For the Colorado Avalanche, the wait for meaningful hockey is almost over.
The NHL has unveiled its 2026 preseason schedule, giving Colorado a four-game tune-up before the games begin to count. With the Avalanche coming off another season of high expectations, the preseason will offer the first real glimpse at a roster looking to make another run at the Stanley Cup.
Colorado will open its exhibition slate at home on Sunday, Sept. 20, welcoming the Utah Mammoth to Ball Arena for a 5 p.m. MT puck drop. The Avalanche will then hit the road the following night, traveling north to take on the Winnipeg Jets on Monday, Sept. 21.
After a few days off, Colorado will return home on Friday, Sept. 25, for another matchup with Winnipeg. The Avalanche will then close out the preseason the next night in Utah on Saturday, Sept. 26.
The condensed exhibition schedule is a change across the NHL this season. The league will play just 65 preseason games over eight days, with contests taking place at 36 NHL and neutral-site venues. The shorter preseason is part of the NHL's new collective bargaining agreement with the NHLPA, which clears the way for the regular season to expand from 82 games to 84.
For the Avalanche, though, the preseason will be about much more than simply getting through four games.
It will give head coach Jared Bednar and his staff an opportunity to evaluate younger players, sort out the final pieces of the roster and determine which combinations could give Colorado its best chance when the games start counting. It will also mark the first opportunity for fans to see the team's offseason changes in game action.
Colorado won't have to wait long after the preseason finale for the real test.
The Avalanche will open the 2026-27 regular season at Ball Arena on Wednesday, Sept. 30, against the Los Angeles Kings. The matchup will be part of TNT's opening-night doubleheader, with the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting the Philadelphia Flyers at 5:30 p.m. MT before Colorado and Los Angeles take the ice at 8 p.m. MT.
After months of offseason moves, speculation and anticipation, the Avalanche finally have their roadmap back to meaningful hockey.
The Colorado Avalanche once traded for Artturi Lehkonen because they believed he could help them win the Stanley Cup.
They were right.
Lehkonen did more than help. He scored the goal that sent Colorado to the Stanley Cup Final, then scored the goal that ended it. His name is now permanently attached to the most important moment of the Avalanche’s modern era.
That makes what comes next uncomfortable.
Lehkonen is entering the final year of his contract, and the player Colorado acquired at the 2022 trade deadline is no longer the player the Avalanche would be paying for. He is 31, has a lengthy injury history and plays a style that demands an enormous physical commitment.
When his contract expires next summer, Colorado will have to decide whether it wants to pay for the player he has been — or gamble that he will remain that player deep into his 30s.
The easy answer is to say the Avalanche cannot afford to lose him.
But the more you look at Colorado’s roster, salary-cap situation, Lehkonen’s age and his injury history, the less obvious that answer becomes.
There is no question what Lehkonen means to Colorado. When the Avalanche acquired him from the Montreal Canadiens, they wanted another forward who could make an impact when games became tight and space disappeared.
They got exactly that.
Lehkonen's overtime goal against Edmonton sent Colorado to the Stanley Cup Final. A few weeks later, he scored the championship-clinching goal against Tampa Bay. Those moments alone secured his place in franchise history.
But Lehkonen's value has never been limited to one postseason.
He hunts down loose pucks, battles defensemen around the crease, kills penalties and routinely puts himself in areas where getting hit is simply part of the job. He scored 21 goals and 48 points in 70 games last season, finishing just three points shy of his career high.
There is still plenty of player there. The question is how much longer Colorado can reasonably expect that to be true.
Lehkonen's current contract carries a $4.5 million cap hit, and it has been one of Colorado's better investments.
The next one could be very different.
Lehkonen turns 32 next summer. By then, the Avalanche will be negotiating with a player entering the latter portion of his career rather than a winger entering his prime. His injury history only adds another layer of uncertainty.
Lehkonen underwent shoulder surgery in 2024 and has dealt with a myriad of other injuries throughout his career. To some extent, that comes with the territory.
He is 5-foot-11, but plays like he's 6-foot-11, throwing himself into battles and willingly taking a tumble if it means getting a puck toward the net. He doesn't wait for opportunities to come to him. He creates them in the trenches, where the hits are harder and the bodies are bigger.
That's what makes him so valuable to Colorado, but it's also what makes his age and durability worth watching. Eventually, age catches everyone, and Colorado can't assume Lehkonen will be the exception.
The Avalanche have already moved Valeri Nichushkin, Ross Colton and Jack Drury this offseason.
Those moves were not made because Colorado suddenly stopped valuing useful players. They were made because the salary cap forces difficult choices, and that reality is not going away.
Cale Makar's next contract is looming, and when one of the best defensemen in hockey receives his next deal, Colorado will need enough flexibility to keep the rest of the roster competitive.
Every dollar matters.
If Lehkonen enters free agency and another team offers him four or five years at a significant annual salary, Colorado may have to decide whether that is a contract it can live with.
And it might not be.
That would be incredibly difficult for Avalanche fans.
Lehkonen is beloved for good reason. He has delivered some of the biggest moments in franchise history, and his style makes him exactly the type of player every contender wants.
But there is a difference between wanting a player and wanting the contract that comes with him.
Colorado has another full season to figure this out.
If Lehkonen stays healthy and produces at the same level, perhaps the Avalanche decide they cannot replace what he brings. If his production declines, injuries become a problem or his asking price climbs beyond what Colorado considers reasonable, the answer could be very different.
Maybe the Avalanche don't lose Lehkonen because they stopped believing in him.
Maybe they lose him because they cannot afford to pay for the player they hope he will remain.
And if that happens, it will hurt.
But championship teams eventually have to choose between preserving the past and protecting the future.
For Colorado, that decision could come down to Artturi Lehkonen.
One of the best stories, not just for the Detroit Red Wings but across the entire NHL this past season, was the emergence of 21-year-old forward Emmitt Finnie, who went from an AHL grinder to a full-time NHL regular in the span of just a few years.
The Lethbridge, Alberta, native was a seventh-round pick by Detroit back in the 2023 NHL Draft and built a reputation for hard work that followed him at every step of his hockey career.
After being drafted, Finnie got his first taste of pro hockey the following season, appearing in three games with the Grand Rapids Griffins once his Canadian junior season had wrapped up, an early look that gave him a sense of the tools he would need to sharpen before returning to the AHL.
Finnie took that development to heart, posting a massive jump in production during the final season of his junior career. His point total climbed from 59 to 84, with his goal-scoring seeing the biggest leap, nearly doubling from 19 to 37.
At the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, Finnie again made the jump up to the AHL, returning to Grand Rapids and producing right away, recording five points in ten games. With another offseason of hard work behind him, Finnie made the full-time jump to the pros this past season, and it paid off in a big way.
He earned a spot on Detroit's opening night roster and quickly became a fixture in the Red Wings' lineup. In his first NHL season, Finnie experienced the natural ups and downs of a rookie campaign, working through hot streaks and cold stretches along the way. Still, he finished the year with a promising 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points, all while showing remarkable durability, playing in all 82 games without missing any time.
Now, the second year of Finnie's Red Wings tenure shapes up as one of the more fascinating storylines to watch early in the season. Having rapidly improved in each of the last three seasons, with his production growing at every stop along the way, the question becomes what the young riser has left in the tank, and what a full offseason dedicated to preparing for full-time NHL competition could mean for his continued development.
If Finnie continues on this trajectory as a rapid riser, it's worth wondering whether his numbers could climb into reliable 45- to 50-plus point territory in the seasons ahead. Should that happen, the Red Wings would have quite the weapon tucked away in their back pocket, an unexpected seventh-round pick who has quietly grown into one of the best draft selections the franchise has made in the last decade.
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Brock Nelson has already experienced the kind of year that can define an NHL career.
Olympic gold? Check.
A 1,000th NHL game? Check.
35 goals, 65 points and a spot among the finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy? Check, check and check.
There is just one problem.
Nelson doesn't have a Stanley Cup.
And after seeing the Colorado Avalanche's season come to a brutal end against the Vegas Golden Knights, that appears to be the accomplishment he wants most.
“It doesn’t matter how you lose a series, but obviously getting swept is even more disappointing,” Nelson said Wednesday in an interview with NHL.com’s Heather Rule while making his 2026 debut at Da Beauty League, a summer hockey league featuring NHL and collegiate players with ties to Minnesota.
The Avalanche had every reason to believe they were headed toward another deep playoff run. Colorado finished the regular season with the Presidents’ Trophy after going 55-16-11 for 121 points, then swept the Los Angeles Kings before dispatching the Minnesota Wild in five games.
Then everything fell apart.
Vegas swept Colorado in the Western Conference Final, with Game 3 serving as perhaps the most painful example of what went wrong. The Avalanche carried a three-goal lead into the second period, only to watch the Golden Knights erase it before eventually winning 5-3.
For Nelson, the series came down to opportunities Colorado simply couldn't finish.
“I think the margin for error and the need for really timely execution is crucial,” he said.
That lesson could prove valuable heading into 2026-27, particularly because Nelson doesn't believe Colorado needs a major overhaul.
The foundation is still there.
Cale Makar remains one of the best defensemen in the world. Devon Toews continues to provide a steady presence alongside him. Colorado believes it has the goaltending necessary to compete for a championship, while the health of captain Gabriel Landeskog could provide another significant boost.
Nelson sees no reason to believe the Avalanche's championship window has closed.
If anything, the disappointment has made the team hungrier.
“I know this team is hungrier than ever, even having won it recently,” Nelson said.
That's an interesting perspective considering what Nelson himself accomplished over the past year.
He scored at least 30 goals for the fourth time in his career, finished fourth on Colorado in scoring and established himself as one of the Avalanche's most dependable two-way forwards. His performance earned him consideration for the Selke, awarded annually to the NHL's top defensive forward.
And then there was the Olympic experience.
Nelson helped the United States defeat Canada 2-1 in overtime to win gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics, recording two goals and an assist in six games.
But calling that simply another line on his résumé doesn't do the moment justice.
Nelson was carrying generations of American hockey history with him.
His uncle, Dave Christian, was part of the legendary 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team. His grandfather, Bill Christian, and great-uncle, Roger Christian, helped the United States win gold at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley.
Nelson had members of his family in Italy to experience the moment alongside him.
“A memory and moments that we’ll never forget,” Nelson said. “Super emotional when we were able to get it done.”
Six months later, the Olympic gold medal is already beginning to feel like a distant memory.
That's what happens in the NHL.
There is always another season. Another playoff run. Another opportunity.
And for Nelson, the next opportunity is about finishing what Colorado couldn't finish last season.
He has reached personal milestones. He has won Olympic gold. He has established himself as an important piece of one of the NHL's best teams.
Now he wants the Stanley Cup.
Nelson described the past year as “pretty good.”
It was much more than that.
But for a player entering his 14th NHL season, “pretty good” isn't the standard anymore.
The Avalanche have already proven they can dominate the regular season.
Now Nelson wants to see what happens when they finish the job.
While the 2025-26 season was ultimately a success for the Philadelphia Flyers that ended with an appearance in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, they have their work cut out for them if they want to make it back there again next season.
It wasn't for a lack of effort that the Flyers ended up making few moves this offseason. Their $90 million offer sheet to Leo Carlsson would have changed the team's outlook, both in the present and the future, drastically, but the Anaheim Ducks stood their ground and retained their franchise player.
Aside from that, Joseph Woll, if and when healthy, should be a considerable upgrade over Sam Ersson at the goalie position, and Noel Acciari replaces a declining Garnet Hathaway with the added bonus of positional flexibility.
The Flyers did, however, get slightly worse defensively, replacing the puck-moving Emil Andrae with a stereotypical bruiser in Simon Benoit.
That is not something that will help their average transition game and abhorrent power play, even if Andrae was never really given power play opportunities anyway.
Simply put: other teams in the Metropolitan Division improved more than the Flyers did, and upgrades for Philadelphia are going to have to come from within.
Here's an example: the Washington Capitals finished last season outside of the playoffs, had the eighth-worst power play in the NHL, and allowed the third-most shorthanded goals.
Then they went out and added Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch, and Boone Jenner in free agency.
If the Flyers want to be back in the playoffs, with a team like that on their heels, they cannot have the worst power play in the NHL again, and they cannot allow the fourth-most shorthanded goals in the league again.
Rookie Porter Martone enters the 2026-27 season as the de facto replacement for Bobby Brink, who was traded to Minnesota for David Jiricek at the NHL trade deadline.
Martone and Jiricek, 19 and 22, respectively, have clear paths to making meaningful long-term impacts for the Flyers, and players with their talents need to do some major damage on the power play, too.
While Martone's roster spot is all but guaranteed, Jiricek will need to fend off Simon Benoit and/or Oliver Bonk for a roster spot and playing time, but his offensive exploits should give him the leg up heading into training camp next month.
A full season of a more experienced Martone and a breakout from Jiricek should position the Flyers nicely to, at the very least, crawl out from the NHL's power play basement with upside for more.
No. 2: Health is wealth
We'll come back to the power play and offense shortly, but as mentioned above, Joseph Woll, when healthy, is a massive upgrade over Sam Ersson.
Ersson was just 14-11-5 in 29 starts and 33 games played for the Flyers last season as Dan Vladar's understudy, and while he did end on a higher note, the overall performance wasn't good enough.
Vladar, 28, played 52 regular season games for the Flyers last year, but between 2021 and 2025, played no more than 30 regular season games in a single campaign.
Injuries and a lack of a featured role were factors in that, but the Flyers will need Vladar to stay on the ice and then be able to replicate last season's 29-14-7 record, 2.42 GAA, and .906 save percentage.
For Woll, the story is no different.
The ex-Toronto Maple Leafs warden played 39 games last season, 42 the year before that, and 25 the year before that.
The 28-year-old has obvious talent, but consistency and injuries have hampered his development.
Ultimately, the Flyers will be depending on both goalies equally to stay fit and on top of their game, because the alternative is the inexperienced Aleksei Kolosov if anything goes awry.
No. 1: Matvei Michkov
Indirectly related to the power play struggles mentioned above, the Flyers need Matvei Michkov, and perhaps more than they would publicly admit.
Michkov, 21, was the Flyers' leading scorer after the Olympic break last season, and that directly correlated with their late-season surge into a playoff berth in Game 81.
Before that turnaround, the Flyers had that infamous 3.8% chance of making the playoffs, according to MoneyPuck.
Now, the Flyers have paraded that around because nobody believed in them, and that's fair, but it wasn't because everybody hates the Flyers. It was because the Flyers were legitimately that mediocre at that point in time, and they didn't come back to life until Michkov and a few other players got on their horse for the last three months of the season.
Michkov still finished a "bad" season with 20 goals, 31 assists, and 51 points in 81 games, scoring four fewer power play goals and five fewer power play points than he did in his rookie season.
A summer filled with vigorous training, a clear outline of where he needs to improve physically, and a second full season of development and adjustment under his belt should put the Russian phenom in pole position to make Year 3 his best yet. It'll be up to him and the coaching staff to ultimately work this one out.
And the Flyers need it, too, because without Michkov, their offense looks even more toothless.
The Montreal Canadiens have signed one of their recently acquired new forwards.
The Canadiens have announced that they have signed forward Sasha Pastujov to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season.
The Canadiens acquired Pastujov from the Anaheim Ducks earlier this off-season in exchange for forward Sean Farrell.
Pastujov spent all of this past season in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls. In 71 games with the AHL club in 2025-26, he posted 21 goals, 36 assists, 57 points, and a plus-3 rating. With numbers like these, the 23-year-old forward was a solid part of the Gulls' roster.
Pastujov also recorded 17 goals and 45 points in 43 games with the Gulls during the 2024-25 campaign. With that, he has had some success at the AHL level and has the potential to be a good pickup for the Laval Rocket.
Pastujov was selected by the Ducks in the third round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, 66th overall. In 160 career AHL games over three seasons, he has posted 48 goals, 77 assists, and 125 points. The 6-foot forward has yet to make his NHL debut but will be looking to change that with the Habs.
The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, and the organization’s developmental model has begun to yield results, with 2023 first rounder Zach Benson making an impact in the playoffs, and 2024 top pick Konsta Helenius appearing as one of the AHL’s top prospects the last two seasons.
Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. These players are all 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals, and have played less than 82 NHL games.
26. Evgeny Prokhorov - Goalie (Dinamo-Shinnik Jr. - MHL Russia)
The Sabres continued their practice of selecting players with longer development windows, since they do not have to sign them within two years. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, players drafted out of the KHL development system have their rights retained by their NHL club until 27 years old, because there is no transfer agreement between the KHL and NHL.
Who had the best and worst offseasons in the Atlantic Division?
With the first of two seventh-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Sabres selected Belarusian goalie Yevgeni Prokhorov. The 19-year-old played 28 games in the junior-level MHL for Dinamo-Shinnik Bobruysk in his draft year, posting a 2.19 GAA, and .903 save percentage, and went 3-3, with a 1.95 GAA and .943 save percentage in six playoff games.
Last season, Prokhorov’s numbers improved even more, posting a sub 2.00 GAA (1.96), and better save % (.925) in 29 games, as well as a 1.92 GAA and .938 save % in 10 playoff games.
With Belarus subject to the ban from the IIHF along with Russia due to the war in Ukraine, Prokhorov will not get any international experience like playing in the World Junior, and will likely play in the MHL again next season, but could see some time in the second-level VHL or KHL depending on his performance.
The NHL Network has already released a top-20 wingers and a top-20 defensemen list right now, with Montreal Canadiens Cole Caufield (ninth) and Lane Hutson (sixth) cracking those rankings. On Sunday night, they’ll be releasing their top-10 goalies list right now, and one can wonder if the Habs will have a player on that list as well. After the year he’s had, Samuel Montembeault is obviously as far away from the list as a goaltender could be, but what about Jakub Dobes?
The Czech netminder started the year as the backup goaltender, and as coach Martin St-Louis kept giving Montembeault second chances, it looked like Dobes’ confidence was affected. However, once the Habs realized that this just wasn’t Montembeault’s season and called up Jacob Fowler before also bringing on Marco Marciano as a goalie coach to replace Eric Raymond, he bounced back and grabbed the number one job.
At the end of the regular season, Dobes had a 2.78 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. He was 22nd in GAA amongst goalies who had played at least 35 games, and his SV was 20th amongst the same group. However, he was 12th in wins, claiming 29 wins in just 43 games for a 67% winning percentage. He might not have always done it perfectly, but Dobes found ways to win games. Andrei Vasilevskiy, who had the highest number of wins with 39, needed 58 games to get there. That’s also a 67% winning percentage. Karel Vejmelka, who had 38 wins, did so while playing in 64 games, meaning he won 60% of his duels. Jake Oettinger wraps up the top three in wins with 35 in 54 games for a 65% winning percentage. From that standpoint, Dobes deserves to be in the top-10 goalie conversation.
Furthermore, in the playoffs, he was sixth in GAA among goalies who played at least 10 games, with a 2.66 GAA and fifth in SV among the same group, with a .908 SV. As we’ve seen in the last two rankings released by the NHL Network, recent playoff performance can have an impact on those. Winger Mitch Marner landed in fourth place in the wingers ranking after putting off what would likely have been a Conn Smythe-worthy performance (29 points in 22 games, seven points ahead of the second-highest scorer) had the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup. However, someone like Marner has a 10-year track record.
Dobes has only played in the NHL for two seasons (he played 16 games in 2024-25 and had a 2.74 GAA and a .909 SV), so the panel might feel he doesn’t have enough of a track record. Last season, the top 10 goalies according to NHL Network all had a lot of mileage. Connor Hellebuyck finished first and had played in 10 NHL seasons. Vasilevskiy was second and had played in 11 seasons; Igor Shesterkin was third and had played in six seasons; Sergei Bobrovsky was fourth, having played for 15 seasons; and Oettinger wrapped up the top five while having played in five NHL seasons. Looking at the rest of the top 10, no goaltender had less than five seasons of experience.
Taking that into account, it seems unlikely that NHL Network will put him on the list. It may be called the top 10 goalie list right now, but past performances do have an impact. However, if Dobes puts together a season as good as his last playoff performance was, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him on the list next year despite his limited experience because he would have proven he wasn’t a flash in the pan. In other words, it’s a no for now on Dobes, but that could change.
In the years to come, if Jacob Fowler develops as expected, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities to see two Canadiens goaltenders crack that list, as long as Kent Hughes doesn’t decide to sacrifice a goalie to fill another need, of course.
The 2026 NHL Entry Draft was a successful one for the Vancouver Canucks. The organization added nine new prospects, including Caleb Malhotra with the third overall pick. It turns out that Vancouver also attempted to trade up in the draft in order to secure a third pick in the first round.
In a new video released by the Ottawa Senators, General Manager Steve Staios can be heard speaking with Canucks GM Ryan Johnson. The two were discussing a trade in which Vancouver would move up to 25th overall in exchange for the 33rd and 41st overall picks. The deal would also include the Canucks acquiring the 72nd overall pick.
Despite what appeared to be interest from Staios, Ottawa declined the trade and drafted Jonas Lagerberg Hoen 25th overall. Vancouver would go on to draft Brooks Rogowski 33rd and Niklas Aaram-Olsen 41st overall. As for the 72nd pick, the Senators selected forward Adam Nemec.
Jun 4, 2026; Vancouver, BC, CANADA; General manager Ryan Johnson speaks in a press conference where the Vancouver Canucks introduce Manny Malhotra as their new head coach at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Next up on the Canucks' schedule is the 2026 Prospects Showcase. The event will be hosted in Abbotsford, where Vancouver will battle the Seattle Kraken. Game days are September 12th and 13th, 2026.
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Returning to Columbus after the summer break, Columbus Blue Jackets star defenseman Zach Werenski said he'd "ideally" like to stay with the team long term.
This follows a complicated offseason in which his future with the Blue Jackets seemed in jeopardy.
Meeting with the media on Aug. 13, Werenski addressed this summer's trade rumors, which speculated his exit from the team with which he has spent his entire decade-long NHL career.
"[It's] not something I don't think either myself or Don [Waddell] kind of intended on it to get to," Werenski said. "I think my statement is exactly how I feel. I want to win and I want to win here in Columbus. That's all I'm focused on, and that hasn't changed since the end of last season."
"I really don't want to, I guess, talk about another team and situation," Werenski said. "To me, [Columbus] is where I always wanted to be. ... I kind of heard about it, and then it was just like, 'I'm playing in Columbus next year.' That was my thought on it."
Werenski continued: "So, I really didn't give it too much of a thought. I honestly went to bed and woke up to that article ... like, I don't know. I didn't really have too much thought on it. I kind of was trying to figure out what was going on. But yeah, it got crazy for sure."
After the trade speculation, Waddell and Werenski met, with Werenski's agent Judd Moldaver joining them. Waddell and Werenski both released statements after. Werenski's July statement reflected his remarks in August; he emphasized his desire to "win now" and to win in Columbus.
Said Werenski: "I think everyone knows how much I love this city and how much it means to me, and I would have no issues being here for an even longer time. I want to see us in the playoffs, and I want to see us make progress, and I feel like we've done that. ... I think winning solves everything, and that's where we have to get as a club, and we have to raise our standards and expectations."
Waddell's July statement confirmed he had met with Werenski about his future with the team, as well as exploring opportunities to trade him out of Columbus. Although he didn't reference Dallas, Waddell said he spoke to Werenski about a trade that worked for the Blue Jackets, and Werenski informed Waddell he wanted to stay.
"Me and Don [Waddell] have had great conversations about everything," Werenski said. "I do have two years left on my deal, and I don't know what's going to happen. All I know is that I'm going to be the best player I can be this season for this team. But at the end of the day, there was a business side of it. ... If you were to ask [Waddell], and I don't know this, but ideally, I'm here for the long term, and it's on a winning team."
The rumors were just one aspect of a packed summer for Werenski, who became a new father with the birth of his son in May. Through it all, Werenski said he kept in constant communication with his teammates via FaceTime to let them know he intended to remain with the team.
"After the statement came out, I got a lot of texts from the guys, just fired up that I'll be back," he added.
Werenski said he liked the moves that Waddell had made toward winning next season. He also acknowledged the vacancy of a captain after Jenner's exit.
"It'd be an honor. I've obviously been there for 10 years. ... I was fortunate enough to learn from guys like [Nick Foligno] and Booner, guys that have worn it before. ... I definitely feel like I'm capable of it, but we'll see," Werenski said.
Werenski's contract expires after the end of the 2027-28 season. Per NHL rules, he cannot sign an extension until July 1, 2027. Reiterating his desire to stay in Columbus, Werenski told the media he would not answer any questions about his career plans.
For now, Werenski is headed back to his home state of Michigan, where he will stay until the first week of September. The Blue Jackets' first preseason game is on Sept. 21.
Maher became the inaugural radio voice of the Calgary Flames in 1980 and went on to call 33 consecutive seasons and 2,954 games behind the microphone, becoming synonymous with Flames hockey for generations of fans.
His career included some of the most memorable moments in franchise history, including the Flames’ 1989 Stanley Cup championship and the unforgettable 2004 Stanley Cup run.
Maher’s contributions to hockey broadcasting were recognized on the national stage in 2006 when Maher received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding work as an NHL broadcaster. He was subsequently honoured by the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The St. Louis Blues weren't all that active on the free-agent market this off-season, with their lone notable move being the three-year, $2 million AAV contract handed to fourth-line enforcer Ross Johnston.
They did make important trades, acquiring Mason MacTavish and Connor McMichael up front as well as veteran defenseman Brandon Carlo.
With these moves, the Blues roster feels fairly set.
In the center ice position, the Blues will likely toss out Robert Thomas, McTavish, Dalibor Dvorsky and Pius Suter. In the top six, the wingers will likely be Dylan Holloway and Jimmy Snuggerud on the top line with some combination of Pavel Buchnevich, Jake Neighbours, McMichael and Jonatan Berggren/Otto Stenberg in the middle six. The fourth line will likely feature Johnston and Alexey Toropchenko.
As it stands, Dillon Dube and Nathan Walker are the extras.
On the blueline, the combinations will possibly be Philip Broberg and Logan Mailloux; Theo Lindstein/Tyler Tucker and Colton Parayko; Cam Fowler and Brandon Carlo.
Additionally, the Blues have fringe roster players such as Jack Finley and Oskar Sundqvist who will compete for a roster spot and hope to avoid being claimed on waivers.
With all those players competing for limited spots, should we expect GM Alexander Steen to explore moves on the PTO market?
With a little over a month until the first pre-season game, several intriguing free agents remain available on the UFA market.
Highlighted by players like former Blues greats Vladimir Tarasenko and David Perron, the market also features forwards Eeli Tolvanen, Michael Bunting, Patrik Laine, James Van Riemsdyk, and Evander Kane. At the same time, the blue liners are headlined by John Klingberg, Logan Stanley, Matt Grzelyck, Carson Soucy, and Nick Blakenburg.
While several of these players could help the Blues in some capacity, are they worth signing and taking away possible ice time from younger players the Blues are hoping to develop?
The answer is probably no, but if any of those players turn out to be key additions to a playoff team, the Blues could feel like they missed a golden opportunity. Just because the Blues sign a player to a PTO doesn't mean they have to sign them to an NHL contract. And just because another team signs a player to a PTO, the Blues are still eligible to offer that player an NHL contract.
The Blues still have time to ponder their options, and what they do will be very telling of where they think their current roster is at.
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When most modern-day hockey fans think of Bill Guerin, they think of the General Manager of the Minnesota Wild, who also put together a USA Hockey team that brought home a Gold Medal in 2026 for the first time since 1980.
What some people might not know, is that Guerin was actually a great player in the National Hockey League before becoming an executive.
The New Jersey Devils made Guerin the 5th overall pick in the 1989 NHL Draft out of Boston College. It turned out to be a great selection for them, as he played in parts of seven seasons for New Jersey, including 1995, when they won the Stanley Cup.
Guerin, in 380 games with New Jersey, scored 108 goals, 106 assists, and 214 points. He played a role on a team that was elite defensively, knew how to find the back of the net as a collective, and won a lot of games as a result.
On January 4th, 1998, New Jersey traded Guerin to the Edmonton Oilers in a deal that brought in Jason Arnott and Bryan Muir. Of course, Arnott would go on to score an overtime Stanley Cup-winning goal in 2000.
After his four-year run in Edmonton ended in 2001, he spent time with the Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, New York Islanders, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
In 2009, the Penguins acquired Guerin ahead of the trade deadline and won the Stanley Cup later that spring. Guerin's career ended one year later with two Stanley Cup rings, 429 goals, 427 assists, and 856 points in 1,263 games.
Guerin's points-per-game totals increased after leaving New Jersey, which makes sense, given that they were the defense-minded "trap" team during his tenure. When he left, he went to a handful of systems that favored his offensive abilities a bit more.
Here in 2026, Guerin is in the minds of New Jersey Devils fans again because he has a decision to make about his star defenseman in Minnesota, Quinn Hughes. Of course, Quinn's two younger brothers are part of the modern-day Devils' core, and the speculation is that he'd like to join forces with them one day.
Earlier in the summer, it seemed like a lock that Quinn would stay with Guerin in Minnesota, but every day that passes makes that feel less and less likely. Will Quinn Hughes and Bill Guerin have been Devils players in common when it's all said and done? Only time will tell, but there is no denying the impact that Guerin has already made on New Jersey's hockey team.
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Montreal Gazette writer Stu Cowan sent shockwaves in Montreal Canadiens land earlier this week when he penned an article in which he mentioned that the fact that Arber Xhekaj and Zachary Bolduc weren’t signed led him to believe they could be part of sign-and-trade deals before September 16.
Cowan caught some flak on social media for writing that, because it’s not something fans want to hear, especially not about Xhekaj, whose gritty style and underdog story have elevated him to the level of fan favourite. Unfortunately for both Xhekaj and the fans, he may have more value to the Canadiens as a trade chip. Not because he couldn’t be useful to them on the ice- they need some toughness- but as things stand, they do not play him regularly, and he hardly played in the playoffs. The gritty blueliner is more useful to the team as a trade chip than he is as a seventh defenseman who doesn’t get to see the ice much.
Cowan writing that he could be part of a sign-and-trade deal makes perfect sense. Even though Xhekaj loves Montreal and everything about it and the team, at 25 years old, he needs to do what’s right for him as a player and not as a teammate. Brendan Gallagher didn’t say anything during the season about seeing his ice time melt like snow in the sun, and when he was a healthy scratch in the playoffs, but when the season ended, he said it was pretty obvious he would be moving on. Hockey players want to play, and it’s just normal. Xhekaj is a hockey player, and he wants to play too. Obviously, he’s not in Gallagher’s situation, but it’s a good parallel to understand why he hasn’t signed yet.
Of course, it’s easier to trade a player once he’s signed to a contract and the buyer knows they have the player under control for a set number of years. If the Canadiens do go out and get a right-shot defenseman to play with Lane Hutson, Xhekaj’s odds of having a spot in the lineup would get even slimmer and even if they don’t, as things stand, there isn’t much room for him. Especially not with Adam Engstrom and David Reinbacher looking to make the jump to the NHL. Ideally, though, if Montreal were to trade Xhekaj, it would be outside of the Eastern Conference; that’s not a player you’d want to face too often, especially if he becomes an NHL regular once given a proper opportunity.
As for Bolduc, it’s easy to see what Cowan means when he says he too could be a candidate for a sign-and-trade deal. As I wrote earlier this off-season, I don’t see Kent Hughes gambling on Bolduc and giving him an eight-year contract without having had a chance to thoroughly evaluate him. However, another team may have a different approach and be willing to do that. If Montreal wants to land a top-six player, the Habs will likely have to part with players who have proven they could be an asset in the NHL. I believed Oliver Kapanen could be a candidate to be sacrificed in that way, but if the Canadiens were to deal for a power-forward type of player, it could make sense for their trading partner to be looking for a forward who has some grit.
To maximize Bolduc’s value, it would only be logical to allow the trading partner to negotiate a deal with him, much like the New York islanders allowed the Canadiens to negotiate with Noah Dobson last season before the trade was made. Given the fact that they gave Logan Mailloux to acquire Bolduc, though, the Habs are unlikely to move on from him that soon unless they are getting someone really good in return.
Apparently, Josh Morrissey forgot how to play hockey over the last 12 months.
At least, that's how Jets fans (and most Central Division - and even Western Conference clubs) will interpret the NHL Network's latest ranking of the league's top defencemen.
The annual top-20 list was unveiled this week and somehow, some way, Winnipeg's No. 1 blueliner found himself all the way down at No. 16.
That's 10 spots lower than last summer.
You read that right - 10 spots.
Photo by Bob Frid/USA Today
Morrissey entered the 2025-26 season ranked sixth by NHL Network, firmly entrenched among the game's elite following three consecutive seasons of Norris Trophy-calibre hockey. One year later, he's apparently barely hanging onto a spot in the top 20.
The problem? His play hardly warrants such a dramatic fall.
Sure, Morrissey's offensive totals dipped from the heights of previous seasons. He didn't reach the 76 points he recorded during his breakout 2022-23 campaign, nor the 69 he produced the following year.
Instead, Morrissey had to settle for 14 goals and 55 points in 77 games.
Some decline.
And if you remember correctly, it wasn't exactly a banner year for his Jets. Offence was not happening. Backup goaltending took the lead. Injuries occurred and a veteran heavy lineup skated slowly through the 82 game slate.
The now 31-year-old has produced at least 10 goals and 55 points in four consecutive seasons. Among active NHL defencemen, only Cale Makar and Rasmus Dahlin can say the same.
And Morrissey wasn't exactly sheltered while doing it.
He averaged a career-high 24:43 of ice time per game, once again serving as Winnipeg's do-everything back-ender. Power play, penalty kill, late-game situations, difficult matchups - J-Mo's fingerprints remained all over virtually everything the Jets did from the blue line.
Yet NHL Network dropped him from sixth to 16th - make it make sense.
There were, admittedly, reasons why Morrissey's season didn't carry quite the same shine as years past.
Winnipeg took a significant step backwards after winning the Presidents' Trophy in 2024-25, while Morrissey's highly anticipated trip to the 2026 Winter Olympics ended almost as soon as it began. An upper-body injury suffered in Canada's opening game against Czechia knocked him out for the remainder of the tournament and followed him back to Winnipeg.
But none of that suddenly made Morrissey the NHL's 16th-best defenceman.
This is still a player who has established himself as one of hockey's premier offensive blueliners over the past four seasons. His 2022-23 breakout wasn't a one-off. He backed it up in 2023-24. Then again in 2024-25. Then, even in what could reasonably be described as a "down" year, he scored 14 times and put up 55 points.
That's a pretty comfortable floor.
There is certainly an argument to be made that other defencemen have passed him. The NHL is overflowing with high-end talent on the blue line and younger stars continue to emerge.
But 10 of them in one season? That's where NHL Network's ranking becomes difficult to swallow.
Perhaps Morrissey won't mind.
Before becoming a perennial Norris Trophy candidate, he spent years as one of the league's more overlooked defencemen. He knows what it's like to play without the national recognition his performance deserves. For the first time in a while, he gets to do it again.
Morrissey enters 2026-27 healthy, still firmly entrenched as the engine of Winnipeg's blue line and now armed with something he hasn't had much reason to carry over the past few seasons: A chip on his shoulder.
NHL Network believes there are 15 defencemen better than Josh Morrissey. Now Winnipeg's stud gets an entire season to prove them wrong.
