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The Montreal Canadiens will face the Calgary Flames in their next game on Jan. 7. The Canadiens will be looking to stay hot after defeating the Dallas Stars in their last matchup on Jan. 4.

This contest will also give the Canadiens an opportunity to take a look at some of the Flames' trade candidates.

When looking at Calgary's roster, there are two specific Flames trade candidates who the Canadiens should consider making a push for. Let's discuss each of them now. 

Nazem Kadri

If the Canadiens want to add another top-six center, Kadri stands out as an intriguing option. The 35-year-old forward has been the subject of trade rumors throughout this season and would have the potential to be a great addition to Montreal's roster. He would not only provide them with more offense but also give them another veteran forward who could help mentor their young players. 

In 42 games this season, Kadri has recorded 32 points and 28 hits. However, he also has a $7 million cap hit until the end of the 2028-29 season, so the Canadiens would need to move out salary the other way in a potential move.

Blake Coleman 

Coleman is another notable Flames trade candidate who could make sense for the Canadiens to pursue. The 34-year-old forward could fit nicely in the Canadiens' top nine because he chips in offensively and also plays a very heavy game. With this, he would be a good player for the Canadiens to have around for the post-season. 

In 42 games so far this season with the Flames, Coleman has posted 13 goals, 21 points, 105 hits, and a plus-13 rating. 

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Hadyn Fleury was forced from Tuesday night’s contest against the Vegas Golden Knights after a frightening collision late in the first period.

With just over six minutes remaining, Fleury took a hit in open ice from Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar, sending him awkwardly into the boards.

Fleury fell backward, head-first, prompting an immediate stoppage in play. Medical personnel arrived on the ice, and a stretcher was required to safely remove him from the arena as the game was paused for several minutes.

Winnipeg captain Adam Lowry dropped gloves with Kolesar on the very next shift as a point of paying back the Vegas forward for his hit.

The Jets announced that Fleury had been transported to a local hospital via ambulance and that he was fully alert and moving his extremities when arriving.

Haydn Fleury had to be stretchered off the ice after crashing into the boards from a shove from Keegan Kolesar.

Hoping Fleury is alright 🙏 pic.twitter.com/rkWyZwxBiQ

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) January 7, 2026

Fleury, 29, has battled injuries throughout the season as he previously missed 17 games due to a concussion and also spent time sidelined with a knee injury. This season, he has appeared in 16 games in a depth role, recording no points and holding a minus-seven rating.

The Saskatchewan native has carved out a role as a defensive defenseman for the Jets while dealing with injury setbacks. A former first-round pick (seventh overall) by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2014 NHL Draft, Fleury has played 323 NHL games over nine seasons for the Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Jets. Across his career, he has recorded 44 points (10 goals, 34 assists). 

#NHLJets captain Adam Lowry drops Keegan Kolesar in a pre-meditated fight, taking exception to the hit that sent Haydn Feury off the ice in a stretcher. https://t.co/nXYeD7i862pic.twitter.com/NRtwoiJjMg

— Carter Brooks (@CBrooksie84) January 7, 2026

Fleury recently signed a two‑year, $1.9 million contract extension with the Jets in June 2025, keeping him under contract through the 2026‑27 season.

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NHL insiders Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston have been running a series at The Athletic where they play matchmaker. LeBrun and Johnston pair prime trade candidates with teams they think would be a good fit.

In the third edition of this series, LeBrun matched Buffalo Sabres right winger Alex Tuch with the Los Angeles Kings.

Tuch is in the final year of his seven-year, $33.25-million contract. Furthermore, the 29-year-old earns $4.75 million against the salary cap and holds a five-team no-trade clause in his contract for this season.

With that, he's a pending UFA and will require a new contract by the end of the campaign.

The Kings' latest pair of victories over the Minnesota Wild puts them back into a playoff spot. They hold the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, tied on points with the Anaheim Ducks and the Seattle Kraken.

Wins are critical as the standings are ever so tight, and now Los Angeles will be without captain Anze Kopitar and right winger Joel Armia at least for a short while.

"Los Angeles is hanging on in the playoff race in the West despite struggling offensively," LeBrun wrote. "Tuch would be an ideal boost on the right side behind first-liner Adrian Kempe. And the Kings have ample cap room."

NHL Rumors: Insider Calls Kings A 'Sensible Destination' For Flames' Rasmus AnderssonNHL Insider Chris Johnston linked the Los Angeles Kings to Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson. Will Kings GM Ken Holland go after Calgary's No. 1 defenseman?

Adding Tuch to the lineup would be a big boost for Jim Hiller's team, especially when the Kings' lack of scoring is taken into consideration.

Los Angeles is bottom three in the NHL when it comes to scoring goals. In 41 games, they've scored 109 goals. Only the St. Louis Blues and the Kraken have fewer, with 107 each.

Tuch has 12 goals and 32 points this season for Buffalo. With those numbers plugged into the Kings' roster, he'd instantly have the third-most goals on the team, and second on the team in points.

However, Tuch's availability to be dealt all lies on the shoulders of Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen. Since Tuch is a pending UFA, Kekalainen may feel like he should trade him away for assets ahead of the trade deadline.

Sabres Hire Kings Senior Advisor Marc Bergevin For Associate GM RoleAfter the Buffalo Sabres let go of associate GM Jason Karmanos, new GM Jarmo Kekalainen has hired Los Angeles Kings' senior advisor to fill the role.

But there is the alternate situation in which the Sabres elect to keep Tuch on the roster. After all, Buffalo ended 2025 with a 10-game winning streak and has climbed the Eastern Conference standings. 

With that run, they're just three points outside a playoff spot. Buffalo's brass won't see much sense in dealing Tuch if the team is in a playoff race, especially since they've been searching for a post-season appearance since 2011.

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Now that the Detroit Red Wings are officially in the second half of their centennial campaign, the biggest question remains whether this will finally be the season Stanley Cup Playoff hockey returns to the Motor City.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Detroit is in about as ideal a position as it could hope for, leading both the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference standings.

In fact, with their 5–3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night, the Red Wings reached a milestone they had not achieved since the final season of Hall of Fame defenseman Nicklas Lidström’s career.

Monday’s win was Detroit’s 25th in its first 44 games, marking the team’s fastest pace to that total since the 2011–12 season.

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.  

Their hot performance in December helped fuel their strong place in the standings, as their 11 victories during the month were the most since December 2010 and also just one shy of the franchise record of 12. 

In fact, the last time the Red Wings were in first place in their division at this point in a season was 11 years ago, in January 2015. The 2014–15 campaign also marked the second-most recent time they advanced beyond the 82-game regular season.

The 2011-12 campaign was the last in the legendary career of Lidstrom, who decided to retire following Detroit's disappointing first-round postseason exit at the hands of the Nashville Predators. 

Without Lidstrom, the Red Wings had to scratch and claw their way into the postseason during the lockout-shortened 2012–13 campaign. They not only upset the Anaheim Ducks in seven games but also came one goal away from defeating the eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in a seven-game Western Conference Semifinal.

What followed were consecutive first-round exits against the Tampa Bay Lightning, first in seven games in 2015, then a quicker five-game loss in 2016, which marked the final NHL season of Pavel Datsyuk’s career.

The Red Wings, who played one final season at historic Joe Louis Arena, would move to the brand new Little Caesars Arena in the fall of 2017, but have yet to host a Stanley Cup Playoff game. 

Thanks to their current trajectory, there is renewed hope in Hockeytown that playoff hockey could be returning soon. 

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The Winnipeg Jets return home Tuesday, concluding a three-game road trip with a chance to rebound against one of the Western Conference’s toughest opponents, the Vegas Golden Knights. Both teams enter the matchup facing more adversity than expected this season as Winnipeg seeks to end a nine-game losing streak, while Vegas looks to snap a five-game skid of its own.

For the Jets, the stakes are especially high, as they sit at the bottom of the NHL standings and need a win to regain momentum. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights remain firmly in playoff contention with a 17-11-12 record, making this game pivotal as they aim to restore confidence and get back on track in the Pacific Division. With both teams desperate for a reset and returning to home ice, the matchup promises another tight, hard-fought contest between two consistently competitive franchises.

Winnipeg is shaking up its lineup in an effort to jumpstart its season. Head coach Scott Arniel has reunited Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Alex Iafallo on the top line, hoping their previous chemistry will translate into both offensive output and stronger defensive play. The second line now features breakout winger Gabe Vilardi alongside Cole Perfetti and Jonathan Toews, adding a more reliable two-way presence to balance scoring and defense.

The bottom six also features new combinations, including Morgan Barron skating with Adam Lowry and Nino Niederreiter, and a veteran trio of Tanner Pearson, Gustav Nyquist, and Vladislav Namestnikov aiming to provide secondary scoring. Defensively, the lineup remains mostly intact, with Haydn Fleury a potential return on the bottom pairing.

Vegas will be missing several key players, including Alex Pietrangelo, Shea Theodore, William Karlsson, and starting goalie Adin Hill, though Jack Eichel is back to anchor a potent top six. Goaltending will be critical, with Connor Hellebuyck starting for Winnipeg against Carter Hart, who has been flawless against the Jets in five career starts. Limiting Vegas’s top forwards while generating early pressure on Hart could be the key for Winnipeg to secure a much-needed victory.

Jets Clash With Golden Knights, Both Look to Snap Long SkidsTwo struggling teams, the Jets and Golden Knights, aim to end lengthy losing streaks. One desperately needs a win to escape last place.

The Jets will battle the Golden Knights at 7:00 PM central time from Canada Life Centre on Tuesday. 

Winnipeg Jets Expected Line Combinations for Tuesday, January 6th vs. Vegas:

Connor-Scheifele-Iafallo

Perfetti-Toews-Vilardi

Barron-Lowry-Niederreiter

Pearson-Namestnikov-Nyquist

Morrissey-DeMelo

Samberg-Pionk

Fleury-Schenn

Hellebuyck

Healthy scratches, Koepke, Miller

Suspended: Stanley

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Zegras, Flyers pick up emotion-filled win over Gauthier, Ducks originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Trevor Zegras had himself a fun night against his old team.

Facing the Ducks for the first time since being traded by them last summer, Zegras buried two goals and led the Flyers to a 5-2 win Tuesday night at an energetic Xfinity Mobile Arena.

“It was a tough ending with my time there,” Zegras said. “I had been thinking about this game for a long time, it was one that meant a lot to me. It was definitely cool to get one and then two, so it was special.”

Zegras was all kinds of fired up after his second goal — this one on the power play — gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead in the first period.

Fans were fired up, too, as they watched the game turn into a pretty dominant win for the Flyers over Cutter Gauthier and Anaheim. The Flyers have outscored the Ducks 11-2 in Gauthier’s two career trips to Philadelphia.

Cam York, Travis Sanheim and Nikita Grebenkin also found the back of the net Tuesday night. Grebenkin’s marker was a game-sealing empty-netter.

The Flyers (22-12-7) opened a four-game homestand in entertaining fashion. Rick Tocchet’s club moved into third place of the Metropolitan Division at the season’s halfway point.

Last season, the Flyers were 17-19-5 at the midway mark.

“We don’t want to be satisfied here,” Sean Couturier said. “We’ve got to keep pushing, take it to another level.”

The Flyers were without Matvei Michkov, who missed the game after taking a puck to his left foot last weekend. The Flyers, though, had good news on the 21-year-old winger in the morning.

The Ducks (21-19-3) were coming off a loss Monday night and have now dropped seven straight (0-6-1).

“It’s funny how these two teams have turned into such big games,” Zegras said. “It’s a tough back-to-back for them, but they’ve got a lot of great players. Hopefully many more good games to come.”

The Flyers face Anaheim again March 18 when they visit Honda Center.

• Zegras definitely had some extra giddyap to him.

His goals came on excellent shots. He’s now at 41 points through 41 games with the Flyers.

“That’s what Trev does, man, those are two good one-timers,” Tocchet said. “[Leon] Draisaitl’s the best in the business [at those], it looked a little Draisaitl-ish there, a couple of them.”

After a promising start to his career with the Ducks, Zegras became a change-of-scenery candidate over his final two seasons there.

“I have no hard feelings with any of the guys on the team,” Zegras said Tuesday morning. “I got to know them and play with them for a big part of my life, so it’ll be cool to play against them.”

The Flyers tried to set up Zegras for a hat trick when Anaheim emptied its net.

“Playing against your old team that kind of shoved you out the door, that third one would have been pretty cool,” the 24-year-old said, “but we got the win, so that’s what matters.”

Gauthier was back in town for the second time since being traded just about two years ago when he declined to sign with the Flyers.

It wasn’t quite as raucous as his first visit last season, but the building was juiced and the former Flyers prospect still heard it from Flyers fans. He elicited more boos after he opened the scoring with a first-period power play goal.

But then Zegras got going.

“The crowd was outstanding,” Tocchet said. “I just remembered the days when I played, that’s a loud building tonight, they were awesome.”

• Bobby Brink and Jamie Drysdale exited with injuries and did not return to the game.

Just 2:38 minutes into the action, Brink was hit hard and somewhat high by Jansen Harkins. The Flyers’ winger had the puck when Harkins connected with him.

Noah Cates ate up some penalty minutes by defending his teammate and dropping the gloves with Harkins.

“Give Catesy a lot of credit,” Tocchet said. “Sticking up for his teammates.”

In the second period, Drysdale was nailed by Ross Johnston. The Flyers’ defenseman was nowhere near the puck. He stayed down before eventually skating off with assistance from head athletic trainer Tommy Alva.

Johnston was assessed a game misconduct.

Garnet Hathaway did a good job countering Anaheim’s play with some physicality of his own.

“Garny laying two huge hits,” York said. “That’s playoff hockey and we feel like we’re a playoff team.”

• Dan Vladar did his job again, making 16 saves on 18 shots.

Both of the Ducks’ goals came on the power play. Anaheim trimmed the Flyers’ lead to 4-2 during the third period, but Tocchet’s club was never really in danger.

Ducks netminder Lukas Dostal stopped 34 of the Flyers’ 38 shots.

More: Flyers to have four players at the Olympics in February

• Christian Dvorak had an assist on Zegras’ first goal a day after signing a five-year, $25.75 million contract extension.

“The fans were just electric all night,” Dvorak said. “It was a lot of fun.”

The Flyers have loved the 29-year-old’s smarts and scoring down the middle. He signed a one-year, $5.4 million contract last summer. Given how badly the Flyers have needed center depth, they had no desire to move on from him come the March trade deadline and didn’t want to lose him for nothing in free agency this offseason.

“He’s a good hockey player that makes us a better team,” general manager Danny Briere said before the game. … “You guys know that there are not a lot of unrestricted free agents available this summer, almost no centermen.

“The options are to let him walk, to trade him or to re-sign him. If you let him walk, you’ve got to find something else. There are almost no centers available, you have to look at a trade and it’s going to cost you assets to do that.”

• The Flyers are back in action Thursday when they host Scott Laughton and the Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).