Former Nashville Predators defenseman Nick Blankenburg is still on the free agent market, despite being a solid depth option for essentially any team.
Blankenburg, who spent parts of two seasons with the Predators, was traded to the Colorado Avalanche ahead of the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline.
In 109 games with the Predators, Blankenburg's level of play took a major step forward from what he had previously done with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He established himself as an effective player on both ends of the ice and recorded 37 points (10 goals and 27 assists) during his time in Nashville.
While Blankenburg likely isn't an ideal everyday player for a playoff team, he could fill that role for a rebuilding team or could serve as a strong depth option for a contender due to his ability to play on both sides of the blue line.
As a 5-foot-9 undrafted player, Blankenburg has had to overcome the odds considerably to even be in the conversation for an NHL job. At this stage though, it seems that he should get at least a professional tryout with a team heading into training camp.
If there's one thing that Pittsburgh Penguins' head coach Dan Muse proved last season, it's that being a rookie head coach comes with its ups and downs, but the best coaches are able to endure.
The Penguins ended the season as the NHL's second-highest scoring team. He and the rest of the staff brought together a squad of players in many different career stages with different tiers of experience and skill, and he was able to get the most out of all of them.
So, after a relvatively successful first season, what should folks expect out of Muse in his second season as Penguins' head coach? Here are four storylines to watch in 2026-27.
1. Is special teams success repeatable?
For most of the 2025-26 season, the Penguins were the only NHL team with both a top-five power play and top-five penalty kill. Both units fell off ever-so-slightly near the end, with the power play finishing seventh at 24.1 percent and the penalty kill finishing sixth at 81.4 percent.
Of course, Muse can't be credited entirely for the success of both units, as Todd Nelson was the power play coach and Mike Stothers and Nick Bonino largely ran the PK. But, as has been stated several times over by Muse himself and by the entire coaching staff, they all work as a collective unit, even if certain areas of focus are delegated. Muse and the others were able to get the buy-in from both units, and even players who don't traditionally kill penalties such as Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson were used pretty heavily in those roles.
The Penguins were a high-scoring five-on-five team last season, and they were a below-average defensive team five-on-five. Their special teams were a primary reason they were able to make the playoffs.
If their special teams remain first-class in the league, they should remain playoff contenders - and that will require the same level of buy-in from the players as last season, even as Muse and company have plenty of new faces on both the forward front and the blue line.
But, if last season is any indication, opportunities will be given by Muse and the staff if earned.
A young 18-year-old at the time, center Ben Kindel made the team out of training camp last season, as did 19-year-old defenseman Harrison Brunicke. With each passing game - and, even more impressive, every passing game at the center position - Kindel kept proving why he should stick around. He got better and better throughout his nine-game trial run, and even if it was a very unexpected development, Kindel earned his stay past the 10 games and was the team's regular third-line center the rest of the season - a sign of Muse's trust in Kindel.
Brunicke, meanwhile, didn't show as much and displayed signs of struggle early on in the season, so Muse and the staff adapted, and the blueliner was eventually sent back to junior hockey in the second half after the NHL stint, an AHL conditioning stint, and the World Junior Championship. They made the most of Brunicke's time at the NHL level last season, though, and he came back to the AHL playoffs looking like a much better player.
If guys like Koivunen, Brunicke, Rutger McGroarty, Avery Hayes, Tristan Broz, or Owen Pickering earn their opportunities, there's no reason to think Muse won't reward them - even if there is a logjam of both forwards and defensemen who are, presumably, slated to be on the NHL roster at the start of the season.
The Penguins need to push younger. Muse knows this, and his strength in development is one of the primary reasons he was hired. So, how much runway will he give these players to prove themselves at the NHL level when their opportunity knocks, and how will these guys continue to respond to him?
3. Can Muse elevate this team with respect to the Metro?
Perhaps the biggest challenge for Muse and his team next season will be matching up to the rest of the Metropolitan Division.
Of course, no team is the same year-to-year, and that includes the Penguins. On paper, the Penguins appear to have marginally more talent on their roster, so theoretically, they should improve. Their young goaltending tandem might be the biggest x-factor there.
But other teams also improved, and some more drastically. The Carolina Hurricanes are the class of the division and the defending champs for a reason. The Washington Capitals went out and had themselves an offseason, adding Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, and Boone Jenner to their already-formidable forward group. The New York Islanders got Matias Maccelli. The New York Rangers snagged sniper Pavel Dorofeyev, forward Oliver Bjorkstrand, and defenseman Marcus Pettersson.
Washington and Carolina look like the frontrunners. Others put themselves in the mix with Pittsburgh. So, can Muse work some magic and get the most out of this year's squad, same as he did last season?
Can Declan Carlile or Kaedan Korczak be the next Parker Wotherspoon? Can Andrei Kuzmenko get to Anthony Mantha's level? Can Erik Karlsson have a repeat of last season under this coaching staff again? Can Nicholas Robertson hit another level in Pittsburgh under Muse? Hendrix Lapierre?
Simply put, like last season, Muse will play a big role in helping coin-flip players maximize their potential. If those players can turn out - or, even if most turn out - they should be able to stay within arm's length of the top of the division.
We'll keep this short and sweet: Last season, Muse challenged nine calls for goaltender interference. Zero ended up going in his favor.
Was this a rookie head coach phenomenon, an issue with the Penguins' front office, an issue with Muse's judgment, or just a league-wide phenomenon? Muse and the Penguins were disproportionately affected last season, even if goaltender interference is a league-wide concern as far as inconsistency.
Will he get any kind of benefit in 2026-27? Will he be more calculated in his decisions to challenge? Although it literally can't get any worse, seeing how officiating responds to Muse next season in comparison to his first behind the bench will be one of the more interesting storylines to follow.
Brad Hunt’s professional hockey career has officially come to an end.
The former Vegas Golden Knights defenseman announced his retirement from professional hockey on social media earlier this week, closing the book on a career that lasted nearly two decades and took him from the BCHL to the NHL, the AHL and, ultimately, a World Championship gold medal with Team Canada.
For Vegas fans, Hunt will be remembered as part of the organization’s early years, joining the Golden Knights for their second season and remaining with the club through the 2018-19 campaign.
Hunt appeared in 58 games for Vegas across the two seasons, recording five goals and 20 assists for 25 points.
While his time with the Golden Knights was relatively brief, it came during an important period in franchise history. Vegas was still establishing itself as an NHL organization after its remarkable inaugural season, and Hunt became one of the many defensemen who helped provide depth on the blue line during those early years.
Hunt’s NHL career went well beyond his time in Vegas, however.
The 37-year-old played 288 regular-season games over parts of 14 NHL seasons, suiting up for seven organizations. Along with the Golden Knights, he spent time with the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks.
He finished his NHL career with 20 goals and 60 assists for 80 points.
Much of Hunt’s career was spent in the American Hockey League, where he established himself as one of the league’s most productive offensive defensemen.
Hunt played 422 AHL games for the Chicago Wolves, Oklahoma City Barons, Bakersfield Condors, Colorado Eagles and Hershey Bears, producing 84 goals and 214 assists for 298 points. He was selected to six AHL All-Star Games and recorded four seasons with at least 40 points, including two 50-point campaigns.
That offensive production helped Hunt overcome one of the biggest obstacles he faced throughout his career: his size.
At 5-foot-9, Hunt was never the prototypical NHL defenseman. Instead, he built his career around his skating, puck-moving ability and offensive instincts, continually finding ways to earn opportunities at the highest levels of the sport.
His journey to the NHL began in the BCHL with the Burnaby Express. After putting up 89 points in 122 games, Hunt moved on to Bemidji State University, where he recorded 112 points in 150 NCAA games over four seasons.
From there, he began a professional career that would eventually take him around North America and overseas.
Hunt’s final season came in Finland with Sport Vaasa in 2025-26. He recorded seven goals and 18 assists for 25 points in 53 games before deciding it was time to step away.
And fittingly, Hunt’s final years in hockey also included one of the biggest accomplishments of his career.
He represented Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Championship in Finland, recording three assists while helping Canada capture a gold medal.
Now, after nearly 20 years of chasing the game, Hunt is officially calling it a career.
His résumé includes 288 NHL games, 422 AHL appearances, six AHL All-Star selections and a World Championship gold medal. For the Golden Knights, he will always be part of the group that helped shape the franchise during its formative years.
Not bad for a defenseman who spent his entire career being told he was too small to make it.
Nathan MacKinnon getting traded by the Colorado Avalanche would qualify as one of the most stunning transactions in NHL history.
There is no indication that Colorado is considering such a move, but veteran NHL reporter Jimmy Murphy recently floated the possibility—and he readily admitted the idea came to him while drinking at a bar with a friend, which may tell you everything you need to know.
During an appearance on The Sick Podcast, Murphy explained that a bartender mentioned MacKinnon was his favorite player, sparking a thought that eventually led him to wonder whether the Montreal Canadiens could be a fit for the Avalanche superstar.
"I don't know, this light bulb went off my head, and that's sometimes a good thing, sometimes a bad thing when it happens."
From there, Murphy started thinking about Colorado's disappointing postseason results since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, Cale Makar's impending contract extension and whether the Avalanche could eventually decide they need a major change.
That led him to the ultimate hypothetical: What if MacKinnon were actually made available?
Murphy believes the Montreal Canadiens would be particularly well positioned to make a deal.
"If this ever happened where this guy was available, I think the Montreal Canadiens are the most poised to acquire him. They have all the things that Colorado can use."
The Canadiens have a combination of young NHL talent, prospects and draft capital that could theoretically appeal to Colorado.
Murphy suggested that Montreal could provide the Avalanche with both present and future assets, allowing Colorado to remain competitive while reshaping its roster around Makar.
Of course, actually acquiring MacKinnon would require an enormous package.
Michael Hage could be an intriguing young center for Colorado, while players such as Kaiden Guhle, Noah Dobson, Juraj Slafkovsky or Cole Caufield could potentially enter the conversation. Multiple first-round picks would almost certainly be part of any realistic blockbuster.
Even then, Montreal would have to absorb MacKinnon's $12.6 million cap hit.
The end result would be a trade almost impossible to imagine right now.
But that's what makes Murphy's hypothetical so entertaining.
There is zero evidence MacKinnon is available, and Murphy himself repeatedly stressed the word if when discussing the possibility.
For now, it's nothing more than a wild idea that started with a bartender mentioning his favorite player.
Still, if the unthinkable ever happened and MacKinnon hit the trade market, Murphy believes the Canadiens could be one of the NHL's best-positioned teams to make the call.
And if you actually believe Nathan MacKinnon is headed to Montreal, you might be “Sick,” drunk, or both.
During the 2026 NHL Draft, the Detroit Red Wings traded prospect goaltender Sebastian Cossa to the Utah Mammoth, bringing an end to speculation that he could eventually be their goaltender of the future.
This, combined with veteran Cam Talbot not being re-signed, meant there was an opening behind John Gibson for the backup position. The Red Wings filled that void by signing Daniil Tarasov to a one-year contract after he played last season with the divisional rival Florida Panthers.
But in an interesting development, Tarasov's KHL rights were recently traded back in his native homeland. Salavat Yulaev, his former club that he played for in 2020-21, traded his rights to SKA St. Petersburg in return for Joe Blandisi.
Thank you, Joe! 👏
Joe Blandisi has moved to Salavat Yulaev, while SKA have received the #KHL rights to goalkeeper Daniil Tarasov.
However, this won't affect Tarasov's standing in the NHL with the Red Wings, who are paying him $2 million for the upcoming season.
Whether or not Tarasov is eventually re-signed by the Red Wings, signs elsewhere in the NHL, or returns to the KHL following the 2025-26 campaign remains to be seen.
The Columbus Blue Jackets selected Tarasov with the 86th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and he eventually made his debut in 2021-22.
Following several seasons in the Blue Jackets organization, he was signed last offseason by the Florida Panthers to a one-year contract.
He owns a 32-49-9 record with a 3.30 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage with one shutout in the NHL. Conversely, he's gone 11-4-3 with a 2.13 goals-against average, a .924 save percentage, and two shutouts in KHL action.
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While the Philadelphia Flyers may have already taken care of their most pressing pieces of offseason business, re-signing a number of restricted free agents, headlined by Trevor Zegras, they could get a jump on next summer's plans if they really wanted to.
Having already signed Tyson Foerster to a lucrative eight-year extension, the Flyers have three players left on their roster eligible for contract extensions.
They are defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Simon Benoit, and franchise winger Matvei Michkov.
It's plausible that Ristolainen and Benoit, both veteran defensemen who play a physical brand of hockey, earn extensions from the Flyers, but from a player development standpoint, a lot would have to go wrong for that to happen.
Foerster's case is unique in that he is a young player still under contract, and he signed an eight-year extension--the longest allowable under the current CBA.
If the Flyers want to do the same with Michkov, who has been far more productive offensively without two arm injuries in the same season, they will need to act quickly.
As of Sept. 16, just over a month from now, players will only be eligible to sign seven-year contract extensions with their respective teams, meaning that the Flyers will soon lose the ability to sign Michkov to an eight-year deal.
Aside from the Flyers already doing this with Foerster, other teams around the NHL have taken notice and have acted accordingly.
The most notable example of this is up north across the border with the Montreal Canadiens, who signed their own Russian starlet, Ivan Demidov, to an eight-year, $73.2 million contract extension ($9.15 million AAV) on July 1.
Demidov, 20, just played his first full NHL season, scoring 19 goals, 43 assists, and 62 points in 82 games, while adding three goals, six assists, and nine points in the Habs' 19-game playoff run this year.
Comparatively, Michkov, 21, scored 26 goals and 63 points in his first NHL season with the Flyers in 2024-25, before regressing to a still-respectable 20 goals and 51 points under new head coach Rick Tocchet this past season.
Michkov, with just one assist in eight playoff games, was even less effective than Demidov in the postseason, but 51 points in a sophomore season where everything that could have went wrong for him did go wrong is still admirable.
The 2023 No. 7 overall pick has worked hard this summer to improve his physical condition on the back of criticism he received throughout last year, including from Tocchet, and he is more established than Demidov.
Should Michkov reach his full potential, or even come close to it, signing a contract that carries a cap hit similar to Demidov's $9.15 million would be a major steal for the Flyers.
On top of Michkov himself, another benefit for the Flyers is that, by locking up another core piece, they will know exactly how much room they'll have to operate with if they want to pursue another massive move, like they did earlier this summer with the Leo Carlsson offer sheet.
Porter Martone will be eligible for a contract extension starting next July 1, so the Flyers have nothing pressing aside from Michkov between then and now.
Conversely, if the Flyers choose to wait it out, Michkov will have the opportunity to earn himself even more money with a strong performance during the season, on top of losing one potential contractual year due to the CBA changes next month.
Fortune favors the bold, and the Flyers have an important choice to make in the next five weeks.
On Friday, the Mascots Hall of Fame unveiled its class of 2026. Only five of the 11 finalists made the cut: the University of South Carolina’s Cocky, the Denver Broncos’ Miles, the University of Minnesota’s Goldy Gopher, the New York Mets’ Mrs. Mets, and Brigham Young University’s Cosmo. Which means that the Vancouver Canucks’ Fin was denied entry after a worldwide fan vote.
This means that the NHL still has only three mascots who have been inducted: the Chicago Blackhawks’ Tommy Hawk, part of the 2017 class; the Montreal Canadiens’ Youppi!, inducted in 2019; and the San Jose Sharks’ S.J. Sharky, inducted last year.
The fact that Youppi! is one of the three NHL members who got in is hardly surprising. The Mascott has been with the Canadiens since 2005, but it served as the Montreal Expos’ mascot from 1979 to 2004. To this day, it remains the only mascot to have transferred from one professional league to another, and it was also the first one to be ejected from an MLB game. During a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1989, manager Tommy Lasorda complained about the noise the mascot was making in the visitors’ dugout, which resulted in Youppi!’s ejection.
Ever since he joined the Canadiens in 2005, Youppi! has been very popular with the young fans and poses for numerous photos at every game. This past season, Youppi! was an integral part of the Habs' tribute to Rodger Brulotte, the Expos' play-by-play man who also helped bring the mascot to life, after his passing.
Back in 2022, the Canadiens introduced a second mascot, named Metal! He was part of the marketing campaign for the second edition of the Retro Reverse NHL jersey. In October 2023, the Habs announced that Metal! was retiring, but that turned out not to be true, since the power blue mascot is still used on occasion and was part of the Canadiens’ pre-game ceremonies in the playoffs last season.
The rumor mill is continuing to swirl as we reach the slowest part of the offseason. Former San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane is currently a name popping up consistently, as he's now been linked to a move to Russia for the second time in his career.
According to Russian news outlet Sport-Express, Ak Bars Kazan is "considering signing" Kane. Beyond that, they didn't add many additional details.
A controversial figure throughout his career, Kane hit the free agent market this summer after a single season with the Vancouver Canucks. Given his agent Daniel Milstein's close ties to Russia's hockey system and players, it's certainly not overly surprising that there would be at least discussions with the Kontinental Hockey League regarding his services.
Kane, 35, spent parts of four seasons with the Sharks during the late 2010s and early 2020s. He spent five games with the Sharks' American Hockey League affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda during the 2021-22 season before the Sharks voided his contract due to a breach of contract pertaining to the COVID-19 protocols at the time.
During the 2012 NHL lockout, Kane played 12 games in the KHL with Belarussian club Dynamo Minsk. He scored just a single goal and two points in 12 games.
The Chicago Blackhawks have one of the best farm systems in the National Hockey League. When Kyle Davidson took over as the full-time GM in 2022, it was his goal to rebuild the organization through the draft.
Since then, they have made 11 first-round picks and countless selections in the second round or later. Not every one of them is going to pan out, but a certain percentage of them becoming full-time NHL players is what will make the rebuild successful.
As the off-season enters the later stages, meaning free agency is mostly done, there aren't many more trades to go, and things will quiet down for a few weeks before camps start to begin, this is a look at the top-10 prospects in Chicago's system:
1. Anton Frondell, FWD
Anton Frondell played a handful of games for the Chicago Blackhawks down the stretch in 2025-26, but not enough to come off the list as the top prospect in the organization. The former 3rd overall pick is still trying to figure out if he is a center or a wing in the long term, but it's becoming obvious that he has the potential to be a star two-way performer either way. Frondell has a booming shot to complement his playmaking ability, and he never takes a shift off of doing the right thing when it comes to his defensive responsibilities.
2. Roman Kantserov, FWD
Roman Kantserov is going to play in the NHL this season. There is also a high likelihood that leading the KHL in goals last year earned him a spot in the top six right off the bat. Whether it's with Connor Bedard or somewhere else, he is expected to be a high-end rookie goal scorer right away. Chicago hopes that Kantserov and Frondell take Calder Trophy votes away from each other.
3. Nick Lardis, FWD
Nick Lardis, like Frondell, played in the NHL last season. He played more than Frondell, but not enough to graduate off this list just yet. He did score at a 20-goal pace as a rookie, however, which suggests he will be a big part of Chicago's attack. After scoring an OHL-leading 71 goals one year before his rookie pro season, he made a name for himself as a high-end goal-scoring prospect. Now, there is an expectation that he will be a part of the Blackhawks' core.
4. Xavier Villenueve, D
The Chicago Blackhawks selected Xavier Villenueve in the second round of the 2026 NHL Draft. He fell farther than most would have thought, as he entered the event with a first-round grade. The Blackhawks managed to grab him, and now he is one of their top prospects. He may be number one on this list by this time next year, as long as he has a good d+1 year. Villenueve profiles like some of the young small defenseman who are elite playmakers to come before him. Lane Hutson is the obvious comparison, but that is a high bar. For the Blackhawks, they need him to have a big year at Boston University as their number-one point-producing defenseman.
5. Sacha Boisvert, FWD
Sacha Boisvert is a hard prospect to dissect. He was a dominant freshman at the University of North Dakota. Then, he transferred to Boston University because of a coaching change at North Dakota, and injuries/inconsistancies slowed him down. After his season ended, he signed with Chicago and played a handful of games. He scored a goal, made some plays, and had a fight, but it was clear that a lot of work was ahead of him before he would play in the NHL full time. A start in Rockford will be perfect for him. A lot has been made about the weight he's put on this off-season, which should help him elevate his playstyle.
6. Vaclav Nestrasil, FWD
Vaclav Nestrasil had a great year at UMass with his 31 points in 34 games played. It was an unexpected jump for a freshman coming into a much harder league. Where he really raised his stock, however, was at the 2025-26 World Junior Championships. He was the best player on Team Czechia, and that allowed them to capture a Silver Medal. After another crack at the NCAA season and World Juniors this winter, expect him to sign and play with Chicago at the end of the 2026-27 college season.
7. Marek Vanacker, FWD
Marek Vanacker was one of the OHL's leading goal scorers this past season, which was important to see after injuries derailed him one year prior. Now, the Blackhawks see him as one of the top goal scorers in their system. It was once thought that he could be a full-time NHL player in 2026-27, but additions to the team block that path for now. He will start with the Rockford IceHogs, which is actually best for his development. If things go well, he will get minutes in the NHL sooner rather than later. When he does get there, think of him as someone who could be the third forward on a line that snipes lots of goals because of the work done by two other playmakers.
8. Drew Commesso, G
Drew Commesso signed a contract extension this off-season. The first year is a two-way deal, which is Arvid Soderblom's final year on his current contract. If Commesso has a good year, he is in line to become the full-time backup in 2027-28, as that year is a one-way contract. If Soderblom lights the world on fire and Commesso struggles, that will change the plans, but Commesso has proven that becoming a starter in the NHL is a real possibility for him. He just has to work his way up.
9. Mason West, FWD
When the Blackhawks traded up to select Mason West, it was a bit of a risk. He was committed to playing out his senior year of football. He felt that he owed it to his community and teammates to attempt to win the Minnesota State Championship with Edina High School. He did just that. Now, the quarterback and multi-sport state champion is committed to hockey, which he hopes will lead him to the NHL. After finishing the hockey season in the USHL, he is set to play for Michigan State in 2026-27. A good year will skyrocket him up this list.
10. Adam Gajan, G
With Spencer Knight locked in as the starter for a long time ahead, the Blackhawks have Arvid Soderblom and Drew Commesso fighting for the role of permanent backup. Everyone wants to be a starter, but they all have to prove their worth as a backup first. Eventually, if they are great, another organization will make a play to bring them on as a full-timer. Adam Gajan is blocked for now, but his pedigree shows he will be in the mix eventually. He was the third-string for Team Slovakia at the Olympics, which came in the middle of an incredible year he had in college.
Honorable Mentions: AJ Spellacy, Jiri Felcman, John Mustard, Ryan Roobroeck, Julius Sumpf, Nathan Behm, & Gavin Hayes
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According to sports media insider Jonah Sigel, former NHL enforcer Kevin Sawyer is expected to take over as the Flames' color commentator on Sportsnet's regional broadcasts.
“I am told [Kevin Sawyer] is your Kelly Hrudey replacement,” Sigel reported Friday. “He will for sure be on the Calgary Flames regional games.”
Sawyer has spent the past several years working on Winnipeg Jets regional broadcasts with TSN, a role he has held since the 2017-18 season. The 52-year-old British Columbia native would now make the move from TSN to Sportsnet and take on a prominent role covering the Flames.
Before getting into broadcasting, Sawyer spent parts of six NHL seasons as an enforcer. He appeared in 110 games with the St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, Phoenix Coyotes and Anaheim Mighty Ducks, accumulating 403 penalty minutes. His professional playing career ended during the 2002-03 season.
The reported move comes just days after Hrudey announced that he was leaving Sportsnet after the network opted not to renew his contract.
Hrudey, 65, had been one of the most recognizable analysts on Hockey Night in Canada since retiring from professional hockey in 1998. He also began appearing on national broadcasts during the latter part of his playing career, making his departure another significant change for Sportsnet's hockey coverage.
For the Flames, Sawyer would become the latest addition to a broadcast team that has undergone considerable turnover in recent years.
The Calgary Flames appear to have found the next voice to join their regional television broadcasts following the departure of longtime analyst Kelly Hrudey.
Rick Ball left Calgary in 2024 to join the Chicago Blackhawks, with Jon Abbott taking over as the team's play-by-play voice. Ryan Leslie then departed for the Toronto Maple Leafs last year, leading Brendan Parker to step into the hosting role.
Now, Hrudey is out and Sawyer is reportedly on his way in.
The changes extend beyond television, too.
The future of Flames radio broadcasts remains unclear after Rogers shut down Sportsnet 960 The Fan in Calgary and relinquished the radio rights to Flames games. Rogers retained radio rights for the Vancouver Canucks and plans to air those games on an FM station in the city, but Calgary was left without a similar arrangement.
For now, though, the biggest question surrounding the Flames' broadcasts appears to have an answer.
If Sigel's report proves accurate, Sawyer will be the newest addition to a Calgary broadcast booth that looks considerably different from the one Flames fans knew just a few years ago.
Noah Philp was standing in the Edmonton Oilers’ dressing room during his first season in the NHL when he was asked what he had taken from his time with the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
"Just to enjoy hockey,” Philp said.
“You’re taking classes, you’re doing everything together. Just really finding the love for hockey.”
That was less than two years ago, when Philp had returned from a season away from the sport and finally reached the NHL after taking one of the more unusual routes to get there.
Now, at 27, he’s walking away from hockey again.
Philp has retired despite having signed with HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League earlier this summer, ending a professional career that included 32 NHL games between the Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes. He scored two goals and five points in those games after making his NHL debut with Edmonton in October of 2024.
Philp arrived at the University of Alberta after going undrafted out of the WHL and played 36 games for the Golden Bears over parts of three seasons.
He did not win a national championship there, and he didn’t even stick around long enough to win the Canada West title his teammates captured months after he left for professional hockey.
But when Philp reflected on his time with the Bears after reaching Edmonton, those things didn’t appear to matter much.
“It was so much fun being there, and all the guys are great,” he said. “You get to really band together, because you know nobody’s leaving, everyone’s there together.”
That environment helped Philp turn himself from an undrafted junior player into someone the Oilers were willing to sign.
Philp played his first professional season with the Bakersfield Condors in 2022-23 before announcing he was stepping away from hockey that summer because he decided there were things outside of hockey that needed his attention and took the 2023-24 season away from the sport.
Philp made his NHL debut with Edmonton, played 15 games during the 2024-25 season and recorded two assists while spending most of the year in Bakersfield.
When I spoke with him during that season, he wasn't concerned about where things were going, when he would get there, or if he would ever become a full-time NHL player.
“I had no expectations,” he said of getting his opportunity with the Oilers. “I just put in a good summer, I felt ready to play, and I was just trying to come in and play as hard as I could. Basically put my best foot forward every day. I think that when that’s all I focus on, that usually [gets] results.”
Philp eventually found himself sharing a dressing room with Corey Perry, watching a player with more than 1,300 NHL games to his name from a few stalls away.
“[Perry’s] knowledge of the game is incredible, just to watch how he does things out there,” Philp said. “I’ve tried to pick his brain and learn from him.
“And I commend him. He’s seen so many players, and then another young guy comes in. For him to treat me the way that he does, it means a lot to me.”
He was 26 during his rookie season, had already spent years in junior and university hockey, played professionally, stepped away from the game and then worked his way back into it.
“I’m kind of an old young guy but it’s good,” he said. “It’s sort of the same process. Maybe for myself, it’s a little different, maybe a little bit more mature, in terms of just seeing how the game flows and [the] risk-reward. I think that’s something that is beneficial about being older, you’ve just seen a little bit more.”
He played another 17 NHL games in 2025-26, scored the first two goals of his NHL career and added an assist before his time in Edmonton ended. He finished his NHL career with two goals and three assists in 32 games.
That’s not the career Philp would have imagined when he was playing for the Golden Bears and he probably couldn’t have imagined much of what followed.
Philp was undrafted, came through U Sports, signed with his hometown NHL organization, left professional hockey entirely, returned a year later and still managed to reach the league.
And somewhere in there, the resources he found at Alberta helped make it possible.
“They had lots of resources and lots of extra things you could take advantage of,” Philp said. “And a lot of the time it’s up to the player, and I felt like I did a decent job of finding what I could to try to improve. I think it definitely helped me develop.”
But Philp also found the for hockey again there. He found enough of it again after leaving the sport the first time to come back and make the NHL.
And after getting there, Philp has decided 32 games were enough.
It’s long enough for the anger of a playoff loss to fade, for players to leave town, for coaches to watch the film over and over again and for a front office to separate what actually went wrong from what was simply bad luck.
For the Colorado Avalanche, that should be enough time to know the difference.
The four-game sweep at the hands of Vegas in May exposed problems that had been hiding beneath an extraordinary regular season. Poor puck management. Defensive-zone mistakes. An inconsistent power play. An offense that became too dependent on its stars when the Golden Knights took away the middle of the ice.
Those problems can't follow Colorado into 2026-27.
And they won't have exactly the same team trying to fix them.
Jack Drury and Ross Colton are now in Nashville. Joel Kiviranta returned to Dallas. Fedor Svechkov is expected to step into Drury's spot at center, while veteran Jaden Schwartz, who won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, arrives on a three-year deal.
Colorado also took another reclamation swing on Fabian Lysell, acquiring the former first-round pick from Boston for Ivan Ivan after moving Valeri Nichushkin to Columbus.
There has been plenty of change around a core that remains very much intact.
But the biggest challenge isn't rebuilding Colorado's identity.
It's making that identity harder to beat.
The Avalanche spent most of last season overwhelming teams with speed. When that worked, they looked nearly impossible to stop. But Vegas showed what happens when an opponent is willing and capable of clogging the middle of the ice.
Colorado has to become better at recognizing when the aggressive play is worth the risk and when the smart play is simply getting the puck out.
Not every shift needs to end with a highlight-reel banger. Sometimes winning means making the boring play, or whacking away for a garbage goal in vintage Artturi Lehkonen fashion.
That's especially important in the defensive zone, where too many unnecessary mistakes turned into dangerous chances throughout the season. Colorado's talent allowed it to survive those mistakes for most of the season. The Golden Knights were ready and executed their gameplan.
The Avalanche also need more answers when Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar can't take over a game.
MacKinnon going scoreless against Vegas wasn't the problem by itself. Superstars have bad series. The problem was that the depth of the team, which had been one of Colorado's strengths all season, couldn't make Vegas pay enough for focusing its attention elsewhere.
It wasn't as if the secondary players simply disappeared.
Nichushkin scored in Game 1. Colton scored the opening goal of Game 2. Then came Game 3.
Nazem Kadri and Drury scored to give Colorado what looked like an insurmountable lead. The Avalanche had the game exactly where they wanted it.
Then Vegas scored five unanswered goals.
That was the moment the series changed. Colorado had opportunities to put the Golden Knights away, but when Vegas punched back, the Avalanche couldn't deliver another response.
The five-goal collapse put Colorado in a 3-0 hole and ultimately spelled the end of what had been a magical campaign.
But there's another layer to that problem heading into next season.
Several of the players who did contribute offensively in the Western Conference Final are no longer in Colorado. Nichushkin, Colton and Drury are all gone, meaning the Avalanche have to replace production that was already important when the games mattered most.
That's where players such as Schwartz, Svechkov and Lysell could become important. None of them should be expected to single-handedly solve Colorado's depth-scoring problem, but the Avalanche will need their new additions — along with the returning players — to make sure the offense doesn't become overly dependent on MacKinnon and the rest of the stars when opponents find a way to take them away.
The power play needs to become a weapon again, too.
Kadri's return to Colorado via trade provided the power play with a temporary jolt, but that boost didn't last long. Kadri suffered a broken finger shortly afterward. While he eventually returned to the lineup, he never really looked like himself again.
And perhaps most importantly, Colorado has to learn how to respond when things stop going according to plan.
That was the most troubling part of the Vegas series.
The Golden Knights erased leads in Games 2 and 3, and Colorado never really recovered. The confidence seemed to disappear. The swagger disappeared with it.
A championship team doesn't have to avoid adversity.
It has to know how to answer it.
The Avalanche have spent the offseason changing the supporting cast. Now they have to change what happens when the punches start landing.
The Presidents' Trophy proved this team can dominate for 82 games. This season, the Avalanche will have 84 opportunities to prove they've learned from what happened in May.
The goal isn't simply to be the best team in the regular season again. It's to become the team nobody wants to face when everything is on the line.
SUN VALLEY, IDAHO - JULY 09: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman attends the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference at the Sun Valley Lodge on July 9, 2026 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Every year, some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful figures from the media, finance, technology, and political spheres converge at the Sun Valley Resort for the exclusive week-long conference hosted by boutique investment bank Allen & Co. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Well, it seems to be that time again. Despite being the least lucrative of the four major North American sport leagues, the NHL appears to be committed to being the first such league to expand to 34 teams. Allan Walsh, an outspoken NHL player agent, has claimed that the NHL is committed to expanded to Houston and Atlanta.
The exact timeline of when this may happen is unclear, but there has been plenty of noise surrounding this for quite awhile. Really, the Seattle Kraken had hardly played a game before people were asking when the NHL would expand next. But today, I want to look at whether it’s really a good idea for the NHL to expand again.
The Historical Success of Modern Expansions
Since the Post-Merger Expansion Era began in 1991, the NHL has seen 11 new franchises join the league. The first was the San Jose Sharks in 1991, and the most recent was the Seattle Kraken in 2021. Combined, this is how the expansion teams have fared in the 35 seasons played since the Sharks joined the league (with W-L-T-OTL record):
138 combined playoff appearances (47.62% of possible appearances)
16 Stanley Cup Finals appearances
9 Eastern (four expansions) to 7 Western (seven expansions)
7 Stanley Cup victories (20% of total Stanley Cup wins since Sharks joined league)
5 Eastern to 2 Western
Expansions account for 4 of 6 teams to never reach the Stanley Cup Finals since 1981 (85 combined expansion team seasons
Expansions account for 7 of 10 teams to never win the Stanley Cup Finals (155 combined expansion team seasons to 159 non-expansion team seasons)
6 of 7 expansion team Stanley Cup victories are associated with no state income tax
3 — Tampa
2 — Florida
1 — Vegas
1 of 7 expansion team Stanley Cup victories strongly associated with Scott Niedermayer and Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s giant shoulder pads (Anaheim)
In all, post-merger expansion teams have not really been all that successful relative to the rest of the league, with only a few teams reaping benefits over the last 35 years. More often than not, expansion teams flounder and settle somewhere between perpetual bottom feeding and inescapable mediocrity. Will the Minnesota Wild ever make a Conference Finals again? Will the Seattle Kraken make the playoffs a second time? Will the Columbus Blue Jackets make the playoffs again? Are the Winnipeg Jets entering another long playoff drought? Will the Ottawa Senators or Nashville Predators ever get back to consistent playoff appearances? What success do fans of expansion teams really have to look forward to?
Gary Bettman’s Tendency to Support No-State Income Tax Teams and TV Market Impact
Of the six current teams in the National Hockey League that play in states with no state income tax, five are post-1979 expansions: Tampa Bay, Nashville*, Florida, Vegas, and Seattle. The other, the Dallas Stars, moved from Minnesota to Texas in 1993, just six seasons prior to winning their one and only Stanley Cup.
*Tennessee only recently abolished the state income tax, while the other teams here have played their entire existences under no tax
Now, with Allan Walsh reporting that Houston and Atlanta will receive expansion teams in the near future, the NHL will gain one more no-tax state team in Houston while Atlanta will play under a flat-tax rate of 5.49%, which is on the high end for low to middle income earners but more of a medium ground for high-income earners such as professional athletes. In his Tweet, though, Walsh is also responding to a report that the NHL is valuing large television markets in their decision. With Houston and Atlanta being the largest television markets without an NHL team and both being among the 10 largest markets in the country, it certainly looks like a good idea to target them for expansion.
However, the fate of the Atlanta Thrashers should not be ignored. Atlanta struggled with attendance issues despite playing in one of the largest cities in the United States. Georgia does not have a strong presence in hockey, with their one of their only professional hockey teams being the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL. They have been one of the worst teams in the ECHL since once making a Cup Final in 2006, and they have not made the second round of the ECHL playoffs since 2013, and they have broadly seen attendance decline since a high in 2005. Generally, it follows that Houston, whose AHL team saw significantly higher attendance prior to being moved in 2013, would have an easier time supporting a hockey team. Georgia has no top-level college hockey, it has no teams above ECHL level, and it already has a failed NHL franchise under its belt.
In an age of widespread streaming and sports cable channel issues, a more reliable marker of viability may be state hockey presence. Wisconsin strikes me as a better area for expansion, with Madison serving as a small market within driving distance of the larger Milwaukee market. This could follow the Buffalo Sabres model of popularity, which combines Buffalo with several smaller television markets throughout upstate and western New York to form a devoted fanbase. Madison to Milwaukee is a comparable distance to the Buffalo to Rochester drive.
Diluting Talent and Expansion Drafts and Alternatives to NHL Expansion
While the NHL is not expanding as rapidly as they did in the 1990s, there are considerations for the effects expansion may have already had on the league.
League save percentage has dropped from .913 in 2017 to .908 in 2021 to .896 in 2026.
Total players have jumped from 983 in 2017 to 1,011 in 2021 to 1,038 in 2026.
Hockey fans can probably identify the issues that are difficult for teams to overcome in today’s NHL. It’s difficult to find good goaltending. It’s even harder to roll four good centers. 32 NHL teams losing another set of middle six forwards, second pairing defensemen, and backup goaltenders is only going to exacerbate those issues, and the gap between the average top-line player and fourth-liner is going to expand. I do not think this will be good for the quality of product on the ice, as fans are more interested by close, tense games than high-scoring blowouts.
An issue lingering in my mind over the past few weeks with Sunny Mehta and Braden Birch’s overhaul of the Utica Comets is the AHL’s Veteran Rule, which restricts AHL teams from having “too many” older players on the team to protect the AHL’s status as a developmental league. I think this cross-identity for the AHL as simultaneously a professional and developmental league may be serving to hold it back a bit in terms of quality of play, and eliminating the AHL’s Veteran Rule would prevent the loss of North American hockey talent to leagues such as the KHL, where 18 of the top 50 scorers in 2025-26 were North American. By boosting AHL teams, NHL clubs would have access to a higher level of talent in players who would be near the top of AHL scoring and could serve as better NHL call-up depth than the league currently has.
Expanding the ECHL’s veteran rule in turn could establish the league as a center for younger player development, giving it a better calling card for attendance. In this sense, I think to the Minor League Baseball system, where the AA league has emerged as a top player development league, while AAA baseball has morphed over time into more of a veteran holding league and last step for prospects. With leagues having distinct identities, AAA baseball attracts higher attendance and AA baseball is a center for developmental coaching. If the NHL, AHL, and ECHL took more steps to improve the quality of depth hockey in North America, I think they would be in a better place to support expansion to 34 teams. As of now, though, any expansions would be more likely to go the way of the Columbus Blue Jackets or Seattle Kraken than the way of the Vegas Golden Knights or Tampa Bay Lightning, as Houston and Atlanta will just be picking from whatever scraps have been left by the most recent expansions in a league with very little precious depth. And if one of them is allowed to draft years before the other like Vegas was before Seattle, the gap between them may be similar.
Your Thoughts
What do you think about the rumors of expansion? Do you think the league is ready? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
The Los Angeles Kings have announced that they will retire former captain Anze Kopitar’s number this upcoming season, and they will do it on February 24, 2027, when the Montreal Canadiens come to visit. On top of retiring Kopitar’s number 11, LA will also be unveiling a bronze statue of the most productive scorer in team history. The artwork will join those depicting Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, and Dustin Brown, which was unveiled in 2023. Kopitar’s number will be the eighth the franchise retires after Rob Blake (4), Marcel Dionne (16), Dave Taylor (18), Robitaille (20), Brown (23), Rogie Vachon (30) and Gretzky (99).
It’s no surprise that the Kings elected to retire his jersey with the Canadiens in town, as the newly retired forward revealed in an interview with Elliotte Friedman earlier this year that if he ever had to play for another team, it would have been the Habs. The former Kings’ captain explained that he enjoyed the city of Montreal and playing there. Kopitar hung up his skates as the Kings’ all-time scoring leader with 1,316 points in 1,521 games played. He surpassed LA legend Marcel Dionne on March 14, 2026, in a game against the New Jersey Devils.
The Slovenian centerman could very well have been a Canadiens had the Habs made a different choice at the 2005 draft. The 6-foot-3 and 225-pound pivot was picked 11th overall by Los Angeles. That year, the Canadiens had the fifth overall pick, and they used it to select franchise cornerstone Carey Price. That first-round was an excellent one since it also included Sidney Crosby, Bobby Ryan, Jack Johnson, Mark Staal, Tuukka Rask, and TJ Oshie.
Needless to say, the Canadiens’ center line wouldn’t have had a giant hole down the middle had they elected to go for Kopitar instead of Price, but the Habs’ fate in net would have been quite different. Although if they had picked Kopitar, they could have used the second-round pick, the 45th overall, they used on Guillaume Latendresse to select goaltender Jonathan Quick, who was only picked in the third round by which team? Well, the Kings, of course. Or they could have just stuck with Jose Theodore for much longer, since the Laval native was only 29 years old back then and had already won the Vezina and the Hart Trophy in 2001-02.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have only had two players wear #54, and none since 2019.
Today we'll look at who has worn it, what they did, and where they are now.
Scott Harrington - Harrington played 185 games for the Blue Jackets after being traded to Columbus by Toronto with a conditional pick in the 2017 NHL Draft for Kerby Rychel on June 25, 2016. Those 185 games would be spread out over six seasons, with 2018-19 being the year he played the most games at 73. He scored 7 goals and totaled 37 points in his career with Columbus, with the 18-19 season being his most productive with 17.
During his time in the Columbus organization, he would also play 52 games for the Cleveland Monsters, scoring 7 total points.
Harrington would sign with San Jose in 2022 and then be traded to New Jersey in February of 2023. New Jersey would then put him on waivers a few days later, where he would be picked up by Anaheim and play 17 games.
In 2023, Harrington would leave for Europe and play for the ZSC Lions of the Swiss League. After playing just 14 games in 23-24, he would return to North America for the 24-25 season to play for the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL.
He played for the Belleville Senators last season, and is signed on to play for them again this year. He had 19 points in 69 games last season.
Adam McQuaid - Columbus originally drafted McQuaid in the 2nd round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. McQuaid would never play for the CBJ, though. While he was still in the OHL, he was traded to Boston by Columbus for Boston's 5th-round pick in the 2007 NHL Draft on May 16, 2007. The pick the Jackets sent to Boston turned out to be Jamie Benn.
After playing nine years in Boston, he was traded to the Rangers in 2018. But in 2019, McQuaid was traded from New York to Columbus to help the Jackets with their playoff push. He played in 14 games before the season ended, suffering an injury that would ultimately end his career.
On March 28, 2019, Montreal’s Andrew Shaw gave McQuaid a nasty blindside shot that took him out of the game and his career. McQuaid told The Athletic, “I definitely wasn’t in a good place physically. Then it weighed on me mentally. I wasn’t feeling like myself. I had many injuries throughout my career, unfortunately. That became part of my story. I look at it more as having overcome different injuries, come back, try to play the same way, and not have it affect my outlook on playing. But I was probably at a point where I had the most going on. I had so many different things that were really nagging me. I felt like I wanted to give more. But you hear guys say that they’re asking their bodies to do things and just not getting the response they want.”
McQuaid would finish his career 73 points and one Stanley Cup.
Who was your favorite #54?
There are 54 days to go until opening night at NWA.
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