It finally appeared as if Othmann was building on momentum at the NHL level. After a hot stretch in the American Hockey League with the Hartford Wolf Pack, Othmann was called up and played in 10 consecutive games for the New York Rangers.
Sullivan was also giving the 23-year-old forward more opportunity, playing him in a third-line role while also slotting him on the second power-play unit.
In the Rangers’ final game leading into the Olympic break, Othmann was scratched out of the lineup.
At first thought, the wide sentiment was that Othmann was scratched due to CBA rules regarding his eligibility to be assigned back to Hartford during the Olympic break.
However, Mike Sullivan made abundantly clear that this wasn’t his reasoning for holding him out of the lineup.
Sullivan also didn’t shy away from the fact that Othmann’s play hasn’t necessarily met up to his standards thus far.
“I think there are elements of his game that have to continue to improve in order for him to establish himself as an NHL player,” Sullivan said of Othmann.
In 16 NHL games this season, Othmann has recorded just one point despite his slightly increased role.
As of right now, Othmann still hasn’t been sent down to the AHL, but it’s still entirely possible he does before the Rangers resume play on Feb. 26.
With the Rangers in the process of “retooling” the roster and more trades likely in the pipeline, Othmann should get another opportunity in the NHL this season.
There’s still a level of trust that Othmann has yet to build with Sullivan that may hold him back from earning a permanent spot in the lineup, even despite the Rangers’ emphasis to give young players a chance.
“You're still trying to earn, and you're still trying to build a little bit of trust from the coaching staff,” Othmann said. “I'm still trying to build trust. I'm still trying to learn.”
Olympics men's hockey is back to a best-on-best tournament with the return of NHL players.
The league sent its players from 1998 to 2014, but didn't in 2018 (lack of an agreement) and 2022 (need to make up games postponed by COVID). International tournaments are included in the latest collective bargaining agreement, so the league has shut down for several weeks to let players suit up for their national teams.
As a result, NHL players will be plentiful on the rosters of most of the 12 countries participating in Milan. Nineteen of the league's top 25 scorers are at the tournament.
Here are some top NHL players to watch at the 2026 Winter Olympics:
Canada's Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers): The three-time Hart Trophy winner has gone to the Stanley Cup Final the last two seasons and was playoff MVP in 2024 in a losing effort. He scored the overtime winner at the 4 Nations Face-Off and is the NHL's top scorer.
Canada's Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche): He won a Stanley Cup in 2022 and was league MVP in 2024. He won MVP of the 4 Nations. He was the leading scorer for much of this season before McDavid passed him.
Canada's Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins): The Canadian captain is the NHL's most recognizable name. He won three Stanley Cup titles and two Olympic gold medals, scoring the overtime winner in 2010. He ranks eighth in all-time NHL scoring, recently passing Penguins legend Mario Lemieux.
Germany's Leon Draisaitl (Oilers): He's considered the NHL's second-best player behind McDavid and won the Hart Trophy in 2020.
USA's Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets): The goaltender won the Vezina Trophy the past two seasons and three times overall. He was voted league MVP last season.
USA's Quinn Hughes (Minnesota Wild): The defenseman missed the 4 Nations with an injury and the USA missed his puck-moving ability. Hughes won the Norris Trophy in 2023-24 and has 34 points in 26 games since his trade to Minnesota. His brother, Jack, also plays for the USA.
Finland's Mikko Rantanen (Dallas Stars): He's a clutch scorer with 123 points in 99 NHL playoff game. He'll be looking for a better performance after getting only one point at the 4 Nations.
Czechia's David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins): He ranks sixth in NHL scoring this season and had a 61-goal season in 2022-23 and a league-best 48 in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season. He has has three 100-point seasons.
Slovakia's Juraj Slafkovsky (Montreal Canadiens): He was MVP of the 2022 Olympics, scoring seven goals as Slovakia won bronze. He then was taken No. 1 overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. He scored the opening goal of this year's tournament and finished with two goals and an assist in a win against Finland.
Sweden's Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings): He's the top NHL scorer among Swedish Olympics and with 60 points this season, he is on pace for a career high.
No sweat for Dalibor Dvorsky in his Olympic debut.
The 20-year-old St. Louis Blues center, a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, made his first appearance for Slovakia a memorable one with the game-winning goal and an assist to help the Slovaks upset Finland, 4-1, at Santagiulia IHO Arena in Milan, Italyon Wednesday.
Dvorsky scored on a net front loose puck rebound, beating Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators) at 7:20 of the third period to break a 1-1 deadlock:
Dvorsky would add an assist on Juraj Slafkovsky's (Montreal Canadiens) second goal of the game, a power-play goal at 10:30 to add insurance to Slovakia's upset win and stir the pot to open the men's portion of Group B preliminary round play.
Dvorsky had two shots on goal and was a plus-1 in 11:14 of ice time as the third-line center in the game and was the game's third star; he became the youngest Slovakian player to score a goal in the Olympics (20 years, 241 days) with NHL players, according to NHL public relations:
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MILAN — The 2026 men’s Winter Olympic hockey tournament produced its first major upset in the opening game, as Slovakia—the defending bronze medalists—stunned the reigning 2022 Olympic champions, Finland, with a commanding 4–1 victory to launch the competition.
Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovský scored twice for Slovakia, while St. Louis Blues forward Dalibor Dvorský scored the game-winning goal, and Adam Ružička also tallied one for Slovakia.
Juraj Slafkovský loves The Olympics.
Minnesota Wild prospect Samuel Hlavaj was nothing short of spectacular in the Slovak crease, stopping 38 shots against the formidable Finnish attack.
Eeli Tolvanen scored the lone goal for Finland.
First Period
Slafkovský capitalized on a costly turnover by Mikko Lehtonen, corralled the puck, and methodically assessed his options before executing a deft deke around a fully outstretched Juuse Saros, tucking it into the gaping net. The goal gave Slovakia a 1–0 lead 12:15 into the opening period.
Up to that point, Finland had largely dictated possession, controlling the pace of play for much of the first half. Yet Hlavaj remained resolute, turning aside several high-quality scoring chances, including a pair of dangerous slot attempts from Colorado’s Artturi Lehkonen. One came off a blistering one-timer, but Hlavaj reacted with lightning reflexes, flashing his blocker at the last possible instant to steer the puck out of harms way.
Later, Slovakia captain Tomáš Tatar was called for tripping Niko Mikkola, granting Finland its first power play of the contest. The Finns generated a handful of dangerous looks with the man advantage, highlighted by a Mikko Rantanen shot that sailed wide — prompting the former Avalanche star to slam his stick to the ice in visible frustration.
Finland began the second period shorthanded following a heated altercation at the horn to end the first. Joel Armia was assessed a roughing minor in the aftermath of the post-whistle scrum, giving Slovakia the early man advantage to open the middle frame.
Second Period
Finland successfully killed off the Armia penalty and swiftly seized momentum when Matuš Sukeľ was called for holding Mikko Rantanen. This time, the Finns converted their power play opportunity.
At 4:15 of the second period, Tolvanen evened the score at 1–1, detonating a thunderous one-timer from the slot off a precise feed from Armia. The shot beat the goaltender cleanly and ignited the Finnish bench. Artturi Lehkonen was credited with the secondary assist, helping orchestrate the equalizer.
Later in the period, with 10:49 remaining, Slafkovský threatened to restore Slovakia’s lead, but Saros remained vigilant, turning aside the attempt with a sharp pad save.
As the frame drew to a close, Lehkonen found himself with another prime scoring opportunity from the slot. However, he was unable to lift the puck over Hlavaj’s pad, and the Slovak netminder produced yet another remarkable stop, preserving the deadlock heading into intermission.
Third Period
Despite being outshot 35–20, Slovakia regained the lead at 12:40 of the third period. Dvorský, a forward for the St. Louis Blues, seized on a defensive lapse, lifting a precise shot over Saros into the net.
Dvorský had collected a pass in stride just as Sebastian Aho lost his footing and slid to the ice, creating a wide-open scoring lane. The Slovak forward did not hesitate, snapping the puck past Saros to register his first Olympic goal to give his team a 2–1 advantage in the pivotal final frame.
Slafkovský struck again with 9:30 remaining, scoring his second goal of the game and marking his ninth career Olympic goal in just eight games. Following a delay-of-game penalty on Miro Heiskanen for shooting the puck over the glass, Slovakia maintained pressure. Šimon Nemec intercepted a clearing attempt at the point, kept the play alive, and fed Slafkovský, who rifled some top-shelf cheese over Saros for an insurance marker, extending Slovakia’s lead to 3–1.
SLAFKOVSKY WITH HIS 2ND OF THE GAME TO TAKE A 3-1 LEAD IN THE 3RD 🤯🚨
With roughly six minutes remaining, Rasmus Ristolainen delivered a hard check to Martin Pospíšil into the boards. Pospíšil remained on his knees momentarily before making his way back to the bench under his own power; no penalty was assessed.
Finland pulled Saros for the extra attacker with under five minutes to play, hoping to mount a comeback. Ristolainen’s desperate diving attempt delayed an empty-net goal momentarily, but it ultimately proved futile. A scrum erupted in front of the net as Rantanen tried to cover the puck, but Ružička, a Dallas Stars forward, backhanded it into the cage, sealing a 4–1 victory for Slovakia and extinguishing any hope of a Finnish rally.
Don't assume the Edmonton Oilers are sitting on their hands during the 2026 Winter Olympic break. In fact, general manager Stan Bowman is likely using this time to reassess his roster, plan ahead of the March 6 trade deadline, and speak with other GMs, agents for players on his own team, and perhaps even a former coach.
It wasn't necessarily Leon Draisaitl's public comments that triggered background conversations among Oilers' management, but during a discussion on Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman made it clear that change is coming in Edmonton. It might not happen during the break or right as it ends, but it is coming.
“I think [the Oilers] will look different,” Friedman said. “I just don’t know if it’s going to be that fast.” He added, “One thing I was reminded of today is that you can still sign extensions." He explained that he received a message from an NHL GM telling him not to take his "eye off the ball" when it comes to NHL news, as teams want clarity before the freeze ends.
In other words, while everyone else has their eyes on the Olympics, NHL GMs are making plans and working out potential deals.
For the Oilers, the key UFAs to monitor are Connor Ingram, Jack Roslovic, and Kasperi Kapanen. There are others who could be considered, but they aren't as pressing, and for Roslovic, Bowman may want to wait to see how he performs in the playoffs before committing to him. There's no sense in spending big bucks on a long-term deal without some assurance he'll show up when it matters most.
As for trades, the Oilers and Maple Leafs have been heavily linked by analysts over the past several days. Names range from Bobby McMann to Nicolas Roy and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
What About the Paul Coffey Rumors?
Friedman did address the speculation surrounding Hall of Famer and former assistant coach Paul Coffey. There have been mixed reports from insiders that the Oilers are looking at asking him to step back behind the bench.
Friedman isn't sold, and Jason Gregor suggested on Sports 1440 that if Coffey were to return, it could signal a head coaching change. That makes the rumor seem much less likely, given the recent extension Kris Knoblauch just signed.
That doesn't mean a conversation hasn't happened or won't happen.
Longtime Vancouver Canucks play-by-play broadcaster and legend Jim Robson passed away at the age of 91, though his legacy in Canucks history will last for lifetimes. Robson has been at the helm of some of the team’s most momentous occasions, from clinching sudden-death Game 7s to scoring massive playoff goals. Relive some of his best calls and some of the moments that came about with them below.
It’s such a simple call, but for so many, it’s a call entrenched in Canucks history. Greg Adams was the player who scored to send the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Final in 1994, winning the game by a score of 4–3 for Vancouver with a tally 14 seconds into the second overtime. This was the fourth goal the Canucks scored that went unanswered by the Toronto Maple Leafs, who went on to lose the series against Vancouver in five games.
“Pavel Bure Has Won It In Overtime!”
This call is memorable for many reasons. One, the significance of the goal itself — winning the series and sending the Canucks to the second round of the 1994 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Two, the words shared by broadcast partner Tom Larscheid, seeming to allude to the goal being scored even before Bure slipped it past Calgary Flames goaltender Mike Vernon. Three, the excitement exuded from the broadcast that undoubtedly slipped into fans’ homes from their speakers once the game was won. The smooth moves from Bure on the goal don’t hurt, either.
“He Will Play. You Know He’ll Play!”
For some, it’s the most iconic Jim Robson call. Maybe even the most iconic call in Canucks history. The clock winds down as Trevor Linden continuously gets beaten and bruised, labouring from all that he’d endured throughout that 1994 Stanley Cup Final. It’s Robson who leads the broadcast past the end of the game and onto the next challenge: Game 7 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
“I, as a player, am honoured that I was a part of that. The great Hall of Famer Jim Robson — one of his most famous calls — I was in it, and that’s an honour for me,” Linden shared with Sportsnet 650 on Tuesday regarding being part of such a special moment.
Despite the changes that have occurred throughout Canucks history — the change of buildings, the shift of management, or the rise of new star players — Robson’s calls will forever echo throughout the walls of any and all buildings the Canucks occupy. The moments themselves may be temporary, but legacies last lifetimes.
Mar 2, 2013; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Sports broadcasters for CBC Jim Hughson and Jim Robson are honored during the first period as the Vancouver Canucks host the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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Ice hockey may have a reputation for fights breaking out in the US and Canada's National Hockey League (NHL), but that behaviour is prohibited in international games.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) state in their rulebook that fighting is "not part of international ice hockey's DNA".
This includes Winter Olympic ice hockey games.
Players who do get involved in fights could face penalties or be ejected from the game.
When suspensions are issued, they can be carried over from one IIHF event to another.
For instance, should a player be suspended in the gold medal match at the Winter Olympics, it would carry over to the next IIHF tournament.
However, fighting in the NHL is a regular aspect of the matches, for which both sides can be given a far less harsh punishment of up to a five-minute penalty for individual players.
At the 2026 Winter Olympics, there are 12 men's teams and 10 women's. Great Britain failed to qualify for the Games with either team.
But for the first time since 2014, we will see NHL players from the United States and Canada in action at an Olympics.
What are the Olympic ice hockey rules?
Each team fields six players on the ice, made up of five skaters and a goalkeeper.
The players are continually rotated from a game-day squad of 22 players.
There are three 20 minute periods during the game, where each side will aim to hit a puck into the back of the net.
Should scores be tied, there is a period of overtime, lasting between five and 20 minutes, depending on the stage of the tournament.
Crucially, skaters are reduced from five to three for both teams during overtime.
Whoever scores first in this period wins - and if it is still a tie, the match goes to a penalty shootout, apart from in the gold medal match where the winner must be decided through open play.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
While the NHL has been on pause since February 6, the men’s Olympic tournament is only kicking off in Milano on Wednesday with two games in Group B. The first game will feature Slovakia and Finland, while the second will pit Sweden and Italy. In other words, one Montreal Canadiens will make his tournament debut.
Oliver Kapanen is part of the Finnish team, but he was the thirteenth forward when the team trained on Tuesday, and it has now been confirmed that he’ll be a healthy scratch when the Finns take on the Slovaks today.
Meanwhile, Juraj Slafkovsky will be playing for Slovakia and is expected to play a major role for his country. Back in 2022, his dominant MVP performance at the Olympics helped Slovakia win the bronze medal and spectacularly launched his career, making him the Canadiens’ first-overall pick at the draft held in Montreal. In seven games in Beijing, he scored seven goals, including a pair in the bronze medal game, to lead the tournament in scoring.
The 21-year-old is fully aware that this tournament will be different from his first Olympic appearance since the NHL players are there this time around, but he still wants to make a difference:
I just want to give my best performance. I'll look to help my team and to be the best version of myself. Hopefully, I can help the team win a few games.
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Skating on the first line alongside former Hab Tomas Tatar and former NHLer Adam Ruzicka, Slafkovsky should face the opponents’ first line and first defensive pairing, which should prove to be a big challenge in this best-on-best competition.
The Canadiens’ winger will also play on his country’s first power play unit with Tatar, St. Louis Blues’ Dalibor Dvorsky, Libor Hudacek, who plays in Czechia, and New Jersey Devils defenseman Simon Nemec.
Team Slovakia only includes seven NHLers, while Finland only has one non-NHL player on its roster, which makes the Finns the favourite on paper to win today’s tilt, but the game is played on the ice and not on paper.
There are members of the Florida Panthers littered throughout the players and staffers participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Of the 32 NHL teams, all of which have at least one player taking part in the Olympics, none have more selected to skate in Milan than the Panthers.
In addition to their 10 players, though, Florida also has a handful of staff members who were also honored to join their respective nations in their areas of expertise.
That group includes Panthers Assistant Coach Jamie Kompon, who will be on the beach with Team Germany.
Kompon joined the Panthers in 2022 as a two-time Stanley Cup champion, having won as an assistant with Los Angeles in 2012 and again as an assistant with Chicago in 2013.
He was added to Florida’s coaching staff about six weeks after the team hired Paul Maurice as head coach, as the two had worked together previously in Winnipeg.
Kompon has earned a reputation as an excellent special teams coach, particularly with running power play systems that match each respective squad’s personnel.
Germany’s first game is set for Thursday at 3:10 p.m. ET when they face Denmark. They’ll follow that up with a back-to-back on Saturday at 6:10 a.m. ET with Latvia and Sunday at 3:10 p.m. ET against the United States.
Photo caption: May 24, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; (Editors Notes: Caption Correction) Florida Panthers assistant coach Jamie Kompon reacts during the first period in game three of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
To commemorate their 50th anniversary season, the Canadian Hockey League has put together a list of the top-50 players who have played in the league throughout the last 50 years, with two former Vancouver Canucks making the cut. The list includes those who have played in the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL. While there is no particular order quite yet, fans can help choose the order by casting votes at contests.chl.ca.
The most notable former Canuck to make the top-50 list is none-other than Roberto Luongo, who spent four seasons in the QMJHL with Val-d’Or Foreurs and Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Most of Luongo’s experience in the QMJHL was with Val-d’Or Foreurs, during which he put up a 3.43 GAA and .893 SV% in 158 games. He finished his time with the team with a record of 71–63–13 and backstopped them to a QMJHL championship (1998). This was not the only championship he won in the league, however, as he also helped Acadie-Bathurst Titan to a title after posting a 2.74 GAA and .915 SV% in the playoffs in 1999.
The next Canucks alumni to also be named to the CHL’s top-50 list is Cam Neely, who Vancouver drafted ninth overall in 1983 but later traded to the Boston Bruins in what some consider as one of the franchise’s worst trades in history. Neely played with the Portland Winter Hawks in the WHL for two seasons, though his tenure in the league is best known for his efforts in the 1982–83 season. Through 72 regular-season games, Neely scored 56 goals and 64 assists adding nine goals and 11 assists in 14 playoff games. It didn’t take long for Neely to outgrow the WHL, as he made his NHL debut with Vancouver the season after that.
While he never played for the Canucks throughout his NHL career, another recognizeable name on the top-50 list is current broadcaster Ray Ferraro. Ferraro spent two seasons in the WHL — one with Portland and one with the Brandon Wheat Kings — and only built on his offensive prowess more and more during that time. His 41 goals and 49 assists in 50 games with the Winter Hawks was impressive, though it ultimately pales in comparison to his offensive outburst with Brandon in 1983–84. Ferraro scored a league-high 108 goals and 84 assists to cement himself at fourth all-time in WHL single-season points history. His 108 goals in one season have yet to be beaten.
Voting for the placement of the CHL’s top-50 players through 50 years is open from February 10 to March 10.
Feb 8, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo (1) makes a save during the pre game warm up against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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As the Olympic men’s hockey tournament gets underway this week, it also marks the 20th anniversary of a moment that derailed one of the Ottawa Senators’ greatest Stanley Cup opportunities.
On this date in 2006, the Senators led the old Northeast Division with a record of 36-14-5 and stood fourth overall in the NHL with what many people believe was the most talented roster in the franchise's history.
It was backstopped by future Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek, who had a record of 28-10-4, a goals against of 2.09, and a save percentage of .925.
On The Sens Nation Podcast, THN's Steve Warne says big trades to beef up at the deadline should be reserved for the true Cup contenders.
But now it was time for the Olympic break, and Hasek headed for Italy to play in the Olympics.
As good as he still was, Hasek had missed two of the previous three NHL seasons. He retired and didn't play in 2002-03, but came back the following year, before a lockout wiped out the year after that.
It was remarkable that Hasek was going as strongly as he was for the Sens, not to mention appearing in 42 of their first 55 games.
As far as the Senators’ Stanley Cup hopes went, it would have been the perfect time for the 41-year-old to get some rest instead of being thrust into a best-on-best Olympic tournament, filled with huge emotional and physical intensity.
Sure enough, just six minutes into the Czech Republic's first game, Hasek suffered an adductor injury while making a split-leg save against Germany. Just over three minutes later, he left the game.
Hasek left Italy and returned to Ottawa to try to rehab the injury in time for the playoffs, but wasn't successful. The six-time Vezina winner reportedly offered to return in 2006-07, but the Sens weren't interested.
Hasek would eventually sign back with Detroit and win a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2007-08, but the Senators’ best chance at a Cup may have slipped away two years earlier in Turin.
Nearly two decades later, Sens fans were again left wondering about the potentially high cost of midseason best-on-best hockey.
They had just snapped an eight-year Stanley Cup playoff drought and drew a first-round matchup against their arch rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team they'd never beaten in the postseason. The Senators quickly fell behind in the series 3-0, and despite a valiant comeback effort, they lost in six games.
But would things have gone any differently if captain Brady Tkachuk had been anywhere close to 100 percent?
Like Hasek, Tkachuk was also injured in a midseason tournament, the league's brand new 4 Nations Face-Off.
No one knew if fans and players would truly embrace the event's debut or not. But even those who thought it would be kind of a big deal weren't ready for just how big it was, and amidst the intensity of it all, both Tkachuk and his brother, Matthew, suffered injuries with Team USA.
Brady missed a couple of games after the tournament, then powered his way through March before being shut down. He insisted he was fine, but the eye test told a different tale. He also suffered an upper-body injury and missed 8 of the last 9 games before the playoffs.
In his final postseason availability, after still managing to lead the Sens in playoff scoring with 7 points in 6 games, he admitted he wasn't physically right.
"Yeah, I mean, everyone's got something going on," Tkachuk said. "So yeah, I was battling through a couple of things. But I don't think injuries are an opportunity to be an excuse, because everybody's got something going on. So now it's just time to take care of it, deal with it, and make sure I'm 100 percent come next year."
Tkachuk was excellent in the series, but how much better could he have been?
The effect of these important mid-season tournaments isn't just physical. When it's best on best, and players are wearing their country's colours, these players will always pour all of their emotion into this event.
An Olympic gold medal in hockey is as cherished as a Stanley Cup ring.
For example, the Olympic finalists will have to play three straight sudden-death games, the equivalent of playing a Game 7 three times in five days.
Once this tournament is done, win or lose, they'll almost need a decompression chamber to transition back to the NHL.
For fans, the league's return to the Olympics for a true best on best event feels long overdue, and it's going to be fantastic theatre that hockey fans should appreciate while they can. Because while the NHL has a much better deal with the IIHF and the IOC now, you never know what the league's bigwigs will decide to do in the future.
But when you look at it through the lens of an NHL owner, it’s easy to understand why they walked away from the past two Olympics. They were being asked to risk the health of their players, pause the momentum of their NHL season, and cover insurance and travel costs, with little tangible return.
At least with the 4 Nations, it was their event.
Regardless, as Ottawa knows all too well, midseason best-on-best tournaments can come with a price. Senators fans are simply hoping their players return healthy and ready to push for another playoff spot.
Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News. Check out other THN Senators articles here:
BUFFALO, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 05: Avery Hayes #85 of the Pittsburgh Penguins, playing in his first NHL game, is congratulated by Rutger McGroarty #2 after scoring his first goal during a game against the Buffalo Sabres on February 05, 2026 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The Olympic break gives a chance to pause and look at the top prospects within the Penguins’ organization. Here’s a quick refresher based off last summer’s rankings for how things are going for the prospects.
Tier 7: #22 – honorable mentions; Long-term prospects with some upside
The biggest story in this group is the great season that Lucius is off to at Arizona State. The Penguins have a decision coming up to sign him, being as this is his last year of NCAA eligibility. As of now he’s definitely looking like a player that should be brought in on an AHL PTO and eventually signed to a pro contract. Otherwise this list about is what it is for some longer-term prospects, including honorable mention and 2025 fifth round pick Ryan Miller who is playing as well as anyone in this tier (53 points in 49 games for WHL Portland).
Tier 6: #15 – 21; Slightly more developed prospects still a ways away
This has been one of the more interesting tiers, albeit dogged by injuries. Tanner Howe has made an early splash in his debut in the AHL following a lengthy rehab from a torn ACL in 2025. Unfortunately Joona Vaisanen, one of the top players on last year’s Western Michigan NCAA championship team, was lost for the season early on with an injury. Emil Pieniniemi balked at going to the ECHL, eventually relented and got his season off to a delayed start (with a few AHL callups along the way). Broz and Hayes have been chugging along as some of the team’s best AHL players but still looking for traction at making the leap to the NHL. Hayes with two goals in an almost accidental one-game cameo (that only happened due to an illness, a childbirth and an injury) will put him on the radar for more as it opens.
Tier 5: #12 – 14; Intrigue, but patience required
Patience was required and patience will be tested here. Kettles, a 2025 second round pick, was lost early in the season with a shoulder injury, in what could be a tough obstacle to overcome for a young player and career. Fernstrom struggled in Sweden, getting demoted a league before the Penguins decided they wanted him to work in the minor leagues. To his credit, he’s made the most of the chance with a strong opening impression. Ilyin remains a very productive player in Russia. The picture, overall, in this tier is remains muddled, but still with some hope and promise.
Tier 4: #9 -11; The wildcards
Wildcards indeed. Tomasino quickly went bust, surprising since he had a few very nice moments in Pittsburgh last season before falling out of grace quickly and getting moved on (the Flyers have yet to recall him to the NHL after the trade). Other wildcards have been more promising, Silovs’s play has been a bit all over the map — sometimes it’s worth remembering he technically is an NHL rookie. At time he’s been pretty good for the Penguins, at other times it’s been a struggle. Overall for a first time goalie, he’s having a pretty nice year. The other player in this tier, Sergei Murashov, didn’t have as many skill or pressing age-related questions, and still looks like he’s handling every challenge thrown his way. The future remains bright and promising there.
Tier 3: #7-8; Older, near ready players
Pickering, as a draft+4 first round pick, hasn’t managed a call-up to the NHL this season putting him at risk of going into troubling territory historically for this stage of his career. Blomqvist was unfortunately hurt when Pittsburgh needed an NHL replacement the most earlier in the season but has been strong in the AHL again (8-4-3 record, .916 save%, 2.43 GAA). It can be strange to think of either as ‘older’ as far as anything but for NHL prospect time the clock is starting to tick loudly in both of these cases.
Tier 2: #4-6; Recent first round picks
What a haul the first round the 2025 draft is turning out to be for the Penguins. Zonnon came back from a pair of injuries to recently look like one of the top forwards in the QMJHL, Horcoff exploded to become one of the NCAA’s top goal scorers and Kindel is off to a history-making season for a player to produce in the NHL despite not even being a top-10 pick. There’s still a lot of time to go in all of these cases, so far the Penguins must be thrilled at the talent they’ve gotten out of that draft.
Tier 1: #1 -3; Cream of the crop
Progress not being a straight line is a lesson in all of these cases. Brunicke, especially, had to endure some bumps along the way – but joins a select club of teenaged NHL defensemen. Kouvinen has been unable to gain a lot of traction in the NHL this season but continues to be one of the top players at the AHL level and inspire some hope, though his 0.38 P/60 and skating deficiencies have taken a lot of the wind out of the sails for a possible long-term future. McGroarty has been in and out with injuries and up and down between the NHL and AHL. His NHL boxcars (2G+3A in 20 games, 1.14 P/60) suggest a less impressive impact than he’s been able to make at times with his energy and ability to get to the net.
There could be some questions for all at this midway point between the 2025 T25U25 and 2026 list about the ceilings for all — could Brunicke now come into focus as a more likely a 4/5 defender instead of a 2 or 3? Maybe McGroarty is more bottom-six than mid-six and Koivunen’s end point a lot more variable and troubling in terms of improvements needed to become an NHL regular. The good news is the talent involved makes the targets fluid and potentially prone to positive progressions in the near future with stronger second halves to the season than to this point.
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Overall on this list, Kindel would rise with his showing this season. Impressive doesn’t sound like a strong word, but at this point I’m not sure there is one. There’s good reason to be excited about the futures of Murashov and Hayes, the latter in a smaller role but both getting close to making good on NHL futures. Silovs has become an NHL caliber goalie. Down range, Zonnon, Horcoff, Brunicke and Lucius have done well in their respective leagues and unfortunately injury concerns have popped up for others like Kettles and Vaisanen. The next few months will potentially be big proving grounds for players like McGroarty, Koivunen, Broz, Hayes, Pickering and Blomqvist to pick up momentum heading into next year — all of those players getting into a range where you’d really like to see progress sooner than later given their age and the typical developmental curves.
The best news of all is the team’s system is improving and only getting better. Egor Chinakhov (who turned 25 earlier this month) will not be T25U25 eligible but is still adding youth, speed and skill to the NHL team. The Penguins, as of the moment anyways, still possess three of the first 57 and five of the top 89 picks in the draft and figure to add even more talent by the time the 2026 Pensburgh list comes out over the summer. The 2025 list was incredibly young (only Silovs will age out, though Tomasino and Sam Poulin have departed the organization), making this list something of a starting point and base for the years that follow to build upon.
The movement that the team has underwent in the past two years to stock the system and organization with the next wave of talent is just starting and figures to have the opportunity to swell the talent pool much further in the coming months and years.
NEWARK, NJ - OCTOBER 18: New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes #86 celebrates with New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes #43 after scoring a goal during a game between the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on October 18, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The New Jersey Devils season has not gone according to plan. They’re unlikely to make the playoffs when they return from the Olympic break. And because this is supposedly a “win now” team, missing the playoffs entirely is an unacceptable result. People are looking for someone to point the finger at and blame for the shortcomings of the team.
We can all agree that there are issues with this team. Where we don’t necessarily agree is where the biggest issues lie and the way to go about fixing it. I think I’ve made my viewpoint perfectly clear where I blame Tom Fitzgerald more than anyone, and I don’t think any of this changes until the Devils clean house with their front office and scouting departments. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I don’t think Sheldon Keefe is a big part of the problem (he is) or that the players are blameless (they’re not), but much like when weeds pop up in your front lawn, you’re not going to get rid of them until you literally get to the root of the issue. To me, that’s Fitzgerald.
Where I struggle to get on the same page as some of my Devils fan brethren is when it comes to blaming the players. I would agree that there are very few players, if any, on the Devils that have had a good year. My list would probably be Cody Glass and maybe Arseny Gritsyuk and that’s about it. I would also agree that when it comes to the “core players”, they haven’t been anywhere near good enough this season. And with all due respect to the supporting cast, its the Devils “core players” that would significantly move the needle one way or the other in regards to how good this team actually is. It’s not surprising with them all having bad years that the team is bad.
Where I disagree is wanting to cut bait with said players.
For reasons that I don’t quite understand, there are Devils fans who don’t like Jack and Luke Hughes. There are Devils fans who suggest that Nico Hischier is a “bad captain”, whatever that means. Depending upon how wide-ranging you want your “core” to be, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Dougie Hamilton, and others have had their flaws as hockey players picked apart as much as anybody else on the roster, because that’s what we do as fans when the team underperforms. It has to be someone’s fault, after all. And with the core of this team being together for several seasons now and only have one (1) second round appearance to show for it, fans get restless, throw their arms up in disgust, declare that you can’t win with these guys, and it’s time to trade them.
Never mind the fact that if the player(s) is as bad as you’re telling me he is, why would any other team want them?
Never mind the fact that you’re telling me that the player(s) is bad and needs to be traded while also simultaneously trying to tell me this other team will definitely give up their superstar player in exchange for him.
I’m not saying that the Devils should continue what they’re doing indefinitely when it hasn’t worked. But it also doesn’t take a genius to suggest that trading away good players isn’t the answer either. So this week, I’m going to take a brief historical look at trades where a team gave away a star player for one reason or another, why it hasn’t worked out for them, and why it also won’t work out for the Devils if they were foolish enough to go down that road.
For purposes of this exercise, I’m only going to include deals in the salary cap era. I’m not really all that interested in going back to when the Oilers traded away Wayne Gretzky or Mark Messier, but spoiler alert, the Oilers didn’t win those deals when they got rid of future first-ballot Hall of Famers. Shocking, I know.
Maple Leafs Trade Mitch Marner to the Golden Knights for Nic Roy
This one feels a little bit like cheating since Marner was technically a free agent who was clearly leaving, but the circumstances leading up to it actually share a lot of parallels to what the Devils are currently going through.
The Maple Leafs went through season after season of being unable to to reach a Conference Final, let alone a Stanley Cup Final. They changed the coach several times. They changed the GM. They changed the supporting cast on the roster time and time again. But the core was essentially the same throughout with Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Morgan Reilly as the constants for the Leafs from the late 2010s up until last season.
The Leafs had yet another season where they came up short and “something simply had to change because you can’t keep running it back” in regards to the core. After all, they’ve already changed the GM, the coach, and the supporting cast several times over. Matthews is the new captain and he recently re-signed so he’s not going anywhere. Nylander is signed long-term so neither was he. Same goes for Reilly. So the only pieces that could theoretically change were pending UFAs Tavares (who took a discount to stay) and Marner. Marner was deemed the whipping boy or scapegoat or however you want to phrase it, and he was as ready to move on from the Leafs as the Leafs were ready to move on from him.
How’s that working out for Toronto this season? Not great.
There are other reasons why Toronto will likely miss the playoffs this season….Anthony Stolarz has been injured and hasn’t been very good when he has played, and the Leafs supporting cast is still average. But perhaps no reason is bigger than Toronto essentially letting a player who was a consistent 25-30 goal scorer and chipped in 60+ assists leave for essentially nothing but a bottom six center.
I like Nic Roy. He’s a solid option to have further down in your lineup. But he’s no Mitch Marner, who is having a typical Mitch Marner season in Vegas for a team that is likely playoff-bound. And while it remains to be seen what Marner and the Knights do once they get there, I doubt he’s all that upset about getting out of the Toronto pressure cooker. Especially given where he wound up.
Toronto failed to replace the production that a departing Marner provided, and it’s a big part of the reason why they’re going to miss the playoffs. That’s not to say that they still can’t eventually replace Marner’s production going forward, but as we already know, there’s no player with Marner’s level of production that is hitting the UFA or trade market this summer, and even if there were, there’s no guarantee Toronto gets them.
Maple Leafs Trade Phil Kessel (And Stuff) to the Penguins for Mostly Spare Parts
Long before Marner was the scapegoat for Toronto’s failures, there was Phil Kessel.
Toronto missed the playoffs during Kessel’s last few years there. “It was time to move on” from a player like Kessel, who has a mercurial personality to begin with. Add in the fact that the Toronto media did everything they could to run Kessel out of town and Leafs management finally obliged with this doozy of a trade.
Toronto sent Kessel, Tyler Biggs, Tim Erixon, and a conditional 2nd round pick to the Penguins for Kasperi Kapanen, one-time almost a Devil Scott Harrington (who was later in the Timo Meier trade), Nick Spaling, a conditional first round pick (later flipped for Frederik Andersen), and a third round pick (James Greenway).
Kapanen was the most notable piece that the Leafs got back, and he was ok with 90 points over 202 games for Toronto before being later dealt back to Pittsburgh. Harrington was later dealt to Columbus and was a journeyman defenseman. Spaling was a checking line forward who was flipped at the deadline later that year. Greenway never played in the NHL, and the first round pick was flipped for Frederik Andersen who was mostly good for Toronto before he too was eventually run out of town for Toronto’s failures as a team. Toronto hasn’t gotten past the second round of the playoffs since making this trade, and actually tanked for a couple seasons in the immediate aftermath of said deal, which did land them Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
Is a handful of good seasons by the goaltender and a handful of ok seasons by Kapanen enough of a return for a top line scoring winger in his prime who fit the Penguins like a glove and was a key part of two Stanley Cup winning teams there (and three if we count his final season in Vegas?). Especially when the Leafs wound up accomplishing nothing of significance for the period that Andersen and Kapanen were there before they were eventually moved? Who’s to say?
Sabres Trade Jack Eichel to Golden Knights for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and Picks
The backstory with Eichel’s falling out with the Sabres is well documented. The Sabres were a perennial loser with him. Eichel got injured and needed neck surgery. Both sides disagreed on how to proceed with the specific neck surgery that Eichel would get. Eichel, who was already annoyed with the organization given the state of the team throughout his tenure there, got fed up and requested a trade. The Sabres eventually obliged once the situation became untenable, sending him (along with a 3rd rd pick) to Vegas for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, a first round pick (eventually used on Noah Ostlund) and a second round pick (later flipped to Minnesota for Jordan Greenway).
Eichel eventually got the surgery he wanted, returned to the lineup for the Golden Knights, and has been been better than a PPG #1 center for the Golden Knights since. Eichel was a key member of their championship team in 2022-23 and had a legitimate case for the Conn Smythe award that eventually went to Jonathan Marchessault.
Buffalo got an excellent player on a good contract in Tuch, although he is a pending UFA so it remains to be seen where his future lies. But Krebs hasn’t really developed into anything more than a fourth line center. Ostlund has been ok in his first full NHL season and Greenway has been an average at best bottom six winger. That’s not exactly the type of return you’re looking for when you’re trading away a borderline Top 5 center in the entire league.
Needless to say, Buffalo has mostly struggled since trading Eichel. Their playoff drought will probably come to an end this season, as they’ve been white hot since firing the GM who made that trade. Which is weird, because I’ve been told time and time again that you can’t possibly expect the team to play better after making a change like that.
Generally speaking though, I would disagree with anyone who suggests that Buffalo has been better off without Eichel. They’ll probably make the playoffs this year, but the Eichel trade isn’t the reason why. That’s not to say that Tuch hasn’t been good, because he certainly has been. But Vegas winning a Cup almost immediately with Eichel and Eichel remaining an elite level center for them for the remainder of his prime trumps anything Buffalo has accomplished post-trade.
Bruins Trade Joe Thornton to the Sharks for Marco Sturm, Wayne Primeau, and Brad Stuart
People in Boston might retroactively try to claim that trading away Joe Thornton was the catalyst for the Stanley Cup championship team they would eventually build that won in 2011.
They’re entitled to their opinion, but that would be revisionist history.
Thornton, who was Boston’s captain when traded and had just signed a 3-year deal the previous offseason, became a punching bag in Boston due to his leadership style and Boston’s failures in the playoffs. The two sides had a contentious contract negotiation the previous summer with each side unhappy with the other, but Thornton eventually put pen to paper on a new three year deal.
With the Bruins struggling in the first season post-lockout, they traded Thornton to the Sharks for three players and no draft picks. Sturm was ok as a Bruin, with 193 points in 302 games over parts of five seasons. But Primeau and Stuart were depth pieces who ultimately left Boston as free agents.
Meanwhile, Thornton immediately turned the Sharks season around with a Hart Trophy season and a playoff appearance. Including the split season between Boston and San Jose, Thornton totaled 970 points over his next 937 games, which is a Hall of Fame-caliber career in and of itself. The Sharks never won a Stanley Cup while Thornton was there….call it a byproduct of playing in the same era as Chicago and Los Angeles when they were winning championships if you want….but the Sharks were a consistent playoff team throughout his 15 years in Northern California. Meanwhile, Boston got nothing of note in return for a future first ballot Hall of Famer in his prime.
None of us have a crystal ball to tell us whether or not Boston eventually wins a Cup had they kept Thornton. We know they won one in 2011 without him, but that team was also significantly better than the ones Thornton was on. Tim Thomas won a Vezina that year. They had Hall of Famers up and down their lineup with a young Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand playing alongside Zdeno Chara and Mark Recchi. Guys like Milan Lucic, David Krejci, and Nathan Horton were young and in their primes. Blake Wheeler and Tyler Seguin would go on to become stars in the league themselves. That Boston team was loaded.
If the argument is that trading Thornton allowed Boston to sink to the bottom of the standings and allocate resources elsewhere, I would disagree with that. Boston was really only bad for a two year stretch in the mid 00s. Bergeron and Thomas were already on the roster when Thornton was dealt. Marchand was drafted in the third round the following season. They did wind up signing Chara that following offseason. While it would be foolish to suggest Chara wasn’t a big part of why the Bruins turned things around, who Boston later acquired after the fact doesn’t exactly make up for what has been universally accepted as one of the worst trades in modern NHL history.
Flames Trade Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt, and a 2025 first round pick (Cullen Potter)
Of course, I fully expect the one trade everyone in the comments section who wants to trade Jack and Luke Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt to point to would be this one.
Context matters however.
The Flames didn’t necessarily want to trade Matthew Tkachuk. They knew how good he is. But the Flames found themselves in that position where they didn’t have much of a choice after Johnny Gaudreau left in free agency and Tkachuk made it clear that he wasn’t going to re-sign in Calgary when his contract was up in a year. Tkachuk had a fairly limited list of teams he was willing to sign a contract extension with (side note, New Jersey wasn’t one of those teams on his list even though his cousin is Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald). And even with that, Calgary probably did better than most of the other teams on this list in terms of getting quality NHL players in return.
That’s not to necessarily say they did great though. Huberdeau has been unable to replicate the 115 point season he had in his final season in South Florida and is in the middle of a long-term deal that Calgary handed him which pays him $10.5M AAV. Weegar has been a top pairing defenseman for the Flames but has struggled this year and is also in the middle of a long-term deal that Calgary handed him. Schwindt hasn’t really taken off as an NHL player and is now back with Florida while the jury is out on what Potter will be. But in the bigger picture, Calgary has been doing their own retool or rebuild or whatever one wants to call it since Tkachuk and Gaudreau left. They haven’t made the playoffs since this trade, and probably aren’t heading there anytime soon as they continue to shop veteran players like Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman, among others.
Of course, all of that pales in comparison to Tkachuk, who was a key member of a Florida Panthers team that reached the Stanley Cup Final in three consecutive seasons since he arrived and won twice.
I don’t know if in an alternate universe if Bill Zito and the Panthers wind up winning a Stanley Cup had Tkachuk gone to St. Louis or Vegas or Tampa Bay instead. Saying they might have won anyways diminishes Tkachuk’s contributions when he was a key piece of that team. But it’s not like Florida didn’t have a good team prior to that trade. A lot of key players like Sasha Barkov, Sam Bennett, Sergei Bobrovsky, Aaron Ekblad, Gus Forsling, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Brandon Montour, Sam Reinhart, and Carter Verhaeghe were already there. Huberdeau and Weegar were the odd men out, but it’s also in a trade to get Matthew Tkachuk.
Zito had an opportunity to make a franchise-defining trade and certainly has no regrets after the fact. Nor should he. But this is also a particularly perfect set of circumstances that played out in his favor and Calgary still wound up doing better than most teams in terms of getting an actual return for trading away a star player. I don’t think this is one that is easily duplicated, in part because most teams aren’t looking to trade away a “Tkachuk-type” if they have one. And even if a team is trading that type away, its usually because they know they’re going to lose the player if they don’t trade him, and the list of destinations is fairly limited.
How Does This Pertain To the Devils?
I could keep going on bad trades that sent a star player out of town, such as the deal that sent Jeff Carter to Los Angeles (helping spur two championship runs for the Kings) or the Roberto Luongo trade that sent him from Florida to Vancouver (where he was runner up for the Hart and Vezina in his first year and helped lead Vancouver to a Cup Final appearance), but I think you get the point.
The purpose of this article isn’t to say the Devils should definitely not trade (insert player name here). When you’ve been as mediocre as the Devils have been for the last several years, I do think you should approach this situation with an open mind.
That said, there’s quite a few things that need to be said.
It’s hard to get talented players in this league. The Devils have never historically been a premiere free agent destination, and as we’re seeing with the Devils the last few years, building a team through free agency is tough to do. You’re paying market rate for said players who are more of the supporting cast types than franchise players, you’re in a position where you probably have to get a little uncomfortable by giving them an extra year and/or no-trade protection, and we’re dealing with players in their 30s when their best years might already be behind them. The superstar players that actually move the needle rarely make it to free agency in their prime, and in the rare cases they do, they’re not picking New Jersey. That includes Dougie Hamilton, who is closer to being a really good supporting cast member than a true #1 defenseman.
Teams that have star players aren’t going to easily give them up. There’s usually extenuating circumstances that lead to the “why” the trade is happening. The team wants to cut costs, or they know the player is going to be a free agent and they’re unlikely to keep them. Maybe there’s bad blood between management and the player for whatever reason, such as the one I pointed out with Eichel. Maybe its a situation where in a hockey-crazy market, the team listens to their fanbase in regards to who not to bring back because its easier to run a smear campaign after the player left town than it is to build a winner around said player. Giving up on talent should be viewed as a last resort, and should only be considered once other options have been exhausted.
And even when you do decide to give up on said player? You’re probably not going to come close to winning said trade. You’re probably going to get a late first round pick back. Maybe two if you’re lucky because one of the picks may have a “if the team wins the Stanley Cup, you get a first round pick” condition attached to it. You’ll likely get a prospect back, but it probably won’t be THE prospect you want from said team because that player has been deemed untouchable by his current team. And you might get a young player back, but that player won’t be nearly as good as the one you’re trading away.
While all this is going on, you’ll continue to lose hockey games because it turns out said player you’re giving up on wasn’t actually part of the problem in the first place. To make matters worse, you’ll probably see said player celebrate newfound success with their new team because their management team and/or coaching staff actually knows what they’re doing and knows how to put players like that in a position to succeed. Tom Fitzgerald has made plenty of mistakes in his time as Devils general manager, but how much worse would things be if he had given up on difference makers like, say, Sam Bennett or Carter Verhaeghe too early instead of Jesper Boqvist and Vitek Vanecek. But hey, maybe those prospects and magic beans you’re getting back will pan out someday.
Nobody is saying that Jack or Luke Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Dougie Hamilton, or whoever else you want to consider to be a “core” piece of the Devils moving forward is as good as the players listed in the historical examples above. But when you start giving up on players, you better be right about that because the consequences if you are wrong are more significant than giving up on a coach, or a GM, or changing around the supporting cast. Especially when there’s been zero inclination of said players actually wanting out of this situation. The Devils shouldn’t be looking to push their so-called core pieces out the door. Those are the types of unforced errors that can set the franchise back half a decade or longer.
This isn’t the NHL video game where you can propose trading the Hughes brothers to Minnesota to complete the Hughes triforce there, or try pawning off Jesper Bratt on Ottawa for Brady Tkachuk because “we need a Tkachuk-type”. Star player for star player trades aren’t commonplace for a reason. And no, I’m not interested in trading Jack Hughes for some draft picks and a B-level prospect because “you gotta shake up the core” or because he’s “always hurt” or you don’t like the answers he gives to the media. I’d rather have Jack Hughes, who we all know can be a game-breaking talent, flaws and all. If Luke Hughes is as bad as everyone has told me he was this year (and he’s not nearly that bad, to be clear), who is giving you anything worthwhile that’s worth accepting when he’s making $9M AAV for six more years? I’d rather bet on the player and that he’ll ultimately be the player the Devils projected him to be when they drafted him than sell on the player for 30 cents on the dollar.
Nico Hischier might be different in that he’ll be entering his contract year next year. I would expect that he ultimately signs a contract extension, but its not a lock that he does. If, and only if, he decides not to sign would I even entertain a trade pertaining to the Devils captain. But what I’m not doing is trading a guy that people tell me is a bad captain when those people have no idea what they’re talking about when it comes to dynamics in the room when they’re not actually in said room.
I’m not drawing a definitive line in the sand when it comes to everybody else in the Devils roster because I do think there’s something to the idea that the mix itself isn’t working and hasn’t worked. But I also believe the Devils have good players on this roster who are having bad years. I don’t know what the reason for that necessarily is, whether its injury-related, a coaching structure that is way too conservative, bad luck, or some combination of the above. But we’ve seen enough good hockey from Jesper Bratt, for example, over the years to where I don’t think he just forgot how to play hockey in his age-27 season.
I’m not saying the Devils shouldn’t consider trading Bratt, or Hamilton, or Meier, or Dawson Mercer, or Simon Nemec, or whoever. I’m not even saying any or all of them are “core players”. I’m saying that it’s easier to change everything else around the players. It’s easier to find a new GM who actually does think skill is important and isn’t just loading up on grinders who play “playoff style hockey”. It’s easier to find a coach who strikes the right balance where maybe you’re not always selling out for offense like they did under Lindy Ruff, but you’re also not suppressing offense for the sake of defense either like they are under Sheldon Keefe. It’s easier to swap out your supporting cast until you find a better mix of players to compliment the skill players you do have.
At the end of the day, you need talented players in order to win in this league. You’re not winning without good players. One shouldn’t be so quick to discard said players because you don’t think they don’t fit the mold of what you think a winning hockey player looks like.
But with that said, if you want to go ahead and trust the regime that whiffed on the Alex Holtz and Chase Stillman picks with more draft capital that they’ll get it right this time, by all means. If you want to trust the regime that can’t figure out how to build a winning team at the AHL level or develop that favorite prospect of yours that definitely would’ve made it if he only got a chance, go for it.
I’d rather keep the bird in the hand than take my chances with the two in the bush.
Final Thoughts
It’s true that the Devils best players need to be better than what we’ve seen this year. You’re only going to go as far as your best players take you. But the reality of the situation is that almost across the board, the majority of the team is having a bad year. Nobody has been good enough.
It’s also true that the Devils need to do a better job of building a team around the handful of good players they do have instead of kicking those players to the curb because you’re sick of them like a petulant child would be with a toy he got on Christmas that he didn’t like. If it means a GM change and bringing in somebody who has a better vision of what a winning team looks like than the crew currently in charge, so be it. If it means bringing in a coach who knows how to allow the team’s best players to be their best players, so be it.
Maybe the Devils ultimately don’t wind up winning anything with this particular “core”, regardless of who is in it, when its all said and done years from now. But they haven’t exhausted all of their options yet trying to build around said core either. Selling low on good players who are all having a bad year isn’t the answer. The Devils shouldn’t consider trading any core player until it’s absolutely necessary.
As bad as things are, we’re not even close to that point yet.
Both Balinskis and Vilmanis appear poised to see plenty of ice time with Latvia.
During early practices, Balinskis was seen skating on the top Latvian defensive pairing with Kristians Rubins while Vilmanis was placed on the left side of the top forward line, along with winger Eduards Tralmaks and Girgensons at center.
Formace Lotyšska na dnešním tréninkovém zápasu proti Švýcarsku! 🇱🇻
Latvia opens their Olympic schedule on Thursday against the United States at 3:10 p.m. ET, followed by a matchup with Germany on Saturday at 6:10 a.m. ET and then a battle with Denmark on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. ET.
Photo caption: Jan 16, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis (26) celebrates his goal with left wing Sandis Vilmanis (95) against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Lenovo Center. (James Guillory-Imagn Images)
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Easton Cowan is set to receive some new bling on Wednesday from his junior club, the OHL's London Knights.
The 20-year-old, along with former London teammates Denver Barkey, Sam Dickinson, and Kasper Halttunen, will be given their 2025 Championship rings before the Knights' game against the OHL's Guelph Storm.
Welcoming back some London legends on Wednesday night 🌟
Prior to puck drop we'll present Denver, Easton, Kasper and Sam with their 2025 Championship rings! pic.twitter.com/8fQjS6nLOe
London won both the OHL Championship and the Memorial Cup last spring.
The Knights unveiled both rings on Jan. 15. One sported the Knights' logo surrounded by what looks to be diamonds, and the other was engraved with the player's number in the centre.
Cowan tallied three goals and seven points in five games at the Memorial Cup, earning the tournament's MVP honor.
Cowan played parts of four seasons with the Knights from 2022 to 2025. In 175 games with London, Cowan tallied 84 goals and 220 points. He holds the Knights' record for playoff points, tallying 32 goals and 64 assists for 96 points in 60 postseason games.
The Mount Brydges, Ontario, native also had a historic (unofficial) point streak in his final season with London, scoring points in 65 consecutive games. The OHL deemed the streak unofficial because it spanned across two seasons.
Now in the NHL with the Maple Leafs, Cowan's debut season has had its ups and downs.
The rookie has seven goals and 10 assists through 43 games this season, while averaging 13:31 of ice time. He's played on every forward line with the Maple Leafs and also gets power play time.
However, the forward was a healthy scratch in Toronto's final three games before the Olympic break.
"As we talked about, (Cowan) needed a little bit of a reset. I think the break will do him well. Nothing changes there," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said ahead of Toronto's final game before the break against the Edmonton Oilers.
"There are young guys in the league who don't play all the time. There are times they do, but there are times when they don't, and they have little breaks here and there. They benefit from it."
Nevertheless, Wednesday will be a night Cowan will remember for a long time as he caps off a historic junior career with the Knights.
Mike Sullivan Holds The Keys To U.S. Men's Hockey Olympic Roster The time has finally come for Mike Sullivan.
