Detroit Red Wings prospect goaltender Sebastian Cossa had reached a crossroads with the organization that selected him in the opening round (15th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft.
He was no longer waivers-except, and was in need of a new contract with restricted free agency looming on July 1. Rather than extend him, the Red Wings traded him to the Utah Mammoth in return for the 23rd overall pick in the 2026 Draft.
Since then, Cossa has signed a two-year contract with a $2 million salary cap hit, while the Mammoth traded backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek to the New York Islanders. Right now, it appears as though the road is paved for Cossa to begin his NHL career.
He only has one game of NHL experience under his belt, having come in to relieve Ville Husso against the Buffalo Sabres in December 2024; he helped the Red Wings earn a 6-5 shootout victory.
While speaking on the final day of Development Camp, Red Wings Director of Player Development Dan Cleary attested to Cossa's character.
"Sebastian is a good man," Cleary said. "I really liked working with Sebastian. He's on the goalie side, and I like to tell him, 'I don't really know a lot about goalies, but I certainly know a lot about character and trying to help you and move along.'"
Cossa finished what would be his last season with the Griffins going 26-8-4, recording a 2.33 goals-against average along with a .915 save percentage.
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The past week has only been Maksim Sokolovskii's first taste of action as a Philadelphia Flyers prospect, but if his performance against his peers says anything about his future, look out.
Sokolovskii, 17, was drafted 27th overall by the Flyers in the 2026 NHL Draft earlier this month, and while many bemoaned the choice because he fits the "big guy hits hard" mold, there is actually so much more depth to the 6-foot-7 defenseman's game than that.
At development camp, the London Knights product flashed everything he has to offer: effortless skating, strength, confidence, a good defensive stick, and... dangles with the puck on his stick!
No, really, Sokolovskii can do it all. This isn't to say that the new Flyers prospect is a world-beater or finished product--far from it--but it should reinforce the Flyers' belief that the defender has sky-high upside as a player.
Mechanically, Sokolovskii's skating needs some work, and he can still be loose and awkward when handling the puck. The good news is that the Flyers have five or six years to develop that, on top of his superhuman size and strength.
Sokolovskii's performance in the 3-on-3 tournament to finish out the Flyers' development camp was his most impressive of the week by far, giving a glimpse of what he can be if everything goes right in his development.
Maksim Sokolovskii is elite
Drew this penalty shot after going between his legs on a breakaway attempt right before pic.twitter.com/fwjUGhdlbR
Again, yes, it is a development camp against other prospects and camp invites.
The highlight of the 2026 first-round pick's morning was the penalty shot attempt he converted on draft classmate Martin Psohlavec, going backhand-forehand and scoring blocker side.
How did a defenseman like Sokolovskii get a penalty shot in a 3-on-3 game, you might ask?
The Kazakh defender was all over the ice, constantly getting north in open space to receive pucks and create offensive opportunities. Sokolovskii frequently demanded the puck from his teammates, and was astonishingly effective at creating offense from behind the opposing net--a long way from the point at the blue line.
It was easy to see Sokolovskii's daredevil personality coming out on the ice; to draw the penalty shot, he made an audacious attempt at a between-the-legs shot on Psohlavec, drawing a hook from a back-checking defender in the process.
With his absurdly long reach, Sokolovskii was also able to consistently create second- and third-chance opportunities, even after he and his teammates lost the puck or missed on a scoring chance.
The first of those resulted in a Jack Nesbitt goal from the high slot, with Sokolovskii supplying the assist from behind the net. Another came courtesy of Alex Bump a few shifts later.
"Sokolovskii, he likes to go, he actually likes to handle the puck. He has some things he's going to have to learn, but we want him to be trying things, especially in this environment," Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said after Friday's tournament.
Sokolovskii flipped a switch over the past 10-ish minutes of game time, and is now pulling off stuff like this pic.twitter.com/Ba2fouJJ73
"You want him to try to make plays and get up ice and take himself out of his comfort zone. I think all these players, whenever you get to junior or the American league, you play safe and try not to make mistakes and all this stuff. When you're a young player, especially junior and minor leagues, we want you to try things, just try to improve. Every player wants to be an offensive guy and score goals and make plays, and obviously they're going to be defense-first, but then we want guys to join the rush. Modern-day NHL, you need guys coming in a second wave to score."
This is less about making Sokolovskii out to be Quinn Hughes or Cale Makar, or even Zdeno Chara or Victor Hedman, and more about showing what his full potential could be like down the road.
Sokolovskii was one of the youngest players in the entire 2026 draft class, not turning 18 years old for another week, which leaves him plenty of developmental runway.
Naturally, Sokolovskii is the star of the show simply because of his anomalous size, but his development camp showing proved that he has quite the bag of tricks in his locker, too.
ENGLEWOOD, CO - JULY 09: Joe Sakic (C) is honored as he announces his retirement during a press conference at the Inverness Hotel on July 9, 2009 in Englewood, Colorado. (L-R) are Don Baizley, Debbie Sakic, Joe Sakic, Pierre Lacroix and Greg Sherman. Sakic played 20 years in the NHL with the same organization, the Quebec Nordiques from 1988-1995 and the Colorado Avalanche from 1995 to 2009. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The past thirty years of Avalanche hockey have featured incredible highs, and some very, very dismal lows.
As an avid fan of The Simpsons, I’ve witnessed plenty of “best of times” moments, but also been subjected to a smattering of unpleasant “blursts” of times. In this first of an ongoing off-season series, I take a look back through the past thirty years, highlighting one moment that stands among the best, and comparatively, the worst (or blurst, if you will) each season.
Here are the best and blurst moments from another five years of Colorado Avalanche history.
2005-2006
The Best: The Lockout Ends (July 22, 2005)
After lasting over ten months, the NHL and NHL Players Association came to terms on a brand new collective bargaining agreement, ensuring that all thirty clubs would return to action in the fall.
A hard $39 million dollar salary cap took effect as part of the agreement, and with it, a lot of uncomfortable decision had to be made by Avs GM Pierre Lacroix. With Lacroix’s hands bound by the new salary cap, longtime fixtures Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote were not offered new contracts, and instead signed long-term deals with the Philadelphia Flyers (the team that originally drafted Forsberg in 1991) and Columbus Blue Jackets, respectively.
Lacroix mobilized to fill the void in the wake of the departure of Forsberg and Foote. He signed both center Pierre Turgeon (previously with the Dallas Stars) and defenseman Patrice Brisebois (previously with the Montréal Canadiens) to two-year contracts on August 3.
The Avalanche began the season in Edmonton on October 5, losing by a score of 4-3.
Three nights later, the late Marek Svatoš made his NHL debut against the Dallas Stars, scoring the go-ahead goal to secure the Avs’ first win of the season. The 2001 seventh-round pick (227th overall) would go on to have the best season of his short NHL career in his rookie campaign, scoring 32 goals and 18 assists for 50 points before a shoulder injury in March 2006 sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
The drama of losing both Forsberg and Foote to free agency, the subsequent signings of Turgeon and Brisebois, the rapid rise of Svatoš, and an eventual return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs would not have been possible if not for this moment.
Hard to find a better moment of the season than the League resuming play again.
The Blurst: Brad May Signed by Colorado (August 20, 2005)
They signed WHO?!
When news had broke that the Avs had signed Brad May, the excitement over the return of hockey turned the stomachs of Avs fans sour. How could this franchise sign the very person–a multi-year contract at that–who openly admitted that a bounty was placed on Steve Moore’s head?
“Brad May is a good skater who brings us additional grit, leadership and experience,” said Avs GM Pierre Lacroix.
A far too simple justification in the wake of a far too complex situation.
Avs fans got an early look at May in burgundy and blue on September 16 during the Avs’ Burgundy and White Game at the University of Denver, and they didn’t hold back. Boos showered the Magness Arena ice surface each time that May was in possession of the puck. Although he didn’t finish the game due to sustaining a groin injury during the contest, the message was clear: you are not welcome here.
This would have been an opportunity for May to try to make amends for his role in the attack on Moore, but that would have been far too easy. “I’m not even interested in talking about it, really,” he said to The Denver Post after the game. “It’s just what it is.”
So much for the olive branch.
Head coach Joel Quenneville defended his new winger in an equally tone-deaf manner. “I think this is a thing that’s going to be over with, and the fans are going to like his style of play,” he said. “He’s a tough guy who can play. There are some tough guys who can be more difficult to get in the games. The role of the tougher player has to be that you feel comfortable with him on the ice.”
What a way to double down.
May played 64 regular season games during his Avs tenure, scoring three goals and six assists for a total of nine points. He appeared in three postseason games, registering zero points. He was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on February 17, 2007, in exchange for goaltender Mike Wall.
Wall never played a game for the Avs. May would win the Stanley Cup with Anaheim that summer.
The most controversial signing in franchise history felt all too long of a blurst for being so brief.
2006-2007
The Best: Budaj Goes Beast Mode (February 27 – April 07, 2007)
By this time in Avalanche history, making the playoffs wasn’t just an expectation: it was pure assumption. The thought that this team that set such high standards from year to year could ever be outside the playoff picture was simply unfathomable.
After losing to Anaheim on February 25, the Avs were squarely on the outside looking in, and an eleventh consecutive playoff appearance since relocating from Quebec was in jeopardy.
Something had to change. On February 27, Peter Budaj, who had been backing up José Théodore in goal, stepped into the crease for the Avs, and proceeded to win ten of his next twleve starts in goal (losing once in overtime and once in a shootout).
The playoffs were once again within reach. Théodore was reinserted back into the lineup on March 27–his first start in a month–but a 3-0 loss to Vancouver that night all but ensured Budaj would get the chance to pull the Avs across the finish line and back for an eleventh straight playoff appearance.
Budaj won his next four starts, setting up a dramatic matchup on April 7 in Nashville. Unfortunately, the magic ran out for Budaj, as Peter Forsberg, who had been acquired by Nashville before the trade deadline, set up another former Avalanche winger in Paul Kariya for the go-ahead (and game-winning goal). The loss sealed the Avs’ fate, as they would miss the playoffs for the first time since leaving Quebec.
Budaj started all but three games during that run, pulling off an insane 14-2-2 run to pull the Avs within a hair of the playoffs, a goaltending streak that wouldn’t be duplicated for nearly twenty more years.
The Blurst: Alex Tanguay Traded to Calgary (June 24, 2006)
In October 2002, Avs general manager Pierre Lacroix traded Chris Drury and Stéphane Yelle to the Calgary Flames for forwards Dean McAmmond, Jeff Shantz, and defenseman Derek Morris. Morris was the centerpiece of that deal in the eyes of Lacroix, who cited Morris’ abilities that could be a fixture on the blue line into the future.
Lacroix was roundly criticized for dealing away two key pieces of the team that had just won the Stanley Cup less than four months earlier. Morris played just over two seasons with the Avs, registering 17 goals and 59 assists in 117 regular season games, while only recording three assists in seven postseason games. He was traded to the then-Phoenix Coyotes prior to the trade deadline in 2004.
François Giguère, who succeeded Lacroix as general manager, made a similar move with similar shortcomings. Alex Tanguay, who was on the verge of becoming a restricted free agent in July, was traded to Calgary in exchange for defenseman Jordan Leopold and two second round picks in 2006 (used to draft center Codey Burki) and 2007 (used to draft goaltender Trevor Cann).
Both Giguère and Leopold spoke after the trade. “Jordan is a solid defenseman and a very good skater,” he said in comments to the Associated Press. “He is only 25 years old and has a bright future ahead of him.”
“I have an offensive background and I like to show it,” said Leopold.
Leopold spent three seasons with the Avs, but injuries kept him out of the lineup throughout his tenure, limiting his offensive capabilities. He scored 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points in 122 regular season games, and like Morris, managed to record only three assists in seven postseason games.
Tanguay set career highs in assists (59) and points (81) the following season with Calgary. He would play another year with the Flames prior to making stops in Montréal and Tampa, then returned to Calgary for three more seasons. He racked up another 90 goals and 191 assists for 281 points across 391 regular season games in that span.
Leopold would be sent back to Calgary on March 9, 2009, for defensemen Lawrence Nycholat and Ryan Wilson, along with a 2009 second round draft pick (later used to draft defenseman Stefan Elliot). He played for six more teams across five more seasons before retiring.
Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Or blurst it. Or something.
2007-2008
The Best: Franchise Victory #1000 (December 09, 2007)
José Théodore’s time with the Avs was certainly an adventure.
On this night when the St. Louis Blues came into town, the adventure lived up to its billing in the best way.
Jay McClement broke open the scoring for St. Louis just past the halfway mark of the first period. His future teammate, Milan Hejduk, would tie the game just over five minutes later. Hejduk’s second goal of the game a little over five minutes into the second period gave the Avs their first lead of the night.
McClement was awarded a penalty shot seconds later, and he tied the game at two.
At the halfway point of regulation, Paul Stastny put the Avs ahead 3-2, scoring the first of four goals (Wojtek Wolksi, Brett Clark, and Ryan Smyth scored the other three) past St. Louis goaltender Hannu Toivonen in a span of 6:26. The comfortable lead felt less so after Doug Weight and David Perron scored a minute apart early in the third to make things more nervewracking interesting, but three straight goals by Stastny, Hejduk, and Wolski put the game out of reach.
A meaningless goal from Lee Stempniak with less than a minute to play wrapped up this affair, with the Avs emerging with a 9-5 victory, their 1000th as a franchise.
Hejduk took first star honors of the night, recording a career best six points in one game and scoring the fifth career hat trick of his career. Stastny was right behind him, with two goals and three assists, good enough for second star honors. Overall, ten skaters recorded points for the Avs in this contest.
Although Toivonen had a pretty rough night, Théodore’s wasn’t much better, having allowing five goals on twenty-eight shots, but a win is a win.
This game stood as the highest scoring game played on home ice in franchise history until the Avs’ 9-6 victory over the Minnesota Wild in Game Two of their second round playoff series this past May.
For now, being the highest scoring regular season game on home ice–and recording the 1000th franchise victory–is a pretty impressive feat for second place on that list.
The Blurst: McLeod Mouths Off in Motown (April 26, 2008)
The rivalry between the Avs and Red Wings featured a lot of trash talking, but this was the first (and only) time that an inanimate object was the focal point of wrath between both clubs.
The Avs were at Joe Louis Arena for Game Two of the Stanley Cup semifinals. Having lost Game One two nights earlier, they were eager for a spark to build on to prevent from falling further behind in the series.
During the national anthem, a spectator threw an octopus onto the ice. Avs enforcer Cody McLeod scooped up the lifeless sea creature, shook it vigorously in the direction of Detroit’s Dallas Drake and Dan Cleary, then launched it past an arena attendant stationed near the back of the Avs bench.
McLeod’s actions certainly were motivational…for the Red Wings. Led by Johan Franzén, Detroit would score four unanswered goals (including an eventual hat trick for Franzén) en route to a 5-1 victory and a 2-0 series lead. Ian Laperrière scored the only goal in the contest.
The Avs would lose both games on home ice, falling in Game Three by a 4-3 decision, and Game Four by a lopsided 8-2 decision, reminiscent of the Game Seven defeat six years earlier in the Western Conference Final.
Losing, even decisively, to your most hated rival, is one thing. To get swept out the playoffs by your most hated rival?
That’s a blurst.
2008-2009
The Best: The 300 Club (January 18, 2009)
It’s fun when players reach a milestone moment in their careers, but when two players hit the same milestone in the same game, that a certain kind of special.
With the Avs leading the Calgary Flames 2-1 in the second period, Ryan Smyth scored a shorthanded goal to reach the 300 goal mark. Just under five minutes later, Milan Hejduk also scored his 300th career goal.
How often has something like this happened? Turns out, it’s pretty rare: the last time a pair of teammates reached the 300 goal mark in the same game was back on February 26, 1983, when Danny Gare and Ivan Boldirev of the Detroit Red Wings accomplished the feat against the New York Islanders.
Smyth and Hejduk are the last pair to most recently accomplish the feat. They both took first and second star honors in the Avs’ 6-2 victory over Calgary that night, but this achievement is in a class by itself, twice over.
The Blurst: Snowblower v. Sakic (December 09, 2008)
You had to know this was coming.
The 2008-2009 season saw Joe Sakic begin his twentieth NHL campaign at over a point per game pace into early November. A herniated disk put a pause in his season, causing him to miss three weeks of action. He returned in the Avs 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on November 26, but pulled himself after a brief shift two nights later against the Phoenix Coyotes.
Avs fans waited for news on his recovery and eventual return to the lineup. December 10, the team announced that Sakic would miss the next three months of action for an entirely different reason: surgery on his left hand to repair tendon damage and three broken fingers.
The culprit? Sakic’s own snowblower.
“He put his hand where he should not have put it. He’s, in a way, lucky. He’ll have a full recovery,” Team vice president Jean Martineau explained to The Denver Post.
Had Sakic’s recovery gone according to the projected timeline, he would have returned to the lineup in mid March, just in time to gear up for a potential playoff appearance. At the time of Sakic’s injury, the Avs were hovering just above the .500 mark with a 14-13-1 record, with plenty of time in the season to put themselves into postseason contention.
The exact opposite occurred, with the Avs going 18-32-4 for the remainder of the season and missing the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. Sakic never suited up for the Avs again.
“He’s very, very mad at himself. I’ve never seen him like that, and I’ve known him for 21 years,” Martineau further elaborated. “He knows he made a mistake.”
Unfortunately, a mistake that literally cut Sakic final season short.
All thanks to an appliance designed to clear out snow and ice, the very foundations of…an avalanche.
2009-2010
The Best: Craig Anderson’s San Jose Shutout (April 18, 2010)
The 2009-2010 season saw the Avs take their first steps to forge a new identity. Joe Sakic had retired at the start of the year, and the newest class of Avs draft picks featuring Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly were now the foundations to build the next wave of success.
A shootout win in Vancouver in early April ensured that the Avs would return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They drew the powerhouse San Jose Sharks–the team they hosted for Sakic’s jersey retirement–as their first round opponent.
After splitting the first two games at the Shark Tank, both teams met for Game Three at Pepsi Center on April 18. San Jose threw everything they could towards Craig Anderson, who stopped a whopping fifty saves in regulation to keep the Sharks off the board. The upstart Avs, however, struggled to put pucks on Evgeni Nabokov throughout the game, mustering just sixteen shots through sixty minutes.
The brilliance of Anderson and the lack of offense by the Avs sent this game to overtime.
With less than a minute gone in the extra frame, San Jose’s Dan Boyle attempted to fling the puck around the end boards in the Sharks zone. O’Reilly reached out with his stick and grazed the puck with the very edge of his blade. The puck changed direction just enough to sneak between Nabokov and the near post, securing an improbable 1-0 victory for the Avs and a 2-1 series lead.
Having witnessed this game in person, the video above doesn’t do the crowd’s reaction justice. The Pepsi Center crowd’s chants of, “Andy! Andy! Andy!” in recognition of Anderson’s fifty-one save performance still stand out, even among recognizing other incredible goaltending performances in the pantheon of Avs netminders.
It was the season’s best moment, and signaled a future full of promise.
The Blurst: A Snowy Saturday Shellacking (November 14, 2009)
The new-look Avs were enjoying some early season success as the 2009-2010 season got underway. Through the first eighteen games of the year, they compiled a 11-4-3 record, a result that may have caught more than a few people by surprise.
With the Vancouver Canucks coming into town as part of Hockey Night in Canada’s late night presentation, the Avs would be front and center to take on one of the strongest teams in the League. Despite losing their last two games to Edmonton and Chicago, the young Avs had little reason to doubt they could compete with Vancouver.
It didn’t take long for Vancouver to assert their will. Henrik Sedin scored his first goal of the game just under two minutes into the period, and the Canucks didn’t look back. Head coach Joe Sacco pulled Craig Anderson was pulled after the first period in an attempt to inject some life into his squad, but Vancouver would increase their lead on a Mathieu Schneider goal as the game approached the halfway point of regulation.
Marek Svatoš and Matt Hendricks broke through in the third period to finally solve Roberto Luongo, but Vancouver rattled off four unanswered goals in response. The lopsided 8-2 defeat illustrated that, as promising as the nucleus of talent on the Avs roster was, they had a long way to go before they could compete with the likes of a true Stanley Cup contender.
Was there a best (or blurst) from these five years of Avalanche hockey that was overlooked? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
That’s the opinion of one NHL player agent, who does not represent either player.
The Philadelphia Flyers have tendered a five-year offer sheet to the Ducks' Leo Carlsson that will make him the highest-paid player in the NHL with an $18M AAV, per @reporterchris.
Anaheim has seven days to match or they'll receive four first-round picks over the next four… pic.twitter.com/5AnQzYX3Fl
On Friday, restricted free agent Carlsson signed a five-year, $90 million offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers. That’s a league-record $18 million AAV.
Celebrini, approaching the final year of his entry-level contact, is not an RFA, like Carlsson. So while Celebrini is eligible for an extension as of July 1, he’s not eligible for an offer sheet this summer.
So long as the Sharks take care of business with Celebrini this offseason — and there’s no reason to believe that they won’t — there’s no offer sheet coming for Celebrini.
The big change simply is resetting your own expectations for what Celebrini is going to make on his next contract.
The 21-year-old Carlsson got an offer sheet because of how good he is for his age.
There’s no question about 20-year-old Celebrini’s quality: As just a sophomore in the NHL, he was fourth in Hart Trophy voting, a conversation that even Carlsson doesn’t approach.
In a March poll with 26 NHL executives, coaches, and scouts, San Jose Hockey Now asked which U23 player they would start their franchise with, center Celebrini or New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer.
Of those 26 league sources, 21 took Celebrini over Schaefer; Carlsson was the only other player who might belong in this conversation, albeit a distant third, according to the pollsters.
Point is, proven special second-year players get taken care of before their ELC ends, à la Sidney Crosby in the summer of 2007. And Celebrini is special.
That’ll be Celebrini, unless the Sharks are cheap (they won’t be) or he doesn’t want to be here (there’s no indication of that).
“I want to commit to this team and be here,” Celebrini said in his April exit interview, “I love it here.”
He reaffirmed that this week, telling Luke Fox of Sportsnet, “Looking at what we have and what we’re building, I think we should all be excited for things to come.”
In May, SJHN projected Celebrini’s next contract compared to other recent superstars in their sophomore seasons like Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. Using percentage of the salary cap as a guide — this year’s cap is $104 million — I landed at $15-16 million AAV, depending on the length of the deal, as a reasonable projection.
But Carlsson’s $18 million figure might blow that up … if Celebrini’s camp chooses to use it as their bar.
“He can definitely play off of it,” the agent said. “But [Sharks owner] Hasso Plattner and [Ducks owner] Henry Samueli have plenty of cash.”
For what it’s worth, the maximum contract a player can sign is 20 percent of the salary cap; that’s $20.8 million AAV in a $104 million cap.
“I’m not sure how worried he is about those other guys,” Sharks GM Mike Grier said when asked this week about comparing Celebrini’s next contract to RFAs Carlsson and Connor Bedard. “He’s kind of a step above them in my view.”
That said, the cap is rising rapidly and is projected to come in around $113.5 million for the 2027-28 NHL season.
So, this agent isn’t concerned for the Sharks: “Again, wealthy owner and plenty of space now, plus increase to $113 million.”
And it looks like even more in the coming years.
Analyzing NHL HRR projections and the current revenue slack that exists in the system, hearing the NHL is projecting a Salary Cap Upper Limit of approx $123M in 2028-29. We are currently at $95.5M. (That’s an almost $30M rise of the Cap within 3 years).
The Sharks won’t mess around. They know what kind of player that they have in Celebrini. If Celebrini is allowed to hit free agency next year, he might be the most attractive offer sheet candidate in league history, which is exactly why it won’t happen.
There’s also reason to believe that Celebrini — historically team-first Crosby being his idol — won’t demand the maximum AAV. Personally, just my opinion, I doubt Celebrini will want the distinction of being the first-ever player in NHL history to make the maximum AAV.
But even if he does, the Sharks probably will pay it and Celebrini probably will be worth it.
So, either way, Celebrini always was going to make a staggering amount of money this summer, with or without Carlsson.
The Anaheim Ducks entered the 2026 offseason with a projected $38.8 million in cap space, holes throughout their depth chart (most notably on the right side of their blueline), and six NHL RFAs (Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, Tyson Hinds, Ian Moore) in need of new contracts, with two of them projected to be sizable extensions: Leo Carlsson (21) and Cutter Gauthier (22).
After signing Moore to a two-year contract extension, trading Mason McTavish to the St. Louis Blues, and trading Olen Zellweger to the Buffalo Sabres, the Ducks entered the July 1 free agency period with a projected $44.6 million in cap space, and the number of NHL RFAs in need of contract extensions decreased to four (Carlsson, Gauthier, Mintyukov, Hinds).
Offer sheets are an intriguing aspect of every NHL offseason, but notoriously, they’re rarely extended and signed. NHL clubs may sign opposing RFAs to offer sheets between July 1 and Dec. 1, and once signed, the player’s original team has seven days to either match the offer or send the player to the team they signed with in exchange for predetermined compensation.
Of the Ducks’ four current RFAs, only Carlsson, Mintyukov, and Hinds are eligible to sign offer sheets with opposing teams, as Gauthier does not meet the experience criteria. Typically, offer sheets have only been successful when extended to second-tier RFAs. When offered to top-tier players, they’re immediately matched.
The Ducks were relatively quiet to open the NHL free agency period despite losing a trio of veteran RHDs, as well as some depth forwards from their 2025-26 roster. Their only NHL acquisitions to date have been forward AJ Greer, forward Jeff Malott, defenseman Nick Jensen, and goaltender Laurent Brossoit.
They currently have a projected $35.2 million in cap space, the most in the NHL by over $5 million.
A combination of a seeming lack of reverence for the 2026 NHL Draft, an ever-increasing salary cap, and a thin unrestricted free agent market has led to the most eventful NHL offseason in recent memory.
Which brings us back to offer sheets. The New Jersey Devils have already signed Utah Mammoth center Barrett Hayton to a one-year, $4.78 million offer sheet, of which Utah has until July 8 to match or lose the player for a second-round pick as compensation.
With high-profile RFAs such as Jason Robertson, Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli, Simon Edvinsson, etc., currently eligible for offer sheets, some have speculated whether this may be the offseason where these prolific players sign offer sheets.
Premier NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported on Twitter that if teams were to attempt to acquire Carlsson from the Ducks via offer sheet, it would be immediately matched, and the reason for their lack of activity to this point in the offseason is to maintain cap flexibility.
John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
“Saw one offer sheet yesterday, Barrett Hayton (with) New Jersey, and are wondering about more,” Friedman wrote. “Heard over the past few hours Anaheim guaranteed it will match any attempt on Leo Carlsson, and the reason the Ducks haven’t made many moves is to make sure to be in a safe cap position.”
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek has established a reputation as one of the tougher GMs in the NHL to negotiate with, especially for RFAs, and especially more when they’re coming off their ELCs. Since he’s taken over in the Ducks’ front office, he’s taken negotiations with Troy Terry to the minutes before entering his scheduled arbitration hearing, and he’s taken negotiations with Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, and Mason McTavish well into training camp without a deal in place.
The two significant RFA contracts Verbeek “got ahead of” in terms of negotiations were Lukas Dostal in the summer of 2025, where a five-year contract extension was signed several days before arbitration hearings were set to commence, and Jackson LaCombe in Oct. 2025, where an eight-year deal was signed nine months before his current one was scheduled to expire.
Author’s opinion: By not having Carlsson under contract by July 1 and this report coming out a day after, it appears, from the outside, as though Carlsson and his representation have been given all leverage in negotiations with the Ducks.
It’s become more fashionable over the last 5-10 years in the NHL for GMs to sign their young star players well before their ELCs expire so as to have them committed to their teams for as long as possible, to as low an AAV as possible, before they truly break out and acquire more leverage.
“We reached a point, maybe late October/early November, that we decided to table talks with any of our young players and just focus on playing hockey,” Verbeek said when asked about contract negotiations with pending RFAs at the trade deadline. “And if they play hockey well, then all the contract stuff will take care of itself. I just wanted their mindset to be worried on playing good hockey and helping this team win and get into the playoffs.”
During Verbeek’s exit interview, Verbeek expressed his desire to get his high-profile RFAs (Carlsson and Gauthier) signed before training camp.
“In a perfect situation, I’d like to get them done in a week here,” Verbeek said on May 15. “I’m hoping for the best to try and make sure that everybody’s excited for training camp and all of us are happy. I don’t have a crystal ball to say how it’s going to go, but we’re going to do our best to make sure that we get everybody excited and there for camp.”
“I’d like to get it done as soon as possible, but we all have to cooperate with one another, right? That’s the goal,” Verbeek continued when asked about the motivation to get contracts signed before July 1.
Carlsson reiterated Verbeek’s sentiments at his own exit interview, on May 15, to get a contract agreed upon before training camp and relayed that negotiations hadn’t taken place to that point.
“No, not really. We’ll just take it into summer, see what happens,” Carlsson said when asked about any preliminary contract talks between him, his representation, and Verbeek.
When asked about a preferential timeline for a deal, Carlsson said, “I want to get it done before training camp so I can be here with the team as early as possible.”
At of the end of the first round of the recent NHL Draft, the last time the media spoke with Verbeek, when asked about the status of RFA contract negotiations, he said, “They’re ongoing. That’s all I can say. We’re talking, and we’ll see where it goes.”
This remains an important offseason in the growth of the Anaheim Ducks franchise, on the heels of their first playoff appearance since 2018 and with the goal to “keep pushing this football down the field,” as Verbeek stated at the Draft on June 26.
The landscape of the Ducks roster and depth chart, along with projections regarding the upcoming season, is still very much in question after recently losing McTavish, Zellweger, John Carlson, Jacob Trouba, Radko Gudas, Ross Johnston, and Jeffrey Viel, and acquiring Greer, Mallot, Jensen, and Brossoit.
Author’s opinion: It seems as though by not having contracts agreed upon with Carlsson and Gauthier, the Ducks were and remain unable to significantly add to and improve their roster due to uncertainty regarding the amount of cap space they’d have to work with.
The Philadelphia Flyers have finally expanded on the ailment that has chronically been plaguing top center prospect Jett Luchanko for the last few years.
Luchanko, 19, was held off the ice for back-to-back development camps due to injury, though no procedures were ever officially announced... until now.
Despite playing each of the last two seasons mostly as normal, Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr revealed after the conclusion of development camp Friday that Luchanko had a procedure done on his core to address a "lingering" injury.
"He had a proceudre done on his core. It's been lingering for about a year and a half. I don't even know the timeline. He's been working out lots down there, should be skating over the week and be ready to go," Flahr said. "He doesn't like to make excuses, but at the same time, his speed, skillset, there's hopefully a full summer to train and train properly."
While there typically isn't a silver lining we can take from a prospect's injury, Luchanko hasn't produced a ton of offense in the two years since being drafted, and now there's a good chance that Luchanko just hasn't been fully healthy for much of that time.
The Flyers' 2024 first-round pick is expected to compete for an NHL roster spot out of training camp when healthy, and so long as Luchanko indeed remains healthy, there is a good chance he can do it.
Regardless of he makes the NHL or not, the 2026-27 season will be Luchanko's first as a full-time professional player.
The speedster has played nine NHL games with the Flyers, including one in the Stanley Cup playoffs this past postseason, as well as 16 AHL games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms between the regular season and Calder Cup playoffs.
Of note, Flyers general manager Danny Briere told The Hockey News in a recent Q&A that Luchanko would not make the Flyers' NHL roster as a reserve player, and would only be kept up if he was one of the top-12 regular forwards.
Considering how much hockey Luchanko has missed, and how much hockey he's played at less than 100%, this is the smartest and safest move by the Flyers.
Flyers rookie camp opens on Sept. 11, leaving Luchanko with two more months to rehab, recover, and train.
When Zakhar Bardakov's time with the Colorado Avalanche came to an end, it never felt like a permanent goodbye.
Just weeks after returning to Russia, the 25-year-old forward has officially signed a one-year contract with KHL powerhouse SKA St. Petersburg, taking the next step in a move that had been building since his arrival in North America. While the signing closes one chapter of his career, the Avalanche have quietly ensured another could still be written by extending Bardakov a qualifying offer, allowing the organization to retain his NHL rights.
Bardakov's departure from Colorado was never a surprise behind the scenes. When the Avalanche signed him from the KHL, his contract included a clause allowing him to return to Russia if he was assigned to the American Hockey League. It was a unique provision that reflected his status as an established professional rather than a traditional prospect expected to spend years developing in the minors.
Although Bardakov earned a roster spot out of training camp and steadily adjusted to the North American game, his opportunity remained limited throughout the season. He finished with one goal and nine assists in 60 games while averaging just 7:12 of ice time, spending much of the year on Colorado's fourth line. His lone assignment to the AHL with the Colorado Eagles, where he scored in his only appearance, ultimately reinforced the reality that a larger role wasn't likely to come in Colorado.
That reality became even clearer in the playoffs, when Bardakov was a healthy scratch for the entire postseason despite appearing in 60 regular-season games.
Rather than remain in limbo, Bardakov chose the more familiar path. His one-year deal with SKA St. Petersburg gives him an opportunity to play significant minutes for one of the KHL's premier organizations while continuing his development against high-level competition.
For the Avalanche, however, the story doesn't necessarily end there.
By issuing Bardakov a qualifying offer before his departure, Colorado retained his NHL rights, meaning any future return to North America would still go through the Avalanche. If Bardakov thrives with SKA and decides another NHL opportunity is worth pursuing, Colorado—not another club—would control that next chapter.
The Senators have had an extremely quiet start to free agency, at least in terms of adding impactful NHL players to their roster.
But GM Steve Staios was able to address another important area, and that's adding prospects and depth to a farm system that badly needs it.
Steve Staios says he's in a holding pattern in free agency as he waits on Claude Giroux.
On Wednesday, Staios signed five free agent players who are all expected to begin the year in Belleville. But some of them are also players capable of helping in Ottawa right now when the inevitable injuries strike.
The Sens signed forwards Sammy Blais, Philippe Daoust, Ryan Suzuki and Philip Tomasino, along with defenceman Christian Kyrou, to two-way contracts.
That followed the late June acquisition of winger Kasper Halttunen from the San Jose Sharks and the drafting of Jonas Lagerberg Hoen and Jaxon Cover in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft.
None of the Canada Day signings generated headlines around the NHL, but collectively, they tidily improved the Sens' organizational depth.
Among the new signees who might play in Ottawa this season, the headliner is undoubtedly Sammy Blais, who helped the St. Louis Blues win the Cup in 2019.
The 30-year-old has appeared in 278 NHL games and has some bite to his game, something the Senators suddenly have a little less of following Brady Tkachuk's departure.
Blais plays an abrasive style, finishes checks, and makes life uncomfortable around the opponent's crease. In many ways, his style resembles Nick Cousins, a player the Sens valued enough to bring back this summer on a two-year deal.
Blais gives the Senators another veteran capable of stepping into a fourth-line NHL role if injuries create an opening.
Philip Tomasino has the highest offensive ceiling of the new signings.
The season after Nashville made him a first-round pick in 2019, Tomasino returned to the OHL and had 100 points in 62 games. As an NHL rookie, he then had 32 points in 76 games for the Predators, but it's been a slow fade in productivity ever since.
He's played in 218 NHL games and is still just 24 years old.
Although he spent much of last season in the American Hockey League, he produced 41 points in 52 games while splitting time between the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia organizations. His last meaningful NHL season was two years ago with 23 points in 50 games for Pittsburgh.
If Tomasino rediscovers some of the offensive game that made him a first-round selection in 2019, he could force his way back into NHL consideration.
As a sidebar, we could have turned this article into a smooth piece of clickbait by announcing that the Sens had acquired Kyrou and Suzuki. They did do that, but the players are, in fact, the younger brothers of Jordan and Nick.
Christian Kyrou brings intriguing upside.
Kyrou is coming off his best pro season in pretty much all categories after recording 34 points in 59 games with Lehigh Valley in the American Hockey League. Ottawa's NHL blue line appears settled, but offensively skilled, right-shot defencemen are always valuable organizational assets.
Ryan Suzuki arrives after helping lead the Chicago Wolves to the Calder Cup Final, where he led the club in playoff scoring with 18 points in 21 games. Like Tomasino, Suzuki is a former first-round pick who gives Belleville another skilled offensive player.
The signing of Philippe Daoust is a Belleville success story. The Senators' 2020 Draft pick was on an AHL deal last season and went off with a 50-point season. It was his best pro season in all categories by a country mile, more than doubling his previous personal bests in goals, assists, and points.
The question he'll need to answer is how much of his production came from playing on a line with Arthur Kaliyev and Xavier Bourgault. Kaliyev is a UFA and won't be back, while Bourgault is an RFA, waiting on a new deal.
Beyond the signings, there's also Kasper Halttunen, who could be a beast in Belleville this year. He was acquired in the William Eklund trade, a spinoff of the Brady Tkachuk deal.
Halttunen provides organizational depth, but he's more than that. He's immediately become one of the Senators' best prospects.
In 2024 and 2025, the big Finnish winger (6-foot-3, 205 lbs) helped the London Knights win back-to-back OHL titles with an outrageous 32 goals in 35 playoff games.
His rookie AHL season with the San Jose Barracudas this year was a learning experience, but at age 20, he still managed 35 points in 69 games.
On their own, none of these additions is likely to change the current roster. But combined with Lagerberg-Hoen and Cover, they do provide important new depth and paint a clear picture of a GM keeping a better eye on the future.
By Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published on The Hockey News Ottawa Senators site. For full coverage of the Senators, check out one of the latest headlines below:
Now, two days removed from the beginning of free agency, the dust has settled, and the rapidness of the moves has slowed down.
The St. Louis Blues have added Ross Johnston, a physical fourth-line forward, while also re-signing Jonatan Berggren and Dillon Dube. The Blues have also made some other deals, most notably trading for Mason McTavish on draft night.
But while the team adds, players are always going to be leaving the organization.
That statement is true for four former Blues players: Matthew Kessel, Hunter Skinner, Akil Thomas and Justin Holl.
While none of these players were major factors in the Blues’ lineup, losing depth, especially three right-handed defensemen, is nothing to really scoff at. With that in mind, the Blues should be able to navigate these losses without any issues.
Hunter Skinner, D, Nashville Predators
Skinner was a player Blues fans wanted to see in the NHL, but it just never happened. Originally a fourth-round draft pick by the New York Rangers in 2019, Skinner played just one NHL game with the Blues in the 2025-26 season.
His Blues tenure was spent in the AHL with the Springfield Thunderbirds, where he was a solid two-way defender.
He’ll now join the Nashville Predators on a two-way contract for one season. The 25-year-old will become a Group-6 UFA if he doesn’t play 79 NHL games this season.
Matthew Kessel, D, New York Islanders
Kessel was given a better opportunity to shine in St. Louis, but he was never able to emerge as an everyday defenseman. During his Blues tenure, Kessel played 99 NHL games over five seasons, scoring three goals and totaling 13 points.
Most of his early career has been spent shuttling between the NHL and AHL.
Now with the New York Islanders, Kessel is on a standard one-way contract, which means that if the Islanders want to send him to the AHL, he’ll have to clear waivers. As with the Blues this past year, Kessel will likely be used as a seventh defenseman, entering the lineup when someone is injured.
Once a highly coveted prospect, Akil Thomas just hasn’t been able to take that next step and lock down a role in the NHL. In fact, he hasn’t played an NHL game since 2024-25.
Acquired in a mid-season trade, Thomas joined the Thunderbirds for 20 regular-season games, scoring five goals and nine points. In the post-season, he potted three goals and six points in 12 games.
Thomas now joins the Vancouver Canucks on a two-way contract. With the Canucks in a rebuilding state, there could be an avenue for Thomas to earn a call-up and impress in the NHL.
Justin Holl, D, Washington Capitals
Holl was once a trusted defensive defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but his career has turned sideways very quickly, and he is now fighting tooth and nail to keep a spot in the NHL.
Holl played just nine games with the Blues and joins a Washington Capitals team where he will likely serve as a seventh defenseman until Rasmus Sandin returns from his long-term injury.
In the 2025-26 season, Holl played his first game in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins since the 2017-18 season.
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There’s no denying that Brendan Gallagher wasn’t what he used to be anymore with the Montreal Canadiens this season. Father Time had caught up with the veteran in a big way, and while that had a huge effect on his on-ice performance, it didn’t change his leadership role. He still wore the A on his jersey and played a big role in building the culture the Habs are now renowned for. Now that he’s been traded to the Vancouver Canucks, though, who should get to fill his shoes?
The easy candidate is Josh Anderson. He was the one who had it when Gallagher was scratched last season, and in the playoffs, he has proven that he can be the guy who leads his teammate into the physical battle. However, he only has one year left on his contract. He’ll be entering the seventh and final year of the 7-year pact he signed with Marc Bergevin, which carries a $5.5 million cap hit. Will the Canadiens decide to keep him around beyond the upcoming season? That’s far from guaranteed. If some of the Habs prospects, such as Florian Xhekaj, progress as expected and make their mark on the team, he, too, could become surplus to requirements.
When the time came to appoint a new captain after Shea Weber stopped playing, the organization could have gone with a good veteran, a proven leader who had been around for years in Brendan Gallagher, but it didn’t. It opted for Nick Suzuki, who was only 23 years old at the time. They did that because they wanted the young core to take over the team; isn’t it time to make another move in that direction?
Who better to do that than Lane Hutson? The blueliner is just about to enter his 8-year contract with the Canadiens and is the picture-perfect example of a leader. He performs on the ice, and his dedication is second to none. It’s July right now, and on Canada Day he was on the ice at 7:50 AM prior to development camp. After getting his skating in, he didn’t just go; he stuck around, and he watched the prospects on the ice alongside the likes of Nick Bobrov. The next day? He once again skated before the prospects, stuck around, and watched the scrimmage with Ivan Demidov and the Habs' brass. He was even asked to do a presentation to the prospects during the camp. That’s a leader.
He was also instrumental in Demidov signing a long-term contract. At the end of the season media availability, he spoke about how Hutson had told him that it was important to sign long-term and be a part of what could be a championship-winning team. That right there is an example of how strong the culture is in Montreal, and of Hutson’s awareness of the role he can play and his embrace of it.
He might only be 22 years old, but he is wise beyond his years and has stepped into the Canadiens’ core as if it were his destiny. As soon as he joined, he seamlessly integrated into the lineup and worked his way to quarterbacking the Canadiens’ power play, leapfrogging Mike Matheson. When the Habs are trailing and need a big goal, Hutson is left, right, and center trying to make things happen; he plays a huge role on this team, and officializing it with a letter would make sense.
The Buffalo Sabres completed their four-day development camp with a three-on-three scrimmage on Thursday, and after being mostly quiet on the opening day of free agency, GM Jarmo Kekalainen made a number of signings aimed mostly at bolstering the AHL Rochester Americans, with the trade of Anton Wahlberg to Anaheim and likelihood that youngsters like Konsta Helenius and Noah Ostlund will be in Buffalo full time next season.
The Sabres signed big winger Aidan McDonough to a one-year, $850,000 contract, and forward Matthew Peca to a two-year AHL deal. McDonough, 26, played four years at Northeastern University and the last three seasons has played for three AHL clubs. Last season, he scored 23 goals for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Peca, 33, has played for four NHL clubs, starting with Tampa Bay in 2016 and mostly with Springfield and Syracuse in the AHL.
The Amerks will be going through a significant roster upheaval next season, as 2025 first rounder Radim Mrtka, 2023 second-rounder Maxim Strbak, and 2022 sixth-rounder Jake Richard will be joining the club, and after the trade of Devon Levi to Edmonton on Wednesday, they will likely have Topias Leinonen and Scott Ratzlaff sharing the duties.
According to Puckpedia, the Sabres have $8.6 million in cap space remaining after re-signing defenseman Olen Zellweger earlier this week. Forward Peyton Krebs is a restricted free agent and is eligible for arbitration, which likely means that Kekalainen has room to add one player to help fill the offensive gap created by the departure of Alex Tuch.
Future Hall-of-Famer Patrick Kane remains unsigned after the first two days of free agency. The three-time Stanley Cup winner spent the last three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, but with the impending departure of Dylan Larkin, the 37-year-old appears to be open to moving on. There was some speculation that Kane would be heading to Toronto to play with Auston Matthews, but after the barrage of signings the Leafs made on July 1, they do not have the room under the salary cap.
Rumors of the Buffalo native heading to his hometown team have circulated ever since he was dealt by the Blackhawks in 2023, but the circumstances with the Sabres as a playoff team could be a good fit. Kane being added for secondary offense and as a Tuch replacement on the power play would be beneficial,, since he posted 79 assists over the last two seasons. It is just a question of whether he wants to play in his hometown at the end of his career.
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they have signed four more players to their roster including the re-signing of AHL playoff leading scorer Vinni Lettieri.
Lettieri returning to the organization is an absolute no-brainer for management. The 31-year-old veteran was a driving force behind the Marlies’ incredible run to capture the 2026 Calder Cup last month, putting up a stellar 26 points in 23 playoff games and scoring the championship-clinching goal against Chicago. He returns on a projected league-minimum two-way deal, giving the Leafs an experienced, high-energy injury replacement option who has 155 games of NHL experience under his belt.
Cole McWard (D) | 2 Years, $1.75 Million ($875,000 AAV)
This is where the contract structure gets interesting. According to PuckPedia, McWard has signed a straight one-way contract carrying an $875,000 annual average value. The 25-year-old right-handed defenseman split time in the Islanders system last year, getting a brief three-game look in the NHL. Giving a one-way designation to a player who will likely battle for a depth or Marlies spot shows Toronto sees a real upside in his puck-moving abilities—or at least wants to make him a more seamless option to carry on the main roster.
Henrik Rybinski (F) | 2 Years, $1.75 Million ($875,000 AAV)
Rybinski comes to Toronto with a ton of winning pedigree, having won back-to-back Calder Cups with the Hershey Bears in 2023 and 2024 before putting up 30 points last season. Per PuckPedia, his contract features a hybrid structure: it's a two-way deal in the first year (with a minor-league salary cap hit of $450,000) that automatically converts into a one-way contract for the second season. He brings excellent minor-league utility and a heavy internal push for the bottom-six forward spots.
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On Thursday, the Calgary Flames made a trade with the Minnesota Wild, moving Blake Coleman and Olli Määttä in exchange for Jacob Middleton and a couple of draft picks, including a third-round pick in 2027, a third-round pick in 2028, and a second-round pick in 2029.
Historically, this is only the fourth deal between the two clubs since the Wild joined the NHL in 2000. Moreover, the latest transaction is the first not to involve a goalie.
Here's a look at the three trades between the Flames and Wild.
The First Deal Involved a Future Hall of Famer (2000)
In late 1999, the San Jose Sharks traded Mike Vernon to the Florida Panthers for Radek Dvořák. The future Hall of Famers skated 34 games with the Panthers before the Wild claimed him in the 2000 Expansion Draft. However, Vernon never even donned a Minnesota sweater, as the new club traded him back to Calgary the same day so he could finish his career where it all started, in his hometown.
In the deal, the Flames parted with Dan Cavanaugh and an eighth-round pick in 2001, which Minnesota used to select Jake Riddle. As a former second-round pick, Cavanaugh never played a game in the NHL; instead, collecting 147 points in 419 AHL games. He'd go overseas to finish his professional career, which ended in 2009.
Meanwhile, the Wild selected Riddle, who was born in Minneapolis. Like Cavanaugh, he never made it to the NHL and played only 6 games in the AHL. He spent the majority of his professional career in the ECHL and CHL, retiring after the 2012 season.
Once Vernon returned to the team he led to a Stanley Cup championship in 1989, he went 14-32-6 in his final 59 games and retired partway through the 2001-02 season.
Another Goalie on the Move (2002)
TSN analyst Jamie McLennan is no stranger to Flames fans, having guarded the crease for the club on two separate occasions from 2002-04 and again in 2006-07. As a member of the St. Louis Blues, the Wild drafted him in the 2000 Expansion Draft.
McLennan played one season in Minnesota, going 5-23-9, with a respectable .905 SV% and 2.64 GAA. However, one day before the first anniversary of his Expansion Draft selection, the Wild traded him to the Flames for a ninth-round pick in the 2002 Draft.
Minnesota selected Mika Hannula with that pick, who, like the players involved in the previous deal, never played in the NHL. He spent one year in the AHL, then stayed in Europe, played nine seasons in the SHL, and bounced around among the KHL, DEL, and Liiga before retiring in 2014.
Eventually, McLennan would depart from Calgary in 2003 for New York (Rangers) and then Florida, before finishing out his 11-year career in Southern Alberta. He went 17-25-8 in 57 games with the Flames.
A Third Netminder Swaps Sides (2016)
Undrafted goalie Niklas Backström debuted with the Wild in 2006-07 and led the NHL in SV% and GAA at 28 years old to win the William M. Jennings Trophy, finishing sixth in Vezina Trophy voting. For nine seasons, he led Minnesota to the playoffs twice, posting a 196-144-50 record in 409 games.
Then, in a leap year, on Feb. 29, 2016, the Wild traded Backström to the Flames, along with a sixth-round pick in that year's draft, for David Jones. At that point, Jones was also a nine-year veteran who had 102 goals and 188 points in 446 games.
He'd go on to play just 16 games with Minnesota, scoring two goals before leaving pro hockey. Meanwhile, Backström played only four games in Calgary, going 2-2-0 with an .885 SV% and 3.35 GAA before returning home to finish his career in Liiga.
Regarding the draft pick involved in the trade, the Flames selected Calgary native Matthew Phillips, who would play just three games with the club before moving to Washington and Pittsburgh, finishing his NHL career with one goal and five points.
Flames Deal Veteran Leader (2026)
Coleman is a two-time Stanley Cup champion and a multi-time 20-goal scorer. During his time with the Flames, he became a valuable leader, a model for the young stars coming in during the current rebuild. However, he was entering the final season of his six-year deal, and Calgary needed to decide whether to extend him or flip him for more assets.
TRADE ALERT‼️
We've acquired Jacob Middleton, a 2029 second round pick, a 2027 third round pick, and a 2028 fourth round pick from Minnesota in exchange for Blake Coleman and Olli Määttä. pic.twitter.com/ESC1o7JPTC
Finally, the situation came to a head on July 2, 2026, when the Flames sent him to the Wild in exchange for Middleton and a handful of draft picks. Another player included in the deal is defenseman Määtta, who relocated to Calgary in March and played only 21 games.
Recently, Määtta won a World Championship with Finland, bringing invaluable experience to Minnesota as a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Coming to the Flames is 30-year-old Middleton, who has played 381 games with the San Jose Sharks and Wild over the past eight years. He's tallied 24 goals and 94 points while collecting 722 blocks and 588 hits.
Although it is way too early to discuss the winners and losers of the latest deal between the Flames and Wild, since three draft picks are involved, it is safe to say that Minnesota is getting two veteran players who can help the club as early as opening night. Meanwhile, the rebuild in Calgary continues, with Craig Conroy collecting draft picks to shape the franchise's future, as the team approaches 40 years since its last championship.
A new era has arrived for Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. — and it begins with the Rangers.
MSG executive chairman and CEO James Dolan is handing over the day-to-day ownership responsibilities for the Blueshirts to his son Quentin, The Post has learned.
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This begins the process of passing the torch to his children, which Dolan has said he’s always hoped to execute.
Indeed, for the first time since assuming control of both the Knicks and the Rangers 27 years ago, Jim Dolan is scaling back his involvement with one of his teams.
It begins with the 32-year-old Quentin Dolan assuming the titles of Rangers president, chief operating officer and alternate governor. Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury will now report to him instead of James Dolan.
The hierarchical change does not impact Drury’s responsibilities in hockey operations. Drury will continue to lead all decision-making for the Rangers and work collaboratively with the fourth-oldest of the six Dolan sons.
“I think it’s something I’ve been building towards, and I’ll be working my hardest and probably proving to myself for a while that I’m ready,” Quentin Dolan told The Post from inside his office at 2 Penn Plaza in his first-ever interview.
“For me, the ultimate goal is winning a championship. It’s been a goal of mine to really continue my father’s and grandfather’s legacy, and that’s something that I understood about myself and wanted early on. This is a continuation of that and it feels right.”
Quentin Dolan, son of Knicks owner James Dolan, is set to take over the Rangers.
A source said Quentin Dolan’s promotion with the Rangers does not change anything for the Knicks. All is status quo for MSG’s NBA championship team, with Jim Dolan remaining in his executive chairman role.
Quentin Dolan’s most notable position was SVP of player performance and science for both the Rangers and Knicks, following various roles at MSG Sports and service on the MSG Sports board of directors since 2021.
His background as an adviser on several sports performance and biotech research and product development projects helped him build the infrastructure and lead the organization’s performance science and player development.
Part of his responsibilities included overseeing medical, strength and conditioning, nutrition, mental performance and performance data operations for both teams.
Prior to becoming SVP, Dolan also served as vice president, strategic adviser to the executive chairman and as investment director. He’s worked progressively closer with his dad over the years.
The elder Dolan’s passion for the job and insatiable work ethic are traits his son says he plans to carry with him into this new opportunity.
Knicks owner James Dolan celebrates after defeating the Spurs to win the NBA Championship. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“There’s a quote that I’m not sure if he knows that I even know, that the art of management is being able to control an outcome without being present,” Quentin said. “Of course, I will be far more present and operationally involved, but this role is much broader. I continue to work on my management skills and keep that in mind, that ultimately that’s the standard I have to strive for.”
Knicks head coach Mike Brown even gave him a shoutout during a press conference in March for his efforts in piecing together the plan that kept the oft-injured Mitchell Robinson healthy.
James Dolan and son Quentin watch the Rangers take on the Devils during a 2023 playoff game with Yankees’ Aaron Judge and his wife Samantha Bracksieck, Harrison Bader and Anthony Volpe. Paul J. Bereswill
And less than 12 hours after landing from a memorable night inside Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, where he was drenched in champagne while holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy, Dolan was already in a meeting to discuss Rangers strategy.
“That was the thought, you know, how do we get here with this franchise?” he said.
Dolan was at MSG Training Center in Tarrytown with Drury and the rest of the front office for what was a busy first day of free agency for the Rangers on Wednesday. Also peeking in at development camp, Dolan said he enjoyed being around while everything unfolded.
An NYU alum — who got his bachelor’s degree in sports and events management — Dolan already has a working relationship with Drury and Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan, which should help ease him into his new responsibilities.
Quentin Dolan celebrates with the Larry O’Brien trophy after the Knicks won the NBA championship. MSG Sports
Building relationships has been a priority for Dolan, who recognizes the importance of collaboration while instilling a winning culture.
Asked what he thinks will make him successful in this job, Dolan pointed to how much he cares.
“And I hope that comes through in time,” he said.
Coming off two down seasons with no playoffs, the Rangers are at a pivotal point in team history as their Stanley Cup drought has reached 32 years. Drury has operated under his retooling proclamation, making considerable changes and additions to the team since sending out a formal letter to fans Jan. 16.
It was the second message from the organization since 2018 informing the Blueshirts faithful of a new direction. Unlike the first, which came under Jeff Gorton’s regime, this one assured the plan was not to rebuild but to expect a restructuring “built around our core players and prospects.”
Quentin Dolan celebrates with the Larry O’Brien trophy after the Knicks won the NBA championship. MSG Sports
Dolan recognizes his increase in authority and reach over the franchise, but he knows exactly how he’ll approach the position.
“Same way I’ve been approaching it from the moment I got in the company, which is honestly keeping my head down, working the hardest, and for me, I have an extremely high bar for when I am working the hardest, and I’m tough on myself,” he said. “So I trust that I will continue to be hard on myself because that’s all I know how to do.”
In some ways, Dolan said he thinks he will be different from his father as he steps into this next chapter of his career.
The Rangers will be the first team to see how.
“The bigger the challenge, the better I get out of myself,” Dolan said. “I run toward those things. This is what I’m looking for.”
The Chicago Blackhawks had one of the best penalty kill units in the NHL last season. At 83.6 percent, they finished in second place, only trailing the 84.6 percent put up by the Colorado Avalanche.
The Hawks led in this statistic for most of the year, but they tailed off just a little bit after the trade deadline saw Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, Nick Foligno, and Colton Dach all leave.
There are plenty of players on the team now, Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, Ryan Greene, and Alex Vlasic, amongst others, who can help keep it up to standard, but losing Ilya Mikheyev certainly hurts.
Mikheyev, one of the best penalty kill forwards in the NHL, signed a four-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday. There is no sugar coating it: this is a huge loss for the Blackhawks.
To try and make up for this, Kyle Davidson and his staff signed veteran forward Cole Smith and defenseman Ian Cole. Both of these free agents will get their ice time at even strength, but they are going to be relied upon heavily on the penalty kill.
During a media session during Development Camp, Davidson mentioned the PK as a reason for signing these two. They bring a sense of grit and physicality in all situations, but keeping the puck out of their net during opponent power plays will play a key role in winning.
There are going to be a lot of young players competing for these jobs as well, but having guys like Smith and Cole to lean on will take the pressure off them when it comes to these specialty roles.
Are the Blackhawks going to have a top-two unit again? Likely not. However, they may not fall as far back as people think, and these two new additions would play a big part in that.
If the young guys grow into their roles while Smith and Cole lead the way, and Spencer Knight stays locked in, it will remain difficult to score power-play goals against the Chicago Blackhawks.
If the power play then improves with the addition of Bowen Byram, they could be a team that wins a lot more games due to their special teams.
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Red Wings Trade Goaltender Sebastian Cossa To Western Conference Sebastian Cossa will not be part of the Red Wings future, as he's been traded to the Utah Mammoth in return for the 23rd overall selection in the 2026 NHL Draft. 
