It’s finally the year your team makes it to the Stanley Cup Final and is etched into hockey history till the end of time. For some, it hasn’t happened in a long time, but this year is different. This year they will actually hoist. Right?

Wrong.

For a few, the taste of champagne lingers on the palate, which should mean ordering another round. Right?

Wrong.

Your team won’t win the Stanley Cup. You know how I know?

1. Boston Bruins

Last year I said the Bruins lacked identity, and boy was that a bullseye. These guys can’t even decide who their next captain is after Bergeron and Marchand left town. Should it be McCavoy or Pastrnak? All I know is neither will be skating out to retrieve any hardware this season, because they don’t have a single elite center and lack center depth in general. And they still employ Casey Mittelstadt, nuff said.

2. Buffalo Sabres

Goalie problems in Buffalo? I know, crazy, right? Buffalo won’t hoist that unless they somehow land Connor Hellebuyck, who requested a trade from the Winnipeg Jets. That feels pretty much impossible since they traded so much talent this offseason. Not to mention it’s Buffalo who have only been to the finals twice since 1970. I will say that Hull’s foot was in the crease, though.

I have no allegiance to either team tonight. But I’ll tell you what my eyes and brain tell me. They tell me Buffalo’s time has come to end. I will not be wearing the Goat Head jersey. I will not aid the Sabres into battle. I’m putting down my sword. Some times it’s about knowing… pic.twitter.com/DOQwR4jyD2

— Paul Bissonnette (@BizNasty2point0) May 16, 2026

3. Carolina Hurricanes

Congrats, Hurricanes, you have won the Stanley Cup, but now you should take the time to apologize for what happens next. You won’t win a cup because this league is quick to make adjustments based on recent success. Even on nights where clear adjustments look obvious, you’ll stick to your guns, and it will cost you. Stubborn Canes.

4. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets won’t win the Stanley Cup because they don’t know what team defense is and have tried to trade their Norris Trophy-winning defender to the Dallas Stars. We keep being told that living in Columbus isn’t the issue and that the Jackets are going to find the spark they showed way back when they swept the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Lightning. That was seven years ago.

5. Detroit Red Wings

Detroit’s own captain doesn’t think the Wings can make the playoffs or win the Stanley Cup, so why should I? Dylan Larkin’s holdout for the perfect fit could land him a move to absolutely nowhere, and we could see a captain get booed in his own barn on a nightly basis. I’m almost certain he will inevitably end up in Vegas.

LET'S WATCH: Dylan Larkin

Larkin's trade request (and short trade list) have been the story of the offseason. Here's a game of his from December: pic.twitter.com/YphQZzMpij

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 10, 2026

6. Florida Panthers

Team Tkachuk brothers is finally formed, as players from Team USA have fully weaponized the group chat and appear to be vacating Canadian franchises left and right. Too bad their average age is over 30, and the brothers can’t stage a line brawl every night. It will be entertaining to watch this Panthers team, but they aren’t headed to the promised land because this isn’t the WWE.

Nikita Zadorov mic’d up chirping Brady Tkachuk for an entire game is as entertaining as it sounds 🍿

(via @NHLBruins) pic.twitter.com/998s7Ia4SM

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 12, 2025

7. Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens started the curse by trading Stanley Cup Champion & Conn Smythe winner Patrick Roy to the Colorado Avalanche. Imagine Mario Tremblay and overexpecting Canadian fans (yeah, Bronx cheering your HOF goalie, ain’t it) have led to the longest Canadian-Cupless Drought ever, and the clock keeps ticking. The Habs won’t win the Cup because Lane Hutson is good, but not what Habs fans think he is. There are levels.

Editor’s Note: Yeah, I know Edmonton traded Gretzky around the same time, but that was stupid, too.

8. New Jersey Devils

Do I even have to write this one? Your best player can’t even last the dinner service without getting injured. You haven’t fully engaged Team Hughes, so there’s still not enough hype for the locals to care. Gonna throw Jake Allen between the pipes as a starter again this season? Yeah, don’t plan the parade.

9.New York Islanders

The Islanders have some of the most loyal and die-hard fans in the league. Too bad their team hasn’t rewarded them. Nothing gets the people going like first-round exits. Remember what I said about Canadiens fans and Lane Hutson? I repeat my sentiments regarding Matthew Scheffers and the Islanders who won’t win a cup because they have no business doing so.

10. New York Rangers

The New York Rangers = The New York Jets.

Obviously the New York Rangers have been terrible all season and they’ve consistently lived at the bottom of the standings, but, the last game of the season always makes me feel pretty sad. #NYR

— Snark Messier (@SnarkMessier) April 15, 2026

11. Ottawa Senators

Well, Senators fans got their wish: Brady Tkachuk left town, and now it’s about to go down. Well, not really, because despite what Sens fans said about Brady, he was among their more talented and capable forwards. Now you have a top-line vacuum stronger than a top-dollar Dyson. Not to mention the PK unit in Ottawa couldn’t stop Sweden’s U20 team.

12. Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers won’t win the Cup because Daniel Briere accelerated the inflation of the NHL salary cap by offer-sheeting Leo Carlsson. Now he makes $18M AAV to play for the Ducks, and the Flyers still lack any semblance of real talent. Jett Lunchenko may turn out to be what the Flyers hope he’ll be, but it won’t be enough to overcome the lack of center depth. No Lord Stanley in The City of Brotherly Love.

13. Pittsburgh Penguins

This is finally the year that Sidney Crosby does it. Finally, the year he gets back to the playoffs. The only thing is, it will be with a team not named the Pittsburgh Penguins. Say hi to Sammy G for us, though!

14. Tampa Bay Lightning

Kucherov is still humming along, and Jon Cooper is regarded as the best coach in the business after having one of his least impressive campaigns. It’s actually comical that the Lightning last season is the group that finally earned Cooper the Jack Adams. Tampa won’t hoist because Vassy isn’t the same, and neither are the Lightning.

15. Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs fans chased Mitch Marner out of town and immediately turned their attention to Auston Matthews as their next target. There’s the group-chat side of the American players leaving Canadian franchises. Still, there’s also the toxic-fandom side that won’t sleep until talented players veto the hockey capital of the world altogether. The Maple Leafs won’t win a cup because why would they?

16. Washington Capitals

The Alex Ovechkin victory lap seems like it won’t ever end, and although the greatest goal scorer in the world still has that wicked one-timer from the dot, his team is a flash in the pan after a flash in the pan. The Capitals are a one-step-forward, two-steps-back sort of squad, so I guess maybe this will be a step forward, but I doubt it. Either way, I’m more confident in humans living on Mars one day than I am in the Capitals winning the Cup.

ALEXANDER OVECHKIN pic.twitter.com/Qup7ZjdvXa

— tom wilson glazer (@tomwilsonglazer) September 6, 2026

* Disclaimer – this article is satirical in nature. *

The NHL Network is currently counting down the top 50 players across the entire NHL prior to the puck dropping on the 2026-27 season in just a few weeks.

The New York Islanders' superstar goaltender Ilya Sorokin made the list, checking in at #35.

From unranked to #⃣3⃣5⃣ - Ilya Sorokin (@NYIslanders) balled out and earned himself a spot on NHL Network's Top 50 Players Right Now list!

📺: #NHLTopPlayers on NHL Network pic.twitter.com/GpOWTlAiXk

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) September 6, 2026

The list is not fully finished, as last night's focus revealed players #31 through 40, which included the likes of Cole Caufield, Kyle Connor, Sebastian Aho, and Evan Bouchard.

NHL Network's Top 50 Players Right Now list keeps rolling with 40-31!

📺: #NHLTopPlayers on NHL Network pic.twitter.com/weHw79z313

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) September 7, 2026

Sorokin, 31, posted a 2.68 GAA and a .906 SV% with a league-leading seven shutouts in 55 games, with a 29-24-2 record. His GSAE sat at 25.3, which was the best in the NHL behind Boston Bruins' netminder Jeremy Swayman (28.8) and Washington captains netminder Logan Thompson (29.3).  

Other analytic sites and analyses had Sorokin as the very best in the entire NHL, including Data Driven Hockey.

The 2026 Vezina runner-up can only hope to carry over the elite play into another season, as he continues to be an absolute anchor for the Islanders in net.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have 24 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #24. 

Let's take a look.

Mike Gaul - 2001 - Drafted by Los Angeles in 1991. 

Played two games for Columbus during the franchise's first season in 2000. He didn't score a point and never played another NHL game.

He left for Europe in 2001 and played in Switzerland until 2004. After retiring from professional hockey in 2004, Mike took a position as a senior partner at an Investment Bank, Vires Capital VII, where he is currently developing and overseeing a portfolio of infrastructure projects totaling over $80B.

Hannes Hyvönen - 2003 - Drafted by the San Jose Sharks in 1999. 

He played 36 games for the Jackets in 02-03, totaling 9 points, after the CBJ claimed him off waivers. He never played another NHL game after Columbus loaned him to Färjestads BK in 2003. 

He would go on to play in Finland, Switzerland, Russia, and Norway. He retired in 2016 and went into coaching in 2019.  Hyvönen is currently the head coach of TPS U20 in Finland. 

Todd Rohloff - 2004 - Undrafted out of Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

Played 24 games for the Jackets in 03-04, getting two points. The defenseman also played four years at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, before turning pro. 

Rohloff retired after the 2005–06 season after never playing another NHL game. 

François Beauchemin - 2006 - Drafted by Montréal in 1998.

Beauchemin only played 11 games as a Jacket before being traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the Sergei Fedorov trade of 2005. Had he stayed a Jacket, he could've easily been listed as the best player to have worn #24, and possibly one of the best defensemen to ever wear a CBJ uniform.

He went on to play 903 NHL games, score 288 points, and win a Stanley Cup in 2007. He returned to Anaheim in 2017, where he played his last NHL season before retiring. 

Beauchemin was an asst. coach for Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the QMJHL last season. 

Cam Severson - 2006 - Drafted by the San Jose Sharks in 1997. 

After his trade from Calgary to Columbus, Severson played four games in 05-06 and had 0 points. 

He left for Europe in 2006 to play in Germany, Poland, and Romania, and would never play another NHL Game. He retired in 2010. 

Kris Beech - 2008 - Drafted by Washington in 1999. 

After being claimed off waivers, Beech played 16 games for Columbus in 07-08. He had 9 points in those 16 games. He left for Europe in 2009, where he would play until 2016. 

After playing for Columbus, Vancouver, and Pittsburgh in 07-08, he left for Europe and played in Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Czechia, Germany, Austria, and England. He retired in 2016. 

He is now an assistant coach for HV71 of the Swedish Elite League. 

Aaron Rome - 2009 Drafted by LA in 2002. 

Rome played 25 games for Columbus and had three points over two seasons, after being traded from the Anaheim Ducks. 

After playing for a few different teams, he would retire in 2015. He is now an asst. coach foe the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL. 

Derek MacKenzie - 2010-2014 - 2008-2009 - Drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999.

MacKenzie played 279 games over the course of seven seasons for Columbus. He signed with Columbus in 2007 and made his debut in December of that year. 

He left for the Florida Panthers in 2014 and would play there until he retired in 2019. Later that year, he was named an asst. coach for Florida. He's spent the last three seasons as an asst. coach for the Nashville Predators.

Nathan Gerbe - 2018-2021

If this were a popularity contest, Gerbe wins by a landslide. He only played 41 games over three seasons, but it felt like he played a decade. Gerbe spent much of his five seasons with the organization in Cleveland, where he was the Captain for two seasons.

He retired in 2022 and joined the Nashville Predators as a development coach. 

Mathieu Olivier - 2023-2025  

Olivier is entering his fifth season in Columbus and is a fan favorite. He has played 263 games and has 85 points. He also has 391 PIMs and is considered the team's enforcer and authoritarian.

Trading for Mathieu Olivier is considered one of the most underrated trades ever by former GM Jarmo Kekäläinen. Re-signing him to his current deal is also considered one of the best moves by current GM Don Waddell. 

There are 24 days until opening night at NWA. 

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Last season, the Pittsburgh Penguins finished third overall in the NHL with 293 goals for as a team, trailing second place Carolina Hurricanes by just three and first place Colorado Avalanche by nine. While the Avalanche had Nathan MacKinnon posting a league leading 53 goals along with Martin Necas and Brock Nelson topping the 30 goal mark, the Penguins relied on a much more balanced attack to rack up their total.

Anthony Mantha may have been one-and-done with the Penguins, but his lone season in Pittsburgh was a memorable one, leading the team with 33 goals, making him the only Penguins player to reach the mark during the 2025-26 season.

Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust both potted 29 goals respectively last season, but together they missed a combined 24 games, meaning they were both on pace for over 30 goals but injuries kept them just short and gave Mantha a clear path to be the team leader.

Now the 2026-27 is on the horizon and the Penguins will be hoping to repeat that scoring prowess that helped them back to the playoffs last go around, but to do so, they will need to find a way to replace those departed goals from Mantha, along with needing other players still on the roster to repeat or exceed what they did last season.

Here now are a few of the names who could sit atop the Penguins goal scoring race when the 2026-27 season comes to a close.

Sidney Crosby

As mentioned above, Crosby fell just shy of the 30 goal mark in 2025-26, netting 29 while missing 14 games. If Crosby even misses just a fraction of those games instead of all 14, he likely eclipses 30 goals and possibly even finishes above Mantha’s mark of 33 to lead the team.

Although Crosby is now 39 years old and entering his 22nd NHL season, he will be one of the clear favorites to lead the Penguins in goals this season. In his NHL career thus far, Crosby has only failed to reach 30 goals seven times, with three of those seasons either being lock out shortened or COVID shortened.

If Crosby stays healthy in 2026-27 and keeps scoring at his normal pace, it’s not hard to envision him being back above 30 goals again and leading the charge for the Penguins offense as he has done basically his entire career to this point.

Bryan Rust

After coming agonizingly close to hitting the 30 goal mark several times, Rust finally broke that barrier in 2024-25, hitting 31 goals for the first 30 goals season of his career. Rust nearly repeated the feat last season, but fell just short at 29 goals, while like Crosby, missing a double digit amount of games that suppressed his overall total.

Now Rust is back for his 13th NHL season looking to get back to that magic 30 goal mark. He’ll be featuring on the top line alongside Crosby as he has been doing for years now, so the scoring opportunities will be there for Rust and it will be up to him to capitalize on those chances.

Health has always been a bit of an issue for Rust, he’s played 75+ games just once in his career, but when he’s on the ice, he’s been as reliable of a goal scorer of just about anyone else on the roster. History says he’ll be hanging around that Penguins goal scorer lead again this season.

Egor Chinakhov

In 41 games with the Penguins in 2025-26, Chinakhov posted 18 goals, good for sixth most on the season. That pace equaled out to roughly 0.44 goals/game, or 36 over an entire 82 game slate. That puts Chinakhov above Mantha for the overall scoring lead if he plays in Pittsburgh and scores at that pace all season.

After the Penguins acquired Chinakhov just before the new year, he burst onto the season and became one of the team’s most prolific goal scorers in the second half of the season. His shot it out of this world and his chemistry with fellow Russia Evgeni Malkin was instantaneous.

The goal scoring dried up for Chinakhov in the playoffs, but the process was still good he was just snake bitten at the absolute worst time. If he produces at the rate we saw with the Penguins again this season, he may be the early favorite to lead the entire team in goals this time around.

Rickard Rakell

Although Rakell’s reputation is of a goal scorer, he’s only topped the 30 goal mark three times in his career, once with the Penguins in 2024-25 when he set a new career high with 35 goals to lead the team. He regressed back to just 24 goals this past season, coming in fourth on the Penguins, but like Crosby and Rust, missed a significant chunk of time which undoubtedly suppressed his total.

There were plenty of trade rumors surrounding Rakell again this summer, but as of now, he’s still on the roster, and as long as he remains a Penguins player, he will be in the running for top goal scorer playing alongside Crosby and Rust on the top line.

It’s hard to believe that Rakell will be embarking on his fifth season with the Penguins in 2026-27 and he’s played some of his best hockey in Pittsburgh. Health will be a concern again, but he’s been a productive player for the Penguins and a full season should produce team leading results like they have in the past.

Ben Kindel

With 17 goals in his rookie season, Kindel posted once of the best goal scoring seasons for an 18 year old in NHL history. What he does for an encore remains to be seen, but he is coming into 2026-27 with a full year of professional experience under his belt, plus a full summer of training to prepare for his second go around.

While it remains to be seen exactly where Kindel settles into the lineup this season, he’ll certinaly be looking to build and improve on his rookie numbers. It may be too big of an ask for him to jump for 17 goals all the way into the 30 goal range, but he’s shown us he does have the ability to get the puck in the net.

Evgeni Malkin

Malkin was the fifth leading goal scorer for the Penguins last season, but he failed to reach the 20 goal mark for the second straight season and has not reached the 30 goal mark since all the way back in 2017-18 when he posted 42 goals. It’s clear as he enters his 21st NHL season that his prime goal scoring days are well behind him, but you cannot just pass over a player like Malkin without a mention.

Andrei Kuzmenko

Could Kuzmenko be the 2026-27 version of Mantha for the Penguins? He scored a whopping 39 goals back in 2022-23, but the goal scoring has mostly dried up since then as he has bounced around to different teams across the past few season. If he does find away to rediscover his scoring touch and turn in a Mantha-esque season, then what a find by Kyle Dubas for a second straight offseason.

During the 1987-88 season, the Calgary Flames won the Smythe Division with 105 points, edging out the Montreal Canadiens for the NHL's top record. However, the team, just two seasons removed from the Stanley Cup Final, was swept in the Division Finals by provincial rival, the Edmonton Oilers. Of course, the Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup, signaling the end of the Wayne Gretzky era in northern Alberta.

In an attempt to retool an already elite lineup, then General Manager Cliff Fletcher made one of the franchise's most important trades on September 6, 1988, acquiring four players from the St. Louis Blues who would help the franchise win the Stanley Cup in May 1989.

Future Hall of Famer Doug Gilmour Comes to Calgary

On an early September morning, Fletcher was working the phones with the Blues to make a blockbuster trade that altered the Flames' future. He offered Mike Bullard, Tim Corkey, and Craig Coxe to St. Louis in exchange for Steve Bozek, Michael Dark, Mark Hunter, and Doug Gilmour. 

Within hours of the trade, Fletcher would swap Bozek and Paul Reinhart to the Vancouver Canucks for a third-round pick in 1989, which turned into Veli-Pekka Kautonen.

Meanwhile, Dark never skated for the Flames, bouncing between the AHL, IHL, CoHL, and UHL, and ending his professional career in 1999. Hunter, who is not related to franchise penalty leader Tim Hunter, would go on to play three seasons in Calgary before finishing his NHL career with Hartford and Washington.

Looking back at this blockbuster deal, only one player, Gilmour, would have made an immediate impact, helping the Flames win the Clarence Campbell Bowl and the Stanley Cup. As a former 105-point player with the Blues, he tallied 26 goals and 85 points to finish third in team scoring. In the playoffs, the only time the future Hall of Famer would play in the Stanley Cup Final, he scored the second-most goals with 11 and finished third in scoring with 22 points in 22 games.

Gilmour's Flames Impact Goes Deeper Than Statistics

In parts of four seasons, Gilmour would go on to score 81 goals and 295 points in 266 games, which still ranks 27th all-time in franchise history. At the time of his trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 2, 1992, he had recorded the 13th most assists.

Historically, the trade between Calgary and Toronto, which featured Gilmour swapping jerseys, remains the largest in franchise history, as it involved 10 skaters changing teams. On that day, recently hired General Manager Doug Risebrough pulled off a trade still talked about to this day: the Flames acquired future NHL head coach Craig Berube, Alexander Godynyuk, Gary Leeman, Michel Petit, and goalie Jeff Reese. In return, he shipped out Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Kent Manderville, Ric Nattress, and goalie Rick Wamsley to Toronto. 

Although no one from the Maple Leafs had had a significant impact on the Flames out of the gate as Gilmour did, he led Toronto to the Western Conference Final in 1993 and 1994. It was the franchise's first Final Four appearance since 1967, and the loss to Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings in 1993 in Game 7 remains one of the NHL's most talked-about playoff moments. Moreover, those early years with the Maple Leafs are just one of the many career highlights for Gilmour, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.

Gilmour may not have replicated his St. Louis production in Calgary, but his impact extended far beyond the scoresheet. As one of the key contributors to the Flames' only Stanley Cup championship, his acquisition remains one of the smartest trades of Fletcher's own Hall of Fame career.

The New York Islanders' season gets underway in just 24 days, but across Europe, preseasons and regular seasons are well underway as the 2026-27 season begins in earnest.

One league that's gotten itself underway in the preseason is the SHL, which is very notable the Islanders.

2026 first-round pick (13th overall) Malte Gustafsson plays in the SHL for HV71, and made an immediate impact in the preseason.

Malte Gustafsson 🚨
Victor Laz 🍎 #HV71
🎥 TV4 Play pic.twitter.com/Eabyee5ghL

— SwehockeyGIFs (@swehockeygifs) September 5, 2026

The goal showcases his smooth skating and his extremely underrated offensive play, with a wicked wrister placed perfectly.

Gustafsson, 18, will not take part in New York Islanders' Rookie Camp or Training Camp as a result of his play in Sweden.

It's the same route as fellow Swede Victor Eklund, the Islanders' 16th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Both took part in development camp, but returned to Sweden.

Eklund made it over to North America for the end of Bridgeport's season, and made his NHL Debut in the Islanders' final game.

The plan for Gustafsson is to follow that plan roughly.

The Buffalo Sabres’ performance this past season had many positives, as the Sabres earned top spot in the Atlantic Division, as well as winning their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Boston Bruins. The Sabres lost to the Montreal Canadiens in Round 2, but Buffalo’s breakthrough came as a huge relief for long-suffering Sabres fans.. 

For the second straight year at TheHockeyNews.com, we're breaking down the Sabres’ Eastern Conference opponents in a series titled “Know Your Enemy”. And in this file, we’re focused on a team that’s won two of the past three Cups – the Florida Panthers. The Panthers cratered last season and missed the playoffs altogether, but Florida GM Bill Zito re-stocked his team’s shelves this summer. And that means Buffalo will face a tough test against their Atlantic rivals, the Panthers included.

BUFFALO SABRES VS. FLORIDA PANTHERS

NEW PANTHERS PLAYERS: Brady Tkachuk (LW), Jacob Markstrom (G), Akira Schmid (G), Garnet Hathaway (RW), Radko Gudas (D), Sam Lafferty (C), Lars Eller (C)

2025-26 SERIES: Sabres 3-1-0, Panthers 1-3-0

2026-27 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: October 12, at Buffalo; November 21 at Florida; December 30 at Florida; March 20 at Buffalo

CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM?The Panthers had one of the best off-seasons in the league this summer, and now that they’ll have captain and star center Aleksander Barkov back from a devastating injury that caused him to miss the entire 2025-26 season, you have to believe Florida will be one of the surest bets to bounce back this coming year.

Adding former Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk absolutely makes the Panthers considerably better up front, while Zito also brought back veteran defenseman Radko Gudas for his second stint with the franchise. So it’s clear that Florida will be one of the most miserable teams to play against in ‘26-27.

However, the Panthers also appear to have their weak points – most notably, in net, where star Sergei Bobrovsky left for greener financial pastures with the Toronto Maple Leafs. And they replaced him with 36-year-old veteran Jacob Markstrom, also coming back on board for his second go-around with Florida. That could prove to be a poor decision – and the Sabres need to jump on Markstrom this year and establish their dominance over the Panthers.

The Sabres will take on Florida three times before the change in the calendar year, including Buffalo’s sixth game of the season. Then, in their final showdown of the year, the Panthers will battle Buffalo in the Sabres’ 73rd game of the season. The trade deadline may drastically change the look of one or both teams, but it behooves the Sabres to make the most of their first three games against Florida. Because these two teams could be battling it out for what could turn out to be one of the final wild card berths in the East this season.

Florida is far from a perfect team. But it’s safe to say the Sabres must go through the Panthers, one way or another, for Buffalo to improve on their playoff performance next season.

The Panthers were the gold standard for a couple of years there, and they may prove to be that again sometime soon. But the challenge is there for the Sabres to punish Florida the same way the Panthers have become famous for punishing teams, and if Buffalo can’t do that, the Sabres could be in for heartbreak.

It is finally September, and that means that NHL hockey is right around the corner, and Kings fans are also getting set for their first season without Anze Kopitar since 2006. It is also the first time that Kings fans will see Artemi Panarin wear a Kings jersey throughout the entire season after he was traded to the Kings in February. 

2025-26 Season

Since Artemi Panarin spent the latter half of the 2025-26 NHL season with the Kings, his point production in his short time with the Kings proved just how valuable he is to the Kings; in 26 games with the Kings last season, Panarin registered 27 points. Before Panarin was traded, he played 52 games with the New York Rangers, where he registered 57 points and finished with 84 points in 78 games. 

2026-27 Season

Looking towards the upcoming NHL season, it is safe to say that Panarin will likely be one of the Kings' offensive leaders alongside Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala. Panarin and Kempe also formed a strong duo during the latter half of the 2025-26 season. Artemi Panarin has averaged a point per game over the last 5 seasons and has scored 20 goals in 5 straight seasons. 

With the Kings also hiring Peter Laviolette, it reunites the old Rangers coach with Panarin, who had his best career season under Laviolette back in the 2023-24 NHL season. For the Kings organization and their fans, the expectation for Panarin is high, but given how elite he has been over the last couple of seasons, it would seem to make sense for Panarin, barring any injuries, to reach his points-per-game mark and score 20 goals.

Overall, Panarin will be one of the most consistent Kings throughout the season, and I predict he will not only hit the 20-goal mark but also surpass 82 points and post another point-per-game season. 

When Philadelphia Flyers training camp opens in just under two weeks from now, the main roster battle will come on defense, where up-and-coming prospects will jockey with older veterans for a place with the NHL squad.

Based solely on the numbers game and other factors, like waiver eligibility, the Flyers' most likely decision seems obvious, but it doesn't always play out that way.

For example, last training camp, Helge Grans was expected to beat out Noah Juulsen, who was coming off a season-ending hernia, but instead performed poorly, cleared waivers, and spent the entire season in the minors.

Juulsen was already an established NHLer at that point and had extensive familiarity with head coach Rick Tocchet, but the Flyers were willing to let the dust settle before making their choice.

This year, we will be in a similar spot when things officially kick off for the non-prospects on Sept. 17.

David Jiricek, who is no longer waivers-exempt despite still being just 22 years old, should get every opportunity to stick and make the NHL roster, especially with his offensive talents serving as a potential boon for a dire power play.

Flyers Have Lots of Faith in David JiricekWith a big training camp, David Jiricek could have an unprecedented impact for the Philadelphia Flyers at the NHL level this season.

And, assuming Jiricek gets the call, if for no reason other than his waiver status, that leaves one roster spot, the No. 7 defenseman role, for Simon Benoit, Oliver Bonk, Hunter McDonald, and Ty Murchison to fight for.

Benoit, 27, is the elder statesman of that group and has emerged as a steady third-pair defenseman over the last few seasons, but his underlying metrics have been consistently unimpressive.

The physical 6-foot-4 defender excels when imposing his will on his opponents, be it standing up at the defensive blue line or laying a hit.

Other than that, well, Benoit doesn't offer a ton of value, and is a complete black hole offensively and in transition breaking pucks out.

Benoit is under contract for only one more year at a $1.35 million cap hit, and a poor showing early in training camp could make him expendable to the Flyers relatively quickly with other prospects knocking on the door.

That's where Murchison comes in.

Don't sleep on Ty Murchison

Murchison, 23, made his NHL debut for the Flyers last year in what was also his first pro season, appearing in three difficult games against San Jose, Carolina, and Vegas in December.

Murchison's strong first pro season came to a screeching halt on Jan. 10, when he suffered a season-ending injury that required surgery, but despite only playing 32 games last year, the under-the-radar Flyers prospect has as good a chance of making the NHL roster as anybody.

As a 6-foot-2, 210-pound defender, Murchison profiles as a natural long-term replacement for Nick Seeler, who is now 33 years old, and Benoit, who has no ties to the Flyers beyond this season.

Tocchet, in a recent interview with The Athletic, went out of his way to praise Murchison when discussing the imminent roster battle, despite having very little experience coaching the youngster.

"I’m a big Ty Murchison fan. When he came into camp last year, I didn’t know much about him. His growth, and playing those three games for us — he’s that defensive defenseman, (can) blow up cycles in the corner, can box out and move the puck and skate. I think there’s a lot there," Tocchet told The Athletic's Kevin Kurz.

That Murchison was able to make such an impression on Tocchet in such a short span of time speaks volumes of his character, work ethic, and talent, and undoubtedly means he will be in line for more work at the NHL level sooner than later.

The Arizona State product played a career-high 16:24 in a 4-3 shootout loss against an aggressive, forecheck-first team in Carolina, which is an unenviable position for any young defenseman to be in.

But, the moment wasn't too big for Murchison, who handled it expertly, just as he did against a similar Vegas team two nights earlier, and a talented, dynamic San Jose team two nights before that.

Murchison's skating will be one of the defining factors that separates him from his peers, as Bonk, McDonald, and Jiricek are all average-to-poor skaters.

Drafted 158th overall by the Flyers in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, Murchison is now beginning to flex his stuff, and he's well-positioned to make a splash in training camp.

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It won't be long before the NHL's deadline for teams to sign players to eight-year extensions arrives - September 15, to be exact.

For the Detroit Red Wings, that date comes just two days before the start of Training Camp.

As it happens, they have a pair of players whom fans would welcome the news of signing eight-year extensions: Alex DeBrincat and yet-to-be-signed RFA defenseman Simon Edvinsson.

An eight-year pact for either player would make sense for Detroit. DeBrincat is a proven goal-scoring threat on a team that has been starved for offense. This past season, he became Detroit's first 40-goal scorer since Marian Hossa in 2008-09, and at just 28 years old, he still has several more seasons of prime hockey in him.

Meanwhile, Edvinsson has developed into Detroit's second most important blue liner behind Moritz Seider. 

DeBrincat became eligible for an extension on July 1, while Edvinsson remains a restricted free agent. 

The only problem is that the Red Wings still don't have a general manager.

Steve Yzerman vacated the role in a stunning move in mid-July, and aside from a few brief statements announcing the leadership transition, the organization has provided no further official updates regarding its search, a potential timeline, or, more specifically, the candidates who have been interviewed.

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

Furthermore, the Red Wings are now less than two weeks away from the start of Training Camp (Sept. 17). Last month, Edvinsson's agent Peter Werner indicated via the Swedish publication Expressen that they're in a holding pattern until Detroit's management situation is resolved.

Meanwhile, signing DeBrincat to an extension likely won't require much prodding from Detroit's next general manager. DeBrincat, a Farmington Hills native, was the one who wanted to be traded to his hometown Red Wings.

The organization will be banking on the lure of helping his hometown team return to Stanley Cup contention, while continuing to raise his young family in Metro Detroit, to play a major role in a potential extension. 

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Currently, the Red Wings have approximately $19.57 million in available salary cap space. With the cap rising, the funds shouldn't be hard to by.

That being said, the first order of business for Yzerman's successor will likely be addressing the unresolved situation involving Dylan Larkin, who requested a trade shortly after last season ended and has reportedly not budged on that request despite Yzerman's departure.

Detroit is facing far more questions than answers right now with Training Camp right around the corner, and it's not an ideal position to be in - especially for a club that now owns the NHL's longest active postseason drought. 

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Every hockey fan goes down a YouTube rabbit hole once in a while, especially on long summer days out of boredom or in search of entertainment. The prime example is Pavel Datsyuk, who isn’t the greatest player of all time but is the ideal YouTube rabbit-hole highlight-reel machine. 

A plus for the New Jersey Devils being great in the 1990s and onward is that all of their best moments are on YouTube (the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers aren’t as fortunate). So, who are the best players to watch? What highlights have fans hooked? Below is a ranking of some of the best, although, like any ranking, there are certainly plenty of great highlight players who will be left off the list (so comment below on who or what was overlooked). 

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Honorable Mention - Martin Brodeur Empty Net Goals

This is a very niche category. Martin Brodeur is one of the greatest goaltenders of all time and holds just about every record a goalie can hold. Sure, his greatest saves are worth rewatching, as are his greatest moments. However, those don’t stand out. 

What stands out is his goalie goals record. Brodeur has three empty-net goals in his career, and while two came by default, the other is a reminder of how great a puck-handler he was (and why the NHL changed the rules). Watch all three below!

5) Patrik Elias

The Devils' all-time leader in goals and points will have his fair share of highlights. Patrik Elias had all the skills to beat a great threat offensively, and on a dynasty known for defense and goaltending, he was the constant scoring threat. 

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It’s hard to pick out one or two goals from his career, making him the type of rabbit-hole player worth watching full highlight videos of (often with heavy metal music attached to them for some odd reason). That said, his most significant goal was his game-winner in Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Final against the Philadelphia Flyers. While not a fancy goal by any measure, it sent the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final on their way to their second title in five years. 

Interestingly, another career highlight came in that same playoff run. When the Devils faced the Dallas Stars in the Final, Game 6 went to double overtime. Elias collected the puck along the boards, and a backhanded centering pass to Jason Arnott set up the game- and Cup-winning goal. 

Along with the highlight goals and assists are the shootout dandies. Elias has plenty of them, as does the next person on this list. 

4) Ilya Kovalchuk Shootout Goals

There was an era when the Devils were the best shootout team in the NHL, or at least top three in the league. Ilya Kovalchuk was one of the reasons why. The fun thing about Kovalchuk’s shootout style is that he’d fly up the ice and skate so fast that the goaltender wouldn’t have enough time to react. 

Like this goal against the Washington Capitals, where he was skating fast enough to freeze goaltender Michal Neuvirth and fire the puck right past him to the top shelf. 

Or this goal against San Jose Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi. He just flew right past him and backhanded the puck into the net (huge shoutout to DevilsHQ for providing many of these highlights). 

Of course, Kovalchuk wasn’t just a shootout specialist in his four years with the Devils. He was also one of their most skilled players and a key part of the 2012 run to the Stanley Cup Final. However, his goals stand out and can make a hockey fan who hates the shootout appreciate it.

3) Zach Parise 

Like Kovalchuk, Zach Parise has plenty of shootout moments, albeit his goals came from his stickhandling, not his skating. It’s a part of the Parise rabbit hole, which features highlight goals and plenty of iconic moments from the 2000s era. 

Parise is also one of those players who has an iconic non-Devils moment. In his case, it’s scoring the game-tying goal in the 2010 Gold Medal game against Canada, which was one of the best USA hockey moments until the past Olympic Games. While Parise’s game-tying goal didn’t give the USA a Gold, the next player on this list did. 

2) Jack Hughes

At 25, Jack Hughes still has plenty of hockey left in him. That said, he’s already established himself as a highlight-reel player, not just on the Devils but around the NHL. 

Hughes creates plenty of fun goals to rewatch. Most of them come on odd-man rushes where his speed and skill take over the play, but he’ll also do something special when the game slows down in the offensive zone and the Devils need a big-time play. 

He’s already put together a career's worth of highlight moments with the Devils. That said, his most iconic moment came at the Olympics. It’s the Golden Goal against Canada, where he got the open look in overtime and fired it past Jordan Binnington to give the USA their first Gold in 46 years. It’s not just the biggest moment of his career but arguably one of the best hockey moments of this century (certainly, a top-five moment). 

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1) Scott Stevens Hits 

Scott Stevens inspired this list in the first place, specifically his bone-crushing hits. As one of the greatest Devils and greatest defensemen in league history, he had his fair share of big hits, some of which make any hockey fan wonder whether he’d be allowed to play in the NHL these days (without receiving too many multi-game suspensions). 

The biggest is his hit on Paul Kariya during the 2003 Stanley Cup Final. To put it bluntly, Stevens knocked him out cold. Of course, this hit was followed by the “off the floor on the board” goal scored by Kariya. 

There’s also the big one on Flyers forward Eric Lindros in the 2000 Eastern Conference Final. Lindros was big and hard for anyone to take down. But he skated into the offensive zone and didn’t catch Stevens, who not only leveled him but also changed the complexion of the series. 

The other memorable hit was in Game 2 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings. Slava Kozlov didn’t see Stevens coming and paid the price. Like the hit against Lindros, this one fueled a Devils series victory, as they swept the Red Wings on their way to their first Cup title. 

There are plenty more Stevens hits to dive into. The bottom line is that back in the day, when someone cut to the middle through the neutral zone, they kept their head on a swivel. 

Like any list or ranking, there are sure to be a handful of players who were overlooked. So, which ones were missed? Comment below!

The Buffalo Sabres could go a number of different ways as the NHL is in the midst of trade season following the NHL Draft and the opening of free agency on July 1. With the departure of winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram, GM Jarmo Kekalainen is expected to seek out offensive reinforcements to make up for the 44 goals lost by their departures. 

We are continuing to look at potential options for the Sabres, now that veteran Patrick Kane has returned with Chicago.  Some of the possibilities are not going to match Tuch’s stats, but any additions could provide some relief to the pressure that youngsters Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich, or Noah Ostlund will be under to make up the deficit.

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Kekalainen ideally is looking for someone who could make up as much of the 60-to-70 point production that he lost with Tuch, or someone who can fill the leadership gap and/or add some snarl and sandpaper to the middle-six, either before the start of the season or before the NHL Trade Deadline. 

Veteran Teuvo Teravainen has 90 games of Stanley Cup Playoff experience, something that will likely not be a factor for the Blackhawks, who will be without star center Connor Bedard to start the season. The 31-year-old was a first round pick of the Hawks in 2012, and won a Cup in Chicago in 2015, before being dealt for cap reasons to Carolina in 2016.  

Teruvainen spent eight seasons with the Hurricanes, where he scored more than 20 goals four times, and more than 50 points five times. In 2024, the rebuilding Hawks looked to surround Bedard with veteran talent to take some of the offensive burden off of the top overall pick. After scoring 58 points in his first season, his numbers dropped to 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) in 75 games. 

The Hawks are expected to be at the bottom of the Western Conference once again, which would put GM Kyle Davidson in the position of being a seller at the deadline, as he was last March when he dealt Jason Dickinson, Connor Murphy, and Colton Dach to Edmonton, and Nick Foligno to Minnesota. 

Davidson and Kekalainen already made a significant transaction with the Byram/Greenway deal last June, and the Sabres could be looking to add a versatile veteran forward (who the Sabres GM is familiar with based on his playing internationally for Finland) on an expiring contract closer to the deadline.

Teravainen has an eight-team no-trade list and a $5.4 million cap hit in the final year of his deal, which might make it necessary for Chicago to retain salary to get an asset, but the cost of a draft pick might be what Buffalo is willing to give up for some late-season offensive help.  

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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, and the organization’s developmental model has begun to yield results, with 2023 first rounder Zach Benson making an impact in the playoffs, and 2024 top pick Konsta Helenius appearing as one of the AHL’s top prospects the last two seasons.  

Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. These players are all 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 82 NHL games. 

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5. Brodie Ziemer – Right Wing (Minnesota - NCAA)

Ziemer was the Sabres third-round pick at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas after scoring 70 points (27 goals, 43 assists) in 61 games as part of the US National Development Program’s Under-18 squad, and after posting a dozen points and serving as team captain of Team USA at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Under-18s.

The Minnesota native was a standout for Team USA at the 2025 World Junior in Ottawa last January in their gold medal-winning effort, and he put up good numbers (12 goals, 11 assists in 38 games) as a freshman at the University of Minnesota. Ziemer is a high-motor player with good two-way skills and possesses leadership abilities.

Those abilities led to him being named captain of Team USA for the 2026 WJC, where he scored six points in five games. The 20-year-old winger led the Golden Gophers in scoring in his sophomore campaign, posting 36 points (23 goals, 13 assists) in 36 games. 

After his third Development Camp in July, Ziemer indicated that he hopes to work on his skating during his junior season, and it is expected that the Sabres will try to get him to turn pro and sign his entry-level deal after his junior season. 

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It’s the end of the road for netminder Dustin Tokarski. The 36-year-old didn’t exactly leave his mark in the NHL, having played only 86 NHL regular-season games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Montreal Canadiens, the Anaheim Ducks, the Buffalo Sabres, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes. He finishes his career with a 27-36-12 record, a 3.08 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. 26 of his regular-season contests were played with the Tricolore, but Tokarski will be best remembered by Habs fans for his role in the 2014 playoffs.

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When Chris Kreider collided with Carey Price in the first game of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers, Peter Budaj came in relief. When it was announced that Price was done for the playoffs, fans and pundits alike believed that the Slovakian goaltender would be taking over between the pipes, but the Sainte-Flanelle opted to turn to Tokarski instead.

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The then-24-year-old put up a great fight in the five games he started, and although the Rangers won the series 4-2, Tokarski earned the only two playoff wins of his career and posted a 2.60 GAA and a .916 SV. Those playoffs will forever remain one of the biggest “what if” scenarios for the Canadiens: just how far would they have gone had Price not been injured? We’ll never know. However, it’s not as if they were obliterated because of subpar goaltending; Tokarski did well, and when the Habs were eliminated in Game 6, it was by a score of 1-0.

The goalkeeper spent most of his career in the AHL, playing parts of 16 seasons in that league, and picked up 208 wins (ninth all-time), 30 shutouts (eighth all-time) and two Calder Cup championships with the Norfolk Admirals and the Charlotte Checkers.

Tokarski last played in the NHL with the Hurricanes in 2024-25, and he will now work with the organization as a goaltending scout.

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Once one of the most efficient playmakers in the NHL, former Florida Panthers and current Calgary Flames winger Jonathan Huberdeau has faced another setback.

Huberdeau will not open training camp with the Flames after undergoing hip surgery in March for a resurfacing injury.

Since he was traded to the Flames in 2022, Huberdeau has failed to match the production that made him such an offensive threat with Florida. Originally drafted third overall by the Panthers in 2011, Huberdeau scored 263 goals and 807 points in 962 games with the organization. 

Huberdeau was a consistent point producer, but he also had his highs, most notably notching 30 goals and 85 assists for 115 points in the 2021-22 season, just before he was traded. Since being dealt, Huberdeau's career high with the Flames is just 28 goals and 62 points, both of which came during the 2024-25 season.

Outside of that campaign, his point totals with the Flames have been 55, 52, and, most recently, just 25 in 50 games. The 33-year-old is already struggling, is beginning to age, and is now dealing with a major injury. 

There have been conflicting reports surrounding Huberdeau's health situation, but Flames GM Craig Conroy recently cleared the air after he himself caused a stir.

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Conroy mentioned that Huberdeau “had a little bit of a setback, maybe two weeks ago, with his skating," but Conroy wanted to clarify.

“It was a poor choice of words on my part,” Conroy told Sportsnet.ca. “It's not that there was a setback. It was more the hope in me that he was going to be ready for camp. What I meant was it was a setback that he won't probably be ready for the first day of camp. That's where I made my mistake. 

“There’s an appropriate timeline for this, between seven and nine months, and obviously we were hoping for the earliest return possible. But everybody is different."

Conroy also mentioned that Huberdeau is skating with teammates, but no timeline has been set for his return. 

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The surgery Huberdeau has had is one that many NHL players have undergone. Players like Patrick Kane and John Klingberg have returned to action following the procedure, but others like Ed Jovanovski, Carl Hagelin, Ryan Kesler, and Niklas Backstrom had their careers end shortly after. 

The hope is that Huberdeau can return for the start of the season, play pain-free, and return to his best. On a rebuilding Flames roster, that might be a tough ask, but entering the fourth year of his eight-year, $10.5 million AAV contract, he has ample time to make his mark in Calgary. 

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