Carolina Hurricanes forward Logan Stankoven had his day with the Stanley Cup on Sunday, bringing the Cup home to family and friends in Kamloops, B.C.

Stankoven was a huge part of the Canes’ championship run this spring, and if you ask the average Sens fan, many would suggest he should have been the Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

That’s because Stankoven was an absolute Sens slayer in the first round of the playoffs, scoring a goal in every game of the series. And if you’ll recall, this was a series where goals were hard to come by... for both teams.

Take away Carolina’s two empty-netters and an overtime winner, and the Hurricanes scored just eight regulation goals in the entire four-game series.

Stankoven scored half of them. And set up another.

The series would have looked very different without Stankoven, and seeing him out and about and enjoying his big day with the Cup made it hard not to think back to that series.

Despite the Sens' loss, Game 2 remains one of the most entertaining games I’ve seen in years, and one of the craziest overtime games in Senators history.

That game and its double OT had it all.

There was the Sens comeback from a two-goal deficit, an apparent overtime winner that wasn't, an overtime penalty shot, some unreal saves at both ends, a couple of Senators ringing shots off the post/crossbar, and finally, a double-overtime winner from the same guy who had just missed that OT penalty shot.

If you've forgotten how crazy that night in Raleigh was, it's worth another look.

The Canes had won Game 1 and seemed well on their way to taking a commanding 2-0 series lead to Ottawa after Stankoven (naturally) and Sebastian Aho gave the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead in Game 2.

But the Senators didn't go quietly.

Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens scored in the second period to tie the game, while Linus Ullmark was playing out of his mind at the other end.

Ullmark stopped 43 shots on the night, including a terrific glove save on a Taylor Hall one-timer in the second period and another huge stop on Jordan Staal in the dying seconds of regulation. And he had a bunch more in OT, including a penalty shot save.

So it was off to overtime, and that's when things got weird... and unbelievably exciting.

With 2:42 remaining in the first overtime, Mark Jankowski appeared to end it. Jankowski jumped on a loose rebound and beat Ullmark, sending the Hurricanes pouring off the bench and the crowd in Raleigh into celebration.

Game over? Not so much.

Officials reviewed the play and determined Carolina had been offside entering the Ottawa zone, so the goal was wiped out and the Senators had new life.

But the review created another problem for them.

Before the puck had gone into the net, Warren Foegele had hooked Martinook on his way to the net, and the delayed penalty was actually going to be a penalty shot. So while the Hurricanes lost their apparent game-winning goal, Martinook skated up to the puck all alone at centre ice

Once again, Carolina had a chance to end it. Once again, they didn't.

Ullmark stopped Martinook on what was the NHL's first overtime penalty shot in a playoff game since 2020.

And the game continued.

The Senators had already had two unreal chances in tight during the first overtime from Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle.

Tkachuk got a nice feed out front from Drake Batherson and his shot barely clipped the top of Frederik Andersen’s right pad. Another quarter-inch higher and the puck was in.

On Stützle’s chance, he outwaited Andersen, slid it past that same right pad and hit the goalpost.

In the second overtime, Michael Amadio got another glorious chance in tight. His shot clipped the top of Andersen’s left shoulder and fluttered toward the net.

ESPN’s John Buccigross screamed, “He scores!” For a split second, it looked like he had.

Instead, the puck gently glanced off the crossbar and stayed out.

If the Sens get a bounce on any of those plays, we're probably remembering Game 2 as one of the great playoff wins in Senators history.

Instead, Carolina finally put the matter to rest.

With fatigue clearly setting in, Brady Tkachuk meekly turned the puck over at the far blue line, and as Carolina quickly transitioned back the other way, it set off a series of unfortunate events.

On the one hand, you had tired forwards either scrambling around or puck-watching. And on defence, Jordan Staal was allowed to stand directly in front of Ullmark, and no one touched him, let alone tried to move him. You could almost feel the death blow approaching.

With the Canes whipping the puck around at will, Martinook found wide open ice in the slot between Stutzle and Batherson and ripped a great shot past Ullmark, who was still being screened by Staal.

After 93 minutes and 53 seconds of incredible hockey, the game was over.

The Senators have played plenty of bigger playoff games over the years. But it's hard to think of many that were crazier or more entertaining than that one.

And seeing Stankoven zipping around Kamloops with the Stanley Cup on Sunday was a pretty good reminder of it.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News

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The National Hockey League released its list of the Top 10 NHL Goalies on Sunday night. Of course, some of the best net-minders in league history are at the top of the list, and there is plenty of depth at this position across the league.

Goalies as a whole are better than ever. It’s as hard to score a goal as it’s ever been, and a lot of it has to do with how good these men are. Without good goaltending at precisely the right time, a team cannot win when it counts. 

In the same breath, some goalies can vary from year to year. A guy could be in the mix for the Vezina Trophy one year and struggle hard the next. His team will likely reflect those results too. It can be random, but most of the guys on this list are elite every season. 

The Chicago Blackhawks have an outstanding goaltender in Spencer Knight. They have some good young goalies in the system, but the trade to acquire Knight gave the rebuild some juice because he is a young player (25) who is already great at the NHL level. 

It would have been reasonable for him to come in the second half of the top-10, but he was snubbed. 

Introducing NHL Network's Top 10 Goalies Right Now!

What do you think of the list? #NHLTopPlayerspic.twitter.com/bblvaYkKmq

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) August 17, 2026

Knight is going to finish higher than those in the top seven for a while, but he has played just as well, if not better, than the rest on a much worse team. 

With the Blackhawks, who have been one of the worst defensive teams during his tenure, Knight has made them a much more formidable squad. 

During the 2025-26 season, his first full year in Chicago, he posted a record of 19-25-11 but managed to have numbers near his career average as he had a 2.82 goals-against average and .902 save percentage. 

Those aren't top-flight numbers, but they are great for a guy facing 30+ shots every single night, and sometimes much more than that. 

Knight's numbers also started to fall off a bit after the trade deadline, when the team traded away a few of their top defensive players, including Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson, and Connor Murphy.

With a good team in front of him, he is an outstanding goalie. In Knight's final 23 games with the Florida Panthers, the 2024-25 season before being traded, he was 12-8-1 with a .907 save percentage and a 2.40 goals-against average. 

Now, Knight has to work hard to get himself back into consideration for that list. It is going to be a challenge, with the Blackhawks scheduled to be in front of him again, but they have improved a bit. 

Nobody questions Knight's ability to be a starting goalie in the NHL anymore. It's just a matter of how good he can become and whether or not he is on a team that will allow him to take that next step. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay up to date on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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Minnesota Wild forward and former Stanley Cup Winner Nicolas Aube-Kubel has now signed a deal overseas.

Aube-Kubel, 30, has agreed to terms on a contract with KHL club Dinamo Minsk for the 2026-27 season. It had been rumored for weeks but it has now been made official.

The 6-foot forward drew interest from KHL club Barys Astana earlier this month but now has signed with Dinamo.

He recorded two assists in six NHL games last year while posting 37 points in 62 AHL games with the Iowa Wild.

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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.

NHL Network released their top-10 goalies of ‘right now’ and one thing that stood out was the preponderance of goalies within the division for the Penguins. Half of the teams in the division can be found in this league-wide ranking.

Introducing NHL Network's Top 10 Goalies Right Now!

What do you think of the list? #NHLTopPlayerspic.twitter.com/bblvaYkKmq

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) August 17, 2026

The two NYC-ish based Russian goalies of Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin are generally understood to be the top talents in the division at the position as known quantities. Goaltending performances from year-to-year are notoriously variable and all over the map, aside from the handful of elite goalies that almost always bring their A game. Shesterkin and Sorokin are accepted as those rare goalies good enough to be above the fray and provide consistently strong play.

Logan Thompson in Washington should arguably be even higher than the sixth place position he was placed for this list, considering that he’s finished fourth in Vezina voting for the last two years. Those finishes in the voting might even be lower than deserved considering that Thompson held up statistically very well coming in second across the NHL in 5v5 and overall GSAA, tied for third in save percentage and shutouts, fourth in wins and fifth in GAA. Thompson doesn’t tend to get a lot of shine or outward accolades but there’s little doubt that he has been playing at an impressive level recently, placing him in the sixth spot could easily be seen as too low for what his resume has indicated.

Rounding out the list for Metropolitan goalies was Dan Vladar at eighth, who the Penguins know all too well was good in the moment. Vladar went 12-6-1 for the Flyers after the Olympic break and his play was a big reason why Philadelphia made the playoffs and then advanced through the first round of the playoffs posting a .937 save% and 1.61 GAA in the first round against Pittsburgh. The Flyers rewarded Vladar with one of those contracts that seemingly always bite NHL teams to give a mid-level goalie a long term and a decent-sized salary ($5.5 million in Vladar’s case, and the contract doesn’t even kick in until the 2027-28 season) so that could be one to watch as a player that potentially could be more on the roller coaster for ups and downs. Recently, however, Vladar’s arrow has been pointing up.

All these opponent goalies being on the list serves to underscore the difficulty that next season could have for a team like the Pens, who don’t go into the year with an advantage in net against many of their closest rivals. It doesn’t help that with the perfected system of puck possession that Carolina has that it doesn’t even matter that they don’t have a top goalie and can have average netminders perform very well behind a team that doesn’t ask too much of their shot stoppers. That formula works for them and should be continuing into the future just the same.

None of this are new revelations but just underscore the reality that teams like the Penguins find themselves in when it comes to competition levels isolated to the goalie position. Between having four top-10 goalies (plus the overall great situation in Carolina) there’s a strong challenge in the season ahead for most of the division games that Pittsburgh is going to play.

The NHL Network has been slowly releasing its annual positional rankings ahead of the 2026-27 season. Thus far, through the defense and right wing rankings, the Calgary Flames have come away empty-handed. However, a couple of former players made the list, with Dan Vladar joining the group on Sunday.

The NHL Network tapped him as the 8th-best goalie in the NHL right now, just below Jake Oettinger and ahead of Jesper Wallstedt and Jakub Dobes.

Initially drafted in the third round (75th overall) by the Boston Bruins at the 2015 NHL Draft, Vladar came to Calgary in 2021 and earned a full-time backup role under Jacob Markström and Dustin Wolf. As an unrestricted free agent in July 2025, he signed a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Flyers, where he became the team's top goalie with a 29-14-7 record in 52 games, helping the club earn a playoff spot. 

Despite not posting any shutouts, Vladar produced a .906 SV% and 2.42 GAA, both personal bests, and played all 10 playoff games for the Flyers, who eventually lost to the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. Philadelphia fans took notice, and so did NHL award voters, as he finished sixth in Vezina Trophy voting and 18th in the Hart Trophy race.

For his efforts, Philadelphia extended him for another five seasons at $5.5 million, his biggest payday in professional hockey.

Over six years in the NHL, the 28-year-old from Prague has a 78-48-23 record, a .898 SV%, and a 2.80 GAA. 

New York Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin was at it again in 2025-26, finishing as a Vezina finalst for the second time in his NHL career. 

Sorokin, 31, posted a 2.68 GAA and a .906 SV% with a league-leading seven shutouts in 55 games, with a 29-24-2 record. His GSAE sat at 25.3, which was the best in the NHL behind Boston Bruins' netminder Jeremy Swayman (28.8) and Washington captains netminder Logan Thompson (29.3).  

He comes in at No. 4 on NHL Network's Top 10 Goalies Right Now list:

Another year, another spot on NHL Network's Top 10 Goalies Right Now list for Ilya Sorokin (@NYIslanders), coming in at #⃣4⃣!

📺: #NHLTopPlayers on NHL Network pic.twitter.com/IiejxdqWYZ

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) August 16, 2026

The three goalies ahead of him are New York Islanders netminder Igor Shesterkin at No. 3, Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck at No. 2 and coming in at No. 1 is the goaltender who beat Sorokin out for the Vezina, Tampa Bay Lightning's starter Andrei Vasilevskiy:

Introducing NHL Network's Top 10 Goalies Right Now!

What do you think of the list? #NHLTopPlayerspic.twitter.com/bblvaYkKmq

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) August 17, 2026

It's a debatable list and had Sorokin willed the Islanders into the playoffs -- he did all he could behind a questionable defense -- he likely finishes higher on the list, especially ahead of his Russian pal Shesterkin.

On the heels of an improbably good breakout campaign, Philadelphia Flyers goalie Dan Vladar has earned himself a nice slice of national recognition from NHL pundits around the league.

Vladar, 28, was Mr. Right for the Flyers last season, always showing up when the stakes were the highest.

The longtime Calgary Flames backup emerged as the Flyers' starting goalie in his first year in Philadelphia, going 29-14-7 in 52 appearances and 51 starts to the tune of a 2.42 GAA and .906 save percentage.

While the raw stats aren't all that impressive on their own, Vladar also finished 10th in the NHL in goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck, with 13.8.

In the playoffs, Vladar was even better, stopping 8.5 goals above expected in just 10 games. Only Montreal's Jakub Dobes (13.3) was better, and he played in nine more games for the Eastern Conference semifinalist Canadiens.

All in all, Vladar was able to parlay his stunning season into some deserved national recognition, impressively ranking as the eighth-best goalie in the entire NHL in the eyes of NHL Network producers and analysts on the heels of coming in sixth place in Vezina Trophy voting earlier in the summer.

Exclusive: Flyers GM Daniel Briere On How Joseph Woll Trade With Leafs Came TogetherPhiladelphia Flyers GM Daniel Briere shared when they made Joseph Woll a trade target from the Toronto Maple Leafs and how the team plans to use him and Dan Vladar.

The 6-foot-5 Czech netminder ranked ahead of Minnesota's Jesper Wallstedt and Dobes, but behind all the names you would come to expect to see on a list like this one: Jake Oettinger, Logan Thompson, Jeremy Swayman, Ilya Sorokin, Igor Shesterkin, Connor Hellebuyck, and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The question for Vladar and the Flyers going forward is whether or not the breakout star can repeat his performance next season and in the years beyond.

Before signing with the Flyers, Vladar had recorded a save percentage greater than .898 in a season just once, and had never started in 30 or more games in a single campaign.

If Vladar can put on an encore and more in Philadelphia, though, the Flyers will have a top-10 goalie in the NHL locked down for the foreseeable future.

The Flyers tied down their newfound starting shot-stopper to a five-year, $27.5 million ($5.5 million AAV) contract extension back on July 1.

That kind of investment tells us that the Flyers certainly believe Vladar can do it again, and the national analysts and producers over at NHL Network seem to agree.

Listed No. 8 of this Toronto Maple Leafs prospect ranking at TheHockeyNews.com is Harry Nansi.

The players in this ranking do not have extensive NHL experience and are all under 23. Therefore, players such as William Villeneuve, Artur Akhtyamov and Easton Cowan, among others, won't feature in this ranking for either or both of those particular reasons.

In terms of where these players fall in the rankings, it is a mix of their ceiling and potential, as well as how they've performed in the past year with their respective clubs. 

The Maple Leafs selected Nansi at the 2025 NHL draft with the 153rd overall pick in the fifth round. He is coming off his third season with the OHL's Owen Sound Attack, and his second straight campaign of featuring in all but one regular-season outing.

This past year, the 6-foot-4 right winger scored 13 goals and 56 points in 67 appearances for Owen Sound. His playmaking in 2025-26 notably excelled from the 2024-25 campaign. All he provided was 16 assists - along with seven goals for 23 points - compared to the 43 helpers he registered this past year.

Maple Leafs NHL Prospect Ranking: No. 9, Tyler HopkinsCampbellville, Ont., native and Guelph Storm center Tyler Hopkins ranks No. 9 in THN's Toronto Maple Leafs prospect ranking.

It's likely that Nansi does have more in his locker than he's been able to display to this point in his junior hockey career. A lot of that has to do with the Attack, and how they haven't been one of the stronger teams in the OHL for the past little while. In fact, since Nansi debuted for the team in 2023-24 as a 16-year-old, Owen Sound have finished each year with a losing record, but made the playoffs.

This past year, the Attack finished with a 27-32-9 record, winding up sixth in the Western Conference. They ended the campaign with 63 points, which is 21 points fewer than the fifth-place team in the Western Conference, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

In each of the three playoff campaigns that Nansi featured in, Owen Sound have been swept in the first round. Nansi played in all four games of the 2024 and 2026 series, finishing without a point in those contests. In 2025 against Easton Cowan's London Knights, Nansi was able to record one assist in the two games he played.

Maple Leafs NHL Prospect Ranking: No. 10, Victor JohanssonKicking off our Toronto Maple Leafs prospects ranking is Victor Johansson at No. 10.

Regardless of the team he has around him or the circumstances of the team through the years, what's important is Nansi's growth and progression, particularly the 33-point increase from 2024-25 to 2025-26, which should please the Maple Leafs' front office.

In that regard, one area that Nansi has clearly improved in is his skating. At the Maple Leafs development camp in early July, he said that was something he had worked on for quite some time.

"Especially down low, I think my skating has evolved," Nansi said. Forward, backward, it helped me a lot, being stable on the ice and being able to make plays out there." 

He said that he worked all summer with Paul Matheson, who is a part of the Maple Leafs' development team as a skating coach.

This coming season will be a big one for Nansi.

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Here are your links for today:

Devils Links

“It wouldn’t be a stretch to say the Devils need more from Meier, though. The underlying metrics remain excellent, but he finished with 24 goals and 44 points last season, which doesn’t cut it for someone making $8.8 million per year. If the Devils are to rebound and make the playoffs next season, Meier will have to be a key part of it. What should fans expect from him?” [Devils on the Rush ($)]

“The New Jersey Devils have restocked their cupboard a fair amount this off-season, enjoying a well-regarded draft, accumulating future assets, and trading for the likes of Amadeus Lombardi. With that, let’s talk about the cream of the crop – the top three prospects in the system – entering the 2026-27 season.” [Infernal Access ($)]

“The New Jersey Devils come in at No. 19 on TheHockeyNews.com’s NHL off-season ranking. The Devils have a new GM and a new No. 1 goalie, but are they a Stanley Cup playoff lock?” [The Hockey News]

FWIW:

Joe Lorincz is no longer listed on the NJD website.

He was the team's Strength and Conditioning Coach since 2015-16.

— Devils Insiders (@DevilsInsiders) August 13, 2026

Hockey Links

“Saturday will mark one month until the maximum term for NHL contracts will drop from eight years when re-signing with a team to seven. It’s possible that the last-ever eight-year deal has already been inked, with the most recent max-term deal surprisingly going to Pittsburgh Penguins winger Ville Koivunen, who signed for a cap hit of $4 million.” [TSN]

“Which teams are heading into a cap crunch next summer? Who’s sitting pretty and under budget? How much will the game’s next big stars command on their next deals, and what might that mean for teams’ second-best scorers? With all that in mind, we’re looking at a handful of intriguing franchises — each facing different questions and approaches to salary cap management — in the year ahead, and beyond.” [Sportsnet]

“There are blockbuster trades, massive free-agent contracts and acquisitions that immediately become central to a team’s Stanley Cup aspirations. But for every major move, there are several quieter additions that could ultimately prove just as important. Some teams found value in players coming off down seasons. Others targeted specific areas of need, while a few took chances on players who could have considerably more responsibility in their new surroundings. Here are 12 under-the-radar acquisitions who could make a bigger impact than the attention they’ve received this summer:” [Sportsnet]

“What hockey game had you sitting in complete silence for 30 minutes after the fact?” [r/hockey]

Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.

Alexandar Georgiev revived his career in Russia, but the NHL still isn't buying it.

Nearly two months after returning to North America, Georgiev remains unsigned. Training camps are getting closer, rosters are taking shape and the number of places for a goaltender looking for a fresh start is getting smaller by the day.

Not long ago, he was Colorado's starting goaltender, an All-Star and one of the NHL's winningest netminders. Now, he's trying to convince a team that the goaltender it saw struggle so badly in North America isn't the one it would be getting this time around.

And that's probably the biggest problem Georgiev faces.

From 38 Wins To Searching For A Job

Georgiev's fall happened quickly.

As a member of the Avalanche, he tied for the NHL lead with 40 wins during the 2022-23 season before leading the league outright with 38 victories in 2023-24. He was selected to the All-Star Game in 2024, putting him alongside the league's biggest names and giving him the kind of recognition that suggested he had arrived.

There was even a memorable moment at All-Star Weekend when Georgiev faced Connor McDavid in the one-on-one goalie challenge. He stopped nine of 12 attempts from the best player in the world, earned $100,000 and had McDavid joking afterward that Georgiev "had my number."

At the time, it was easy to see Georgiev as a goaltender who had figured things out.

Then the numbers started going the other way.

His .897 save percentage in 2023-24 was hardly reflective of a 38-win season, and things became much worse the following year. Georgiev finished his final stretch in Colorado with an 8-7-0 record, a 3.38 goals-against average and a .874 save percentage.

A trade to San Jose didn't fix anything.

With the Sharks, Georgiev went 7-19-4 with a 3.88 GAA and a .875 save percentage across 31 appearances.

Suddenly, the goaltender who had been trusted to carry a Stanley Cup contender was looking for a way to stay in the top league in the world. 

Russia Was Exactly What Georgiev Needed

Georgiev eventually found that reset in Russia.

After his NHL struggles continued in San Jose and Buffalo, he returned to the KHL and joined Spartak Moskva. For the first time in years, his numbers started looking like those of the goaltender Colorado thought it was getting when it made him its starter.

In 24 regular-season appearances, Georgiev posted a 2.37 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

That .918 is particularly noteworthy.

It marked the first time since the 2022-23 season with Colorado that Georgiev finished a season with a save percentage above .900.

That doesn't erase what happened in the NHL. But it does give Georgiev something he didn't have when he left North America: evidence that his game could still be rebuilt.

He wasn't finished.

The playoffs were a little more complicated.

Georgiev went 1-4 in five postseason appearances with Spartak, but his individual numbers remained solid. He recorded a 2.65 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

Not bad.

The problem is that NHL teams aren't simply asking whether Georgiev can play well in Russia.

They're asking whether they can trust him to do it here. And due to that lack of trust, Georgiev has found himself in a pickle. 

Most NHL teams have already figured out their goaltending situations. The obvious starting jobs are gone, most backup positions have been filled and teams are increasingly looking toward younger options to provide depth.

He's too accomplished to be viewed as just another organizational goaltender, but his recent NHL performance makes it difficult to view him as a reliable starter.

A team considering Georgiev has to balance two very different versions of the same player.

There's the goaltender who won 78 games over two seasons in Colorado and earned an All-Star selection.

Then there's the goaltender who posted a .875 save percentage in 2024-25 and eventually found himself out of the NHL altogether.

As the saying goes, you're only as good as your last outing. And his last stint in the NHL was as dismal as you can get.

Georgiev Doesn't Need To Be A Starter

The good news for Georgiev is that he doesn't necessarily need someone to hand him the starting job.

He just needs someone to give him a chance.

A low-cost, one-year deal could make sense for a team looking for an experienced backup. A PTO could give him an opportunity to earn a roster spot during training camp. And, as every NHL season inevitably proves, injuries can create openings that simply don't exist in August.

That may ultimately be how Georgiev gets back to the NHL. But so far, nobody has been willing to make that bet — and it's hard to blame them. Teams aren't exactly lining up to gamble on a goaltender whose recent NHL struggles earned him the unfortunate nickname "Fourgiev."

Until then, he'll remain one of the more intriguing unsigned goaltenders on the market — and one of the biggest question marks.

The Colorado Avalanche spent months positioning themselves for another deep Stanley Cup run.

Then, when the moment arrived, everything unraveled at once.

A Presidents’ Trophy-winning regular season ended with a Western Conference Final sweep at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights, leaving Colorado with an offseason to figure out how a team that looked so dominant for much of the year suddenly ran out of answers.

For Cale Makar, the explanation isn’t complicated.

But that doesn’t make it any easier to accept.

“It was just a tough way to end,” Makar told Bailey Curtis of DNVR during a fan meet-and-greet Sunday at the new Dick’s House of Sport in Thornton. “I think a lot of things just went wrong for us at the wrong time.”

Perhaps that is the most telling assessment Makar could offer.

There were no excuses. No finger-pointing. No suggestion that Colorado needs to tear everything down.

Instead, Makar described a team that simply couldn’t get enough things going its way when the margin for error became razor-thin.

“Everything’s got to be going right in order to win,” Makar said. “We just kind of ran into a little bit of a wall and had a little bit of tough circumstances for some guys.”

Colorado knows how unforgiving that wall can be.

After dominating the regular season, sweeping the Los Angeles Kings and getting past the Minnesota Wild, the Avalanche entered the Western Conference Final with legitimate championship expectations.

Vegas ended those expectations in four games.

Now Colorado has to make sure the loss actually means something.

“You regroup and you try and build up,” Makar said.

A Different Avalanche Is Taking Shape

The Avalanche will have plenty to build around, but the team taking the ice in 2026-27 won’t look exactly like the one that lifted the Presidents’ Trophy.

Colorado has already made significant changes to its forward group.

Ross Colton was traded to Nashville on June 16. Eight days later, the Avalanche made another deal with the Predators, sending Jack Drury, Chase Bradley and a 2029 third-round pick to Nashville for Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux.

Colorado also acquired Fabian Lysell from Boston for Ivan Ivan and added veterans Jaden Schwartz, Noah Juulsen and Vinnie Hinostroza in free agency.

For Makar, those departures mean more than simply replacing goals and assists.

“We’re losing some key guys and some guys that were big parts of our team,” Makar said. “Not just on ice, but off ice as well.”

That is where Colorado’s biggest challenge could come.

Talent can be replaced.

Leadership has to develop.

Makar knows the Avalanche are going to look different, but he doesn’t view that as an automatic step backward.

“It’s going to be different, obviously,” Makar said. “It’s new bodies, new faces.”

Makar has stayed in contact with some of Colorado’s newcomers during the offseason, although he has mostly let everyone enjoy their summer before training camp begins.

Once camp opens, however, the expectations return.

And Makar remains confident in what the Avalanche can become.

“I feel confident that we’re in a good spot right now and we’re going to continue to get better as the season progresses, like we always did,” he said.

That confidence matters.

Because despite all the roster movement, Colorado’s standard hasn’t changed.

The Avalanche still expect to contend for the Stanley Cup.

Makar Isn’t Worried About The Power Play

One area that will inevitably receive scrutiny after the disappointing playoff exit is Colorado’s power play.

Makar, however, doesn’t sound like someone who believes the Avalanche need to reinvent themselves.

Instead, he sees a foundation worth building on.

“I felt confident in how we ended the regular season and then playoffs as well,” Makar said. “I felt like we can just build up a little bit of that momentum.”

That mindset may be important for Colorado moving forward.

The Western Conference Final sweep doesn’t erase what the Avalanche accomplished during the regular season. It simply exposed how quickly things can change once the playoffs become a battle of inches.

Colorado doesn’t need to start over.

It needs to find a way to finish.

Makar said he is feeling good heading toward training camp after spending part of his summer back in Calgary and recovering from another demanding NHL season.

That is obviously important.

But Colorado needs more than Makar being Makar.

Lysell will have an opportunity to establish himself in Colorado, while L’Heureux and Svechkov will be expected to grow into larger roles.

L’Heureux, in particular, could bring an element of physicality the Avalanche will need. His willingness to throw big hits and play with an edge would give Colorado a different dimension, especially in a playoff environment where games can become increasingly physical.

The veteran additions, particularly Schwartz, will also have to help stabilize a locker room that lost some important voices.

And for the returning core, the challenge is simple: make sure what happened against Vegas becomes a lesson rather than another missed opportunity.

The Avalanche were good enough to dominate the regular season.

They weren’t good enough when things went wrong in the playoffs.

That is the gap Colorado has to close.

The Vegas sweep is still part of the story.

It just doesn’t have to be the ending.

Colorado ran into a wall.

Now, with a new-look roster and another championship opportunity ahead, it has to figure out how to break through it.

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In exactly 31 days, the Detroit Red Wings will gather for Training Camp at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, marking just the third time since 1997 that they haven't held Camp in Traverse City, located in Northwest Michigan. 

And with each passing day, the chances that current captain Dylan Larkin reports to camp despite his controversial trade request, made public in early June, increase. 

Right now, the Red Wings remain without a general manager following Steve Yzerman's departure from the role last month, and the club is currently conducting a search for his successor. 

If Larkin ultimately remains with the Red Wings at this point next month, one former Stanley Cup winner turned analyst believes he should no longer bear the responsibility of the captaincy. 

“I love Dylan Larkin,” NHL Insider Mike Rupp explained to fellow analysts Jonny Lazarus and Arthur Staple. “He can’t be your captain if training camp starts, and this is going to get smoked out here pretty soon."

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"You cannot - for a franchise that has been struggling like they have to make the playoffs, and a new regime kind of starting up right now, you’ve got to draw your line in the sand,” he said. "Not with Dylan Larkin, (but) with the team about what we’re doing moving forward, culture-wise. What it’s going to be about getting over the hump.”

"You have to shed that to your language, Jonny. The stink around the franchise. Right now, there's a lot of stink. And it's around your captain."

Simon Edvinsson’s Agent Breaks Silence As Red Wings Await New GMDetroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson remains a restricted free agent while the club searches for its next general manager.

Rupp, who played 610 NHL games, won the Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2003. He scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who had swept the Red Wings in the first round several weeks earlier. 

Larkin is coming off his fifth straight season in which he tallied at least 30 goals. But Detroit's offense took a considerable blow when Patrick Kane, who registered 57 points last season, departed for the Chicago Blackhawks. 

If Larkin ultimately leaves, that will be another 67 points that departs with him. 

Whoever succeeds Yzerman as GM will have to navigate through this awkward situation and decide what is best for the franchise moving forward. 

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After receiving public criticism for his physical condition, young Philadelphia Flyers star Matvei Michkov has left no doubts about his offseason training heading into Year 3 of his fledgling NHL career.

Michkov, 21, has trained relentlessly this summer, working out with fellow Russian standouts like Artemi Panarin, while also revealing a workout regimen that, at times, consisted of multiple sessions a day with the oversight of a Flyers coach.

The 2023 No. 7 overall pick has clearly taken the way his sophomore season went to heart, and there is some added motivation, we can assume, with Michkov heading into the last year of his entry-level contract.

In a new social media post made by Michkov, we can see the fruits of his labor thus far. Seriously, the kid is looking good!

Matvei Michkov apparently still training, recovering in a hot/ice tub pic.twitter.com/BHICeJHafe

— Jonathan Bailey (@ByJonBailey) August 16, 2026

It should be noted, too, that Michkov led the Flyers in scoring after the Olympic break, dedicating his time off to further training and catching up to his teammates in terms of physical conditioning and game conditioning.

Things came to a screeching halt in the Stanley Cup playoffs with one point in eight games, but without Michkov, there may not have been any playoffs for the Flyers to begin with.

With little in the way of offseason additions, the Flyers are hoping that the 21-year-old phenom, rejuvenated and even more experienced than before, can serve as one, in a way.

The Flyers and Michkov each have a lot riding on this season from their respective sides, and a strong season on the ice will reap mutual rewards.

Fortunately, things seem to be trending in the right direction, with Michkov impressively taking initiative to correct his perceived his lack of fitness. 

The Montreal Canadiens should be open to the possibility of bringing in a player on a professional tryout (PTO) agreement for training camp. There are some free agents left who could be interesting players for the Canadiens to take a look at with a PTO.

One specific UFA forward who could make sense for the Canadiens to sign to a PTO is winger Michael Bunting. 

When looking at Montreal's current roster, it would not hurt for them to add more depth on the wing. A player like Bunting would be an intriguing player for them to take a chance on, as he has shown during his career that he can provide decent secondary offensive production. He is also known for his pesky style of play, so he could give Montreal's lineup more bite, too. 

If Bunting impressed on a PTO with the Canadiens and earned a contract for the season, he could offer them another solid option for their bottom six. He could provide Montreal with more depth scoring, which would not be a bad thing in the slightest for the Original Six club. 

Bunting appeared in 74 games during the 2025-26 season, where he recorded 14 goals and 33 points. This was after he posted 19 goals and 38 points in 79 games during the 2024-25 campaign. With numbers like these, he could give Montreal's bottom six a bit of a boost if signed to a short-term deal. 

Buffalo Sabres prospect Stiven Sardarian was thought to be headed to unrestricted free agency. The  2021 third rounder did not sign an entry-level deal with the Sabres before August 15, but according to Puckpedia, the 23-year-old has to submit paperwork to NHL Central Registry “indicating that he is no longer an undergraduate college student”, which would allow him to sign with another NHL club.  

There are no indications that Sardarian has filed the paperwork with the NHL, and that means the club retains his rights until he does. 

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The 23-year-old Russian winger played in the USHL after being selected 88th overall and two years at the University of New Hampshire before using the NCAA transfer portal to go to Michigan Tech, where he led the club with 35 points (11 goals, 24 assists) in 35 games as a junior and 44 points (12 goals, 32 assists) in 37 games as a senior. 

It is possible that the Sabres could sign Sardarian to an AHL deal, which would not take up an NHL contract slot, as they did with current Amerk forward Matteo Costantini after his senior season at Western Michigan. Clubs are limited to 50 pro contracts, but currently Buffalo has 44 players signed to NHL deals, so taking up a slot would not seem to be a concern. 

The Amerks are in need of replenishment in terms of forward prospects since 2021 first rounder Isak Rosen and 2023 second rounder Anton Wahlberg were traded, and both Noah Ostlund, and Konsta Helenius are expected to be playing in the NHL full-time next season, so it is possible that Sardarian could be added before training camp. It is also possible that the former CSKA Moscow product could head back to Russia to play professionally. 

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