It was only days ago that former Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jack Campbell, who spent one season with the organization and played with the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins, announced his retirement.
And now, another goaltender who briefly spent time with the organization is also calling it a career. Michael Hutchinson, who spent the 2023-24 campaign under contract with the club, is retiring.
Hutchinson was originally selected with the 77th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins, though he never saw regular season action with the club.
He would then spend 2013 through 2018 with the Winnipeg Jets, and even posted 21-10-5 record with a 2.39 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage with two shutouts in 2013-14.
Following his time with the Jets, Hutchinson saw time with the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Columbus Blue Jackets before being signed to a professional tryout (PTO) agreement with the Red Wings in 2023.
While Hutchinson was released from his tryout, he opted for the same deal with the AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins, and would later be signed to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
He appeared in one regular season game for the Red Wings in December 2023, making 33 saves in a loss to the New Jersey Devils.
He later accepted a PTO with the Devils in the fall of 2024, but would be released, and spent his final season of professional hockey with SaiPa in the Finnish Liiga.
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.
Now it's time for another 106-point Atlantic Division heavyweight: the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Unlike Montreal, Tampa made some significant changes after a first-round playoff exit.
Drake Batherson was asked at the end of the season whether he'd like to sign an extension this summer.
Senators Offseason Summary
The Senators' summer to-do list changed dramatically when Brady Tkachuk requested a trade and was eventually sent to Florida for the ninth and 25th picks in the 2026 draft, a 2027 second-rounder and a 2029 first-round pick.
GM Steve Staios then flipped the ninth pick to San Jose for William Eklund and prospects Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda.
Ottawa also acquired Andre Burakovsky and goalie Samuel Ersson, while re-signing Claude Giroux, Nick Cousins, Jordan Spence and Leevi Merilainen.
The biggest question remains whether Eklund and Burakovsky can replace enough of Tkachuk's offence.
Let's compare that with Tampa Bay's offseason.
Lightning Trades: Subtractions
Tampa didn't do much trading, but they did move out two familiar faces.
Pending UFA defenseman Darren Raddysh was dealt to Toronto for a fifth-round pick after a 22-goal, 70-point season. Raddysh's 70-point season in a contract year was so wildly out of step with the rest of his career that the Lightning let him walk in a sign-and-trade with the Leafs.
The Lightning also traded former Senator Nick Paul to Toronto. Paul had become a useful middle-six forward in Tampa, putting up back-to-back 20+ goal seasons, but his production dipped hard last season to 15 points in 51 games. Over a full season, that's a 23-point pace.
Lightning Trades: Additions
There isn't much to see here.
Tampa's only notable player addition by trade was goaltender Dennis Hildeby, acquired from Toronto in the Nick Paul deal. Hildeby posted a .914 save percentage last season and will back up Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Like Ottawa, Tampa wanted better support for its number-one goalie. The Senators brought in Ersson. The Lightning brought in Hildeby.
Lightning Free Agent Signings
The Lightning replaced Raddysh with longtime Washington Capitals veteran John Carlson, who finished last year with Anaheim. The 36-year-old got a two-year contract worth $8.5 million per season, exactly what Raddysh is getting in Toronto.
Like the Senators, who grabbed Burakovsky, Tampa also had some interest in one of Chicago's mid-tier forwards. The Lightning signed UFA Ilya Mikheyev for four years at $3.85 million per season
Tough guy Jeffrey Viel, who split his time between Boston and Anaheim, was signed to a surprising five-year deal worth $2.5 million annually, a move that certainly gives Tampa a little more muscle for the Battle of Florida.
Lightning Free Agent Losses
Oliver Bjorkstrand signed with the New York Rangers, while Corey Perry moved on to Los Angeles.
Verdict 1: Who Had The Better Offseason?
The Lightning lost Raddysh, but they gained Carlson. Carlson is one of the top-scoring D in the game, and he's been that for a lot more than one season. They also lost Paul, Perry and Bjorkstrand, but they gained Hildeby, Mikheyev, and Viel.
The Sens lost Tkachuk, but added Eklund, Burakovsky, and Ersson. They also added some much-needed prospects and draft capital.
Tampa gets the nod, but not by much.
Verdict 2: Who Will Be The Better Team This Season?
Tampa Bay again.
Ottawa finished only seven points behind the Lightning last season, and there's an argument that the Senators' younger core has more room to improve.
Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, Shane Pinto, Dylan Cozens and Eklund should still have some of their best hockey ahead of them.
Tampa's core is considerably older, and eventually, that will matter. But people have been waiting for the Lightning to fall off for a while now, and we're not going to predict their decline until they actually show signs of it.
The Lightning still have Nikita Kucherov, who had 130 points and won the Hart Trophy last season. Jake Guentzel scored 38 goals, Brandon Hagel had 36, while Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli remain excellent players.
Victor Hedman anchors the defence, Carlson now joins him, and Vasilevskiy is coming off another Vezina Trophy season. Oh yeah, and Jon Cooper is finally the reigning Coach of the Year.
For now, the Senators are still chasing them.
By Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article first appeared at The Hockey News Ottawa. For full Senators coverage, check out one of The Hockey News headlines below.
The Chicago Blackhawks have spent a lot of money this off-season. They traded for and signed Bowen Byram, added a couple of depth free agents in Ian Cole and Cole Smith, extended Connor Bedard, and signed Patrick Kane.
Now, they can stay above the cap floor and don't have any bad money locked in their books for an extended period. In the future, as other young players are looking for big extensions, the Blackhawks should have no issue.
They still have room to make moves to become a better team right now, and hope that it helps them continue building a winner for the future. After signing Kane, they likely aren't the front-runner for a big move between now and training camp, but if the right deal came along, they might consider it.
Of the realistic players who may still be moved before summer is over, Kirill Marchenko of the Columbus Blue Jackets is at the top of the list. There have been reports of him wanting out, while conflicting rumors out of Columbus say that those are false. Either way, there is smoke surrounding his future.
The favorite to land Marchenko, if he's moved, seems to be the Montreal Canadiens. However, there are other teams with a seat at the table. There is no reason to believe that the Blackhawks aren't one of them. They have cap space and assets necessary to make a big move like that.
The Blackhawks have a lot of forwards who do the same thing: provide middle-six-level offense. Outside of Connor Bedard, there is nobody who is a lock to provide north of 70 points. Others, Patrick Kane, Frank Nazar, or Anton Frondell, may be able to, but it isn't a guarantee at this stage of their careers (for different reasons).
If Marchenko plays 80+ games, he should have north of 70 points with ease, including the 30-goal plateau. Over the last three seasons, he has 58 goals and 83 assists for 141 points in 155 games played. That type of goal-scoring winger who also makes plays would be great for one of Chicago's top centers.
With the surplus of NHL-ready forwards that the Blackhawks have, a few of them may have to go the other way to make room. Guys like Oliver Moore, Ryan Greene, Sacha Boisvert, and Marek Vanacker, among others, could all go in a deal like this.
At 26 years old, Marchenko is just getting started. If he gets traded, it is because he doesn't want to stay with the Blue Jackets.
He is going to earn a lot of money, so the Blackhawks would have to decide if he's worth the payment via trade and in dollars when that time comes. Right now, it's easy to see him producing at a high rate with a center like Connor Bedard feeding him the puck.
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 on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.
When the Sharks drafted Filip Bystedt with the 27th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, he was a key building piece for a rebuilding team without much prospect quality. Of course, the additions of Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini in 2023 and 2024 respectively, it didn’t take long for Bystedt to fall down the depth chart.
The odds of Bystedt playing a top-six role even in his prime were slim at that stage regardless, but with just Smith and Celebrini ahead of him on the depth chart, he still had a chance to find a spot in the bottom-six. Drafting Michael Misa in 2025, adding Zack Ostapchuk via trade, then signing veteran Alex Wennberg to an extension made center depth a major strength for the Sharks’ young core and left almost no room for Bystedt, or any other prospect, to make a jump to the NHL in the near future.
Now, more than four years after being drafted, Bystedt has yet to make an appearance at the NHL level and he’s stuck behind a major logjam of bottom-six forwards. As a result, it seems fair at this stage to question how realistic it would be for him to make the Sharks at any point in the near future.
Last season, Bystedt had his best professional season by far. He scored 20 goals, surpassing the 20 goal threshold for the first time in his career, and 60 points in 65 games for the San Jose Barracuda. Yet, even when the Sharks' roster was dealing with injuries, he never got an opportunity in the bottom-six. Instead, those opportunities were given to players like Ethan Cardwell, Patrick Giles, Pavol Regenda, and Igor Chernyshov.
With the Sharks now looking to move out of their rebuild, there will likely be even fewer chances for younger players in the near future. Players like Adam Gaudette, Ty Dellandrea, Barclay Goodrow, and possibly even Tyler Toffoli are going to be taking up space in the Sharks' bottom-six this coming season and it seems unlikely that there's any space for Bystedt to get a chance, even if there are a multitude of injuries.
While it seems likely that Sharks General Manager Mike Grier would've loved to see Bystedt succeed since he was the first draft pick of his tenure, that window has seemingly rapidly closed. If Bystedt doesn't get an opportunity this coming season, which is hard to see happening, it seems likely that it'll never come in San Jose.
It’s no secret that the Florida Panthers have evolved into one of the more disliked teams in the NHL.
The combination of playing an aggressive, physical style and doing a lot of winning while playing that style will have that effect.
Those who have been watching Florida during their ascension know that they have an impressive collection of players who can combine skill and grit, and each has played their own crucial role in Florida’s success.
One of those players has been singled out as a villain.
So basically, whichever player they believed to have tormented a team and its fans the most would be that team’s villain.
Interestingly, one Panthers player was singled out as the biggest bad guy for not one, but two different teams.
And perhaps even more interestingly, it’s not someone with the last name Marchand or Tkachuk.
No, that honor went to the man who took home the 2025 Conn Smythe Trophy while helping Florida to their second straight Stanley Cup championship: Sam Bennett.
According to The Athletic, no player has tormented either the Tampa Bay Lightning or Toronto Maple Leafs more than Bennett.
It’s a solid choice.
Bennett has shown a propensity for taking his game to another level during the playoffs, where he’s helped the Panthers win four of the six combined series against the Lightning and Leafs that he’s been a part of.
That includes four straight series wins, two against each team, in which Bennett racked up eight goals and 14 points in 19 games.
On the flip side, the player deemed most villainous to the Panthers franchise was Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov.
I mean, yeah, I guess.
He’s put up big numbers against Florida – more than a point per game in both the regular season and playoffs – but doesn’t he do that against everybody?
When thinking of a Lightning player as a villain for the Panthers, the first player that comes to mind lately is Brandon Hagel.
Now to be fair, it’s mostly for the physical elements of the game and less for his scoring contributions. While 16 points in 22 regular games against Florida is nothing to sneeze at, he’s only put up five points and a minus-8 on-ice rating in 12 postseason meetings with the Panthers.
So what do you think of these villainous choices?
Let us know in the comments if you agree, and if not, who you think should be on the list instead.
Photo caption: Nov 28, 2023;Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers centerSamBennett(9) fights withTorontoMaple Leafs center Max Domi (11) during the second period at Scotiabank Arena. (Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports)
The Carolina Hurricanes have signed defenseman Ronan Seeley to a one-year, two-way contract extension.
The deal will pay Seeley $850,000 at the NHL level and $100,000 at the AHL level, with a guarantee of $160,000.
Seeley, 23, has spent the past four seasons primarily in the AHL, where he's collected 20 goals and 72 points in 266 games, all while being a reliable defender.
The 2020 seventh-round pick made his NHL debut at the end of the regular season, suiting up for one game for the Hurricanes.
The blueliner had previously filed for salary arbitration, but the deal comes before the set date for arbitration, so no harm, no foul.
That leaves Alexander Nikishin, Justin Robidas and Cayden Primeau as the final remaining RFAs left for the Hurricanes to deal with this summer.
Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.
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.
ST. LOUIS -- It was nearly two years ago when Lukas Fischer was given an honor not bestowed upon many in sport.
The 19-year-old was named the captain of the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League, a franchise used to playoff experiences, one where it's produced a fair amount of NHL talent.
But this was different. In uncharacteristic fashion, the Sting had taken a turn on the downside, missing the playoffs now for a franchise-record three straight seasons. Since reaching the conference final in 2023, the Sting has simply not been good.
"I think it came with a lot of learning too," the second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft of the St. Louis Blues said at the team's development camp. "I think that was something I had to learn how to man emotions, dealing when you're going through a slump and stuff like that. It was good, right? But I was fortunate too. We had a good locker room in the two years I was captain at Sarnia. We had a great locker room. It didn't all fall on me. I had a great support system, great coaches and great teammates. It came with a lot of learning and I wore with pride."
No matter what the support system offers, Fischer was the guy wearing the 'C.' And even though the support was great, you're the one that will hear about it more so than anyone. You're the quote-unquote de facto leader. And although there came great responsibility and challenges Fischer had to face, the best thing to happen to his career was being traded last season.
Sarnia was going nowhere, and the defenseman, who had 18 points (three goals, 15 assists) in 26 games with the Sting last season and 99 points (27 goals, 62 assists) in 192 regular-season games spanning three-plus seasons there, was moved to Sault Ste. Marie on Dec. 8, 2025 for a prospect and five picks.
And even though Fischer, who will most likely be playing at Springfield of the American Hockey League this season, was leaving teammates, friends and a support staff that he had grown fond of, this was the best course of action for his career; he got to experience playoff hockey again with the Greyhounds and had six points (one goal, five assists) in 10 games.
Fischer had 26 points (five goals, 21 assists) in 39 regular-season games for the Soo.
"I think it was, yeah," the son of former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jiri Fischer said of being traded. "I think everything happens for a reason. I had a great three years and change in Sarnia and going to the Soo was a great opportunity for me. I got to play with Chase Reid; he was a great D-partner, he was a great friend. We had a great group that had a ton of fun. I haven't been a part of a real winning team in a while. It was a great experience and a good opportunity."
The 6-foot-3, 177-pound left-handed shot always had the strong-skating ability with reliable defensive capabilities, but he's developed the knack of having that upside offensively in joining the rush and being a power play quarterback.
"I think for me, the biggest thing, I think I was really like a sporadic player," Fischer said. "I think I tried to do a lot, I try to do too much right after getting picked, especially on like being on a team that maybe you didn't expect to win every single night. That's something I take a lot of pride in. I like to win, right? I think everybody likes to win. I tried to do a lot. Sometimes it would hurt me. I think just being able to mature over two years, settle in and find who I'll be as a player going forward, I think, has been my biggest growth."
Now that there's an offensive upside, the growth has led to one particular area Fischer was honing in on.
"I think managing the puck, especially when it's on my stick making good decisions with it," he said. "I think I took a big step in that direction."
Fischer, who made a cameo appearance for Springfield two seasons ago (three games), was also summoned to the Thunderbirds but did not appear in any games, is among a group of recent prospects vying to be the next wave of Blues defensemen to be seen on management's radar. He will be at main training camp before heading to Springfield just putting his best foot forward and let the chips fall where they may, continue the growth and for the first time, likely see noticeable time in the AHL.
"I just look at it as a great opportunity, right? The fact that I might get the chance to play in the NHL is pretty cool, especially as a little kid to be here now," Fischer said. "I'm not sure I would have said that I thought I'd be here, even to just have a chance. I think I definitely just try to be the best version of myself every day and we'll see what happens."
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.
The Buffalo Sabres snapped their 15-year postseason drought, winning the Atlantic Division and advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but after an offseason that saw Bowen Byram and Alex Tuch being dealt, the task of repeating as division champion or finishing in the top three of the Atlantic could be significantly more difficult.
This week, we will finish up looking at the seven other teams in the Atlantic to see where they stand in comparison to where they were at the end of last season and see where they potentially stack up as competition with the Sabres.
The Montreal Canadiens are a club that closely resembles the Sabres in that they have improved by developing prospects internally, but have hastened their progress by adding players through trades. Montreal missed the playoffs three straight seasons after making the Cup Final in 2021, and were eliminated by Washington in the first round in 2025. Last season, the Canadiens surprisingly eliminated Tampa Bay in the first round and got by Buffalo on Alex Newhook’s Game 7 OT goal, but were outmatched in the Eastern Conference Final against Carolina.
GM Kent Hughes to this point in the offseason has kept his powder dry, and not made any significant additions, but he did lock up goalie Jakub Dobes on a three-year contract extension.
Brendan Gallagher - Traded to Vancouver with 50% retention ($3.25 million)
Joe Veleno - Left via free agency to the New York Rangers
Patrik Laine - Unsigned
Patrick Kane signs with the Blackhawks
Outlook
The Canadiens are at this point following the same model that Jarmo Kekalainen is with the Sabres, but they are not dealing with any major departures as Buffalo is. The majority of the Habs core group are 25 and under, and have more playoff experience and success than the Sabres. Their top six of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky will only get better with more experience, and 20-year-old Ivan Demidov scored 62 points as a rookie.
Defensively, Lane Hutson has been an offensive dynamo, scoring 144 points in his first two seasons. Free agent Noah Dobson battled through injuries in the playoffs after a solid first year in Montreal, and the their blueline depth is solid, with veterans Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, Alexandre Carrier, Jayden Struble, and Arber Xhekaj. In goal, Dobes grabbed the net from Samuel Montembeault last season and did not relinquish it, but rookie Jacob Fowler is expected to push for playing time next season.
The Canadiens seem to have less question marks in all three areas than the Sabres heading into next season. The combo of Dobes and Fowler appears stronger than Buffalo’s three-headed monster, defensively the Sabres are not as good after the trade of Byram, to the point that the Habs blueline is either equal or better entering next season.
Montreal has better firepower at the top of their forward group, but their achilles heel remains the lack of a second line center to take some of the offensive burden off of Suzuki. Buffalo is deeper up the middle and is at least equal to the Canadiens in the bottom six. At this point, it appears that Montreal is bound for a top three spot in the Atlantic, while the Sabres currently appear to be in the mix for a wildcard spot.
The Montreal Canadiens have made another small trade.
The Canadiens have announced that they have traded forward Sean Farrell to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Sasha Pastujov.
Farrell appeared in 47 games last season with the Laval Rocket, where he recorded nine goals, 19 assists, and 28 points. He also had two assists in five playoff games for Laval this past spring.
Farrell was selected by the Canadiens with the 124th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. In 186 career AHL games over three seasons with Laval, he posted 46 goals, 79 assists, and 125 points. He also played in six games for the Canadiens during the 2022-23 season, where he scored one goal.
With Pastujov, the Canadiens are bringing in another young forward who has shown promise at the AHL level. In 71 games last season with the San Diego Gulls, he posted 21 goals and 57 points. This was after he had 17 goals and 45 points in 43 games for the AHL club in 2024-25.
Pastujov was selected by the Ducks with the 66th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He has yet to make his NHL debut.
Ryan Reaves has been one of the most polarizing personalities in hockey and one of the toughest enforcers since he made his NHL debut with the St. Louis Blues in the 2010-11 season.
Enforcers don't typically carve out long careers and rarely reach the 1,000-game plateau. But if Reaves finds an NHL home for the 2026-27 season, the 39-year-old would have to play just 38 games to hit that mark.
Reaves was on TSN's 1050 in Toronto recently, speaking about his NHL future.
“Playing 1,000 games in the NHL is an honor, for sure, especially in the role that I play,” Reaves said on 1050’s First Up show. “But I’ve been training all summer already, and the body’s holding up pretty well. I just think I got one more left in the tank.
“As I came into the league, the older guys would give me advice,” Reaves added. “One [piece of] advice that has been consistent throughout all of them is, ‘Always play as long as you possibly can, because when it’s over, it’s over, and you’re gonna miss it.’ You don’t want to have regrets of, ‘oh, you know, I could’ve played one more year, and I shouldn’t have shut it down.’ I don’t want to have that regret. I think one more year would be fun, and to say I played to 40 would also be kind of fun, too.”
Reaves played seven seasons with the Blues, playing 419 games with the NHL organization and 214 games on the Blues' AHL affiliate.
Ryan Reaves scored three goals in 50 games in the 2025-26 season. (David Gonzales-Imagn Images)
His career totals come out to 66 goals and 140 points in 962 games. Reaves also accumulated 1137 penalty minutes, ranking seventh among active players.
The 6-foot-2, right-handed winger has struggled to remain effective late in his career outside of being a physical presence and as a fighter. Reaves may have to sign a professional tryout ahead of pre-season before signing an NHL deal.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.
See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source.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.
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.
39 Redmond Savage - Center (Jacksonville - ECHL, Rochester - AHL)
The Sabres were looking for veteran depth players for the Rochester Americans and snagged a forward with NHL bloodlines in Redmond Savage. The son of former NHLer Brian Savage is a product of the US National Development Program and was selected in the fourth round of the 2021 Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. The 5’11”, 185 center played for Team USA at the World Junior Championships in 2022 and 2023 and his first two collegiate seasons with Miami(OH) University. After his sophomore year, he used the NCAA’s transfer portal to head to Michigan State.
Patrick Kane signs with the Chicago Blackhawks
With the Spartans, he set a collegiate-high as a junior, scoring 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 38 games, but his senior season was abbreviated to just 20 games because of a season-ending injury. The Red Wings opted not to sign the 23-year-old after his college career was completed, and last August, the Arizona native signed a two-year AHL deal with the Sabres.
In his first pro season, Savage split time between ECHL Jacksonville and the Amerks, where he scored six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 29 games, and he played in all three playoff games in the first round against Toronto. With a significant chunk of Rochester’s top forwards moving into the NHL this season, it is likely that players like Savage will get longer looks in primary positions next season.
Although he was eligible for a contract extension as of July 1, young Philadelphia Flyers star Matvei Michkov says no such talks have taken place just yet, and won't for a few more weeks at least.
In a recent interview with RG Media, Michkov, 21, was quizzed on his contract status, but the Russian winger had few updates to offer in the way of a potential extension.
"No, there haven't been any talks yet. I don't know. My main task is to focus on next season. And whatever happens, happens. As God wills, so it will be," Michkov told RG.
As for offseason communication with head coach Rick Tocchet? "No talks yet. When everything starts, then we'll talk."
The Flyers' main training camp opens on Thursday, Sept. 17, following the Rookie Series games against the New York Rangers and their youngsters at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa., and from there, we can deduce that Michkov and his camp will be more willing to start talks with the Flyers.
Of course, Michkov has spent most of his summer training back home in Russia, and recently scored a Michigan and hat trick in the Match of the Year charity game for Artemi Panarin's team.
The 2023 No. 6 overall pick was reported to be expected back in the area in early August, which gives him a week or two to wrap up his current training and make the trip back to North America.
Michkov is also aware of the hefty contract the Flyers just handed out to teammate Trevor Zegras, who became the highest-paid player on the team after avoiding arbitration.
"I congratulated Trevor on his new contract. He's staying for four more years. I think it's a good signing for Philadelphia, because he's a strong player. You could say the whole team is now basically built around him," Michkov said of Zegras and his new four-year, $36.5 million contract.
Michkov has one year left on his entry-level contract with the Flyers at a $950k cap hit, with potential for $3.3 million in performance bonuses.
Montreal Canadiens fans may be getting somewhat fed up with kicking off the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but there’s one thing that never gets old: the rivalry between the two sides. Whether one team is struggling or not, both outfits always know how to raise their game to give fans memorable games filled with animosity.
One of the duels between the two sides was particularly memorable last season, the one that took place on November 22 and ended in a 5-2 Canadiens’ win. It certainly felt like Montreal inflicted some payback on Toronto after losing their first duel of the season 5-2 in Toronto, but it was also Florian Xhekaj’s very first NHL game.
Before the puck dropped, Xhekaj was joined by his brother Arber to pose for a picture as it was also the brothers’ first regular-season game as members of the Montreal Canadiens. They became the 14th set of brothers to line up together in a game for the Habs and the first pair since Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn back in the 2007-08 season. The Habs' number 63 lined up with Jake Evans and Josh Anderson. Throughout the game, cameras kept an eye on the brothers’ mother, Simona Xhekaj, to catch her reaction to every bit of the action.
While the younger Xhekaj behaved himself for most of the game, even registering the first point of his career with an assist on a second-period Anderson goal, he did end up dropping the mitts late in the third frame after picking up a slashing penalty and having to fight Toronto defenseman Dakota Mermis. It was a fast and furious affair which didn’t prompt the same reaction from every member of the family. While Xhekaj’s big brother was beaming with pride on the bench, Mama Xhejaj had a worried look on her face, and the brothers’ sister gave Florian a standing ovation.
The older Xhekaj, no doubt feeling a bit left out of the action, also got a misconduct at the final whistle as tempers brewed over at the final buzzer. Still, the Canadiens went away with a 5-2 win largely due to a great performance by Jakub Dobes, who stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced. It wasn’t the kind of game coaches like, however, since both teams committed 17 giveaways and failed to play a sound, responsible defensive game.
It was the first of five games the younger Xhekaj ended up playing last season, and he’ll no doubt be hoping to see more action this season. While he can handle himself on the ice, his skating isn’t exactly great and at times, it makes NHL action look a bit too fast for him. In the AHL, he played 64 games, putting up 29 points, including 17 goals, which is by no means a bad output, but he did have 24 goals the year before. He also added two points in five playoff games and 34 penalty minutes.
With both Joe Veleno and Brendan Gallagher not returning, it will be interesting to see if Xhekaj manages to grab a spot in the Canadiens’ lineup. It would be surprising if he did manage to do it out of camp, but it wouldn’t be shocking if he were called up in case of injuries, especially for matchups that promise to be physical.
Duels with the Florida Panthers could be particularly rough this season now that the Cats have added Brady Tkachuk to their lineup. The former Ottawa Senators captain has 31 points in 33 games against the Habs while recording 51 penalty minutes. Tkachuk and the Panthers will visit the Bell Center for a 1:00 PM game on Saturday, December 5; expect that game to be an eventful one.
As for the Leafs, they’ll be hoping to get back in the playoff picture this season after failing to make the Spring dance last year. The new regime in place has made many changes, bringing in some experienced players, including former Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in net and acquiring Darren Raddysh in a sign-and-trade deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Montreal and Toronto will face each other four times this season, including in the season opener on September 29.
On Aug. 21, former New York Islanders defenseman Zdeno Chara will be playing in an event called "Zee's Final Shift", a farewell game for the 49-year-old Hockey Hall of Famer.
The farewell game will be held at the Winter Stadium in Trenčín.
Chara, who began his career with the Islanders in 1997-98 and returned to the team for his final NHL season in 2021-22, has invited many of his former teammates to this event, including some who played on Long Island.
Johnny Boychuk, who is currently a part of the Islanders' player development squad, never played with Chara on Long Island. But the two won a Stanley Cup together with the Boston Bruins in 2011.
The same goes for Dennis Seidenberg, who was on that Boston team and, like Boychuk, is working for the Islanders in player development.
Then we have Zigmund Palffy, who was a fifth-year Islanders forward when Chara walked through the doors in 1997-98, playing a part of two seasons together.
Fellow Slovakian Miroslav Satan, who played with Chara in Boston for one season in 2009-10, spent three seasons on Long Island (2005-2008).
Tomas Vanek's time with the Islanders spanned only 47 games in 2013-14 after being acquired and then traded off the island ahead of the 2014 NHL Trade Deadline.
Robert Reichel played for the Islanders as well (1997-1999).
Here are the remaining invitees: Marian Hossa, Chris Kelly, Patrice Bergeron, Ray Bourque, Andrew Ference, Michal Handzuš, Jaromír Jágr, Tomáš Kaberle, Duncan Keith, Anže Kopitar, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand, Adam McQuaid, Daniel Paille, David Pastrňák, Mark Recchi, Andrej Sekera, Marco Sturm, Aaron Ward, and Jakub Voráček.
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - NOVEMBER 14: Erik Karlsson #65, Sidney Crosby #87 and Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins listen to the American national anthem before a game against the Nashville Predators during the 2025 NHL Global Series on November 14, 2025 at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by André Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Now a few weeks into free agency, the NHL has reached the quiet part of their calendar for the next month or so. Most the major moves are made and summer vacations and resets are in full swing as teams go slightly dormant to recharge the batteries for the upcoming season.
But news and changes are only one short phone call away, let’s set the table for what has happened so far this offseason and what could still be on the ol’ to-do list from last month’s action items.
Step 5b: More about free agents
On a related note to Step 5 above, there’s restricted free agency ahead for Arturs Silovs, Egor Chinakhov, Joel Blomqvist, Ville Koivunen and Alex Alexeyev. Aside from what the decision is about Alexeyev, either new contract agreements or at least qualifying offers will be sent to the rest of that group by the deadline later this month for progress in that area in the near future.
Koivunen remains an RFA with limited leverage on getting a new contract, beyond that the rest are taken care of. Alexeyev decided to sign in the KHL, the Penguins made sure to retain his NHL rights. Silovs signed a one-year deal, Blomqvist got two years (and an interesting structure within), Chinakhov got the most money and years for all at three years. Newly acquired RFA’s in Nick Robertson and Hendrix Lapierre got on the books for the next two years.
Step 6: June 1 free agents
This year there wasn’t much drama for the Penguins on drafted players whose rights expired yesterday. Zam Plante and Luke Devlin don’t apply since they are still enrolled in college that means Pittsburgh retains their rights a while longer
Nothin’ happening here, though prospect Cruz Lucius will qualify for unrestricted free agency on August 15th and likely choose to sign with a different NHL team soon after.
Step 7: Front office silly season
Todd Nelson’s name is starting to get floated around as a potential head coaching candidate.
The Pens made it through the bulk of the offseason without many moves within the front office. The notable exception is when Vokie Mpofu got hired to be an assistant GM for Nashville. Mpofu was an important behind the scenes executive over the past couple of years, his spot and role was replaced by another familiar face to Kyle Dubas when Brandon Pridham was hired by Pittsburgh under the title of hockey operations consultant.
Step 8: Draft prep
The bulk of the month will likely be spent finalizing a plan for the NHL draft, to be held June 26-27 in Buffalo.
The Penguins currently have seven picks, including three in the top 54 selections of the draft. Pittsburgh only has one pick over Rounds 4-7 (Nashville’s sixth rounder).
As tends to be the case under Dubas, the draft featured some activity and movement via trades. Pittsburgh traded a few picks around and ended up moving up in the fourth round to draft Parker von Richter and then moved to grab a fifth round pick to get goalie Matvei Nikonovich.
They remained the same at the top of the draft, taking the Ruck twins with their first two picks.
Step 9: Pro Scouting
Another behind the scenes action point, the Penguins will definitely be trying to find the next versions of Parker Wotherspoon, Anthony Mantha, Arturs Silovs and Justin Brazeau, if they can. All of those players contributed mightily to team success in 2025-26 and any NHL team can always strive for improvement around the margins if they find the right fits available.
Dubas gave signals the Penguins would seek value free agents and not look to make lengthy contractual commitments, and that’s exactly what happened. Andrey Kuzmenko was brought on as essentially an Anthony Mantha replacement on a one-year contract. Defenders Declan Carlile and Trevor van Riemsdyk were each given two-year contracts to add to the blueline that lost Ryan Shea and Connor Clifton as free agents.
—
Looking ahead, there’s not too much between now and training camp that the Penguins really have to do by this point. Most of their heavy lifting to shape the roster for next season has been completed, though further touches can still be made and we’ll throw them out here.
Step 10: Logjam of forwards
In numbers, the Pens have added more this off-season than they’ve lost up front (Kuzmenko, Robertson, Lapierre in, only Mantha and Noel Acciari out as free agents from the NHL roster). That position was already stacked with recent-ish trades to add Chinakhov and Elmer Soderblom last season and ended up retaining veterans Evgeni Malkin, Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar with contract extensions. As of now, it’s possible to build a realistic top-12 without Lapierre or Justin Brazeau in the lineup and it would take injuries for any of Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty, Tristan Broz and Avery Hayes to see NHL time.
Pittsburgh has Brazeau and Tommy Novak as players in the final season of their contracts with July 2027 free agency dates looming. Veterans Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell are under contract through 2028 but never in shortage for trade whispers.
Now that the team knows their efforts to hunt for a big game possibility like star forward Jason Robertson won’t be happening, do they look the restack the deck a little bit? Dropping a forward via trade for a defenseman would make a lot of sense given splits. This doesn’t need to be addressed in summer but at some point the course is going to have to reverse for some forwards heading out to balance out all the incoming entries over the last six months.
Step 11: Comfortable with the blueline?
The current defense is very unusual for an NHL team, it contains two legitimate left shot defenders (Sam Girard and Declan Carlile) and then a host of unknown or undesirable options like Ryan Graves, Caleb Jones, Ilya Solovyov and Owen Pickering.
NHL teams typically have a shortage of right shot defenders, but that’s not the case now in Pittsburgh. Between Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang and the recently acquired Kaeden Korczak and Trevor van Riemsdyk, the Pens have a surplus of RHD even before getting to top prospect Harrison Brunicke.
The Pens haven’t been in a major hurry to even out the numbers, and even created the imbalance by trading their most capable LD (Parker Wotherspoon) for a right shot in Korczak. What their exact plan is for defense construction remains murky and could possibly be unconventional to use a right shot on the left side. This could be more curiosity than needing a transaction to settle the situation depending on the internal plans, but it’s worth pointing out.
Step 12: Veteran extensions
The Penguins have three star players in the final season of their contracts in 2026-27. First, there’s 40-year old Evgeni Malkin who essentially is on a year-by-year basis right now. If he wants to extend his career with the Pens, he will have to perform. Given his age, 2026-27 could be Malkin’s final NHL season but it doesn’t look likely that player or team knows if that is true or will be advertising an official farewell in the near future.
The second big star on an expiring deal is Karlsson. Karlsson has a full no movement clause and has been very choosy and deliberate about his past transactions. Depending on how the season goes and what his mindset is, Karlsson could become a deadline trade target but he just as easily could be content to ride the full season out in Pittsburgh before determining his next steps later.
Finally, there’s Sidney Crosby. Crosby has always extended his contracts fairly early in the process prior to the last season starting, but seems to be more contemplative about it these days (his last extension in 2024 wasn’t officially signed until just before the start of training camp). Crosby’s next contract would commit him to playing as a 40-year old in 2027-28, and understandably enough he wants to see how his body feels before making such a decision. Still, his contract will be an unavoidable frequent question with folks wondering if 2026-27 is his final season or not and he’s never liked that type of attention. Perhaps he and the team get together around camp, perhaps he has no answer about his future at this point. Either way, it’s something to watch around the time that September rolls around.
Former Red Wings Goaltender Calls It A Career Former Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jack Campbell, a Michigan native who briefly played for the organization, has decided to retire. 
