Evan Gold, the Islanders’ newly hired assistant general manager, dipped his toes into controversial waters last week. He did this by committing the time-honored public relations sin of telling the truth. 

“They’re a transitional team,” Gold said of the Islanders during an appearance on “The Sheet with Jeff Marek,” and the rest didn’t seem to matter much for a small-but-loud slice of the fanbase that was already upset at this acknowledgment of reality. 

So here is some more reality, of which everyone in the organization and around the NHL is well aware. The Islanders have not won a playoff series since 2021. They had 91 points last season and missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

The best, most important assets in their organization are almost uniformly young enough to be in college, and 10 players enter training camp with expiring contracts, giving the Islanders an estimated $40 million in salary cap space going into next summer. 

Transition is not only an accurate word to describe this situation, it is a necessary state for the Islanders to be in right now, due mainly to the stagnant operation under the last few years of Lou Lamoriello’s reign, which left them stuck in the NHL’s middle ground, needing to rebuild their prospect pipeline and get out from under a series of bad contracts. 

“To be a sustainable playoff team you can’t just patch every year and just bring one player here, one player there, you have to build it,” general manager Mathieu Darche told reporters a few days ago when asked about Gold’s comment. “But a good thing is, we have some solid veterans that can keep us relevant, keep us fighting for the playoffs as we incorporate and we always need to mix up both. You can’t win with only young guys, you can’t win with only older guys, so that’s the transitional part that he’s talking about.” 

When attendance dipped repeatedly, and fans who were at UBS Arena chanted for Lamoriello’s head, transition was — functionally — what they were asking for. You cannot get from where the Islanders were in 2025 to being an annual contender in one year, or even two, and the franchise’s solution to that problem under prior management was to insist that there was no problem at all. 

None of that is to absolve Darche for his own errors in the job, or to say that fans shouldn’t be disappointed over an offseason where waiting till next summer was the strategy, in function if not in name. 

Even if you are bullish about the Islanders’ medium and long-term outlook, it’s hard not to feel bearish about the here and now. The end of last season left a bad taste, and this isn’t the first time in recent memory that the selling points heading into training camp are a full season of a new coach and the returns of players who were injured for most of last season.

Darche saying the Islanders can fight for the playoffs is a slight step down from his introductory press conference in May 2025, when he said he believed the Islanders could make the playoffs. 

Darche, though, was hired much more to make the Islanders better in the long haul than in the short term, and the same would have applied to any other candidate. On that front, the Islanders have rapidly turned their prospect pipeline around, made big steps in building a reputable AHL operation and made a series of front office hires to help areas like analytics and development, where the club had lagged behind the rest of the league. 

Gold, who had a successful run as an assistant general manager in Boston and was a finalist for general manager jobs in Vancouver and Toronto this summer, is, ironically, part of that list. 

Whether all those seeds planted in the last 16 months pay off will be the defining question of Darche’s tenure as general manager — far more than trading for Brayden Schenn — and he won’t have unlimited time to wait and see.

A year from now, the expectation needs to be that the $40 million in waiting be put to good use, and that the prospects on whose development the franchise is staked be in position to contribute. The transitional phase, in short, needs to be winding down by training camp 2027. 

But right now, it’s where the Islanders are. That is plain to everyone who cares to look, and getting mad over honesty is a request to be sold a bill of goods.

On September 4, 1999, the Calgary Flames added one of their biggest rivals to their lineup by acquiring former Edmonton Oilers legend Grant Fuhr from the St. Louis Blues. Flames fans who grew up in the 1980s suffered through countless losses at the hands of the Spruce Grove, Alberta, native who would lead the Oilers to five Stanley Cup titles that decade. 

Fuhr debuted with the Oilers in 1981 and spent 10 years with his hometown club, becoming arguably their greatest goalie. He eventually left in 1991 to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs before a brief stint with the Buffalo Sabres. 

As a free agent, Fuhr signed with the Blues on July 14, 1995, and during his first season, he would go on to set one of the NHL's most unbreakable records, playing in 79 games. That year, he missed only three games and went 30-28-16, leading the league in games played, ties, shots faced, and saves. 

Over four seasons, Fuhr compiled a 108-87-41 record with St. Louis in 249 games, the longest time he spent with any club besides the Oilers. In 1998-99, at 36, he played 39 games and went 16-11-8, while the Blues lost in the second round; Fuhr went 6-6 in the playoffs. 

Meanwhile, in Calgary, the Flames rotated through six goalies that season, including Fred Brathwaite, Ken Wreggret, Tyler Moss, Andrei Trefilov, Tyrone Garner, and future Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jean-Sébastien Giguère. They finished 30-40-12, third in the Northwest Division, and missed the playoffs. 

Flames Acquire 37-year-old Fuhr on September 4

To revamp their goaltending situation, the Flames acquired Fuhr from the Blues in exchange for a third-round pick in 2000. Coincidentally, Fuhr reunited with former Oilers teammate Steve Smith, who became Calgary's captain in 1999-2000. 

Flames fans will always be thankful for Smith, who accidentally scored on Fuhr in Game 7 of the 1986 Smythe Division Finals, ultimately resulting in the Oilers' quest for a three-peat ending with that third-period own goal. 

Unfortunately, Fuhr's return to Alberta would produce the worst statistical campaign of his career. In only 23 games, he'd earn a 5-13-2 record with a career-low .856 SV%. The Flames also had a worse record than the previous year, going 31-36-10-5 and finishing fourth in the Northwest Division.

Fuhr's last NHL appearance came on April 8, 2000, at the Saddledome against the Oilers in a 6-3 loss. He didn't start the game, but played 18:17 in relief and finished with a .714 SV%, stopping five of seven shots. The last goal he surrendered came off the stick of Doug Weight, who scored at 14:42 of the third period. 

In the deal that brought Fuhr to Calgary, the Blues received a third-round pick, which they used to select Justin Papineau, 75th overall. He played a total of 81 NHL games between the Blues and the New York Islanders, scoring 11 goals and 19 points. Papineau scored his first NHL goal against the Oilers on February 27, 2003, and played his final NHL game on April 4, 2004, against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Overall, the late 1990s and early 2000s were not a great time to be a goalie with the Flames, as they transitioned from Mike Vernon to Miikka Kiprusoff. They brought Fuhr in based on his reputation, but at 37, he didn't have much left in the tank. Unfortunately, the experiment didn't work out, and his Hall of Fame career ended on Saddledome ice. 

The Vancouver Canucks have made a massive long-term commitment to one of the centerpiece players they acquired from the Minnesota Wild in the Quinn Hughes blockbuster.

Vancouver announced Friday that defenseman Zeev Buium has agreed to an eight-year contract extension carrying a $9.38 million average annual value. The deal is worth $75.04 million in total.

For the Wild, the extension is another reminder of just how significant the price was to acquire Hughes last December.

Minnesota sent Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Öhgren and its 2026 first-round pick to Vancouver in exchange for Hughes. Buium, whom the Wild selected 12th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, was arguably the most valuable long-term piece Minnesota surrendered in the deal.

Now, Vancouver is paying him like a cornerstone of its rebuild.

Buium appeared in 31 games for Minnesota before the trade last season, recording three goals and 11 assists. At the time of the deal, his 14 points were tied for second among rookie NHL defensemen.

He went on to play 45 games for Vancouver, adding three goals and nine assists. Between the two clubs, Buium finished his first full NHL season with six goals and 26 points in 76 games.

The 20-year-old's potential was hardly a secret to the Wild. Minnesota traded up one spot to select Buium 12th overall in 2024 after he fell further than expected on draft night. 

Buium followed his selection with another dominant season at the University of Denver, recording 48 points in 41 games as a sophomore before signing his entry-level contract with Minnesota in April 2025. He was a Hobey Baker Award finalist and NCHC Player of the Year before making his NHL debut during the Wild's 2025 Stanley Cup Playoff run.

Minnesota ultimately decided it was willing to part with that upside because of the player coming back.

Hughes was already a Norris Trophy winner and one of the NHL's premier defensemen when the Wild acquired him. Wild president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin acknowledged immediately after the trade that giving up players such as Buium was difficult, but opportunities to acquire a player of Hughes' caliber rarely become available.

Vancouver, meanwhile, clearly viewed Buium as a potential successor to Hughes on its blue line. Former Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin called Buium an “extremely talented offensive-minded defenseman” after the trade and pointed specifically to his potential to eventually quarterback Vancouver's power play.

The Canucks' new front office has now backed up that belief with an eight-year commitment before Buium has even turned 21.

For Minnesota, Buium's new $9.38 million cap hit doesn't change the calculation behind the Hughes trade. The Wild knew they were giving away a potential star defenseman to acquire an established superstar.

But Vancouver's $75 million commitment makes one thing increasingly clear: Buium wasn't simply another piece of the Hughes trade.

The Canucks believe he can become one of the players they build their franchise around. As the Wild are hoping to agree on an extension with Hughes.

See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

The Buffalo Sabres could go a number of different ways as the NHL is in the midst of trade season following the NHL Draft and the opening of free agency on July 1. With the departure of winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram, GM Jarmo Kekalainen is expected to seek out offensive reinforcements to make up for the 44 goals lost by their departures. 

We are continuing to look at potential options for the Sabres, now that veteran Patrick Kane has returned with Chicago.  Some of the possibilities are not going to match Tuch’s stats, but any additions could provide some relief to the pressure that youngsters Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich, or Noah Ostlund will be under to make up the deficit.

Other Sabres Stories

Sabres Emotionally Devastated By Game 7 Overtime Loss

Kekalainen ideally is looking for someone who could make up as much of the 60-to-70 point production that he lost with Tuch, or someone who can fill the leadership gap and/or add some snarl and sandpaper to the middle-six, either before the start of the season or before the NHL Trade Deadline. 

Veteran Mats Zuccarello was surprisingly not brought back by Minnesota last season, after playing seven seasons with the Wild. The 39-year-old has remained remarkably productive when most of his contemporaries are retiring. Playing alongside Kirill Kaprizov, the diminutive winger has averaged 63 points over the last five seasons and last season posted 54 points (15 goals, 39 assists) in 59 games, along with nine points in eight playoff games. 

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff is familiar with the winger, as he was an assistant in New York from 2017-19 while Zuccarello was with the Rangers. He signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Kings on July 1, with a $1 million base salary, $5.5 million in performance bonuses, and a full no-trade clause. 

The Kings are considered a club that will challenge for a wild card spot in the Western Conference, but if they struggle, it is possible that GM Ken Holland will shop his rentals (Corey Perry, Joel Armia, Darcy Kuemper, and possibly Drew Doughty) before the trade deadline.

Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo

With the 2026-27 season almost here, former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph is still an unrestricted free agent. 

Joseph still being unsigned at this point in the summer comes after he spent the 2025-26 season with the Vancouver Canucks. In 31 games with the Pacific Division club during last season, he posted one goal, six points, and a minus-16 rating. 

With Joseph having a decent amount of NHL experience, the possibility of him landing a professional tryout (PTO) from an NHL team before the start of the season should not be ruled out. He could be a decent depth addition for an NHL club if he earned a contract for the season. 

Joseph appeared in 171 games over two stints and five seasons with the Penguins, where he recorded eight goals, 30 assists, 38 points, 114 blocks, and 186 hits. He also had the best season of his NHL career with the Penguins in 2022-23, as he set career highs with five goals, 16 assists, and 21 points in 75 games.

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see where Joseph ends up landing. At just 27 years old, he should be able to find a new home, whether it is with an NHL team or overseas.

The 2026-27 NHL season is rapidly approaching, as it is now September.

However, with the new campaign getting closer, a former Chicago Blackhawks forward is still looking for his next contract: Brandon Saad.

Saad still being a free agent comes after he had a tough 2025-26 season with the Vegas Golden Knights. In 49 games with the Pacific Division club last season, he recorded just three goals and nine points. This comes after he had 13 goals and 30 points in 72 games split between the St. Louis Blues and Golden Knights during the 2024-25 season.

While Saad had a tough year in 2025-26, the possibility of him landing at least a professional tryout (PTO) from an NHL team should not be ruled. He has had a solid NHL career and could be a decent addition for a team that is looking for more forward depth and experience. 

Due to this, it would not be particularly surprising if Saad is able to land a PTO or even a contract from an NHL team by the start of training camps. If not in the NHL, he could be a nice addition for an overseas club if he wants to continue his career. 

In 428 games over seven seasons and two stints with the Blackhawks, Saad posted 114 goals, 127 assists, 241 points, and a plus-27 rating. He also won the Stanley Cup twice with Chicago.

With the Montreal Canadiens' rookie camp getting closer, the Habs have now revealed their roster for it. 

Here is the full list of prospects who will be attending the Canadiens' rookie camp this year. 

---

Canadiens' Forwards

Dillan Bentley 

Alexander Donovan 

Kody Dupuis 

Aleksandr Legkov 

Braydon McCallum 

Josh Nadeau 

Mavrick Rousseau-Hamel 

Thomas Rousseau 

Wesley Royston 

Tyler Thorpe 

Parker Trottier 

Alexey Vlasov 

Braidy Wassilyn 

Canadiens' Defensemen

Jean-Samuel Daigneault 

Aiden Dubinsky 

Brayden Klimpke 

Andrew MacNiel 

Kale McCallum 

Luke Mittelstadt 

Owen Protz

Canadiens' Goaltenders 

Francesco Lapenna 

Arseni Radkov 

Mikus Vecvanags 

---

The Canadiens' rookie camp will kick off on Sep. 11 and go until Sep. 15. It will feature both practice days and two games.

The Canadiens' rookie camp participants will first face the Winnipeg Jets' prospects on Sep. 12 before taking on the Ottawa Senators' youngsters on Sep. 13.

This will be a great opportunity for these young players to show the Canadiens what they can do. It also indicates that the Habs' season is getting closer, so this is certainly an exciting time of the year. 

Over the course of the last year, the Philadelphia Flyers have been seeking out a big-time, superstar-caliber upgrade to their roster, but to this point, they've been unsuccessful in their hunt.

The sensational Leo Carlsson offer sheet, which briefly made the Anaheim talisman the highest-paid player in the NHL, instantly became the story of the offseason, and the Flyers were also reported to have inquired on players like Zach Werenski and Dylan Larkin.

Larkin, to this point, remains with the Detroit Red Wings as the franchise scrambles to appoint a new general manager ahead of training camp, and it's unlikely the club captain gets dealt so close to the start of the season without someone calling the shots and establishing an identity for the rudderless franchise.

As for Werenski, he almost ended up in Dallas, but eventually mended his relationship with the Columbus Blue Jackets... for now.

Back before all the offseason drama, though, the Flyers were one of the teams interested in Quinn Hughes, but the Vancouver Canucks stood them up right out of the gate.

Flyers' Rick Tocchet Shares Refreshing Perspective on Matvei MichkovPhiladelphia Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet reflects on his first year with Matvei Michkov and what he would do differently.

Flyers had door closed on a Quinn Hughes trade

Adding context to previous reporting that indicated the Flyers never made a serious offer to the Canucks for Hughes, it's now been revealed that the Flyers never had the chance, either.

According to The Athletic's Kevin Kurz, in a recent mailbag, "the Flyers were interested in Hughes last season before he was dealt to the Minnesota Wild but were informed the Vancouver Canucks had no interest in moving him here."

Of course, the Canucks sending Hughes to Philadelphia meant arming their former head coach, Rick Tocchet, with a future Hall of Fame defenseman right after he himself chose to leave Vancouver.

NHL insider Pierre LeBrun previously reported that the New Jersey Devils (with Jack and Luke Hughes), Red Wings, and New York Rangers were among six teams that made legitimate offers, with Buffalo and Carolina showing interest, too.

Flyers Prospects Interestingly Stack Up In New RankingsLed by Porter Martone, the Philadelphia Flyers have a healthy group of young players to be excited about.

"The Philadelphia Flyers were among the teams that kicked tires but didn’t get to the next level. The Flyers weren’t willing to give up the assets the Canucks wanted, so that took Philadelphia out of being a major player in it," LeBrun had said.

Hughes, 26, is in the last year of his contract and could theoretically still end up in Philadelphia with the Flyer depending on how the cards fall, but it certainly feels as though the Flyers' best chance of snapping him up would have been via trade.

At this point, if Hughes doesn't agree to a contract extension with the Wild, there is only one other place he's going to end up, and that's up the turnpike in Newark, N.J.

On Thursday, it was announced that former Winnipeg Jets netminder Michael Hutchinson is staying in the game, just from a different vantage point. 

The Selkirk Steelers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League have brought Hutchinson on as their new goaltending coach, giving the club a bona fide NHL veteran to work with its young goaltenders.

The move comes just weeks after the 36-year-old announced his retirement from professional hockey at the end of July, closing the book on an 11-season NHL career that saw him suit up for six different organizations.

Hutchinson signed with the Winnipeg Jets organization in 2013 and quickly turned heads, starring with the AHL's St. John's IceCaps before earning a full-time NHL job. His best season came in 2014-15, when he went 21-10-5 with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage while splitting time with Ondrej Pavelec, a performance that helped push Winnipeg back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the franchise relocated from Atlanta.

The Barrie, Ont. native would go on to play 102 games for the Jets across parts of five seasons before later stints with the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings. In total, he appeared in 154 NHL regular-season games, finishing with a 57-62-18 record, a 2.94 GAA, a .903 save percentage and six shutouts.

When word of his retirement broke, the Jets paid tribute online, congratulating Hutchinson and adding they "can't wait to see you at the Alumni Game," a nod to the lasting connection between the goaltender and the city where he found his greatest success.

Hutchinson has chosen to remain in Winnipeg, where he already runs a local goaltending school, Hutchinson Goaltending. Now, with the Steelers, he takes the next step in his hockey journey, moving behind the bench and is helping bring over a decade of NHL experience to the next generation of Manitoba netminders.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

Former New York Rangers forward Brendan Brisson has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

The contract is worth an average annual value of $850,000 at the NHL level and $300,000 if he’s assigned to the American Hockey League.

The Rangers acquired Brisson in March 2025 from the Vegas Golden Knights in a trade centered around Reilly Smith. 

Brisson spent the majority of his time with the Rangers organization playing in the AHL for the Hartford Wolf Pack. 

In 66 games with the Wolf Pack during the 2025-26 season, the 24-year-old forward recorded 19 goals, 18 assists, and 37 points. 

“I feel good all around, not just offensively,” Brisson said in February. “Down in Hartford, I’ve been relied on in close games, on the defensive side too. I feel like I've gotten my offensive touch back… I have a little bit more confidence than I did in the past. It’s been a good season for me so far.”

The Golden Knights selected Brisson in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft.

“The ultimate goal is to come up, leave an impression and stay,” Brisson said. “Whenever I get my next opportunity, I'm definitely looking forward to it, and I’m ready for an opportunity.”

Extending Artturi Lehkonen won't be an easy task for the Colorado Avalanche.

Last month, we at The Hockey News speculated about whether Lehkonen, who was instrumental in helping the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022, could be forced to leave the team in free agency at the conclusion of the upcoming season.

We cited a few factors, including his age, injury history and style of play, which requires an enormous physical commitment from a relatively undersized player.

That was before Cale Makar signed a record-breaking eight-year, $163.2 million extension that will pay him an average annual value of $20.4 million beginning with the 2027-28 season. We predicted that Makar and his agent, Bartlett Hockey, would come in under that number. Well, we were wrong. And, in hindsight, we probably should have expected Makar to push for a higher number based on two things: He's a generational player, and the six-year, $54 million extension he previously signed was a massive discount for someone of his caliber.

President of hockey operations and general manager Joe Sakic, per Colorado Hockey Now's Aarif Dean, appeared on Altitude Sports Radio on Monday and said extending Lehkonen has become more of a moving target as the Avalanche approach the start of the season.

“We’ll continue talking with Artturi, his representatives, but it’s one of those things that we start the season and see where that goes,” he said.

ASR subsequently provided its own analysis the following day.

“Artturi Lehkonen's gonna be really difficult to get under the fold.”

That could prove to be an accurate statement.

Think about what Lehkonen has meant to this organization. He's one of the more clutch playoff performers in recent NHL history. His goal sent the Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. The following season, his overtime goal in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final sent the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup Final. He then scored the game-winning goal in Game 6 that clinched the team's third championship in franchise history. More recently, his performance in the Olympics also featured a game-clinching goal.

Say what you want about his injury history, but when he's healthy and on the ice, Lehkonen is always in the mix. He deserves to get what he wants. And if that number is too much for the Avalanche at the beginning, they'll have to get creative, whether that's signing more college free agents, finding free agents willing to take a pay cut, adding more of those gritty depth forwards or finding another defenseman.

The good news is that the Avalanche have a history of doing exactly that and are in the process of getting back to that again. Fabian Lysell is in Colorado on a cheap contract. T.J. Hughes has the potential to become a really good player in the system. Matthew DiMarsico, whom the Avalanche signed late last season out of Penn State University, has a blistering release.

My take: It's possible to bring Lehkonen back, but it isn't going to be easy. However, Martin Necas signed his eight-year, $92 million extension a little over three weeks into the regular season last year. So if the Avalanche don't get a deal done right away, it's no big deal. But no two situations are the same, and not every player has the same wants and needs.

We'll see what happens.

There hasn’t been much action on the trade market of late in the NHL, but on Tuesday night, the Nashville Predators sent forward Luke Evangelista to the New Jersey Devils for a conditional Colorado Avalanche first-round pick in 2028 and their own second-round pick in 2028.

Last season, Evangelista put up 56 points in 81 games, and unsurprisingly, some are wondering whether the Montreal Canadiens missed the boat by not acquiring the 24-year-old right-shot right winger. Of course, Evangelista is a promising young player, but he’s not what the Canadiens need right now

The Anniversary Of A Big Trade
How The Canadiens Fared In The Athletic’s Player Tiers 2026-27
Canadiens: High Praise For Demidov From Great Defenseman

He’s 6-foot and 183 pounds and had a grand total of 21 hits last season. The Canadiens have got plenty of skill and talent up front. What they lack is a talented player who can bring physicality to their top six, a second-line center, perhaps more grit in the bottom six as well, and an experienced right-shot defenseman. Evangelista does not fit any of those bills.

The Canadiens front office made it clear in one of its last media availabilities: they are done acquiring talent just to see if it could work. The Canadiens are no longer in a simple asset accumulation stage; their rebuild has progressed. They are pleased with what they have put together, and now they need to acquire the missing pieces, those that fit the needs they have identified.

Yes, the Canadiens would have had the draft capital needed to pry Evangelista away from Nashville, but it wouldn’t have made sense to use their assets to acquire him. It’s clear that Hughes has been working the phones a lot this offseason, trying to strike a big deal, and he hasn’t given up hope. That draft capital could be instrumental in the Habs striking a major deal, one that would bring a higher-profile player to Montreal. There’s no guarantee that it will happen, but saving those assets for a bigger deal just makes sense.

---

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.  

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.

Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.

For nearly two years, Semyon Varlamov's NHL career looked like it might be over.

Two knee surgeries and a long recovery kept the former Colorado Avalanche goaltender away from the game, with each passing month making a return seem less likely.

Now, at 38 years old, Varlamov is getting ready to come back.

And for Avalanche fans, his story may sound familiar.

Varlamov is about to have his own Gabe Landeskog moment.

The veteran goaltender is expected to be a full participant when the New York Islanders open training camp later this month. He last played in an NHL game on Nov. 29, 2024.

Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche described Varlamov's return as "almost a miracle," while making it clear the goaltender has earned the opportunity through months of hard work.

"He's doing great, actually. It's almost a miracle," Darche told NHL.com. "Well, it's not a miracle because he's really put in the work."

Varlamov has been skating four or five times a week and is doing so without pain or medication. The Islanders expect him to play in preseason games as he works his way back.

For someone who hasn't played an NHL game in nearly two years, that's a remarkable development.

Varlamov spent eight seasons with the Avalanche from 2011-12 through 2018-19, serving as their starting goaltender through a difficult stretch in franchise history. He played 389 games in Colorado, posting a 2.79 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.

He’s been with the Islanders since, but injuries have continued to plague the veteran, limiting him to just 10 games during the 2024-25 season.

At that point, it was reasonable to wonder whether Varlamov had played his final NHL game.

Landeskog knows that feeling all too well.

The Avalanche captain missed nearly three full seasons because of a serious knee injury, leaving plenty of doubt about whether he would ever return. He eventually did, making his long-awaited comeback during the 2025-26 season.

Now Varlamov is trying to write a similar comeback story.

The circumstances are different, but the uncertainty is familiar. A veteran player with a long history of knee problems appeared to be nearing the end of his career, only to find a way back onto the ice.

Varlamov has already played 621 NHL games, recording a .916 save percentage and 41 shutouts during his career.

He doesn't have anything left to prove.

But nearly two years after his last NHL appearance, Varlamov is getting another chance to add to his career.

For the Avalanche fans who watched him guard Colorado's net for eight seasons, that's pretty special.

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 Avalanche organization as of September 1, 2026. Now, we’ll count down each of the 25 players ranked.

We have finally arrived at the #1 Colorado Avalanche prospect under 25 years of age; returning to defend his #1 status in 2025 is goaltender Ilya Nabokov.

It’s been an interesting journey and case study getting to know the players in the Avalanche system. Along the way, we’ve discussed players with a clear path to the NHL, some whose path could materialize down the road, and others who will need a miracle to earn a debut.

Make no mistake, Ilya Nabokov will play in the NHL, as he’s been promised. These promises have been enough to get him to North America for a debut season with the Colorado Eagles, for now.

I’m anxious to get an up-close look at Ilya Nabokov this year

Probably Colorado’s most interesting goalie prospect in quite a while pic.twitter.com/3RCueRsakJ

— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano) August 28, 2026

Now the question is, are the promises enough to immediately slot Nabokov over Trent Miner as the starter in Loveland? Miner has already proven to be among the better AHL netminders and has had appearances in the NHL, including an NHL shutout.

It’s likely the two split time, but I’d imagine that wouldn’t sit well with Nabokov, who left behind legitimate success (KHL MVP, KHL ROY, Gagarin Cup Champion, KHL Playoff MVP) when he left the KHL.

The key to success and winning the gig, I think, will come at training camp and in the early stages of the regular season. If Ilya can showcase his aggressive and athletic talents at camp against the best of the best, it will be hard to keep him out of the starter’s crease in Loveland.

As far as Nabokov playing NHL hockey, after Scott Wedgewood’s deal comes to an end, he appears to be the natural fill-in to back up MacKenzie Blackwood and a potential starter in Colorado one day.

Nabokov has the tools and the mindset of a proven champion netminder. The question remains: will his game translate to the North American game? I’m optimistic.

Let us know what you think of this prospect in the comments!

If you’d like to hear more of our thoughts on each prospect, head to the Mile High Hockey Lab catalogHERE!

We will be live at 3:45 p.m. MT to discuss #1 and #2 on the list!

2026 Top 25 Under 25

#25 Nikita Novosyolov

#24 Axel Eloffson

#23 Teddy Lechner

#22 Ivan Yunin

#21 Luka Cloutier

#20 Matthew DiMarsico

#19 Shawn Carrier

#18 Domenick Fensore

#17 Tory Pitner

#16 Jake Fisher

#15 Beckett Hamilton

#14 Linus Funck

#13 Alex Gagne

#12 Egor Shilov

#11 Zach L’Heureux

#10 Fabian Lysell

#9 Sean Behrens

#8 Nikita Prishchepov

#7 Francesco Dell’Elce

#6 TJ Hughes

#5 Christian Humphreys

#4 Fedor Svechkov

#3 Mikhail Gulyayev

#2Gavin Brindley

#1 Ilya Nabokov

HERE ARE LIVE RECORDINGS OF US CHATTING ABOUT THE LIST:

(#10-6)

(#5-#3)

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they have signed Brendan Brisson to a one-year contract on Friday. His salary cap hit is $850,00, according to PuckPedia. In the minors, he'll earn $300,000.

Brisson, 24, is coming off a one-year contract. He was a pending RFA at the beginning of this off-season, but the New York Rangers decided not to qualify him, which made him a UFA.

The left winger still has a lot to prove at the NHL level. In his career, he's played 27 games across parts of three seasons, registering two goals and nine points.

Brisson spent this past season with the Rangers, but played just three games in the NHL. Most of his time was in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack. In the minors, he produced 19 goals and 37 points and a minus-32 rating on a team that finished last in the league.

In terms of his role in the Maple Leafs organization, he'll be a depth player who spends most of his time in the minors with the Toronto Marlies, coming off a Calder Cup championship.

This move could fill the gap that was left when right winger Alex Nylander signed a professional tryout with the Calgary Flames. 

Nylander Brothers Apart Again As Alex Reportedly Set To Join Flames On Professional TryoutAlex and his brother, William, spent the last couple of years living together in Toronto as the former tried to get his game back to an NHL level.

Brisson is still a relatively young player. If he shows some promise in the minors this coming season, perhaps the Leafs would be inclined to keep him around a bit longer. And in a perfect world, Brisson should have many years of professional hockey in his locker. 

The Vegas Golden Knights were the team that drafted Brisson. He was selected in the first round of the 2020 draft with the 20th overall pick. Before being traded to New York, he made nine NHL appearances for Vegas and didn't mark a single point while averaging 9:52 per game. With the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights, he scored five goals and 19 points in 45 games.

His best stint in the NHL was in 2023-24 when he played 15 NHL games that year. Brisson went on to score two goals and eight points for the Golden Knights.

The 2022-23 season marked his best AHL season, scoring 18 goals and 37 points in 58 contests.

Report: Chris Tanev Waiting To Be Cleared By Doctors, Plans To Be On Ice First Day Of Maple Leafs CampWhile Tanev aims to be ready for the opening day of camp, Tanev described his rehab from surgery in March as "slow". The veteran defender has to show that the injury issues of last year are fully in the rearview mirror.

Brisson had a rather impressive stretch before entering the professional leagues. In 2019-20, he was a member of the Chicago Steel in the USHL. In what was his rookie season, he scored 24 goals and 59 points in 45 appearances. That was good enough to get him named the USHL rookie of the year.

The 6-foot forward also has a World Junior Championship gold medal under his belt from the 2021 tournament. Brisson notched two goals in seven games for Team USA.

He also competed in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics for the Americans, recording two goals in four games.

Brisson was also successful in the NCAA, playing two seasons for the University of Michigan in 2020-21 and 2021-22. In his rookie season at the college level, he scored 10 goals and 21 points in 24 games. He followed that up with a 21-goal and 42-point campaign in 38 games the next year.

See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source

---

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.