There will be a lot of storylines to be on the lookout for this season for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

And one that has been talked about at length is the logjam they currently have at the forward position. As of now, according to PuckPedia, the Penguins currently have 13 forwards on their active roster, which don't include names like Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen - both of whom are expected to push for an NHL roster spot.

If they do make a push for a spot in training camp, that - unfortunately - makes one or two players listed on the current roster odd men out.

Potentially, one of those players is left wing Danton Heinen.

Heinen, 30, is in the midst of his second stint with the Penguins' organization. He originally signed a one-year deal in Pittsburgh as a free agent during the summer of 2021, and he was eventually non-qualified as a restricted free agent (RFA) in 2023 after signing another one-year deal the season prior. During his first stint with the Penguins, he recorded 26 goals and 55 points in 141 games.

He had a pretty decent season with the Boston Bruins in 2023-24, as he registered 17 goals and 36 points in 74 games and earned himself a two-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks in 2024. Vancouver then traded Heinen to Pittsburgh as part of the deal that returned them defenseman Marcus Pettersson, and the 6-foot-2, 195-pound forward finds himself in yet another contract year.

The issue is that there simply may not be enough room for him on the Penguins' roster this season.

After coming over from Vancouver last season, Heinen put up just three goals and 11 points in 28 games, and he saw his role take a bit of a hit once younger players like McGroarty and Koivunen came into the picture. The two youngsters also impressed in a short sample at the end of the season and seemed to prove that they are ready to make the jump to the NHL level this season.

That leaves a player like Heinen in a tough spot - especially when considering the other competition around him on the roster. 

Top-20 Penguins' Prospects 2025: Defenseman Should Be Full-Time In The NHL This SeasonHeading into the 2025-26 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have shifted the focus to youth and development.

Assuming Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell stay put - at least, for now - the Penguins still have the likes of McGroarty, Koivunen, Tommy Novak, Anthony Mantha, Blake Lizotte, and two players just re-signed in Connor Dewar and Philip Tomasino. They also still employ the contracts of veterans Kevin Hayes and Noel Acciari for another year, and because of Hayes's ability to play center and Acciari's ability to eat hard minutes, it's unlikely that they'll be cut from the roster.

Of course, competition is good for both young guys and veterans alike, so it's very possible that Heinen could have a great training camp and force the Penguins' hand. It's also a possibility that at least one of McGroarty or Koivunen does not have a standout camp and starts the season in the AHL.

But given where the Penguins are at, it makes little sense to hold young players back if they show they are ready for the NHL in favor of veterans unlikely to be on the roster beyond this season, anyway. That doesn't mean Heinen would be the odd man out.

However, he will have an uphill climb in training camp, and it will be interesting to see how he responds to the pressure of making the roster over a few young prospects with high upside.

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Heading into the 2025-26 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have shifted the focus to youth and development.

With more talent in the system than Pittsburgh has had in years - and 13 picks in the 2025 NHL Draft - top prospects lists are becoming more competitive and more difficult to discern. Since the prospect pool is deepening, The Hockey News - Pittsburgh Penguins takes a look at the top-20 prospects in the organization. 

At No. 6, we discuss a blueliner who made his way to the NHL in 2024-25, and - although he didn't stick around through the end of the season - he showed flashes of top-four potential. That would be Owen Pickering.

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#6: D Owen Pickering

The 2024-25 season was a big one for Pickering, who was selected 21st overall by the Penguins in 2022. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound blueliner was touted more so as a two-way defenseman heading into the draft, as he registered nine goals and 33 points in 62 games with the Swift Current Broncos in 2021-22.

Since then, Pickering's offensive game has yet to really take off in a big way. He did record 16 goals and 91 points in 120 more games with Swift Current before moving on full-time to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins of the AHL last season - but that is where flashes of his shutdown ability really started to surface.

In 47 games with WBS last season - split between the beginning of the 2024-25 season and the end of it - he put up just two goals and 13 points total. But it was his game on the defensive side of the puck and in transition that impressed the Penguins and led to an unexpected mid-season callup ahead of a Nov. 16 game against the San Jose Sharks.

Pickering recorded an assist in his first NHL contest, and just five games later, he recorded his first NHL goal against the Florida Panthers. The spurts of production - and ability along the offensive blue line - was encouraging to see from Pickering, but what was even more encouraging was the fact that he jumped into minutes alongside Kris Letang on the top pairing less than a month later.

Big goal, even bigger smile.

Congratulations on your first NHL goal, Owen Pickering! pic.twitter.com/h5rqvxPX8k

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 4, 2024

And this, perhaps, was an assignment that Pickering wasn't quite ready for. It wasn't for lack of ability, but rather, for lack of experience. Much of the steadiness and suredness that was shown from him early on and in WBS earlier in the season started to fade a bit, and an injury just before the holiday break kept him out for two weeks. Pickering did stick around through most of January, but he saw his minutes dwindle and eventually ended up back in WBS.

But make no mistake: Pickering showed enough in his NHL sample size to prove he is ready for full-time NHL action next season, even if in more controlled, sheltered minutes. And that's exactly where he intends to be in 2025-26. 

"You never want to get sent back," Pickering said near the end of WBS's 2024-25 season. "You always want to be in the NHL. I feel like I proved to myself that I can play in the NHL. I want to be full-time next year, I want to be [in Pittsburgh] the whole year. That's the goal."

And Pickering certainly has the ability, even if - as GM and POHO Kyle Dubas said in his post-season press conference - he isn't quite ready for top-four minutes yet. He is figuring out how to use his frame to his advantage, as he is getting better and better at boxing guys out and pushing them to the perimeter of the ice. He's mobile for his size as well, and he already excels at navigating the offensive blue line and finding lanes. 

What Will Owen Pickering's Role Be In 2025-26?Next season will present a prime opportunity for several Pittsburgh Penguins’ prospects to crack the NHL roster.

But there is still room for improvement as well. Pickering could use some work on his breakouts, and he could also develop a more physical game. He's also still working on establishing his presence in front of his own net and not forcing plays and decisions. 

All in all, the Penguins see Pickering as a big part of their future on the blue line. Dubas wants to see the young defenseman push for a bigger role this season, and one doesn't have to look very hard to see the potential there. 

“We can't have him same as we had him go down, settling into a 12-13 minute a night role," Dubas said. "He needs to come in and push his way into 17, 18, 19, 20 minutes and earn that.”

It remains to be seen what Pickering does with the opportunity he has. There is a lot of uncertainty on the left side of the Penguins' blue line, and it seems as though a spot is there for the taking for Pickering if he has a good training camp. 

If he does crack the NHL roster, he may very well develop into a shutdown presence that the Penguins have needed for a long while. And there might still be some room for him to make his way onto the scoresheet consistently, too.

Top-20 Penguins' Prospects 2025: Forward Prospect Continues To Build Two-Way GameHeading into the 2025-26 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have shifted the focus to youth and development.

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The list so far:

- No. 7: Tanner Howe
- No. 8: G Arturs Silovs
- No. 9: G Joel Blomqvist
- No. 10: F Tristan Broz
- No. 11: F Will Horcoff
- No. 12: F Mikhail Ilyin
- No. 13 F Filip Hallander
- No. 14: F Bill Zonnon
- No. 15: F Melvin Fernstrom
- No. 16: D Emil Pieniniemi
- No. 17: F Avery Hayes
- No. 18: F Cruz Lucius
- No. 19: D Finn Harding
- No. 20: D Peyton Kettles

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Former Detroit Red Wings forward Luke Glendening, who made a living in the Motor City with his effectiveness in the face-off circle as well as on the penalty kill, has landed what could prove to be one of his final opportunities to extend his NHL career. 

Glendening, who has played the last two seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, has agreed to a professional tryout agreement (PTO) with the New Jersey Devils. 

#NJDevils have signed Kevin Rooney, Luke Glendening, Adam Scheel and Georgi Romanov to PTOs.

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) September 5, 2025

One of many NHL players who originally hail from the state of Michigan who have suited up for the Red Wings during their careers, Glendening played college hockey for the University of Michigan before signing a one-year contract with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit's American Hockey League affiliate, in June 2012. 

Playing under Griffins head coach Jeff Blashill, whom he would later reunite with during their time with the Lightning, Glendening helped Grand Rapids to the 2013 Calder Cup championship, recording six goals and 10 assists in 24 postseason games.

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

He would eventually get his feet wet at the NHL level by appearing in 56 games with the Red Wings in the 2013-14 NHL season, and soon became a regular in their lineup. During his first full NHL season in 2014-15, Glendening scored 12 goals in 82 games, which remains his highest goal scoring output. 

Notable Changes Reportedly Coming For Future Red Wings Seasons It's been over 30 years since the Detroit Red Wings, or any other NHL club for that matter, has played more than 82 regular season games.

Glendening spent several more seasons with the Red Wings and, alongside then-teammate Dylan Larkin, was part of the last Detroit roster to reach the postseason in 2016.

He departed Detroit and joined the Dallas Stars prior to the 2021-22 NHL season, signing a two-year, $3 million contract. He appeared in the postseason in both campaigns with Dallas, which included a run to the Western Conference Final in 2023. 

Following the conclusion of his deal with the Stars, Glendening opted to return to the Eastern Conference by signing a two-year, $1.6 million deal with the Lightning. While he scored 10 goals in 81 games in his first season in Tampa, his offense dipped to just four goals and three assists in 77 games last season. 

Glendening has skated in a total of 864 NHL games with the Red Wings, Stars, and Lightning, and has amassed 83 goals with 83 assists. He's also tallied six goals with four assists in 50 career postseason games. 

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Several players are looking for roster spots on the New Jersey Devils lineup this training camp. Three forwards in particular, Arseniy Gritsyuk, Lenni Hämeenaho, and Shane Lachance, are entering what could be their breakthrough season, each with an opportunity to solidify a place in the NHL.

While all three have a legitimate shot at cracking the lineup, training camp will be the true test of whether they’re ready for the jump.

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Arseniy Gritsyuk

Gritsyuk is making his NHL debut after leaving the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The Russian forward is expected to bring a strong offensive presence, with the skillset to fit into the Devils’ middle six. However, questions remain about how quickly he can adapt to the North American game after spending most of his career overseas.

“Gritsyuk will be the one that we’re really excited to see when he comes over here,” Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said after free agency. “How can he adapt? He’ll be here mid-August to get settled. They tell me he’s got the upside of Dadonov at the same age, and it would be nice for Dadonov to mentor him.”

Gritsyuk has also stated that if he doesn’t make the NHL roster, he would only spend a short stint in the AHL before considering a return to the KHL.

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Lenni Hämeenaho

Hämeenaho, drafted by the Devils in 2023, is another intriguing prospect heading into camp. The Finnish forward signed with New Jersey at the end of last season after playing professionally in Finland. At 6-foot-1 and just 20 years old, he has the size, skill, and potential to make a strong impression in his first training camp.

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Shane Lachance

The final player to watch is Lachance, who has spent the past two seasons at Boston University. Standing at 6-foot-5, he offers a different dimension that could strengthen the Devils’ bottom six. As captain of the Terriers, he showcased both leadership and production, helping guide his team to success in the NCAA.

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Each of these three forwards brings a different skillset, and all will be given the chance to compete for a spot.

“We’re excited. I think we’re a faster team. I think we’ve added skill,” Fitzgerald said. “The excitement of watching Gritsyuk, Hämeenaho, or even Lachance come into camp and make it hard on us to send them down — they’re all different, and they all have NHL upside.”

The Calgary Flames have reportedly signed forward Connor Zary to a three-year bridge contract with the club, worth $11.325 million, carrying an annual average value of $3.775 million. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. 

"Hearing Connor Zary and the Calgary Flames are closing in on a three-year extension at just under $3.8M," Friedman posted.

Zary, 23, is coming off a promising sophomore campaign in which he notched 13 goals and 27 points in 54 games before being sidelined with a lower-body injury late in the season. Over his 117 career NHL appearances, the skilled forward has recorded 27 goals and 61 points, showcasing consistent offensive upside and two-way reliability.

Originally selected 24th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native has quickly established himself as a key part of Calgary’s young core. His vision, hockey sense, and ability to contribute in all situations have made him a valuable piece of the Flames’ lineup.

The deal secures Zary through the 2027–28 NHL season. 

While Mike Sullivan is an already established NHL coach, he has a lot to prove as he begins this new opportunity with the New York Rangers. 

Through his ten years coaching the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team won two Stanley Cups, and Sullivan is credited with some of the praise, which is well-deserved.

However, Sullivan did have Sidney Crosby, who was in the prime of his career for a large part of Sullivan’s tenure in Pittsburgh. 

Now, Sullivan will be without Crosby, and that brings some pressure on him.

Crosby brought both tremendous results on the ice and an element of leadership that helped build a strong culture with the Penguins. 

It’s on Sullivan to establish a culture in New York for a Rangers organization that is in desperate need of an identity after a disastrous season. 

Sullivan is out to prove he can build a Stanley Cup foundation without the likes of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. 

Igor Shesterkin Ranked As Third Best Goalie in NHL Network’s Top-10 Goalie List.Igor Shesterkin ranked no. 3 in the NHL Network’s Top-10 goalie list. 

When Sullivan arrived in Pittsburgh, the Penguins had already won a Stanley Cup just a few years before, much different compared to the Rangers, who haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1994. 

This opening with the Blueshirts presents a challenge and opportunity for Sullivan to further establish himself as one of the greatest coaches of this generation.

A former New York Rangers forward has landed a professional tryout (PTO) with one of the club's biggest rivals. 

The New Jersey Devils have announced that they have signed former Ranger Kevin Rooney to a PTO. 

#NEWS: We’ve signed Kevin Rooney, Luke Glendening, Adam Scheel and Georgi Romanov to PTOs.

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) September 5, 2025

Rooney is among the unrestricted free agents (UFAs) left at this juncture of the off-season, but he is now a step closer to changing that by landing this PTO with New Jersey. Now, he will be looking to impress at training camp to earn a contract for the season. 

Rooney previously played for the Devils from 2016-17 to 2019-20. However, his time in New Jersey ended when he signed a two-year, $1.5 million contract with the Rangers during the 2020 NHL off-season. 

Rooney posted 14 goals, 12 assists, 26 points, and 194 hits in 115 games over two seasons with the Rangers. His time with the Blueshirts ended during the 2022 NHL off-season when he signed a three-year deal with the Calgary Flames in free agency. 

In 70 games this past season for the Flames, Rooney recorded five goals and 10 points. 

Recent Rangers News 

Rangers Have Interesting PTO Target To Consider 

Rangers Should Give Soaring Forward Big Opportunity 

Rangers: Big Year Ahead For Artemi Panarin 

The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, but the organization’s developmental model has not yielded enough results. 

Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. All are 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals, and have played less than 40 NHL games. 

Other Sabres Stories

Projecting Sabres Trade Cost - Lawson Crouse 

Six Former Sabres Who Signed Elsewhere

#8 - Jake Richard  - Forward (Connecticut - NCAA)

Richard was the Sabres sixth-round pick at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal who opened some eyes last year at the club’s development camp. A native of Jacksonville, FL, the 6’1”, 194 lb. winger played his youth hockey in Florida and a year with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, where he scored 48 points (18 goals, 30 assists) before being selected 170th overall.

The following season, Richard split time between the Lumberjacks and Tri-City and increased his goal total to 31 and compiled 62 points in 57 games. As a freshman at Connecticut, he finished fourth on the club with 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists). Last season, the 20-year-old finished second in team scoring in his sophomore campaign, averaging over a point per game (15 goals, 28 assists) in 34 games, and at the club’s 2025 development camp once again showed his scoring prowess. 

If Richard has another good year with the Huskies, the Sabres should try to coax the young forward out of college with a professional contract offer, before he gets ideas of becoming an unrestricted free agent after his senior season in 2027. 

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The Montreal Canadiens traded Carey Price and a 2026 fifth-round draft pick to the San Jose Sharks on Friday.

The Canadiens received defenseman Gannon Laroque in return.

Price, 38, last played five games in the 2021-22 season for the Canadiens. The goaltender hasn't played since due to injury.

The Sharks take on the final year of Price's contract, which carries a $10.5-million cap hit but just a $2-million base salary. They still have more than $9.2 million in cap space.

Montreal, meanwhile, has about $4.57 million in cap space. They can accrue that space instead of putting Price on the long-term injured reserve, which means they could make a bigger move at the trade deadline next March.

Laroque, 22, is in the third year of his entry-level contract. In 2023-24, he played nine games with ECHL Wichita, recording two assists there, and nine games with AHL San Jose, where he had a goal and an assist. The Sharks drafted him 103rd overall in 2021. He didn't play last season due to injury.

Price's Time With The Canadiens

Price set franchise highs during his 15 seasons playing for the Canadiens, which selected him fifth overall in the 2005 NHL draft.

His 712 games played and 700 starts are the most among all goaltenders in the Canadiens' 107 NHL seasons. Hockey Hall of Famer and six-time Stanley Cup champion Jacques Plante is second, with 556 games and starts.

Like Plante, Price is a Hart Trophy winner, receiving the most votes in the 2014-15 season, when he also captured the Ted Lindsay Award, Vezina Trophy and William M. Jennings Trophy. Price had a 44-16-6 record with a 1.96 goals-against average, .933 save percentage and nine shutouts that season.

Price also recorded the most wins by a goaltender in Habs history, with 361, 47 more than Plante. His 49 shutouts are in third place. 

Price had at least 30 wins in a season five times, at least a .910 save percentage nine times and a goals-against average lower than 2.50 seven times.

Overall, Price, a member of Ulkatcho First Nation in British Columbia, had a 361-261-79 record, 2.51 GAA and .917 SP with the Canadiens in the regular season.

In the playoffs, Price went 43-45 in 92 games with a 2.39 GAA, .919 SP and eight shutouts. He's third in franchise history in playoff games played, fourth in playoff wins and fifth in save percentage among Habs netminders who played at least 10 playoff games.

The furthest Price got in the playoffs was in 2020-21. He backstopped the Habs to a comeback seven-game series win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, a sweep over the Winnipeg Jets and a six-game win over the Vegas Golden Knights in the semifinal.

The Canadiens won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl for the first time ever, considering that trophy usually goes to the Western Conference champions. It went to them due to temporary divisional realignment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the final, Montreal faced the defending-champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bolts won the first three games before Price stopped 32 shots to cut the series deficit to 3-1. Tampa Bay won the Cup in Game 5.

That was Price's last playoff game with the Canadiens and almost certainly his NHL career. He missed most of the 2021-22 season due to a torn meniscus injury before playing five games in April 2022, winning one of them.

He hasn't officially retired since he's still under contract, but there appear to be no plans of playing again in hockey's top league for the father of three children.

Correction: Laroque last played in 2023-24, not 2024-25.

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There are big-name players whose contracts will expire following the 2025-26 season. Arguably, none are bigger than Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and Minnesota Wild left winger Kirill Kaprizov.

Even though the two forwards are in separate divisions and don't share the same agents, they could affect the outcome of each other’s new contracts, for better or worse.

McDavid and Kaprizov have been eligible to sign new deals since July 1 but haven’t yet. However, whoever signs their contract extension first will likely set the table for the other star player.

McDavid, 28, already has 1,082 points in 712 regular-season games and 150 points in 96 playoff games. He's won the Art Ross Trophy five times, the Ted Lindsay Award four times, the Hart Trophy three times, the 'Rocket' Richard Trophy once and the Conn Smythe Trophy once. After back-to-back Stanley Cup final losses, he's focused on winning it all multiple times.

Kaprizov, 28, has 386 points in 319 NHL games, and in only 25 playoff games, he's put up 21 points.

It’s no surprise that both of these players will receive groundbreaking contracts and could set financial records in the NHL. But what remains unclear is how much these players will earn.

The current bar for the highest-paid NHL player by season is McDavid’s Oilers teammate, Leon Draisaitl, whose new deal carries a $14-million cap hit. There’s a great possibility that McDavid and Kaprizov will exceed that number, especially with the rising salary cap in consideration.

McDavid is considered the best player in the sport by some margin. With that, he’ll likely be paid as such, unless he takes a page out of Sidney Crosby’s book and accepts a lower-than-expected cap hit for the team.

Nonetheless, with Draisaitl’s $14-million cap hit to reach, McDavid will likely surpass that by a few million, possibly a range of $16 million to $18 million.

But what if Kaprizov and the Wild come to terms for a contract that pays him $15.5 million or $16 million per season? That could force the range for McDavid’s contract to go even higher, just out of respect for him being the best player in the NHL.

Furthermore, Wild owner Craig Leipold said an agreement between the team and Kaprizov is “not that far off,” according to The Athletic.

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/mcdavid-talks-contract-and-oilers-my-belief-has-never-been-higher

In addition, this situation goes both ways. McDavid could be the one to restrict Kaprizov’s contract if GM Stan Bowman and the Oilers put pen to paper quicker than the Wild and GM Bill Guerin.

If Edmonton’s captain were to take a relatively team-friendly deal, between $14 million and $16 million, that would likely force Kaprizov to cash in a lower cap hit than his camp might’ve planned initially.

Of course, there are other factors that go into each player's situation, and one player signing first won't be the only basis for the next player's contract.

Based on some calculations and assumptions done in The Hockey News' 2025 Money & Power issue, a Wild player pays a higher percentage of their contract in taxes than in Edmonton (47.91 percent to 47.01 percent).

Kaprizov's agent, Paul Theofanous, has also secured some massive contracts for other star players, such as Artemi Panarin's $$1,642,857 average annual value with the New York Rangers and Sergei Bobrovsky's $10-million cap hit with the Florida Panthers. McDavid signing a team-friendly contract doesn't mean Kaprizov will as well (and vice-versa), but it could make it more difficult.

As for other pending UFAs, such as the Winnipeg Jets' Kyle Connor, Vegas Golden Knights' Jack Eichel, Colorado Avalanche's Martin Necas and Rangers' Panarin, if their camps have any concerns about teams using McDavid's next deal as a comparable, they may want to set the bar themselves.

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Igor Shesterkin ranked no. 3 in the NHL Network’s Top-10 goalie list. 

The only two goalies that ranked ahead of Shesterkin on this list are Andrei Vasilevskiy and Connor Hellebuyck. 

This past season, Shesterkin signed an eight-year, $92 million contract extension with the New York Rangers, making him the highest-paid goalie in NHL history. 

At the pinnacle of Shesterkin’s career, he won the Vezina and was a Hart Trophy finalist for League MVP in 2022. 

On top of that, Shesterkin has helped lead the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final twice through his tenure as the team’s starting goalie. 

During the 2024-25 campaign, the 29-year-old goalie recorded a 27-29-5 record, 2.86 goals against average, and .905 save percentage. 

Gabe Perreault Reaffirms His Primary Goal Of Securing A Roster Spot With The Rangers Gabe Perreault continues to make his goals loud and clear. 

The goalies ranked behind Shesterkin on this list include Sergei Bobrovsky, Jake Oettinger, Ilya Sorokin, Jordan Binnington, Filip Gustavsson, Darcy Kuemper, and Linus Ullmark.

Veteran defenseman Mattias Ekholm was asked about his own contract situation on Friday, specifically if he's looking to re-sign with the Edmonton Oilers.

Understanding that Connor McDavid is getting the bulk of the attention, Ekholm is among a handful of pending UFAs on this Oilers roster that could be signed this summer or anytime during the season.

“Is This Real?” Insider Says McDavid’s Comments Has NHL on AlertConnor McDavid’s contract status has clearly become the NHL’s biggest storyline heading into the 2025–26 season. Fans and media are hanging on every word McDavid says and reading into the things he doesn't say. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman says the hockey world is right to be on edge.

“Absolutely I want to stay in Edmonton, but I know you have to take care of the big boys first," said Ekholm. He added, "Once he (McDavid) gets done I’m sure we will talk."

Ekholm, 35, is in a slightly different situation than other UFAs on the Oilers. He's on the back nine of his NHL career and it might not be wise for the organization to commit long term. However, salary cap flexibility is paramount and one of the ways to keep his AAV down is by offering more term.

How Much Is Connor McDavid Worth?

Oilers Unique Defender Storming To A Big Season

The Oilers have to ask themselves, at what point does Ekholm start not being worth the investment? He's aware that's a question that will need to be answered.

"I’m getting up there (age) but I know what I bring,” Ekholm said on entering the final year of his deal. The 2025-26 season is an important one, not just for the team but for the player. If he has a big year, signing him is just a matter of dollars and cents. If he doesn't, or he struggles to stay healthy, questions about what to offer him come into play. 

When asked how he feels after his injury during the playoffs last season, he responded, "I feel great, I feel a lot better... It was tough just 'cause you're more out there to survive than creating something or playing your game." Ekholm played with a torn adductor muscle in final against the Florida Panthers. The injury severely limited his effectiveness. 

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Welcome to this edition of "From The Archive". In this recurring series, we open The Hockey News' vault and display some of the top Vancouver Canucks related articles from the past. Today's article comes from Volume 35, Issue 32, where The Hockey News wrote about the "The great towel-waving episode of the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs."

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Canucks Spurred By Towel-Waving Vancouver Fans, Volume 35, Issue 32, May 14, 1982

The great towel-waving episode of the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs appeared to be catching on with Vancouver hockey fans and if anything it seemed to be providing the Canucks with the incentive they needed to knock off Chicago in their Campbell Conference final series.

The Canucks split the first two games in Chicago and then came back home to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven conference final for the right to oppose the Wales Conference winner—either the New York Islanders or the Quebec Nordiques—in the Stanley Cup final.

The Canucks, fined $11,000 by the NHL for waving towels on the end of hockey sticks in protest over the officiating, were getting some unexpected support from their hometown fans, who were shelling out $4.95 each to purchase the specially marked towels to wave at the Black Hawks.

Following are the capsule reports of the Campbell Conference final series.

Game One: Jim Nill’s goal at 8:58 of the second overtime gave the Canucks a 2-1 victory and first blood in the Campbell Conference championship against the Black Hawks, but the real story once again was the goaltending of Vancouver’s Richard Brodeur.

The Canucks’ 5-7, 160-pound netminder stopped all but one of 47 shots hurled his way in bringing his playoff record this year to a sparkling eight wins against just one loss. Brodeur was particularly frustrating for Doug Wilson and Tom Lysiak, two of the Black Hawks’ leading scorers, who combined for 15 shots on the Vancouver goal and came away empty.

The only goal that got past Brodeur was a backhander rolled in by Terry Ruskowski in the first period which tied the contest at 1-1 at the 10:11 mark. And it remained that way for close to 79 minutes before either team could score again.

Thomas Gradin opened the game’s scoring at 8:02 of the first period when he put in a pass from Curt Fraser for his fourth score of the playoffs.

Ruskowski notched his first playoff goal after a great set-up by Rich Preston, who carried the puck out from the corner.

Brodeur kept the Black Hawks from ever gaining the lead and his mates finally got through against 39-year-old Tony Esposito, who was coming off a shutout in the series-clincher against St. Louis.

After Brodeur made another excellent stop off Wilson five minutes into the second overtime period, the Canucks got control in the Chicago end. Defenseman Harold Snepsts sent a shot which Esposito stopped but the rebound came to Nill, who was heading towards the goal. Nill flipped the puck into the top of the net and the Canucks had a win on the road.

In fact, it was the Canucks’ fourth consecutive playoff win on the road in as many tries.

Tue. April 27 VANCOUVER 2, CHICAGO 1

Game Two: A pair of third-period goals by Chicago’s Denis Savard put the lid on the Canucks’ comeback attempts and allowed the Black Hawks to stretch a 2-1 lead to a 4-1 victory which evened the Campbell Conference final series at one game each.

The game was a long, raucous affair with 188 minutes in penalties dished out by referee Bob Myers, who banished Canucks’ coach Roger Neilson and players Dave Williams and Gerry Minor to the dressing room when the trio placed white towels on the ends of hockey sticks in apparent disgust with Myers’ officiating.

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For the second game in succession in the series, the Black Hawks dominated first-period action, finally grabbing their first lead on a goal by Glen Sharpley at 18:28. Sharpley came up with the puck behind the Canuck goal, skated out front, and while two Vancouver defensemen concerned themselves with Ted Bulley, shot one at Richard Brodeur and then flipped in the rebound.

The Canucks exerted some pressure against Hawks’ goalie Murray Bannerman in the second period, outshooting Chicago 15-9, but the only goal of the period was scored by Hawks’ defenseman Doug Feamster who scored on a drive from the point.

In the third period, the Canucks climbed back into the contest when Stan Smyl blistered a 45-footer past Bannerman and into the net at 1:01 of the period.

Then Savard took over.

First, he circled behind the Vancouver net and slipped a shot past Brodeur while swinging around the defense at 4:42. Then with less than four minutes remaining, Savard finished off a tic-tac-toe passing play, shooting into the open side after relays by Bob Murray and Tom Lysiak.

Thu. April 29 VANCOUVER 1, CHICAGO 4

Game Three: Stan Smyl stepped out of the penalty box to score a breakaway goal which proved to be the game-winner as the Canucks held on for a 4-3 victory over Chicago to take a 2-1 lead in their Campbell Conference series.

Smyl scored at 2:05 of the third period to give the Canucks a 4-2 lead on a play which was initiated by the Black Hawks. The Hawks had controlled the play inside the Canucks’ zone for more than a minute, passing the puck although they weren’t able to shake free for any shots. Denis Savard sent the puck in around the boards behind the Vancouver net and the shot bounced off the boards and out to Smyl, who had just stepped out of the penalty box. Smyl broke in alone on Chicago’s Murray Bannerman and beat him with a shot to the far side.

Rick Paterson got the goal back for Chicago a little more than a minute later to cut the deficit to one, but it was the Canucks who enjoyed the better chances for the remainder of the period, outshooting Chicago, 14-8. Bannerman was forced to make key saves off Curt Fraser and Tiger Williams to keep the contest close.

Chicago opened the scoring at 10:18 as Glen Sharpley notched his fifth goal of the playoffs. Vancouver answered with a pair of goals, the first by Thomas Gradin, also his fifth of the playoffs, and the second by rookie defenseman Neil Belland, his first of the playoffs. The Hawks’ Doug Wilson tied the game before the period ended with his third of the playoffs, a blistering drive which Richard Brodeur partially stopped with his stick but couldn’t keep out of the net.

Fraser had the only goal of the middle period, a long slapshot which beat Bannerman at 10:03.

Black Hawks’ center Denis Savard was handed a gross misconduct after the game when he waited for van Hellemond and then swore and spat at the ref in the corridor outside the officials’ room. Savard was complaining about the Canucks’ clutch and grab tactics.

Sat. May 1 CHICAGO 3, VANCOUVER 4

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It's been over 30 years since the Detroit Red Wings, or any other NHL club for that matter, has played more than 82 regular season games.

Following the lockout that wiped out half of the 1994-95 campaign, NHL regular seasons have been set to 82 games (aside from another lockout shortened year in 2012-13, along with the interrupted 2019-20 season at the onset of COVID-19). 

Now, the NHL is reportedly not only going to return to an 84-game schedule, but will be pushing back the start of the season to late September. 

As indicated by NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun, the 2026-27 NHL season will feature a return of an 84-game schedule and will begin weeks earlier than what has been a traditional early October starting dat

As reported before but now the NHL has started to put it together, the regular season will begin in late September for 2026-27 and Cup awarded mid June. Pre-season shortened and regular season extended to 84 games.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) September 3, 2025

It will mark just the second time since the 2007-08 season (Detroit's last Stanley Cup-winning season) that regular season play started in September; the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings faced one another at the 02 Arena in London, England to begin that campaign. 

Another notable change is the preseason schedule being cut in half, reduced from eight games to just four.

With the extra pair of regular season games, the Red Wings will now face every one of their Atlantic Division opponents no less than four times a season.  

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The revised schedule and start dates are part of the NHL’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which takes effect next September.

During his media availability after Development Camp in early July, Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman expressed his support for the scheduling changes.

“I think it’ll give more balance to divisional games,” Yzerman said. “I’m not exactly sure what the matrix is going to be as far as divisional games and what not, but it seemed to make sense to us.”

As for a potential downside to the reduced preseason schedule, Yzerman noted that it provides less time to evaluate the progression of younger players in NHL action.

“I think the four preseason games, it’s a bit of a challenge. You’re always weighing how many games your veteran players need to play," Yzerman said. "The guys that are really knocking on the door, the guys that you can consider call-ups and then those players that are here trying to push to make the team. It’s going to be hard to get everybody in a reasonable number of games with four. That’s the downside to it, but we’ll manage it.”

The last time the Red Wings played an 84-game schedule, in 1993–94, was still three seasons before their 1997 Stanley Cup victory.

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Mitch Marner is set to visit Scotiabank Arena as a visitor when his Vegas Golden Knights face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 23. Despite Leafs games on a Friday night usually being broadcast locally by rights-holders Sportsnet or TSN, a report indicates that the game will be free of Canadian geographical restrictions.

The news was first mentioned on the '32 Thoughts' podcast with Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas. While discussing the player, Friedman stated, "I know that game this year, which by the way, we have now made a national game". He added, "I mean, that’s going to be a crazy night". Ironically, this detail emerged from a broader conversation in which Friedman expressed his belief that it would be best for Marner, the Maple Leafs, and the fans to move on from the ongoing drama surrounding his departure.

Marner departed the Maple Leafs organization after spending the first nine seasons of his NHL career with the club. The 2015 first-round draft pick and one of the most prolific offensive players in franchise history, he recorded 221 goals and 520 assists in 657 career regular-season games. However, his performance in the playoffs often came into question, leading to significant criticism from fans and analysts alike.

In a recent interview with Mark Masters of TSN, Marner explained his reasons for not returning to Toronto, citing concerns for his own safety. There is no doubt that the narrative will continue to be a hot topic until Marner finally plays those games against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Maple Leafs and Golden Knights completed a trade for Marner's rights on June 30 and the Golden Knights committed to Marner for eight years with an average annual value of $12 million per season.

For fans living in Canada outside the Maple Leafs’ traditional viewing region, this national broadcast will allow them to watch Marner's return to Scotiabank Arena without needing to subscribe to Sportsnet’s higher-tier streaming service, Sportsnet+ Premium.

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