Although last season largely ended in a surprising success, the Philadelphia Flyers still have some specters looming over them ahead of the 2026-27 season, and perhaps the biggest of them all is on defense.
A deeply uninspiring training camp battle last year ended with veteran Noah Juulsen overtaking prospect Helge Grans, as the latter made far too many gaffes in the defensive zone for a young player to prove himself under first-year head coach Rick Tocchet.
In his second year as head coach of the Flyers, Tocchet will again have a group of young players pushing for one roster spot on defense, with newcomer Simon Benoit acting as the replacement for the departed Juulsen.
Top Flyers defense prospect Oliver Bonk, a first-round pick in 2023, will be in that mix, as will trade acquisition David Jiricek, who was drafted sixth overall in 2022.
Jiricek, 22, will have a leg up over Bonk and some of his other peers if for no reason other than the fact that he is no longer waivers-exempt, meaning that, if he's waived and cut from the roster, another NHL team can pick him up for free.
That would mean, by extension, that the Flyers had traded a promising player like Bobby Brink for nothing.
Fortunately, though, Jiricek sounds ready to work, and the Flyers sound optimistic that the Czech defenseman will develop further under their vigil.
Flyers, Jiricek anticipate a big training camp
David Jiricek made his NHL debut for the Flyers at the end of the 2025-26 season. (Photo: Eric Hartline, Imagn Images)
"We don’t have many guys like you here, so shoot the puck. That’s maybe why I am in Philly," Jiricek told The Athletic at the NHLPA European Player Tour in Munich. "I try to make it work. I try to shoot as much as I can right now, and shoot everything. If I have a pass for one-timers, I’m going to shoot it.
"Camp is quick this year, really quick," Jiricek said. "We have just four games in preseason, so you have to start from the first day (of) training camp as game-ready, I would say. That's the plan."
Acknowledgment is the first step.
Jiricek doesn't need to be reminded that he is battling for an NHL roster spot, now playing for his third organization in four years.
To that end, the 22-year-old has played 85 career NHL games, but produced only two goals, 11 assists, and 13 points, with none coming on the power play.
Jiricek was highly-regarded heading into the NHL draft due to his 6-foot-4 size, heavy shot, and poise with the puck, but his already average mobility was further affected by an ACL injury suffered in his draft year.
Upon joining the Flyers organization in March, Jiricek was an instant hit in Allentown for the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, ripping off two goals, 11 assists, and 13 points in just 15 games, blowing past the 10 points he recorded in 24 games with the Iowa Wild.
The Flyers are hoping his experience with the Phantoms can be parlayed into a continued upward trajectory that makes him a useful NHL player for years to come.
"He had a really good stint in Lehigh Valley. He proved that he's ready for the next level. For him, it's gonna be a battle for ice time. It's going to be up to him. Big summer for him. Yeah, he needs waivers. We're aware of that, and he's going to get a good look, and we hope that he's ready for it," Flyers GM Danny Briere told The Hockey News in a June Q&A.
"We feel he's ready for it, but he's going to have to show it on the ice. We know the offense is there, the big shot is there, the size is there, and that's just for him to round out his game, where he becomes a player that the coaches trust every night."
Tocchet, like Briere, is hoping that Jiricek's long-range cannon can be of great importance to the Flyers next season.
At the same time, like Jiricek said, camp is going to go quick, and it's going to be a race between him, Bonk, Hunter McDonald, and Ty Murchison as Tocchet sees it currently.
"The (short camp) does complicate it because we don’t have time to look at guys. You’ve got to make your mind up fairly quick," Tocchet told The Athletic in a recent interview.
"Jiricek, we want that big shot. Can he add that to us, and (have) patience with the puck... Four guys that have a chance. It’s a matter of who can get there quickest."
Time is ticking on Jiricek faster than any of the other hopefuls at his position, and it's now up to the once-esteemed draft pick to make this chance count. The Flyers believe he can.
The Buffalo Sabres’ 2025-26 season was largely a success, with the Sabres winning the Atlantic Division, as well as their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Boston Bruins. Buffalo fell to the Montreal Canadiens in the second round, but at long last, there was real reason for optimism in Western New York.
This is why, for the second straight year at TheHockeyNews.com, we're breaking down the Sabres’ Eastern Conference opponents in a series called “Know Your Enemy”. And in this particular file, we’re focused on a team that’s fallen from being the gold standard of NHL teams to the bottom of the Atlantic – the Detroit Red Wings.
BUFFALO SABRES VS. DETROIT RED WINGS
NEW RED WINGS PLAYERS: Viktor Arvidsson (RW), Keegan Kolesar (RW) Daniil Tarasov (G)
2025-26 SERIES: Sabres 2-1-0, Red Wings 1-1-1
2026-27 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: December 28, at Buffalo; February 21 at Detroit; March 12 at Detroit; April 10 at Buffalo
CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM? The Sabres handled most of their business with the Red Wings last season, but this year, Detroit will be a desperate team – and the way the schedule-maker has put together Buffalo’s 2026-27 campaign, the games against the Wings could prove to be the difference between home-ice advantage – or worse, the difference between making or missing the playoffs.
Indeed, the Sabres play their final regular-season game against the Red Wings this coming year when they host Detroit. If pre-season projections are correct, the Wings will be well out of the playoff picture by that final game. So they could be in prime spoiler mode at that point, and Buffalo has to be ready to play high-stakes hockey from Game No. 1 through Game No. 84.
By the time the Sabres play their first game against Detroit this coming season, the Wings should have another GM in place as Steve Yzermans’ successor – or at least, you’d hope. As a matter of fact, you’d have hoped the Red Wings would’ve already had a new GM. But that speaks to the organization’s problems.
That said, the Wings team Buffalo will see in December could be significantly different than their current roster. Certainly, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin’s trade request will almost certainly result in him moving on. But the new Wings GM will have to start trading off more veterans as they try to chart a new course for the franchise.
The Wings used to be the measuring stick by which all teams were judged, but those days are long ago. And the Sabres have to take advantage of that.
Taking it to Detroit is an absolute must for this Buffalo team, and if they don’t do that, the Sabres are liable to regret it at season’s end.
The Buffalo Sabres are hoping to build on their success last season, and reach the postseason for the second straight year. That will require some of their young talent to fill the void left by the departure of Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram, and their core group continuing to play at a high level. Team captain Rasmus Dahlin persevered through personal adversity to score a career-high 74 points and led Buffalo to their first playoff appearance in 15 years, earning nominations for the Bill Masterton and Norris Trophies.
In their annual rankings of NHL players, The Athletic slotted Dahlin in the top tier, tied with Florida’s Aleksander Barkov, San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini, Boston’s David Pastrnak, and Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Hart Trophy winners Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid, and Nathan MacKinnon were ranked at the top of Tier 1, with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, and Norris winners Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar in the middle of Tier 1.
Other Sabres listed were center Tage Thompson (Tier 3B), wingers Zach Benson (Tier 5A), Josh Doan (5B), defensemen Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson (Tier 5C). Former Sabres also listed were Cup winners Jack Eichel (Tier 2A), Sam Reinhart (Tier 3A), and Ryan O’Reilly (Tier 5A).
Former Sabres Tuch and Byram were each listed in Tier 5, as players who offer “strong support to a contending or championship core, but who wouldn’t be an integral piece within it”. Tuch was the highest paid unrestricted free agent, signing at $10.5 million AAV by Washington in July, while Byram was made the highest paid NHL defenseman by Chicago until Makar’s $20.4 million AAV eight-year extension last week.
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble is entering an important season in 2026-27. The 24-year-old blueliner will be in the final season of his two-year, $2.825 million and a pending restricted free agent because of it.
With Struble entering a contract year, it is crucial for him to have a strong season for the Canadiens. If he does, it will help his chances of sticking around on the Canadiens' roster beyond this campaign.
It is no secret that Struble is one of the defensemen on the Canadiens' roster who is fighting to cement himself as a regular in their lineup. Due to this, if he struggles this season, it will only create more questions about his future in Montreal.
With that, there is no question that Struble is a player who Habs fans should be keeping an eye on this season. When noting that he is only 171 games and three seasons into his NHL career, he has the potential to hit a new level for Montreal. It will be intriguing to see if he can do just that in what feels like a make-or-break campaign for him.
In 59 games last season for Montreal, Struble posted two goals, 10 assists, 12 points, 115 hits, a plus-4 rating.
The Buffalo Sabres took a major step in the right direction last season. One of the many reasons for it was that multiple of their players broke out for them in 2025-26.
Among the Sabres' youngsters who made an impact last season was forward Noah Ostlund. The 2022 first-round pick undoubtedly proved that he belongs at the NHL level, as he posted 11 goals, 16 assists, and 27 points in 60 games. This was after he was held off the scoresheet in his first eight career NHL games in 2024-25.
Yet, as well as Ostlund played last season with the Sabres, it is clear that he has the potential to be even better in 2026-27.
Now that Ostlund has a full season of NHL experience, it would not be shocking in the slightest if his all-around game improves next season. The potential for him to emerge as a more significant offensive threat is there, and it would be massive for Buffalo if he does just that after their off-season losses.
Overall, there is a lot to like about Ostlund's game, and he is undoubtedly a young Sabre to keep an eye on this campaign. It will be intriguing to see what kind of season he can have for Buffalo in 2026-27 from here.
Fans of the Detroit Red Wings were stunned when news broke in early June that captain Dylan Larkin had officially requested to be traded, despite having five years left on his contract.
About a month and a half earlier, Larkin and the Red Wings missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 10th consecutive season. It was also the third straight year they failed to hold onto a comfortable lead in the standings after entering March in a strong position.
It's now been three months since the trade request was made public, and as of September 5, he remains on the roster. Reports also emerged that Larkin would only accept a trade to the Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, or Florida Panthers.
This further tied the hands of now-former GM Steve Yzerman, who vacated his role in an equally surprising move just over a month later in mid-July.
The Red Wings are less than two weeks away from the start of Training Camp (Sept. 17), and still haven't named Yzerman's successor. With each passing day, the chances of Larkin still being with the club by the time Camp begins grows stronger.
Larkin, who recently turned 30, has only played five postseason games, all of which were in 2016 during his rookie season.
Understandably, he wants an opportunity to compete for the Stanley Cup while he's still in the prime of his career. He got a taste of what that experience could be like when he helped Team USA capture its first Olympic gold medal since 1980 at the Milano Cortina Winter Games.
However, Larkin's apparent stubborn refusal to expand his trade list is proving to be a major miscalculation on his part.
Simply put, the Golden Knights, Wild, and Panthers did not have the type of assets the Red Wings were looking for in a Larkin trade. Unless Larkin is willing to expand his list of teams, his other option may be to reach an agreement with Yzerman's eventual successor and withdraw his trade request - at least for now.
There's also no way he isn't aware that a good portion of the Red Wings fan base did not take kindly to his trade request, and that he reportedly limited Detroit's options of trading him to only three teams.
The Red Wings open the regular season at Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 2 against the New York Rangers. If Larkin remains in the Detroit lineup, he's almost certain to hear loud boos cascading down from large swaths of fans who viewed his trade request as a betrayal.
While Larkin's teammates may be more willing to view his trade request as a business decision, plenty of Red Wings fans are unlikely to see it the same way.
Larkin had every right to ask for a trade, but Detroit was under no obligation to make a deal if the offers did not meet its expectations.
By reportedly limiting his preferred destinations to just three teams and refusing to expand that list, Larkin has put himself in a difficult position.
If he had known he would still be on Detroit's roster on Sept. 5, with Training Camp less than two weeks away, he might have approached the situation differently.
But he didn't. And now, he's likely going to have to deal with an increasingly awkward situation.
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Nick Blankenburg remains unsigned as of Saturday morning.
The defenseman was acquired by the Colorado Avalanche in March as their seventh defenseman, with Colorado sending a 2027 fifth-round pick to Columbus in the deal.
When Blankenburg first arrived, though, things didn’t exactly go smoothly.
Blankenburg scored his first goal as an Av on the same night that Josh Manson and even head coach Jared Bednar suffered injuries.
At The Hockey News, we pointed out some of the early issues in his game. He was making too many mistakes, jumping too far into the offensive zone and occasionally getting caught out of position. For a player trying to establish himself with a new team, it wasn’t the ideal start.
But somewhere along the way, something clicked.
Blankenburg started playing with more confidence. His skating looked more purposeful. He was making quick, accurate passes, getting pucks out of trouble and showing more of the offensive ability that made him an intriguing player in the first place.
The change was noticeable enough that, following Colorado’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on April 11, we asked Blankenburg what had changed.
It was also the night he scored his first goal in an Avalanche uniform.
Blankenburg pointed to conversations he had with several teammates who recognized that he was playing a little too cautiously and encouraged him to trust his game.
“Just getting more comfortable. I’ve been having conversations with multiple different people about it,” Blankenburg admitted. “Just trying not to overthink. Trying not to think too much on the ice and just go out and play my game and be assertive and competing. I think the rest will take care of itself.”
It did.
Five days later, Blankenburg scored again, finding the back of the net against the Seattle Kraken in Colorado’s final regular-season game before the playoffs.
Then came the biggest moment of his Avalanche tenure.
Despite receiving limited ice time, Blankenburg made the most of his opportunity in Game 1 of Colorado’s second-round series against the Minnesota Wild. In a wild 9-6 Avalanche victory, he jumped into the offensive zone before Valeri Nichushkin found him with a beautiful backdoor pass.
Blankenburg buried it.
Then he went flying into the glass in celebration.
It wasn’t just his first career playoff goal. His parents, Karl and Karin, were in the stands to see it happen.
For a defenseman who had arrived in Colorado with something to prove, it was another sign that he was starting to find his game at exactly the right time.
“He’s a good player,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “Obviously he’s undersized, but he battles. He’s got a good shot. He gets picks through the o-zone, which is huge for us. He’s playing well.”
Head Coach Jared Bednar saw much of the same thing.
“He’s a real competitive guy. Smaller in stature but competitive,” Bednar said. “He has the ability to contribute offensively. There’s a lot of similar attributes to say a guy like Sam Malinski. He has the ability to be shifty and hang onto pucks to create shooting lanes in the offensive zone. He has the ability to join the rush.”
That combination is what made Blankenburg such an interesting player for Colorado.
“He’s a difficult match. You don’t see too many guys that can play with the kind of jam that Blankenburg plays with defensively and then still get up and go on the offensive side of it.”
Bednar did have one obvious caveat.
He wanted to see more consistency from Blankenburg, particularly when it came to knowing when to join the rush and when to stay home. His offensive instincts can be an asset, but the Avalanche can’t afford to give up chances the other way because a defenseman got too aggressive looking to make a play.
That, ultimately, may be part of the reason Blankenburg remains unsigned. Or it could be that the Avalanche want to shift a bit towards the physicality side, which the team obviously lacked this past postseason.
However, Blankenburg deserves another shot.
As Mile High Sticking recently suggested, Colorado could simply give Blankenburg a professional tryout contract, commonly known as a PTO.
A PTO doesn’t require the Avalanche to make a significant commitment. It gives Blankenburg a chance to come into training camp, compete for a job and show that the player Colorado saw toward the end of last season is the player he can consistently be.
The Avalanche already know what the downside looks like and Noah Juulsen has already been signed for the next two years, but bringing Blankenburg could fit just fine on the Eagles as well, if he’s willing to play down a level.
Maybe Blankenburg earns a contract. Maybe he doesn’t.
Feb 26, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen (34) slams his stick into the boards as he is replaced by goaltender Nico Daws (50) in the third period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
A key point in the New Jersey Devils’ struggles during the 2025-26 season revolved around one thing: goaltending. To outside eyes, it might seem like the Devils have done nothing to resolve that issue, but Sunny Mehta’s trade of Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers was a true addition by subtraction situation. In Jake Allen, the Devils have a goaltender who has had two solid seasons for them, albeit in a high-end backup role. But the Devils have other goaltenders in Nico Daws and David Rittich who may be factoring into a better team goaltending outlook. Let’s dive in.
Goal: Handle a 42-Game WorkloadWithout Getting Injured
The number one issue for whether the Devils’ current goaltending situation will work out revolves around Jake Allen’s ability to play a high number of games. If Allen can play half of the NHL season without getting hurt or seeing any major performance dips, it might not even be necessary to carry three goaltenders. Since the 2018-19 season, when Jake Allen was the 28-year old starter for the St. Louis Blues, Allen has only played 42 games once: in 2022-23, when he had an .891 save percentage and a 3.55 goals against average behind a horrendous Montreal defense. Since joining the Devils in 2024, Allen has a .904 save percentage and 2.77 goals against average in 77 starts and 81 games.
The most recent season, in which Markstrom was hurt for much of October, was Allen’s most games played since that 2022-23 season. Allen had a .903 save percentage and 2.74 goals against average in 36 starts and 37 games, which is right in line with the rest of his Devils tenure. But, diving into that a bit more: Allen had a .912 save percentage when he was the primary team goaltender in the first half of the season. Due to Markstrom’s injuries, Allen played 21 games out of the team’s first 40, and he had an 11-8-1 record (with another team win when he was pulled due to cramping). Over the rest of the season, Allen played 16 out of the team’s 42 games and had an .891 save percentage with a 6-9-1 record.
Per Natural Stat Trick, Allen was very good throughout the entire season, with 15.71 goals saved above expected. 11.92 of those goals saved above expected came in the first half of the season, with the rest coming in the second half. This, of course, indicates that Allen had a much tougher per-game workload than Markstrom had. Compared to Markstrom, Allen had a higher goals against average (3.04 vs. 2.87) in the second half despite having a better save percentage (.891 vs. .883). Maybe if the Devils give Allen the kind of defense they were trying to pull Markstrom across the finish line with, he can last a season without breaking down at all.
Nico Daws
Goal: Make It Unnecessary to Carry a Third Goaltender
In Nico Daws’s career, the 25-year old German goaltender has a 24-24-1 record with an .898 save percentage and 2.96 goals against average. All things considered, that is well within regular backup range in today’s NHL, which featured a league average save percentage of .893 in the 2026-27 season. But I am interested by whether Daws can be more than just a 20 or 30-game backup if he is used in a rotation that does not either have him sitting for long stretches or playing every single game for periods of time. That has been his career experience so far, for the most part.
When Nico Daws was first called up in the 2021-22 season, he played a few games here and there in October and February, putting up a .918 save percentage in six games with a 3-1-0 record. Daws was kept up in March and April, and from that last game in February, he played 20 out of the team’s 23 games. During that stretch, he only had an .891 save percentage with an 8-11-1 record. Breaking that down by stretches before a rest game looks like this:
First nine games: .901 SV%, 4-5-0
Next five games: .872 SV%, 2-3-0
Next five games: .892 SV%, 2-3-0
Last game: .885 SV%, 0-0-1
After getting hip surgery following the season, Daws’s usage pattern did not change in the 2023-24 season. Again, he was leaned on for long stretches that saw his performance dip over time. He had a relatively normal first eight appearances with an .895 save percentage and 3-5-0 record. Then, he played seven games in a row in February. Over the first four, he had a .942 save percentage, including his legendary Metlife Stadium performance when he stopped 45 of 48 shots. Most organizations would probably remember to sit a goaltender right after that game, considering his recent hip surgery, but he pressed on for three more games where he had an .800 save percentage, including two games giving up five or more goals.
Since being relegated to third goaltender status in the Markstrom-Allen regime, Daws has had a .925 save percentage and 2.02 goals against average in nine games with a 5-2-0 record in seven starts. In this period, Daws has only had to make consecutive starts once: the team’s 4-0 loss to Boston at the end of the last season in which Daws had an .846 save percentage.
Of course, Daws will have to make occasional consecutive starts if he’s going to share the net with Jake Allen alone. But the more Daws can reduce the need for a third goaltender, the more he can establish himself as a true NHL goaltender and possibly never get sent back to the AHL throughout the rest of his career. Sheldon Keefe might really just need to purely alternate their starts.
David Rittich
Goal: Play Every Game Like It Could Be His Last
David Rittich is in a different spot of his career than Jake Allen or Nico Daws are. Allen has a long-term contract and Daws is only 25. Rittich, by comparison, is 34 years old and coming off of two seasons where he had a save percentage under .900. Of course, Rittich has had positive goals saved above expected numbers in two of the last three seasons, but he has been incredibly inconsistent. He has been so inconsistent that I am not sure how much value he brings to a three-goalie tandem if he cannot play to a level that demands regular starts. And even then, I am not sure how much appetite I have for an all-or-nothing goaltender after experiencing Jacob Markstrom for two seasons. From HockeyViz, Rittich has clearly had very strong and very weak periods since joining Los Angeles in 2023-24.
Further negative streakiness could largely end Rittich’s career at this point, so he needs to make certain that he is at the top of his game every time he steps on the ice for the New Jersey Devils this season. With a contract that is under the threshold to be buried in its entirety in the AHL, Rittich has no protection from waivers. It would cost the Devils nothing. So, if Jake Allen and Nico Daws look like they can play 84 games without him, why would they keep him in the NHL? And if they need a spot starter, and Jakub Malek outplays him in the AHL (if Rittich goes unclaimed), why would they be certain to use Rittich as the third goaltender?
Goaltending is a fun position, though, in the sense that performance usually dictates opportunity. If Rittich plays like he did in the first half of his Islanders tenure, he could make something out of this situation and extend his career further.
Roster Hopefuls
As I noted in last week’s article, the Devils’ defensive depth is stacked. And with the length of that article, I thought it would be wise to separate them a bit into returning veterans and hopeful depth. We are starting off here with Declan Chisholm.
Declan Chisholm
Goal: Prove Sunny Mehta Right
Sunny Mehta is a big fan of Declan Chisholm. It does not even sound like Mehta believes Chisholm should be the seventh defenseman on the team, saying on Spittin’ Chiclets that “at times, he’s kind of dynamic offensively.” And as JP Gambatese pointed out when he was acquired, microstat tracking indicates that Chisholm does actually do a lot of good things with moving the puck in transition. Of course, Chisholm only played 26 games last season for Washington after playing 66 for Minnesota in the previous year, so I do not think we should pencil Chisholm in above Brenden Dillon just yet. But in Chisholm we have one of Mehta’s first big proclamations: that this is a guy who has been overlooked by just about everyone else and just needs a proper shot to show how good he is.
Let’s see if he can do it.
Vladislav Kolyachonok
Goal: Force a Platoon with Dillon or Chisholm
Personally, I have just as intrigued by Vladislav Kolyachonok, who was signed in free agency, than I have been by Declan Chisholm. Both players have been about as productive as the other in the NHL so far, but Kolyachonok has two things going for me: he’s a year and a half younger and seems to have a little more luck getting the puck into the net. Kolyachonok has five goals in 87 NHL games, averaging only 13:58 per night, while Chisholm has six goals in roughly 800 more NHL minutes played. Kolyachonok largely does this through seeing-eye shots (which is a skill), but he has scored some good-looking goals as well.
What Kolyachonok does not have going for him as much is that Chisholm has played enough to actually have more sample size in his analytic profile. So while Kolyachonok looks good in his minutes so far, that could change if he were more exposed over a larger sample. Still, I would like to see it put to the test at some point, but his best hope is to play well enough in camp that he gets a handful of games on the third pairing in the regular season.
Seamus Casey
Goal: Force a Defenseman Trade
Unlike players acquired by Sunny Mehta, Seamus Casey does not have a good analytic profile in the NHL, per public models. He has weak shot impacts, but has not played very much: not many conclusions can really be drawn from this data yet, even fewer than can be said about Chisholm or Kolyachonok. Also unlike players acquired by Sunny Mehta, Seamus Casey is a true blueline goal scorer, and he already has eight points in 16 NHL games.
Unfortunately, Casey’s time outside of the NHL has not been so smooth. Over the last two seasons, Casey has only played 59 games in the AHL due to injuries, putting up 37 points in that span. Frankly, you would want to see more. But Utica has been an utter mess under the neglect of Tom Fitzgerald and Dan MacKinnon, and it’s rather difficult to judge anyone’s production there, especially for an oft-injured player like Seamus Casey.
Now with Mehta and Birch at the helms of the NHL and AHL teams, Casey actually has one thing going for him in Mehta’s excitement for Declan Chisholm. The right side of the defense is more ironclad. No matter what you think of him, Dougie Hamilton is a Sunny Mehta player, and he isn’t being traded regardless of what goes on elsewhere on the roster. Brett Pesce and Johnny Kovacevic also have full trade protection this season which weakens considerably in the offseason. But if Seamus Casey plays so dynamically that Sheldon Keefe could be convinced to give him games, we could be looking at some Chisholm-Casey third pairing games this year instead of Chisholm-Kovacevic or Dillon-Kovacevic.
Of course, Seamus Casey is waivers-exempt. If he plays any NHL games this season, he will lose his exemption next year. So with how many NHL-capable defensemen there are in the mix for the Devils this season, he is going to have to show out in training camp to get that kind of play. And if he does get that far, the only way he sticks on this roster is by playing so well that Sunny Mehta trades a left-handed defenseman to make him the extra defenseman on the roster.
Anton Silayev
Goal: Throw a Wrench Into All of This and Push for a Top-Four Role
I have no expectation that Anton Silayev will be an NHL defenseman this season. However, I believe that he is already good enough to be one. Silayev has already played 187 regular season games in the KHL along with 19 playoff games. He only turned 20 in April, though. At his age, coming off a season where he played lesser minutes because of a new coach that overprioritized veterans, it may be in his best interest to start off with the Utica Comets where he can play 21, 22, or 23 minutes per game, possibly even mixing in some power play time in there.
But I think Anton Silayev was a tenth overall pick for a reason. If he comes into camp looking like a massive mobile beast on the blueline, I do not think the Devils should stop him from playing NHL minutes. But we do have to be aware of the realities on the blueline. As it is, the only truly tradeable contracts who are not obviously valued by Mehta are Brenden Dillon and Jonas Siegenthaler. All players listed above here, other than Seamus Casey, are waivers-eligible. The Devils might be able to sneak Vladislav Kolyachonok to Utica, but they won’t have any luck trying that with Declan Chisholm. If Silayev’s play demands a roster spot, a trade will be necessary.
But Silayev should only get this chance now if he can be given top four minutes. If Jonas Siegenthaler stays above him on the depth chart, there would be no reason to have Silayev play 16, 17, or 18 minutes per night, especially as Luke Hughes possibly pushes up to 24 or 25 minutes per night. The Devils can get Dillon, Chisholm, or Kolyachonok to provide something between fine and good third-pairing play, so they do not need to ask Silayev to possibly stunt his development by playing that role.
But be aware, he’ll be here sooner than later.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the goals I set for the players in this article? Do you agree or disagree with them? Do you have any extras? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
NHL27 has officially been released to those who bought the game early, and with it a whole slew of new rankings and ratings for every team in the game.
The full ratings for the New York Islanders have come out, and they are ranked in a tie for the best team in the Metropolitan Division, at a team rating of 88 overall.
That's anchored by Ilya Sorokin at 93, Matthew Schaefer at 91, Ryan Pulock, Mathew Barzal, and Bo Horvat all at 88, and Adam Pelech at 87.
The overall ratings have the Islanders jointly tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division, alongside the Washington Capitals.
The Hurricanes, who won the Stanley Cup this past Spring, led by stars Sebastian Aho and Jaccob Slavin.
Slavin and Aho both come in at 91 overall in NHL27, while other key players such as Seth Jarvis and Nikolaj Ehlers land at 89, respectively. Shayne Gostisbehere is an 87 overall.
Long Island sensation Brandon Bussi checks in at an 86 overall, a huge leap from previous years in the video game.
Logan Thompson leads the Caps with a 90 overall as one of the premier goalies in the NHL. Alexander Ovechkin and Jakub Chychrun lead the Capitals' skaters at 89 overall each.
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.
The Sabres showed how much they soured on the professional prospects of Devon Levi based on their roster maneuvering to start the 2025-26 season. With starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen injured before and during training camp, the club chose instead of keeping Levi on the NHL roster to back up Alex Lyon, to claim Colten Ellis off of waivers when the St. Louis Blues attempted to send him to the AHL, and demote the waiver-exempt Levi to AHL Rochester.
Where will Connor Hellebuyck end up?
The 25-year-old was a 2019 fifth round pick of the Blues, who played four years in the QMJHL with Cape Breton, Rimouski, and Charlottetown before turning pro in 2022 with AHL Springfield and St. Louis’ ECHL affiliate. Ellis played full time in ECHL Tulsa in 2022-23, and split time between the two leagues again in 2023-24, before breaking out as a full time AHL starter in 2024-25, posting a 22-14-5 record, 2.63 GAA, and .922 save % with the Thunderbirds.
Both former GM Kevyn Adams and Kekalainen indicated that the young goaltender’s puck-handling abilities was one of the attributes they liked. Because of his inability to clear waivers, the Sabres were forced to carry three goalies on their roster, but injuries to Luukkonen and Lyon throughout the season made having Ellis there a necessity. In 16 games, he posted an 8-4-2 record, 2.90 GAA, and .903 save %.
Barring a trade for Connor Hellebuyck, it is expected that Buffalo will carry three netminders again this upcoming season, but with Lyon entering the final year of his contract, it is possible that Ellis will see more action this year in preparation of being Luukkonen's primary backup next season.
Michael Hutchinson may have retired from professional hockey, but the former Winnipeg Jets goaltender certainly hasn't left the game behind.
Just over a month after officially calling time on an 11-season NHL career, Hutchinson has landed his first coaching role, joining the Manitoba Junior Hockey League's Selkirk Steelers as goaltending coach for the 2026-27 season.
For Hutchinson, it's another indication that his post-playing career will unfold in the same province where his NHL career truly took off.
The 36-year-old Barrie, Ont., product has made Winnipeg his permanent home after a professional career that took him across North America and eventually overseas. Now, instead of packing his bags for another training camp, Hutchinson will make the roughly 30-minute trip north of Winnipeg to work with the next generation of Manitoba goaltenders.
Photo by James Carey Lauder/USA Today
It's a fitting next step for a player whose connection to Winnipeg has long extended beyond the crease.
Hutchinson signed with the Jets organization in 2013 and eventually appeared in 102 games over parts of five seasons with the club. His breakout came in 2014-15, when he posted a 21-10-5 record, 2.38 goals-against average and .914 save percentage while helping Winnipeg qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the franchise relocated from Atlanta.
He ultimately appeared in 154 NHL games between Winnipeg, Florida, Toronto, Colorado, Columbus and Detroit before finishing his professional career with SaiPa in Finland.
But no matter where hockey took him, Winnipeg remained home. Hutchinson's wife, Jenna, co-founded Winnipeg-based Jenna Rae Cakes with her twin sister, Ashley Kosowan. The bakery has since grown from its original location into one of the city's most recognizable local brands.
The Hutchinsons also maintained their roots in Manitoba throughout Michael's hockey travels, eventually building their permanent home in Winnipeg and returning to the city following the conclusion of his playing career.
And it hasn't taken Hutchinson long to find ways to remain involved in the sport.
He launched Hutchinson Goaltending in Winnipeg, offering private and semi-private lessons, team skates, consulting and video analysis to local netminders. His new role with Selkirk now provides another opportunity to pass along knowledge accumulated through more than a decade of professional hockey.
The Steelers announced the hiring this week, pointing to Hutchinson's 154 games of NHL experience and five seasons with the Jets as reasons for their excitement in adding him to the staff.
His return to Manitoba hockey won't be limited to coaching, either. 'Hutch' is also the lone goaltender currently listed on the Winnipeg Jets roster for the 2026 Alumni Game against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 24 at Canada Life Centre. He'll share the ice with a collection of familiar Jets 2.0 names, including Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, Mathieu Perreault, Paul Stastny and others.
When Hutchinson announced his retirement in July, the Jets' message to their former netminder included a telling line: they couldn't wait to see him at the Alumni Game.
It turns out fans won't have to wait until October to see Hutchinson involved in hockey again. After years spent bouncing between organizations, cities and countries in pursuit of the next opportunity between the pipes, Hutchinson has finally stopped moving. Manitoba is home.
As most fans are aware, one of the Senators’ strengths as they enter another season will be their depth at centre.
Tim Stützle, Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto and Stephen Halliday will likely occupy the four centre positions to begin the season. But the Sens also have several wingers with varying degrees of NHL experience in the middle, including Claude Giroux, Ridly Greig, William Eklund, Nick Cousins, Michael Amadio and André Burakovsky.
Now, the organization’s depth chart at centre may be about to get even deeper.
Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss whether the Sens will re-sign Drake Batherson while he's still eligible for a max eight year deal, and whether missing the Sept. 15th deadline is really that big a deal..
London Knights winger Jaxon Cover was selected by the Senators in June with the 32nd and final pick of the first round. His amazing story has been well told this summer. He grew up playing roller hockey in the Cayman Islands before making the switch to ice hockey as a teenager.
Because Cover has only been playing ice hockey for less than six years, his potential for improvement is already extremely high.
So that already makes him a fascinating prospect, but he may be adding another intriguing dimension to his game.
As Henry Brown at @SensProspects pointed out, Dale Hunter and company are currently auditioning Cover as the Knights’ second-line centre. He played there during his first two OHL preseason games, and clearly his saucer pass game is on point.
#AppleSauce
Jaxon Cover picked up an assist in his second OHL preseason game 🍎
The Victoria Royals are hosting the Knights in a rare two-game interleague series they've billed as “Clash of the Kingdoms." The Royals won the opener 7-2 on Friday night, and the second game is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern.
This could simply be the Knights kicking tires on possibilities, as most teams do in preseason. However, if the experiment continues, and especially if he thrives in the role, it would be an intriguing development for the Sens.
Success in the middle this season could even lead to Cover playing there again when he begins his freshman season at Penn State next year.
All else being equal, centres are generally valued more highly than wingers at the NHL Draft because of the additional responsibilities that come with the position. It is fair to wonder whether Cover might have been selected even earlier had teams already viewed him as a potential centre.
The Sens drafted Cover as a winger after he recorded 20 goals and 32 assists for 52 points in 67 games with London during the 2025–26 season.
Even if he eventually returns to right wing, spending time at centre should benefit his development. The position demands greater defensive awareness, more responsibility down low, and a stronger understanding of all three zones.
Learning those details could help Cover become a more complete two-way player.
If he takes to the position, it would also make him valuable as an organizational asset. Every NHL team is searching for additional depth down the middle, and that would only increase Cover’s value, whether it's in Ottawa or as a future trade chip.
While in Victoria this week for exhibition games, Cover spoke to the OHL’s digital team about attending his first Senators development camp shortly after being drafted.
“Going to the Ottawa camp, just seeing the next level that those players have, and just how much stronger and faster they are… I want to just try to bring that level (to the Knights) and do the best I can with it.”
Again, two preseason games at the position do not make Cover a full-time centre, but the experiment is worth monitoring. First-round picks all enter professional hockey with major value. Some maintain it and become NHL players; others see their stock fall off.
But Cover now has two potential sources of untapped upside: his limited experience on the ice and now, the possibility that he could develop into a centre.
Few prospects from the 2026 NHL draft have more room for their stock to rise.
Brendan Brisson’s time with the Vegas Golden Knights never quite turned into what either side hoped it might.
Vegas selected Brisson with the 29th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, betting on the Los Angeles native to eventually become an important piece of its forward group. He would go on to appear in 24 games with the Golden Knights across two seasons, scoring twice and adding six assists.
Now, several years after hearing his name called by Vegas, Brisson is moving on to another opportunity.
The 24-year-old forward signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs after spending the 2025-26 season between the New York Rangers and their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Brisson made three appearances for New York last season, picking up one assist. The bulk of his production came in Hartford, where he finished with 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points in 66 games.
While his NHL opportunities have been limited, Brisson has been a productive player at the AHL level. Across 244 career games with the Henderson Silver Knights and Hartford, he has recorded 145 points, including 66 goals and 79 assists.
His professional career began with high expectations after Vegas made him a first-round selection, and Brisson arrived in the organization with an impressive amateur résumé.
At the University of Michigan, he produced 63 points — 31 goals and 32 assists — in 62 games over two seasons. He helped the Wolverines win a Big Ten championship and was named to the conference’s Second All-Star Team in 2022.
Brisson also represented the United States on the international stage. He scored twice in four games at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and was part of the American team that won gold at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, recording two goals in seven games.
Before making the jump to college hockey, Brisson established himself as one of the USHL’s top young players with the Chicago Steel. During the 2019-20 season, he scored 24 goals and added 35 assists in 45 games, earning USHL Rookie of the Year honors along with spots on the First All-Star Team and All-Rookie Team.
For Vegas, Brisson ultimately became one of those prospects who showed flashes but never secured a permanent spot in the NHL lineup.
His next chapter will come in Toronto, where he’ll get another opportunity to prove that the potential that made him a first-round pick can still translate into consistent NHL production.
On Friday,
the Montreal Canadiens revealed the 23 players who will take part in their
rookie camp from September 11 to September 15, and the consensus online is that
it’s underwhelming. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone, however,
since the Canadiens’ most exciting prospects are either playing in the KHL
(Alexander Zharovsky, Gleb Pugachyov), in the NCAA (Michael Hage, Timofei
Runtso), or elsewhere in Europe (Vinzenz Rohrer). Even Hayden Paupanekis, who
missed last year’s camp because of mononucleosis, won’t be attending since he
left the Kelowna Rockets for St. Cloud’s University.
As for top
defenseman prospect Bryce Pickford, he’s still recovering from shoulder surgery
and isn’t on the list either. The offensive blueliner wasn’t on the ice for
development camp either, and he’s still recovering.
All these
absences opened the door for several undrafted players who will attend camp on
a tryout basis: seven of the 13 forwards were invited on that basis: Alexander
Donovan from the St. John Sea Dogs, Kody Dupuis from the Shawinigan Cataractes,
Braydon McCallum from the Peterborough Petes, Mavrick Rousseau-Hamel from the
Quebec Remparts, Thomas Rousseau from the Sherbrooke Phoenix, Alexey Vlaskov
from the Victoriaville Tigres and Brady Wassilyn from the London Knights. Of
the lot, Vlaskov and Rousseau had the best offensive numbers out of the players
from the QMJHL last season. The former put up 80 points in just 64 games, while
the latter had 52 points in 60 games. As for Donovan, he had 53 points in 63
games in the OHL.
Four of the
Canadiens’ picks from the 2026 draft will be attending: Wesley Royston (190th
overall), Parker Trottier (189th overall), Jean-Samuel Daigneault
(221st overall) and Brayden Klimpke (117th overall).
Even though
the roster lacks top prospects, it will still be interesting to see how they hold
their own against the Winnipeg Jets (September 12, 1:00 PM) and the Ottawa
Senators (September 13, 6:00 PM) rookies. Don’t expect too many cuts by the end
of camp, however, since the Canadiens will be playing two split-squad games
during the preseason: September 19 against the Toronto Maple Leafs and September
26 against the Ottawa Senators.
Flyers' Rick Tocchet Shares Refreshing Perspective on Matvei MichkovPhiladelphia Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet reflects on his first year with Matvei Michkov and what he would do differently.
