie Camp day 2 – Warrior Ice Arena, Brighton, MA

Saturday, September 12, 11:00 AM: Fan Fest – Rocky Point State Park, Warwick, RI

Sunday, September 13, 11:00 AM: Fan Fest – Worcester Common, Worcester, MA

Sunday, September 13, 5:00 PM: Prospects Showcase – LECOM Harborcenter, Buffalo, NY

Monday, September 14, 12:00 PM: Prospects Showcase – LECOM Harborcenter, Buffalo, NY

Wednesday, September 16: Training Camp opens – Warrior Ice Arena, Brighton, MA

Sunday, September 20: First preseason game – TD Garden, Boston, MA

Tuesday, September 29: Home opener – TD Garden, Boston, MA

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Nov 22, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) defends the net against Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images The dichotomy of the headline is not lost.

While the Pittsburgh Penguins prospects took the ice for their lone practice before the Prospects Challenge in Detroit over the next four days, a couple of players hung up their skates, and the Winnipeg Jets are trying to deal with an obstinate Connor Hellebuyck, who will hold out of training camp while demanding a trade.

Also in the Daily, we took a good look at the Penguins’ rebuild and how the NHL trade market is restricting general manager Kyle Dubas’s plan. I am not so regretfully going to remotely cover the Penguins’ prospects game today before heading out to Detroit tomorrow morning for Games 2 and 3.

Some dear friends are getting married today, and even hockey couldn’t keep me away. As an addendum to my wedding present for them, let me tell you about an awesome little hangout bar that is just up Allegheny Avenue from Acrisure Stadium: The Lion.

We used to gather and watch/drink away my Final Word appearances there, but the Lion has graduated to bigger and better things. It’s not the quaint regulars’ spot it used to be, as more people have found that perfect oasis.

Instead, it is the hangout cocktail-and-spinning-vinyl bar, and they know how to make real cocktails (or serve a frothy $4 Iron City and other assorted beverages) better than any place I’ve been to on the road or at home. Oh, and a better couple I have not met.

So, we’ll have Penguins coverage today, but Mazel Tov, Jason and Hayley. Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Hockey Now: I think we’ve danced around the topic this summer, but the Chris Kreider situation really brought it home.

Have a read, big-picture style—how the NHL trade market is boxing in the Penguins rebuild. PHN+: One practice is not enough to make any decisions or draw anything resembling a conclusion, but here are my first impressions of the key players on the Penguins’ prospects team, including two things about Liam and Markus Ruck.

Steelers Now: It’s not ideal, and team leaders are getting annoyed. Cam Heyward isn’t happy, and the team hates how long it’s taking to get a new contract for Joey Porter Jr. NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now Sportsnet: Mark Scheifele had to address it, too.

Goalie Connor Hellebuyck wants out of Winnipeg (just three years after saying he was a Jet for life) and will hold out of training camp until he gets a deal. The players are trying to be diplomatic, but it is not an easy moment for the Winnipeg Jets.

New Jersey Hockey Now: There are “mixed signals” right now. Could the Penguins’ division rival, the New Jersey Devils, abandon this fakakta three-goalie idea and trade for Hellebuyck?

NHL.com: A surprise retirement Friday night. Goalie Connor Ingram, who emerged from the Players’ Assistance Program and last season took the Edmonton Oilers’ net, has remained without a contract this summer and decided that was that.

At 29, Ingram is retiring. I admire Ingram for going back to school to study psychology to help others.

I also wonder why another team hasn’t taken at least a gamble on the big goalie who was much improved last season. Godspeed.

Also, after 12 seasons, defenseman John Klingberg is retiring, too. No words of goodbye or social media post, just a simple announcement from the NHL.

Philly Hockey Now: Perhaps this affects Penguins fans because you pay taxes. Here is an update on the Philadelphia Flyers’ training camp, but, more importantly, on the new Flyers Arena.

Detroit Hockey Now: Oh boy, more trade request drama. Unlike Hellebuyck, Dylan Larkin will be in training camp.

However, the Red Wings have stripped the C off his jersey. It makes sense, but it’s got to hit home for Larkin.

Perhaps if Detroit’s GM search didn’t appear completely inept and incompetent, he would have rescinded it, but by the end of this, he might not be the only Red Wings player saying, “trade me right (bleeping) now and hang up the phone.”

Editor’s Note: This is the 20th installment of a Detroit Hockey Now series assessing the Detroit Red Wings’ prospects’ path to the NHL. The emphasis will be on what their chances are of playing regularly in the NHL and when we can expect to see them wearing the Winged Wheel.

NHL Draft status: 140th, 2025

Detroit Hockey Now Ranking: No. 20 Red Wings prospect

Hgt./Wgt: 6-0, 179 pounds

Age/Experience: 19, playing his first season with Khimik of Russia’s VHL

The summer of 2026 was big for both Nikita Tyurin and the Detroit Red Wings. For the first time since the Wings selected him in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the Detroit brass got to see the Russian defenseman in person.

He attended the club’s summer development camp.

“We’ve done video and spoken to him, but certainly never got to see him over here,” Red Wings development director Dan Cleary said.

With the political situation in Russia and the ongoing war with Ukraine, going there to watch prospects is out of the question. It tends to turn Russian draft picks into international men of mystery.

Some of the mystery surrounding Tyurin is gone now that the curtain’s been pulled back and they’ve been given the chance to assess his game up close and personal.

“It was finally good to see him,” Cleary said. “It’s always nice to meet your prospects for the first time.”

Tyurin spent the majority of last season in the MHL, the Russian junior league, with the Moscow Spartak juniors. Accounting for 4-26-30 totals in 52 games, he finished 13th among defensemen in scoring.

Tyurin’s 26 assists tied him for sixth among rearguards in that department.

In the MHL playoffs, Tyurin led all blueliners with nine assists as Spartak reached the Kharlamov Cup final.

He also got called up to play seven KHL games with Moscow Spartak. Tyurin was held pointless in those seven games and was minus-one.

He’s an outstanding puck mover. NHL teams are seeking mobile defenders, and Tyurin certainly fits that bill.

His first pass is extremely accurate. That’s another asset for a defenseman, perhaps the least talked-about in terms of importance.

Tyurin’s hockey sense is off the charts. He reads the game well, and reacts quickly to close gaps.

Any player taken as late in the draft as Tyurin was is a roll of the dice. It’s an even more complicated scenario since he’s in Russia.

Gauging when he might get to North America is challenging enough. Assessing how long until he’s playing for the Red Wings, if he ever does, is truly a crapshoot.

Whether Detroit Red Wings forward prospect Charlie Forslund ever plays for the team remains up in the air. However, if he doesn’t fashion a career in pro hockey, he could easily find himself humming a different tune.

The hulking Swedish winger is showing to be a talent in the music industry as well. He’s proving very handy with a mixer.

For those not fluent in music, a mixer, also known as a mixing console, mixing desk, or soundboard, is an electronic device. It combines, routes, and adjusts the volume, tone, and dynamics of multiple audio signals.

A mixer takes multiple distinct sound sources. These can include microphones, electric guitars, keyboards, or media players.

Using a mixer, a DJ blends them into one or more combined outputs.

The 20-year-old Forslund is a master mixer. He has a mixing console set up in his apartment.

Through Charlie Forslund Music on YouTube, TikTok, and Amazon Music, he’s already produced 11 songs.

“I don’t know where it comes from,” Forslund told Swedish Hockey News. “It’s probably because I’ve always had an interest in it and felt like I wanted to start making my own music rather than just listening to other people’s music.”

The 6-foot-3, 212-pound Forslund won’t be mixing it up in the SHL, at least not to start the season. He’s been loaned out to Almtuna in Sweden’s second division, HockeyAllsvenskan.

He’s played in Sweden’s second tier since the Red Wings made Forslund the 176th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

Forslund felt that the handwriting was on the wall for him when Brynas signed another former Red Wings draftee. The club added 13-season NHL veteran Calle Jarnkrok last week.

“Of course, it was a different situation when he came in,” Forslund said. “He’s a really good hockey player.

“I just try to come here every day and do my best, and we’ll see where it leads. I just have to keep working.”

He’s fighting equally hard to earn gigs through his music.

@charlieforslundmusic Tried something new today 😆😆 #techhouse#housemusic#fyp#viral#song♬ originalljud – Charlie Forslund Music

“I hope to get the chance to play somewhere in Gävle,” Forslund said. “That would be awesome.

“I’ve already done it at home in Falun.”

Falun was where the Red Wings discovered Forslund. During the 2023-24 season, between U18, U20, and Falun IF in HockeyEttan, the Swedish third division, Forslund scored 40 goals in 52 games.

If the day doesn’t come when Forslund and the Red Wings make beautiful music together, he’s quite prepared to do it on his own.

Around a year and a half ago, forward Karsen Dorwart was one of the top undrafted college free agents in the 2025 class after an impressive three years at Michigan State University. Things haven’t gone as well in the pros, however, as he found himself an unrestricted free agent once again this summer.

Dorwart now has a place to play for the upcoming season as AHL Charlotte, affiliate of the Panthers, announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year deal.

The 23-year-old signed with Philadelphia once his college career came to an end with the Flyers opting to burn a year of the contract right away to help entice him to sign. Dorwart got into five games at the end of the season and held his own, logging nearly 11 minutes per night and winning 40% of his faceoffs.

The hope was that Dorwart could push for a full-time role with Philadelphia in training camp last fall but instead, he missed most of camp with an upper-body injury and was assigned to AHL Lehigh Valley upon being cleared to return.

Unfortunately for both sides, Dorwart’s play wasn’t quite good enough to warrant a recall. He played in 70 games for the Phantoms, posting 10 goals and 14 assists.

On top of that, the Flyers opted not to give him a qualifying offer, instead non-tendering him back in June.

With this deal, Dorwart will likely attend Florida’s training camp when it opens up next week. While he won’t be in consideration to break camp with the big club this time around, he’ll look for a bounce-back season to try to play his way into an NHL contract either during the season or next summer.

After not securing a contract for the upcoming season, Connor Ingram has decided to call it a career. The netminder announced on his Instagram page that he has retired.

He indicated that he intends to return to school and study psychology.

The 29-year-old was a third-round pick by Tampa Bay back in 2016 but never played for them. Instead, he was traded to Nashville three years later for a seventh-round pick, a move that worked out well for the Predators.

Ingram spent a couple of seasons in their system and got into his first three NHL games before entering the Player Assistance Program to treat depression and undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The following training camp, he was claimed off waivers by Arizona, giving Ingram his first taste of extended NHL action. He held his own in a backup role in 2022-23, earning a three-year, $5.85MM contract for his efforts.

Ingram then briefly took over the starting role the following season, getting into 50 games where he had a 2.91 GAA, a .907 SV%, and a league-high six shutouts. It looked like he had arrived as a viable NHL netminder with a bargain contract to boot.

He didn’t fare as well to start the 2024-25 campaign with the Mammoth in their first season following relocation, struggling in 22 games before once again entering the Player Assistance Program to help him deal with his mother’s passing the year before. He was out for the remainder of the season and upon being reinstated, he wasn’t invited to training camp with Utah, clearing waivers last fall.

Ingram was subsequently flipped to Edmonton after that, with Utah retaining $800K of Ingram’s $1.95MM AAV. The Oilers had him start in the minors but after Calvin Pickard struggled in the first half, Edmonton recalled Ingram back in December and he was with them the rest of the way.

He was in and out of the starting role at times, compiling a respectable 2.60 GAA and a .899 SV% in 32 regular season outings, though he struggled against Anaheim in the playoffs.

Ingram’s performance earned him the 39th slot on our annual Top 50 UFA list while ranking fourth among netminders. However, whether that was by choice or otherwise, no contract came about so rather than head for training camp on a tryout deal, Ingram has decided to get a head start on his post-playing days.

His career ends with a 55-54-18 record in parts of five NHL seasons with a 3.01 GAA and a .901 SV%.

Photo courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect.

The Avalanche approached Mikhail Gulyayev last year with an entry-level offer that would have allowed him to stay in the KHL last season and then come to North America, he noted to Sport 24’s Dmitry Yerkalov. However, there was a disagreement at some point in the talks, leading him to sign a two-year extension with Avangard Omsk, which begins this season.

Despite that, the 21-year-old made it clear that his intention is to make the jump to the NHL at some point but that he goes season to season in terms of determining when that might happen. Colorado drafted Gulyayev 31st overall in 2023 and he had three points in 54 KHL games last season.

Presumably, he’ll be looking to time his eventual signing to when a regular spot on the back end opens up for the Avalanche, something that isn’t available at the moment. More from the Central: Earlier this week, the Blues revealed their training camp roster with a free agent goalie among their invitees, veteran Parker Gahagen.

The 33-year-old has been a regular in the minors for the better part of a decade now, splitting time between the AHL and ECHL. Last season, Gahagen played in 37 games with ECHL Worcester, putting up a 2.47 GAA and a .916 SV%.

He also has 59 career AHL appearances under his belt over parts of eight seasons. He’ll be looking to earn a minor-league deal with a good showing in camp.

The Stars recently announced their roster for training camp. Among the 57 invitees are a pair of tryouts.

Goaltender Matthew Humphries will take part on an ATO while veteran winger Jack Becker is in camp on a PTO. Humphries went undrafted back in June after getting into 24 games with OHL Oshawa, posting a 3.73 GAA with a .888 SV%.

Becker, meanwhile, is no stranger to the system as he has played with a Dallas affiliate since 2021-22. Last season, the 29-year-old notched 40 points in 71 games with AHL Texas and will be looking to earn a deal for the upcoming season to return there.

See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source John Chayka has confirmed what many Maple leaf watchers have suspected about Max Domi’s health. The winger/centre’s back issues, a complication that arose from early spring surgery, will keep him out of the start of training camp next week.

There was hope that a few more weeks of rest would give optimism when it came to Domi’s camp medical, but the general manager told the Canadian Press on Friday there is no timetable for a return. “Max is going to come in and be evaluated but he’s not going to start camp,” Chayka said.

“At the right time in the near future he wants to address it himself (with media). “I think that’s best for him to do.

We’ll leave it at that.” The nature of the 32-year-old’s surgery and thus its complications are unknown. Domi played through whatever the injury was in 2025-26, with 36 points in 80 games, but a career-worst minus-29.

His $3.75 million US contract for this year will move to Long Term Injured Reserve and assist Chayka and his accountant get under the NHL’s salary cap, Toronto currently sitting at $2.75 million over the new $104 million limit. Chayka did tell the newswire he expects defenceman Chris Tanev to pass his medical after lower body issues cost him almost all of last season.

The Leafs begin training camp next Thursday and the team opens their preseason schedule the following Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. lhornby@postmedia.com X: @sunhornby Former Maple Leafs defenceman announces retirement after 12 seasons in NHL Why Ben Danford and Noah Chadwick will be closely watched at Maple Leafs camp

The Boston University Terriers have hired former player Matt Gilroy as their director of player development ahead of the 2026-27 season. Gilroy played four seasons at the school between 2005 and 2009.

He served as captain and won the Hobey Baker Award in his senior season, while supporting the Terriers to the 2009 National Championship.

Gilroy followed a prolific college career by signing with the New York Rangers as an undrafted free agent ahead of the 2009-10 season. He appeared in 69 games in his first NHL season, marked by 15 points and 23 penalty minutes.

Gilroy quickly carved out a role as a two-way right-defender capable of filling a depth role. That presence would turn him into a journeyman across the NHL.

Gilroy moved from the Rangers to the Tampa Bay Lightning in free agency ahead of the 2011-12 season, then joined the Ottawa Senators via trade partway through the year. He returned to the Rangers in 2012-13 and closed his NHL career on a two-way contract with the Florida Panthers in 2013-14.

Gilroy opted to move overseas after totaling 48 points in 225 career appearances in the NHL. He spent four seasons in Russia’s KHL, spread between Atlan Mytishchi, Spartak Moskva, and Jokerit.

During his Russian tenure, Gilroy joined Team USA for the 2018 Winter Olympics. He served as the team’s assistant captain and scored one point in five games en route to a seventh-place finish.

Gilroy led all KHL defensemen with 20 assists and 27 points in 55 games in the same season. He closed his playing career with one season in Switzerland’s National League.

He shifted to coaching following his playing career, notably overseeing the 2006-born U.S. NTDP class in their U17 and U18 seasons.

Serving as an assistant coach, Gilroy supported a blue-line that featured Cole Hutson, Logan Hensler, and EJ Emery. The 2006 group also included Cole Eiserman, James Hagens, Max Plante, and Trey Augustine.

Once that class graduated, Gilroy moved to an assistant coach role with Harvard University, where he has spent the last two seasons. He’ll now move across Boston to join his former alumni, ahead of what could be the start of a turnaround for the Terriers.

Boston University has recruited Caleb Malhotra, Xavier Villeneuve, and Carter Meyer since the NCAA changed its CHL eligibility rules. The trio will likely headline the Terriers’ lineup for years to come, with Malhotra and Villeneuve likely to be the stars of the 2026-27 roster before Meyer joins in 2027-28.

Gilroy will oversee their development at Walter Brown Arena, applying lessons learned from a 10-year pro career and support of an NTDP club that produced 22 NHL draft picks.

The Boston Bruins opened rookie camp on Friday, and 23-year-old Attilio Biasca is one step closer to living out his dream.

Biasca spent three seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) but went undrafted before returning home to Switzerland. He is coming off a Swiss league championship with Fribourg-Gottéron and helped Switzerland win silver at the IIHF World Championship before signing a two-year deal with the Bruins in June.

Also Read:Bruins Sign Swiss Forward Attilio Biasca

“[The NHL] was always a dream for me,” Biasca said after the first rookie camp session. “[Fribourg-Gottéron] was a great team.

I’m going to miss the guys for sure, especially how we ended it. It’s always a memory when you finish off like that, that’s for sure, but it’s a new chapter for me now, and I’m ready to go.”

The decision to sign in Boston came less than two weeks after Biasca was handed his silver medal. At the tournament, the 23-year-old played on the top line with New Jersey Devils forwards Timo Meier and Nico Hischier.

He finished with a goal and two assists in 10 games.

The Bruins were not the only team interested in Biasca after the tournament, but he believed his best opportunity was with the black and gold.

“After the World Championships, I talked to my agent, and he told me it was a couple teams [interested]. And then, for me, it was Boston, because the opportunity that I’m gonna get and that I’m gonna show that I [belong] here.”

Biasca was named the Swiss league’s Most Improved Player last season. He finished second on his team with 15 goals and jumped from 10 points (5-5–10) to 27 (15-12–27).

He also added four more points (3-1–4) in 14 playoff games.

“Just fast, a fast skater that is aggressive on the forecheck. Likes to play on the inside,” Biasca said about his game.

“I’m more of a power forward. I like to forecheck, but scoring goals too, like, important goals.

I did it last year; I know how to make a difference, and that’s what I’m going to bring here.”

“You have to prove, for sure, that you belong here, that I earned this contract, that I really worked hard the last couple of years. I had tough times too, but you grow as a player and as a person too,” Biasca said.

“That’s going to help me now for this training camp to show who I am and that I belong here.”

The 23-year-old also acknowledged that the smaller North American rink is his biggest adjustment, pointing to how quickly pressure comes when he is in the corner. However, he knows the smaller ice from his time in the QMJHL and considers himself a “quick adjuster.”

Biasca got his first chance to show what he can do at an NHL rookie camp on Friday. Providence Bruins head coach Trent Whitfield, who got to see him on ice for the first time, was impressed.

“That was my first viewing of him today. I thought he was really good.

I thought he had a really good day,” Whitfield said. “On days like today, you like to see them get up and down the ice, how they’re moving.

You get them in the smaller area games, do they come up with the pucks? Are they willing to go get the pucks in the corners and come out with them?

I thought he did that a fair bit in those two smaller area games we played today. So that’s real encouraging.”

It was only the first day of rookie camp, but for Biasca, it was the first opportunity with the Bruins to show that he belongs. He is signed through the 2027-28 season with a cap hit of $980,000.

Also Read:Bruins Rookie Camp: Locmelis Fully Healthy, Eager to Get Back

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The Detroit Red Wings and Dylan Larkin answered a couple of questions Friday with their joint statement, confirming that the player will report to training camp on Sept. 17 at Little Caesars Arena and the team will start the season without a captain.

After a brutal 2026 off-season, the Detroit Red Wings are searching for some positive PR. They took a step forward Friday when they announced that star center Dylan Larkin — who demanded a trade earlier this summer — has been stripped of the captaincy.

If the Red Wings are to try and help their fans move past this saga, they need to announce a replacement for him as captain as soon as possible. Given where this organization currently is, there’s no time for a feeling-out process for the captaincy.

The franchise knows what long-term pieces it has, and there are at least a couple worthy candidates you could name captain right now and leave the team's leadership group in a good spot.

Here are the three top candidates for the Wings’ captaincy, in order of most-likely to get the ‘C’ to least-likely to get it:

There are many reasons to name Seider captain. Here are a few: firstly, he’s contractually committed to the Red Wings for the next five seasons.

Larkin has shown a player can still want out even if they're signed long-term, but there’s never been any sense Seider wants out.

Another reason Seider is the right call to replace Larkin is because he has the experience as a leader that has groomed him to be an NHL captain.

Seider was captain for Team Germany at the IIHF World Junior Championship, and he’s been an alternate captain for the Wings as well as an assistant captain for Germany at the 2026 Winter Olympics. This isn’t someone who shies away from a leadership role.

Seider is now 25 years old, and he’s signed to a bargain contract paying him only $8.5 million per season. Giving him the captaincy is the right move for the Red Wings.

He's Detroit’s best player, and while that shouldn’t always be the biggest reason, in this case it’s the right choice to get the franchise back on the right path to success.

Like Larkin, DeBrincat is a Michigan native. The 28-year-old has thrived with the Red Wings, posting career-highs in assists (44) and points (85) in the 2025-26 season.

He’s also extremely reliable, as he hasn’t missed a single game in any of the past five seasons. Being dependable with his availability should work in DeBrincat’s favor as a potential captain.

But there’s significant risk if the Red Wings named DeBrincat captain. He’s in the final season of a contract worth $7.8 million per season.

If Detroit gives DeBrincat the ‘C’ right away, are they giving him even more leverage than he already has in terms of his next contract negotiations?

There’s a delicate balancing act here, but DeBrincat is in his prime, and the Red Wings desperately need to get him signed to an extension. Wouldn’t it be great optics-wise if Detroit can announce an extension for DeBrincat as well as the captaincy for him?

A hometown kid who wants to be part of the solution is a great narrative for the Red Wings to rally around, and DeBrincat’s on-ice skill and determination would set a solid example for his teammates.

Real talk: the Red Wings giving the ‘C’ to Raymond is significantly less likely than giving it to Seider or DeBrincat. That said, Raymond is an alternate captain, and he’s signed through 2031-32.

There’s no question Raymond is one of Detroit’s most important players, but it feels like they would have to give him a few more years before seriously considering him over the other candidates.

St. Louis Blues forward prospect Adam Jecho has entered the NHLPA Player’s Assistance Program, per a memo distributed by the NHLPA. Jecho will be unavailable indefinitely, likely keeping him out of all rookie camp and training camp activities.

He will only return to the ice when cleared by program administrators, per the announcement. Jecho participated in St. Louis’ 2026 development camp – which was entirely off-ice and held days after the 2026 NHL Draft.

The 20-year-old forward has spent the last three seasons with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. He moved to Edmonton from Tampere, Finland – where he played two seasons in Finland’s junior leagues after growing up in Czechia’s youth hockey.

The Zlin-native has stayed connected to his roots thanks to a starring role on Czechia’s international junior rosters. He debuted with the U17 and U18 clubs at the age of 15 and has since appeared at three Hlinka Gretzky Cup tournaments, two World U18 Championships and one World Junior Championships.

He totaled five points in 10 games at the U18 Championship and seven points in seven games at the World Juniors.

Jecho is an imposing 6-foot-5, 200-pound forward with a knack for bullying opponents in the slot. He only totaled 36 points in 47 games with Edmonton last season, the lowest scoring pace of his three-year WHL career.

Jecho scored 47 points in 54 games in his draft year of 2023-24, earning a third-round selection by the Blues. He then grew to 53 points in 56 games in 2024-25.

Those performances came in front of a perenially-talented Oil Kings roster, though Jecho secured a reliable second-line role with his physical presence and play-driving ability.

He seemed set to test those talents at the AHL level next season, kicking off an entry-level contract originally signed in March 2025. Jecho is also eligible for one final season in the WHL, should St. Louis prefer to send him to familiar territory.

Either way, it seems the start of Jecho’s 2026-27 campaign will now be delayed.

Detroit Red Wings 1978 first-round pick Brent Peterson (12th overall) was a role player in his 620-game NHL career and then became a star in the hockey community because of the fight and advocacy he brought to a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s Disease,

His 23-year battle with disease ended Friday when he died in the Nashville area. He was an assistant coach for the Predators in 2002 when he was diagnosed

“Brent loved a good laugh and lived with the disease for 23 years, facing every day with a smile and a joke,” The Predators said in a prepared statement. “No matter what his battle brought to him that day.”

He and his wife, Tami, launched the Peterson Foundation for Parkinson’s in 2009.

Peterson brought an awareness about the disease in the hockey community that wasn’t there before he went public with his battle. He revealed the diagnosis and then coached in Nashville until 2011.

In the midst of his fight with the disease, Peterson and his wife, Tami, launched the Peterson Foundation for Parkinson’s in 2009. The foundation offered financial support for people suffering from the disease, plus their caregivers and families.

Brent was a special person who meant so much to so many. His kindness, character and genuine care he showed for others left a lasting impact on everyone fortunate enough to know him.

Peterson played two season for the Canucks (1985-87). Their statement: “Brent was a special person who meant so much to so many.

His kindness, character and genuine care he showed for others left a lasting impact on everyone fortunate enough to know him.”

The Alberta native played parts of four seasons with Detroit (1978-79 until 1981-82). His best season with Detroit was 1980-81 when he showed six goals and 18 assists for 24 points.

Older Detroit fans may remember Peterson was included in the blockbuster trade that brought Danny Gare to Detroit on Dec. 2, 1981.

The Red Wings gave up three younger players, including proven scorers Dale McCourt and Mike Foligno, and Peterson to the Buffalo Sabres for Gare, defenseman Jim Schoenfeld and forward Derek Smith

His best two seasons were with the Sabres. He put up 13 goals and 24 assists for 37 points in 1982-83.

He had totaled 72 goals in his career.

After four years in Buffalo, he went to Vancouver and finished his career with the Hartford Whalers (1987-88 and 1988-89). He was known primarily as a strong penalty killer and defensive forward.