Because they won't be picking at the top of the NHL draft order this year, the Philadelphia Flyers must select the best player possible with the 21st overall pick.
Any other outcome, assuming the pick isn't traded, is a mistake.
The Flyers, too, have been under fire for their draft choices in recent seasons, spending a total of three first-round picks to acquire centers Jack Nesbitt and Jett Luchanko, players with offensive upsides that seem to be average at best.
And the idea of going all-in on a center in the 2024 and 2025 drafts were fine, too. Options like Konsta Helenius and Cole Reschny were on the board, but the Flyers ultimately bypassed both.
To that end, the Flyers could have secured themselves a blue-chip prospect for the left side of their defense, which is barren in the prospect pool. Zeev Buium and Jackson Smith were available--the former was and still is a sore subject--but the Flyers had their minds made up.
Now that they have stocked up at the center position with Luchanko, Nesbitt, Matthew Gard, Heikki Ruohonen, and Jack Berglund, the Flyers have no reason to reach for a center again, but that is exactly what they do in Corey Pronman's latest NHL mock draft for The Athletic.
Pronman has the Flyers selecting USHL Youngstown Phantoms center Jack Hextall, a relative of Flyers legend Ron Hextall, with the 21st overall pick.
"Hextall is a highly intelligent, diligent pivot who’s a slick playmaker with excellent offensive sense," Pronman writes.
"Though his skating doesn’t stand out and he hasn’t been a prolific scorer, his strong two-way detail makes him a very safe bet to be a useful pro down the middle for the Flyers."
Some of those word choices are nightmares to read for Flyers fans: skating doesn't stand out, hasn't been a prolific scorer, very safe, and useful.
Hextall, 18, scored 20 goals, 38 assists, and 58 points in the USHL this season, and he's committed to Michigan State University, where he'll team up with Flyers prospect Shane Vansaghi next year.
And, with the very next pick, Pronman has the Flyers' archrival Pittsburgh Penguins taking defenseman Ryan Lin at 22.
"Pittsburgh doesn’t really have a future power-play QB in its prospect pool, and Lin could be one," Pronman said.
The Flyers, with their power play being downright awful for years now, go with the "very safe" pick instead of someone who could be a "future power-play QB." Yeesh.
Of course, this isn't to say that the Flyers will actually do this when the real thing plays out on June 26, but they don't have a strong enough track record for us to sit here and rule that out, either.
I'm a big fan of the undersized Xavier Villeneuve, for example, but he doesn't even make Pronman's top 32 here. That would be someone who checks all the boxes for the Flyers, in terms of both position and talent level.
Other higher-upside players the Flyers pass on in Pronman's latest mock include Adam Novotny, Maddox Dagenais, Brooks Rogowski, Liam Ruck, Tommy Bleyl, and Nikita Klepov.
In order to truly take the next step in their rebuild, the Flyers will need to find the courage to think outside the box and take risks when the stakes are higher.
Jun 4, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev (49) shoots the puck against Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) during the third period in game two of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Before the Carolina Hurricanes made their comeback, before the Vegas Golden Knights needed a goal with 81 seconds left in regulation to tie it and before Seth Jarvis scored in overtime, the sound of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final was silence.
The same crowd that roared at the start of the series was stunned, with their beloved Hurricanes shut out through the first two periods for the first time since mid-January. They were fewer than 15 minutes away from a 2-0 hole that only five of 55 teams have overcome to hoist the Cup.
The topsy-turvy ride that followed ended with Carolina winning in emotional fashion and making this a competitive series between two of the best teams in the NHL. Game 3 is Saturday night in Las Vegas.
If it is anything like the first two, it is best to expect the unexpected the rest of the way.
“It’s obviously a new series, a five-game series now,” said defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who leads the Hurricanes with three points so far in the final. “A lot of emotions throughout the games, too. For almost 50 minutes there it’s kind of low, and then kind of even, then really high, then low again, and then high. It’s a roller coaster for sure.”
This final is shaping up to be more like a seesaw, with wild momentum swings back and forth. This is the first Cup final in league history in which each of the first two games featured a multigoal comeback victory.
Carolina is now the first team in 82 years to win a game in the final when down by more than one goal within the final 10 minutes of regulation. That would also make Vegas — which fell behind by two goals in the opener — the first team since 1944 to blow such a lead.
“The sport of hockey is funny that way,” Golden Knights center William Karlsson said Friday. “I think that’s why we all love it. It can go either way at any times .... But it’s hockey. It’s a game of mistakes, and it’s bound to happen.”
The Hurricanes after cruising through the first three rounds with 12 wins and just one loss met their match in Vegas, and that was evident in Game 1. What also became clear is that neither of team is going to get pushed around for an entire night, even if there are stretches of domination by one side or the other.
“It’s going to be hard to play your best game — that’s the point,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It would be great if you could do it for the whole 60 minutes. But it’s probably not going to be that way because they’re a very, very good team.”
Counterpart John Tortorella emphasized that again before he and his team flew home, insisting he likes where Vegas is at two games into its biggest challenge yet this postseason. The Golden Knights have stolen home-ice advantage and get to play the next two on The Strip, where Tortorella can better control matchups.
“There’s no difference,” Tortorella said. “We’re going to play. We know how to play. We know how we want to play.”
So do the Hurricanes, and it’s what they displayed at the end of Game 2. Logan Stankoven provided the spark, Mark Jankowski kept it going and Jordan Staal scored on a power play after Tortorella’s failed goaltender interference challenge became a difference-making moment.
Of course, the Golden Knights dominating for much of the first two periods and the start of the third showed why they’ve been such a buzzsaw since Tortorella took over in late March. Brind’Amour acknowledged the vibes around his team were better than they could have been if not for the turnaround, but neither team should expect to feel too good about itself for toon long in a series like this.
Players are embracing that as part of the fun.
“This is exciting,” Jarvis said. “This is what playoff hockey’s all about is tight games and momentum swings, and you never really know what’s going to happen next. I don’t think you can ask any more of a playoff series.”
After a season outside of an NHL front office, former San Jose Sharks defenseman and Hockey Hall of Famer Rob Blake has joined the Nashville Predators organization.
Blake, who is mainly remembered for his 28 total years as a player and an executive for the Los Angeles Kings, was announced as the Predators' Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations on Friday. Blake joins the Predators' newly appointed General Manager and President of Hockey Operations, Chris MacFarland who spent the last four season as the General Manager of the Colorado Avalanche under Joe Sakic.
Blake previously served as the VP of Hockey Operations and the General Manger of the Los Angeles Kings after originally joining the organization as a Director of Player Personnel for the 2011-12 season. He parted ways with the Kings following the 2024-25 season and was replaced by Ken Holland.
As a player, Blake was a long-time captain for the Kings, but he ended his career as the captain of the Sharks. He spent two seasons in teal, appearing in 143 games and picking up 75 points. He then retired following the 2009-10 season.
Former San Jose Sharks goaltender Georgii Romanov has earned himself another NHL contract, as he signed a two-year contract extension with the St. Louis Blues on Friday.
Romanov was originally signed by the Sharks as an undrafted free agent in May of 2023. He spent two seasons with the Sharks organization, although the majority of his time was with their American Hockey League affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.
Across two seasons, Romanov took the crease for 50 games with the Barracuda. During that time, he had a record of 20-15-13 while he also recorded a .904 save percentage and a 3.12 goals against average.
Romanov was much less effective at the NHL level as in 10 games for the Sharks, he had a save percentage of .888 and a 3.53 goals against average while going 0-6-0.
Romanov departed the Sharks organization following the 2024-25 season after the team opted not to extend him a qualifying offer to retain his signing rights. As a result, he signed a one-year contract with the Blues that summer.
During the 2025-26 season, Romanov spent his entire campaign with the Blues' AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. The 26-year-old netminder played 28 regular season games for the Thunderbirds, recording a 9-12-4 record, a 3.29 goals against average, and a .896 save percentage. He turned his game up a notch in the playoffs though, going 7-4-0 with a 1.84 goals against average and a .939 save percentage.
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - JUNE 04: Logan Stankoven #22 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates after a goal during the third period against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Two of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center on June 04, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Cato Cataldo/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Halfway through the third period in Game 2, the Carolina Hurricanes were teetering on going down 2-0 and dropping both games at home to open the Stanley Cup against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Down 2-0 midway through the third, the Canes hadn’t looked like the dominant team they’d been for the entirety of the regular season and playoffs. There were even talks of a potential Knights sweep at the second intermission.
That’s when Logan Stankoven happened.
After an offensive zone faceoff, Stankoven’s relentless forecheck resulted in him stripping the puck from Vegas defenseman Rasmus Andersson. Stankoven circled back behind the net and fired a backhander that bounced past Carter Hart to make it a one goal game.
The goal not only helped the Canes back into the game, but it also got the crowd going. Carolina used that momentum and tied the game just over two minutes later when Mark Jankowski went bar down for his first goal of the playoffs.
After both Carolina and Vegas each added another to send the game to overtime, Seth Jarvis scored the power play winner to tie the series 1-1 heading into Game 3.
From talking about there being a potential sweep and the Canes looking as lifeless as they had all year, to tying up the series 1-1 and all the momentum being on Carolina’s side in a matter of half a period, all started by Stankoven’s hustle.
Stankoven now has 10 goals in the postseason to lead the Canes, adding three assists for a total of 13 points in 15 games. Carolina’s second line of Hall-Stankoven-Blake, which has really been their first line during the postseason, was the only group not to be split up by Rod Brind’Amour last night — speaking to their effectiveness. That group, led by Stankoven in the middle, has accounted for 20 goals and 44 points in the playoffs so far.
With the Svechnikov-Aho-Jarvis line continuing to struggle, the second line has been able to maintain Carolina’s offensive production.
In addition to scoring the goal that jump started the Canes’ comeback, Stankoven finished the game with two shots and had a 63.6 faceoff percentage, second to only Jordan Staal’s 70 percent.
There were questions revolving around how Stankoven’s game would translate to the postseason due to his listed 5-foot-8 stature. But if this playoff run has shown anything, it’s that those worries were for nothing.
Prior to the season and for some of the regular season, there was debate surrounding whether or not Carolina had a good enough 2C to compete for a Stanley Cup. Well, that question has been answered with Stankoven filling the role exceptionally well. Maybe the real question should’ve been if the Canes have a good enough 1C in Sebastian Aho to win the Stanley Cup. Aho has totaled just eight points in 15 games during these playoffs so far.
While last night’s win was needed and momentum swinging, the Canes still need to steal one of the next two on the road to take back home ice advantage.
Game 3 is set for tomorrow at 8 PM, where the Hurricanes look to take a 2-1 series lead and inch closer to bringing home the Stanley Cup.
Cliff Fletcher, who won a Stanley Cup with the Flames and also helped rebuild the Maple Leafs, has died.
Cliff Fletcher, the famed executive who won a Stanley Cup with the Flames in 1989 and then turned around a flailing Maple Leafs franchise throughout the 1990s, has died.
He was 90 years old.
To the day of his death, Fletcher was still contributing to the Leafs, working as a senior adviser to the team from his home in Arizona.
Cliff Fletcher is pictured at Maple Leaf Gardens. Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images
Fletcher joined the expansion Atlanta Flames as their general manager in 1972 and remained with the team after a move up north to Calgary in 1980.
Fletcher’s Flames made the Stanley Cup Final in 1986, where they fell in five games to the Canadiens.
Three years later, the Flames were back in the Cup, and this time they prevailed against the Canadiens in six games for their first and thus far only championship in franchise history.
After achieving his goal of making the Flames a contender, Fletcher joined the Leafs as president in 1991 — two years removed from a title — and brought them as close as they’ve been to returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1967, the last year of the Original Six era.
Cliff Fletcher, wearing a suit, celebrates after winning a Stanley Cup with the Flames in 1989. Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images
Fletcher was known for one of the biggest trades in NHL history, a 10-player deal that reunited Fletcher and ex-Flame Doug Gilmour, the centerpiece of the trade, in Toronto in 1992.
He executed several other deals early in his tenure to help bring the Leafs back to prominence, including bringing in coach Pat Burns from Montreal.
Cliff Fletcher is pictured in 2004. Getty Images
Cliff Fletcher was a Stanley Cup winner, HHOF fame. Classy, smart, fearless. Beloved and respected. Blessed to have worked with him in TO. Taught me to always try to make your deals bigger, so I did! 2 great kids, was lucky to work with Kristy and Chuck. Sad day. RIP, Cliff.
The Leafs were in back-to-back conference finals in 1993 and 1994 and made the playoffs two more times in Fletcher’s tenure.
He acquired Mats Sundin from the Quebec Nordiques in 1994, who remains the franchise’s scoring leader.
Fletcher also spent time with the Coyotes and Lightning.
He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004. Many around the hockey world have shared their memories of Fletcher, including fellow executive Brian Burke, who called Fletcher “classy, smart and fearless.”
He is survived by his partner, Linda, and children, Chuck and Kristy.
TORONTO (AP) — NHL executive Cliff Fletcher, who led the Calgary Flames to a Stanley Cup championship in 1989 and helped turn the Toronto into a contender while earning the nickname “Trader Cliff” for his skillful wheeling and dealing, has died at 90, the Maple Leafs announced Friday.
Fletcher was a senior adviser for the team, which did not provide details of his death.
Among Fletcher's many moves was bringing Lanny McDonald to the recently relocated Flames in 1981, and deals for Doug Gilmour and Mats Sundin in Toronto that helped transform the Maple Leafs into a playoff threat.
“Few men in the history of hockey have had as profound and lasting an impact on the game as Cliff Fletcher,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. “Revered for his keen eye for talent, respected for his management acumen and beloved for his character, Cliff devoted seven decades to hockey in myriad roles and leaves a legacy as remarkable for the many men and women he has mentored as for the franchises he helped established and games his teams won.”
Born in Montreal on Aug. 16, 1935, Fletcher started his career as a scout with his hometown Canadiens under the guidance of legendary executive Sam Pollock before heading to the St. Louis Blues as an assistant general manager in June 1969. He joined the expansion Atlanta Flames as GM in 1972 and remained with the team when it relocated to Calgary in 1980.
While often overshadowed by their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, Fletcher built a contender in Calgary.
The team made its first Cup final in 1986, losing to Montreal in five games. The Flames beat the Canadiens in six games a few years later for their only title. The powerhouse roster built by Fletcher was captained by McDonald, backstopped by Mike Vernon in goal and included Gilmour, Joe Nieuwendyk, Joe Mullen, Al MacInnis, Gary Suter and a young Theo Fleury.
Fletcher, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004, took over as the Maple Leafs’ chief operating officer, president and GM in 1991. He quickly helped rebuild the team, which had slogged through a dismal decade under former owner Harold Ballard.
In a key move, Fletcher pried Gilmour from his successor in Calgary, and he also hired Pat Burns as coach in 1992.
The trade with the Flames supplemented other previous moves. Fletcher shipped a package including forward Vincent Damphousse to Edmonton for netminder Grant Fuhr, forward Glenn Anderson and others. Fuhr was later sent to Buffalo in a deal that netted 50-goal man Dave Andreychuk from the Sabres.
In another franchise-defining swap, Fletcher dealt popular but oft-injured captain Wendel Clark to the Quebec Nordiques in 1994 as part of a package that included Sundin. A future Hall of Fame center, Sundin went on to become the face of the franchise and is now Toronto’s senior executive adviser of hockey operations.
“Cliff Fletcher inherited a club that had finished last in the NHL’s Norris Division in 1991, transforming them seemingly overnight,” the Maple Leafs said. “Those beloved Maple Leafs teams would come within one win of the Cup final in 1993 and returned to the conference final a year later.”
Fletcher remained with the Leafs until 1997 before front office stints with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Phoenix Coyotes. He returned to Toronto as interim GM in 2008.
His son, Chuck Fletcher, became a successful NHL executive in his own right. Chuck Fletcher served as GM of the Minnesota Wild from 2009 to 2018 and the Philadelphia Flyers from 2018 to 2024.
On Friday afternoon, the hockey world lost another legendary executive when news broke that Cliff Fletcher had passed away at the age of 90. Thanks to a career that spanned almost seven decades, Fletcher was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.
As recent as the 2023-24 season, he was a senior advisor for the Toronto Maple Leafs, his second stint with the Original Six franchise, having served as President and General Manager from 1991 to 1997 before returning in 2007.
Although Fletcher is deeply connected to the Maple Leafs, having spent more than 20 years with the organization, many in the hockey community remember him for his time with the Calgary Flames.
Fletcher was the franchise's first general manager, hired in 1972 when the Atlanta Flames came into existence. He stayed with the club when they relocated to Calgary in 1980.
By that time, he was already piecing together a superstar roster, one loaded with future Hall of Famers like Joe Nieuwendyk, Al MacInnis, Mike Vernon, and Joe Mullen, that would reach the 1986 Stanley Cup Final against the Montreal Canadiens, and would win the rematch in 1989.
Born in 1935 in Montreal, Fletcher became a scout for the Canadiens in 1956, holding that position until 1966 before moving into an assistant general manager role with the expansion St. Louis Blues. After achieving his only Stanley Cup victory with the Flames, he went to Toronto, then to Tampa Bay (1998-2000) and Arizona (2000-27), before returning to the Maple Leafs.
Beloved by many in the hockey community, Fletcher left behind an incredible legacy, one fondly remembered in Calgary as the man responsible for the franchise's only Stanley Cup title.
The Los Angeles Kings have locked up AHL prospect Aatu Jämsen, announcing Friday that he is officially joining the Kings roster on a one-year, two-way contract worth $850,000 at the NHL level through the 2026-27 season.
Jämsen, 23 years old, completed his second season with the Ontario Reign, posting career highs of 16 goals, 12 assists, and 28 points in 59 games. The call-up might seem a little early, but the former seventh-round pick has shown promise, and LA adds another young talent to its roster.
We've signed F Aatu Jämsen to a one-year, two-way contract worth an average annual value (AAV) of $850,000!
The Finnish forward also competed in four Calder Cup Playoff contests, where he collected two points as Ontario battled for postseason success. Originally drafted in the seventh round with the 190th overall pick of the 2020 NHL draft, Jämsen has steadily improved his game.
Over two seasons with the Ontario Reign, Jämsen has totaled 23 goals and 39 points in 95 AHL games, reminding everyone that he can create his own shot and play a physical game.
The signing gives LA additional depth at the forward position, while giving Jämsen an opportunity to push for his NHL debut this upcoming season. With the Kings still expected to make additional moves in the offseason to improve the team, the Finnish prospect will enter training camp looking to make a strong impression and compete for a larger role within the organization.
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The fallout from Thursday's bombshell report from NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman that Dylan Larkin requested a trade from the Detroit Red Wings continues to dominate the discussion in Motor City sports circles.
The Red Wings have now missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for ten consecutive seasons, the longest active drought in the NHL. Larkin is the only player on the current Red Wings roster who skated in their most recent playoff appearance in 2016.
Right now, it appears as though the drought, which has included three consecutive meltdowns in March, has finally become too much for Larkin to want to continue enduring.
However, his reported trade request is the opposite of what he had to say during his season-ending media availability session in late April.
Speaking at Little Caesars Arena after the Red Wings had cleaned out their lockers, Larkin said that it was his desire to remain in Detroit and see the process through of finally becoming a playoff team and moving into Stanley Cup contention.
"I'm just thinking now going back to when I re-signed and, you know, signed an eight-year deal and I knew that we had work to do and I knew that we weren't going to win the Stanley Cup the next day," Larkin said. "But I wanted to be here and I want to be here to help this team in any way I can to win the Stanley Cup."
"I wanted to be here, and I want to be here to help this team in any way I can to win the Stanley Cup," he said. "We need to get the Detroit Red Wings back in the playoffs - not just me."
Larkin registered a career-high 34 goals this season, but for the second time in the last three seasons, suffered an untimely injury and missed multiple games while the rest of his teammates struggled down the stretch.
If Larkin were ultimately traded, it would signal a major shakeup in the direction of GM Steve Yzerman's long-term vision for the club he took over in April 2019.
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The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot riding on the success of Connor Bedard, who they selected with the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Since coming into the NHL, Bedard has gotten better and better with each passing day. His overall growth as a player on and off the ice from year one through year three is noticeable.
Now that Bedard is through the entry-level years of his NHL career, it is time for an extension. On July 1st, he becomes a restricted free agent. The price to offer sheet someone like him is through the roof, but the Blackhawks still want to get him signed to avoid any time missed.
We've seen from other teams and players around the league that missing parts of training camp due to contract stuff can be detrimental.
Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins, Mason McTavish of the Anaheim Ducks, and Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils would all admit that it was a detriment to their seasons when it happened to them.
On Friday, The Hockey News named Connor Bedard as the top pending RFA in the National Hockey League.
Connor Bedard, Jason Robertson, Leo Carlsson and Trevor Zegras are just some of the most intriguing pending NHL RFAs as the playoffs near the end: https://t.co/Y9FIQES7wd
Bedard leads the list of players that includes talents like Leo Carlsson, Jason Robertson, and Pavel Dorofeyev, amongst others. A lot of money is going to be handed out to these young men, and Bedard is the top guy.
Other players have had more production in their careers, some of them because they are older, but none of them have the ceiling with runway left in their careers the way that Bedard does. He is as young as an RFA can be in the NHL.
Connor Bedard wants to be in Chicago, and the Blackhawks want him. It is a mutual interest to get this deal signed, and both parties can focus on more important aspects once it is complete.
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Former Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Johansson was heading into the summer as one of the NHL's top pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) scorers. However, instead of testing the market or re-signing with the Minnesota Wild, Johansson is taking his talents overseas.
Farjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) has announced that they have signed Johansson.
Johansson just had a very good season for the Wild, posting 15 goals, 34 assists, and 49 points in 75 games. This was the first time since 2022-23 that Johansson recorded at least 40 points and the second-most points he had in an NHL season. While this is the case, Johansson is heading home to play in the SHL.
Johansson played in 60 games for the Sabres during the 2019-20 season, where he recorded 13 goals, 17 assists, and 30 points. His time with the Sabres ended during the 2020 NHL off-season when he was traded to the Wild in exchange for Eric Staal.
In 1,058 career NHL games over 16 seasons, he posted 200 goals, 366 assists, and 566 points. Overall, the former Sabre had himself a strong NHL career, and he should be a big pickup for Farjestad BK.
Jay Leach skates in a practice for the Kraken in December 2023.
The Rangers hired Jay Leach to lead their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Named the ninth head coach in Wolf Pack history on Friday, Leach joins the Blueshirts organization after serving as an assistant coach in the NHL over the previous five seasons with the Kraken (three) and the Bruins (two).
The 46-year-old Leach is an experienced addition and has been a candidate for multiple head coaching vacancies in the NHL in recent years.
Jay Leach skates in a practice for the Kraken in December 2023. NHLI via Getty Images
“Players gravitate toward him,” Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan told The Post of Leach at the time, when he was still head coach of the Penguins. “He’s a good leader. He’s been in leadership roles when he was playing in the American League, and so he brought all of that to the coaching aspect of what he’s doing now. When I got a chance to work right next to him in Wilkes-Barre, I was really impressed, but not surprised, with his work ethic. He rolls his sleeves up, he works hard at being a good coach, and he brings a certain humility to the job every day that I think is so important for all of us.
“He has strong convictions of how the game should be played, but he also understands there’s more than one way to play the game and that you have to work with people, both players and coaches alike, in order to try to build the necessary collaboration to have success in today’s NHL.”
President and general manager Chris Drury bringing on Leach makes a lot of sense for an organization that is looking to refresh its prospect pool.
Plus, Leach has ties to Sullivan, who brought him onto his staff with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins during the 2015-16 season.
When Sullivan was promoted to the Bruins, Leach succeeded him and took over the team.
Jay Leach is pictured during a Bruins game in November 2025. Getty Images
The last time Leach served as head coach was from 2017-21 with the AHL’s Providence Bruins.
Over those four seasons, the Syracuse native led the team to back-to-back Atlantic Division titles.
Providence compiled a 136-77-26 record under Leach, who also helped the team reach the AHL’s Eastern Conference Finals as an assistant in 2016-17.
The Bruins eventually brought Leach back as an assistant at the NHL level over the last two campaigns.
A defenseman drafted 115th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes, Leach appeared in 70 NHL games across five seasons for the Bruins, Lightning, Devils, Canadiens and Sharks.
He ultimately played 12 seasons of professional hockey before making the jump into coaching.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK - JANUARY 17: Alex Nedeljkovic #39 of the Pittsburgh Penguins tends goal against Zach Benson #9 of the Buffalo Sabres during an NHL game on January 17, 2025 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The NHL’s salary cap is rising but many teams still find themselves in various degrees of uncomfortableness when it comes to the salary structure. The Pittsburgh Penguins are not one such team.
Offer sheets have been a seldom used venture by NHL general managers, there have only been four in the last decade. Montreal signed Carolina’s Sebastian Aho in 2019, the Hurricanes matched and retaliated two years later by giving Jesper Kotkaniemi what looks like a regrettable amount of money that the Canadiens did not match. Then in 2024 St. Louis fired shots across the bow by targeting Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg from Edmonton, which the cap-strapped Oilers opted not to match.
Going back to the entire NHL salary cap era from 2006-present, there have only been 12 total completed offer sheets. Only four of those 12 were successful to acquire a player from a team unwilling or unable to match the compensation.
The St. Louis moves showed the potential is not gone to take the aggressive action, so let’s check on this year’s crop via Sportsnet.
As every team looks at improving over the off-season, will any use an offer sheet to chase talent?@RoryBoylen has everything you need to know about compensation and which players could be interesting RFA targets. https://t.co/dsQNwg6cPb
The important information to know is the different levels of compensation required, which for 2026 is as follows:
Based on these splits, it’s a challenge to anticipate signing a mega-star like RFA Jason Robertson to an offer sheet. It would easily require first round picks from 2027-30, which is a cost too far to support making such a move.
However, as STL showed, targeting rising players who could play into a higher cost than they’ve shown in the past can pay off handsomely for the price of a second or third round pick as a sweet spot for trying offer sheets. This could be the key area of opportunity.
Zach Benson, Buffalo Sabres
As previously mentioned, if Buffalo re-signs Tuch, it would immediately be tight to next year’s salary cap. Meantime, 21-year-old Zach Benson became a core piece of the Sabres this season with a breakout 43-point campaign (in 65 games) and an even better showing in the playoffs. It might be fair to ask: Should Benson actually be Buffalo’s priority here?
Benson, drafted 13th overall in 2023, is a player who whispers say was of much interest to the Penguins had he just slipped one more pick in the draft to where they were at. (Pittsburgh ended up selecting Brayden Yager, who was traded not long after).
Sportsnet also notes that Buffalo has center Peyton Krebs and defenseman Michael Kesselring as potential restricted free agents. The Sabres currently have $17.6 million in cap space, though it stands to reason over half of that amount would be taken away if they end up re-signing star forward Alex Tuch.
Granted, if the Sabres don’t re-sign Tuch, there wouldn’t be much of a point in trying to fish away Benson via offer sheet. They’ll be in good enough shape to match in that situation. Assuming they did sign Tuch, would the Penguins be so bold as to transfer an unprotected 2027 first round pick (plus a third, which they have an extra selection in that round already) to get Benson on an offer of $7 million?
Benson scored 43 points in just 65 games this year and was a great playoff performer with nine points in 13 games and a very active, physical presence. He also just turned 21-years old and could be worth an investment to be a part of the core for a while.
It would take some faith that Benson could get a glow up like Holloway did, who went all the way up to 63 points in his first season with the Blues and was worth his contract plus the second round pick to give up. This isn’t a surefire risk-free proposition, but it could be something to think about considering the Pens were rumored to have really liked Benson in the pre-draft process. After three seasons in the NHL, there’s even more to like.
Mavrik Bourque, Dallas
The Stars’ top priority is to get Robertson under contract, which would be a big ticket, certainly in the $12 million range, that would put them over the cap. Meantime, the 24-year-old Bourque would be offer sheet eligible after his first 20-goal season. Perhaps a quiet playoff showing may cool interest in going the offer sheet route, and GM Jim Nill may be looking at trade options instead.
Pittsburgh and Dallas have been a good trade fit with one another recently. The two worked together last year to send Matt Dumba plus a second round pick to the Pens last year to ease some Stars cap woes. Those problems are back again for them, which means the Pens might not even need to offer sheet Bourque to acquire him. Volunteer to take the salary of Ilya Lybushskin ($3.25m for one more year) and then it could see what other particulars would need to be done to get Bourque as a part of the deal could be a workable gambit.
If dangling that carrot via a trade ended up not working out, the Pens could always turn to using the stick of the offer sheet for Bourque. It looks like the Stars have about $13 million of cap space for next year, of which Robertson would require almost all of it. Should a team come in with a $4.7 million offer for Bourque, that might put a lot of strain on the Stars’ structure – depending on what further moves they could make to get around that. Something’s got to give in Dallas, if a team adds a little more pressure to the situation they might be able to get Bourque out of it, via whatever means it might take via trade or offer sheet.
Olen Zellweger/Pavel Mintyukov, Anaheim
Carlsson and Gauthier grab most of the attention in regards to Anaheim’s RFAs, but it also has two young defencemen who are offer sheet eligible. Zellweger and Mintyukov, two 21-year-olds, both finished with 22 points this season, while Mintyukov averaged about a minute-and-a-half more of ice time, mostly because of his shorthanded minutes.
Of the two, Zellweger may be the one to watch more closely on the offer sheet front. His average ice time dropped by nearly two minutes from 2024-25 to 2025-26 and he only played three playoff games for the Ducks.
These two have been oft-talked about, with little more new ground to tread. Anaheim having to give new contracts to breakout stars Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier makes them a very interesting team to watch this offseason. They also have a total of two NHL defensemen currently signed for next season according to CapWages. A lot is going to go on out there. Maybe the Pens can get involved, maybe not, but watching the Ducks navigate this summer will be worth watching.
Zack Bolduc, Montreal
One of Montreal’s four RFAs, Bolduc scored 12 goals for the Canadiens this season but got to 19 with St. Louis the year before that. If he stays in Montreal, a new contract might come in the range of $3 million, but is there a team out there that values his potential higher than that?
When Montreal traded for Bolduc last summer, our scout Jason Bukala wrote that it had “acquired at worst a middle-six forward. He’s more likely a top-six winger.” That didn’t come to fruition right away, but Bolduc is still just 23 years old. If a team still sees him as a player who could score 20-25 a season and have top-six upside, might they take a shot on a short- or medium-term contract worth around $4.5 million — a rate that might make Montreal a little uncomfortable and require only a second-round pick as compensation?
A team like the Pens could pay a little more for a player in salary, assuming they really liked the player or thought he could take off to justify the move. Whether or not they would actually want to do that is of course the unknown $64,000 question. Bolduc, 23, has yet to really take off, does Pittsburgh (or anyone else) think he could have that Holloway-esque type of increase in the future? If so, $4 million and giving up a second round pick would be a small price to pay. If not, onto the next.
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More often than not the offer sheet goes unused, though the increased amount of second+third round picks that Pittsburgh has in the next few years makes them decent candidates to use if the right situation was out there. The Pens have used that to acquire Egor Chinakhov and Elmer Soderblom in trades, straying outside the lane to attempt an offer sheet coup would be unexpected but a bold, risky move at attempting to bolster the team’s talent level.
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