The Devils traded a conditional first-round pick and a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft to the Nashville Predators to acquire forward Luke Evangelista on Tuesday night, the team announced.
Evangelista had a career-high 56 points (12 goals, 44 assists) in 81 games last season in his fourth year with the Predators who drafted him in the second-round (42nd overall) in 2020. In 253 career games, the 6-foot, 183-pounder has 142 points on 45 goals and 97 assists with a plus-6 rating.
The 24-year-old will be owed $3 million this season for the final year of his contract.
As for the details of what New Jersey is sending Nashville, the conditional draft pick belongs to the Colorado Avalanche. If the Avalanche do not transfer their 2027 pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs or the choice in 2028 is in the top 10, the Predators' pick will be in 2029.
Sunny Mehta is an analytical, forward-thinking, and young general manager. It’s what made him an attractive hire for the New Jersey Devils, who hope he can take a team that has the talent to contend yet has failed to do so in recent years.
But we’ve heard this about GM hires before. The hockey mind who uses analytics is nothing new and has become a trend. It’s what the New York Islanders wanted when they hired Mathieu Darche. It’s what the Carolina Hurricanes pursued when they promoted Eric Tulsky. Daniel Briere, Kyle Dubas, Julien BriseBois, and many others fit into this category. Analytics and data aren’t a plus in any front office hire; they are a must.
So, how will Mehta stand out? Obviously, he’s not a carbon copy of the other GMs hired recently, with a unique path that will make his tenure fascinating one way or another. But what does he bring to the table that will turn the Devils into a Cup contender? What will make Mehta a successful GM and keep him in the role for the long term? The future is unpredictable, yet his track record provides optimism.
Mehta’s Non-Hockey Background
Every GM has an outside-of-hockey background. No longer are the days when the question centered around whether they played and their on-ice career. Instead, it’s what other skills come with the hire, aside from playing or coaching the game.
For Briere and Darche, two former players, the business background helped. Tulsky was a blogger before entering front office roles. Kent Hughes was an agent before turning the Montreal Canadiens into a success.
Mehta was well-known for his card-playing days. If a casual fan is asked about him, cards are one of the first things that come to mind, specifically his professional poker playing background.
Poker made him a risk-taker. It’s a game where winners must take their chances, even if the odds aren’t in their favor. It’s a game where all the data and all the number-crunching can be put to use, and still someone with the right gut reaction might win the set with a lucky hand.
That’s not what made Mehta a successful poker player. Analytics did. He mentioned it during his introductory presser. “The reason that I ever even cared about analytics, statistics, probability is because it helped me win. It helped me win in poker. It helped me win on the trading floor. And it helped me in hockey.” The data allowed him to enter a hockey career prepared.
Mehta’s Interest In Development & The AHL Team
To build a long-term contender, a team that can win now and in the future, Mehta must build up the farm system, which was depleted under previous Devils GMs. The Devils need more prospects and a winning culture at the American Hockey League level, along with the NHL team.
The last time the Devils had elite teams at both levels, it led to the dynasty. In 1994-95, both the Devils and their AHL affiliate Albany River Rats pulled off the rare feat of winning the Stanley Cup and Calder Cup title in the same season (it’s only happened three times, and they were the most recent). The culture built in Albany helped fuel the Devils’ future Cup winners in 2000 and 2003. The irony, of course, is that Lou Lamoriello never had the same interest in the AHL team (or the league in general) since then.
Mehta is looking for those extra prospects. It’s those players who are developed in the AHL and become depth NHLers. It’s the players who can get called up when an injury happens, and the team doesn’t miss a beat. It’s when a young player needs a team to remain patient with them, hoping the prospect turns into a star.
This offseason, Mehta addressed all of those needs. Riley Tufte is a heavy top-line forward who can score, he can carry the Utica Comets and play on the fourth line for the Devils. Declan Chisholm is a 26-year-old defenseman who can fill in on the second or third pair. Amadeus Lombardi is 23 and starting to hit his stride as a forward who can develop into a key part of the offense. Mehta brought in all three players this summer with the intention of fixing both teams (the Comets, like the Devils, also missed the playoffs last season).
Mehta saw what happened with the Florida Panthers and their affiliation with the Charlotte Checkers. He saw a team build a winning culture at the NHL level while also instilling it in the AHL team. While the Panthers didn’t have a great farm system, they had the extra help needed to win the back-to-back Cup titles. Mehta wants that extra help in New Jersey, and it starts in Utica.
What Mehta Learned In Florida Will Translate In New Jersey
His latest and most successful stop was with the Panthers. Mehta was the assistant GM and data scientist on a team that relied heavily on its analytics. The time in Florida has a direct influence on how he’ll operate as a GM.
What stood out about Panthers GM Bill Zito, the architect behind it all, was his ability to take every resource and apply it to the team on the ice. The Panthers funneled information to the top, and then Zito was the one who had the final say and called the shots.
The Panthers had a great analytics department. They had more that separated them from the rest of the league. For example, the Panthers have one of the best scouting departments in the league, deploying extra scouts to games across leagues of all levels.
Expect the Devils to have more scouts at games, not just their games, but throughout North America. Likewise, they’ll have a bigger analytics department and multiple departments helping with the decision-making. At the same time, expect Mehta to make the final decision.
The Seattle Kraken are also a data-driven team, with many in their front office coming from that background. The problem is that they lack a definitive direction, and there isn’t one person calling the shots (Jason Botterill is their GM, but they also have Ron Francis as president and many people below him).
Another benefit of Mehta's experience, beyond just his Panthers tenure, is his time in multiple front offices and working under different ownership groups. His time with the Panthers allowed him to see what good ownership looks like. He knows what incompetent ownership is like, working for the Phoenix Coyotes. Plus, Mehta knows how the Devils operate, as he worked for the franchise for four seasons.
The Devils are looking for their next great GM, someone who can lead this team for years to come. At 48, Mehta already has built up a track record that gives them confidence that they have found the right GM.
Well, it's officially Sept. 1, and that means the NHL regular season officially begins at the end of the month, and training camps will kick off in just a few short weeks.
For some Pittsburgh Penguins fans, it's understandable - to an extent - that this offseason may have been a bit of a disappointment. Despite "big-game hunting" being advertised, nothing seismic happened in the trade market, even if pretty big efforts were put forth to make a big splash (see the Jason Robertson saga).
Smaller moves were made to offset roster losses from last season, and even if tiny improvements were made to the margins of the roster, it's fair to wonder whether those improvements will be enough to offset improvements by other teams - most notably, the Washington Capitals - in the Metropolitan Division next season.
And one point of contention that is still a hot-button talking point is the fact that all of the Penguins' aging veterans are still on the roster.
Had Kyle Dubas and the Penguins been successful in hauling a big fish this summer, it more than likely would have involved at least one of their talented veterans going the other way. But Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Erik Karlsson, and Kris Letang are still in the mix, and it appears likely they will all still be in the mix once the puck drops against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sept. 30 for opening night.
Some will call it a failure that the Penguins are still holding on to all of these players - the youngest among them being Rakell at age 33 - and some will call it "nostalgia." While the merits of failure on the front office's part can be argued when weighing in the lack of a true youth movement, the nostalgia argument simply doesn't add up.
Keeping valuable older players around too long can often set a franchise back from those goals, as the assets acquired for those players can be leveraged for younger, more forward-oriented talent. Rust and Rakell - both 30-goal, 70-point players - each have two years left on their very team-friendly deals at $5.1 and $5 million average annual value, respectively, while Karlsson is entering the final season of his $11.5 million contract that the Penguins pay out $10 million for.
But the important thing to keep in mind here is that Dubas and company aren't exactly going about the Penguins' rebuild in a way that's been done before. Sure, other teams like the Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes have attempted to rebuild and sustain contention without bottoming out, but the methodology behind each case is different.
And if we're looking case-by-case at the Penguins' six core veteran players, the claim that Dubas and the front office are clinging to nostalgia doesn't hold water when you consider how most of the veterans are faring in their mid-late 30s:
- Crosby, 39, is coming off of his NHL-record 21st consecutive season above point-per-game, and although his defense has seen decline over the past several years, he still remains one of the league's elite first-line centers capable of producing at a high level. He had 29 goals and 74 points in 68 regular season games in 2025-26.
- Malkin, 40, was re-signed for one year, and the primary reason he was re-signed is because he produced 19 goals and 61 points in 56 games last season. He may be 40, but he was above point-per-game - and if anyone out there said, "Hey, I can get you a point-per-game top-six forward for $5.5 million next season," any reasonable GM would take that in a heartbeat. And, by the way, he very marginally bested Crosby's point-per-game output (Crosby was at 1.088, Malkin at 1.089).
Most OT points all-time:
Sidney Crosby - 48 Evgeni Malkin - 46 Connor McDavid - 46 Leon Draisaitl - 45 Patrick Kane - 43 Erik Karlsson - 41 Patrick Kane - 41 John Tavares - 39 Kris Letang - 37
- Rust, 34, had 29 goals and 65 points in 72 games and continues to be a valuable player in both the top-six and on special teams, particularly on the penalty kill. Akin to the Malkin argument, you'd be hard-pressed to find a 30-goal, 70-point, Swiss army knife-type player making just $5.1 million, and there are currently no younger guys internally who are ready to replicate or replace that production.
- The same can be said of Rakell, who had 24 goals and 48 points in 60 games last season despite an early-season broken hand that kept him out two months and led to a slow start when he did return. He was one of their best, most valuable players down the stretch run of the season when he produced at a point-per-game pace while playing center, something he hadn't done with consistency in a decade-plus. His contract value, positional versatility, and production make him highly valuable to the Penguins.
- Karlsson, 36, put together the best season of his three-year Penguins' tenure last year, notching 15 goals and 66 points in 75 games and playing some of the best three-zones hockey of his NHL career. He was one of the very best players in the NHL during the month of March and was named the Penguins' Team MVP at the end of the regular season, which speaks to his irreplaceable value and his impact on the team.
Defenseman, and I repeat DEFENSEMAN, Erik Karlsson is on a goal-per-game pace since March 16.
- Letang, 39, is perhaps the only one of the six in a tangible state of regression, but he did return to form late in the season and during the playoffs when it counted. The Penguins also managed Letang's minutes last season, docking nearly two minutes average ice time (21:41) from his previous 2024-25 campaign (23:32). Letang might not be a top-four defenseman anymore, but in more sheltered and calculated minutes, he is still capable of being a serviceable NHL defenseman.
At the end of the day, for five of these players, their 2025-26 seasons coupled with their career outputs and trajectories in the last three years are what is keeping them on this team, not nostalgia. And Dubas knows this. In fact, he said at the conclusion of last season that the Penguins would be faced with some tough decisions regarding veterans at some point and that he's ready to face those decisions when that time comes, even if the Penguins are a special case of "nostalgia" with the big three.
"I think, at some point, I knew when taking the job that it's me that's going to have to make somebody or fans unhappy with different decisions as they come. And I knew that when I agreed to come here," Dubas said back on May 12. "For me, the key is we always have to do what's best for the Pittsburgh Penguins, even if that's unpopular or makes people unhappy, that's the way we have to operate.
"So, we'll continue to field the team in the formation that we feel gives us the best chance to move ahead. If there are players that begin to pass by them, regardless of who they are and how long they've been here, it's incumbent upon me to make those decisions and do what's best for the Penguins in the long run."
Right now, Crosby certainly isn't blocking anyone. Malkin isn't blocking anyone. Right now, Rakell and Rust aren't, either, as none of the Penguins' young forwards - though some are more promising than others - are ready to leap into a top-six NHL role. But if that point arrives this season, Dubas and the Penguins will take action.
If dynamic right defenseman Harrison Brunicke comes into camp, picks up where he left off during the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs, and blows everyone out of the water, Dubas and the Penguins won't hold him back on Letang's account or anyone else's account. Same goes for Owen Pickering on the left side.
In order for these guys to be supplanted and truly be expendable, the young guys the Penguins have need to prove they can fill those spots. Until that begins to actually happen - whether that's earned opportunity through sheer performance or through opportunity due to injuries - if the team truly desires to keep winning and building simultaneously, they're going to keep these guys around.
And if we're being real, the only untouchable player because of nostaglia to an extent is Crosby. And if anyone is even entertaining jettisoning a top-five player of all-time who is still one of the best, then "nostalgia" isn't actually the issue.
So, let's go ahead and put the "nostalgia" to bed. The veterans will be phased out when it's time for each of them to go, and that time has simply not arrived yet - especially since they're still pretty darn good hockey players.
It's been a rough week for Calgary Flames around the globe. Not only did fans flood social media with memories of Johnny Gaudreau, who passed away on August 29, 2024, but they also turned that sorrow into anger when single-game tickets to the final game at the Scotiabank Saddledome were sold out within minutes. With only limited opportunities to see the Flames on home ice for the final time, fans who planned to travel to Calgary for one final experience were shell-shocked. But that's not even the worst news about the club to make its way into the headlines lately.
A few days ago, the NHL released its national broadcast schedules for ESPN and TNT, and much to the chagrin of Flames fans in the United States, their rebuilding club, led by Dustin Wolf, Matt Coronato, and Zayne Parekh, will not be featured for a single game on TV outside of Canada.
Flames, Canucks, and Senators shut out by ESPN and TNT
Surprisingly, it wasn't a total shutout for Canadian markets on U.S. TV, since the Montreal Canadiens have six games across both networks, followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs with three. The Winnipeg Jets get in by default, since they are hosting the Canadians at this year's Heritage Classic. Meanwhile, the Canadian team with the most games is, of course, the Edmonton Oilers, since the NHL continues to market Connor McDavid to casual fans south of the border.
However, the Flames, along with the Ottawa Senators and last-place Vancouver Canucks have no games this season on ESPN and TNT. It seems weird that the league couldn't find a spot for any of those clubs, especially when they travel to Vegas, Colorado, Chicago, Boston, or even Tampa Bay. At least the Senators qualified for the playoffs last year, while the Flames and Canucks battled for a spot in the Draft Lottery.
Still, NHL fans and voters will never get to see Wolf make acrobatic saves or Elias Pettersson score a highlight-reel goal. Ultimately, the NHL loses by not showcasing all its teams on national TV at some point. But what makes this season's schedule even odder is the fact that this is the final season at the Saddledome. It's the last time the Canadiens will visit the 'Dome, the place they won their 1986 Stanley Cup title. It's the final bow for Matthew Tkachuk, who was a star here and bolted for the Florida Panthers. Finally, if Ovechkin scores a goal in his final appearance on December 5, it could very well be the final goal he ever scores in Canada.
Of course, fans who want to watch Calgary are upset that Sportsnet raised their subscription prices, and for diehards in the United States, it won't matter which service they subscribe to since the Flames will not be on the air. It's been a frustrating summer for Flames fans, but once the puck drops on opening night, the focus will shift back to what happens on the ice.
The calendar has flipped to September, meaning that the Detroit Red Wings are officially less than three weeks away from the start of Training Camp, which opens at the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena on Sept. 17.
As of now, the Red Wings remain without a general manager following the leadership transition announced in mid-July, while captain Dylan Larkin remains with the organization despite his trade request, which he reportedly has not had a change of heart about.
The Red Wings, who lost 57 points of offense upon the departure of forward Patrick Kane, did sign UFA forward Viktor Arvidsson, who tallied 54 points (25G, 27A) with the divisional rival Boston Bruins last season.
But amid their front-office void, the Red Wings have missed an opportunity to add some badly needed secondary scoring to their lineup.
UFA forward Eeli Tolvanen has reportedly agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the New York Rangers, removing another name from the free-agent market whom the Red Wings could have pursued to supplement their offense.
Not finalized just yet, but closing in. #NYR adding 27-year-old Eeli Tolvanen to the mix. https://t.co/3xMAs02X7U
Tolvanen, who has spent the last several seasons with the Seattle Kraken, now joins a Rangers team that was shut out on home ice a whopping seven times last season. He's just one season removed from a career-high 23 goals scored in 2024-25.
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 4, 2024
While his production dipped to just 12 goals in 2025-26, signing Tolvanen would have represented a low-risk, high-reward proposition for Detroit.
According to a report earlier this offseason from NHL insider David Pagnotta, the Red Wings were interested in the Finnish forward, although it wasn't specified whether that interest was before or after Steve Yzerman vacated his role as general manager on July 15.
The Red Wings, who did not utilize the NHL's buyout window earlier in the summer, will have to hope that players like Michael Rasmussen, J.T. Compher, and Mason Appleton can provide more consistent production than they did last season.
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For the first time in what feels like forever, the Philadelphia Flyers will be heading into training camp and a new season with a respectable amount of depth at both forward and defense.
Over the last year, forward prospects Alex Bump and Denver Barkey graduated to the NHL level after brief, impressive stints with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Oliver Bonk, a 2023 first-round pick, came on strong in his first professional season, and ultimately made his Flyers debut and Stanley Cup playoff debut within weeks of each other to finish out the campaign.
But, as the aforementioned youngsters continue to surge, other prospects will have to play catch-up just to have a shot at an NHL future going forward, and some are approaching their last chance to secure such a role.
Helge Grans, RHD, Age 24
This time last year, Flyers defense prospect Helge Grans was the in-house favorite to take over as the team's third-pair right-shot defenseman, but had a training camp and showing so poor that the Flyers cut him early and stuck with the likes of Egor Zamula and Noah Juulsen as their depth options.
Grans, now 24 years old, is running out of time to show that he's an NHL-caliber defenseman.
In his age-22 season in 2024-25, Grans played six games for the Flyers under former head coach John Tortorella, recording one assist in his November jaunt with the big club.
This year, however, Grans is heading into the last year of his two-year contract and will be 25 years old when free agency begins on July 1.
A future with the Flyers is not guaranteed, either, if for no reason other than Grans being a Group 6 unrestricted free agent, as he'll be 25 years old with fewer than 80 NHL games played.
This year, Grans will have to overtake the younger, more talented David Jiricek, whom the Flyers acquired for Bobby Brink at the recent NHL trade deadline, as well as Bonk, just to make the roster. Establishing himself as a regular at the NHL level will require another two or three gears up from what we have seen in the past.
Jacob Gaucher, C, Age 25
(Photo: Kyle Ross, Imagn Images)
The Flyers thought highly enough of Jacob Gaucher, who came to the organization as an undrafted free agent, to award the swashbuckling center an NHL contract on Dec. 12, 2024.
Somewhat surprisingly, despite having not established himself, Gaucher returned to the Flyers on June 4 on a one-year deal, after which he'll be an unrestricted free agent.
The brolic 6-foot-4 center is an interesting prospect for the Flyers in that he has played eight NHL games for them over the last two seasons, but his underlying metrics in a sheltered role have been quite poor.
At the AHL level, though, Gaucher has scored no fewer than 20 goals and 36 points in each of the last two seasons, and scored three goals, three assists, and six points in seven Calder Cup playoff games in 2025.
The Flyers spent much of last season searching for a right-shot center they could use for matchup purposes, and with top prospect Jett Luchanko still playing at the junior level in the OHL, there was nobody stopping Gaucher from coming up and filling that role.
Instead, the Flyers bypassed him and left him in the AHL with the Phantoms, and eventually claimed veteran Luke Glendening on waivers from the New Jersey Devils on March 6 instead.
Now that Nikita Grebenkin is healthy and Noel Acciari has been brought in as a veteran fourth-liner with versatility, the odds are really stacked against Gaucher sticking at the NHL level at some point.
Still, the Longueuil, Quebec, native offers some valuable size and scoring upside should the Flyers need it, and he's proven that he can beat the odds to make it to this level in the past.
We can't count Gaucher out just yet, but he, like Grans, is in a contract year having to play the numbers game.
The saga surrounding Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets continues to escalate, with recent reports suggesting the divide between the goaltender and the organization may run deeper than initially believed.
TSN analyst and longtime NHL netminder Martin Biron addressed the situation on Overdrive this week, saying he believes the three-time Vezina Trophy winner could be prepared to sit out the entire 2026-27 season if his trade request isn't granted.
"I really feel that Connor Hellebuyck is gonna say, 'Ok that's fine, suspend me whatever. I'm willing to sit out a year, I've made good money, I've put it away... just gonna take time with my family,'" Biron said.
It would be an unprecedented step in the modern NHL and would mean walking away from a significant chunk of the $59.5 million remaining on his seven-year contract, but Biron suggested Hellebuyck may be prepared for exactly that outcome.
Hellebuyck's public statement last week made clear he wants to move on from Winnipeg, but the severity of that stance has only become more apparent as the situation has unfolded.
Biron also weighed in on what it would take for the Jets to move him, suggesting Winnipeg should be seeking a first-round pick, a high-end prospect, an established NHL player and additional help in net to pair alongside newly acquired goaltender Stuart Skinner.
The rift has also become a talking point on other platforms, including the widely followed Spittin' Chiclets podcast, hosted by former NHL players Ryan Whitney, Paul Bissonnette and Keith Yandle.
During a discussion of the situation on Tuesday's episode, Bissonnette, a Canadian native who has spent much of the past year working in the United States on NHL broadcasts among other media assignments around the league, offered some added context. He noted the relief he personally felt returning home to Canada after a long hockey season, and suggested a similar pull toward home may be another factor driving Hellebuyck, a Michigan native currently playing in Winnipeg.
The hosts also pointed back to comments Hellebuyck made following his return from the Winter Olympics, where he described the reception back in Winnipeg as far from warm despite having just won gold with Team USA.
In an article published by CBC back in March, Hellebuyck spoke about the backlash both he and his family faced. "The blowback that my wife [Andrea] was getting is just not fair. I don't understand how she can take so much heat for just being with me as a hockey player.
"We've done nothing wrong, she's done nothing wrong, my kids have done nothing wrong," he said.
"That's the stuff that is out of bounds for me, and that's the part that really, really upset him."
The podcast hosts speculated that the fallout from the Olympics may have marked the beginning of the divide between Hellebuyck and the organization, one that only deepened once Winnipeg's season ended outside the playoffs.
With training camp approaching and no resolution in sight, the situation risks intensifying further, particularly if Hellebuyck were to skip camp entirely, a scenario that could turn an already tense standoff into a much bigger issue for both sides. Given the stakes, it may ultimately be in Winnipeg's best interest to find a resolution sooner rather than later.
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The Anaheim Ducks will retire the No. 15 jersey of franchise icon Ryan Getzlaf on Jan. 30 before their game against the Nashville Predators.
Getzlaf will get the honor after being the franchise's all-time leading scorer and longest-serving captain (2010 until his 2022 retirement).
He played his entire career with the Ducks after being drafted 19th overall in 2003 and finished with 1,019 points in 1,157 games. He also ranked first on the team with 737 assists and fourth with 282 goals.
Getzlaf had a team-best 17 points as the Ducks won their lone Stanley Cup title in 2007 in his second year in the league. He also won gold medals with Canada at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
He will become the fourth Ducks player to have his number retired, joining Teemu Selanne (8), Paul Kariya (9) and Scott Niedermayer (27).
With the 2026 Rookie Faceoff just a couple of weeks away, the San Jose Sharks released their roster for the event on Tuesday. Surprisingly, Michael Misa and Igor Chernyshov who spent a considerable amount of time in the NHL last season were among those listed.
Full Roster:
Forwards:
Jordan Bax
Filip Bystedt
Igor Chernyshov
Aurelio Garcia
Andre Gasseau
Jake Gustafson
Brendan Hoffmann
Connor Lockhart
Cam Lund
Pavel Martinu
Michael Misa
Quentin Musty
Ivar Stenberg
Carson Wetsch
Defensemen:
Jake Boltmann
Mattias Havelid
Alexander Karmanov
Thomas Messineo
Mack Oliphant
Eric Pohlkamp
Leo Sahlin-Wallenius
Tristan Sarsland
Phillip Sinn
Goaltenders:
Matt Davis
Connor Hasley
Brady Knowling
The Sharks will play two games, the first on Saturday, September 12 against the Los Angeles Kings at 5 P.M, followed by a game on Sunday against the Utah Mammoth at the same time.
The Colorado Avalanche, Anaheim Ducks, and Vegas Golden Knights will also participate in the three-day event at Tech CU Arena and Sharks Ice at San Jose.
On Sunday, the hockey world was sent into a swirl over comments made by a former teammate of free agent forward Evander Kane.
The longtime NHL winger, who began his career as a member of the Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets franchise after being selected fourth overall in 2009, has since bounced around the league.
Kane most recently playing for a last-place Vancouver Canucks team this past season after three seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, the most notable stretch of his career, one that included two trips to the Stanley Cup Final. Kane remains unsigned heading into 2026-27, with some suggesting his off-ice reputation may be playing a role.
Gabriel didn't hold back, describing Kane as habitually late to team meetings and would routinely dress unprofessionally. He went further, calling Kane a bully who leaned on his toughness to intimidate teammates, while also acknowledging he personally wasn't intimidated and would confront him directly.
Peng, on the same episode, pointed out that San Jose's leadership group effectively pushed for Kane's exit, a situation that culminated in the Sharks terminating his contract in 2022 after he was found to have violated COVID-19 protocols at both the NHL and AHL level by attempting to use a fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination card.
Kane responded on social media to Gabriel's remarks with a cryptic message that read, in part, "I can't wait for the day I decide to share my truths. The only difference? Mine will come with facts, receipts, and the actual truth."
He continued, "a lot of people have become far too comfortable speaking publicly while relying on my silence. Enjoy it while it lasts. There are plenty of bombs with plenty of names attached."
I can’t wait for the day I decide to share “my truths.” The only difference? Mine will come with facts, receipts, and the actual truth.
For now, I’ll simply say this: a lot of people have become far too comfortable speaking publicly while relying on my silence. Enjoy it while it…
The BC native closed by suggesting that when the time is right, he'll address the claims directly, a comment that hints he may be waiting until retirement to offer more context on certain situations throughout his career that have often been viewed as problematic.
Kane will likely have plenty to address if that day comes, given he's never spent more than four seasons with the same team. Between 2013 and 2016, he faced a dismissed sexual assault lawsuit and an arrest for harassment and trespassing in Buffalo.
From 2019 to 2021, he was sued by a Las Vegas casino over roughly $500,000 in gambling debts before filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2021, listing $26.8 million in debt, and was also investigated by the NHL for alleged match-fixing, though he was cleared of betting on NHL games. Reports of friction with teammates have also followed him through stops in Winnipeg, Buffalo and San Jose.
Kane is now 35, but last season he still showed he can produce, finishing with 13 goals and 31 points on a struggling Canucks team. Whether any team is willing to take a chance on him now likely comes down to how front offices around the league weigh his remaining on-ice value against the mounting off-ice noise surrounding him.
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Arguably the most intriguing storyline going into training camp for the New York Rangers is the status of Alberts Šmits.
The Rangers selected Šmits with the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft to be a potential cornerstone for years to come.
A big reason the Rangers chose to draft Šmits over other defensemen in their range is that he’s considered one of the most pro-ready defensemen in the 2026 NHL draft class.
Playing at the Olympics, World Championship, and Liiga this past season, Šmits showed his maturity on the ice and cemented his status as a top prospect.
After some speculation about whether Šmits would take the professional hockey leap, he signed his entry-level contract with the Blueshirts, meaning he’ll either play in the NHL or the American Hockey League during the 2026-27 campaign.
The 18-year-old defenseman will have to compete for a spot on the Rangers’ opening-night roster, which will make for an intriguing thing to watch out for throughout training camp.
It will be an uphill battle for Šmits to make the Rangers’ roster, as the addition of Marcus Pettersson and the breakout of Matthew Robertson last season gives the team two left-handed blueliners to complement Vladislav Gavrikov.
Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury has also already made it clear that the organization does not plan on rushing Šmits’ development.
“We're gonna do right by him and the long-term health and well-being of him as a Ranger,” Drury said of Šmits. “This is not a sprint for him. We hope he's a rock-solid defenseman for the Rangers for the next 15 years. We're not going to put him in positions or situations that he can't handle. So excited to add him, but again, not going to do anything that's not in the best interest long term for him.”
We did see Noah Laba work his way into the lineup last year despite coming from the NCAA the year before, so it’s always possible for Šmits to earn a roster spot through his performance from both rookie and training camp.
Regardless of the eventual outcome, all eyes will be on Šmits once players report back to training camp in September.
With just over two weeks left before the Montreal Canadiens’ trading camp officially kicks off, RFAs Arber Xhekaj and Samuel Bolduc have yet to be signed to new contracts. While some believe it may be because they're part of an impending trade, it could also be that negotiations are taking longer than expected. But there’s another contract Habs fans should worry about: that of Martin St-Louis.
While not everyone was convinced that St-Louis was the man for the job when he was hired in February 2022 because of his lack of experience behind a professional team’s bench, he has since proven the naysayers that he could more than handle the role. Since taking on the role, the former NHLer has taken his team through the various stages of a rebuilt and has shown himself to be a great teacher for young players.
As his young team progressed, the coach raised his expectations and demands, shifting from a pure development stage to one focused on results. Gone are the days when the Canadiens were just trying to gain experience; now, they are trying to win and make a name for themselves as Stanley Cup contenders.
Much like his players, St-Louis struggled the first time he took them to the playoffs. Their first series against the Washington Capitals was short-lived as the inexperienced group was eliminated in five games. The following year, though, the coach proved up to the challenge in the first round against Jon Cooper and the Tampa Bay Lightning. After sticking to his guns in believing that his first line could figure out the match-up games, he eventually realized that it needed help, and he got the better of Cooper in the match-up duel, leading the Canadiens to the second round.
The duel against the Buffalo Sabers wasn’t always pretty, but the Habs came out on top after a thriller of a seven-game series. The team ran out of gas in the Eastern Conference Final, as St-Louis had no answer for the Carolina Hurricanes’ perfectly executed system. Still, taking such a young team this far was an achievement, and when he spoke to the media at the end of the playoffs, GM Kent Hughes said a contract extension was in the cards for the bench boss.
The results have been great, players have repeatedly stated that they like playing for the Hall of Famer and it would be highly surprising if the pilot was to start the season without an extension in his back pocket. Is this a question of the Canadiens saving the signing announcement to have something to talk about at the September 14 golf tournament? It could very well be, just like Ivan Demidov’s contract extension took some of the attention away from the fact that Hughes didn’t make any signings in free agency, a St-Louis contract extension would put the projectors on the coach instead of on the GM who has yet to manage to make any needle moving deal this summer.
When St-Louis was initially appointed as coach on February 9, 2022, he was hired on an interim basis, but he was officially named the 32nd head coach in franchise history on June 1, 2022. He had a contract that covered the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. On April 24, 2024, the Canadiens announced that they had chosen to exercise their option on St-Louis’ contact and that he would be back for three seasons. Now that two of those are in the books, it’s time for the coach to put pen to paper again, but aside from Derek Lalonde’s hiring, it’s been all quiet on the coaching front this summer.
Starting the season without a new contract wouldn’t be great for stability and could make players wonder if St-Louis is all in, as they are. Last season, the coach mentioned that he was looking forward to this year because his wife could finally join him in Montreal with the couple’s three children no longer living at home in Connecticut. If anything, that new reality should make it even easier for him to commit to the team.
A lot can change over the span of a decade for an NHL franchise, especially when it comes to prospect lists. Some players live up to their potential, while others may never play a game for the organization that drafted them. It is also a fun exercise to look back and debate which players should have been drafted higher, and which ones are now considered draft busts.
Every year, The Hockey News puts out a list of an organization's top 10 prospects. These lists can be found in The Hockey News' Archive, which holds every issue published. With this in mind, here is how The Hockey News ranked the top 10 prospects for the Vancouver Canucks heading into the 2016-17 season.
1) Defenceman Olli Juolevi: A smart player who reads the game extremely well. Poised and smooth with the puck.
2) Goaltender Thatcher Demko: Intelligent and driven, he has shown improvement in his positioning and tracking.
3) Right Winger Brock Boeser: A blend of power and finesse, he shows no fear taking the puck to the net. excellent release.
4) Left Winger Brendan Gaunce: Must recover the edge that had him almost make the Canucks out of camp last year.
5) Defenceman Jordan Subban: An offensive force, great with the puck on his stick. Much improved defensively.
6) Defenceman Guillaume Brisebois: All-situations defenseman with smarts. Smooth skating gives him excellent mobility.
7) Defenceman Andrey Pedan: A tough, physical defenseman. Positionally sound in his own end and a solid skater.
8) Defenceman Nikita Tryamkin: Will be an imposing figure on an NHL blueline once he adjusts to the North American game.
9) Right Winger William Lockwood: Small, quick, offense-oriented player. Must bulk up during tenure at Michigan.
10) Right Winger Cole Cassels: A versatile player who could fit a penalty-killing role. His offense dried up as a rookie pro.
Jun 24, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Olli Juolevi poses for a photo after being selected as the number five overall draft pick by the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft at the First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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The next wave of Los Angeles Kings prospects is about to get its first opportunity to make an impression.
The Kings announced their 27-player roster for 2026 Rookie Camp on Tuesday, with a group that includes two players who already reached the NHL last season, five members of the team’s 2026 draft class and a collection of prospects who spent time developing with the Ontario Reign.
Rookie Camp will run from Sept. 11-15 at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo, Calif., while the Kings will also participate in the 2026 Rookie Faceoff in San Jose during the same five-day window.
The roster features 14 forwards, 10 defensemen and three goaltenders, giving Los Angeles an early look at several of the young players who could eventually form part of the organization’s next NHL core.
Among the most recognizable names are forwards Jared Wright and Kenny Connors, both of whom made their NHL debuts with the Kings during the 2025-26 season.
Fourteen players from last year’s Rookie Camp group are returning, including defensemen Henry Brzustewicz and Jared Woolley.
Woolley enters his third Rookie Camp with some impressive junior numbers behind him. The defenseman posted a plus-32 rating across 66 games split between the London Knights and Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League last season, ranking eighth among OHL defensemen and 17th among all skaters.
Brzustewicz, meanwhile, followed up a strong sophomore season by emerging as one of the OHL’s more productive offensive defensemen. He recorded 54 points on 19 goals and 35 assists in 59 games, tying for third among league defensemen in goals while finishing seventh in points.
Los Angeles will also get an early look at five players selected by the organization at the 2026 NHL Draft in Buffalo, New York.
That group includes second-round defenseman Adam Goljer, selected 49th overall, and forward Liam Lefebvre, who went 46th overall. Defenseman Giorgos Pantelas was selected 153rd, Lucas Ambrosio went 223rd and goaltender Yegor Rybkin was taken 89th overall.
The Kings’ prospect pool will have plenty of professional experience in the room as well.
Eleven players on the Rookie Camp roster appeared in the AHL with the Ontario Reign last season, including Wright, Connors, Kenta Isogai, Jack Hughes, Kaleb Lawrence, Koehn Ziemmer and Brendan Gorman among the forwards.
Defensemen Jakub Dvořák, Kirill Kirsanov and Brzustewicz also saw time with the Reign.
Goaltender Hampton Slukynsky is another player to watch after beginning his professional career with a perfect 2-0-0 record, a 1.00 goals-against average and a .957 save percentage.
He will have a familiar face alongside him in camp. Slukynsky will be joined by his brother, Grant, marking the first Rookie Camp appearance for the two brothers with Los Angeles. The pair previously played together at Western Michigan University.
Kings Set For Six-Team Rookie Showcase
Los Angeles will then take its prospects to San Jose for the 2026 Rookie Faceoff, where the Kings will compete against five other Western Conference organizations: the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, Utah Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights.
The tournament begins Sept. 12, with all six teams in action that day and again on Sept. 13. After a day without games on Sept. 14, the tournament concludes Sept. 15 with Utah facing Los Angeles.
The Kings will open the tournament against San Jose on Sept. 12 before facing Anaheim the following afternoon. Their final game comes against Utah on Sept. 15.
The complete schedule is:
Saturday, Sept. 12
Colorado vs. Anaheim — 1 p.m. PT
Utah vs. Vegas — 3 p.m. PT
Los Angeles vs. San Jose — 5 p.m. PT
Sunday, Sept. 13
Vegas vs. Colorado — 1 p.m. PT
Anaheim vs. Los Angeles — 3 p.m. PT
San Jose vs. Utah — 5 p.m. PT
Monday, Sept. 14
No games scheduled
Tuesday, Sept. 15
Utah vs. Los Angeles — 1 p.m. PT
Rink assignments for the individual games have not yet been announced.
Before the tournament begins, Kings fans will have an opportunity to see the prospects on the ice in El Segundo. Los Angeles will hold one Rookie Camp practice open to the public on Friday, Sept. 11, from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the NHL sheet at Toyota Sports Performance Center.
For the Kings, the week represents more than the traditional opening of prospect camp. With NHL debuts already under their belts, a handful of recent draft picks entering the organization and several players coming off professional seasons, Los Angeles will have a deeper look at the young talent that could shape the franchise’s future.
If there was any doubt about Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck's intentions heading into next season, the Hart and Vezina Trophy winner made it clear late last week when he confirmed through his agent that he has requested a trade. The 33-year-old had knee surgery, and a career-worst .895 save % with the Jets last season, but still played 57 games (23-23-11) and was the key to Team USA’s gold medal victory at the Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina.
The Buffalo Sabres were connected to Hellebuyck around the NHL Draft in late June, but Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen and Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff could not find common ground on a deal. The conventional wisdom is that now that Hellebuyck has made his trade request public, that Cheveldayoff is not in as strong a negotiating position to get the best deal for the netminder, but he reportedly is open to going to a wide swath of teams.
Unless Hellebuyck is prepared to hold out, Winnipeg could wait into the season for the right return for such a valuable commodity.
The Sabres could be in the mix for Hellebuyck, but deals that had previously been offered that included goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen might be off the table, since he has a five-team no-trade clause that could block a trade to Winnipeg. It is expected that any deal involving Buffalo would include one of their young centers (Noah Ostlund or Konsta Helenius), one of their top prospect defenseman (Daxon Rudolph or Radim Mrtka) and/or an established NHL forward (Jack Quinn or Ryan McLeod).
Other teams could be in the mix for the veteran netminder, either to get them into the playoff mix, or to elevate them from a consistent postseason entrant to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
Where will Connor Hellebuyck end up?
Utah Mammoth
Team Status: The Mammoth made the postseason in their second year after the move from Arizona, and possess one of the best group of young talent in the NHL, but GM Bill Armstrong still has some critical areas to fill to make them a contender in the Western Conference. The club added defenseman MacKenzie Weegar at the trade deadline to shore up their blueline, and added some much-needed experience up front by acquiring center Vincent Trocheck from the NY Rangers, and signing forward Anders Lee in free agency.
Current Goalie Situation: Utah has leaned heavily on workhorse Karel Vejmelka, playing the Czech netminder 122 games over the last two seasons, but last season, in spite of a sub .900 save %, the 30-year-old went 38-20-3. The club made an investment in a goalie of the future in Sebastian Cossa, trading a 2026 first round pick to Detroit to get the 23-year-old in hopes of him taking some of the burden off of Vejmelka.
Assets To Trade: Utah has boatloads of young prospects that Cheveldayoff would crave in a deal for Hellebuyck. Vejmelka is entering year two of a five-year extension making $4.75 million, but he has a 10-team no-trade list that could make including him in a trade troublesome. Cossa has no protection. Prospects such as 2024 first rounder Tij Iginla, or 2025 top pick Caleb Desnoyers would likely be on Winnipeg’s wish list, but Armstrong’s willingness to swap such valuable prospects would depend on whether he believes that Hellebuyck would be a considerably upgrade on his current status in net, and whether he would be someone who could elevate the Mammoth to the level of Dallas, Colorado, Minnesota, Edmonton and Vegas.
