Category: NHL

The Buffalo Sabres took a major step in the right direction last season. One of the many reasons for it was that multiple of their players broke out for them in 2025-26.

Among the Sabres' youngsters who made an impact last season was forward Noah Ostlund. The 2022 first-round pick undoubtedly proved that he belongs at the NHL level, as he posted 11 goals, 16 assists, and 27 points in 60 games. This was after he was held off the scoresheet in his first eight career NHL games in 2024-25. 

Yet, as well as Ostlund played last season with the Sabres, it is clear that he has the potential to be even better in 2026-27.  

Now that Ostlund has a full season of NHL experience, it would not be shocking in the slightest if his all-around game improves next season. The potential for him to emerge as a more significant offensive threat is there, and it would be massive for Buffalo if he does just that after their off-season losses. 

Overall, there is a lot to like about Ostlund's game, and he is undoubtedly a young Sabre to keep an eye on this campaign. It will be intriguing to see what kind of season he can have for Buffalo in 2026-27 from here. 

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Fans of the Detroit Red Wings were stunned when news broke in early June that captain Dylan Larkin had officially requested to be traded, despite having five years left on his contract. 

About a month and a half earlier, Larkin and the Red Wings missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 10th consecutive season. It was also the third straight year they failed to hold onto a comfortable lead in the standings after entering March in a strong position.

It's now been three months since the trade request was made public, and as of September 5, he remains on the roster. Reports also emerged that Larkin would only accept a trade to the Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, or Florida Panthers. 

This further tied the hands of now-former GM Steve Yzerman, who vacated his role in an equally surprising move just over a month later in mid-July. 

The Red Wings are less than two weeks away from the start of Training Camp (Sept. 17), and still haven't named Yzerman's successor. With each passing day, the chances of Larkin still being with the club by the time Camp begins grows stronger. 

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

Larkin, who recently turned 30, has only played five postseason games, all of which were in 2016 during his rookie season.

Understandably, he wants an opportunity to compete for the Stanley Cup while he's still in the prime of his career. He got a taste of what that experience could be like when he helped Team USA capture its first Olympic gold medal since 1980 at the Milano Cortina Winter Games.

However, Larkin's apparent stubborn refusal to expand his trade list is proving to be a major miscalculation on his part. 

Simply put, the Golden Knights, Wild, and Panthers did not have the type of assets the Red Wings were looking for in a Larkin trade. Unless Larkin is willing to expand his list of teams, his other option may be to reach an agreement with Yzerman's eventual successor and withdraw his trade request - at least for now.

Dylan Larkin Included In NHL's Ranking Of Top 20 Centers Current Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin was included in the NHL's recent ranking of the top 20 players at his position.

There's also no way he isn't aware that a good portion of the Red Wings fan base did not take kindly to his trade request, and that he reportedly limited Detroit's options of trading him to only three teams. 

The Red Wings open the regular season at Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 2 against the New York Rangers. If Larkin remains in the Detroit lineup, he's almost certain to hear loud boos cascading down from large swaths of fans who viewed his trade request as a betrayal. 

While Larkin's teammates may be more willing to view his trade request as a business decision, plenty of Red Wings fans are unlikely to see it the same way.

Larkin had every right to ask for a trade, but Detroit was under no obligation to make a deal if the offers did not meet its expectations.

By reportedly limiting his preferred destinations to just three teams and refusing to expand that list, Larkin has put himself in a difficult position.

If he had known he would still be on Detroit's roster on Sept. 5, with Training Camp less than two weeks away, he might have approached the situation differently. 

But he didn't. And now, he's likely going to have to deal with an increasingly awkward situation. 

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Nick Blankenburg remains unsigned as of Saturday morning.

The defenseman was acquired by the Colorado Avalanche in March as their seventh defenseman, with Colorado sending a 2027 fifth-round pick to Columbus in the deal.

When Blankenburg first arrived, though, things didn’t exactly go smoothly.

At The Hockey News, we pointed out some of the early issues in his game. He was making too many mistakes, jumping too far into the offensive zone and occasionally getting caught out of position. For a player trying to establish himself with a new team, it wasn’t the ideal start.

But somewhere along the way, something clicked.

Blankenburg started playing with more confidence. His skating looked more purposeful. He was making quick, accurate passes, getting pucks out of trouble and showing more of the offensive ability that made him an intriguing player in the first place.

The change was noticeable enough that, following Colorado’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on April 11, we asked Blankenburg what had changed.

It was also the night he scored his first goal in an Avalanche uniform.

Blankenburg pointed to conversations he had with several teammates who recognized that he was playing a little too cautiously and encouraged him to trust his game.

“Just getting more comfortable. I’ve been having conversations with multiple different people about it,” Blankenburg admitted. “Just trying not to overthink. Trying not to think too much on the ice and just go out and play my game and be assertive and competing. I think the rest will take care of itself.”

It did.

Five days later, Blankenburg scored again, finding the back of the net against the Seattle Kraken in Colorado’s final regular-season game before the playoffs.

Then came the biggest moment of his Avalanche tenure.

Despite receiving limited ice time, Blankenburg made the most of his opportunity in Game 1 of Colorado’s second-round series against the Minnesota Wild. In a wild 9-6 Avalanche victory, he jumped into the offensive zone before Valeri Nichushkin found him with a beautiful backdoor pass.

Blankenburg buried it.

Then he went flying into the glass in celebration.

It wasn’t just his first career playoff goal. His parents, Karl and Karin, were in the stands to see it happen.

For a defenseman who had arrived in Colorado with something to prove, it was another sign that he was starting to find his game at exactly the right time.

And his teammates noticed.

Nathan MacKinnon on Nick Blankenburg: “He’s a good player. He’s undersized but he battles.”#goavsgo@thehockeynews#mnwildpic.twitter.com/wICpJefDiP

— Ryan O'Hara (@OHaraSports) May 4, 2026

“He’s a good player,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “Obviously he’s undersized, but he battles. He’s got a good shot. He gets picks through the o-zone, which is huge for us. He’s playing well.”

Head Coach Jared Bednar saw much of the same thing.

“He’s a real competitive guy. Smaller in stature but competitive,” Bednar said. “He has the ability to contribute offensively. There’s a lot of similar attributes to say a guy like Sam Malinski. He has the ability to be shifty and hang onto pucks to create shooting lanes in the offensive zone. He has the ability to join the rush.”

That combination is what made Blankenburg such an interesting player for Colorado.

“He’s a difficult match. You don’t see too many guys that can play with the kind of jam that Blankenburg plays with defensively and then still get up and go on the offensive side of it.”

Bednar did have one obvious caveat.

He wanted to see more consistency from Blankenburg, particularly when it came to knowing when to join the rush and when to stay home. His offensive instincts can be an asset, but the Avalanche can’t afford to give up chances the other way because a defenseman got too aggressive looking to make a play.

That, ultimately, may be part of the reason Blankenburg remains unsigned. Or it could be that the Avalanche want to shift a bit towards the physicality side, which the team obviously lacked this past postseason. 

However, Blankenburg deserves another shot. 

As Mile High Sticking recently suggested, Colorado could simply give Blankenburg a professional tryout contract, commonly known as a PTO.

A PTO doesn’t require the Avalanche to make a significant commitment. It gives Blankenburg a chance to come into training camp, compete for a job and show that the player Colorado saw toward the end of last season is the player he can consistently be.

The Avalanche already know what the downside looks like and Noah Juulsen has already been signed for the next two years, but  bringing Blankenburg could fit just fine on the Eagles as well, if he’s willing to play down a level. 

Maybe Blankenburg earns a contract. Maybe he doesn’t.

At the very least, he’s earned a PTO. 

A key point in the New Jersey Devils’ struggles during the 2025-26 season revolved around one thing: goaltending. To outside eyes, it might seem like the Devils have done nothing to resolve that issue, but Sunny Mehta’s trade of Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers was a true addition by subtraction situation. In Jake Allen, the Devils have a goaltender who has had two solid seasons for them, albeit in a high-end backup role. But the Devils have other goaltenders in Nico Daws and David Rittich who may be factoring into a better team goaltending outlook. Let’s dive in.

Click here for previous goals posts on forwards and returning defensemen.

The Goaltenders

Jake Allen

Goal: Handle a 42-Game WorkloadWithout Getting Injured

The number one issue for whether the Devils’ current goaltending situation will work out revolves around Jake Allen’s ability to play a high number of games. If Allen can play half of the NHL season without getting hurt or seeing any major performance dips, it might not even be necessary to carry three goaltenders. Since the 2018-19 season, when Jake Allen was the 28-year old starter for the St. Louis Blues, Allen has only played 42 games once: in 2022-23, when he had an .891 save percentage and a 3.55 goals against average behind a horrendous Montreal defense. Since joining the Devils in 2024, Allen has a .904 save percentage and 2.77 goals against average in 77 starts and 81 games.

The most recent season, in which Markstrom was hurt for much of October, was Allen’s most games played since that 2022-23 season. Allen had a .903 save percentage and 2.74 goals against average in 36 starts and 37 games, which is right in line with the rest of his Devils tenure. But, diving into that a bit more: Allen had a .912 save percentage when he was the primary team goaltender in the first half of the season. Due to Markstrom’s injuries, Allen played 21 games out of the team’s first 40, and he had an 11-8-1 record (with another team win when he was pulled due to cramping). Over the rest of the season, Allen played 16 out of the team’s 42 games and had an .891 save percentage with a 6-9-1 record.

Per Natural Stat Trick, Allen was very good throughout the entire season, with 15.71 goals saved above expected. 11.92 of those goals saved above expected came in the first half of the season, with the rest coming in the second half. This, of course, indicates that Allen had a much tougher per-game workload than Markstrom had. Compared to Markstrom, Allen had a higher goals against average (3.04 vs. 2.87) in the second half despite having a better save percentage (.891 vs. .883). Maybe if the Devils give Allen the kind of defense they were trying to pull Markstrom across the finish line with, he can last a season without breaking down at all.

Nico Daws

Goal: Make It Unnecessary to Carry a Third Goaltender

In Nico Daws’s career, the 25-year old German goaltender has a 24-24-1 record with an .898 save percentage and 2.96 goals against average. All things considered, that is well within regular backup range in today’s NHL, which featured a league average save percentage of .893 in the 2026-27 season. But I am interested by whether Daws can be more than just a 20 or 30-game backup if he is used in a rotation that does not either have him sitting for long stretches or playing every single game for periods of time. That has been his career experience so far, for the most part.

When Nico Daws was first called up in the 2021-22 season, he played a few games here and there in October and February, putting up a .918 save percentage in six games with a 3-1-0 record. Daws was kept up in March and April, and from that last game in February, he played 20 out of the team’s 23 games. During that stretch, he only had an .891 save percentage with an 8-11-1 record. Breaking that down by stretches before a rest game looks like this:

• First nine games: .901 SV%, 4-5-0
• Next five games: .872 SV%, 2-3-0
• Next five games: .892 SV%, 2-3-0
• Last game: .885 SV%, 0-0-1

After getting hip surgery following the season, Daws’s usage pattern did not change in the 2023-24 season. Again, he was leaned on for long stretches that saw his performance dip over time. He had a relatively normal first eight appearances with an .895 save percentage and 3-5-0 record. Then, he played seven games in a row in February. Over the first four, he had a .942 save percentage, including his legendary Metlife Stadium performance when he stopped 45 of 48 shots. Most organizations would probably remember to sit a goaltender right after that game, considering his recent hip surgery, but he pressed on for three more games where he had an .800 save percentage, including two games giving up five or more goals.

Since being relegated to third goaltender status in the Markstrom-Allen regime, Daws has had a .925 save percentage and 2.02 goals against average in nine games with a 5-2-0 record in seven starts. In this period, Daws has only had to make consecutive starts once: the team’s 4-0 loss to Boston at the end of the last season in which Daws had an .846 save percentage.

Of course, Daws will have to make occasional consecutive starts if he’s going to share the net with Jake Allen alone. But the more Daws can reduce the need for a third goaltender, the more he can establish himself as a true NHL goaltender and possibly never get sent back to the AHL throughout the rest of his career. Sheldon Keefe might really just need to purely alternate their starts.

David Rittich

Goal: Play Every Game Like It Could Be His Last

David Rittich is in a different spot of his career than Jake Allen or Nico Daws are. Allen has a long-term contract and Daws is only 25. Rittich, by comparison, is 34 years old and coming off of two seasons where he had a save percentage under .900. Of course, Rittich has had positive goals saved above expected numbers in two of the last three seasons, but he has been incredibly inconsistent. He has been so inconsistent that I am not sure how much value he brings to a three-goalie tandem if he cannot play to a level that demands regular starts. And even then, I am not sure how much appetite I have for an all-or-nothing goaltender after experiencing Jacob Markstrom for two seasons. From HockeyViz, Rittich has clearly had very strong and very weak periods since joining Los Angeles in 2023-24.

Further negative streakiness could largely end Rittich’s career at this point, so he needs to make certain that he is at the top of his game every time he steps on the ice for the New Jersey Devils this season. With a contract that is under the threshold to be buried in its entirety in the AHL, Rittich has no protection from waivers. It would cost the Devils nothing. So, if Jake Allen and Nico Daws look like they can play 84 games without him, why would they keep him in the NHL? And if they need a spot starter, and Jakub Malek outplays him in the AHL (if Rittich goes unclaimed), why would they be certain to use Rittich as the third goaltender?

Goaltending is a fun position, though, in the sense that performance usually dictates opportunity. If Rittich plays like he did in the first half of his Islanders tenure, he could make something out of this situation and extend his career further.

Roster Hopefuls

As I noted in last week’s article, the Devils’ defensive depth is stacked. And with the length of that article, I thought it would be wise to separate them a bit into returning veterans and hopeful depth. We are starting off here with Declan Chisholm.

Declan Chisholm

Goal: Prove Sunny Mehta Right

Sunny Mehta is a big fan of Declan Chisholm. It does not even sound like Mehta believes Chisholm should be the seventh defenseman on the team, saying on Spittin’ Chiclets that “at times, he’s kind of dynamic offensively.” And as JP Gambatese pointed out when he was acquired, microstat tracking indicates that Chisholm does actually do a lot of good things with moving the puck in transition. Of course, Chisholm only played 26 games last season for Washington after playing 66 for Minnesota in the previous year, so I do not think we should pencil Chisholm in above Brenden Dillon just yet. But in Chisholm we have one of Mehta’s first big proclamations: that this is a guy who has been overlooked by just about everyone else and just needs a proper shot to show how good he is.

Let’s see if he can do it.

Vladislav Kolyachonok

Goal: Force a Platoon with Dillon or Chisholm

Personally, I have just as intrigued by Vladislav Kolyachonok, who was signed in free agency, than I have been by Declan Chisholm. Both players have been about as productive as the other in the NHL so far, but Kolyachonok has two things going for me: he’s a year and a half younger and seems to have a little more luck getting the puck into the net. Kolyachonok has five goals in 87 NHL games, averaging only 13:58 per night, while Chisholm has six goals in roughly 800 more NHL minutes played. Kolyachonok largely does this through seeing-eye shots (which is a skill), but he has scored some good-looking goals as well.

What Kolyachonok does not have going for him as much is that Chisholm has played enough to actually have more sample size in his analytic profile. So while Kolyachonok looks good in his minutes so far, that could change if he were more exposed over a larger sample. Still, I would like to see it put to the test at some point, but his best hope is to play well enough in camp that he gets a handful of games on the third pairing in the regular season.

Seamus Casey

Goal: Force a Defenseman Trade

Unlike players acquired by Sunny Mehta, Seamus Casey does not have a good analytic profile in the NHL, per public models. He has weak shot impacts, but has not played very much: not many conclusions can really be drawn from this data yet, even fewer than can be said about Chisholm or Kolyachonok. Also unlike players acquired by Sunny Mehta, Seamus Casey is a true blueline goal scorer, and he already has eight points in 16 NHL games.

Unfortunately, Casey’s time outside of the NHL has not been so smooth. Over the last two seasons, Casey has only played 59 games in the AHL due to injuries, putting up 37 points in that span. Frankly, you would want to see more. But Utica has been an utter mess under the neglect of Tom Fitzgerald and Dan MacKinnon, and it’s rather difficult to judge anyone’s production there, especially for an oft-injured player like Seamus Casey.

Now with Mehta and Birch at the helms of the NHL and AHL teams, Casey actually has one thing going for him in Mehta’s excitement for Declan Chisholm. The right side of the defense is more ironclad. No matter what you think of him, Dougie Hamilton is a Sunny Mehta player, and he isn’t being traded regardless of what goes on elsewhere on the roster. Brett Pesce and Johnny Kovacevic also have full trade protection this season which weakens considerably in the offseason. But if Seamus Casey plays so dynamically that Sheldon Keefe could be convinced to give him games, we could be looking at some Chisholm-Casey third pairing games this year instead of Chisholm-Kovacevic or Dillon-Kovacevic.

Of course, Seamus Casey is waivers-exempt. If he plays any NHL games this season, he will lose his exemption next year. So with how many NHL-capable defensemen there are in the mix for the Devils this season, he is going to have to show out in training camp to get that kind of play. And if he does get that far, the only way he sticks on this roster is by playing so well that Sunny Mehta trades a left-handed defenseman to make him the extra defenseman on the roster.

Anton Silayev

Goal: Throw a Wrench Into All of This and Push for a Top-Four Role

I have no expectation that Anton Silayev will be an NHL defenseman this season. However, I believe that he is already good enough to be one. Silayev has already played 187 regular season games in the KHL along with 19 playoff games. He only turned 20 in April, though. At his age, coming off a season where he played lesser minutes because of a new coach that overprioritized veterans, it may be in his best interest to start off with the Utica Comets where he can play 21, 22, or 23 minutes per game, possibly even mixing in some power play time in there.

But I think Anton Silayev was a tenth overall pick for a reason. If he comes into camp looking like a massive mobile beast on the blueline, I do not think the Devils should stop him from playing NHL minutes. But we do have to be aware of the realities on the blueline. As it is, the only truly tradeable contracts who are not obviously valued by Mehta are Brenden Dillon and Jonas Siegenthaler. All players listed above here, other than Seamus Casey, are waivers-eligible. The Devils might be able to sneak Vladislav Kolyachonok to Utica, but they won’t have any luck trying that with Declan Chisholm. If Silayev’s play demands a roster spot, a trade will be necessary.

But Silayev should only get this chance now if he can be given top four minutes. If Jonas Siegenthaler stays above him on the depth chart, there would be no reason to have Silayev play 16, 17, or 18 minutes per night, especially as Luke Hughes possibly pushes up to 24 or 25 minutes per night. The Devils can get Dillon, Chisholm, or Kolyachonok to provide something between fine and good third-pairing play, so they do not need to ask Silayev to possibly stunt his development by playing that role.

But be aware, he’ll be here sooner than later.

Your Thoughts

What do you think of the goals I set for the players in this article? Do you agree or disagree with them? Do you have any extras? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.

NHL27 has officially been released to those who bought the game early, and with it a whole slew of new rankings and ratings for every team in the game.

The full ratings for the New York Islanders have come out, and they are ranked in a tie for the best team in the Metropolitan Division, at a team rating of 88 overall.

That's anchored by Ilya Sorokin at 93, Matthew Schaefer at 91, Ryan Pulock, Mathew Barzal, and Bo Horvat all at 88, and Adam Pelech at 87.

The overall ratings have the Islanders jointly tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division, alongside the Washington Capitals.

The Hurricanes, who won the Stanley Cup this past Spring, led by stars Sebastian Aho and Jaccob Slavin.

Slavin and Aho both come in at 91 overall in NHL27, while other key players such as Seth Jarvis and Nikolaj Ehlers land at 89, respectively. Shayne Gostisbehere is an 87 overall.

Long Island sensation Brandon Bussi checks in at an 86 overall, a huge leap from previous years in the video game.

Logan Thompson leads the Caps with a 90 overall as one of the premier goalies in the NHL. Alexander Ovechkin and Jakub Chychrun lead the Capitals' skaters at 89 overall each.

Jordan Kyrou is an 86 overall.

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. 

Other Sabres Stories

Sabres Emotionally Devastated By Game 7 Overtime Loss

6. Colten Ellis - Goalie (Buffalo - NHL)

The Sabres showed how much they soured on the professional prospects of Devon Levi based on their roster maneuvering to start the 2025-26 season. With starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen injured before and during training camp, the club chose instead of keeping Levi on the NHL roster to back up Alex Lyon, to claim Colten Ellis off of waivers when the St. Louis Blues attempted to send him to the AHL, and demote the waiver-exempt Levi to AHL Rochester. 

The 25-year-old was a 2019 fifth round pick of the Blues, who played four years in the QMJHL with Cape Breton, Rimouski, and Charlottetown before turning pro in 2022 with AHL Springfield and St. Louis’ ECHL affiliate. Ellis played full time in ECHL Tulsa in 2022-23, and split time between the two leagues again in 2023-24, before breaking out as a full time AHL starter in 2024-25, posting a 22-14-5 record, 2.63 GAA, and .922 save % with the Thunderbirds. 

Both former GM Kevyn Adams and Kekalainen indicated that the young goaltender’s puck-handling abilities was one of the attributes they liked. Because of his inability to clear waivers, the Sabres were forced to carry three goalies on their roster, but injuries to Luukkonen and Lyon throughout the season made having Ellis there a necessity. In 16 games, he posted an 8-4-2 record, 2.90 GAA, and .903 save %.

Barring a trade for Connor Hellebuyck, it is expected that Buffalo will carry three netminders again this upcoming season, but with Lyon entering the final year of his contract, it is possible that Ellis will see more action this year in preparation of being Luukkonen's primary backup next season. 

Follow Michael on X, and Instagram @MikeInBuffalo 

 

Michael Hutchinson may have retired from professional hockey, but the former Winnipeg Jets goaltender certainly hasn't left the game behind.

Just over a month after officially calling time on an 11-season NHL career, Hutchinson has landed his first coaching role, joining the Manitoba Junior Hockey League's Selkirk Steelers as goaltending coach for the 2026-27 season. 

For Hutchinson, it's another indication that his post-playing career will unfold in the same province where his NHL career truly took off.

The 36-year-old Barrie, Ont., product has made Winnipeg his permanent home after a professional career that took him across North America and eventually overseas. Now, instead of packing his bags for another training camp, Hutchinson will make the roughly 30-minute trip north of Winnipeg to work with the next generation of Manitoba goaltenders.

It's a fitting next step for a player whose connection to Winnipeg has long extended beyond the crease.

Hutchinson signed with the Jets organization in 2013 and eventually appeared in 102 games over parts of five seasons with the club. His breakout came in 2014-15, when he posted a 21-10-5 record, 2.38 goals-against average and .914 save percentage while helping Winnipeg qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the franchise relocated from Atlanta. 

He ultimately appeared in 154 NHL games between Winnipeg, Florida, Toronto, Colorado, Columbus and Detroit before finishing his professional career with SaiPa in Finland.

But no matter where hockey took him, Winnipeg remained home. Hutchinson's wife, Jenna, co-founded Winnipeg-based Jenna Rae Cakes with her twin sister, Ashley Kosowan. The bakery has since grown from its original location into one of the city's most recognizable local brands.

The Hutchinsons also maintained their roots in Manitoba throughout Michael's hockey travels, eventually building their permanent home in Winnipeg and returning to the city following the conclusion of his playing career.

And it hasn't taken Hutchinson long to find ways to remain involved in the sport.

He launched Hutchinson Goaltending in Winnipeg, offering private and semi-private lessons, team skates, consulting and video analysis to local netminders. His new role with Selkirk now provides another opportunity to pass along knowledge accumulated through more than a decade of professional hockey.

The Steelers announced the hiring this week, pointing to Hutchinson's 154 games of NHL experience and five seasons with the Jets as reasons for their excitement in adding him to the staff. 

His return to Manitoba hockey won't be limited to coaching, either. 'Hutch' is also the lone goaltender currently listed on the Winnipeg Jets roster for the 2026 Alumni Game against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 24 at Canada Life Centre. He'll share the ice with a collection of familiar Jets 2.0 names, including Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, Mathieu Perreault, Paul Stastny and others. 

When Hutchinson announced his retirement in July, the Jets' message to their former netminder included a telling line: they couldn't wait to see him at the Alumni Game.

It turns out fans won't have to wait until October to see Hutchinson involved in hockey again. After years spent bouncing between organizations, cities and countries in pursuit of the next opportunity between the pipes, Hutchinson has finally stopped moving. Manitoba is home.

As most fans are aware, one of the Senators’ strengths as they enter another season will be their depth at centre.

Tim Stützle, Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto and Stephen Halliday will likely occupy the four centre positions to begin the season. But the Sens also have several wingers with varying degrees of NHL experience in the middle, including Claude Giroux, Ridly Greig, William Eklund, Nick Cousins, Michael Amadio and André Burakovsky.

Now, the organization’s depth chart at centre may be about to get even deeper.

London Knights winger Jaxon Cover was selected by the Senators in June with the 32nd and final pick of the first round. His amazing story has been well told this summer. He grew up playing roller hockey in the Cayman Islands before making the switch to ice hockey as a teenager.

Because Cover has only been playing ice hockey for less than six years, his potential for improvement is already extremely high.

So that already makes him a fascinating prospect, but he may be adding another intriguing dimension to his game.

As Henry Brown at @SensProspects pointed out, Dale Hunter and company are currently auditioning Cover as the Knights’ second-line centre. He played there during his first two OHL preseason games, and clearly his saucer pass game is on point.

#AppleSauce

Jaxon Cover picked up an assist in his second OHL preseason game 🍎

He’s lined up as the 2C both times, recording 1G, 1A, and a fight pic.twitter.com/P3anMmx0OO

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) September 5, 2026

The Victoria Royals are hosting the Knights in a rare two-game interleague series they've billed as “Clash of the Kingdoms." The Royals won the opener 7-2 on Friday night, and the second game is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Sens fans can stream Saturday's game here.

This could simply be the Knights kicking tires on possibilities, as most teams do in preseason. However, if the experiment continues, and especially if he thrives in the role, it would be an intriguing development for the Sens.

Success in the middle this season could even lead to Cover playing there again when he begins his freshman season at Penn State next year.

All else being equal, centres are generally valued more highly than wingers at the NHL Draft because of the additional responsibilities that come with the position. It is fair to wonder whether Cover might have been selected even earlier had teams already viewed him as a potential centre.

The Sens drafted Cover as a winger after he recorded 20 goals and 32 assists for 52 points in 67 games with London during the 2025–26 season.

Even if he eventually returns to right wing, spending time at centre should benefit his development. The position demands greater defensive awareness, more responsibility down low, and a stronger understanding of all three zones.

Learning those details could help Cover become a more complete two-way player.

If he takes to the position, it would also make him valuable as an organizational asset. Every NHL team is searching for additional depth down the middle, and that would only increase Cover’s value, whether it's in Ottawa or as a future trade chip.

While in Victoria this week for exhibition games, Cover spoke to the OHL’s digital team about attending his first Senators development camp shortly after being drafted.

“Going to the Ottawa camp, just seeing the next level that those players have, and just how much stronger and faster they are… I want to just try to bring that level (to the Knights) and do the best I can with it.”

Again, two preseason games at the position do not make Cover a full-time centre, but the experiment is worth monitoring. First-round picks all enter professional hockey with major value. Some maintain it and become NHL players; others see their stock fall off.

But Cover now has two potential sources of untapped upside: his limited experience on the ice and now, the possibility that he could develop into a centre.

Few prospects from the 2026 NHL draft have more room for their stock to rise.

Looking to help lead ⚔️@LondonKnights forward Jaxon Cover discusses the trip to Victoria and how he's approaching it!@Senators | #Senspic.twitter.com/ViD8TWutEe

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) September 4, 2026

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News

This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the latest THN Ottawa headlines below:

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Brendan Brisson’s time with the Vegas Golden Knights never quite turned into what either side hoped it might.

Vegas selected Brisson with the 29th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, betting on the Los Angeles native to eventually become an important piece of its forward group. He would go on to appear in 24 games with the Golden Knights across two seasons, scoring twice and adding six assists.

Now, several years after hearing his name called by Vegas, Brisson is moving on to another opportunity.

The 24-year-old forward signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs after spending the 2025-26 season between the New York Rangers and their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Brisson made three appearances for New York last season, picking up one assist. The bulk of his production came in Hartford, where he finished with 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points in 66 games.

While his NHL opportunities have been limited, Brisson has been a productive player at the AHL level. Across 244 career games with the Henderson Silver Knights and Hartford, he has recorded 145 points, including 66 goals and 79 assists.

His professional career began with high expectations after Vegas made him a first-round selection, and Brisson arrived in the organization with an impressive amateur résumé.

At the University of Michigan, he produced 63 points — 31 goals and 32 assists — in 62 games over two seasons. He helped the Wolverines win a Big Ten championship and was named to the conference’s Second All-Star Team in 2022.

Brisson also represented the United States on the international stage. He scored twice in four games at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and was part of the American team that won gold at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, recording two goals in seven games.

Before making the jump to college hockey, Brisson established himself as one of the USHL’s top young players with the Chicago Steel. During the 2019-20 season, he scored 24 goals and added 35 assists in 45 games, earning USHL Rookie of the Year honors along with spots on the First All-Star Team and All-Rookie Team.

For Vegas, Brisson ultimately became one of those prospects who showed flashes but never secured a permanent spot in the NHL lineup.

His next chapter will come in Toronto, where he’ll get another opportunity to prove that the potential that made him a first-round pick can still translate into consistent NHL production.

On Friday, the Montreal Canadiens revealed the 23 players who will take part in their rookie camp from September 11 to September 15, and the consensus online is that it’s underwhelming. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone, however, since the Canadiens’ most exciting prospects are either playing in the KHL (Alexander Zharovsky, Gleb Pugachyov), in the NCAA (Michael Hage, Timofei Runtso), or elsewhere in Europe (Vinzenz Rohrer). Even Hayden Paupanekis, who missed last year’s camp because of mononucleosis, won’t be attending since he left the Kelowna Rockets for St. Cloud’s University.

As for top defenseman prospect Bryce Pickford, he’s still recovering from shoulder surgery and isn’t on the list either. The offensive blueliner wasn’t on the ice for development camp either, and he’s still recovering.

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All these absences opened the door for several undrafted players who will attend camp on a tryout basis: seven of the 13 forwards were invited on that basis: Alexander Donovan from the St. John Sea Dogs, Kody Dupuis from the Shawinigan Cataractes, Braydon McCallum from the Peterborough Petes, Mavrick Rousseau-Hamel from the Quebec Remparts, Thomas Rousseau from the Sherbrooke Phoenix, Alexey Vlaskov from the Victoriaville Tigres and Brady Wassilyn from the London Knights. Of the lot, Vlaskov and Rousseau had the best offensive numbers out of the players from the QMJHL last season. The former put up 80 points in just 64 games, while the latter had 52 points in 60 games. As for Donovan, he had 53 points in 63 games in the OHL.

Four of the Canadiens’ picks from the 2026 draft will be attending: Wesley Royston (190th overall), Parker Trottier (189th overall), Jean-Samuel Daigneault (221st overall) and Brayden Klimpke (117th overall).

Even though the roster lacks top prospects, it will still be interesting to see how they hold their own against the Winnipeg Jets (September 12, 1:00 PM) and the Ottawa Senators (September 13, 6:00 PM) rookies. Don’t expect too many cuts by the end of camp, however, since the Canadiens will be playing two split-squad games during the preseason: September 19 against the Toronto Maple Leafs and September 26 against the Ottawa Senators.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have 26 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #26. 

Let's take a look.

Andrej Nedorost - 2002-2003 - Drafted by Columbus in 2000.

Nedorost played 28 games for Columbus from 2001 to 2004. He also played parts of three seasons with the Syracuse Crunch. After his time with Columbus, he would never play another NHL game.

He left for Europe in 2004, where he began playing in Russia. He also played in Czechia, Sweden, Slovakia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Poland. His last professional season was in 2015. 

Todd Marchant - 2004-2006 - Drafted by the New York Rangers in 1993.

Marchant played 95 games for Columbus and totaled 43 points after signing in 2003.

Marchant refused to waive his no-trade clause, which would have allowed Columbus to send him to Anaheim as part of the Sergei Fedorov trade. After trading for Fedorov, Columbus placed Marchant on waivers to circumvent his no-trade clause. Anaheim picked Marchant up off waivers on November 21, 2005, to make him a Mighty Duck.  

Derek MacKenzie - 2008-2009 - Drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999. 

MacKenzie played 279 games over the course of seven seasons for Columbus. He signed with Columbus in 2007 and made his debut in December of that year. 

He left for the Florida Panthers in 2014 and would play there until he retired in 2019. Later that year, he was named an asst. coach for Florida. He's spent the last two seasons as an asst. coach for the Nashville Predators. 

Samuel Påhlsson - 2010-2012 - Drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in 1996. 

Påhlsson signed with Columbus in 2009 and played a total of 222 games. He was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 2012, which would be his last NHL season.

He made a move to Europe in 2012 to play in Sweden. He played three seasons before retiring on April 16, 2015.

Corey Tropp - 2014-2015 - Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2007.

Tropp was claimed off waivers from the Buffalo Sabres on November 27, 2013. He would play a total of 105 games with Columbus, including 61 in 2014-15. On June 30, 2015, Tropp was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in the deal that brought Brandon Saad to Columbus. 

After spending three straight seasons in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls, Tropp left for Europe. He played a season in Germany and one in Poland before retiring. 

Kyle Quincey - 2017 - Drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 2003. 

Quincy played 20 games with the Jackets after being traded to Columbus from New Jersey on March 1, 2017. He played one year in Minnesota before leaving for Finland to play one more season. He retired after that one season in LIIGA. 

Thomas Vanek - 2018 - Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2003. 

Vanel was traded to the CBJ on February 26, 2018, from the Vancouver Canucks. He played a total of 19 games and had 15 points. 

He signed a one-year deal with Detroit in 2019. That would be his final season in pro hockey. He is now a Hockey Operations Advisor for the San Jose Sharks. 

Zac Dalpe - 2021 - Drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2008. 

The former Ohio State Buckeye forward played 25 games for the Jackets and had 4 career points. 

Dalpe played in 133 games for the Monsters and had 100 points. For his career, he played 574 games and totaled 393 points. On July 7, 2025, Dalpe retired from hockey and was hired by the Seattle Kraken as a Development Coach. For this upcoming season, he was named Team Consultant by the Kraken. He will help young players find their footing in pro hockey by helping with apartments, bills, and everything else that comes with being new to the pro game. 

There are 26 days until opening night at NWA. 

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There are officially less than two weeks until the Philadelphia Flyers start training camp, and less than one week until the Flyers' rookies start rookie camp. And things are finally happening around the NHL!

Speaking of Flyers rookie camp, it should be an exciting one with Porter Martone, Denver Barkey, Alex Bump, Maksim Sokolovskii, and Jett Luchanko all included on the roster and expected to participate, starting on Sept 11 in Allentown, Pa.

The main draw will be the two Rookie Series games against the New York Rangers and their youngsters, which will be on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 13 at 5:05 p.m.

I'm sure Martone, Barkey, and Bump are going to be lobbing alley-oops to each other against lesser competition, but I'm most excited to see Sokolovskii's performance after a fun showing at development camp back in July.

On the topic of Martone, Scott Wheeler recently ranked the 19-year-old in the same tier of prospect as Gavin McKenna and Lane Hutson, so that's pretty neat for the Flyers going forward. Continued upward trajectory means potential franchise forward in the making.

The same cannot be said of Matvei Michkov, who dropped a full tier in Wheeler's list due to how the NHL views him as a player, and based on everything that went on with him and head coach Rick Tocchet last year.

Flyers' Path Back to Playoffs Just Got Way HarderThe latest big NHL trade proves the Philadelphia Flyers will have their work cut out for them in 2026-27.

The good news is that, heading into the new season, Tocchet seems to have a fresher perspective on things, calling it a "learning experience" for both men and acknowledging mistakes on his own behalf.

I love to hear that from Tocchet, because, if this thing is going to get up off the ground for the Flyers, Matvei Michkov is going to be there with Martone piloting the crew and helping them achieve liftoff.

Flyers draft mistake? Zeev Buium gets his bag

The big NHL news of the week is coming out of Vancouver, surprisingly, with the Canucks handing prospect defenseman Zeev Buium a hefty eight-year, $75 million contract extension that comes with a $9.38 million AAV.

Buium, 20, was acquired by the Canucks from the Minnesota Wild as the centerpiece of the Quinn Hughes trade and committed to the franchise after just 45 regular season games.

Buium recorded three goals, 11 assists, and 14 points in 31 games with the Wild, registering a fair -9 rating while getting 18:28 of ice time a night.

On an absolutely awful Canucks team, that ice time shot up to 20:21 a night, though Buium produced just three goals, nine assists, and 12 points in 45 games, with five of those points coming on the power play. Oh, and he was a -24 in those 45 games, finishing the season at -33.

I'm still a believer in Buium's potential, and the Canucks clearly are, too. The stats reflect how truly bad the Canucks were as a team last year: they were 9-27-5 at home.

That said, I'm skeptical the Canucks will soon build an environment conducive to the development of young players, as Buium will continue to be force-fed top pairing minutes against tough competition.

His development could stagnate, but that's not a guarantee.

On the Flyers' side of the 2024 draft controversy, Jett Luchanko is not expected to be on the NHL roster this year barring something unforeseen.

It's the right call to have Luchanko developing in the AHL, but the offensive game still has to come a long way to move the needle.

The Flyers still have the worst power play in the NHL, and they'll be turning to David Jiricek to try and get a boost from the point.

And, let the Buium contract be a reminder that prices are only going to go up for the next few years. If Michkov has a great third season in the NHL, he'll be getting double-digits undoubtedly.

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltending prospect Sergei Murashov quickly rose through the ranks these past few seasons. 

Murashov was selected by the Penguins in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft and had two great seasons in Russia's MHL before coming over to North America ahead of the 2024-25 season. 

He started with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers and lit it up with them, finishing the 2024-25 season with a 17-7-1 record, a 2.40 goals-against average, and a .922 save percentage. He also made his AHL debut in Wilkes-Barre that season and didn't look out of place either, compiling a 12-3-0 record with a .913 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average. 

Murashov quickly graduated to the AHL full-time in 2025-26 and served as the 1A goaltender. He looked unbeatable at times down there, finishing the regular season with 24 wins, a .919 save percentage, and a 2.20 goals-against average.

He was even the guy in the playoffs, starting all of Wilkes-Barre's games before the team lost to the Toronto Marlies in the AHL Eastern Conference Final. Despite the loss, he did what many expected and played extremely well.

He even made his NHL debut during the season and showed some of his potential, especially against the Nashville Predators in Sweden on Nov. 16. He showcased strong agility, looked confident in the crease, and had great rebound control. It resulted in his first career NHL win and shutout. 

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows in his other starts, but that's common for a young goaltender who is getting his first look at NHL action. 

It's Not About 'Nostalgia' For The Penguins. It's About Timing.Many Pittsburgh Penguins fans claim that "nostalgia" is holding GM Kyle Dubas back from doing what needs to be done to move the team forward, but that's simply not the case.

The trick for Murashov now is how he does when he makes the full-time jump from the AHL to the NHL. It's the hardest jump for any prospect. Teams and players will have film on him, and they'll try to exploit any of his weaknesses. How he adjusts to that is going to be super fascinating. 

Granted, this is all assuming he makes the team out of training camp. That is the likeliest scenario, but he will still have to earn it. 

If Murashov does earn it, he'll likely be the 1B/backup goaltender to Arturs Silovs during the regular season. He'd earn 30-35+ starts and could push Silovs for the 1A job if he plays well enough. 

Goalies, especially rookie goalies, are insanely hard to predict, but if he can finish the year with a save percentage between .900 and .905 and be at least positive in goals saved above expected, that would be a success.

Yes, those aren't the highest of expectations, but it's important to remember that this is a process. Development takes time.  

With that in mind, Murashov is an easy person to root for, and it will be fun tracking his progress during the season. 

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The NHL saw a major contract get signed on Friday.

The Vancouver Canucks signed young defenseman Zeev Buium to an eight-year, $75.04 million contract ($9.38 million AAV). The Canucks are betting on Buium's upside and will be hoping that the 20-year-old can continue to develop in the right direction after his solid rookie season. 

With the way salaries have been going up around the NHL, Buium's deal certainly has the potential to age very nicely for Vancouver. He is a promising young defenseman with very good upside. Yet, at the same time, this contract only continues to show just how good Lane Hutson's contract with the Montreal Canadiens is. 

Hutson is entering the first season of his eight-year, $70.8 million contract extension, where he will have a bargain $8.85 million cap hit. The young defenseman signed this deal in Oct. 2025 after he six goals and 66 points in 82 games as a rookie for Montreal in 2024-25. He also, of course, won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year. 

Buium was solid last season, as he recorded six goals and 26 points in 76 games. However, he was not anywhere near Hutson's level as a rookie and will now be making more than him. That only shows just how great Hutson's deal is.

The Canadiens clearly made the right call extending Hutson when they did. Had they waited until this summer, he could have landed himself a significantly higher payday when looking at the salaries this year's restricted free agents received.