Despite a promising start to his pro career with the Philadelphia Flyers, a formerly undrafted defenseman has changed hands and moved to the KHL in hopes of turning a rough few years around.
Although he made the NHL roster out of training camp and stuck for a few months, the Flyers cut ties with the once-promising Egor Zamula, trading him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Phil Tomasino on Dec. 31.
Zamula, 26, never played for the Penguins organization, though, and subsequently signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets as a free agent on Jan. 6 after his contract was terminated, reuniting with former Flyers teammate Ivan Provorov.
Now, though, after having his KHL rights traded a few months back, the 6-foot-4 defenseman is looking to get his career back on track with Russian powerhouse CSKA Moskva, where he'll play alongside former Flyers teammate Denis Gurianov, former NHLers Klim Kostin, Nikita Okhotiuk, and Nikita Nesterov, and prospects like Prokhor Poltapov and Dmitri Gamzin.
"I've never played in the KHL, so both the guys and the coaching staff are giving me advice and going over all the details with me. I'm improving with every practice, feeling better both physically and mentally. There's a lot of new stuff; some things I haven't done in a while, and some I didn't even know about," Zamula was quoted as saying of his move to CSKA by Championat.
"I played with Nikita Okhotyuk at the Traktor academy, and I also know Nikita Nesterov and Denis Zernov. In America, I played with Denis Gurianov, and I also know Klim Kostin. When I transferred here, I already knew half the team, so it was easier for me to integrate."
In a difficult last NHL season split between the Flyers and Blue Jackets, Zamula appeared in 30 games, recording three assists.
Zamula played in 168 NHL games for the Flyers, scoring eight goals, 33 assists, and 41 points with a -12 rating overall, carving out a solid temporary niche for himself as a once-undrafted prospect starting his professional career.
Now, the Chelyabinsk native will return home and play in Russia for the first time since 2016-17.
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 08: Charlie McAvoy #73 of the Boston Bruins skates against Blake Lizotte #46 of the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 8, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
We continue our PensBurgh over/under series this week with a look at some of the Pittsburgh Penguins depth players and what they might be capable of this season.
Among the many surprises the Penguins had in 2025-26 was the emergence of their fourth line, specifically as it related to Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar. Both players played well enough to earn long-term contract extensions with the team, that are not only reasonable salary cap numbers, but also appropriate term lengths that should not make them liabilities long-term.
Here is a quick look at the other over/unders we have looked at so far:
Let’s get into today’s players and potential numbers.
Blake Lizotte: Over/under 1.5 shorthanded goals
Lizotte has been one of the Penguins’ top penalty killers since arriving in Pittsburgh, and has also had a knack throughout his career of producing offense on the penalty kill. Entering the 2026-27 season he has seven shorthanded goals in 434 career games, and has scored at least one in five of his seven full seasons in the league. That includes each of the past three seasons where he has accounted for four of them despite playing in only 176 games.
Over that time period 132 forward have logged at least 250 minutes of shorthanded ice-time, with Lizotte’s 0.75 goals per 60 minutes ranking 24th among that group, while also producing 0.48 individual expected goals per 60 minutes in that time. He gets his chances, and he creates some opportunities.
Had he not missed so much time over those three years it is not a stretch to think that he could have potted at least one or two more.
With Noel Accairi now playing in Philadelphia, it seems logical to assume that Lizotte’s PK role will take on even more importance, and if he can manage to stay on the ice you have to figure he is going to get some opportunities.
Will it be enough, and will he be dangerous enough to score two shorthanded goals this season?
Connor Dewar: Over/under 12.5 goals
When the Penguins traded a fifth-round pick at the 2024-25 NHL Trade Deadline to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Dewar and defenseman Connor Timmins it did not really register much for me. It just seemed like a, “okay, that happened,” type of move, and perhaps something to just fill out a roster for the rest of the season and give them some options for the 2025-26 season.
It has turned out to be a sneaky win for Kyle Dubas.
Dewar has become an extremely effective fourth-liner.
They flipped Timmins and organizational depth piece Isaac Belliveau to Buffalo for defenseman Connor Clifton and, more importantly, a second-round pick in 2025 that turned out to be defenseman Peyton Kettles, who is now one of the organization’s top prospects. Pretty strong value for a fifth-round pick and AHL roster fodder.
Since arriving in Pittsburgh, Dewar has scored 18 goals in 95 regular season games, while also adding two goals in six playoff games. Those 20 goals in 101 total games round out to an 82-game average of 16.2 goals. That’s closer to third-line production than fourth-line production.
That jump in goals has come with a spike in shooting percentage, going up 13.1 percent with the Penguins after being just 8.0 percent during his time with the Maple Leafs and Minnesota Wild. Had he shot at 8 percent over those two seasons with the Penguins his 20 goals would have gone down to about 12 goals. That would average out to 10 goals per 82 games played, which is probably more in line with what you would expect from a fourth-line depth player whose focus is more on defense than goal-scoring.
Is he simply a better player now in Pittsburgh with more opportunity?
Will the two extra games in the regular season help him get a little more shot volume?
Will all of that add up into more than 12.5 goals for the season?
Justin Brazeau: Over/under 41.5 games played with the Penguins
In the first part of the 2025-26 season Brazeau was one of the Penguins’ biggest surprises. He scored 12 goals in his first 24 games through the end of December, and rapidly emerged as a steal of a free agent signing at just $1.5 million per season. He brought size, physical play, and a surprising scoring touch to the lineup, while also displaying some shockingly good hands for a player of his size. He has always been a late-bloomer at every level he played at, and it seemed to be happening again for the Penguins.
But he cooled off considerably in the second half of the season, scoring just five goals over his last 40 games of the regular season.
Injuries no doubt played a role in that, but you also had to expect some sort of a regression. It happened.
Here is the problem I see for him this season: Where, exactly, does he fit in the lineup on a regular basis? The Penguins have 16 or 17 NHL-caliber forwards right now at a minimum, including the proven top-six veterans (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell), the other depth players (Lizotte and Dewar), a lot of younger/new players that figure to be regulars in the lineup (Egor Chinakhov, Nicholas Robertson, Ben Kindel) and a lot of younger players that will be competing for games and playing time (Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty, Elmer Soderblom, Hendrix Lapierre, Avery Hayes). Including Brazeau, that is 16 forwards. Only 12 forwards are going to dress. Is Brazeau one of the best 12 forwards? Is there another trade to be made to open up a roster spot? You figure some of those younger players are going to end up in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the start. Could Brazeau himself be a potential trade piece given the roster and the fact he is in the last year of his contract and an unrestricted free agent after this season?
I like Brazeau as a player. I like what he brings and potentially brings. There will also inevitably be injuries and some of the younger players starting in the American Hockey League, all of which will create some sort of a roster opening for Brazeau at times. But I am just having a hard time seeing where he fits at the moment.
Sutter The Elder vs. Turgeon The Elder, in a different time. | Getty Images
Another good morning (Rick!), afternoon or evening from our quiet summer where the Islanders added Matias Maccelli and subtracted Anders Lee, leaving us to view the return from season-ending injuries of Alex Romanov and Kyle Palmieri as the proverbial “like a new signing.”
Islanders & Isles-Adjacent News
Reminder to expressly agree to share your personal data to vote in the Islanders’ 3rd-jersey poll. [Isles]
Here is a very brief medley of Islanders players reacting to jersey designs. Good to see Romanov proof of life. [Isles]
And former Newsday Fisherman-era beatwriter Alan Hahn of course has thoughts on the Fisherman being in the running. [Newsday]
Brock Nelson is back in Da Beauty League, reflects on a crazy season of Olympic gold while falling short of Cup dreams with Colorado. He turns 35 in October — when did our little Reverend become an ol’ man?!? — but probably will continue to improve or at least age like fine wine. [NHL]
The Islanders will face the Hurricanes in Whalers unis this season. (The picture at the top of this post is from a bygone era, that’s Duane Sutter battling Sylvain Turgeon.) [THN]
Elsewhere
Twelve under-the-radar acquisitions from this summer (including Jordan Kyrou and Mavrik [sic] Bourque, who weren’t exactly under the radar, but whatever). [Sportsnet]
A 32-in-32 look at the Kings, who are Peter Laviolette’s seventh team. Dude is one team away from coaching a quarter of the 32-franchise league. [NHL]
Carey Price reflects on life and the Canadiens as he prepares to enter the Hall of Fame as the Canadiens’ all-time leader in goalie games played and victories. [NHL]
Seth Jarvis brought the Stanley Cup to Winnipeg, which is something that…oh no need to fill in any cruel punch lines. [NHL]
For the Pittsburgh Penguins, there are several players as part of the Jake Guentzel trade tree who are in a "wait and see" stage to determine whether that trade will end up panning out for the organization.
But they are about to take a loss on at least one of the pieces of that deal.
On Aug. 15, select NCAA players set to graduate who are in their fourth season of NCAA eligibility can become unrestricted free agents. According to Puckpedia, if a player is eligible, they must complete the necessary paperwork to indicate they're no longer a college student and submit it to the NHL's Central Registry by the 15th in order to become a draft-related free agent.
And at the top of the list is Penguins' prospect Cruz Lucius.
Lucius, 22, was acquired as part of the trade that sent Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes before the 2024 trade deadline. He played two seasons at the University of Wisconsin before transferring to Arizona State University for his past two collegiate seasons. He had a breakout campaign in 2025-26, registering 15 goals and 46 points in 36 games, which was good enough for 11th overall in NCAA scoring.
Unfortunately for the Penguins, Lucius has already informed the team that he does not plan to sign with them for "personal reasons," meaning he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on the 15th so long as he completes the necessary paperwork. Had he opted to remain with Pittsburgh and sign, he would have joined a relatively crowded pool of forward prospects.
Lucius was brought over from Carolina along with fellow forward prospects Ville Koivunen and Vasily Ponomarev - who is playing in the KHL - as well as NHL forward Michael Bunting and a second-round pick in the 2024 draft that turned into defenseman Harrison Brunicke, arguably Pittsburgh's top prospect. Bunting was then traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Tommy Novak and defenseman Luke Schenn, who was flipped for a 2027 fourth and a 2026 second-round pick that became Markus Ruck.
Even if the Guentzel trade tree is still growing and still has fruit to bear, the eventual loss of Lucius is a small blow to the Penguins' forward depth as well as their payout from that trade.
Lucius was a fourth-round selection (124th overall) by Carolina in 2022.
The Senators launched a new season of Breakaway on their YouTube channel on Wednesday, and the first episode of Season 7 offered an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the team's war room during the first round of this year's NHL Draft.
The episode's most intriguing material came from a mic'd-up Steve Staios, who revealed several details about Ottawa's draft-night thinking.
One of the biggest revelations was that their 25th overall pick, Jonas Lagerberg Hoen, was ranked nine picks higher (16th overall) on the Sens' internal draft board.
Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss how GM Steve Staios generally keeps his cards close to his vest.
So they had to be thrilled he was still available when their pick came around.
That being said, it sounds like Staios could have gone either way when it came to choosing between Lagerberg Hoen and Jaxon Cover, the London Knights forward Ottawa eventually selected 32nd overall.
"Okay, I was thinking [we pick] Cover first and then Lagerberg Hoen?" Staios wondered aloud to his scouting staff. "Or [do we think Lagerberg Hoen] won't be there?"
The Senators settled on the skilled Swede at No. 25, and a couple of factors appeared to push them in that direction.
One was obviously their internal ranking and the concern that he wouldn't last to 32. The other was some interesting intel gathered during the pre-draft interview process.
"We talked to some of the top-end Swedish guys in the interview process," Staios told head coach Travis Green. "Stuff like, 'If you can bring a player with you, who would it be?' And this guy's name came up a lot."
That apparently helped reinforce what Ottawa's scouts already thought about Lagerberg Hoen.
Staios was also busy on the phone leading up to the 25th pick, listening to potential trade offers.
At one point, as viewers got to eavesdrop on one of his phone calls, Staios said he was being offered the 33rd and 41st picks for Ottawa's 25th and 72nd selections.
It doesn't take much detective work to figure out that the offer came from new Vancouver Canucks GM Ryan Johnson, whose club owned picks 33 and 41.
Had Staios accepted, the Senators would have held picks 32, 33 and 41 instead of 25, 32 and 72.
He opted to stay put, almost certainly because Ottawa didn't believe Lagerberg Hoen would still be there at No. 32. Considering the Senators had him ranked 16th overall, it's easy to understand why they weren't willing to take that chance.
There was another interesting option involving the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Staios revealed that Pittsburgh had called to offer a deal that included a Penguins roster player, although the min-doc didn't reveal the player's identity.
That leaves plenty of room for speculation on who that might be.
One name that would make some sense is Justin Brazeau. The 6-foot-6, 232-pound winger scored 17 goals and 17 assists last season and has been mentioned in trade speculation.
With the Sens having recently lost the physical presence Brady Tkachuk provided, it's not difficult to imagine the Penguins offering a player like Brazeau. Naturally, the Pens' 39th overall pick or something else would have to be included in such a deal.
Or if there were no picks changing hands, the unnamed roster player might need to be someone like Rickard Rakell or Bryan Rust.
But Staios resisted the various offers and plowed forward with his top picks in the order they were given.
They landed a player they had ranked 16th at No. 25, then still managed to get Cover seven selections later at No. 32.
For fans who enjoy the off-camera mechanics of draft night, it's a fun episode.
It's one thing to hear Gary Bettman announce names at the podium. It's another to hear how close the Senators came to doing something completely different.
By Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the Sens headlines below:
Last July, in a courthouse in London, Ontario, five former members of Canada's 2018 World Junior hockey team were cleared of sexual assault charges.
The judge in the case said the complainant's allegations lacked the credibility and reliability needed to justify convictions. As a result, all five players were eventually allowed to resume their NHL careers.
But Hockey Canada found them in breach of their code of conduct and announced on Wednesday that suspensions will remain in place in four of the five cases.
Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss Jake Sanderson's ranking among top NHL defensemen.
The one exception is former Senator Alex Formenton, who they've reinstated immediately.
Formenton, Carter Hart, Cal Foote, Dillon Dubé and Michael McLeod were all acquitted last July following an eight-week trial.
But the criminal proceedings were separate from Hockey Canada's investigation. That investigation began in 2018 and eventually resulted in a November 2023 report from an independent panel. The five players were formally suspended from all Hockey Canada-sanctioned programs while an appeal of that decision was underway.
That appeal process has now concluded, and the panel confirmed that all five players breached the organization's code of conduct.
But the panel's recommended suspensions vary dramatically.
While Formenton was reinstated, Foote remains suspended until November 2026, Hart until November 2027, Dubé until November 2028, and McLeod has over four years left before reinstatement in November 2030.
In a nutshell, the panel ruled that Formenton breached the Hockey Canada code of conduct, but apparently not to the extent the others did.
Formenton was selected by the Senators in the second round, 47th overall, in the 2017 NHL Draft and developed into one of the fastest players in the organization, if not the league.
His best NHL season came in 2021-22, when he scored 18 goals and 32 points in 79 games at age 22.
But that turned out to be his final season in Ottawa.
Formenton became a restricted free agent in the summer of 2022 and went unsigned by the Senators. He eventually continued his career with HC Ambrì-Piotta in Switzerland before returning home to face charges.
Formenton spent this past season with his Swiss team again, putting up 23 points in 42 games. He's officially an NHL UFA after the Senators officially cut ties with him two months ago.
Wednesday's ruling doesn't mean the NHL or Team Canada will ever come calling again, but the comparative lenience being shown to Formenton does send a message and may fuel some discussions.
By Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the Sens headlines below:
BUFFALO, NEW YORK - JUNE 26: (L-R) NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Liam Ruck, 22nd overall pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, talk onstage during Day One of the 2026 NHL Draft at KeyBank Center on June 26, 2026 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Andrea Cardin/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The Ottawa Senators produced a behind the scenes bit of content for the 2026 draft. The part around their decision with the 25th overall pick involved the Penguins. Per Ottawa’s GM Steve Staois, the Penguins had called and offered an unidentified roster player in order to get the Sens’ pick.
Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios says the Penguins made an offer for what appears to have been the 25th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft:
“No pick offers are good enough just yet, but Pittsburgh's interesting with the roster player.” pic.twitter.com/nITr1CryDp
The clip shows Staios fielding an offer from Vancouver, who were attempting to send the 33rd and 41st overall picks to move up to 25 and get pick 72 back from Ottawa. Staios soon dismissed that among his Sens compadres saying, “no pick offers are good enough yet. But Pittsburgh is interesting with the roster player”.
By the time the ultimate decision had to be made, Ottawa elected to hold tight and draft the 16th best prospect on their board at 25th overall, Swedish winger Jonas Lagerberg-Hoen.
The tidbit about the Pens will lead to intrigue. Staios didn’t mention if Pittsburgh included a pick (like 39th or 54th overall) to bolster their offer or if that unidentified roster player stood as the only piece involved.
The Penguins haven’t been in a huge hurry to trade players away. The didn’t end up moving any roster players on draft night and since that point they’ve only traded away Jack St. Ivany and Parker Wotherspoon, neither of which would be remotely close in value to making a team like Ottawa think long and hard about dealing the 25th pick.
It’s a bit easier to see what Pittsburgh’s end game was. The Pens had just drafted Liam Ruck at 22nd overall and it wasn’t exactly a state secret that the team was eager to add his twin brother Markus to the organization. They ended up not needing a trade, getting Markus at their next pick early in the second round at 39th overall. For their part, the Pens picked a partner in Ottawa who held another pick (32nd overall) in the first round as a potential target that might have been interested in adding a current NHL player with their extra pick early on.
Who exactly the Pens offered is intriguing. One would think that a standalone for Bryan Rust or Rickard Rakell would have been enough for Ottawa to move a late first rounder, especially considering that the Pens’ reported price on both veterans is higher than one late first. By the same token, it makes sense to rule out Egor Chinakhov and Ben Kindel value-wise as nothing that Pittsburgh would offer. Same with trade clauses for obviously Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang. Plenty of others on the roster offered up wouldn’t have Ottawa even considering the move.
That leaves a few candidates in the sweet spot as being available but carrying some value, like possibly Tommy Novak or Justin Brazeau as the mystery offer. Possibly even down to near-ready prospects like Harrison Brunicke, Ville Koivunen or Rutger McGroarty, though considering players who finished in the AHL as ‘roster players’ may or may not have been in the cards. Some of those names make more sense than others but seem like the more realistic range of potential offerings.
In the end, the general public will never likely know exactly who the Pens offered up. GM Kyle Dubas runs a tight ship and almost zero details leak out from his side, especially about trades that didn’t end up getting made. General managers float tons of ideas to their counterparts all the time and most the talk amounts to nothing. A Pittsburgh/Ottawa trade for the 25th pick fits in that category of fizzling out before getting across the finish line. The only difference from most talks was that Ottawa used the conversation as part of their multimedia to give a little peak into what went on in their draft room. As a result, they gave a little bit of news to consider what could have been if Staios decided to move forward with the offer from the Pens and just how the team might have been different if he did.
A Montreal Canadiens young star has received some praise.
TheHockeyNews.com has named Ivan Demidov as the NHL's top forward breakout candidate to watch for the 2026-27 season
When looking at what Demidov did during his rookie season with the Canadiens, it is certainly hard not to be excited to see what he can do for the Habs now that he has a full year of experience.
In 82 games last season with the Canadiens, Demidov posted 19 goals, 43 assists, and 62 points. These were very impressive numbers from the Habs rookie, but the 2024 fifth-overall pick should only get better as he continues to gain more experience.
If Demidov can take another step forward, it would only make the Canadiens a more difficult team for opponents to go up against. He has all the tools to become a superstar in the NHL, and it will be interesting to see if he takes another big step to becoming that in 2026-27 from here.
The possibility of Demidov being an 80-point player this upcoming campaign for the Canadiens should not be ruled out. He has the offensive potential to do so.
It's officially another season, another prospects ranking for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In years past, this has been a bit easier of an exercise, as there used to be a more clear-cut line between prospects with NHL upside and longshots. However, because of the work that general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas and his staff have put in during the last several years, the line is blurring a whole lot more - and there is a substantially higher volume of talent in the system.
This time around, making a top-20 list was challenging. So, a few criteria were put into place: To make our list, prospects must be under the age of 26 and have played less than 50 NHL games. This excludes names such as Ben Kindel, Filip Hallander, Oliver Okuliar, and Alexander Alexeyev.
Defenseman Finn Harding came in at No. 13, as his rapid progression after being a seventh-round pick is impressive and a developmental success story. We shift back to the forward front for No. 12 to shed more light on a guy who plays with an edge, a skillset, and a contagious energy that may just allow him to keep elevating his ceiling at the NHL level.
No. 12: RW Avery Hayes
Fist career shot, first career goal for Avery Hayes. Incredible moment for him 🏒 pic.twitter.com/iR9jSS62IN
There are very few prospects in the Penguins' organization as well-liked and well-respected as Avery Hayes, and it's certainly for good reason.
The undrafted 23-year-old forward certainly made a big impression on the big club when he made his NHL debut against the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 5, scoring two goals, with the first coming from an earned opportunity on his first NHL shot. Hayes played in 16 NHL games during the team's most important stretch of the season between late-February and early April, putting up five goals and showing signs of being an effective bottom-six player with offensive upside.
And that's not even accounting for the fabulous AHL season he had, putting up 24 goals and 39 points in 42 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS). He went a bit quiet during the Calder Cup Playoffs with just three goals and six points through 15 games, but his presence was still noticeable.
Hayes exudes a certain level of energy and confidence that seems to be contagious among his peers. He plays with an edge and sticks up for teammates, he works his tail off shift after shift, and he doesn't shy away from playing with the puck on his stick.
He's also as good as anyone in the system at creating something out of nothing.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound right wing excels at "stickhandling in a phone booth," if you will, possessing the ability to make plays in tight spaces and force plays that don't even look like they're there. He's quick, he's agile, he's an excellent forechecker, he's able to create separation with his speed, he's good around the net, he is effective on the PK and the PP, and he has a pretty nice shot to go along with all of that.
GOAL. Avery Hayes makes it 3-0 #WBSPens late in the 2nd period.
Harrison Brunicke to Rutger McGroarty and across to Hayes for #85's team-leading 3rd of the playoffs on more brilliant puck movement on the power play.@InsideAHLHockeypic.twitter.com/TMV4DVnUp5
Hayes's journey to the NHL was certainly an unconventional one, as he went straight from playing with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL in 2022-23 to an AHL PTO then a contract with WBS. His biggest and best attribute is his work ethic, which is on display every single night in various different manners, whether that's beating opponents to loose pucks, forcing his will around the net-front, or playing with some snarl to get under his opponent's skin and rally his team.
In some ways, Hayes is a bit remniscent of veteran forward Bryan Rust, who - even if drafted, unlike Hayes - started out the first seasons of his NHL career as a fourth-liner but worked his way up the lineup through persistance and the high-energy, forecheck-heavy speed game he plays.
So, looking at it that way, it kind of makes sense why he's garnered the respect and attention of the Penguins' development staff, as his path and his work ethic set an example for others to follow.
"Avery Hayes is an incredible kid. I could talk all day about him," Penguins' director of player development Tom Kostopoulos said. "The way our organization is set up to find these players, work with them, develop them, coach them, give them opportunity, Avery Hayes is a fantastic example.
"Everyone in our organization was super happy to see [him] jump into the lineup in Buffalo and score two goals. From the way his career started and what he's done with it so far, there's a lot more for him ahead."
Hayes figures to be a candidate to make the opening night NHL roster, even with an uphill climb ahead due to the crowded forward pool expected at training camp. His game is one that should translate pretty well to the NHL level, and his ceiling once he establishes himself as an NHL player is a bit of an exciting unknown. That "unknown" is both what has him just outside the top-10 on this list and what makes him such an intriguing upside prospect.
Given his history, he may just keep raising that ceiling. If any prospect in the organization is going to take a Rust-like path and quite literally get better and more productive at the NHL level with every passing year, it's Hayes. He has the tools, the fight, and the mindset to do it, so it will be interesting to see how soon he can establish himself as a permanent fixture in the Penguins' lineup.
The Montreal Canadiens should be on the hunt for some forward help before the start of the 2026-27 season.
One specific area that the Canadiens should look to improve is at the center position. When looking at trade candidates around the NHL, Calgary Flames center Morgan Frost stands out as a very intriguing potential option for the Habs to consider.
With the Flames being in the middle of a rebuild, questions about Frost's future in Calgary have come up this off-season. The fact that he is entering the final season of his contract in 2026-27 and is a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) has also played a role in him being the rumor mill.
Although Frost would not be the biggest of additions for the Canadiens, he could provide them with some help down the middle. The 27-year-old center is coming off a solid 2025-26 season with the Flames, as he scored a career-high 22 goals and posted 43 points. With numbers like these, he would have the potential to be a strong pickup for the Canadiens' middle six if acquired.
Ultimately, with the Canadiens needing some forward help, it could make sense for them take a chance on a player like Frost. There is always the chance that the 2017 first-round pick could improve his offense a bit in Montreal, too, as he would have more support around him than he does in Calgary.
With the oncoming start of a new NHL season comes the beginning of milestone countdowns for the Vancouver Canucks. As it stands, seven players currently on Vancouver’s roster have the chance to hit personal and franchise goal-scoring milestones during the 2026–27 season.
Elias Pettersson & Brock Boeser Continue Their Race Up The Canucks’ Ranks
Elias Pettersson ended the 2025–26 season with only one more goal needed to tie former Canucks captain Bo Horvat for the ninth-most goals scored in franchise history. Currently sitting at 200 goals, Pettersson is only two goals away from passing Horvat’s current total of 201 goals as a member of the Canucks.
Depending on how the season goes, Pettersson could also hit the benchmark for the eighth-most goals scored in Canucks history. That spot currently belongs to Brock Boeser, who has 226 total tallies for the team. Boeser, however, has a couple of goal-scoring milestones of his own to reach, as he’s currently only 14 goals away from tying Henrik Sedin (240) for seventh in franchise history. Within range of that is also Tony Tanti, who currently sits at sixth in club records with 250 goals.
While Boeser is likely to slide into seventh during the 2026–27 season, Tanti’s record at sixth may be a little harder to achieve. Boeser would have to score 25 goals to pass Tanti — which isn’t outlandish given the forward’s goal-scoring averages on a full season-by-season basis — but given that the Canucks aren’t expected to stun offensively in the upcoming season, this may be a harder mark to reach.
200 Goals Await Jake DeBrusk In 2026–27
Only 11 goals stand in the way of Jake DeBrusk and the 200-career NHL goal mark, which he could realistically hit before the end of the calendar year. The winger hit the 100-goal mark back in 2022 as a member of the Boston Bruins, though the increase in his goal-scoring pace per season as of late has helped accelerate his steps towards the next milestone.
Mar 24, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk (74) and forward Elias Pettersson (40) and forward Brock Boeser (6) celebrate BoeserÕs goal against the Anaheim Ducks in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Three Defencemen And One Forward Could All Hit 50 Career-Goals In 2026–27
Four Canucks — three veteran defencemen and one depth forward — are all within striking distance of 50-career NHL goals.
The closest to the 50-goal milestone currently is Filip Hronek, who is sitting at 48 goals throughout his NHL career. He’s scored at least five goals in all but one of his eight seasons in the NHL, with the lone expectation being the shortened 2020–21 season.
The next player closest to scoring their 50th-career NHL goal is newcomer Paul Cotter, who is currently at 47 throughout his career. The depth forward scored nine goals in 79 games for the New Jersey Devils in 2025–26, but has previously tallied as many as 16 in a season (2024–25).
From there, Jamie Oleksiak and Luke Schenn are both tied with 45 career NHL goals. Oleksiak scored exactly five goals for the Seattle Kraken in 2025–26, though he’s only hit that mark four times total throughout his career. Schenn, who last scored five goals in a single season as a member of the Canucks in 2021–22, will likely see a larger role with Vancouver in 2026–27 compared to his more recent stints, making this milestone a little more achievable.
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CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Three of the five players acquitted of sexual assault in the high-profile 2018 Canada world junior case have had their international play suspensions get extended for at least another year, with only one set for immediate reinstatement.
Hockey Canada on Wednesday extended Michael McLeod’s ban from representing the country until Nov. 10, 2030, Dillon Dube through the same date in 2028 and Carter Hart through that date in 2027. Cal Foote’s suspension will end this November, while Alex Formenton has been reinstated.
The decisions were announced after an independent appeal board ruled that the players breached Hockey Canada’s code of conduct.
Last year, the NHL allowed the players to sign contracts beginning in October and to play in December. Hart signed with Vegas in the fall, returned to the NHL on Dec. 2 and backstopped the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup, while Dube in July became the second of the five players to sign an NHL contract when he joined St. Louis.
An appeals panel ruled that five players from Hockey Canada's 2018 world junior championships team breached the organization's code of conduct in a case that led to a sexual assault trial in which all were acquitted.
The panel continued suspensions for four of the five players, and announced the dates when they will again be eligible to represent Canada in international play.
Alex Formenton is eligible to return immediately. Here are the return dates for the other four players:
Cal Foote: suspended until Nov. 10, 2026
Carter Hart: suspended until Nov. 10, 2027
Dillon Dubé: suspended until Nov. 10, 2028
Michael McLeod: suspended until Nov. 10, 2030
Each player was charged in 2024 with one count of sexual assault stemming from an alleged incident that police said happened in a London, Ontario, hotel room while the team was in town in June 2018 for a Hockey Canada gala celebrating the team's gold medal. McLeod also was charged with being a party to the offense.
After their 2025 trial, Justice Maria Carroccia ruled she couldn't rely on the evidence of the female accuser and that prosecutors hadn't proved their case. She found all of the players not guilty.
As is customary, the Philadelphia Flyers find themselves connected to the latest offseason news, but rather than a trade target or a free agent, we're talking international suspension.
On Wednesday, Hockey Canada, via an independent appeal board, has made a decision regarding a breach of conduct for the five acquitted players involved in the 2018 Hockey Canada sexual assault case.
Forward Alex Formenton, who has been out of the NHL since 2022, has been reinstated by Hockey Canada effective immediately, but the other four players, including former Flyers goalie Carter Hart, will remain suspended.
According to the press release, Cal Foote will remain suspended until Nov. 10, Hart be suspended until Nov. 10, 2027, Dillon Dube will be suspended until Nov. 10, 2028, and Michael McLeod will be suspended until Nov. 10, 2030.
"The players had been formally suspended from Hockey Canada-sanctioned programs, pending the completion of the appeal process," the release said.
"As the independent investigation did not conclude that any other player on the 2018 National Junior Team breached Hockey Canada’s code of conduct, those players are eligible for consideration to participate in any Hockey Canada-sanctioned program, effective immediately.
However, any player under consideration to play on a national team will be subject to Hockey Canada’s enhanced screening process, which will continue to include a third-party review of the findings regarding the 2018 National Junior Team before being eligible to represent Canada internationally."
Hart, 27, is the only one of the five acquitted players to resume their NHL careers, having spent the last season with the Vegas Golden Knights after last playing for the Flyers in Jan. 2024.
In 18 regular season games, Hart went 13-3-3, eventually reuniting with his former Flyers head coach, John Tortorella, going on a fairytale run to the Stanley Cup Final before getting handily dealt with by the champion Carolina Hurricanes.
Despite a hot start, Hart ultimately finished his postseason run with a 14-8 record, a 2.56 GAA, and .909 save percentage, going ice-cold in the Final.
The Flyers' former second-round pick last represented Canada internationally at the 2019 IIHF Men's World Championships, where Canada lost to Finland in the final.
Hart was 3-0 for Canada in that tournament, and led all goalies who had played in at least three games with his .964 save percentage.
From a young age, Cole Knuble was taught about max effort.
As the son of Mike Knuble, a hard-working former Flyer who played over 1,000 NHL games, competing was a must growing up.
“He used to say, ‘If you have 12 eggs in your pockets, they should all be broken,'” Knuble said of his dad’s influence. “That’s what he would always tell me.
“You’re a hockey player, that’s just how it is — you battle. He preached that more than anything; it wasn’t about points, ever.”
Well, Knuble has heeded his father’s advice. He has competed and developed, putting himself in the Flyers’ pro picture. If he keeps it up, an NHL debut could be in his future.
“I thought he was one of our higher-end players and was not taking a backward step to anybody at that professional level,” Patrick Sharp, a special advisor to the Flyers’ hockey operations department, said in July. “That’s kind of impressive coming from college. We’ve got high expectations for him. The best part about Cole is he’s a great kid, comes from a great family, loves the game, he’s a good leader, he fits in well with his teammates. We can’t have enough of those guys around.”
This summer, the 22-year-old forward was one of the better players at Flyers development camp. He looked like a prospect with three years of seasoning at Notre Dame. Knuble moved well, saw the ice and was a constant threat to score.
“He’s a player, I can remember three years ago, right away, that had excellent hockey sense,” Sharp said. “He has certainly rounded out his game over the years and looks like he has improved every time we get eyes on him.”
When Knuble was drafted, his skating was a knock. He even went undrafted the year before because of it.
“I think you can really see his maturity from when he first got here,” Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said in July. “We talked in the past about his skating, his skating is why he went through the draft. He was always a good player, but I don’t see his skating as an issue at all anymore. It’s actually a strength.”
Cole Knuble with some patience and vision here to set up Alex Bump.
If Knuble can prove to be effective at center, his odds with the Flyers would only increase. He can play on the wing and down the middle. Center is a premium position and the Flyers have needed more talent there.
“You have that versatility, you just give yourself a better chance,” Knuble said. “I played center in college for probably most of it.”
The Phantoms gave Knuble some looks at center. We’ll see if he can stick there this season as he enters his first full year with Lehigh Valley.
“That was definitely an adjustment, especially faceoffs,” Knuble said. “I was playing wing at the end of my season in college, so I was kind of thrown into a new league and a different position. But I’ve always been a guy that can play both and I want to have that in my toolbox.”
Flyers' Egor Zamula Comments on Russia's Ban from 2026 Winter OlympicsPhiladelphia Flyers defenseman Egor Zamula is one of many in and around hockey disappointed to see Russia, one of hockey's powerhouse nations, banned from competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
