The Buffalo Sabres got into the Stanley Cup playoffs last season after missing the playoffs for the previous 15 years. Buffalo also won the highly-competitive Atlantic Division in the regular-season last year, and the Sabres beat the Boston Bruins in the post-season’s opening round before losing to the Montreal Canadiens in Round 2.
There was much to like about the Sabres’ long-awaited growth last season. But in TheHockeyNews.com’s annual grades for Buffalo players, we’re also handing out grades for players who no longer are with the Sabres. And in today’s “Sabres Grades” file, we’re turning our attention to one of the centerpieces of one of this summer’s two big blockbuster trades for Buffalo – star defenseman Bowen Byram, who was dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks in June for a package featuring the 2026 fourth-overall draft pick.
Playing behind Sabres star D-men Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, Byram’s opportunities in Buffalo were going to be more limited than what he’ll get with the Blackhawks. But just because Byram went on post-trade to sign a six-year contract extension paying him $12.5-million per-season with the Hawks, that doesn’t mean Byram had an A+ season. In fact, he still has room to grow his game before it gets to‘A’ territory.
But let’s focus on Byram’s 2025-26 impact, and see why he’s going to be judged by his lucrative new contract for the next half-dozen seasons in Chicago:
Bowen Byram
Position: Defense
Grade: B+
The Skinny: To be sure, Byram did many good things in his second-and-final full season in Buffalo. In 82 games last year, the 25-year-old generated new personal-bests in goals (11), points (42) and plus/minus (plus-15). And those totals came with Byram getting slightly-less time-on ice – averaging 22:20, down from 22:42 in 2024-25.
So, although Byram is going to be judged by his contract extension, the truth is he’s going to be paid $6.25-million next season before the extension kicks in next summer. And on a Blackhawks team desperate for playoff success, Byram is going to be paid as their top blueliner right away, and he’s going to be judged accordingly.
Byram’s 2025-26 totals were slightly better than his 2024-25 totals including seven goals and 38 points in 82 games. So you can see why some are calling his extension into question. Byram is a better-than-average D-man – and a much-better-than-average D-man at that. But he’s not a defenseman on the level of a Cale Makar with the Colorado Avalanche and Quinn Hughes with the Minnesota Wild. And fairly or unfairly, the change in his financial compensation means Byram is going to be judged against the performances of the crystal-clear best defensemen in the game today.
Did Byram have a good year in 2025-26? There’s no question. He found a new level for his game, and in 13 playoff games with Buffalo, he produced four goals and seven points. But that’s going to be the bare-minimum people expect out of Byram in Chicago, regardless of his change in salary next summer. And Byram isn’t close to the peak of his powers, so there definitely could be a world where he becomes more than a half-point-per-game player with the Blackhawks and a key contributor on an up-and-coming Hawks team.
And if that’s what he does for the Blackhawks next season, you can bet Byram’s grade from THN.com next summer will be at least an ‘A’.
Former members of the Vancouver Canucks will take the spotlight in this off-season article series. From those skating with new NHL teams heading into the 2026–27 season to those who are now playing for international clubs, these featured players have skated in at least one game at the NHL level as a member of the Canucks.
Today’s segment will take a look at the 11 former Canucks that are set to compete for teams in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division during the 2026–27 season.
While Chatfiled may have only played in 18 games with Vancouver, the defenceman was part of the Canucks organization for much longer than that. Prior to making the jump to the NHL with Vancouver, Chatfield playaed for the Canucks’ then-AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, from 2017–18 to 2019–20. After his 18 games with Vancouver in 2020–21, he signed with the Hurricanes in free-agency.
After five seasons with the Hurricanes, Chatfield became a Stanley Cup champion in 2025–26, winning the trophy alongside Carolina after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in six games during the Stanley Cup Final. The defenceman had a goal and seven assists in 19 post-season games. He’ll enter the final season of a three-year contract with the Hurricanes come the start of 2026–27.
As a Canuck, Garland quickly made a name for himself as a hustling, no-quit player who put effort into every shift that he played in. He set a new career-high in points in his first season with the Canucks in 2021–22, scoring 19 goals and 33 assists in 77 games. In every near full-season he played for Vancouver in, he consistently registered season point-totals of above 45.
Though he signed a six-year contract extension with Vancouver during the 2025 off-season, he was traded ahead of the 2026 Trade Deadline and now plays for the Blue Jackets. In his first 21 games with Columbus, he scored five goals and two assists. Four of these goals came within his first three games with his new team.
Danton Heinen, Columbus Blue Jackets
Vancouver acquired Heinen by signing him to a two-year contract during the 2024 free-agency period. The forward only ended up skating in 51 games for the Canucks though, scoring six goals and 12 assists, before he was shipped back to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a trade package for defenceman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor.
Heinen was traded once again in 2025, this time being sent to Columbus along with two picks in exchange for Egor Chinakov. The forward skated in 33 games with the Blue Jackets in 2025–26, putting up five goals and five assists. Columbus signed him to a one-year, $1M extension during the off-season.
Erik Gudbranson, Columbus Blue Jackets
A veteran defenceman who spent three seasons with the Canucks, Gudbranson came to Vancouver via trade with the Florida Panthers. In his first year with Vancouver, 2016–17, he averaged a near career-high of 20:20 minutes per game, but saw his ice time drop slowly in the following seasons. He was traded to the Penguins in 2019 in exchange for Tanner Pearson.
After stints with the Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, and Calgary Flames, Gubranson seems to have found a fit in Columbus, having spent the past four seasons with the Blue Jackets and re-upping with the team with a one-year extension. In 2025–26, he scored a goal and two assists in 37 games but missed most of the season due to various injuries.
The captain of the Canucks for four of the nine seasons he spent with the team, Horvat quickly established himself as a leader as his time with Vancouver went on. The forward put up his first 20-goal season with Vancouver in 2016–17, registering his first 30-goal year in 2021–22. After 621 games with the Canucks, Horvat was traded to the Islanders in January of 2023.
After being acquired by New York, Horvat signed an eight-year contract that enters its fourth year at the start of the 2026–27 season. Though injuries slightly derailed his season, Horvat notched the fourth 30-goal season of his NHL career in 2025–26, putting up 31 goals and 26 assists in 68 games. He was also named to Canada’s 2026 Winter Olympic team.
Mar 3, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers left wing J.T. Miller (8) controls the puck against New York Islanders center Bo Horvat (14) during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Miller was acquired via draft-day trade in 2019, with the forward immediately setting a then career-high (72 points) in his first year with the Canucks in 2019–20. He continued to follow these efforts up with more career-highs in 2021–22 (99 points) and 2023–24 (103 points), before he was traded to the team that drafted him, the Rangers, in January of 2025.
Miller, who’d spent six seasons with New York in his first stint with the team, was named the captain of the Rangers at the beginning of the 2025–26 season. He scored 17 goals and 36 assists in 68 games with New York and also won a Gold medal with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Including the 2026–27 season, Miller has four more years remaining on the seven-year contract he initially signed with Vancouver.
Marcus Pettersson, New York Rangers
Part of one of the most notable days in recent Canucks history, Pettersson was acquired in the second trade made by Vancouver on January 31, 2025. The defenceman was signed to a six-year contract extension only a couple of games after that, though he only ended up playing in one of them for Vancouver before being flipped to the Rangers for a 2030 first-round pick.
In his first and only full-season with the Canucks, Pettersson was one of only three players to skate in all 82 games for Vancouver. He put up three goals and 15 assists but struggled defensively at times. Pettersson still has five years remaining in his $5.5M AAV deal.
A former near 40-goal scorer for the Canucks, Kuzmenko was a highly sought-out free-agent when Vancouver first signed him in July of 2022. He put together an impressive 74-point campaign in his first NHL season in 2021–22 but quickly saw his play drop-off after. Kuzmenko was packaged up and sent to the Flames in the Elias Lindholm deal in 2023–24.
Since his time with the Canucks, Kuzmenko hasn’t quite hit that same offensive gear that he found in his first NHL season. He spent the 2025–26 season with the Los Angeles Kings, scoring 13 goals and 12 assists in 52 games. The forward missed a good chunk of the end of the regular season recovering from surgery for a torn meniscus, slotting in to play in one game during the Kings’ post-season run. He has since signed a one-year, $5M deal with the Penguins.
Artūrs Šilovs, Pittsburgh Penguins
Šilovs has had some of the most memorable moments in his career throughout the past few seasons, ranging from helping Latvia to their first medal at the IIHF World Championships in 2023, to being named MVP of the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs with Abbotsford. He made a name for himself in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs by backstopping Vancouver to Game 7 of the second-round after injuries to both Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith.
Traded to the Penguins during the 2025 off-season, Šilovs continued his stretch of notable play in pressure-filled situations by winning two of his three starts in Pittsburgh’s first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers in 2026. He registered a SV% of .900 or higher in all three games, including allowing only one goal in the eventual series-clincher for the Flyers. With Stuart Skinner departing in free-agency, it appears Šilovs could take the role of starting goaltender for Pittsburgh.
One of three pieces acquired in the Horvat trade, Beauvillier spent a total of 55 games with the Canucks split over 2022–23 and 2023–24. He put together 11 goals and 17 assists during this span of time. In November of 2023, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for a conditional fifth-round pick in 2024.
A couple more trades resulted in Beauvillier finding his way to Washington, with whom he signed a two-year contract extension with in 2025. He played in all 82 games for the Capitals in his first full season with the team, doing so for the first time in his NHL career, and scoring 15 goals and 13 assists.
Vincent Desharnais, Washington Capitals
Signed and traded by the Canucks within the span of less than a season, Desharnais skated in 34 games in his time with Vancouver, recording three assists. He was traded to the Penguins as part of the Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor deal, finding himself on the move a month later after also being traded from Pittsburgh to the San Jose Sharks.
Desharnais stuck with the Sharks for the 2025–26 season, playing in 53 games and logging a career-high average of 18:11 minutes played per game. He also put together a goal and six assists in this span. Notably, he signed a four-year, $4.2M AAV contract with the Capitals during the 2026 free-agency period.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins have brought in multiple new players this off-season. Among the Penguins' newcomers is Hendrix Lapierre, as the Penguins acquired him from the Washington Capitals in exchange for 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
The Penguins trading for Lapierre comes after he posted four goals and 16 points in 74 games with the Capitals in 2025-26. Overall, it was a quiet year from the 2020 first-round pick, but there is reason to believe that he can turn things around in Pittsburgh.
In fact, at just 24 years old, the possibility of Lapierre breaking out and hitting a new level with the Penguins should not be ruled out.
A change of scenery can sometimes benefit a player, and that could end up being the case with Lapierre. With the Penguins being a retooling team that is focused on the future, it is likely that they are going to give the young forward plenty of chances to succeed.
Lapierre has also shown in the past that he has the potential to provide decent secondary offensive production. During the 2023-24 season with the Capitals, he recorded eight goal, 14 assists, and 22 points in 51 games. If he can tap into his offensive potential more with the Penguins, he could end up being a very solid addition to their group.
The Buffalo Sabres brought in a handful of new players this offseason. Among them is defenseman Louis Crevier, as they acquired him as part of the trade that sent Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks.
While Crevier was not the biggest name from this deal, he has the potential to be a very good addition to the Sabres' roster.
Crevier showed good promise this past season with the Blackhawks. In 78 games with the Original Six club, he set new career highs with seven goals, 18 assists, 25 points, and 124 hits. With numbers like these, he provided a nice mix of offensive production and grit to the Blackhawks' blueline.
However, when noting that this Crevier's first truly full season at the NHL level, it is fair to wonder if the 6-foot-8 defenseman can hit another new level. He entered last season with only 56 career games played over his two previous campaigns, so he is very much still in the early stages of his career. Because of this, it would not be surprising if he broke out even further next season now that he is more adjusted to the NHL level.
If Crevier can take another step forward, it would be significant for the Sabres. It will be interesting to see what kind of campaign he can put together for Buffalo from here.
There’s still a month to go until tee-off at the Montreal Canadiens annual golf tournament, but action is already heating up at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard. Players who didn’t spend the summer in town are already starting to return, including some who spent the summer in Europe, like Austrian prospect David Reinbacher.
De retour à Brossard ce matin!
Quelques joueurs sur la patinoire : Josh Anderson, Jake Evans, David Reinbacher, Ivan Demidov, Alexandre Carrier, Jayden Struble, Jakub Dobes (et Brendan Gallagher).
According to Dans les coulisses’ Marc-Olivier Cook, Josh Anderson, Jake Evans, Reinbacher, Ivan Demidov, Alexandre Carrier, Jayden Struble and Jakub Dobes were on the ice at the Canadiens’ practice rink on Thursday. Earlier this week, Jacob Fowler played in the LSHL; it's starting to smell like hockey again in Montreal.
Things will keep ramping up until rookie training camp kicks off, likely in early September, since the Habs will take part in the 2026 NHL Prospect Challenge in Gatineau on September 12 and 13. The Canadiens’ prospects will take on the Ottawa Senators’ and the Winnipeg Jets’ prospects. The game against the Jets will take place on Saturday, September 12, at 1:00 PM, and the one against the Sens on Sunday, September 13, at 6:00 PM.
Once that’s done, we’ll be getting nearer to the official start of the preseason, as the Canadiens will be playing five games on three days. How is that possible? Simply put, four of those five games will be split-squad games, including the last two on September 26 against the Senators. That means that, at that point, three days before the start of the regular season, the Habs will still have enough players to play two games at the same time—one in Ottawa and the other in Montreal.
Whichever way you look at it, this shorter preseason will mean that teams will be icing weaker sides; you won’t see a real NHL lineup until opening night on September 29 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The only preseason game that won’t be a split-squad affair is the one against the Sens in Trois-Rivières on September 21, the Kraft Hockeytown celebration game. The shorter preseason may let the league run a longer regular season with an 84-game calendar, but expect teams to need time to build real chemistry from the start.
There was a pretty clear idea of what Trent Frederic was supposed to be when the Edmonton Oilers brought him in.
He was a 6-foot-3, bottom-six forward who would finish checks, get physical, and provide enough offence to move around the lineup when necessary. Edmonton was paying for a player who would be involved every night.
Instead, they're paying for a player who's gone largely unnoticed.
Frederic has become an easy target in Edmonton with his $3.85 million cap hit. A player making that much money in the bottom six has to provide something consistently and Frederic hasn't scored enough, hasn't been physical enough, while too often has gone through games with little influence.
He could enter training camp fighting just to stay in the NHL. Frederic runs the real risk of getting paid $3.85 million a season to play in Bakersfield.
It's a remarkable position to be in considering what Edmonton thought they was getting.
Frederic is well-liked by his teammates and has never had a reputation as a problem in the room. By all accounts, he's a good guy who wants to get better. But fans watching a team with limited cap space pay nearly $4 million for a player who has become difficult to notice don't really care.
“I would say that’s fair,” Frederic told Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now. “I don’t think I started off great. [Playing with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl], I think we were pretty good, playing with the two best players.
“But I don’t think I started off great. I just kind of got lost who I was. I didn’t really have much of an identity. So hopefully, I’ve gained some confidence just getting away from the game and enjoying it right now in the summer and having fun and working out and everything.”
Frederic has lost parts of his identity. His value has always depended on everything surrounding the offence, not becoming a high-end offensive player himself. He has to be around the puck, finish checks, win battles and give Edmonton a physical presence in games that call for one. When those things disappear, there isn't enough left in his game to make him particularly useful.
Kris Knoblauch never found a way to get that player back into the game, but maybe Mike Babcock can.
There should be very little confusion about what Babcock will expect from Frederic. He has spent his career demanding details from players and has never been reluctant to tell somebody when they aren't being good enough. And Frederic is the one player on this roster who unequivocally needs this.
If Frederic isn't scoring, he still has to affect the game physically. If he isn't getting many touches with the puck, he has to be noticeable on the forecheck. If Edmonton's better players are getting pushed around, Frederic can't be another player watching it happen.
Those were supposed to be the reasons he was brought here.
But that was last year. Frederic wasn't healthy enough to have a normal summer a year ago, something that put him behind before the season had even started.
“Going back last summer, I wasn’t able to skate until around probably now, started just barely getting on the ice again,” said Frederic. “For me, I think after the (Olympic) break, I would say I was probably as close as 100 per cent as I had been before the injury. I think it’s unfortunate that we lost early, but it’s been great for myself just to get a full summer of training hard and early skating, and at 100 per cent. It’ll be good.”
Frederic has had the summer to train properly, and he will arrive at camp healthy. Edmonton has enough competition in its bottom six that past performances on different teams won't be enough to guarantee anything.
The Oilers would probably be happy if Babcock can get Frederic back to being the player they thought they were acquiring.
Frederic can be very useful in the NHL. He can be difficult to play against, and there has been enough offence in his career to suggest he shouldn't be an automatic fourth-liner. What disappeared last season was any identity that made him the player he was.
A demanding coach is capable of bringing some of that back.
“I’m just excited to come back next year and have a fresh start and pretty excited to have Babs [Mike Babcock] and get kind of a complete fresh slate,” Frederic said.
He'll get one.
Babcock will give Frederic another opportunity, while making it clear what'll happen if he doesn't take advantage of it.
The Detroit Red Wings continue their offseason of questions, as they're still without a general manager following Steve Yzerman's departure from his role exactly one month ago, while Dylan Larkin's ultimate fate with the club has yet to be decided.
In the meantime, one of the more pressing business matters to be addressed between now and the start of Training Camp on Sept. 17 is a new contract for defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who has completed his entry-level contract and remains a restricted free agent.
However, the club retains his RFA rights since they extended a qualifying offer to him earlier in the offseason.
According to the latest from Edvinsson's agent, Peter Werner, via the Swedish publication Expressen, Edvinsson and his camp are "patiently waiting" for Detroit's management situation to be resolved:
"We are waiting patiently for a new general manager, says Edvinsson's agent, Peter Werner, to Expressen."
Edvinsson, whom the Red Wings selected in the first round (sixth overall pick) of the 2021 NHL Draft, has appeared in 179 career NHL games and has tallied 19 goals and 41 assists along the way. During that span, he's also averaged 21:09 of ice time per game and owns a plus-17 rating.
Last season, which was his second full NHL campaign, he reached a career-high in goals with nine, while coming in second overall in total ice time behind only fellow blue liner Moritz Seider.
After aggravating the injury again in late January, Edvinsson underwent surgery and began working toward a return, eventually resuming his duties on Detroit's blue line in late February.
His salary cap hit over the last three seasons has been a modest $894,167, and he's due for a considerable raise.
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The Buffalo Sabres snapped their 15-year postseason drought, winning the Atlantic Division and advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but after an offseason that saw Bowen Byram and Alex Tuch being dealt, the task of repeating as division champion or finishing in the top three of the Atlantic could be significantly more difficult.
We will finish up looking at the seven other teams in the Atlantic to see where they stand in comparison to where they were at the end of last season and see where they potentially stack up as competition with the Sabres.
The Toronto Maple Leafs followed up their Atlantic Division championship in 2025 with a disastrous campaign, that was littered with incompetence at the managerial and coaching levels, and injuries and underachievement on the ice. Their 32-36-14 record found them at the bottom of the Atlantic Division, and led to wholesale changes, with GM Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube being let go and replaced by John Chayka and Jim Hiller.
Sergei Bobrovsky - signed a three-year, $21 million deal as a free agent
Emil Andrae - acquired in a trade with Philadelphia
Darren Raddysh - acquired in a sign-and-trade with Tampa Bay
Nick Paul - acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay
Colton Sissons - signed a two-year, $8.5 million deal as a free agent
Jack Roslovic - signed to a two-year, $8 million deal as a free agent
Brandon Duhaime - signed a three-year, $7.8 million deal as a free agent
Zach MacEwen - signed a two-year, $1.75 million deal as a free agent
Who had the best and worst offseason in the Atlantic?
Subtractions
Dennis Hildeby - traded to Tampa Bay
Joseph Woll - traded to Philadelphia
Matias Maccelli - signed with the NY Islanders as a free agent
Nick Robertson - traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins
Brandon Carlo - traded to the St. Louis Blues
Outlook
Chayka benefited from a lucky rabbit’s foot in winning the draft lottery, enabling the Leafs to keep their first round pick instead of losing it to Boston and selecting Gavin McKenna first overall. McKenna is expected to play a significant role as a rookie, but Toronto has the luxury of a veteran core group that can take some of the heat off of the prized rookie at the start.
Hiller was part of the Leafs staff during Mike Babcock’s tenure in Toronto and has familiarity with the club’s core players, which should ease the transition somewhat, but the changes implemented this summer will likely result in nearly a 50% from last year’s roster.
Toronto is gambling on a 38-year-old Bobrovsky reuniting with Anthony Stolarz as a tandem that won a Stanley Cup in 2024. On defense, the addition of Andrae is expected to help their mobility on the back end, while Raddysh (coming off a 70-point season in Tampa) will add a big shot from the point on the Toronto power play.
With the exception of Roslovic, who may play the right side with Auston Matthews, the bulk of the Leafs forward additions will be bottom-six depth players, which were a necessity since they dealt players like Bobby McMann, Nicolas Roy, and Scott Laughton at the deadline. The most important factor for Toronto may be the health of Matthews, who suffered a season-ending knee injury at the hands of Radko Gudas.
With the loss of Alex Tuch and the Sabres current state at forward, the Leafs depth additions, the return of Matthews, William Nylander, and Matthews Knies to full health, and the selection of McKenna could make them a potent offensive force. Defensively, the departure of Bowen Byram and replacing him with Louis Crevier and Olen Zellweger has Buffalo’s defense taking a step back, but they are still superior to Toronto’s blueliner, with Raddysh potentially a flash in the pan, Chris Tanev’s uncertain health status, and the fact that they have not had a legitimate #1 defenseman since Borje Salming.
Bobrovsky is a big question mark, but it is unknown how much his bad numbers were because of the Panthers being poor in front of him. The trio of Buffalo netminders performed above expectations and there is a question whether they can do it again. The Leafs could be a top three club in the Atlantic if everything goes right, but they should be in the wildcard mix in the East, which is where the Sabres will likely be unless they pull off a trade for Connor Hellebuyck.
The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, and the organization’s developmental model has begun to yield results, with 2023 first rounder Zach Benson making an impact in the playoffs, and 2024 top pick Konsta Helenius appearing as one of the AHL’s top prospects the last two seasons.
Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. These players are all 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals, and have played less than 82 NHL games.
Costantini was the Sabres fifth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, held in October because of the COVID pandemic. Former GM Kevyn Adams had only five picks in his first year as Sabres GM, but hit the jackpot with his first two picks: first-rounder Jack Quinn and second-rounder J.J. Peterka.
Who had the best and worst offseason in the Atlantic Division?
Costantini is a local product from nearby St. Catharines, ON, and scored 68 points (36 goals, 32 assists) in 50 games for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres. He played one season in the USHL with Sioux City before two years at the University of North Dakota. After a successful freshman season (21 points in 35 games), his sophomore year was a disaster, with three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in 25 games.
After being sat out frequently during the regular season and playoffs, he used the NCAA transfer portal and shifted to Western Michigan. The change resulted in more opportunities to play up the middle, which was beneficial, as Costantini scored 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists) and an excellent +20 plus/minus in 38 games. His senior season was not as productive personally, with 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists) in 40 games, but the 23-year-old was part of the Broncos NCAA Championship run.
The Sabres signed Costantini to a two-year AHL deal, giving him an opportunity to earn himself an NHL entry-level contract. In his first pro season, he split time almost equally between ECHL Jacksonville and AHL Rochester. With the Icemen, he scored at nearly a point per game pace (27 points in 31 games), while with the Amerks he posted nine points (6 goals, 3 assists) in 33 games.
With the roster changeover and promotions expected from their AHL roster next season, players like Costantini could get more opportunity next season.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have 47 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #47.
Let's take a look.
Aaron Johnson - 2003-07/2011-12 - Johnson was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.
Johnson played 172 games for the Jackets over two stints. Scouts said of Johnson was "A puck-moving defenseman, Johnson is a very good skater. Has good offensive instincts and can quarterback the power play. Can play a tough and physical game. Needs to improve his play in his own end."
During his time with Columbus, he also spent three years with the AHL Syracuse Crunch, where he had 73 points in those three seasons.
In 2016, he left North America and signed on with
Adler Mannheim of the DEL in Germany. He then left for England, where he played for the
Sheffield Steelers of the EIHL. In 2021, he became a Player-Asst. Coach for a season.
He came back home to Columbus in 2021 and joined the Jackets as a Team Consultant. He's been the Team Relations Specialist for the Jackets for a few seasons now.
Geoff Platt - 2005-07 - Platt was undrafted out of Mississauga, Ontario.
Platt made his NHL Debut in December 2005 as a 20-year-old undrafted rookie. He played in 41 games for his CBJ career and had 14 points.
He left North America in 2008 and headed for Finland. He then left for the KHL and played five years with Dynamo Minsk. In 2012, he became a citizen of Belarus. He remained in Europe and played in the KHL, Sweden, and Finland until his retirement in 2023.
Platt also began playing international hockey for Belarus after gaining citizenship, appearing in the IIHF World Championships and Olympic Games Qualifiers. He's worked for
Tappara U20 as a skills and development coach for the past few seasons.
Dalton Prout - 2011-17 - Prout was drafted by Columbus in the 6th round of the 2010 NHL Draft.
Prout made his NHL debut on March 30, 2012, against the Florida Panthers. From there, he would go on to play in 224 games for the Jackets. He would also play in four seasons with the Springfield Falcons and Cleveland Monsters of the AHL.
Prout was a big, rugged defenseman known for his physicality and toughness. In the 2015-16 season, he finished the year with 102 penalty minutes.
Prout was known for his fights and wasn't afraid of anyone. Over the years, he fought Tom Wilson, Chris Neil, and Pat Maroon. But his fights with Boston's Milan Lucic were probably his most memorable, including a fight where Prout dropped Lucic with one punch. You can re-live that magic moment below.
Prout was traded to New Jersey by Columbus for Kyle Quincey on March 1, 2017, and that's where the story would end for Prout's Columbus career. He would go on to play for Calgary and San Jose before retiring during the 2019-20 season.
He was hired by GM Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers in 2021 as a Pro Scout and can be seen in the press box of Nationwide Arena fairly routinely.
Marcus Björk - 2022-23 - Marcus Björk is an undrafted defenseman out of Umea, Sweden.
Björk was signed by the Blue Jackets as a free agent on May 24, 2022. From there, he would be called up from Cleveland on November 12, 2022, to make his NHL debut.
In what would turn out to be a very bad season for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Björk would have a terrific season in what would turn out to be his only NHL game played.
He played in 33 games for the Jackets that season. He scored 3 goals and totaled 11 points and averaged just over 18 minutes a game on the ice. Not bad for a rookie fresh out of Europe. But, unfortunately for Björk, that would be the end of his NHL season to this point.
Björk also played in 44 games for Cleveland that season and had 15 points. It seemed that Björk was going places. But when the following season rolled around, Björk was sent to Cleveland, where he would play in 51 games in the 2023-24 season and total 25 points.
At the end of the 23-24 season, Björk was not offered a contract and was left as an unrestricted free agent. He headed back to Europe and signed with Kärpät of LIIGA in Finland. He scored 21 points in 32 games.
In 2026, he left for Sweden and plays for
IF Björklöven of the SHL.
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The Sens Nation Podcast with Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy from The Hockey News.
The Senators have plenty of intriguing storylines as training camp approaches.
In this episode of Sens Nation, we discuss why Carter Yakemchuk may have his best opportunity yet to earn a full-time NHL job, after being one of Ottawa’s final training-camp cuts in each of the past two seasons.
The guys also look at some interesting revelations from the Senators’ latest Breakaway documentary, including the draft-night trade offers Steve Staios turned down from Vancouver and Pittsburgh, where Ottawa had Jonas Lagerberg Hoen ranked internally, and why the Senators selected him before Jaxon Cover.
Plus, who was actually Ottawa’s most improved offensive player last season? You may not want to know.
Which Senators could provide a surprise at training camp?
The Senators arena site remains empty, one year after they struck a deal with the NCC for 11 acres of land at LeBreton Flats. What's the timeline for a new rink now?
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While the Philadelphia Flyers have failed to address their need for talented young centers to this point in the offseason, they still have plenty of options available to them if they choose to try again.
The Leo Carlsson offer sheet was a strong indicator of what the Flyers are looking for and ultimately want to do at the position. Carlsson, 21, is already virtually a point-per-game player, and would have easily scored more than 30 goals and 70 points had he played in more than 70 regular season games for Anaheim last year.
It goes almost without saying, though, that those kinds of players don't grow on trees, and the Flyers clearly aren't as convinced that Columbus's Adam Fantilli is in the same tier, because he's eligible to sign and receive an offer sheet, too.
No dice in free agency, no dice in the draft, and no dice with the offer sheet leaves the Flyers with one avenue left worth exploring, and that's the trade market.
Out in the West, the Flyers have a trade target to consider on the San Jose Sharks.
By now, we all know of the Macklin Celebrinis, Will Smiths, and Michael Misas of the world, and the Sharks still have a capable veteran at the position in Alex Wennberg as well.
With their top three centers, and top-nine in general, more or less set, it's becoming harder and harder to envision a future for Filip Bystedt, a 22-year-old center who was the 27th overall pick back in 2022.
The 6-foot-4 Swede broke out in a major way last season, erupting for 22 goals, 38 assists, and 60 points in 65 games for the AHL San Jose Barracuda,
Despite the breakout, Bystedt is heading into a contract year, and in that timeframe, it would be difficult to imagine a world where he is able to supplant someone like Wennberg, given his inexperience and defensive weaknesses, and wrest a top-nine role away; he doesn't have the skillset required of a fourth-line player.
Sharks Hockey Digest beat reporter Max Miller did not have Bystedt in his top-10 Sharks prospects heading into training camp, with Cam Lund, another prospect on the bubble, ranking ahead of the honorable mention.
With the Flyers, though, Bystedt would have more than enough runway to establish himself as an NHL player and have the time he needs to improve his offensive and defensive reads.
For his size, Bystedt is a good enough skater, and he's equally skilled as a passer and shooter.
In the AHL, the former first-round pick was able to play a more complementary role as a facilitator for skilled wingers such as Quentin Musty and Igor Chernyshov, and the Flyers have more than enough pieces on the flanks in their cupboard to recreate that environment for Bystedt at the NHL level.
As for potential trade compensation, it's harder to say, since the Sharks already added Michael Kesselring, Jacob Trouba, and Darnell Nurse to address a weak defense that lacked NHL-caliber players.
One trade comparable worth considering, however, is the Amadeus Lombardi trade from the end of June. The 23-year-old restricted free agent was traded by the Detroit Red Wings to the New Jersey Devils for a fourth-round pick (108th overall).
Lombardi has scored 82 points in his last 91 AHL games and is in need of an NHL opportunity, similarly to Bystedt, who just enjoyed a breakout of his own.
Of course, a trade would have to be suitable for both sides, but there is at least a fit on paper, especially from the Flyers' side of things.
The players in this ranking do not have extensive NHL experience and are all under 23. Therefore, players such as William Villeneuve, Artur Akhtyamov and Easton Cowan, among others, won't feature in this ranking for either or both of those particular reasons.
In terms of where these players fall in the rankings, it is a mix of their ceiling and potential, as well as how they've performed in the past year with their respective clubs.
Hopkins was selected by the Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2025 NHL draft with pick No. 86. He is an OHL veteran to this point in his young career, featuring in 182 regular-season games, all before turning 20 years old. His time in the Ontario League is made up of parts of three years with the Kingston Frontenacs and about half of a season with the Guelph Storm, which took him to the end of the 2025-26 campaign following a trade from Kingston to Guelph.
The 2007-born center has proven to be rather consistent over the past two seasons. With Kingston in 2024-25, Hopkins scored 20 goals and 51 points in 67 games.
This past year, he stepped up in the goals department, recording 25 markers and 50 points in far fewer games, making 56 regular-season appearances. Hopkins scored an additional two goals in Guelph's four post-season games before getting eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Windsor Spitfires. He was also an alternate captain for both of the teams he represented in 2025-26.
Though his campaign in the OHL ended on a very sour note, Hopkins is a winner with the national team. The Campbellville, Ont.-born player hasn't represented Team Canada in any major tournaments this past year, but was a part of two championships in 2024-25.
Canada won gold at the 2024 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, with Hopkins registering one assist in five games at that tournament. They also won the IIHF 2025 U-18 World Championship that season, dismantling Sweden in the gold medal game 7-0. Hopkins notched one assist in six games, which game in the final.
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If it weren’t for Kirby Dach, much more would have been written about Alex Newhook being prone to injury. The speedy winger has now played three seasons with the Montreal Canadiens and was dressed for 179 games out of a possible 246, meaning he featured in only 73% of the Habs’ games; that’s more than Dach’s 47%, but that’s not ideal. In his 179 games, he scored 85 points, a 0.47 point-per-game average. In the playoffs, he put up two points in five games in 2025, but this past season, he managed to score 10 points in 19 games, for a .53 PPG average. Furthermore, he scored both the Canadiens’ series-clinching goals in games 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres.
Those playoffs were an excellent springboard for Newhook, who’s now entering the last year of the four-year deal he signed with the Habs when he was acquired in a deal with the Colorado Avalanche. As things stand, it looks highly likely that he will be able to resume his role on the Canadiens’ second line alongside Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen. In an ideal world, Kent Hughes would have liked to get some reinforcements for his top six, either via trade or in the person of Michael Hage, but at this stage, all signs point to the Canadiens running it back with the same squad, minus Brendan Gallagher.
Of course, nothing is decided until training camp. If someone outperforms Newhook, he could find himself down in the bottom six, but his performance last season before suffering a fractured ankle, coupled with his playoff production, certainly gives him a head start over a player like Dach, who had to settle for a one-year, $3.6 M contract after being offered a two-way qualifying offer.
Dach might have been a third overall pick by the Chicago Blackhawks, but so far, Newhook has had a much bigger impact on the Canadiens. The speed he brings to the table definitely makes him a good candidate to play alongside Demidov; he can get where the Russian winger will send the puck in a hurry, and he has more of a scoring touch than Jake Evans, for instance, who skated on the second line during the playoffs while Kapanen was a healthy scratch.
So far, Newhook has suffered two serious injuries, a high-ankle sprain in November 2023 and the above-mentioned ankle fracture in November 2025. When he did stay healthy in the 2024-25 season, he put up 26 points in 82 games; he nearly tied that production last season with 25 points, but in just 42 games. Fresh off a confidence-building performance in the playoffs and playing for a new contract, the odds are that Newhook will have the best season of his career, especially if he enjoys some stability when it comes to his linemates.
A full season riding shotgun with Demidov could really unlock Newhook’s potential to the fullest. If he stays healthy and remains in the top six, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Newfoundland native reach the 45- or even the 50-point mark, just at the right time to prove to the Habs that he deserves a new contract. On a young and inexperienced Canadiens’ team, Newhook brings a lot of playoff experience; after all, he did win the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in his rookie season.
SAINT PAUL, MN - MARCH 15: Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nicholas Robertson (89) chips the puck over the stick of Minnesota Wild forward Micael McCarron (47) during the first period of a NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs on March 15, 2026, at Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul, MN. (Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Last year’s most curious list featured some positive surprises (Arturs Silovs, Tommy Novak) and some running in place (Owen Pickering, Ville Koivunen, Tristan Broz) and a little of both (Avery Hayes). That didn’t even include some of the most curious seasons in store for people like Justin Brazeau, Ryan Shea, Parker Wotherspoon and Anthony Mantha, among many others.
There’s no shortage of new faces and fresh angles to tackle. There could be as many as 10 players on the roster at the start of 2026-27 that weren’t in the opening night lineup last season. The Penguins have an incredibly stable core at the top with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang starting their 21st season together as NHL teammates (it’s Crosby’s 22nd year individually), but a layer below that there is always a flurry of movement.
From those numbers, it’s a challenge to whittle down to just five players, even before getting to returning veterans and the hope for ascending youngsters. There should be no shortage of curiosity, especially given how in recent years that the Pens have had bad seasons when they mostly expected to be good and then finished second place in their division when almost no one would have seen that coming. The overarching curiosity on just how this mix will gel as a team is naturally the biggest and most interesting angle to watch how it unfolds over the fall and winter, here’s some individuals.
Nick Robertson
Robertson has scored 45 total goals in the last three seasons and will only turn 25 just before training camp. By contrast, Egor Chinakhov scored 37 career goals in about 2.5 season’s worth of games before joining the Pens. Can Pittsburgh get a Chinakhov-esque glow up out of Robertson to truly establish himself as a core player? He never quite got there in Toronto, averaging between 11-12 minutes per game in his three full seasons with the Maple Leafs. The finishing talent is there, this could be another big win in Pittsburgh’s strategy of targeting young players who need a change of scenery and new start to reach their potential.
Declan Carlile
Carlile is in that mold of a young player looking for opportunity too. The undrafted free agent spent three seasons mostly in the AHL from 2022-25 with Tampa. Due mostly to other players suffering injuries, Carlile got 42 games in the NHL last season and has 46 in his career. He just turned 26 years old but has the profile the Pens like for his size (6’3”, 190) and puck-moving ability that should make him a nice, younger, cheaper replacement to Ryan Shea. Considering the mess on the left side of the defense, if Carlile turns out to be an instant hit then suddenly things look a lot better on the depth chart. If he doesn’t, well, then the situation grows even more dire. With such little experience it’s anyone’s guess on just how this is going to play out.
Ville Koivunen
Koivunen’s massive eight year contract and $4 million cap hit instantly made him one of the most intriguing storylines for training camp. Last year’s camp ended with Koivunen briefly being on Crosby’s line at the start of the season. This year, who knows what could happen with a very crowded field of forwards competing for a seemingly limited amount of spots. Is Koivunen going to earn a spot in the opening night lineup? Hit waivers? Be stuck as a healthy scratch? Any outcome at this point is as likely as any other which makes Koivunen a central figure to be curious about seeing what happens.
Andrey Kuzmenko
In general, Kuzmenko is a curious player. He stuck around in Russia until age 26, joining up with Vancouver to a tremendous first NHL season in 2022-23 (39 goals and 74 points in 81 games). What looked like the possible next Artemi Panarin as a late-blooming import hasn’t stayed on track, shuttling between three teams since 2024 and seeing his spot in the lineup and point total on a consistent downward slope from 74 to 46 to 37 to 25 last season (albeit in just 52 games). The talent might still be there, Kuzmenko did record six points in six playoff games in 2025, but the ability to get there consistently remains in question. Kuzmenko hangs out in the offseason in the same orbit socially as players like Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk, the familiarity angle with Malkin could be something the Pens are hoping can provide a boost and get Kuzmenko back on track to his more productive and effective days. Just how far he goes will be one of the biggest curiosities this year.
Sergei Murashov
Last on the list, but certainly not least, is a player that could have the biggest influence on the season. Tristan Jarry didn’t work out following his 2023 contract and the Pens have taken the step to clear Jarry out and open up the runway for Murashov to take off as potentially the next No. 1 goalie for the franchise. Murashov at 22 is still incredibly young for an NHL goalie. Of the 59 goalies to appear in 25+ games last year, only two (Jesper Wallstedt and Yarsoslav Askarov, both in age-23 seasons) were under 24 years old and Murashov is nearly a year younger now than those two were last year. Despite that, it looks like Murashov is ready for the next step after a tremendous year in the AHL in 2025-26. Goalie trajectory can be notoriously finicky, even for top prospects like Askarov who had some stops and starts before fully growing into handling the world’s toughest hockey league. The curiosity for Murashov will be seeing just how ready for prime time he is at this point and how he can hold up in net. It’s a tough spot for a team defense that doesn’t usually do their goalies a lot of favors in keeping shots and chances down, yet the talent and upside are undeniable. It’s just a matter of seeing if the future is now or just how much growing pains will be involved.
