PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 27: Tommy Novak #18 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Five of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 27, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)
NHLI via Getty Images
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins signed dependable forward Tommy Novak to a three-year contract extension on Friday. The deal, which begins during the 2027-28 season, carries an average annual value of $4.65 million.
The 29-year-old Novak collected 16 goals and 26 points in 82 games last season while helping the Penguins return to the playoffs following a three-year absence.
Novak, who bounced between the second and third line during his first full season in Pittsburgh, had been scheduled to become a free agent next summer. The extension instead keeps him in the fold for the rest of the decade and positions him to be part of the club’s nucleus as it transitions out of the twilight of the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin/Kris Letang era.
The dog days of the NHL offseason are slowly coming to an end.
Minnesota Wild stars Matt Boldy and Brock Faber were back on the ice this week as preparations for the 2026-27 season officially began. Bartlett Hockey, the agency that represents both players, shared a post on Instagram showing the pair skating at Ridder Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.
While it may only be late July, seeing two of the Wild's biggest stars already training is another reminder that hockey season is quickly approaching.
Boldy is coming off another outstanding season in Minnesota, continuing to establish himself as one of the NHL's premier young wingers. The 25-year-old will once again be counted on to provide elite scoring alongside Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek as the Wild look to build on last season's success.
Faber, meanwhile, has rapidly developed into one of the league's top all-around defensemen. After another heavy-minute campaign, the former Golden Gopher is expected to anchor Minnesota's blue line once again this season while playing in every situation.
The skate also featured several other NHL players represented by Bartlett Hockey, including Utah Mammoth captain Clayton Keller, former Gopher teammate of Faber and current Mammoth center, Logan Cooley and former Wild power forward Jordan Greenway.
Although training camp is still several weeks away, many NHL players begin skating together in late July and early August to rebuild timing and conditioning before informal captain's practices begin later in the summer.
For Wild fans eager for hockey to return, seeing Boldy and Faber back on the ice is another encouraging sign that the countdown to the 2026-27 season is officially underway.
Bartlett Hockey's post offered a brief glimpse at the pair getting back to work, and if this week is any indication, Minnesota's core is already laying the foundation for another important season.
Criteria for our coaches’ ranking include each coach’s accomplishments, their short-term and long-term history, as well as their expectations and general reputation. But full disclosure – this ranking is subjective.
Hynes led the Wild to the NHL’s seventh-best record the past season at 46-24-12. The Wild allowed the fourth-fewest goals a game in the NHL and had the third-best power play in the league.
The Wild's bench boss is heading into his final year of his contract and is expected to get an extension soon. As Wild general manager Bill Guerin said after the season, it seems like Hynes will be staying around for more seasons after this upcoming one.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins signed dependable forward Tommy Novak to a three-year contract extension on Friday. The deal, which begins during the 2027-28 season, carries an average annual value of $4.65 million.
The 29-year-old Novak collected 16 goals and 26 points in 82 games last season while helping the Penguins return to the playoffs following a three-year absence.
Novak, who bounced between the second and third line during his first full season in Pittsburgh, had been scheduled to become a free agent next summer. The extension instead keeps him in the fold for the rest of the decade and positions him to be part of the club's nucleus as it transitions out of the twilight of the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin/Kris Letang era.
DALLAS, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 28: Nathan Bastian #11 of the Dallas Stars celebrates after scoring a goal during the third period against the Nashville Predators at American Airlines Center on February 28, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, New Jersey Devils fans!
As a bit of a site note, I hope you are all getting ready for the annual Top 25 Under 25 community vote. I will be posting about that soon as we have entered the mid-offseason lull. To Sunny Mehta’s credit, he did not do a press conference a couple of days into July and call the offseason there, as the Devils have continued to make moves here and there throughout the month. Between new coaches, Anthony Mantha, and Utica Comets signings, it has felt like we have had more to discuss than usual.
While the Devils’ roster is mostly set with a bit of overage among bottom six players, left-handed defensemen, and goaltenders, the Devils can always boost training camp competition further by signing players to Professional Try-Outs (PTOs). Over the last several years, the Devils have not had a ton of successful PTOs. They had Kevin Rooney and Luke Glendening last year and chose the latter (the wrong choice), they had Kevin Labanc in 2024 and let him go (the wrong choice) before he put up decent numbers in a half season for Columbus, they had Max Willman on a PTO in 2023 before signing him (the wrong choice) and subjecting fans to very poor play. I’d say the last time they had a really good PTO was in 2021 when they had Jimmy Vesey, Mark Jankowski, and Tyler Wotherspoon, but their biggest mistake was not signing Jankowski alongside Vesey and Wotherspoon (AHL).
It is possible to find NHL players with a PTO, so here are six options who I think could fit these New Jersey Devils.
Option One: Adam Henrique, C
Adam Henrique is the oldest player on this list at 36 years old, and he is coming off a difficult offensive season where he was used in a shutdown sort of role for the Edmonton Oilers. Public analytic models like HockeyViz and Evolving-Hockeystill like Henrique’s underlying impacts, but he had a down finishing season for the first time in his solid career. With the recent signing of former NHL forward Colin White, Sunny Mehta has added plenty of players who can challenge Nick Bjugstad for the fourth-line center role, and I think it would be great to cut our cap hit there in half while probably getting a little better production out of Henrique than they can get out of Bjugstad. Henrique is a true NHLer, so I think this is one they should strongly cosnider.
Option Two: Nathan Bastian, RW
Another familiar face for Devils fans, former fourth liner Nate Bastian had a pretty decent season in the 13th forward role for the Dallas Stars last season. He is a strong bottom six defensive winger, and I would consider him a good option if it looks like Stefan Noesen is still struggling to return from his injuries over the last two seasons. However, Bastian deals with health issues himself as a physical forward, as his shoulder seems to bother him from time to time. But with six goals in 36 games last season, he is still capable of the cheap production the Devils could use on their fourth line, and he is familiar with head coach Sheldon Keefe. If Bastian can finally stay fully healthy, I think there’s a 10 or 15-goal forward in there.
Option Three: Adam Boqvist, RHD
Adam Boqvist might be coming off the worst season of his career with the New York Islanders, but the younger brother of current Devil Jesper Boqvist always had promise as a puck moving right-handed defenseman. Still only 25 and turning 26 in a couple of weeks, Adam could reasonably be signed and passed through to Utica, but a strong showing out of him could introduce interesting questions for the Devils. Since the team currently has far more NHL-caliber left-handed defensemen than righties despite the entire right side of defense having difficult recent injury histories, they might want to have a little more insurance than Seamus Casey if someone goes down. Boqvist has a little more size, 272 games of NHL experience, and was at one point signed by the Florida Panthers, where he had 6 points in 18 games in 2024-25 before being selected off waivers by the Islanders that season. Though Boqvist would be hard pressed to crack the lineup, this might be a situation he would be willing to fight through with a chance to play with his brother.
Option Four: Pierre-Olivier Joseph, LHD
Who says you can have enough defensemen, though? Pierre-Olivier Joseph may be another left-handed player, but he is one of the fastest skaters available among current free agents. Joseph also has a very strong analytical profile, though he has not fully stuck in the NHL since he played 75 games for Pittsburgh in 2022-23. At just 26 years old, Olivier would be a similar fit to Declan Chisholm and Vladislav Kolyachonok, but could still improve the competition level among that group during training camp. Because of how stacked this area of the roster is in terms of current contracts, I would regard him as the least likely option here, yet still a decent one.
Option Five: Pavol Regenda, W
Perhaps a bit of an unknown to most, Pavol Regenda is a rare Group 6 UFA at just 26 years old after scoring nine goals in 24 games for the San Jose Sharks. In his NHL career, the 6’3” and 215 pound forward has 10 goals and three assists in 43 games with 78 hits, and he may also be an option for the Devils’ bottom six this season. He also had three goals and two assists for Team Slovakia at the Olympics this year, and he would be an attractive option for the Devils since he would not count as an AHL veteran if passed through waivers at any point. There is a bit of disagreement on Regenda within analytical models, with HockeyViz regarding him as a true bottom six player while Evolving-Hockey’s RAPM rates him more highly, but I would think that fans would generally like a big guy that might score goals. In that sense, he would provide competition with the team’s bottom six wingers and Riley Tufte, the 6’6” AHL veteran signed by Mehta and Birch earlier in the offseason. Regenda is somewhat younger and has had some level of recent NHL productivity, so I would be interested to see him.
Option Six: Matt Murray, G
I am a bit surprised that Matt Murray is still unsigned at this point of the offseason. Sure, the guy has been hurt a lot, but he did have a .922 save percentage in five NHL appearances for Seattle last season. He did not play any AHL games, though, as injuries kept him at practices only for most of the season. Since I am not the biggest believer in David Rittich, I think it would be a good idea to add some competition for who would be the third goaltender in the mix for the New Jersey Devils. But, with respect to Matt Murray, I would not sign him to stuff him in the AHL, which would make him a better PTO candidate than a guy I would want signed to a deal right now, which makes him similar to Adam Henrique in that.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of these PTO options? Do you think any of them could be good choices for the New Jersey Devils? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
The Athletic recently ran an article that listed the biggest on-ice villain in each franchise's history, and for the Montreal Canadiens, Arpon Basu went with former power forward and now Boston Bruins President and alternate governor Cam Neely.
Basu writes that after beating the Canadiens in the playoffs in 1943, the Bruins went on to lose their next 18 playoff series against the Habs until Neely’s arrival allowed them to beat the Canadiens three out of five duels from 1987 to 199. In those 26 games, he scored 20 goals and was basically unstoppable for the Habs in the postseason. Basu also adds that Neely could not only beat you on the scoreboard, but he could also beat you up.
While I can understand going for Neely, who was a Habs nemesis for years, he ended up only playing 13 seasons in the NHL thanks to a knee-on-knee collision with Ulf Samuelson that caused a knee injury that would eventually lead to hip issues. In 726 games, he put up 395 goals and 299 assists for 694 points while racking up 1241 penalty minutes. He was a great player and a formidable foe, but if I had to choose the ultimate on-ice villain for the Canadiens, I couldn’t help but go for another Bruin: Zdeno Chara.
Back in 2011, when Max Pacioretty was just starting to become an impact player for the Habs at the age of 22, he was the victim of a Chara hit that saw him hit the glass between the two team benches; it was very much as if he had hit a wall, and he fell on the ice unconscious. You could have heard a pin drop in the Bell Centre on that day; Chara silenced an arena that’s always raucous for a Canadiens-Bruins duel. There was real concern in that moment not only for Pacioretty’s health but also for his career. The sniper was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with both a severe concussion and a fractured fourth cervical vertebra.
What made the hit even worse for Canadiens fans, however, was the fact that the Bruins captain wasn’t even given a suspension for the play. Then senior vice-president of hockey operations for the NHL at the time Mike Murphy said in a statement that: "After a thorough review of the video, I can find no basis to impose supplemental discipline. This hit resulted from a play that evolved and then happened very quickly — with both players skating in the same direction and with Chara attempting to angle his opponent into the boards. I could not find any evidence to suggest that, beyond this being a correct call for interference, Chara targeted the head of his opponent, left his feet or delivered the check in any other manner that could be deemed to be dangerous."
The League ruling followed a telephone hearing with Chara on the day that fell to Murphy, because Colin Campbell, the NHL disciplinarian back then, was the father of Bruins player Gregory Campbell. From then on, Chara was hated with a passion by the Habs fans and any time he touched the puck at the Bell Centre, he was copiously booed. The blueliner went on to play another 11 seasons in the NHL, and the Montreal faithful never wavered in their booing of his on-ice play. To this day in Montreal, when a player is booed, it can be referred to as getting the Chara treatment.
However, the Montreal crowd, being a knowledgeable hockey crowd, can still recognize a player's greatness. When Chara played the 1,500th game of his career, against the Canadiens at the Bell Center, the villain actually received a roaring ovation following a tribute video. For a few minutes, the crowd forgot about the Pacioretty incident, but it definitely didn’t forgive.
TheHockeyNews.com is running a series ranking each NHL coach, going in reverse order from No. 32 to No. 1.
The criteria for these rankings include each coach’s accomplishments, short- and long-term history, expectations, and general reputation. Of course, these rankings are subjective.
Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice was unsurprisingly very high on this list, landing in the No. 3 spot, ahead of fellow NHL Stanley Cup champion coaches like Jared Bednar, Joel Quenneville and Mike Sullivan.
Maurice has been everything the Panthers hoped for and more when they signed the now 59-year-old to be the head coach. He joined Florida and immediately changed the culture of the organization for the better.
In his first season, the Panthers snuck into the playoffs as the second wild-card team and pulled off arguably the biggest upset in NHL history. They fought their way to the Stanley Cup final but ultimately lost.
In his next two seasons, the Panthers won back-to-back Stanley Cups, cementing themselves in NHL history, with Maurice guiding the franchise.
The 2025-26 season was a difficult campaign for the Panthers, as injuries kept piling up and the team couldn't claw their way into a playoff spot. But the team is healthy heading into the 2026-27 season, and after some major off-season moves, the pressure is now back on the Panthers to be contenders once again.
Maurice could become the NHL's all-time leader in games coached if he continues his NHL career. Maurice has 2,012 regular-season games under his belt as a coach, only 129 behind Scotty Bowman for the most NHL games coached ever.
"Maurice has earned the flowers he's received since Florida's back-to-back championships," said THN.com writer Adam Proteau. "He's been smart enough to have the trust of team ownership everywhere he's worked, and he's made the most of just about every opportunity he's received at the NHL level.
"If he never coached again, Maurice would be a no-brainer Hall of Famer. But he still has the competitive fire burning in him, and he now can add at least one more Cup to his phenomenal resume. The Panthers have the talent to be a playoff team in the Atlantic next season, and Maurice can add to his already-impressive legacy."
Maurice's impact on the Panthers cannot be understated, and if the Panthers hope to bounce back, Maurice will be a key factor in their success.
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ELMONT, NY - MARCH 30: Pittsburgh Penguins Center Tommy Novak (18) controls the puck during the first period of the National Hockey League game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders on March 30, 2026, at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Penguins announced a signing on Friday, tightening up Tommy Novak for three more years. Novak was set to be a free agent in 2027, his new deal will have him under contract through 2029-30.
Three more years of Tommy 🤝
The Penguins have signed forward Tommy Novak to a three-year contract extension.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Tommy Novak to a three-year contract extension, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.
The contract, which begins in the 2027-28 season and runs through 2029-30, carries an average annual value of $4.65 million. Novak, 29, was due to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2026-2027 season.
Novak has played parts of five seasons in the NHL with the Penguins and Nashville Predators. In 2025-26, Novak recorded 16 goals, 26 assists and 42 points in 82 games with Pittsburgh. His point total ranked seventh on the team, while his five power-play tallies ranked fifth. The forward added two assists in six playoff games last season. Novak was the only Penguin to play in all 82 regular-season games in ‘25-26.
In 285 career NHL games, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound forward has registered 65 goals, 94 assists and 159 points. His most productive season came in 2023-24 when he tallied career highs in goals (18), assists (27) and points (45) in 71 games with the Predators.
Prior to turning professional, the St. Paul, Minnesota native skated four seasons for the University of Minnesota from 2015-19, notching 88 points (18G-70A) in 129 games.
Novak represented Team USA at the 2026 World Championship, recording a team-high seven assists and eight points in eight games.
In a world where salaries are skyrocketing from an increased cap, the Pens get Novak at $4.65 million for a slight raise from the $3.5 million he will play on in 2026-27.
Novak, 29, provides versatility to the lineup, offering up the ability to play on the wing or at center and be moved around the lineup accordingly to fit where he’s needed. He had a great 2025-26 in Pittsburgh, his first year with the Pens where he played in all 82 games and recorded 42 points.
Under the hood, beyond the stat line there is another element of Novak’s game that enamors him to coaches for his puck handling ability and strong play in the neutral zone as a supporting player. From his season review:
Here’s a reason why Novak was a lineup staple even during his production cold streaks. Set aside counting stats like goals and assists and this look shows just what a master Novak is in the neutral zone. His ability to carry the puck with possession out of the defensive zone and into the offensive zone are first rate. Once in the offensive end, he’s a wizard at setting up teammates. He doesn’t hit, isn’t particularly speedy or have a lot of goal-scoring touch but otherwise there’s an awful lot to like in the microstats. That doesn’t always translate to goals or points but is a huge factor in helping fuel a line.
A three-year contract has been a rarity for the Pens as of late, besides that term for standard entry level deals Pittsburgh has only given such term to Yegor Chinakhov and Blake Lizotte since 2023, while also inheriting the four years remaining on Kaeden Korczak’s contract in a trade.
Because of that, those three players plus now Novak (and the remainder of Ryan Graves’ long deal) are the only NHL contracts that Pittsburgh has on the books for the 2028-29 season. The whole team seems prime to undergo a quick turn into rebuilding or whatever comes next once the Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang era ends in the coming year(s) and they move into the future with a largely clean sheet. For now, it looks like Novak will be a useful player a part of the future of the Penguins for a while yet to come.
In the summer of 2025, the New York Islanders signed highly-coveted Russian free agent forward Maxim Shabanov to a one-year deal.
Shabanov joined an Islanders' team flush with Russians, most notably star goaltender Ilya Sorokin, who made his own transition from the KHL to the NHL once upon a time.
Shabanov played 38 of the first 52 Islanders' games in the season, missing 12 games due to an early-season injury.
Shabanov had 4 goals and 11 points after those 38 games.
The Islanders and general manager Mathieu Darche acquired Ondrej Palat, and he lost his lineup place.
Shabanov played just six of the final 30 Islanders' games and never quite regained his footing within the organization. Ultimately, Darche did not qualify Shabanov, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Sorokin opened up about what went wrong for Shabanov in an interview with Russian outlet Sport Express.
"It seems to me, and this is just my opinion, that he should have realized sooner that the promises he might have made before the season weren't worth keeping in mind all year," Sorokin said. "He needed a little more positivity and patience. He shouldn't show any dissatisfaction, but simply work and wait for his chance."
It's a telling response from Sorokin, who points to Shabanov's potential frustration at signing for an opportunity to play big minutes for the Islanders, ultimately not happening the way he thought it might.
Sorokin gave more insight.
"I understand his position," Sorokin continued. "He came from a team where he spent 25 minutes on the ice, played on the power play, and got everything he wanted. That wasn't the case in the NHL. But that's the NHL. There are guys who are already trusted. They might even be weaker than you at a given moment, but you can't just take their place - you have to earn it. That can only be done through performance on the ice."
Shabanov, whether fair or not, did not earn a right to stay in New York's lineup after those first 38 games. Despite flashes of brilliance, he posted just 11 points in 38 games.
Brayden Schenn scored 6 goals and totaled 11 points in 19 games with the Islanders.
Shabanov showed immense skill at times but struggled with the defensive systems and did not have consistency.
Those two issues combined hurt his season, and most importantly, limited his ice time, something Sorokin noted.
"Shabanov is a very talented guy," Sorokin said. "He had some really great games. He probably expected to start getting more playing time after them, but instead, his playing time was cut back a bit."
Sorokin summed up his thoughts on the entire situation, then bid Shabanov good luck in Minnesota.
"The coaching staff has its own vision, so there's no point in discussing it. So he needed to stay more positive, not get upset, but work hard and wait for his opportunity. I wish him luck in Minnesota. He's very talented, his technique, his hands."
The Columbus Blue Jackets have only had four players wear #62 in their history, and in a weird twist, three of them have been since 2023. They haven't had any real impact players wear the number in their short 25-year history, but that could change one day.
Let's take a look at who has put on the #62 Union Blue Jersey.
Broadhurst was traded by Chicago to Columbus on June 30, 2015, along with Brandon Saad and Michael Paliotta, for Artem Anisimov, Jeremy Morin, Corey Tropp, Marko Dano, and Columbus' 4th-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. He would only play in a pair of games for the CBJ during the 2017-18 season. Where Broadhurst would excel would be in the AHL for the Cleveland Monsters. He played in 229 games for Cleveland, scoring 48 goals and totaling 132 points. On February 25, 2019, he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets. He would play 2019-20 with the San Diego Gulls, and then leave for Europe. He spent two seasons in Liiga and the last four playing in the KHL. He is signed to play for the
Fischtown Pinguins of the DEL in 26-27.
Kňažko's scouting report from Elite Prospects reads as follows: "Kňažko's passing skills are refined for a defenseman. He can find players in the seam and on the breakout with great accuracy. He's comfortable with making plays from his backhand and makes sharp passes with good power behind them. His mobility stood out; he has the skating ability to be effective defending against the rush and during long cycles." Unfortunately for Kňažko, he's a left-shot defenseman, and that's not something that the Blue Jackets really needed at any level, so he became expendable. After playing in only two NHL games and three seasons with the Monsters, he was not tendered a contract and became a free agent. Instead of staying in North America, he chose to return home to Czechia and play for HC Vítkovice. Kňažko should also be selected for Czechia in the 2026 Winter Olympics. He will play for
HC Vítkovice in Czechia next season.
Kevin Labanc -
Draft: San Jose, 6th round - 171st overall - 2014
Labanc was signed by Columbus on October 5, 2024, just before the season. After playing 8 seasons with the San Jose Sharks, Labanc was on a PTO with the New Jersey Devils when Don Waddell plucked him away. Labanc played in 34 games for Columbus in the 24-25 season before going down due to injury. He scored 2 goals and had 12 points while playing 10:30 a game. Labanc did fairly well in his role. He was scratched a lot, but when he got his chance to play, he was usually noticeable. He had four points in his first five games to start the season, and fans were excited to see what he could do. As of right now, Labanc doesn't have an NHL deal, but there are rumors that he is getting interest from Europe. He played for the
Shanghai Dragons of the KHL last season and will be playing for
SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers in Switzerland next season.
As of right now, no other player is scheduled to wear #62 in the immediate future for the CBJ, but surely someday someone will take that number who will have an impact on the team.
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PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 27: Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins arrives prior to the game against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Five of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 27, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Happy birthday to Evgeni Malkin! He goes ‘over the hill’ today, celebrating his 40th birthday. The star forward has re-signed for next season and will join a select club of seven players of quadragenarians as Pittsburgh Penguins. Let’s take a look back at them all.
Tim Horton
The name synonymous with coffee these days got his pro start with the Pittsburgh Hornets in 1949 in the AHL. Horton came full circle, playing the 1971-72 season with the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring two goals and adding nine assists in 44 games from his blueline position at age 41/42 following a January birthday. Horton would die in 1974 in a single car accident traveling solo back from an NHL game at the age of 44, the restaurant he founded has lived on.
Ken Schinkel
An original Penguin, Schinkel joined the team for their inaugural 1967-68 season nearing the age of 35. He would stick around through 1972-73 as one of the club’s better players in the early years. Schnikel turned 40 early into the 1972-73 season, his final in the pros. He scored 11 goals and had 21 points in 42 games, while also stepping into the role of coach of the Penguins for the latter half of the 1972-73 season. Schnikel had a few years off after that and had a one-season coaching stint with the Pens in 1976-77.
Joe Mullen
Hall of famer Slippery Rock Joe turned 40 in late February 1997, his final season in the NHL. He returned to the Pens for 1996-97 after one year in Boston, having played previously for Pittsburgh from 1991-95. Mullen scored 22 points (7G+15A) in his final NHL year, the majority of it played as a 39-year old. He did play one playoff game in 1997 for his final NHL game, so he counts as playing a handful of games as a 40+ year old.
Mario Lemieux
Le Magnifique had a modest and short 40+ portion of his illustrious career. Lemieux celebrated his big birthday in October 2005, he would be retired by that December with the discovery of a heart condition. Lemieux still managed to put up 22 points (7G+15A) in 26 games during his partial final season before hangin’ ‘em up for good and turning the on-ice portion of the franchise over to a then-rookie named Sidney Crosby that he briefly shared the ice with.
Mark Recchi
Recchi signed with the Penguins for 2007-08, the year he was turning 40 in February. However, he never played for the Pens past his 40th birthday. The tail-end of his career was worth a mention, despite not meeting the premise of actually being a 40+ year old Penguin. After a slow start in 2007-08 (two goals in 19 games), Pittsburgh waived Recchi in December 2007. Back then there were re-entry waivers coming back from AHL -> NHL for vets and Atlanta plucked Recchi away, ending his Pittsburgh playing career for good. It looked like Recchi was out of gas at the end of 2007, but amazingly he got his career back on track for a tremendous ending scoring 40 points in 53 games with Atlanta, then scored 61 total points between TB/BOS in 2008-09. Recchi would stay in Boston for two more years, scoring 43 and 48 points through the 2010-11 season. He went out a 2011 Stanley Cup champion with the Bruins, retiring after scoring 14 points in 25 playoff games as an important part of their Cup team, even at 43-years old.
Gary Roberts
The cult hero and early blogosphere legend Gary Roberts joined the Pens near the 2007 trade deadline already as a 40 year old. Roberts scored 20 goals and 42 points in 2006-07 combined between Florida and Pittsburgh. Roberts would be back for one more season in Pittsburgh, turning 42 shortly before the Pens’ SCF elimination to Detroit in 2008. Injuries limited him to only 15 points (3G+12A) in 38 regular season games, plus four more points (2G+2A) in 11 games, but his training and work ethic left a major impact on a young core of players. (Roberts would go onto sign with Tampa for 2008-09 as a 42-year old, but only played 30 games that season for them before retiring).
Matt Cullen
Perhaps the prototypical grizzled vet, Cullen signed with the Pens at age 39 for 2015-16 and helped the team win the Stanley Cup. He was back again for 2016-17, turning 40 early in the campaign, having enough gas left in the tank to produce 31 points (13G+18A) in 72 games, and nine points (2G+7A) in another Stanley Cup winning effort. Cullen signed with his hometown Minnesota Wild for 2017-18 (scoring 22 points in 79 games) and the book appeared to be closed — until he came back to Pittsburgh for his age-42 season in 2018-19, where he put up 20 points in 71 games in his final season and became the oldest player to skate for the Penguins.
Marc-Andre Fleury
Fleury capped off his career with one preseason game for the Penguins September 2025 at the age of 40. Does that completely count? Maybe not, but considering who it is, it’s worth the mention. The franchise’s most important goalie that holds all the netminding records left Pittsburgh in 2017 after being picked No. 1 overall in 2003 and having a part in three Stanley Cups. He’d go onto have a nice second chapter of his career, helping Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final in their first year and winning the Vezina trophy in 2021 before wrapping up with stops in Chicago and Minnesota.
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That’s the club Malkin will be joining as the seventh member of being a 40+ year old Penguin to play a regular season game. Malkin could soon have some company. Kris Letang is still under contract for 2027-28, when he will be 40. Sidney Crosby, unsigned as of now, would also be 40 if he decides to play another season after this year.
For now, Malkin will have a pretty good shot at setting the record for most points in a season as a 40+ year old Penguin, with Cullen’s 31 points currently leading the pack, some of which he scored during the season before his big birthday. Overall, Roberts had the best 40+ season with 20 goals and 42 points, the majority of which he recorded in a Panther jersey before getting traded to the Pens.
The Sharks locked up another member of their young core Friday, re-signing restricted free agent Collin Graf to a three-year contract worth $4.25 million annually.
Graf’s contract comes two days after the Sharks signed superstar Macklin Celebrini to a five-year contract worth a record-setting $18.8 million AAV.
In just over two years, Graf went from undrafted NHL free agent to a sturdy pillar in the foundation of what the Sharks are building.
The 23-year-old Graf is coming off a breakout 2025-26 NHL season in which he recorded 21 goals and 25 assists in 81 games.
“Collin was a big part of our team’s improvement this past season, being an effective penalty killer for us and his versatility in the lineup was extremely valuable,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier wrote Friday in a statement announcing Graf’s contract. “His hard-working attitude and work ethic is a big reason why his game took another stride last year, and he continues to be an important person in our young group of players. We’re happy we are able to keep him a Shark for the next several seasons.”
For a good change, the Philadelphia Flyers have finally gotten some positive recognition from national media on the heels of their successful 2025-26 season.
After a few unassuming seasons as rebuilders, the Flyers have finally put together a solid nucleus of young talent on an NHL sheet of ice, and this nucleus is already on the ascent as one of the league's most promising groups.
Led by the recently re-signed Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale--trade additions from the Anaheim Ducks--and draft picks Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone, Tyson Foerster, and Cam York, the future looks rather bright in Philadelphia.
Brighter than the majority of the NHL can say, in the eyes of Sportsnet.
In Sonny Sachdeva's recent ranking of the top five 25-and-under cores in the NHL, the Flyers made a true cameo, ranking fifth in the league and earning a real appearance, rather than peeking in as an honorable mention.
"Philly might've struck out on snagging [Leo Carlsson], but the Flyers proved during the 2026 post-season that they're already a squad to watch in the East. A second-round shellacking at the hands of the eventual champs dampened things some, but Philadelphia's emotional Round 1 win over the rival Pittsburgh Penguins — the Flyers' first playoff series win in a half-decade — put the rest of the Metro on notice," Sachdeva said of the Flyers.
Notably, the Flyers ranked ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, who were listed as an honorable mention despite having 2023 No. 1 pick Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Bowen Byram, Anton Frondell, and Frank Nazar.
That speaks volumes of the amount of talent the Flyers have managed to add in recent years.
While only Zegras, Martone, Michkov, Foerster, Drysdale, and York were mentioned by name in the article as the "core", the Flyers also have David Jiricek (22), Alex Bump (22), and Denver Barkey (21) earmarked for important roles on the NHL roster next season.
The forwards of the group are understandably the biggest reasons for excitement around the Flyers, but York, Jiricek, and especially Drysdale cannot be discounted.
Drysdale, 24, put together the best season of his career in 2025-26, matching his career-high 32 points while improving markedly on defense.
If the former No. 6 overall pick continues following this trajectory, there's a chance he can become a legitimate elite two-way defenseman while also being one of the NHL's best skaters.
The Flyers still have work to do as they continue their rebuild--namely adding a No. 1 center similar to Carlsson--but the foundation to support a player of that caliber is very clearly already in place in Philadelphia.
Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Chayka has certainly left his imprint on his team's roster this off-season. With a few notable trades with the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning, as well as his haul of signings on July 1, he's been one of the busier GMs in the NHL.
On the scale of GMs across the league, this will be a big season for Chayka. After all, there was a heavy load of criticism when he was hired by the organization.
It's needless to say he'll continue to have a chip on his shoulder throughout this coming campaign. But is he the GM with the most to prove in the NHL?
If Chayka isn't at the top of that list, after being out of the industry for about seven years and having allegedly left a bad impression on the other executives around the league, he's definitely close to the top.
For Chayka, it's more than making a good first impression or reversing bad decisions, both related to and unrelated to the team's roster. It's more about how far he can take the Maple Leafs, the biggest hockey market in the NHL, and a club under immense pressure to get back into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
There isn't much time for an adjustment period from getting hired to getting settled into his new role. That period has already passed, and quite some time ago.
To his credit, Chayka has been spontaneous with his moves and decisions. There were the aforementioned transactions he's made so far through trades and signings, but he also took command of the front office when he relieved an abundance of longtime staff members with the Maple Leafs, and nearly the entire coaching staff.
Toronto's GM already had plenty to prove going into 2026-27 from the moment he was hired. But all his activity since getting the job, from players, coaches, and staff members, has only expanded that magnifying glass.
Given Chayka's history in the NHL, the noise and negativity that carried through his hiring process, the stature of the Maple Leafs' franchise and the state of the team, there is so much riding on this organization for 2026-27. And in terms of the hockey operations department, that's all led by Chayka.
With all that in mind, Toronto's GM is certainly a top-three figure when it comes to NHL GMs with the most to prove going into this coming season.
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The NHL’s arbitration hearing window is coming to an end, and alas we’ve been robbed of the theater that would be a…Alex Jefferies arbitration hearing.
The Isles this week officially announced a one-year, two-way deal with their lone arbitration filing, a player many do not think of and certainly not one whose record (zero NHL games, two-plus AHL seasons) you’d associate with arbitration theater.
His hearing was scheduled for July 31, the second-to-last day for hearings. In the end, all 15 players across the league who filed for arbitration reached contracts before they reached hearings, so…the system works, I guess?
Islanders News
Don’t be misled by the headline, “Catching up with Casey Cizikas” does not mean he’s a retired alum yet. He discussed his summer activity and approaching 1,000 (regular season) games. [Isles]
Maclin Celebrini’s massive $18.8M AAV on his five-year Sharks extension tells us what to expect with Matthew Schaefer’s extension. Thanks to Daniel Briere, the era of discounts for RFA-controlled players is over, at least for the stars. [Newsday | Post]
Islanders games will be streamed on DAZN as part of that MSG/Yes/DAZN partnership. [Isles | Newsday]
Matias Maccelli on his favorite pasta sauce recipe signing with the Islanders. [Isles]
It’s now over 80,000 submissions for the 3rd-jersey deisgn. [Newsday]
In Minnesota, Quinn Hughes’ reps are expected to discuss his next contract, and how they’ll make room for his brothers. (That last part may be my own B.S.) [NHL]
Ranking the league’s top-two center duos: The Isles are below average, especially if you consider Brayden Schenn their 2C. [Athletic]
Zach Hyman praises his former-and-incoming coach Mike Babcock as the PR rehabilitation campaign continues. [Sportsnet]
