After just a single game at the NHL level to start the season, Nashville Predators General Manager Chris MacFarland announced that Ryan Ufko has been reassigned to the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League on Friday.
"I thought his play tapered a little bit," Predators head coach Andrew Brunette told Brooks Bratten, the Preds' team reporter. "We're hoping for a little better effort last night from him, and he got overwhelmed a little bit in that hockey game. And I think we’ve got some things to figure out on the backend, and we don't really want him sitting out. We want him playing.”
Ufko, a 23-year-old defenseman out of Smithtown, New York, was Nashville's 115th overall pick at the 2021 NHL Draft. He's currently starting his third fully professional season, and although he's made appearances at the NHL level sporadically, he's been a regular in Milwaukee for the past two seasons.
The Admirals are set to start their season tomorrow night as they visit the Rockford IceHogs.
LAS VEGAS - The day has finally come for the Ducks to kick-off their 2026-27 season. It begins with a rematch against one of their opponents from last season's playoff run, the Vegas Golden Knights. Despite losing the series, the Ducks had the most success out of any of the Golden Knight's playoff opponents, taking the series to six games.
"It's gonna be a fast five minutes (to start)," Leo Carlsson said. "It's always loud in Vegas. Just play a simple game in the beginning, and then it's going to open up. They're an older and heavy team, we've known that since last year."
"It's always an exciting game, the first night," Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said. "I think that when we finished (training) camp there, we had a little maybe tough ending. But I thought we had a real good week and a couple good days here going into the game. These guys want to play for keeps. I really liked the pace of our practices. We want to play with some speed, we want to play with some energy, we like the enthusiasm in our team. A lot of new faces, a lot of new players. At the same time, we've got some guys that we're excited to see how they're going to do this year, and I think they should be getting better. That's what we're looking forward to as well."
The Ducks' lineup will feature a pair of NHL debutants. Judd Caulfield, who had an impressive training camp, will skate alongside Jeff Malott and Tim Washe on the fourth line. Caulfield has appeared in over 200 AHL games and was utilized heavily by former San Diego Gulls head coach Matt McIlvane last season. Defenseman Noah Warren will be paired with Tyson Hinds on the third defensive pair. Injuries to Drew Helleson and Ian Moore have opened up opportunities for players like Warren and Travis Mitchell (who will be making his Ducks debut) to crack the lineup.
"I'm just extremely excited and blessed to have this opportunity," Caulfield said. "It's something I've been dreaming about my whole life and the time's finally come. Just super pumped to get out there and super excited for the game."
"Really excited," Warren said. "It's a dream come true to play the first NHL game, so really excited. Try not to think about it too much tonight, but we'll see what happens."
"He's a big body, gets in the way. I think that gives us some size back there. I just think that he's evolving from this year to last year. We've got a couple of right D who aren't playing, so it's a chance for him to get into the game and we feel that he should be fine out there."
- Joel Quenneville on Noah Warren
"He's had a real good camp. He gives us some size, physicality. He looks like he's improved his quickness and his pace to his game. Just an up-and-down winger that plays hard. Took advantage of an opportunity based on his performance. I think last couple years down there (in the AHL), he's just gotten better and better."
- Joel Quenneville on Judd Caulfield
Tristan Luneau, who signed a six-year contract extension with the Ducks on Thursday, will get the first crack at filling the spot next to Jackson LaCombe on the top defensive pair. Despite having played just 14 NHL games since being drafted in 2022, the Ducks are trying to get ahead of the curve by tying down one of their pending RFAs before his breakout has even occurred.
"We think a lot of him. There's a lot of upside to his game. Could push for more ice time in more offensive situations. Defensively, he's a work in progress, like our whole D corps is, kind of as a collective, as a group. We saw him last year at the end of the year. Played a real nice game for us against Nashville. It's a great opportunity, good for him. Now, we've just got to complement one another and make sure our young D, we've got to get better on the job."
After a preseason where it seemed that he would get an opportunity in the top-6, 2026 15th overall pick Nikita Klepov will have to wait to make his NHL debut. Quenneville said that Klepov has a "great feel" for the game offensively and that watching a few games from the press box will help him intake some of the situations that he will be in when he eventually gets into the lineup.
"I would say there's some balance to that thought process, exactly like that."
- Joel Quenneville on whether Nikita Klepov could be on a game management plan similar to Leo Carlsson's rookie season
Tustin native Trevor Connelly netted his first NHL goal for the Golden Knights on Tuesday in his NHL debut. He, among others, will be responsible for replacing the production of Pavel Dorofeyev, who was traded to the New York Rangers during the offseason. Dorofeyev's timely goalscoring was instrumental in helping the Golden Knights beat the Ducks in the playoffs.
Projected Ducks Lines
A.J. Greer - Leo Carlsson - Cutter Gauthier Beckett Sennecke - Mikael Granlund - Alex Killorn Nikita Nesterenko - Ryan Poehling - Frank Vatrano Jeff Malott - Tim Washe - Judd Caulfield
Jackson LaCombe - Tristan Luneau Pavel Mintyukov - Travis Mitchell Tyson Hinds - Noah Warren
Lukáš Dostál (confirmed)
Projected Golden Knights Lines
Ivan Barbashev - Jack Eichel - Mark Stone Brett Howden - William Karlsson - Mitch Marner Trevor Connelly - Tomáš Hertl - Victor Olofsson Braeden Bowman - Nic Dowd - Marc Gatcomb
Young San Jose Sharks star and captain Macklin Celebrini was recently asked to rank his top-5 players under 23 years old in an Instagram reel, and the result was interesting, especially for Montreal Canadiens fans. While most people would argue that Celebrini himself should be at the top of that list, he took himself out of the equation right away, which was the right thing to do.
He then ranked Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard first, followed by New York Islanders blueliner Matthew Schaefer, then chose 18-million-dollar AAV man Leo Carlsson from the Anaheim Ducks. Finally, in fourth place, he opted for Lane Hutson and added Ivan Demidov in fifth place.
About Hutson, he stated that he was “such a special player” and followed that up with, “How about Demidov? He’s a really skilled player. These two are really a great duo, and [it’s] fun to watch them play.”
While it’s always good for players’ confidence to see they’ve landed in various rankings released by media members, there’s something special about being recognized as part of the elite by their peers.
It will be interesting to see how the five players chosen by Celebrini fare point-wise this season. Of course, there’s more to the game than points, but generally, the best players find a way to contribute on the scoreboard. Top pick Bedard is currently sidelined because of a shoulder injury and has already been ruled out of the Hawks’ first three games; while he’ll travel with the team, he won’t play. It will be interesting to see how many of the 84 games he can suit up for. So far, his most productive season yielded 75 points.
Meanwhile, reigning Calder Trophy winner Scheafer put up 59 points in 82 games in his rookie season, and if he stays healthy, it’s almost a given that he’ll improve on that total. As for Carlsson, in three NHL seasons, he’s never played a full 82-game calendar, and he’s never put up more than 67 points. Will he be able to compete in all 84 games this season? Can he take a big step and become a point-per-game player? Last year he had 67 points in 70 games.
As for Hutson, he went from 66 points in 82 games as a rookie to 78 points in 82 games as a sophomore. This season, he’ll also benefit from Chris Kreider’s presence. The Habs defenseman has a knack for creating space and shooting lanes for himself, but he doesn’t have the hardest shots; that won’t matter with an ace deflector trying to tip it in front of the netminder. The pair has already started working on puck tipping in practices, and in time, we should see some clear results on the ice.
As for Demidov, he led all rookies in points in his first year with 62 points in 82 games, but if he gets more playing time with Juraj Slafkovsky this season, that number could go up. The two players have fantastic chemistry, and if they can see more of each other at even strength, they could both increase their production.
Speaking of Slafkovsky, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was asked by TVA Sports who he considers the Canadiens’ biggest weapon on the ice, and he chose the big Slovak. Crosby explained:
I think he can produce in a lot of different ways: big body, he does a lot, he’s physical, he reads the ice well, he can score. He has an impact in a lot of different ways.
High praise indeed for the former first-overall pick at the 2022 NHL draft. When TVA Sports relayed the information, the power forward could hardly believe it.
Do you think the three young Habs will live up to the hype and expectations this season?
DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche won on opening night Wednesday, beating the Los Angeles Kings 8-4 in a game that featured just about everything — a high-octane offense, solid goaltending and even a fight.
Game 2 could be quite the fight as well when the Avalanche take on the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena.
The Hockey News has learned that longtime Blues netminder Jordan Binnington will handle crease duties, and if you know a thing or two about Binnington, you know he and the Avalanche have quite the history.
Let's go back to Game 3 of the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
At that point, the rivalry between these two teams couldn't have been much hotter. The year before, Nazem Kadri was suspended eight games after his hit on Justin Faulk in Game 2 of their first-round series. The Avalanche went on to sweep the Blues and would eventually lose to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games.
But 2022 brought a whole new level to things.
In Game 3, Binnington suffered a lower-body injury after Kadri and then-Blues defenseman Calle Rosen collided while going after a loose puck. Kadri crashed directly into Binnington, knocking the goaltender out for the rest of the postseason.
Binnington wasn't exactly thrilled about it.
During a postgame interview with TNT, he threw a water bottle at Kadri, adding another memorable moment to an already heated series.
The aftermath, however, went well beyond hockey.
Kadri, who is Muslim and of Lebanese descent, became the target of racist comments and threats following the collision. Police were brought in to investigate some of those threats, but Kadri had his own response — and it came on the ice.
He scored a hat trick in Game 4, leading Colorado to a 6-3 win over St. Louis and a 3-1 series lead.
Now things are a little different.
Kadri is back in an Avalanche uniform after spending several seasons with the Calgary Flames, while Binnington is still with the Blues and will be in the crease Saturday night.
One thing that hasn't stayed the same, though, is Binnington's play.
He's not quite the goaltender he was when he helped lead the Blues to the Stanley Cup in 2019. Last season, Binnington posted a career-low .873 save percentage, and at one point during the season, that number dipped to around .864.
Colorado got a pretty good look at him on New Year's Eve last season. Binnington faced 43 shots and allowed six goals, including three from Valeri Nichushkin, who now plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It could be another tough night for Binnington on Saturday.
Then again, he's shown he can still come up big when the stage gets bigger. We saw that with Team Canada at the Olympics and Four Nations.
But on the NHL side of things, it's been a rough stretch for Binnington.
The Avalanche will see what they can do with him Saturday when they take on their longtime rival at Ball Arena.
While every player's first career NHL goal is memorable in its own way, some are undoubtedly more memorable than others. Luca Cagnoni's first career goal may be one that San Jose Sharks fans never forget.
The Sharks went up 3-0 over the Florida Panthers in the second period, but the Panthers fought back to tie it at 3-3 and sent the game to overtime. Once again, it seemed that the Sharks were going to struggle to close out a game against a top team, but an unlikely hero changed their fate. 3:14 into overtime, Cagnoni fired a wrist shot from inside the face-off circle that beat Akira Schmid and secured a win for the team in teal.
"He'll remember that one, for sure," Ryan Warsofsky said of the goal. "These guys worked really hard this summer. We're in great shape. Luca is one of them and you can see it. You get an extra gear there in overtime, and his skill comes out."
"Hard to write one better than an overtime winner," Cagnoni said postgame. [It's the type] some people dream of [while] playing Chel."
The 21-year-old defenseman then explained the overtime winner from his perspective. "I thought I could beat the guy up the ice, and I saw Smitty with the puck," Cagnoni said. "Smitty had an unbelievable pass and sometimes you've just got to put the puck along the ice."
While Cagnoni has played a few games in the NHL before, this was his first opening night with the Sharks. From the Teal Carpet all the way to his overtime winner, he had a massive smile on his face.
"It's probably going to be a tough one to sleep tonight, but it's an unbelievable day."
Kole Lind is officially back as a member of the Vancouver Canucks organization. The Abbotsford Canucks announced today that they signed the former 2017 second-round pick to a one-year AHL contract, bringing him back to the organization five years after the left.
Lind was originally selected 33rd-overall by Vancouver in the 2017 NHL Draft, going on to spend three seasons with the team’s AHL-affiliate at the time, the Utica Comets. Through 126 games with the Comets, he scored 24 goals and 46 assists. Lind later made his NHL debut with the Canucks in the 2020–21 season, finishing the year with seven NHL games played.
Later on that year, Lind was selected in the 2021 Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft. He ended up playing for the Kraken organization up until the 2024–25 season, during which he signed with the Texas Stars.
Lind wasn’t the only signing announced by Abbotsford today. The team also opted to bring in forward Sean Chisholm, who also joins the organization after previously playing for Texas. Chisholm was initially signed to a contract by Vancouver’s ECHL-affiliate, the Kalamazoo Wings, but agreed to a PTO for Abbotsford’s training camp and has since made the team.
Abbotsford takes part in their 2026-27 season-opener tonight, October 2, when they face the Calgary Wranglers at 6:00 pm PT.
Apr 29, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Kole Lind (78) shoots the puck against Toronto Maple Leafs in the second period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
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The Edmonton Oilers have played two games this season, scored 14 goals, allowed 13 and walked away with three of four points.
Can anyone play defence anymore?
Edmonton followed Tuesday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks with a 9-7 win over those same Canucks on Thursday, and I'm starting to wonder how badly Mike Babcock yelled at these guys after Game 1. Whatever he said seemed to work for about 40 minutes.
The Oilers walked into Rogers Arena, scored five unanswered goals, built an 8-2 lead, then Vancouver scored with one second remaining in the second period. They scored three more times in the third, and suddenly an 8-2 hockey game was 8-6 with 13 minutes left.
“Nobody is in here saying ‘Way to go,’” Connor McDavid said. “We understand that the game has to look a little bit different, but I thought the first 40 is what it could look like a lot of the time and what it should look like a lot of the time. Guys working hard, tracking back, responsible with the puck and just kind of rolling over them. We have to replicate that 40 minutes.”
For 40 minutes, Edmonton did a lot of what it spent training camp talking about, such as managing the puck and not giving Vancouver much of anything. At one point midway through the second period, Edmonton had eight goals, and Vancouver had four shots.
That's a pretty good night if everyone goes home after 40.
The problem is that NHL games still have that third period, and Edmonton spent most of it looking like the team they were last season and nothing like the team they claimed they would be.
Babcock said Tuesday's loss was ridiculous. I'm not sure what word he has left for blowing most of an 8-2 lead two nights later.
“Weird to be excited about the ninth one,” McDavid said. “But it was a big goal at the time.”
Leon Draisaitl's power-play goal gave Edmonton some room after Vancouver had turned a six-goal deficit into a two-goal game.
The Oilers were also missing Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jason Dickinson and Matt Savoie, so there are certainly worse ways to come out of the first two games.
“I'm happy for the guys, happy for myself, we got three of a possible four points, but we have tons of examples of where we have to get better,” Babcock said.
There are 13 goals against worth of examples.
“We know we can be way better,” Babcock said. “What I saw tonight was a group that can play right, that knew what they were doing and then I saw a group that didn't do it.”
They've scored enough to win both of them. They've also given up enough to lose both of them, and Vancouver has been allowed back into games Edmonton had every opportunity to control.
So what happens when Florida comes to town?
The Oilers aren't going to score nine goals every night, McDavid isn't going to put up five points every night and an 8-2 lead shouldn't require another goal before everyone can relax.
Babcock wanted structure, and through two games he's gotten about 40 minutes of it at a time. That's enough to leave Vancouver with two points on a random Thursday in October.
It won't be enough every night.
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In preparation for his NHL debut this past Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Gavin McKenna took the option and skipped the morning skate.
It was taken as a bold move for an 18-year-old not to take the optional morning skate ahead of the biggest game of his hockey career so far. However, it got a positive reaction from teammates and head coach Jim Hiller.
Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev said McKenna's "got some swag" for not going out for the optional morning skate. Even Hiller said, "I actually thought it was great," admitting that the morning skate is for players who feel they need to further prepare for the game later.
On Friday after practice, McKenna was asked about his decision to miss the morning skate.
"Yeah, usually I (do) morning skates," he said. "But with a back-to-back, it was my first game, I wanted to be rested. So yeah, it wasn't a swagger thing. It was just trying to keep my body fresh."
McKenna got his first taste of back-to-back games in the NHL in his first two contests of his career. The Maple Leafs lost to the Canadiens on opening night and secured their first win of the season against the New York Islanders on Wednesday. The next game is against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
"Yeah, it felt not too bad," he said of experiencing a back-to-back early in the season. "Legs might have got a bit heavy after the first game, but yeah, in college you play a few back-to-back, so used to it. But yeah, at the NHL, it's a different breed. So recovery has been a big thing for me this summer and going into this year. And I think living with (Tavares) and just seeing these guys, how they treat their bodies every single day, I think it rubs off on me, and it's helped."
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The Toronto Maple Leafs' season opener on Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens was also Gavin McKenna's NHL debut. The first overall pick from this past draft had his rookie lap ahead of warmups, but his lap was a little different than a traditional one.
Usually, the player getting on the ice for their first NHL game will go out by themselves and shoot a couple of pucks on net before the rest of the team joins them. But in this instance, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was out on the ice before McKenna, which sparked a reaction in the hockey community.
Some thought that might've been Bobrovsky being superstitious or it being a part of his routine. Others maybe believed it was just an accident.
Bobrovsky himself broke his silence on that, explaining that it was the latter of the possibilities.
"I just, I completely forgot," Bobrovsky said. "I didn't think about. I completely forgot. Yeah, I came to him, and I also told him."
There have been instances in previous years with Bobrovsky where he did allow a rookie to go out for their individual lap. In 2021-22, Florida Panthers right winger Cole Schwindt took his rookie lap, and we walked right by Bobrovsky in the tunnel and skated his rookie lap alone.
But in McKenna's situation, Bobrovsky led him out and remained on the ice, albeit away from the rookie's spotlight.
Looking back, it was a funny mistake in the eyes of the veteran goaltender, who was able to make a joke out of it.
"So I pretend that it's my first game too," Bobrovsky joked and laughed. "But no, I yeah, I didn't mean to do that. So it just happened by accident."
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On Friday, the Winnipeg Jets square off with the Boston Bruins in their season opener, and a newcomer in the lineup is drawing nearly all of the attention. Viggo Björck, the eighth overall pick in this year's draft, has accomplished the rare feat of making his NHL club's opening night roster just months after being selected.
It is a feat usually reserved for the very top picks, but Björck is not only set to make his NHL debut, he is expected to do so as a top-six forward, centering Winnipeg's second line between Gabe Vilardi, who came close to 70 points a season ago, and Isak Rosen, the 14th overall pick in 2021.
The unit will be one of the most interesting looks of the night, as the Jets have opted to break up the lethal top line that carried much of their offense last season. Vilardi will move away from Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele, who will instead play with Cole Perfetti in the opener, while Björck gets a steady, battle-tested presence in Vilardi who can hopefully help him adjust to the pro level quickly.
It is an extremely bold move for Winnipeg to throw an 18-year-old, five-foot-nine center into the fire of the NHL right away, especially against a physical team like the Bruins, and it should make for one of the most compelling games in recent Jets history. Many are already touting Björck as one of the best prospects the franchise has ever had, and his journey begins far sooner than almost anyone expected.
Björck comes off a season in the Swedish Hockey League, a defensive, low-scoring circuit where he faced older competition and still finished with 15 points in 42 games. He will now look to translate his offensive skill set from the bigger international ice surface to an NHL-sized rink against real NHL pros.
Björck will not be the only Jet making his debut Friday as defenseman Tyrel Bauer will also play his first NHL game, bringing a physical, defense-first style that produced 100 or more penalty minutes in three of his four pro seasons with the Manitoba Moose. With two new faces taking the ice for the first time, Friday's showdown has the makings of must-see television.
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As
much as the St. Louis Blues, who open their 2026-27 season on Friday
against the Dallas Stars (8 p.m.; TNT, ESPN 101.1-FM) to begin a
three-game, Central Division road trip, it’s not going to be easy
out of the chute.
Not
only do the Blues open against one divisional favorite but then pack
up and head to Denver where they’ll take on the Colorado Avalanche,
who just dusted the Los Angeles Kings 8-4 on Wednesday, on Saturday
before returning home, then jetting off for a quick one-game trip up
to face the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
Daunting
start to a season? Yes. But imagine taking four of six points or five
or all six, or even taking three of six. Taking anything away from a
challenging start would exude good vibes for a team that will come
into this season with 11 new faces on its opening night roster from
last season, including Mason McTavish, Connor McMichael, Brandon
Carlo and
Ross Johnston as
the three acquisitions.
“I
look at that as an opportunity,” Blues
coach Jim Montgomery said.
“Opportunity to go into Dallas, show them what we have, how hard
we’re going to play against and then fly to Colorado and show the
Avalanche. It’s an opportunity to make your mark right away.”
So
easy to say, so difficult to accomplish, but the Blues feel with the
abbreviated camp – despite going just 1-3-0 in four preseason games
– they were able to get the maximum effort and competitiveness out
of it to head into the season with a focused mind and clear
objective.
With
camp battles for job at a premium, tough decisions were made and
those that stuck around earned their keep. As a result, guys like
Oskar Sundqvist, Nathan Walker and Jack Finley are in Springfield of
the American Hockey League as a result.
“The
depth that we’ve had in this organization and in this camp is
really good, probably amongst some of the best in the league,”
Blues forward Jake Neighbours said. “I think it’s hard to say.
All those guys have fought their fights and given coaches and
management a tough decision on who’s going to be sticking around.
Unfortunately for us as players, it’s the hard part of the
business. I think if we can take all five of those guys fighting for
those last couple spots, we would, but that’s obviously not the
rules. That’s the hard part of the business. There’s going to be
some guys that won’t be around. That’s a credit to the guys that
stick around, they played well.”
Guys
like Dillon Dube, who earned a one-year, one-way contract as a result
of his strong play with the Thunderbirds last season and winning out
a job, and Zach Dean, who has had his share of trials and
tribulations with personal challenges and injuries to make his first
NHL opening night roster.
“He's
missed some hockey over the past couple of years and even watching
him last year, it felt like he grew and he grew,” Blues
general manager Alex Steen said of Dean.
“We've always known the things that stick out in his game, that
make you excited about the player ... I think going into the playoffs
(in
Springfield),
he played a big role for them down there last year and he came into
camp ready, there's no question. His skating ability, he's on the
inside, he doesn't shy away from inside ice. He's a centerman.
“I
thought an impressive thing is when you're moved around between
different linemates and some are veterans and some are younger
players, but he seemed to just bring his own game and contribute what
his strengths are. I'm excited that he's got the opportunity now to
keep building off that.”
As
for Dube?
“Very
similar to ‘Deaner,’” Steen said. “I thought he came in and
he was very prepared, very ready to go, skating ability, inside ice.
He's a tenacious, dog-on-a-bone type player. What he did last year,
the second half going into the playoffs, the contributions he was
making for that team, he was one of the guys I thought in practice,
with how short the camp is, we feel that the process is the biggest
part of what we're doing right now and his intensity and urgency in
everyday work was getting infectious. He's had a very good camp.”
Neither
is projected to be in the lineup on Friday, but Montgomery said he
expects to see them at some point on the trip.
“I
expect to see every forward play a game on this road trip, but that
again, it’s good to say in your mind, but then we win Friday night
and everybody plays well, how do you make a change, right,”
Montgomery
said. “Welcome
to my world.”
-
- -
Defenseman
Adam Jiricek will make his debut Friday after initially being sent
down, then recalled from Springfield due to injuries and subsequent
surgeries to Tyler Tucker (knee) and Logan Mailloux (hand) that will
keep those defensemen out a minimum of six and eight weeks,
respectively.
But
Montgomery said he won’t make the mistake of putting two young
defensemen together like he did last season with Tucker and Mailloux,
which means don’t expect to see Jiricek and Theo Lindstein on the ice
together.
“We
switched it going into game three in Vancouver (last
season),” Montgomery said.
“Unfortunately, it was part, the whole thing. Switching, the
starting, the pairs contributed to our poor start last year.”
Look
for Jiricek to play lots with Philip Broberg and if need be, Carlo
too, someone with veteran experience.
“He’s
a very good player, very good with the puck, good shot, good mobility
with his skates out there,” Broberg
said of Jiricek.
“He makes plays. He’s a good player. If I play with him, I think
I will try and help him out and we’ll try to help each other out
too.”
But
Broberg is prepared to play with whoever since his partner to end
last season (Mailloux) will miss some extended time.
“Yeah,
obviously you have to,” Broberg said. “You just try to help the
team any way you can.”
-
- -
Blues
Projected Lineup:
Dylan
Holloway-Robert Thomas-Jimmy Snuggerud
Pavel
Buchnevich-Mason McTavish-Connor McMichael
Jake
Neighbours-Dalibor Dvorsky-Jonatan Berggren
Alexey
Toropchenko-Pius Suter-Ross Johnston
Philip
Broberg-Adam Jiricek
Theo
Lindstein-Colton Parayko
Cam
Fowler-Brandon Carlo
Joel
Hofer will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.
Healthy
scratches include Dillon Dube, Zach Dean and Justin Barron. Tyler
Tucker (knee) will be re-evaluated in six weeks, and Logan Mailloux
(hand) will be re-evaluated in eight weeks; each is on
injured-reserve.
-
- -
Stars
Projected Lineup:
Justin
Hryckowian-Wyatt
Johnston-Mikko
Rantanen
Jason
Robertson-Roope
Hintz-Tyler
Seguin
Sam
Steel-Artu
Hyry-Jamie
Benn
Oskar
Back-Radek
Faksa-Joel
Kiviranta
Thomas
Harley-Miro
Heiskanen
Esa
Lindell-Nils
Lundkvist
Lian
Bichsel-Tyler
Myers
Jake
Oettinger
will
start in goal; Casey DeSmith
will
be the backup.
Healthy
scratches include Colin Blackwell
and
Kyle Capobianco.
Matt
Duchene (lower body) is out on long-term injured reserve.
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The Detroit Red Wings officially open the 2026-27 NHL season on Friday evening against the visiting New York Rangers at Little Caesars Arena, and continue to face more questions than answers.
Former captain Dylan Larkin hasn't rescinded his trade request (at least, not publicly) and defenseman Simon Edvinsson returned to Sweden while his representation tries to hammer out a deal with interim GM Shawn Horcoff.
Additionally, the Red Wings lost a key source of offense during the summer with the departure of Patrick Kane, and also remain in a holding pattern with regard to who will permanently fill the role vacated by Steve Yzerman in mid-July.
In this piece, we answer the questions submitted over the last few weeks, looking ahead to the club's 101st NHL season.
Q: When will the DRW announce who the new GM is?
A: Right now, that's still completely up in the air. The role currently belongs to Shawn Horcoff on an interim basis, and the organization indicated that he'll have a chance to essentially audition for the full-time role.
Right now, I don't realistically see a permanent GM being hired by the club until after the 2026-27 campaign, and I'd expect Horcoff to carry the interim tag for the duration of the campaign.
Q: Will this year be another close but no cigar year? Or will they be the worst team in the East?
A: It goes without saying that the Red Wings play in hockey's toughest division. The Atlantic is a gauntlet. The Canadiens are on the rise, the Maple Leafs made significant upgrades during the summer, the Panthers are far healthier than last season, and the Lightning still have no shortage of star power.
Right now, it remains to be seen whether clubs like the Bruins, Sabres and Senators can remain consistent enough to make a return trip to the postseason.
For the Red Wings to have a realistic shot at ending their playoff drought, a lot is going to have to go right.
They can't afford another slow start from goaltender John Gibson. Viktor Arvidsson will need to provide an offensive boost to help offset the loss of Kane, while the defense will have to tighten up.
Not having Larkin for the first two games or Edvinsson due to his contract stalemate are both considerable setbacks. However, seven of Detroit's first eight games are at home. If the Red Wings can get off to a strong start, the club—which didn't experience any major roster turnover over the summer—could potentially resemble the team that held a playoff spot for most of last season.
Naturally, it will all come down to how they perform when the going gets tough in the spring.
Q: Will Larkin be a DRW all season long, or a trade candidate at the deadline?
A: This remains to be seen. During his press conference in September on the opening day of Training Camp, Larkin declined to answer whether his trade request was still in effect.
He also suffered an off-ice training injury before Camp, limiting his availability; he's already confirmed as being unavailable for at least the first two games of the season.
Larkin will not be paid by the club if he refuses to practice or play, the situation that Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck finds himself in.
The Red Wings won't trade Larkin for pennies on the dollar, or simply just for the sake of moving on from him. He could very well be with the club for the entire season, but it's also conceivable that he could be on the block at the Trade Deadline, especially if reports that he's expanded his trade list prove true.
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There’s no denying the blockbuster that rocked the NHL on the eve of the season start has impacted both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Columbus Blue Jackets. On Tuesday, Kirill Marchenko seemed to be everywhere against the Montreal Canadiens, and he got an assist. On Thursday night, in his first game as a Blue Jacket, Matthew Knies scored two goals, added an assist, and was named the first star of the game.
Unsurprisingly, the blockbuster was discussed at length on the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast by Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas. The NHL insider confirmed that Habs GM Kent Hughes tried everything to land Marchenko:
I tried to figure out what Montreal did at the end; I heard that Montreal was trying to be really creative. I think they were trying to involve other teams. I’m not 100% sure whether they were trying to get other teams to get one of these extra Columbus guys, or whether they were trying to take a player from another team and put them in Columbus. Because I just always heard that Columbus wasn’t crazy about what Montreal offered. There were some good players in there, some futures; Columbus didn’t really want futures, and they just never had anything close to Knies. Like, I heard there was another player they were trying to get to Columbus from another team. I thought I knew who that guy was, but the other team has denied it, so I’m still working, Kyle, on who that guy was or who the guys were.
At this stage, this shouldn’t surprise anyone. Hughes said he was very active this summer but didn't manage to close the deal on his main target. Of course, the Canadiens’ GM didn’t confirm who his target was, but with multiple reports identifying Marchenko as the target, it makes sense.
As we mentioned in the hours following the trade, Hughes didn’t come away with the big prize despite trying; Friedman confirmed it came down to the Jackets not wanting what they had to offer. What’s new, however, is that they tried hard to involve other teams to get the Jackets what they wanted, even if it wasn’t from the Habs themselves, but it didn’t work. Still, the insider also confirms that Montreal was one of the most active teams this summer:
Montreal, no question, had been the most serious pursuer all summer. From the moment that Marchenko was potentially available. He’d let the Blue Jackets know he wasn’t going to re-sign there. They were the team that chased the hardest. And word behind the scenes was that he was more than happy to go there. I think that’s one of the most interesting storylines about this whole thing, Kyle: is that word early in July was that he was willing to go to Montreal, but he wasn’t so crazy about Toronto. Somewhere over the summer, that changed.
- Friedman on Marchenko wanting to come to Montreal
That might be a consolation for Habs fans; it's further proof, after Noah Dobson and Chris Kreider, that players want to come to Montreal now. If Marchenko had been free to choose his destination, the Canadiens would likely have been his choice. However, the Blue Jackets were in the driver’s seat, and they handled a difficult situation very well.
Hughes’s back to the drawing board if he wants an impact player, but that may have to wait until the offseason; who knows. With the salary cap rising, though, if a star player becomes an unrestricted free agent, it wouldn’t be a shock if they chose Montreal as a landing spot. The Canadiens have the money, the cap space, and a coach the players love. Until then, the players must do their part: keep winning, because at the end of the day, that’s what will make players chasing a Stanley Cup choose this team. Jason Robertson from the Dallas Stars will be a UFA this summer, and the summer after that, it will be Connor McDavid. The Edmonton Oilers have allowed 13 goals through two games; their goaltending still isn’t sorted out, and neither is their defense. Whether they want it or not, they are slowly but surely pushing McDavid toward the exit.
Just over 24 hours before the most eventful and surprising offseason in the history of the Anaheim Ducks/Mighty Ducks of Anaheim was, at long last, scheduled to conclude, general manager Pat Verbeek had one more trick up his sleeve as the team announced on Thursday, the day before the puck was set to drop on their 2026-27 campaign, that they’d signed young defenseman Tristan Luneau (22) to a six-year, $7.2 million AAV contract extension. The contract will go into effect at the start of the 2027-28 season.
Upon the news breaking, the majority of the hockey world understandably questioned Luneau’s merit to earn such a significant payday and Verbeek’s methodology in handing out a contract to someone with Luneau’s experience (or lack thereof).
So, who is Tristan Luneau and why did the Ducks sign him to such a large contract?
“It’s great. I get to play hockey for six more years,” Luneau stated moments after putting pen to paper. “It’s a great moment for me and my family. It’s a group I want to be a part of for a long time, and I believe in what we’re all working for.”
Luneau (53rd in 2022) is four years removed from his draft, when he was selected by the Ducks in the second round. He was a first overall pick in the QMJHL Draft in 2020, selected by Gatineau Olympiques, but a nagging knee injury, repaired following his 2020-21 season, hindered his production in his draft year, where he scored 43 points (12-31=43) in 63 games, causing the talented right-shot defenseman to fall to the second round of the NHL Draft.
The season following his draft (2022-23), he bounced back significantly and scored 83 points (20-63=83) in 65 games and added 17 (2-15=17) in 13 playoff games, earning him QMJHL Defenseman of the Year honors.
The Ducks’ plan for Luneau as it pertained to the next season, 2023-24, was to start him in the NHL and send him to the AHL on a conditioning loan before he was to represent Canada at the 2024 World Junior Championships. He sustained an infection in his leg en route to the tournament and was sidelined for the rest of the season while he recovered, and only ended up playing 13 games between the NHL and AHL.
He mostly spent the next two seasons (2024-25 and 2025-26) developing and playing substantial minutes for the San Diego Gulls in the AHL with two brief stints in the NHL for the Ducks.
Luneau finished his AHL career with 95 points (19-76=95) in 135 games, and prior to signing his contract, he had just four points (2-2=4) in 14 NHL games. So, given his resume, it’s justified for the hockey world to have their collective eyebrows raised when a former second-round pick with 14 games of NHL experience signs a deal like the one he did on Thursday.
Luneau possesses an NHL frame (6-foot-1, 211 pounds) and every on-ice tool to become a No. 1 defenseman. With the puck, he’s strong, elusive, and dynamic. He fends off forecheckers, makes smart, decisive outlets, and can join or lead rushes up ice. In the offensive zone, he fiercely patrols the blueline, activates downhill at will, and smartly gets his heavy shot through traffic with consistency.
On the defensive side of the puck, he’s just as aggressive, displaying tight gaps, knowledge of angles, and an influential, active stick. He’s difficult to gain ice against in the tight areas, and he’s tenacious in front of his net.
Over the past four years, he’s developed and translated his offensive game to every level below the NHL and has put in the work to iron out his defensive game. He’s gained the necessary size, skill, and strength to succeed against the world’s top hockey players. He’s as NHL-ready as a defense prospect has ever been.
Why?
"Signing Tristan to a long-term contract was a priority as we see him as a top-four defenseman for years to come,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek stated in the Ducks’ press release that followed the signing. “Getting the deal done before the season started was a key part of our planning for now and the future."
The Ducks can easily be considered the main character of the 2026 NHL offseason. Following a year where they seemingly put their rebuild in the rearview mirror, an offer sheet to their franchise player, Leo Carlsson, sent shockwaves through the organization and the NHL as a whole.
When all was said and done, the Ducks signed their three highest-profile RFAs coming off ELCs (Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Pavel Mintyukov) to larger contracts than they were anticipating. As a result, they saw a mass exodus of roster players who found new homes over the summer, including Mason McTavish, Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, John Carlsson, Radko Gudas, and Olen Zellweger.
Given the volume of defensive contributors who are now off the roster, only subsidized by the addition of Nick Jensen (36), Luneau, someone whom the front office greatly believes will step in and immediately flourish in a top-four role, now has a clear path toward a breakout season. He’s slated to start the year on the top pair alongside Jackson LaCombe, run the point on the Ducks’ second power play unit, and may even kill penalties.
Since he accepted the job as the Ducks general manager in Feb. 2022, Verbeek has established a reputation as a shrewd negotiator with his team’s RFAs, especially those coming off their ELCs. Past talks with Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, and Mason McTavish, players once considered part of the Ducks’ future core, extended well into training camp, arguably leading to injuries and/or underwhelming following seasons.
Verbeek seemed to be heading toward similar negotiation timelines with Carlsson, Gauthier, and Mintyukov in 2026, but Carlsson and his representation found a way to quickly end talks when the Philadelphia Flyers signed Carlsson to an earth-shattering five-year offer sheet that carried an AAV of $18 million. Days later, the Ducks signed Mintyukov to a five-year, $7.2 million AAV extension, presumably to avoid a second OS. They matched the offer sheet for Carlsson, but the landscape of their cap sheet and the NHL would continue to feel the ripple effects. One of those ripple effects was signing Gauthier to a six-year, $13.5 million AAV extension just before 2026 training camp.
In his training camp-opening press conference, Verbeek pledged to be more aggressive in signing his RFAs to better avoid another scenario like the one he faced this summer. “I think that we're going to attack, you know, some of our players coming off of their ELCs, be more aggressive in that, start communicating and having more talks sooner,” he said.
“I think when you look at things, just being a little more agile, getting more adaptive, and probably just react a little quicker to situations or just see them,” Verbeek continued.
“There's going to be a lot of different scenarios to manage, and you're going to have to be proactive in all of this stuff. So certainly the variables have changed, and you're going to have to really start taking into account all the different variables that can happen and plan for it.”
Verbeek began to make good on his statement over the course of training camp/preseason when he signed depth center Tim Washe to a four-year, $2.25 million AAV contract extension that will begin at the start of the 2027-28 season.
Luneau’s new contract is further proof of the implementation of Verbeek’s new approach, but to an even more extreme level. Verbeek and the Ducks clearly believe in Luneau’s talent and projection. If he were to head into the 2026-27 season without a contract extension and make the most of the opportunities he’s being given, he’d be due a significantly larger AAV than the $7.2 million per year that he’ll earn between 2027-28 and 2032-33.
It’s a gamble, like every NHL contract that’s signed, and it can be considered an “overcorrection” to a degree, but the price for Luneau was likely never decreasing, and he’s now signed until he’s 29 years old, the majority (or entirety) of his prime. This is the type of gamble on young talent that has traditionally aged well in the modern NHL.
Luneau is now on the radar of those unfamiliar with him and his game, and these are the kind of deals, especially given where the salary cap is projected to be heading, that fans and media crave from NHL front offices: betting on young talent.
DENVER — For T.J. Hughes, Wednesday night was about more than the Colorado Avalanche opening their season at Ball Arena.
It was the night he finally made his NHL debut.
The former University of Michigan standout showed flashes of why Colorado believes he belongs at hockey's highest level, while also looking like a player experiencing his first NHL game. Hughes was good at times and less so at others — an understandable combination for someone taking his first steps in the league.
Not every rookie walks into the NHL and immediately looks like Wayne Gretzky. Even Auston Matthews, now the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, set an almost impossible standard when he scored four goals in his NHL debut.
Nathan MacKinnon following a two-goal performance and a two-piece combination on Brandt Clarke.
Hughes didn't find the back of the net Wednesday.
But he came close — several times.
The opportunities started early. In the opening period, Hughes nearly converted on a rebound that narrowly missed the net.
A short time later, he found himself with another chance at his first career NHL goal, jamming away at a loose puck in front of Los Angeles Kings goaltender and former Avalanche netminder Darcy Kuemper as he tried to poke it across the goal line.
Hughes kept battling for the puck before taking a hard cross-check from Kings captain Drew Doughty. The hit ultimately helped turn a 5-on-4 power play into a 5-on-3, and Nathan MacKinnon made Los Angeles pay, finding the back of the net for Colorado's second power-play goal of the night.
The Avalanche scored four times with the man advantage, but Hughes' first goal would have to wait.
MacKinnon wasn't concerned.
“He played well,” MacKinnon said. “He had a couple good looks. It’s really hard to play your first game, especially sometimes getting a hat trick early. There’s a lot of pressure, a lot of hype, so I think he’ll continue to settle in.”
MacKinnon also pointed to Hughes' maturity and commitment away from the ice.
“He’s a mature guy and a great guy, and such a committed player on and off the ice,” MacKinnon said. “So, you know, chemistry hopefully will develop here.”
That chemistry will come with time, as will Hughes' adjustment to the speed of the NHL.
You could see that adjustment taking place early Wednesday.
At times, Hughes looked just a fraction behind the play. In the first period, he found himself in position for a one-timer but was a step too slow getting his body fully into the shot, resulting in an awkward deflection.
At Michigan and later with the Colorado Eagles, Hughes routinely stood out as one of the more dynamic players on the ice. He produced 14 points in 17 games during the Eagles' Calder Cup playoff run last season.
The NHL, though, is another level. The time and space Hughes was accustomed to finding simply aren't there as often.
That's the biggest adjustment Bednar expects him to make.
“What he’s going to work on is getting used to the pace of play and the size and the strength of guys,” Bednar said. “That was a whole different level of intensity tonight.”
Bednar isn't asking Hughes to reinvent his game. Instead, he expects the young forward to learn how to make the same decisions he has always made, only faster.
“I like the habits he plays with,” Bednar said. “But just getting used to the pace, the intensity, the size and strength of the guys, how quickly time and space disappears. So the decision-making and thinking, yeah, it’s going to be that.”
Hughes also got an immediate lesson in what can happen when those decisions don't come quickly enough.
Colorado scored four power-play goals Wednesday, but the Avalanche also surrendered two shorthanded markers. One came after Hughes had his stick lifted by Joel Armia while trying to exit the defensive zone.
Armia turned the turnover into a break the other way and beat Mackenzie Blackwood, giving Los Angeles a free score and Hughes a costly lesson about the consequences of a mistake at this level.
Still, Bednar saw plenty to like.
“He’s a really intelligent player,” Bednar said. “I have full confidence he can do that. I thought his game was good. It was good. You could tell he’s learning and thinking, and it’ll become more instinctual for him as it goes on.”
That was perhaps the best way to describe Hughes' debut.
There were mistakes, and there were moments when the game appeared to move a little faster than he wanted it to. But there were also plenty of flashes — the scoring chances around the net, the willingness to battle for loose pucks and the offensive instincts that repeatedly put him in position to make something happen.
“He makes a poor play tonight,” Bednar said, “and it’s just a matter of time before we get that out of his game.”
The first NHL goal will have to wait.
For Hughes, though, the more important milestone was already accomplished.
He made it to the NHL.
Now comes the process of figuring out how to stay there.
