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.
Strbak was the Sabres second-round pick at the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville, a draft in which the club’s scouting strategy seemed to shift from high skill to players with size. After selecting big Swedish forward Anton Wahlberg earlier in the round, the club chose the Slovakian blueliner 45th overall.
Where will Connor Hellebuyck end up?
The 6’2″, 205 lb. defenseman played his youth hockey in Finland for Jokerit and has played internationally for his home country at the Under-18s and in four World Juniors, starting at age 16 in 2022.
Strbak shifted to North America prior to his draft year and played for Sioux Falls in the USHL. He first made his mark internationally at the 2023 Under-18’s with six assists in seven games and had three assists in five games for Slovakia at the World Junior. In 2024, he impressed at the Under-20’s with seven points (1 goal, 6 assists) in just five games at the WJC in Sweden. Last season, in his final WJC appearance, he posted six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in five games.
The 21-year-old also made a significant jump as a sophomore at Michigan State. After scoring nine points (2 goals, 7 assists) in 32 games as a freshman, Strbak jumped to 19 points (3 goals, 16 assists) in 33 games. He had another solid year with the Spartans last season (3 goals, 15 assists in 37 games), and signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Sabres in April, making his pro debut with the Amerks at the end of the season.
Strbak joins a young group of blueliners (Radim Mrtka, Gavin McCarthy, Vsevolod Komarov) in Rochester, who will all be adjusting to the professional game and fighting for opportunity.
SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - 2023/11/02: Avangard Hockey Club player, Mikhail Gulyayev (84) seen in action during the Kontinental Hockey League, regular season KHL 2023 - 2024 between SKA Saint Petersburg and Avangard Omsk at the Ice Sports Palace. (Final score; SKA Saint Petersburg 3:5 Avangard Omsk). (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by Mile High Hockey staff members. Seven writers have ranked players under the age of 25 in the Colorado Avalancheorganization as of September 1, 2026. Now, we’ll count down each of the 25 players ranked.
Name: Mikhail Gulyayev
Age: 21
Position: D
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 172 lbs
Likely 2026-27 Team: Avangard Omsk
2025 Rank: #2
Final Rank: #3
High Rank: #2 (Jess)
Low Rank: #16 (Ryan)
2025-26 Statistics:
Avangard Omsk – 54 GP, 1 G, 2A, 3 pts, 14 PIM, +3
Our top 25 under 25 is down to the top three players, starting with Mikhail Gulyayev at #3!
Gulyayev is entering his third season with Avangard Omsk of the KHL after inking an extension with the club that appears to push his potential NHL debut back to the 2028-29 season.
Guylyayev broke into the KHL at just 18 years of age, still ranks among our most promising Avalanche prospects, and his experience in Russia’s pro league seems like quality training grounds. Still, as always, the question is when or if he will jump the pond and come to North America.
At his size and given Omsk’s commitment after a slightly underwhelming 2025-26 campaign, it’s probably best to see out the contract and continue the road to the NHL through European channels.
I do believe that Gulyayev will graduate to the NHL one day, and for me, it’s more likely he won’t spend much (if any) time with the Eagles in the AHL if or when he decides to make the trip. That said, another year or two with Omsk will hopefully boost the young man’s confidence and make the Avalanche front office more comfortable offering his ELC.
The Avalanche do have exclusive rights to Mikhail’s services after drafting him 31st overall in 2023 with a pick received in the process of trading Alex Newhook to the Montreal Canadiens.
As for Gulyayev’s style, it’s all about speed. Here’s a quote from Elite Prospects on Gulyayev that I think adequately describes my take:
“Man, can Mikhail Gulyayev fly out there. You give him an inch, and he’s sprinted a mile past you with about as effortless and clean a stride as you’ve ever seen…”
We always say that elite skating ability is among the hardest skills to develop, and one of those have-it-or-you-don’t sort of attributes. Mikhail is also effective at gap control and attentive to protecting the middle of the ice, thanks to his skating ability.
His skating prowess allows him to be a bit more aggressive and crafty than most big-bodied defenders. His savvy defensive play is the foundation for looking beyond his smaller frame, and we see the NHL trending toward sacrificing size for puck-control capabilities.
We’ve also seen a level of creativity that should have Avalanche fans excited. Just look at this tape-to-tape pass that created a break for Omsk.
I do, however, hope we see Gulyayev take a considerable leap in physical engagement this season. The ‘he’s too small and non-physical’ take is one I usually poke holes in, but in this instance, it’s likely valid.
It’s not that Gulyayev’s lack of size shows in him being maltreated, but more in his choices to avoid physicality in general.
To make it in the NHL as an undersized defender, you have to, at a minimum, be willing to stick your nose in there once in a while, and developing mental callousness before being run down by the world’s largest and fastest forwards is a good idea. I’d also like to see a point shot from Gulyayev that has eyes and the power to be dangerous.
Let us know what you think of this prospect in the comments!
In the post, they list three players as the potential options to wear the “C” for the Sens.
They are defensemen Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson, and forward Tim Stutzle.
All three seem like reasonable choices.
Chabot is 29 and has spent his entire nine-year NHL career with the Senators.
Sanderson and Stutzle are both 24 and have 750 NHL games between them, also all with Ottawa.
Each of them were selected in the first round by the Senators. Chabot was selected 18th overall in 2015, while Stutzle was the third overall pick in 2020 and Sanderson went fifth that same year.
Stutzle has led the Sens in scoring three of the past four seasons, including last year when he racked up a team-high 34 goals and 83 points.
While it would appear that the young Stutzle has a strong case to be Ottawa’s captain, Panthers veteran Brad Marchand apparently does not agree.
On Tuesday, Marchand left a comment on the post, which simply said, “Hahahah …..stutzle….hahaha.”
The two have been divisional opponents since Stutzle came into the league during the 2020-21 season, but there haven’t been any memorable interactions between them or anything that has led to penalties or suspensions.
Still, this provides a little more fuel to the fire of the rivalry between Florida and Ottawa, which in recent years has often led to some physically entertaining matchups.
We won’t have to wait long to see the Cats and Sens lock horns, as the first meeting between the two clubs is set for Oct. 21 in Ottawa.
Photo caption: Oct 21, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Florida Panthers left wingBradMarchand(63)smiles as the final horn sounds in their 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson-Imagn Images)
New Devils GM Sunny Mehta isn’t done shaking up their roster with training camp right around the corner.
New Jersey acquired Predators winger Luke Evangelista on Tuesday for a conditional 2028 first-round pick and a 2028 second-rounder.
The first-round pick is originally from the Avalanche, and the Predators would receive Colorado’s 2029 first-rounder if the Avs’ 2027 first-rounder isn’t transferred to the Maple Leafs, or if the 2028 first-rounder is in the top 10.
The Devils acquired winger Luke Evangelista in a trade with the Predators. Getty Images
Evangelista, 24, is coming off a career year with Nashville, scoring 12 goals with 44 assists in 81 games while logging 16:37 of ice time per game. Sixteen of his assists came on the power play.
The 2020 second-round pick is entering the last season of a two-year, $6 million contract and is set to be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent after the 2026-27 season.
Mehta, who grew up in Wyckoff and went to Ramapo HS and was previously was the Devils’ director of hockey analytics, is in his first year as an NHL general manager after spending the last six seasons with the Panthers, including three years as an assistant GM.
With the Devils missing the playoffs and having only won one playoff series over the past 14 years, Mehta has put his imprint on the roster.
Anthony Mantha was his biggest addition up front, the veteran winger signing a two-year, $9.5 million contract after coming off a career year with the Penguins in which he had 33 goals and 31 assists.
Mehta also dumped disappointing veteran goalie Jacob Markstrom and his $6 million annual cap hit for the next two years on his former team, trading him to the Panthers for forward depth in Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist and Ben Steeves.
Sunny Mehta during his introduction as Devils general manager on April 21, 2026. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Goaltending has held the Devils back from breaking through despite an impressive core that includes American gold-medal hero Jack Hughes and his brother Luke, Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt.
They currently have 36-year-old Jake Allen, unproven 25-year-old Nico Daws and uninspiring 34-year-old David Rittich.
If Mehta wants to take a big swing, he could try for Hughes’ fellow gold medalist Connor Hellebuyck, the star Winnipeg Jets goalie who recently publicly confirmed his trade request.
In the 2026 off-season, the St. Louis Blues made several additions to their roster, highlighted by young forwards Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael.
But the Blues made another move at the 2026 NHL draft that has flown a bit under the radar. The Blues dealt a pair of third-round picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs to acquire veteran right-handed defenseman Brandon Carlo.
Carlo struggled during his time with the Maple Leafs, who paid a premium price to acquire him from the Boston Bruins at the 2024-25 trade deadline. He was brought in to be a shutdown defenseman and add physicality to their blueline, but it never worked out.
Carlo was recently a guest on the Cam & Strick Podcast, where he discussed some of his mishaps in Toronto.
“It was tough at times,” Carlo admitted. “Obviously, I don't think that we had as great of a year. I had some injuries, I wasn't at my best... didn't work out the way that I would have hoped, but overall, I like to try and focus on the positive.”
Carlo went on to discuss elements he enjoyed while playing in Toronto, including former Blues coach Craig Berube and teammates like Jake McCabe, Morgan Rielly, and Auston Matthews. Carlo believes playing in Toronto has helped him develop a thicker skin. Now a veteran on a team filled with youngsters, Carlo will have this experience in Toronto to look back on.
Now 29 years old, Carlo is playing for his third NHL team. Upon skating in eight games, Carlo will have played 700 NHL games. The Blues won't need Carlo to average over 20 minutes a night, but they'll need him to be a positive presence who plays a safe game.
“I had talked to my agent a little bit and knew that it could be a possibility,” Carlo said of the move. “Contract-wise, going into the last year and things like that. I'm really excited about the timing. It kind of gives our family some time to figure out the logistics and just come in with a group and start the year.”
Carlo enters the final season of a six-year, $4.1 million AAV contract. Whether Carlo is a one-year rental or signs another deal with the Blues is undetermined. Colton Parayko, another right-handed defenseman, will have three years left on his deal, and Logan Mailloux will hopefully be a top-four option for the Blues. With prospects like Adam Jiricek looking to join the big club in the next few seasons, Carlo could be seen as a stopgap until Jiricek does.
Ultimately, the Blues' success this year and Carlo's play will determine his future with the organization.
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SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota Wild fans now know how much it will cost to stream the team's games during the 2026-27 season.
The Wild announced Wednesday that they have reached a multi-year local streaming agreement with Prime Video, which will become the exclusive streaming distributor of Wild games within the team's local broadcast territory.
Fans can purchase a Wild subscription through Prime Video for $19.99 per month or $99.99 annually. The subscription will be available to all Amazon customers.
Prime Video will stream all Wild regular-season games that are not exclusively nationally televised, as well as the team's locally produced First Round Stanley Cup Playoff games.
“We are thrilled to announce a new streaming relationship with Prime Video,” Wild Chief Revenue Officer and Executive Vice President Mitch Helgerson said in a release. “This agreement ensures our fans will have a seamless way to watch every local Minnesota Wild broadcast this season.”
The streaming announcement comes alongside another significant change to how Wild games will be broadcast this season.
Minnesota is launching Wild+, a team-owned and operated multimedia network that will serve as the official television home of the Wild.
Wild+ will produce every regular-season game that isn't selected for exclusive national distribution by the NHL's national broadcast partners, including ABC, ESPN, ESPN+/Hulu and TNT.
Fans will have multiple ways to access Wild+ broadcasts, including Prime Video, cable, satellite and over-the-air television. The Wild said specific channel locations and additional availability information will be announced before the start of the regular season.
The broadcast crew will remain familiar to Wild fans.
Anthony LaPanta will continue as the team's play-by-play announcer alongside lead analyst Ryan Carter, while Kevin Gorg will serve as rink-side reporter. Katie Storm and Wes Walz will be the primary hosts of the Wild's pregame and postgame coverage.
Former Wild goaltender Alex Stalock and longtime Minnesota hockey figure Lou Nanne will also serve as analysts for select games.
The Prime Video agreement is part of a larger multi-year partnership with the NHL that also includes the Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues.
“We’re excited to build upon our strong relationship with the NHL and provide fans with more ways to connect with the local teams they love,” Charlie Neiman, Head of Sports Partnerships at Prime Video, said in a release.
For Wild fans outside of the team's local broadcast territory, games will remain available through NHL Center Ice and NHL Power Play on the ESPN App.
The Wild said additional subscription information and Wild+ channel details will be announced before the beginning of the regular season.
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ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues have a new television home.
The franchise and the NHL announced on Wednesday a multi-year agreement with Prime Video to serve as the exclusive local market streaming provider for the team beginning with the 2026-27 season.
With the addition of the Blues, Prime Video now offers local coverage for more than 10 NHL teams.
"Our desire to maximize accessibility and ensure long-term consistency for where our fans will find our first team-owned streaming service led us to Prime Video and we are excited to launch in the coming weeks,” Blues executive vice president, chief revenue and marketing officer Steve Chapman said in a team release. “Prime Video has a proven track record as a first-stop destination for sports broadcasts and their deep presence across the NHL will be a major asset for our broadcasts and our fans.”
“We’re excited to build upon our strong relationship with the NHL and provide fans with more ways to connect with the local teams they love,” said Charlie Neiman, head of sports partnerships, Prime Video, in a statement. “We have firmly established Prime Video as a primary destination for sports and look forward to helping these teams broaden the reach and accessibility of their live games.”
"Fans want an easy way to find and follow their favorite teams, and this agreement with Prime Video gives Clubs the flexibility to meet that demand as the market evolves," David Proper, NHL chief media officer and senior executive vice president said in a statement. "Amazon has been a terrific partner to the NHL, and we're excited to expand our relationship as Prime Video grows its NHL offerings. Together, we're creating new opportunities for Clubs to reach fans and delivering a premium, accessible regional viewing experience."
For fans within the Blues’ regional broadcast territory, coverage of the team’s games will be offered as a subscription for all Amazon customers. The Blues will announce the launch date for those subscriptions in the coming weeks at the price of $19.99 per month or $99.99 annually. If you already have Amazon Prime, you must still sign up for a Blues-specific subscription.
The Blues previously announced a collaboration with the NHL on game production that leverages the NHL’s centralized production group for studio and show programming, premium game production, advanced graphics and replay capabilities, and technical and engineering support. While bringing experienced production staff in-house to directly produce all locally televised games from St. Louis with oversight from the NHL, the Blues existing internal teams are managing sales, marketing, and distribution of the television broadcasts across the team’s five-state territory.
Other key points include:
* Having an Amazon Prime membership is not required to stream Blues games in-market through Prime Video, only a free Amazon registration is needed to subscribe.
* The team is getting closer to finalizing all cable, satellite and over-the-air broadcast agreements to ensure Blues fans in our regional territory are able to watch games similarly to how they had watched them in the past.
* Those details, along with the name of the Blues' team-owned multimedia platform, channel locations, talent lineup and more will be announced before the start of the regular season, which opens Oct. 2 against the Stars in Dallas.
Featuring enhanced graphics packages and the high-quality production value Blues fans have come to expect, the partnership with the NHL is currently slated to produce 73 local television games this season, including every regular season game other than the 11 nationally televised by NHL exclusive broadcast partners ABC, ESPN, ESPN+/Hulu and TNT. Fans that don’t live in the Blues local broadcast territory can continue to watch Blues games live via NHL Center Ice on DirecTV and NHL Power Play on the ESPN App.
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The Ferraro name will be a familiar one around Winnipeg this season.
Just two months after the Winnipeg Jets added defenceman Mario Ferraro on the opening day of free agency, another Ferraro is headed to Winnipeg. This time in the broadcast booth.
Landon Ferraro has joined TSN as the new colour analyst for regional Jets broadcasts, replacing Kevin Sawyer alongside play-by-play voice Dan Robertson and reporter Danielle Bain.
Photo by Jerome Miron/USA Today
Despite sharing a last name and arriving in Winnipeg during the same offseason, Landon and Mario Ferraro are not related.
Landon does, however, come from a rather recognizable hockey family. His father is former Brandon Wheat Kings star-turned-NHLer, and now longtime broadcaster Ray Ferraro, who has established himself as one of the most recognizable analysts in the game.
The younger Ferraro now follows his father's path into the broadcast booth after spending the past two seasons covering the Vancouver Canucks with Sportsnet.
Ferraro's move to Winnipeg comes following Sawyer's departure after more than a decade covering the Jets. Sawyer joined TSN's regional broadcasts in 2014 and worked alongside Dennis Beyak and, more recently, Robertson.
Sawyer is moving west, where he will join Sportsnet's Calgary Flames broadcast team for the 2026-27 season.
Ferraro, meanwhile, brings both playing and broadcasting experience to his new role. The 35-year-old was selected 32nd overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 NHL Draft and went on to appear in 77 NHL games with Detroit, the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild.
He also played 354 games in the American Hockey League, winning the Calder Cup with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2013, before eventually taking his career overseas. Ferraro spent five seasons playing in Germany before retiring from professional hockey following the 2022-23 campaign.
Since hanging up his skates, Ferraro has quickly carved out a role for himself in broadcasting. He spent the past two seasons as an analyst on Canucks broadcasts with Sportsnet and also gained experience calling Abbotsford Canucks games during the team's 2025 Calder Cup run. Now, his broadcasting career will bring him to Winnipeg.
Interestingly, Landon won't even be the first member of his family to call Jets games on TSN. Ray previously worked select Winnipeg broadcasts alongside Beyak during the 2017-18 season. Nearly a decade later, his son will take on the role full-time.
The addition also puts another Ferraro alongside a Jets organization that already welcomed Mario Ferraro this summer.
Mario signed a three-year, $12-million contract with Winnipeg on July 1 after spending the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the San Jose Sharks.
One Ferraro will now patrol the Jets' blueline, while the other will be tasked with breaking down the action from between the benches.
The Chicago Blackhawks have one current restricted free agent: Ethan Del Mastro. Once that gets taken care of, everyone on their active roster will be set for the 2026-27 season.
With that said, 11 of them are going to enter the year on an expiring deal. It will be 12 if Del Mastro's contract is only a one-year deal.
This does not include Ryan Ellis, who the Blackhawks have on their cap, but he is on long-term injured reserve and won't play again. His $6.25 million will come off the books at the end of the season.
Of the players on the team who will need new contracts ahead of 2027-28, 5 are unrestricted. The other 6 are restricted free agents who will negotiate with Chicago.
RFAs
Sam Rinzel
Sam Rinzel has a lot on the line in 2026-27. If he defines himself as a clear top-four defenseman, he will be paid as such as an RFA next summer.
Artyom Levshunov
The same can be said about Artyom Levshunov. If he proves that he is going to be a consistent top-four defender for Chicago, he is going to get a decent extension. As a former second overall pick with tremendous talent, he has a lot on the line.
Wyatt Kaiser
Wyatt Kaiser signed his contract around this time last year. Now, he will have to face the fate of an RFA again after this upcoming season. He has proven he deserves quality minutes in the NHL, and it won't be difficult to allow him a raise when the time comes.
Ryan Greene
Who is Ryan Greene as a player? In college, he was a captain who could play center or wing, playing a strong two-way game while contributing offensively at a respectable pace. In the NHL, it was more of the same. There were games he'd be the fourth-line center and others where he was a winger on Connor Bedard's line.
As you'd expect, more offense came as a member of the top line. Greene showed the ability to be a double-digit goal scorer in year one of his NHL career. Could he eventually be a consistent 20-goal man? This upcoming season, ahead of becoming an RFA, he will help determine what his next contract looks like based on the steps he takes as a player.
Oliver Moore
Oliver Moore, with an offensive boost in production, should earn himself a nice contract with the Blackhawks. He has already mostly shown worthy of long-term commitment. He can play on the first line or fourth line, can play center or wing, is the fastest player on the team, kills penalties exceptionally well, and brings a great vibrancy to the locker room.
Landon Slaggert
This upcoming season may be difficult for Landon Slaggert. The Blackhawks have a surplus of forwards, and he could be one of the men watching from the press box more often than not. That was already the case in 2025-26, and this year likely won't be much different.
There is still a path for Slaggert to play in the NHL; it just may not come with the Chicago Blackhawks. The best thing he can do as an RFA is commit to whatever plan the team has for him, play well when he is tapped on the shoulder, and prepare for his next opportunity.
UFAs
Arvid Soderblom
Arvid Soderblom has to play well in 2026-27, or he will lose his job to Drew Commesso. Commesso's first year of a two-year deal is two-way, so he can play with the Rockford IceHogs, but the Blackhawks will use whoever gives them the best chance to win.
Like Slaggert, Soderblom could be auditioning for a role with another team in 2026-27, but he will be free to sign with whoever he wants come July.
Ian Cole
Ian Cole signed a one year deal with the Blackhawks in free agency. If he plays well, they may consider trying to bring him back, but Cole is mostly on a year-by-year basis at this point in his respectable career.
Andrew Mangiapane
Andrew Mangiapane was brought in as a cap dump by the Edmonton Oilers. He played a few games for the Blackhawks following his acquisition, but he is not in the future plans of the team. He will play at times in 2026-27, but won't be a lineup mainstay unless they have more injuries than they can handle.
Jordan Greenway
Jordan Greenway came to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Bowen Byram trade. He has been hurt a lot in recent years, so his availability in Chicago is in question. When he's healthy, he should draw in on the fourth line several times, but his NHL future is cloudy as a pending UFA.
Teuvo Teravainen
Teuvo Teravainen is a good player. He has been for a long time. In 2025-26, however, his role started to decrease, and his offensive production came down quite a bit. It is unlikely that his future beyond this season is with the Chicago Blackhawks.
As a pending UFA, he wants to have a good year so he can earn a decent contract with whoever decides they want to add him to their roster next summer.
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For the Vegas Golden Knights, Nicolas Hague is a player from the past.
For Nashville, however, he is still a significant part of the future.
The former Golden Knights defenseman is expected to be fully healthy when the Nashville Predators open training camp, giving Hague a clean slate heading into the second season of the four-year, $22 million contract he signed with Nashville after being traded by Vegas.
Predators general manager Chris MacFarland told reporters Tuesday that he expects the team to have everyone healthy when camp begins, which includes Hague.
That is notable after an injury-plagued first season in Nashville for the 27-year-old defenseman. Hague was limited to 15 points in 62 games during the 2025-26 campaign and missed time on three separate occasions, including the final six games of the season because of an upper-body injury.
Hague's departure from Vegas was one of the more significant salary-cap moves of the Golden Knights' 2025 offseason. Vegas traded the 2017 second-round pick to Nashville on June 30, 2025, receiving defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and center Colton Sissons in return. Hague subsequently signed a four-year, $22 million contract with the Predators, carrying a $5.5 million annual cap hit.
Now, more than a year removed from his Vegas tenure, Hague is preparing for another season in Nashville — and one that could go a long way toward determining whether the Predators ultimately get the player they believed they were paying for.
Hague spent his first six NHL seasons with the Golden Knights, appearing in 364 regular-season games and becoming part of the team's Stanley Cup-winning defense in 2023.
But his first year after leaving Vegas did not go according to plan.
And with training camp approaching, Nashville will be hoping a healthy Hague can look much more like the defenseman Vegas believed in when it selected him 34th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft.
With training camp just around the corner, the Ottawa Senators face an uncomfortable position.
In two weeks, the September 15th deadline arrives. After which organizations will no longer be able to offer players contracts with eight-year terms.
For the Senators, they are looking down the barrel of a season in which Drake Batherson and Artem Zub are slated to hit unrestricted free agency at its conclusion.
Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss whether the Sept. 15 deadline (final day to sign players to the max eight-year term) will really be that problematic for Drake Batherson's camp.
Considering how one of the central themes of the offseason was how the influx of cap space vaulted NHL player salaries into a stratosphere previously never seen, the sobering realization for many organizations was that the cost to sign a particular player has likely outgrown whatever salary projections were forecasted as little as three to six months ago.
What compounds the expense for the Senators is that the organization has no players on the parent roster or in its pipeline who can reasonably be expected to replace Batherson's or Zub's contributions anytime soon.
As much as the organization has rolled the dice on some higher-upside skilled talent at the draft, it will be years before players like Jonas Lagerberg-Hoen or Jaxon Cover arrive at the parent level. Let alone produce at a level that approaches what Batherson has consistently provided the Senators with.
The 28-year-old winger finished second on the team in goals (33) and points (71). Both numbers represented career highs for Batherson, with the 2025-26 campaign marking the eighth consecutive season in which he improved his points total. Natural Stat Trick’s production rate data showed that Batherson enjoyed career highs in all-strength goals (1.44) and points (3.11) per 60.
Coincidentally, the 2025-26 season represented the first time in Batherson’s career that his most common linemate was Tim Stützle.
The expectation is that Batherson will have the opportunity to play on Stützle’s line. If he does, he should have no problem approaching or potentially even surpassing last year’s totals. Understandably, there should be concern that Batherson’s shooting percentage (19.8) was markedly higher than his career norm (13.8), but like other offensive players experiencing similar spikes, they can overcome a dip in shooting percentage simply by shooting more often.
Assuming that the newly acquired William Eklund will get the first opportunity to be the left winger on the Senators’ top line, he and Stützle represent a puck-carrying and playmaking duo that should theoretically put a lot of pressure on the opposition’s blue liners. If they can draw coverage and force the opposition to collapse, Batherson can hopefully exploit soft coverage and finish more plays.
If he can, there is no reason to believe that Batherson will not be in line for a contract commensurate with recent deals signed by the likes of Adrian Kempe and Alex Tuch. Although both players have multiple 30-goal campaigns under their belts to Batherson’s one, the combination of a light free agent class,
Batherson’s age and similar production levels puts him in the driver’s seat.
The 29-year-old Kempe is entering the first year of an eight-year contract carrying a $10.625 million average annual value. Tuch inked an eight-year pact of his own as part of a sign-and-trade with Washington. The 30-year-old’s contract carries a $10.5 million cap hit.
Coming off one of the most team-friendly deals in this organization’s history, it is difficult to believe that Batherson could not get that market value now. Barring some devastating injury, the player has all the leverage. Even then, Batherson’s been the model of good health, having played in 82 games in three of the last four seasons. Last season he played in 79 games.
Defensively, Batherson has never been a particularly staunch performer, which raises concerns if the offence declines as part of an age-related decline.
Even then, do those concerns outweigh the fact that the organization knows the player? They know how Batherson fits on and off the ice and the dynamic he has with his teammates.
The only real leverage the Senators have is the ability to offer an eight-year term and Batherson's familiarity with the organization. He knows the players, the staff and the city, and if he’s comfortable, it works in their favour.
Artem Zub’s situation is slightly different.
Zub has established himself as one of the best defensive defencemen in the NHL over his six seasons in the NHL. The right-shot defender, who turns 31 in October, is not the prototypical defender who imposes himself on opponents.
The Russian relies on hockey IQ, excellent gap control and deft stickwork to disrupt passing lanes.
According to Evolving-Hockey’s ‘Total Defence’ metric, which combines a player’s defensive contributions at five-on-five and while shorthanded, only three defencemen have accumulated more defensive value than Zub since he entered the league: Chris Tanev, Esa Lindell, and Jonas Brodin.
Together with Jake Sanderson, their pairing has become one of the league's best top pairings. In 896 minutes together at five-on-five, the Senators generated 55.19 percent of the shots (CF%), 57.51 percent of the shots on goal (SF%), 59.23 percent of the total goals (GF%), and 56.83 percent of the expected goals (xGF%) per Evolving-Hockey.
Their chemistry and performance together helped lead Zub to his best offensive season. His 30 points represented a five-point improvement over his previous high, set during the 2023-24 season. It also helped that Zub played in more than 80 games for just the second time in his career.
With almost all of Zub’s value being tied to his defensive chops, it makes him a relatively unique defender. One of the best contractual comps may be the aforementioned Lindell. The Dallas defender signed a five-year contract in 2024 that carries an average annual value of $5.25 million.
Lindell still produces a ton of defensive value while providing a similar level of offence to Zub. Lindell signed this deal at the age Zub is now, but admittedly, it occurred before this recent market boom. Considering how highly sought-after right-shot defencemen are and the strength of Zub’s defensive metrics, there would be no shortage of suitors if he were available.
Having played more than 70 games only twice in his career, Zub has historically struggled to remain healthy throughout his career, so it’s possible the Senators could use that as leverage in negotiations. That said, like Batherson, there isn't another player on the parent roster or farm who can do what he does against tough competition.
As the lone proven veteran blue liner on the Senators’ right side, he is unique. Jordan Spence will play consistent top-four minutes for the first time in his career this season while Nikolas Matinpalo and Carter Yakemchuk have fewer than 100 combined games of NHL experience.
It remains to be seen whether the organization can get contracts done with these players. There is still time to do so, but it remains to be seen whether the organization would be comfortable carrying two impending UFAs without extensions in hand.
If rumours are true and Drake Batherson has recently bought a house in the rural west end, that would be encouraging. Especially since the Senators are not in a position to afford losing either player.
It puts a ton of pressure on general manager Steve Staios to get to work ahead of that September 15th deadline.
Las Vegas is already counting down to another season of Golden Knights hockey.
Single-game tickets for the 2026-27 regular season went on sale Tuesday, Sept. 1, giving fans their first opportunity to lock in individual games at T-Mobile Arena as the Golden Knights prepare to open Season X.
Vegas will begin its 10th season on Tuesday, Sept. 29, hosting the Chicago Blackhawks at 7:30 p.m. PT. The opening-night matchup will officially usher in a season that brings a significant change to the NHL schedule, with every club playing 84 regular-season games for the first time.
For the Golden Knights, that means 42 games at T-Mobile Arena.
And there will be plenty of notable dates for fans to circle.
Vegas will have two five-game homestands during the season, one in November and another in March. The most intriguing home date could come Dec. 21, when the Carolina Hurricanes return to Las Vegas for a rematch of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.
Single-game tickets are available through the Golden Knights, while the organization is also introducing Flex Plans for Season X. Fans can select six or more home games that fit their schedules while paying less than they would through individual single-game purchases.
But tickets are not the only new wrinkle coming to T-Mobile Arena.
The Golden Knights also unveiled the first wave of giveaways for Season X, with a notable change to how fans will receive them. Beginning this season, each giveaway will be limited to the first 10,000 fans through the doors, making an early arrival increasingly important on giveaway nights.
The first giveaway will come Sept. 24 against the Utah Mammoth, when fans can receive a 2026-27 schedule magnet.
Opening Knight against Chicago will feature the Season X official patch, while the Oct. 10 matchup against the Los Angeles Kings will include a commemorative puck.
Other giveaways throughout the season include a Vegas Born hat, a Misfits to Champions key chain, a player bobblehead and a viewfinder on Fan Appreciation Knight.
Season X is coming up quick.
But with tickets now available, the countdown in Las Vegas has officially begun.
Guerin's update didn't provide anything new, but he confirmed that Gustavsson is undergoing physical therapy and remains on his initial timeline, with no setbacks at this point.
"He's still going through physical therapy," said Guerin. "He won't be ready for training camp, but we'll see how far into the season it is. I wouldn't expect him in the first couple weeks but we'll see how quickly he's progressing."
Guerin was then asked whether the hip injury could have hampered his play following his return from the Olympics, to which he replied that the injury had been affecting him for much longer than that.
"He played through a lot of discomfort with that, and I give him a lot of credit; he kind of bit his lip on it," Guerin continued. "Maybe he shouldn't have, but he was playing through quite a bit."
The 28-year-old finished the campaign with a .904 save percentage and a 2.69 goals-against average in 50 games last year, but he lost the crease down the stretch to Jesper Wallstedt, who also started all but one playoff game through the first two rounds.
Rumors surrounded both Gustavsson and Wallstedt through different parts of the 2025-26 season, but the Wild ultimately felt they were better off with both, or they didn't find a deal that made sense for them.
Gustavsson's injury likely hampered the Wild's ability to gauge the market for trades this off-season as they looked for center help. Nonetheless, Gustavsson now enters the first season of a five-year, $6.8 million AAV contract as he forms arguably the best goaltending duo in the NHL with Wallstedt.
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There is a funny thing about being right for the wrong reason.
Back in the spring, The Hockey News planted its flag on the Colorado Avalanche as its Stanley Cup favorite. The argument was simple: Colorado had finally built enough depth around Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar to avoid relying so heavily on its two superstars.
Then the playoffs happened.
Makar got hurt. MacKinnon got banged up. The Avalanche were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights, and suddenly the very depth that made Colorado such an appealing championship pick was being asked to compensate for the two players who make the Avalanche what they are.
Our Editor-in-Chief, Ryan Kennedy, isn't backing away from the prediction.
He recently doubled down on Colorado as The Hockey News' pick to win the 2027 Stanley Cup, and it's easy to understand why.
But there's one part of the postmortem I would push back on.
The Avalanche didn't lose to Vegas simply because Makar missed the first two games or MacKinnon wasn't quite himself.
That's playoff hockey.
By the time the conference finals arrive, nobody is healthy. Everyone is playing through something. Everyone is a lesser version of themselves.
Colorado wasn't uniquely unfortunate, either.
Vegas captain Mark Stone played through a torn adductor, the same injury Matthew Tkachuk battled through during the previous postseason. Noah Hanifin was dealing with an upper-body injury that could have kept him out for months during the regular season, while Brayden McNabb entered the playoffs dealing with two injuries before suffering the facial injury that became one of the lasting images of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Golden Knights were hurting, too.
And they still beat Colorado.
That's why the Avalanche's loss says less about bad injury luck and more about the matchup itself.
Vegas had the personnel, structure and discipline to attack the very things that made Colorado so dangerous. The Avalanche want to play fast, attack through the middle and turn broken plays into scoring chances before opponents can recover.
Vegas was built to make that miserable.
The Golden Knights could clog the middle, win battles along the walls and turn the series into the kind of physical, territorial fight that doesn't necessarily favor Colorado's speed game.
The injuries didn't help. Of course they didn't.
But the Avalanche didn't lose to an inferior team that simply caught them at the wrong time. They ran into a very good hockey team with a blueprint for beating them—and Vegas executed it.
That distinction matters when looking ahead.
Because Kennedy's larger argument remains difficult to dismiss.
Colorado has continued to build around its superstar core. Makar is locked in for eight years. MacKinnon remains the engine of the franchise. Martin Necas is coming off a 100-point season, while Nazem Kadri and Nicolas Roy give the Avalanche legitimate depth down the middle.
Brett Kulak is back on defense, and Jaden Schwartz gives Colorado another veteran forward who, if healthy, could become a valuable addition.
Then there's Zach L'Heureux.
If nothing else, L'Heureux gives the Avalanche something they have occasionally lacked: legitimate bite.
Colorado doesn't need to abandon its speed-and-skill identity. But there is a difference between playing fast and being easy to play against, and L'Heureux should make the Avalanche considerably more difficult to push around.
Fabian Lysell is another intriguing wild card.
If Colorado can turn Lysell into another reclamation success story, perhaps something resembling what it accomplished with Valeri Nichushkin, suddenly the forward group gets even deeper.
There are plenty of reasons to believe the Avalanche can win the Stanley Cup.
There are also plenty of reasons not to assume they will.
The Central Division remains loaded. Minnesota and Dallas aren't going anywhere, and the Western Conference is filled with teams capable of turning a playoff series into a war of attrition.
And if Colorado meets Vegas again, the Avalanche will have to prove last spring was an aberration rather than evidence of a genuine matchup problem.
So yes, Kennedy is sticking with Colorado.
And I understand why.
The Avalanche have the stars. They have the depth. They have the goaltending. And they’ve finally added some nastiness to a roster that has badly needed it for the better part of the last few years.
Now they have to prove all of it can hold up when the games become heavier, the space disappears and the margin for error gets razor thin.
Everything is there: the talent, the opportunity and, perhaps, the best roster Colorado has had around MacKinnon and Makar in years.
But after what happened last spring, certainty is a luxury this team hasn’t earned yet.
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 21: Bryan Rust #17 of the Pittsburgh Penguins shoots against Connor Hellebuyck #37 of the Winnipeg Jets at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 21, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The latest official Team USA to trade request is goalie Connor Hellebuyck. Before anyone asks, there’s no reason to expect he would be in Pittsburgh’s interests- or more importantly nor would they be on his list. The Athletic recently listed eight possibilities of teams that might make sense, and the Penguins were nowhere to be found. That about sums it up. Here’s some of the most widely speculated destinations.
We pulled hundreds of Connor Hellebuyck mock trades at PuckGM to find the most popular destinations & packages. #LetsGoBuffalo is the favorite. But after that…?
Buffalo, Carolina and New Jersey are among the most common – and that wouldn’t be welcome for the Penguins if Hellebuyck ends up in the division like the Hurricanes or Devils. There are enough top goalies in the Metropolitan already, for cryin’ out loud!
Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin’s situations are interesting, how awkward it’ll be if they can’t be moved before the season starts. Everyone knows they want out, from the fans to their teammates and everyone around the organization. Their hearts aren’t in it anymore, yet they’ve signed to play for NHL clubs who haven’t felt like they’ve gotten a good trade offer yet. How those stalemate plays out will be fun to watch from afar. It could escalate even further, with some chatter picking up that Hellebuyck might not report to training camp at all and start one of the first hold outs the NHL has seen in a long, long time for a contracted player.
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Sergei Murashov got a passing mention (at No. 12) for potential Calder Trophy contenders this season.
Overall, not to be a downer, but it’s probably even more unlikely than that. A goalie hasn’t won the rookie of the year award in the NHL since Steve Mason in 2009. The Penguins have a very casual relationship with all things defensively when it comes to limiting shots and chances of opponents. Nice to see Murashov on the radar and getting a smidge of national attention, if nothing else.
Elliotte Friedman: Re NHL expansion: This is just my theory…I think the NHL needs this expansion done for the next US TV deal, and if they can add Houston…and Atlanta…they think it's going to make them even more valuable as a TV property – 32 Thoughts (8/25) ____ NHLRR:…
The NHL has so many Canadian teams that they still have some really big areas in America to go after and try and raise their market share of fans. Adding teams in places like Houston, Atlanta and maybe even Phoenix would bring in huge, untapped markets. Being the first major North American pro league to go beyond 32 franchises is bold, but with the prices they are getting these days, it’s a no-brainer to keep growing.
What the means for the future will be interesting, most the headway seems to be pointing to going to 36 eventually, and the league reportedly doesn’t care about being unbalanced with 33 teams. Perhaps eventually they’ll split into six divisions of six teams and feature more geographic rivals.
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Jaromir Jagr, who the Penguins traded 25 years ago this summer, looks like he is finally completed his circuit as a player. For real this time.
54-year-old Jaromir Jagr has yet to suit up for his club, Rytíři Kladno, in training camp or preseason.
After 38 professional seasons, Jagr says he's "still keeping myself in shape, but I’m not training as if I were going to play.”
Jagr left the NHL in the 2017-18 season – playing for his hometown Kladno Knights in Czechia ever sense. It’s been a long drawn-down with him playing sparingly recently (Jags only played 15 games in 2023-24, and just six last season in 2025-26), but I mean he’s been 50+ years old so what can you expect? Most of his recent playing has been to drive interest at the box office for the perpetually struggling team that he once partially owned to try and make ends meet financially, while also winning enough to avoid relegation out of the primary pro league- not terribly different from Jagr’s efforts in the late ‘90s with Pittsburgh.
Along the way, he enjoyed every minute of the struggle. Next stop could finally be Toronto for the Hockey Hall of Fame if he truly is done as an active player.
