The New York Islanders are a good hockey team. They are a team that could certainly make the playoffs and do damage, even if they never get grouped into the "Stanley Cup contender" conversation.

However, one way to get into that conversation is by filling a significant hole on the backend: an elite right-handed defenseman who can be paired alongside No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer for the next five-plus seasons.

That player may be residing in Vancouver in the form of Filip Hronek. 

The 28-year-old defenseman, who has five seasons left on his deal at $7.25 million annually, has a full no-move clause, which means he has complete say on where he ends up.  Parlay that with Vancouver's struggles and reports that they are willing to trade their veterans outside of Quinn Hughes -- more likely unrestricted free agents -- there are reasons to think Hronek could be in play -- that is, if the right team comes calling.

Now, Hronek does have a connection to the Islanders. When the Canucks traded Bo Horvat to the Islanders on Jan. 30, 2023, they acquired the Islanders' 2023 first-round pick as part of the package. 

The Canucks then flipped that pick to the Detroit Red Wings for Hronek ahead of the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, pairing him with Hughes as the club's top pairing. 

Hronek now plays on the second pairing with Tyler Myers. 

Yes, it would be ironic if Hronek ended up in Blue & Orange. But he fits the need, and at 28, he does fit this core's timeline. 

His agent Allan Walsh also represents Jonathan Drouin, who signed a two-year deal worth $4 million annually with Long Island this summer. 

Many times it’s the little things that have the most impact. Jonathan Drouin discusses the NY Islanders. https://t.co/0Hrps2WhVO

— Allan Walsh🏒 (@walsha) July 10, 2025

Now, the biggest question is cost. What would the Islanders have to send the Canucks' way to get this done?

Remember, Vancouver has zero leverage here if Hronek decides that he wants out because they gave him the full NMC. So, the Islanders, if they are a team Hronek is open to coming to, don't need to come up with the most competitive package, just a package. 

Hronek was acquired for the Islanders' 2023 first and Vancouver's 2023 second-round pick. 

The Islanders have Colorado's 2026 first-round pick from the Brock Nelson trade, but they also have their own first-round pick, which is likely to be more valuable. The Chicago Blackhawks own the Islanders' second-round pick, which they acquired in the Josh Bailey trade at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal. 

Could the Islanders' 2026 first, a 2026 conditional third, and a depth forward get the job done? 

In 23 games this season, Hronek has recorded 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) with just four total penalties, averaging 24:24 minutes per game.

Oct 21, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators center Brady Martin (44) skates with the puck against the Anaheim Ducks during the third period at Bridgestone Arena. Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Until late October, Brady Martin was living his NHL dream. Then, just like that, it disappeared.

After the Nashville Predators selected the 18-year-old right-shot center fifth overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, he had a busy summer. Martin participated in the World Junior Summer Showcase, the NHL Prospects Tournament and the Predators’ training camp before making the Opening Night roster.

Head coach Andrew Brunette placed the six-foot, 187-pound Martin at center on the top line with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly during camp. He recorded two goals and an assist during the pre-season, making it nearly impossible for Brunette to leave him off the roster.

The elation of making his NHL debut quickly dissipated, however. After recording an assist in 23:24 of ice time in the Predators’ first two regular-season home games, Martin was a healthy scratch in all four games of a Canadian road swing.

Martin returned against the Anaheim Ducks Oct. 21, this time centering the third line with Fedor Svechkov and Tyson Jost. The next day, he was sent back to the Soo Greyhounds, his junior team in the OHL.

In an exclusive interview with The Hockey News, Martin said it was during the Canadian road trip that he had an inkling his status was about to change.

“I kind of saw it coming, since they have a lot of other young guys they wanted to get in the lineup,” Martin said via phone after a Nov. 20 Greyhounds practice. “I came back (from the trip), played one game and figured after that would probably be my last game.”

Two games into the trip, Brunette addressed the reasoning behind Martin’s healthy scratches.

“We want to put him in positions to feel comfortable, to get better,” Brunette told reporters after a 7-4 loss in Toronto Oct. 14. “I think there’s no better opportunity right now to learn from our veteran guys, be in practice, be around them.”

You won’t find Martin moping about being sent back to juniors. He views his time in Nashville as a great learning experience, particularly playing between veterans Forsberg and O’Reilly.

Martin grew especially close to Forsberg, even staying with the 31-year-old Swedish forward and his family briefly during camp.

“Fil (Forsberg), he’s an idol for me, and he’s very well-known in Nashville,” Martin said. “Just getting to play alongside him and learn from him and stuff, it’s really cool. He helped me a lot and welcomed me to Nashville.”

What did Martin learn from O’Reilly?

“The way he shows up to the rink every day, every little detail he does, it all counts,” Martin explained. “You can see why he’s been in the League for a very long time and successful throughout his career.”

Martin is well aware of the success Matthew Schaefer, Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard and other teenagers have had in their first NHL seasons. While he’d love to have experienced a similar outcome, he realizes everyone develops at their own pace.

“You always want to move to the next level and play in the NHL right away,” Martin said. “Not everyone has the same path. I’ll enjoy my time here (in Sault Ste. Marie) and when it’s time for me to play in the NHL, it’ll be time.”

Scouts have praised Martin’s stickhandling and playmaking abilities. Scoring hasn’t been an issue for him at the junior level, either. In three OHL seasons, he’s recorded 111 points (45-66-111) over 119 games.

Last season, he scored 72 points in 57 games for the Greyhounds and collected 11 points in seven contests to lead Canada to a gold medal at the IIHF U18 World Championship.

Martin currently has two goals and 11 points with the Greyhounds this season. He was held out of a Nov. 22 game against the London Knights for precautionary reasons due to a possible upper-body injury.

During his stint in Nashville, it became evident that Martin would need more muscle to be successful at the NHL level. He recalls the conversation with Preds general manager Barry Trotz and Brunette upon being assigned back to the Greyhounds.

“They said the NHL is the best league in the world and you gotta be ready to play,” Martin said. “I just need to get bigger and stronger. Sometimes, it’s better for you to go back to juniors, light it up for another year, get your confidence. Then, you can go play in the NHL.”

Growing up on a farm in Elmira, Ontario, Martin is no stranger to hard work. Besides learning to be quicker on stops and starts, he’s hitting the gym to get stronger and make it more difficult for players to knock him off the puck.

“Work ethic was a big part of my hockey journey,” he said. “You’ve got to always put the work in. Everyone’s so big and strong nowadays that you can’t take any days off or you’re gonna fall behind.”

Now that he’s had a taste of playing in the NHL, Martin is focused on getting back to stay.

“I enjoyed my time in Nashville, but I think it was time for me to come back (to the OHL),” he said. “The guys needed me here and I think it was better for my development to come back and get more minutes here.”

The motto that underscored the Colorado Avalanche’s magical run to the 2022 Stanley Cup championship was “Find a Way,” and Gabe Landeskog echoed a similar sentiment on Tuesday morning. 

The Avalanche enter Wednesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks as the NHL’s top team, carrying a 16-1-5 record through 21 games. Having just one regulation loss at this stage of the season is almost unheard of—usually that’s a cliché, but in this case it’s fact. This level of dominance has been achieved only four times in the past 97 years. What we’re witnessing is historic.  

And yet, there’s still room for improvement. The power play remains the one area of this team that could use a reset. But it’s early in the season, and the Avalanche are dominant enough right now that it makes sense for them to experiment with a few ideas. 

Science Experiment: Power Play Edition 

Beginning with this past weekend’s road series against the Nashville Predators and the Chicago Blackhawks, the Avalanche began experimenting by moving Landeskog onto the first power play unit in place of Victor Olofsson. Landeskog told The Hockey News how he felt the group performed over those two games. 

“The power play is one of the things we continue to work on,” he stated. “We’re understanding where we’re at; we’re understand that if our power play can start chipping in goals on a nightly basis, obviously that makes a big difference.” 

But this Avalanche team has repeatedly demonstrated that even on nights when they lack their sharpest form, they still manage to manufacture wins. With that in mind, Landeskog remains confident that the group will eventually solve its power play issues. 

“It’s early on in the season; we’re working on a few things and trying a couple different looks. It’s one of the things when it’s not working, it’s easy to start overthinking it, start pointing fingers, try to re-invent the wheel, but at the end of the day, sometimes you just got to stick with it. 

“Sometimes there are tweaks to be made we make them no problem, but I think the power play is kind of the same as the rest of our game as we continue to work on it; we’re going to find ways (to succeed), and I’m not worried about it.”

Find a way, eh? What does remind of you of? We have an idea.

The Avalanche (16–1–5) have recorded 13 power-play goals this season, converting at a 15.7 percent clip—a rate that places them in a four-way tie for 15th in the NHL alongside the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and St. Louis Blues. 

Game Time 

Colorado dropped a 3–2 overtime decision to the San Jose Sharks in their previous meeting on October 1 at SAP Center. Tonight, the Avalanche have an opportunity to even the season series on home ice at Ball Arena. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. local time. 

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The Florida Panthers are back in Sunrise and will kick off their longest homestand of the season on Wednesday night.

Florida will welcome the Philadelphia Flyers to Amerant Bank Arena for the final time this year after defeating Philly 2-1 back in the second game of the season.

It’s also the last time these teams will meet, barring a playoff series, as the Flyers took down the Panthers 5-2 on Oct. 13, which was subsequently Philadelphia’s home opener and the first road game on Florida’s schedule.

Former Panthers first round pick Owen Tippett has been a consistent source of offense for the Flyers of late.

He’s logged seven points over his past five games, and he’s placed the team in scoring over the past couple weeks.

New Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar has enjoyed a strong start in Philly.

He’s played very well in both games against Florida this season, stopping 56 of 60 Panthers shots in the two outings.

League-wide, there are 27 goaltenders who have played in at least 13 games, and of those 27 tendies, Vladar is tied with Vegas’ Akira Schmid for the fewest goals allowed at 31.

Entering play Wednesday, Vladar ranks sixth in the NHL in both goals against average, which is at 2.42, and save percentage, currently at .912.

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Wednesday’s battle with the Flyers:

Mackie Samoskevich – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand

Jesper Boqvist – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart

Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – A.J. Greer

Noah Gregor – Luke Kunin – Jack Devine

Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones

Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry

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Photo caption: Oct 9, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones (3) moves the puck against Philadelphia Flyers right wing Owen Tippett (74) during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

Last year, when the NHL paused to host a best-on-best tournament, two members of the Montreal Canadiens were asked to play for Team Finland: Patrik Laine and Joel Armia. The latter is no longer a member of the organization, having signed with the Los Angeles Kings over the offseason, while the former is still part of the team but, once again, sidelined by an injury.

According to the timeline provided by the Canadiens, when he underwent core muscle surgery, Laine could be back either in January or February. Even if he were back in January, would it be realistic to try to play in a best-on-best tournament? Probably not.

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There is, however, another member of the Habs who could have earned himself a spot with the Finnish national team thanks to his season debut: rookie center Oliver Kapanen. The 22-year-old is currently playing on a line with Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky, after skating alongside Alex Newhook for the 17 games he played before his injury.

In 21 games, the youngster has put up 11 points, but he’s also been an essential part of the Canadiens’ penalty kill. Armia and Christian Dvorak’s departure created a need for the Canadiens in that role, and Kapanen jumped on that opportunity.

The center is currently fourth in rookie points with 11 and in a three-way tie when it comes to goals with seven.

The Canadiens’ coach describes him as having an elite NHL-level computer, praising his ability to read the game and the plays, which make him a very responsible two-way forward, precisely the kind of forward you need if you want to stand a chance in a best-on-best competition. The Finns will already be without one of the best two-way forwards in the game because of Aleksander Barkov’s injury, not that Kapanen can replace the Florida Panthers’ captain, but no one can replace Barkov.

Finland took the gold medal at the last tournament, but that was without NHL players competing. The last time NHLers skated in the event, at Sochi in 2014, the Finns left Russia with the bronze medal, and they’ll no doubt be aiming for the podium again.

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