Lukas Riechel, a former first-round pick, has had an up-and-down tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks. He is an incredibly skilled player, but he hasn't been able to stick in a top-six role.
His strengths also may not be best suited for a bottom-six role, so it's been frustrating for him and the team. For this reason, moving him could be on the table for Kyle Davidson and his staff.
“I just think that it's a name that's out there, that [Reichel's] name is out there," Friedman said. "And I think it's understood that the Blackhawks are willing to make the move if they find a trade partner. And I think the player understands it might be time, too. So I've just heard that as we go into camp, that's just a name that's out there.”
For a season like 2025-26, the Chicago Blackhawks could give Reichel some ice on all four lines to see where he fits. This might not be something that benefits the player or team, though, so trading him could be for the best.
There have been instances where struggling first-round picks change the way they play and end up having long NHL careers in a different role than they were expecting when they were first drafted. However, the player has to be willing to do that, and sometimes it is impossible to come with their first team.
If the Blackhawks can find a trade partner, all they'd be hoping for is a pick or prospect to come back in return. It certainly wouldn't be an asset that moves the needle, but it could be something that helps with depth in the future.
Moving on from a disgruntled player would be the main return on the trade for the Blackhawks anyway. Getting anything of value in this situation would be a win.
For the team acquiring Reichel, they'd be taking a low risk to gain a talented player with upside. If they can get him to accept and execute a role on their team, it would benefit everyone.
Kevin Dahl - 2001 - Drafted by the Montréal Canadiens in the 1988 draft.
Dahl played 4 games for the Jackets during the 2000-01 season and had 0 points. After his time in Columbus ended, he wouldn't play another NHL game.
The former Bowling Green State University Falcon played three years in Germany before finally retiring in 2004. He played for the
Nürnberg Ice Tigers of the DEL before retiring.
Blake Sloan - 2001-2002 - Undrafted out of Park Ridge, Illinois.
Sloan played 74 games for the Jackets and had 10 points in parts of two seasons for Columbus, including the inaugural season.
He spent the last 8 years of his career playing in Sweden for a year, and in the DEL for the last seven.
Darren Van Impe - 2003 - Drafted by the New York Islanders in 1993.
He played 14 games for the Jackets during the 2002-03 season and had 2 points. He would never play another NHL after his time in Columbus.
He left for Europe in 2003, playing in Germany until 2008.
Manny Malhotra - 2004-2009 - Drafted by the New York Rangers in 1998.
Malhotra was the ultimate competitor. He played 344 games for Columbus and had 145 points from 2003 to 2009. After leaving Columbus, he would play another 7 seasons, including playing 23 games for the Lake Erie Monsters in 2015-16.
He retired after that last season and moved into coaching. After spending several years with the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs, he was named head coach of the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks in 2024. In his first season as head coach, he led his team to a Calder Cup Championship.
Ryan Murray - 2014-2020 - Drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2012.
Oh, what could have been with Ryan Murray. The former #2 overall pick in 2012 played 347 games for the CBJ and had 110 points. The oft-injured defenseman only played 82 games in a season once and played over 60 games only twice.
He won a Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022 and played for the Edmonton Oilers in the 2022-23 season, but hasn't had a contract since.
Zac Dalpe - 2018 - Drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2008.
The former Ohio State Buckeye forward played 25 games for the Jackets and had 4 career points. Where Dalpe made his money was in the AHL, playing for six different franchises, including five with the Cleveland Monsters.
Dalpe played in 133 games for the Monsters and had 100 points. For his career, he played 574 games and totaled 393 points. On July 7, 2025, Dalpe retired from hockey and was hired by the Seattle Kraken as a Development Coach.
Adam Boqvist - 2022-2024 - Drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018.
Boqvist played 133 games for Columbus after being traded from the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021. He was not offered a contract last summer by new GM Don Waddell and was allowed to sign elsewhere. He joined the Florida Panthers last season but was placed on waivers. The New York Islanders picked him up and would spend the rest of the season there. On May 30, 2025, the Islanders re-signed Boqvist to a one-year, $850,000 contract extension.
Zach Aston-Reese - 2025 - Undrafted out of
Staten Island, New York.
On July 1, 2024, Aston-Reese signed a one-year deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas put him on waivers on October 7, 2024, and the Jackets swooped in and claimed him. He played in 79 games for Columbus last season and had 17 points. ZAR provided leadership and experience to a locker room trying to deal with the loss of Johnny Gaudreau.
Zach Aston-Reese is signed to a 1 year, $775,000 contract extension on January 13, 2025. Aston-Reese collaborated with the Gaudreau Family 5K to design the medals awarded to participants in the 5K.
Blue Jackets’ 2025-26 Training Camp and Pre-Season
Next up is training camp, which kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Camp will run until the pre-season begins and then transition directly into the full pre-season schedule. Here’s what the Blue Jackets have lined up so far.
After the first few days of camp, most rookies who received an invite will be cut and sent back to their junior teams. From there, the cuts will come more often as pre-season play gets underway.
The pre-season schedule is as follows:
Sunday, Sept. 21 vs. St. Louis Blues, 5 p.m. ET
Monday, Sept. 22 vs. Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Sept. 23 at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Sept. 24 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 27 at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Sept. 30 vs. Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, Oct. 4 at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET
* Games in bold are home games *
After that, the Blue Jackets will open the regular season on the road against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.
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“Enjoy the day. Today is one of the last days ahead before they start training camp. I know every season you look forward to training camp,” Sittler said. “We've got new players on the team, so you're looking to blend in with them and obviously have a good training camp and a good year. I look forward to it. Maybe this is the year finally those hockey gods will be with us and we can win a few rounds in challenge for the Cup.
Sittler, ever the optimist, never won a Stanley Cup in his career, but as he mentioned in the media scrum, played with a lot of the Leafs who did win back in 1967, the franchise’s last triumph.
“Those guys came to training camp with the idea of getting in shape. I was a rookie coming out of London, and I believed that if I was in the best shape possible, coming into camp had a chance of making the team,” Sittler recalled. “So instead of being overweight and drinking beer in training camp, I was ready to go and was fortunate to make the team my first year. But nowadays, the guys train, as you know, all year round. They're ready for it. Training camps are much shorter than they were when I played. So, yeah, they're all used to it. They're getting ready to go.”
Among the topics Sittler touched on include
His relationship with the current Maple Leafs players
The anniversary of his overtime goal at the 1976 Canada Cup
Mitch Marner’s departure and how he adjusted when key players left during his tenure
The evolving role of the captaincy
Matthews chasing down the Leafs’ goal record held by Mats Sundin
The passing of former Leafs president and Hockey Hall-Of-Fame goaltender Ken Dryden
Q: Have you ever known some of these younger guys as you kind of help them kind of get used to their new settings too?
Sittler: Well, I don't know them well. I mean, I've rounded a few of the functions and events. So Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly, you know, Mitch Marner. These guys are all beating my records that I've had over the last few years. So I send a few texts out to them congratulating them, which is great. It's awesome to have to do that. Today's a special day for me. It was 49 years ago today, I scored the overtime goal in the Canada Cup (1976), and that was a big moment. I wasn't fortunate to win a cup, but to represent Team Canada. We just had a reunion in Montreal about a month ago, and I think there was 15, 16 guys there. It was probably one of the better teams Canada's ever put together. And the other thing that's kind of cool, my first grandson, Luke, it's his 21st birthday today, so it's September 15th today, I'll always remember.
Q: What do you remember most about the goal?
Sittler: Just afterwards, everybody coming out on the ice. Our friend Don Cherry was the coach at the time, and we had the goalie, (Vladimir) Dzurilla, who came way out of the net, And Grapes happened to mention that to us as he was going into the washroom between overtime and regulation time. And he made sure the media let everybody know that he helped Darryl Sittler score that goal.
Q: You mentioned Mitch. How different does it feel when a guy who's been around for a while isn't there the next year?
Sittler: Well, I'm sure it will be an adjustment for the current guys. I mean, Mitch was such a part of our team. He's such a great player. You talk about his goals and assists and his creativeness, which is awesome to watch, but he's very good defensively. He's an all-around player, and I guess for Mitch, sometimes these things happen. He's moving on. He'll do very well, I think, in Las Vegas, and we'll miss him here.
Q: I'm sure you've seen that before, though, right, where a team says goodbye to somebody, but then they kind of rally around each other and find different ways and different rules for guys to kind of expand upon.
Sittler: Well, back in my era, the Ballard days, I mean, when (Punch) Imlach came, they traded a lot of good guys after those teams, you know, guys like my buddy Lanny (McDonald) and a number of other players. So, yeah, it's not the nicest thing in the game, obviously. You learn to adjust, but it's your job, and that's what you have to do, and you have to pick it up and blend in with the new guys. You're a team. The logo on your crest is the most important thing for all of us, and I think players realize that.
Q: You mentioned Auston. How do you think the captaincy has changed, the role of the captain in the NHL, if at all?
Sittler: Well, I don't know if it's changed a lot. The captains before me were George Armstrong, Dave Keon, and when I was named captain in '75, I guess it was, it was a great honor, and I think Auston realizes there's a responsibility that comes with being a captain, not only on the ice but off the ice, and I think he's done a great job. The other important thing as a captain is to have strong leadership around you, So guys with John Tavares and a number of the other older guys, Morgan Rielly, give them that support, and that's what we need to do a job. But there's a lot of pressure that comes being with captain, and people look at you as kind of the guy that is the lead. And when things are going well, you get a lot of credit, probably more than you maybe deserve. And when you're losing, you get a lot of crap that more than maybe you deserve. But Auston's a good guy. He means all he wants to win the cup here, and he's doing a good job.
Sittler: Well, I mean, he's had an exceptional run out of here. As you know, I don't know. For his age, I think he's more more than anybody else at this point in his career. So, I mean, records are made to be broken. I know when I passed Dave Keon, that was a special moment for me, knowing that it probably wasn't going to last forever. And then Mats came along and passed me. So, those are things that happen. And if you have a great hockey team and good players, those records will continue to be broken.
Q: Your Leafs of the late 1970s were a pretty good team, but you couldn't get past Ken Dryden in the Montreal Canadiens. Any thoughts on Ken's passing?
Sittler: Well, that was very sad. Ken died too young, as we all know. And I only played against Ken in the '70s. He was phenomenal. And the Canadiens, they had one of those teams where they were just better than all of us. You know, they had more depth, and then they had Ken in goal on top of that. I mean, for him to win six Stanley Cups in eight or nine years he played was phenomenal. Got to work with Ken at MLSE as the president and enjoyed my time with him. He's a real gentleman, a good guy, and I'm sorry to see him going. My condolences to his family. Linda was awesome. They were great for me. Ken was the president when my wife Wendy passed away and I asked him if they could honor her and myself by putting her name on the banner, and Ken was the guy that made that decision, so I'll never forget that.
As the new season draws near, it’s hard not to notice that the Montreal Canadiens’ penalty kill has been depleted this offseason. GM Kent Hughes elected to let Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak walk away in free agency, and David Savard retired. While there are plenty of options on the blueline to step into Savard’s skates on the PK, the same cannot be said about up front, however.
If Martin St-Louis is short of options, there’s one player who’s more than willing to step in: captain Nick Suzuki. Speaking to RDS’s Marc Denis at the Canadiens’ golf tournament, the center described his own objectives as follows:
Just kind of more of the same, I think I can improve still in different areas, even scoring, and you know, getting assists and all that. I think that comes with playing with good players and being a good team. Just trying to focus on my defensive side, hopefully penalty kill a bit more this year, and being really good at that too. […] I’ve always PKed my whole life and I love it. I think I can be effective on it, but Marty’s trying to manage the minutes and give guys opportunities to do that, so we’ll see what happens, but I’m there and ready if he needs me to PK.
- Suzuki on his objectives and playing on the PK
As Suzuki said himself, the coach is mindful of managing his ice time, but he clearly would like to do it. As reported earlier this summer, playing that role for the Canadiens would likely increase his chances of making Team Canada for the Olympics. While he’s the number one center in Montreal, that’s not the kind of role he’d play on the national team, and showing just how effective he can be on the penalty kill would be a plus.
It's understandable, however, that Martin St-Louis would like to manage his top center’s minutes since he is his top offensive weapon. However, suppose the Canadiens manage to ice a truly competitive second line, and it takes some of the production’s burden off Suzuki’s plate. In that case, there might be more of an opportunity for Suzuki to play when down a man.
That will be one of the stories to follow as training camp unfolds and we get to see who St-Louis would like to see shoulder the load when down a man.
Despite having the worst goaltending in the NHL last season, the Philadelphia Flyers are reaping the benefits of their patience with the goalie position so far.
This patience dates back to the 2023-24 season, Danny Briere's first as Flyers GM, when the organization had to deal with the unexpected loss of Carter Hart whilst turning the keys over to the inexperienced Sam Ersson the minute he started showing flashes of being an NHL-caliber goalie.
Instead of panicking, Briere and the Flyers stayed the course, riding out the storm, dropping out of playoff position, and opting to go with in-house options like Felix Sandstrom and Cal Petersen.
Plus, Ivan Fedotov came over at the very end of the year, and the Flyers were able to begin assessing him.
So, while the Flyers ultimately missed the playoffs and threw a once-promising year in the trash, they did end up with a higher draft pick than they would have ordinarily gotten, which ended up becoming Jett Luchanko at the end of the day.
Coming into a 2024-25 season with similarly low expectations, the Flyers again followed the path ahead of them with Fedotov, Ersson, and rookie Aleksei Kolosov.
Briere obviously wasn't going to go into the 2025-26 season with the same dire straits in goal, which is why Dan Vladar was signed to play alongside Ersson.
That's important because the Belarusian goalie is still just 23 and can glean some valuable development playing a significant amount in the AHL in addition to whatever NHL time comes his way.
If Kolosov doesn't work out, fine. The Flyers have him under contract for this season only, and Carson Bjarnason, who is only now turning pro, is waiting in the wings behind him.
In a few years, Egor Zavragin will be aboard this ship, too.
So, while Fedotov's two-year, $6.55 million contract was heavily criticized at the time, it didn't cost the Flyers anything but time that they needed to use to evaluate the team as a whole anyway.
The 28-year-old Russian went through a lot to realize his dream of playing in the NHL with the Flyers, and the Flyers were happy to oblige, even at a price that many considered obscene.
Now, Ersson is in the last year of his contract, and Vladar was only brought in on a two-year deal.
The Flyers are fortunate to say they have no long-term commitments in goal and remain fully flexible heading into the future.
If one or both of Kolosov and Ersson can't get going this season, the Flyers can start drafting more goalies with Bjarnason and Zavragin hitting their early 20s. That process just starts over again, that's all.
Many would probably consider the Flyers fortunate to get more back from Fedotov than what they even spent to draft him a decade ago, but Briere and Co. earned their luck with their patience if so.
And, this sixth-round pick isn't a throwaway.
Seattle Kraken starting goalie Joey Daccord was drafted (199th) in the same round as Fedotov (188th) in 2015, and Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf was drafted 214th overall in the 2019 draft.
The Flyers drafted Roddy Ross, who just finished four years of playing in USports, over Wolf that year, so that's strike two for this example.
But, the point is that, if the Flyers can nail their draft picks, it can matter a whole lot. By staying patient with Fedotov and themselves, they earned another chance at making something like that happen, which can change the entire course of this rebuild.
The Flyers' front office deserves major props so far, even if the short-term results haven't been very good.
The Pittsburgh Penguins capped off the 2025 Prospects Challenge in style on Monday with a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. They finished the challenge with a 2-0-1 record, which is good enough to win the event for a third year in a row.
They started a bit slow by giving up the first goal, but were able to rally and beat the Sabres 6-3. Avery Hayes and Tristan Broz were once again the two big standouts from this game and are riding a lot of momentum into training camp.
Hayes tied the game at one, giving him four goals in three games. He was living in the offensive zone again and getting chances each shift he was on the ice. He was toying with the Sabres, and it clearly looked like he was too good for this competition. Hayes still has a lot of work to do to make the opening-night roster, but he's showing that he could at least be a call-up option during the 2025-26 season. His defensive work and skating were also noticeable throughout this tournament.
As for Broz, he scored two power-play goals during Monday's win, and both goals came from in tight. The second one featured Broz stuffing the puck home even though it was potentially about to go in before. Still, he made sure of it when he scored. He continues to ooze in confidence and will be an underrated young player to watch over the next few weeks and during the 2025-26 season.
Outside of Broz and Hayes doing their thing, let's look at a couple of other players who had good performances to round out this tournament.
Benjamin Kindel
Kindel was a little quiet to start the Prospects Challenge, but that changed in a big way on Monday. It was a classic Kindel game, where he used his great hockey IQ to his advantage and out-thought the other team while on the ice. His first of two goals was the perfect example of that when he scored from in the crease, and nobody knew where the puck was except him.
It took the officials a couple of seconds to confirm that Kindel scored before dropping the puck at center ice. His first goal made it a 4-1 game before scoring his second goal to make it 6-3.
Outside of his two goals, he added two assists and almost had a third when he made a nasty no-look pass to spring a 2-on-1 for a good goal-scoring opportunity, but the puck didn't go in. His development this upcoming season will be one to watch because he already has a lot of NHL traits in his game.
Beauchesne unleashed a rocket of a slap shot from the point for a goal to essentially clinch the challenge for the Penguins' prospects. The goal made it 5-3 after goaltender Sergei Murashov made a massive save on a breakaway.
The skating was once again flawless, and he was doing a great job of going from defense to offense from his own zone. He's set to play for the OHL's Guelph Storm again this year after he likely spends some time at the Penguins' training camp over the next week or two.
Next up for the Penguins is their 2025 training camp. It's set to get underway at 8:45 a.m. ET on Thursday, September 18, and will run through October 1.
With training camps opening up around the NHL, five players remain unsigned restricted free agents (RFAs). Headlining that list is New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes and Anaheim Ducks forward Mason McTavish.
A former Devil is also on that list: Alexander Holtz.
In April, he concluded his first season with the Vegas Golden Knights organization after New Jersey traded him and Akira Schmid for Paul Cotter and a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
At the time of the trade, Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon told reporters, "We are taking a swing at his upside and what a change can do sometimes for young players. We have seen (that) with different players who have been brought into Vegas needing a change and have benefited by that change. That was the motivation behind acquiring Alexander Holtz. He is still a young player, and we think he is going to fit into our lineup and contribute and grow his game here.
Holtz split his time in the NHL with the Golden Knights and the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Henderson Silver Knights.
In Sin City, the winger appeared in 53 games, collecting 12 points (four goals, eight assists). With the AHL club, he scored seven goals and earned 13 points in 16 games.
His 2024-25 salary cap hit was $894,167.
During his tenure with the Devils, Holtz appeared in 110 games over three seasons. He potted 19 goals and recorded 34 points. At the 2020 NHL Draft, New Jersey drafted him seventh overall.
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The NHL’s 2025-26 season is just about upon is, and here on THN.com’s Buffalo Sabres site, we’re near the end of our player-by-player series in which we break down each Buffalo player’s expectations for the coming year.
We’ve already looked at the Sabres’ goalies and defensemen, as well as most of Buffalo’s top forwards. And in today’s file, we’re looking at young center Peyton Krebs – one of the pieces the Sabres got in the trade that sent star center Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights. Below, we’re going to analyze what’s reasonable to expect from Krebs in ‘25-26:
Player Name: Peyton Krebs
Position: Center
Age: 24
2024-25 Key Statistics: 81 games, 10 goals, 28 points, 13:56 average time on ice
2025-26 Expectations: Krebs was the 17th-overall pick of the Golden Knights in 2019, and while his adaptation to the NHL has been slow-but-steady – he’s averaged just 13:37 of ice time in 296 career games in hockey’s top league – Krebs delivered modest-but-career-highs in goals (10), assists (18) and points (28) last season. The 24-year-old is also well ahead of his prime, so you can understand why Buffalo still has hopes that Krebs will live up to his draft status and emerge as a top-six forward.
In that regard, Krebs began to show some serious promise at the end of next season, scoring four goals and 10 points in his final 13 games of the season. There’s no assurance Krebs can maintain that pace this coming year, but if Krebs can ascend through Buffalo’s depth chart up front – and do so at the relative-bargain price of $1.45 million – the Sabres are going to be delighted.
Krebs may never be the type of player Buffalo envisioned he’d be when he was one of the centerpieces of the Eichel trade. But there’s still time for him to salvage himself – and not to mention, to get a significant raise when he becomes an RFA at the end of the ‘25-26 season.
Krebs needs to come out of the gate confident and finding a way to contribute to Sabres wins, even if he’s beginning the season on Buffalo’s fourth line with wingers Beck Malenstyn and Justin Danforth, neither of who are offensive dynamos. Krebs has a tough challenge ahead of him trying to make his way into a top-nine spot in Buffalo’s group of forwards, but there’s still time for him to realize his potential and make a notable impact for the Sabres.
Krebs averaged slightly less than 14 minutes of ice time last season, but Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff has to be open to giving Krebs more minutes this year. You want your young players to feel like there’s a fair and honest opportunity to rise through the pecking order, so Krebs needs to know there's a merit-based process that he can take advantage of and assert himself as a long-term piece of the puzzle in Western New York.
Although Krebs isn’t likely to usurp centers Ryan McLeod and Josh Norris to be one of the Sabres’ top two pivots, Krebs can force Ruff’s hand and give him no choice but to dole out ice time more evenly and reward Krebs for earning more kicks at the can. It's entirely up to Krebs to dictate how many opportunities he gets this coming year, and Buffalo has to give him a decent shot at growing into a veteran component of the Sabres moving forward.
Sandis Vilmanis had a stellar pre-season prior to the 2024-25 season and followed it up with a strong AHL rookie campaign. And now the Florida Panthers prospect stood out at this year's rookie camp.
Vilmanis played in three pre-season games last year, notching two goals and three points, which included an overtime winner against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Following his pre-season success, Vilmanis joined the Charlotte Checkers for his AHL rookie season.
On a strong Checkers team, the 21-year-old posted nine goals and 27 points in 61 games, including three goals and seven points in 11 playoff games. The youngster finished with the 11th most goals and 10th most points on the Checkers.
Standing 6-foot-1, 191 pounds, Vilmanis has an NHL-ready frame, but is currently working on adding pace to his game, which revolves around solid skating mechanics, nifty hands and a heavy shot. Drafted in the fifth round (157th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft, the expectation would be that if Vilmanis did pan out, it would take some time, but the Latvian-born winger has progressed far faster than the team expected.
Unfortunately for Vilmanis, he collided with the boards in the opening frame after forcing a turnover and creating a breakaway chance. The collision forced Vilmanis to leave the game, and he did not return for the second period.
Vilmanis' health status is unknown, and the current hope is that he was removed from the game as a precaution.
With the competitiveness of the Panthers' current bottom-six, it's unlikely that Vilmanis is even in the conversation to make the team, but if he continues to improve and impresses in the AHL, it wouldn't be too surprising to see Vilmanis earn his first call-up to the NHL this season and be a real contender to earn a spot out of camp next year.
The 2025-26 NHL season is a special one for the Detroit Red Wings, as it officially marks a full century of play.
The entire theming of the campaign will be centered around the centennial celebration of the winningest U.S.-based NHL franchise, and to that end, the Red Wings released their special alternate centennial uniforms they'll be wearing on select dates this season.
The Red Wings have announced that the uniforms will be worn in each of their first two home games at Little Caesars Arena, both against fellow Original Six opponents.
Detroit will face the Montreal Canadiens in the regular season opener on Oct. 9, followed by a matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 11. In both games, the Red Wings will take the ice in their newly released centennial uniforms.
“Red Wings fans have long embraced the Winged Wheel, and we wanted our Centennial uniform to commemorate its legacy,” said Ryan Gustafson, President and CEO, Ilitch Sports + Entertainment via the Red Wings official website. “This design honors the traditions that make Red Wings hockey truly distinctive, while incorporating meaningful details to celebrate this remarkable milestone in a way that stays authentic to Detroit. It recognizes the outstanding players, the defining moments and above all, the devoted fans who have shaped us into who we are today. We believe this uniform will serve as a powerful reminder of our history, while inspiring anticipation for the memorable moments yet to come.”
The new look incorporates elements from past uniforms the Red Wings have worn throughout their history, including when they were initially known as the Cougars and Falcons.
The Carolina Hurricanes signed three players to PTOs heading into training camp, as they will compete to make the Hurricanes’ opening night roster.
Here’s all you need to know about these three players:
Kevin Labanc:
Lebanc has spent eight of his nine NHL seasons playing for the San Jose Sharks, while he spent last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In 512 career games, Leblanc has recorded 84 goals, 153 assists, and 237 points.
The 29-year-old forward’s career best season came during the 2018-19 campaign with the Sharks when he tallied 17 goals and 39 assists for 56 points.
Oliver Kylington:
Oliver Kylington was most recently with the Anaheim Ducks where he played in six games.
This past season, Kylington was traded twice. He was first dealt from the Colorado Avalanche to the
New York Islanders as part of the Brock Nelson trade, and the Islanders quickly shipped him off to the Ducks for future considerations.
In his seven NHL seasons, Kylington has played for the Calgary Flames, Avalanche and Ducks. In 220 career games, the 28-year-old defenseman has recorded 18 goals, 42 assists, and 60 points.
Givani Smith:
Smith was also traded twice during the 2024-25 campaign. He was traded from the San Jose Sharks to the Avalanche in a deal that included Alexandar Georgiev and Mackenzie Blackwood in December.
Right before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, he was dealt from the Avalanche to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Erik Johnson.
In six NHL seasons, Smith has played for the Detroit Red Wings, Sharks, Florida Panthers, and Avalanche. The 27-year-old forward has recorded nine goals, 13 assists, and 22 points in 168 career games.
As the Los Angeles Kings prepare to try and finally make a deeper playoff run than in the previous few seasons, some players in the organization may be players to watch as potential call-ups throughout the campaign.
In this article, we take a look at Francesco Pinelli's 2024-25 season, what to expect out of him in the 2025-26 season, and his potential role in the Kings' organization.
Pinelli's 2024-25 Season
Pinelli, who is 22 years old, played with the Ontario Reign in the American Hockey League (AHL) last season, scoring 15 goals and adding 14 assists for 29 points through 70 games.
It was his second professional campaign with the Reign. In the 2023-24 season, he scored 13 goals and added seven assists for 20 points through 67 games.
He was the Kings' second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft at 42nd overall, and while he hasn't yet exploded offensively at the professional level, it seems as though there is still plenty of time to grow as he continues to try and turn himself into an NHL contributor one day down the line.
2025-26 Season & Expectations
As he looks to increase his production at the AHL level, there is a chance he becomes a player the Kings could call up if they run into some injury trouble.
There is a very slim chance that he makes the Kings' opening night roster, but a long shot is more than nothing. It's more than likely that he starts the season in the AHL with the Reign, where he will look to continue building on his offensive production and fine-tuning his defensive game.
Pinelli has been praised previously for his offensive IQ and his ability to support his teammates while creating scoring opportunities for them and himself. He has been referred to as a craft playmaker who has a knack for finishing with the puck on his stick, and the Kings will be hoping he can continue to grow into a solid two-way contributor.
According to the depth chart, Pinelli would have to beat out some really strong players to make the Kings out of training camp. So, the Kings are taking their time with Pinelli and letting him build confidence as he figures out his game, which is the right thing to do, rather than rushing him, so this will be another development campaign for the prospect.
