Category: NHL

In a yearly exercise done by The Athletic, the St. Louis Blues ranked 14th in the latest edition of front office confidence rankings.

"Each front office is graded in six categories: roster building, cap management, drafting and development, trading, free agency and vision," started Dom Luszcyszyn.

"This is the 11th annual version of this project, with this year’s edition seeing over 10,000 responses from fans grading their own favorite team and nearly 500 responses grading every team. The contrast between the two is always fascinating."

In last season's edition, the Blues ranked 10th, dropping four spots heading into the 2026-27 season. 

The drop-off makes sense, as last year's rankings came after the Blues ended the season as one of the hottest teams in the NHL and nearly upset the Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs.

This time around, the Blues were one of the more disappointing teams in the NHL, missing the playoffs but not poor enough to land a top-five pick in the draft. Despite the disappointment, the Blues made several interesting moves, adding young, established forwards to their lineup. 

While the Stanley Cup might not be an attainable goal this year, the Blues will be far more competitive as they continue building towards the future. 

Will The St. Louis Blues Be Forced Into Exploring A Pavel Buchnevich NHL Trade?St. Louis Blues winger Pavel Buchnevich has struggled the past two seasons, and in the midst of an $8 million AAV contract, is it time for the organization to begin considering trading him away?

The Blues front office received an overall grade of B-, but the fanbase is far more confident in it than the public is. The public gave the Blues a B- grade and is 23 percent less confident than it was last year. The fanbase gave the Blues a B and is only 16 percent less confident. 

In the individual rankings, the fanbase agreed on cap management, giving the Blues' front office a B- grade. The only category in which the public was more confident than the fanbase was free agency, where the public gave a B- grade, and the fanbase gave a C+. 

The fanbase was higher than the public in roster building: C+ from the public and B- from the fanbase; draft and development: B- from the public and B+ from the fanbase; trading: B- from the public and B from the fanbase; and the team's vision: C+ from the public and B- from the fanbase. 

When this exercise is done next year, it'll be very interesting to see where the Blues land. If they bounce back, make the playoffs, and even win a round or two, they'll rocket up the rankings. If they miss the playoffs again, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Blues fall towards the 20s.

---

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

The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by Mile High Hockey staff members. Seven writers have ranked players under the age of 25 in the Colorado Avalanche organization as of September 1, 2026. Now, we’ll count down each of the 25 players ranked.

Is there a player with more intrigue for the Colorado Avalanche heading into the 2026-27 season than newly acquired forward Zach L’Heureux? He could either end up spending the majority of the season in the AHL, like he did last year, or he could end up solidifying as one of the missing pieces on the Avalanche roster in a middle-six scoring role. The range in our voting reflects this uncertainty as L’Heureux’s value to the organization is up in the air.

There also isn’t a player in the entire Avalanche organization with a more complicated past than L’Heureux now with Val Nichushkin jettisoned. The 23-year-old has been suspended at every level he’s played including on nine occasions in the QMJHL including once for 10 games, three times in the AHL and one three-game suspension in the NHL for slew-footing Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon. It’s no secret that the Avalanche lack a little bite in their game and could use someone who toes the line, but is Jared Bednar going to put his trust in that type of player, especially someone who is still trying to establish themselves in the league? The mantra always is it’s better to reign in passion than try to encourage it, but we’ll see how that goes in reality.

L’Heureux brings a reasonable resume and pedigree with him to Colorado as a former first round pick taken at 27th overall in the 2021 draft by the Nashville Predators. After finishing his junior career in the QMJHL, he spent his first pro season in 2023-24 entirely in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals. There L’Heureux put up 48 points including 19 goals in a 66 game rookie season. The next year “Happy” as they call him only played four games in the AHL and was with the Predators for 62 games where he scored 15 points. He also led all NHL rookies with 198 hits that season showing the physical bite to his game.

The following year Nashville put L’Heureux back in the AHL for the bulk of the season and did well scoring 28 points in 30 games, but the move called in question his future in the NHL. The left winger played 25 games in Nashville, all at the end of the season, and only put up five points with four goals and an assist. It makes sense why a change of scenery was the move now especially with L’Heureux’s waiver exemption having expired. He is signed for two years, though, one-way for $875K cap hit per year, which gives the Avalanche an incentive to make it work. It will be fascinating to see where the experiment goes from here.

2026 Top 25 Under 25

#25 Nikita Novosyolov

#24 Axel Eloffson

#23 Teddy Lechner

#22 Ivan Yunin

#21 Luka Cloutier

#20 Matthew DiMarsico

#19 Shawn Carrier

#18 Domenick Fensore

#17 Tory Pitner

#16 Jake Fisher

#15 Beckett Hamilton

#14 Linus Funck

#13 Alex Gagne

#12 Egor Shilov

Zach Benson had a very good 2025-26 season with the Buffalo Sabres. In 65 games with Buffalo, he set career highs with 13 goals, 30 assists, 43 points, and a plus-27 rating. He also made a big impact during the playoffs, posting five goals and nine points in 13 games for the Sabres. 

Overall, Benson took a nice step in the right direction with his development this past campaign. However, he is now being predicted to be even better in 2026-27. 

NHL.com recently ranked Benson as one of the league's top breakout candidates to keep an eye on during this upcoming campaign.

When noting that Benson just turned 21 years old in May, there is no question that he has the potential to become an even better for the Sabres. It would not be too surprising if his offense went up this season, as he has shown a lot of promise. This was especially the case during the playoffs. 

It will now be interesting to see what kind of season Benson can put together for the Sabres in 2026-27. If he can hit the 20-goal and 60-point marks, it would be huge for a Buffalo team that is looking to have another successful season. 

Colton Sissons is one of the newest members of the Toronto Maple Leafs going into this coming season. He was a part of GM John Chayka's haul on July 1, signing a two-year contract with the Maple Leafs for $4.250 million per season.

Sissons, a right-handed and veteran center, is the type of player that you'd imagine would have some interest from other teams when the NHL's free agency period opened. The 32-year-old has played 756 regular-season games across his 12-year NHL career.

With two Stanley Cup final appearances and a specialty in the faceoff dot and penalty kill, many teams would love his services. In the end, the Vancouver native decided to take his talents north of the border.

"I mean, obviously the opportunity to put the Maple Leafs sweater on is probably No. 1," Sissons said on Thursday's edition of TSN OverDrive. "That's a pretty special experience for any player, and it's tough to pass off an opportunity like that and speak with (Chayka) and just hearing what their plans were and the conditions that they were making and saw some of those come across in the morning there. And so that was really exciting too."

As mentioned, July 1 was an incredibly busy day for the Maple Leafs and Chayka. Sissons was one of multiple additions to the roster that day, including Sergei Bobrovsky, Jack Roslovic, Nick Paul, and others.

Jack Roslovic Excited To Reunite With Auston Matthews After Choosing Maple LeafsJack Roslovic is already skating in a Leafs practice jersey and leaning on old friend Auston Matthews for housing tips and locker-room intel ahead of his August arrival in Toronto.

There will always be a challenge to joining a new team, especially for Sissons, who, before being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights for 2025-26, played 11 straight years with the Nashville Predators. 

But with Toronto's unique off-season, the difficulty of getting accustomed to new surroundings and teammates naturally grows. And that's not just the case with the roster, when even the coaching staff and front office have seen overhaul changes.

Morgan Rielly Expected Major Change, Anticipates Big Presence From Gavin McKenna At Maple Leafs Training CampToronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly will have several new teammates heading into the 2026-27 NHL season, and he expected as much. With 2026 first overall pick Gavin McKenna among those new teammates potentially next season, he anticipates a big presence from him at training camp.

“Yeah, obviously it's a challenge with all the newness coming in and a lot of new players in the locker room," Sissons said. 

However, with his experience and the veteran that Sissons is, it won't be hard for him to find his role and ways to contribute to his new team on and off the ice during his Maple Leafs tenure.

"I think just coming in, I'm just going to be myself and try to bring guys together and kind of establish just a good vibe in the locker room and obviously put in the work and try to be a leader for us," he added. "Just keep it simple and just try to get everybody on the same page as fast as possible because camp's going to be pretty quick this year and it's going to be a lot to sort out and new systems and all that.

"I think we're going to be able to turn this thing around pretty quick and have a solid year.”

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

---

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

The Winnipeg Jets are coming off a disappointing season in which they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2022, and according to one prominent prospect evaluator, there may not be a quick fix coming through the pipeline.

The Athletic's Corey Pronman ranked Winnipeg's collection of prospects and players under the age of 23 as the 28th-best in the NHL this week, placing the Jets ahead of just four organizations.

Winnipeg fell three spots from Pronman's 2025 ranking, when the organization came in at No. 25.

It's an assessment that comes at an interesting time for the Jets. After years of regular-season success and three consecutive playoff appearances, Winnipeg took a significant step backwards in 2025-26. The Jets finished 35-35-12 and 12th in the Western Conference, just one season removed from winning the Presidents' Trophy.

With much of the team's established core still built around veterans including Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuyck, the development of Winnipeg's next wave has become increasingly important. Pronman's ranking suggests there are some legitimate pieces on the way. The question is how many.

At the top of the group is 2026 first-round pick Viggo Björck. Winnipeg selected the Swedish centre eighth overall in June, giving the organization the kind of high-end prospect it hasn't had the opportunity to draft in quite some time. Pronman views Björck as an intelligent, highly competitive centre with legitimate top-six NHL upside.

The 18-year-old immediately became one of the most important pieces of Winnipeg's future.

Sascha Boumedienne is another. Selected 28th overall by Winnipeg in 2025, Boumedienne spent the past two seasons at Boston University and helped Sweden capture gold at the 2026 World Junior Championship.

The mobile defenceman has shown an ability to create offence from the blue line, although his development remains a longer-term project. Pronman identified his mobility as one of the stronger attributes within Winnipeg's young group.

Beyond those two, things become less certain. Brayden Yager remains one of Winnipeg's most recognizable prospects after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Rutger McGroarty trade in August of 2024. The former 14th-overall selection made the jump to professional hockey last season and remains a potential NHL centre for the Jets.

Elias Salomonsson, meanwhile, has already begun making that transition.

The 21-year-old Swedish defenceman appeared in 32 games for Winnipeg last season, scoring one goal and five points. A second-round selection in 2022, Salomonsson has steadily climbed through the organization after playing professionally in Sweden and spending parts of two seasons with the Manitoba Moose. He could be in position to take another step with the Jets in 2026-27.

There are other intriguing names further down the pipeline. Brad Lambert, Colby Barlow and Nikita Chibrikov have all spent time developing with Manitoba, while Kieron Walton, Kevin He and Alfons Freij represent younger projects still attempting to establish themselves as legitimate NHL options.

But that is where Pronman's primary concern with Winnipeg lies. There is potential at the top of the system, particularly following the addition of Björck, but considerably less certainty behind the organization's best young players.

It's also important to put a bottom-five ranking into context. Winnipeg spent much of the past several seasons operating as a contender, which meant drafting late and occasionally moving future assets to improve the NHL roster.

The Jets traded their first-round picks in both 2024 and 2025 before eventually getting back into the opening round of the 2025 draft, acquiring the 28th selection from Carolina and using it on Boumedienne.

Missing the playoffs last season provided an unusual opportunity. For the first time since selecting Patrik Laine second overall in 2016, Winnipeg held a top-10 pick. Björck was the result. Now comes the important part. The Jets need more of their young players to turn potential into NHL production.

Winnipeg still has one of hockey's premier goaltenders in Hellebuyck, a 100-point centre in Scheifele and an elite scorer in Connor. The veterans at the top of the roster give the organization reason to believe it can rebound quickly. But that core won't remain in its prime forever.

For a franchise that has historically needed to draft and develop its own talent, The Athletic's No. 28 ranking serves as a reminder of just how important the next few years of development will be.

The Jets have some promising young pieces, but they could certainly use a few more.

We are starting to get into the top young players in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, and we continue today with one of the three first-round picks from the 2025 NHL Draft, forward Will Horcoff as he comes off a monster season at the University of Michigan.

Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: Graduates and Departed players in 2025
Top 25 Under 25: The best of the rest
#25: Chase Pietila
#24: Ryan Miller
#23: Finn Harding
#22: Peyton Kettles
#21: Zam Plante
#21: Brady Peddle
#20: Melvin Fernstrom
#19: Tanner Howe
#18: Tomas Galvas
#17: Pierce Mbuyi
#16: Jake Livanavage
#15: Owen Pickering
#14: Tristan Broz
#13: Avery Hayes
#12: Ville Koivunen
#11: Hendrix Lapierre
#10: Markus Ruck
#9: Mikhail Ilyin
#8: Joel Blomqvist
#7: Liam Ruck

#6: Will Horcoff, RW

2025 Ranking: #5

Age: 19 (January 23, 2007)

Acquired Via: 2025 NHL Draft, 1st round, 24th overall

Height/Weight: 6’5”, 203 pounds

Elite Prospects resume:

If the Penguins are able to rebuild themselves into a contending team at any point in the near future, the 2025 NHL Draft class might be one of the biggest reasons why.

Even though the Penguins did not have a top-five pick that year, they still came away with three of the top-24 picks in the draft thanks to a series of trades, and they might come away with a couple of NHL players as a result.

They already look to have one NHL player in No. 11 overall pick Ben Kindel, while there is a lot of hope for picks No. 22 (Bill Zonnon) and No. 24 (Horcoff). The other two are still ahead in the top-25 under 25 rankings, and now Horcoff is the first of that group to appear on the list.

He does drop one spot from where he was a year ago, but do not take that as a sign of him regressing. It is actually a sign of the improvement within the Penguins farm system and how they actually have some real prospect depth at the moment. It is a night and day difference from where they were even just two years ago.

There was always a lot to like about Horcoff as a prospect, ranging from the fact he is the son of an NHL player (long-time NHL forward Shawn Horcoff), to his massive size, to the fact he is a smart player with a great defensive awareness. He had shown some flashes of goal production going into his draft year that he split between the U.S. National Development Team and the University of Michigan, and he really started to build on that during the 2025-26 season.

In his first full season at the NCAA level, Horcoff absolutely took off offensively, scoring 25 goals in 40 games. That goal total put him into a tie for second place in the entire country, trailing only the 29 goals scored by Dartmouth’s Hayden Stavroff.

That production really stood out to Penguins assistant general manager Jason Spezza, who had this to say about Horcoff’s emergence during the season.

Via The Athletic:

“We were attracted to the qualities that are giving him success now, so I’m not shocked, but I’m also pleasantly surprised,” Spezza said. “It’s a hard league to come into and do what he’s doing at that age. For a big man, he gets inside, but he also knows how to find the quiet areas in the slot. He’s got a nice release. He’s got a natural goal-scoring touch. And I just think he’s a student of the game. He spends a lot of time working on his game, thinking on his game and he’s benefiting from that.”

Along with the 25 goals in the NCAA, he also made the United States World Junior team and scored a goal with an assist in his five games at the tournament.

The big questions around Horcoff now become a matter of upside, and how repeatable his 2025-26 performance may have been.

The other aspects of his game (the size, the physical play, the defensive play) have always been there, and always gave him a chance to be an NHL player, at least in a depth role. But when he adds 25 goals in 40 games at the NCAA level to that package it starts to open your eyes a little bit more. It makes you think there might be a little more potential in there than “just a guy” at the next level.

But he has to show he can not only do that again, but also build on it.

If there’s a potential red flag or “prove it” thing with his performance, it’s that he went on an early season shooting bender that resulted in him scoring on more than 23 percent of shots for the season. That’s a high number. A really high number. And it might not be totally repeatable. The projection around him changes a lot if he’s not scoring goals at that rate on a consistent or even consistent basis.

He is going to have another year at the University of Michigan to prove himself and probably will not become a potential factor in the NHL until 2027-28. If he even comes close to repeating his 2025-26 performance offensively, the Penguins quickly go from having an intriguing prospect to having a very serious power forward prospect.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have 41 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #41. 

Let's take a look.

Matt Davidson - 2000-03 - Davidson was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 4th round of the 1995 NHL Draft. He is a native of Flin Flon, Manitoba, the same town as CBJ bench boss Dean Evason. 

Davidson was traded to the Blue Jackets as part of an expansion draft deal in 2000. He played parts of three seasons for the Jackets, totaling 56 games, and had 12 points. He spent most of his time with Columbus playing for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. 

He left North America in 2004 for Europe. He played in Germany, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden before retiring in 2011.  

Brad Moran - 2001-04 - Moran was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 7th round of the 1998 NHL Draft. 

The Jackets signed Moran as a free agent in 2000. He only played in 5 games as a Blue Jacket and had 2 points. He spent most of his time playing for the AHL Syracuse Crunch. In his final year with the Crunch in 2004-05, he played in 80 games and had 72 points. 

Moran left for a second stint in Europe in 2011 and played the last six years of his career there. He would retire after playing two seasons in the EIHL in 2017. 

Moran would be the GM and HC of the Calgary Canucks in the Alberta Junior Hockey League from 2018 to 2025. For the 25-26 season, Moran was an Asst. Coach of the WHL's Calgary Hitmen. 

Ben Simon - 2005-06 - Simon was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1997 NHL Draft. 

Simon, a native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, played 13 games for Columbus during the 2005-06 season. He totaled zero points. He left for Europe and played one season in the EIHL in England. He retired in 2011. 

Simon moved into coaching almost immediately after retiring. His first head coaching job was for the Cincinnati Cyclones in 2013-14 for one season. He spent 5 years as the Head Coach for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. He has been an assistant for the Iowa Wild for the last three seasons. 

Adam Pineault - 2007-08 - Pineault was drafted by Columbus in the 2nd round of the 2004 NHL Draft.

Pineault played only 3 games for the Jackets and had 0 points. He spent most of his time playing for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. On January 10, 2009, Pineault was traded by the Blue Jackets to the Chicago Blackhawks for Michael Blunden.  

After playing two years in Europe, he returned to North America and would play three more seasons before retiring in 2014. He suffered a jaw injury that ultimately ended his career. After retiring, he moved into pharmaceutical sales after his wife was diagnosed with Leukemia.

Allen York - 2011-12 - York was drafted by Columbus in the 6th round of the 2007 NHL Draft. 

York played in 11 games and started 5 of those for the Blue Jackets. He went 3-2 with a .920 SV%. He signed with the Nashville Predators on a PTO but was never signed. 

York would never play another game in the NHL after his time in Columbus. He spent time playing in the AHL, ECHL, and other lower leagues around North America. He also spent five years as a goaltending coach in various leagues. 

He retired on March 4, 2016.

Alexander Wennberg - 2014-20 - Wennberg was drafted in the 1st round of the 2013 NHL Draft as the 14th overall draft pick. 

Wennberg came to North America and made his NHL Debut in 2014. After having three decent seasons, including a 59-point year in 2016-17, Wennberg was signed to a six-year deal on September 1st, 2017. 

Tom Wilson would seemingly derail Wennberg's career in the 2018 playoffs when he laid a devastating check on him. The next two seasons, Wennberg would only total 47 points. In October of 2020, the CBJ would buy Wennberg out, making him a free agent. The Jackets are finally about to make the final buyout payment to Wennberg this year. 

In addition to playing with the Florida Panthers since leaving Columbus, he's played for the Seattle Kraken, New York Rangers, and San Jose Sharks. After the 59-point season he had in 2016-17, Wennberg hadn't scored more than 38 points in a single season. That was until last season playing with Macklin Celebrini. He scored 18 goals and totaled 55 points.

Hunter McKown - 2022-23 - McKown was an undrafted free agent out of San Jose, California. 

McKown has played 12 career games with the Jackets, all in 2022-23. He has spent the majority of his time playing for the Monsters. In the last three seasons, he has played in 184 games and has 81 points. 

This summer, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for forward Luke Tuch. 

Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more!

Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News and never miss a story.

Let us know what you think below.

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

With it now being late August, former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kevin Hayes remains a free agent. 

Hayes still being a free agent comes after he was a depth forward for the Penguins during this past season. In 28 games for Pittsburgh during the 2025-26 season, the 6-foot-3 forward posted four goals and eight points. This was after he recorded 13 goals and 23 points in 64 games for Pittsburgh during the 2024-25 season.

While Hayes had a quiet 2025-26 season, the possibility of him getting another chance from an NHL team should not be ruled out. He has had a strong career and could be a solid pickup for a team needing more forward depth, given his leadership qualities and experience.

With the Penguins having a surplus of NHL-caliber forwards already, a return to Pittsburgh seems unlikely for Hayes. Yet, with training camp starting to get closer, it is fair to wonder if the 34-year-old forward can land a PTO from another club. 

Over the last two seasons as a member of the Penguins, Hayes recorded 17 goals, 14 assists, 31 points, and 84 hits in 92 games.

A new Florida Panthers hockey season is right around the corner.

Over the next few weeks, Panthers players will continue to migrate down to South Florida ahead of the team’s annual training camp, which will be held at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale.

Every year during camp, the Panthers host a Training Camp Fan Fest, and this year’s event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 19.

The fun will begin at 10 a.m. and last throughout the afternoon.

Florida’s Training Camp Fan Fest is open to the public and free to attend, with all seating and parking available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Fans will have the opportunity to watch the Panthers during the day’s on-ice workouts and interact with mascots Stanley C. Panther and Viktor E. Ratt and the Florida Panthers Dance Team.

Additionally, there will be family-friendly games and activities for fans to enjoy, public skating sessions at 2:15 p.m. and 7 p.m., new items for sale in Pantherland and more.

For more info on the Panthers’ Training Camp Fan Fest, click here.

LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA

Florida Panthers Front Office Lands Fourth Overall In Latest NHL Confidence Rankings

Panthers' Brad Marchand Trolls Toronto's William Nylander Over Weight Lifting Photo On Instagram

New NHL 27 Player Rankings Have Several Florida Panthers Forwards Rated Quite High

Inaugural Matthew Tkachuk Hockey Celebration Brings Weekend Of Family Fun To Baptist Health IcePlex

Remaining NHL Free Agent Goaltenders The Florida Panthers Can Target To Be Their Third Stringer

Brad Marchand Reveals He Recently Had Surgery, Hopes To 'Get Back On The Ice Soon'

Report: Florida Panthers, Sergei Bobrovsky Failed To Agree To Terms Over No-Trade Clause Inclusion

Should The Florida Panthers Have Any Concerns About Aleksander Barkov's Health Heading Into The 2026-27 Season?

Welcome to The Hockey News Vancouver Canucks site's 2026–27 player preview article series. This series will outline the expectations for every player projected to play for Vancouver during the 2026–27 season. Today's player is Canucks goaltender Nikita Tolopilo. 

Tolopilo's 2025-2026 Season 

Tolopilo started to establish himself as an NHL goaltender last year with Vancouver. The 26-year-old started 18 games and finished with a record of 6-11-2. Tolopilo also posted a save percentage of .881 and a goals against average of 3.61. 

Last season, Tolopilo also played 19 games in the AHL. He finished with a record of 8-8-3, pushing his all-time record to 48-35-6. During his time with the Abbotsford Canucks last year, Tolopilo also recorded a save percentage of .897 with a goals against average of 3.07. 

Tolopilo's 2025-26 Letter Grade 

For his efforts in the 2025–26 season, The Hockey News' Canucks site gave Tolopilo a C grade. While he took some steps forward in his development, he also had some difficult games in both the NHL and the AHL. It is also important to note that Vancouver's defensive system caused Tolopilo issues as he faced plenty of odd-man rushes throughout the campaign. 

Tolopilo's 2026-27 Predictions  

Tolopilo is in a difficult situation heading into the 2026-27 season. If Thatcher Demko is healthy, he will most likely be the Canucks' third stringer, which could limit his play time. While he is on the older side, Tolopilo needs as many reps as possible to show that he can be an impactful backup at the NHL level. 

As for the AHL, that is not tricky scenario as Tolopilo requires waivers. Based on his pedigree and size, another team will likely put in a claim if he hits the wire. Unless injuries occur, Tolopilo will most likely be used as a practice goaltender next year. 

Bold prediction: Tolopilo plays at least 15 games in 2026-27. 

Canucks 2026–27 Player Previews: 

Victor Mancini

Kevin Lankinen

Filip Chytil

Thatcher Demko

Jonathan Lekkerimäki

Elias Pettersson (D)

Marco Rossi

Max Sasson

Jamie Oleksiak

Drew O'Connor

Luke Schenn

Paul Cotter

Brendan Gallagher

Liam Öhgren

Tom Willander

Jake DeBrusk

Zeev Buium

Brock Boeser

Filip Hronek

Elias Pettersson

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:

Canucks Senior Advisor To Be Inducted Into Penguins Hall Of Fame

Next Generation Of Sedin Signs Professional Contract With Whitecaps FC 2

Vancouver Canucks 2026-27 Player Preview: Victor Mancini

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

While the 2026 offseason was, on the whole, a disappointment for the Philadelphia Flyers, they still managed to acquire some intriguing pieces nonetheless.

Specifically, the Flyers do have a logjam on the wings, for example, but they paradoxically had some openings to address as well. What do I mean?

Prospects Denver Barkey and Alex Bump are graduating to the NHL level full-time next season, and veteran tough guy Garnet Hathaway departed Philadelphia via trade earlier this offseason.

Plus, journeymen Rodrigo Abols and Luke Glendening were left behind, Anthony Richard signed overseas, and Bobby Brink was traded for David Jiricek at the NHL deadline.

Quietly, the winger (and center, speaking to the versatility of Abols and Glendening) position underwent a facelift in 2025-26, and that wasn't without consequence for the Flyers.

The AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who ranked just 23rd in the league with 210 goals and missed the Calder Cup playoffs as a result, badly needed help offensively, and that is especially true now without Bump, Barkey, Richard, and leading scorer Lane Pederson.

While they may have missed out on Leo Carlsson with their aggressive offer sheet attempt, the Flyers did make some beneficial signings still, adding Nolan Foote and Danila Klimovich as organizational depth to help the Phantoms.

Foote, 25, brings some intrigue as a former first-round pick, but Klimovich is the name people need to be talking about more.

Rick Tocchet reunites with former Canucks prospect

Klimovich, 23, is still quite young and comes with the pedigree of being a former second-round pick (41st overall in 2021), but he has yet to make his NHL debut after four full seasons with the Vancouver Canucks organization.

Sure, it is a bit of a head-scratcher that the bottom-feeding Canucks cut the Belarusian winger loose at his age before finding a role for him at the NHL level, considering Klimovich has scored 43 goals for the AHL Abbotsford Canucks over the last two seasons.

At the same time, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet, obviously, came to Philadelphia from Vancouver last year, and he's someone who has had Klimovich at his training camps multiple times over his years there.

The Flyers, with Tocchet's familiarity, went out of their way to sign this player for a reason.

Conceivably, with a big step that never came in Vancouver, Klimovich could carve out a depth role for himself at the NHL level if the Flyers' development staff taps into his potential.

DANILA. KLIMOVICH. DOUBLE. OVERTIME. 😵@abbycanucks | #ABBvsTEX | #CalderCuppic.twitter.com/4t56Saf63h

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) June 5, 2025

The 6-foot-2 winger's game is built around his hard shot and puck skills, though he has long struggled defensively and isn't that great of a skater.

To make a name for himself, Klimovich will have to continue to learn to impose himself physically while improving defensively; the latter is the hallmark of any successful depth forward in the big leagues.

Fortunately, the Flyers have had some success with this in the past, even with veterans.

Players like Rasmus Ristolainen, Jamie Drysdale, Trevor Zegras, Owen Tippett, and Tyson Foerster all stand out as examples--none of those guys were drafted to play defense, but they all improved considerably in that aspect upon arriving and spending some time in Philadelphia.

With his traits, Klimovich is not dissimilar to Foote, but time is on his side being two years younger. 

If absolutely everything goes right, though, Klimovich could find his path in the pros as a Foerster lite: a big-bodied winger who makes up for his lack of pace and playmaking with details, dogged defending, and a powerful shot.

The once-promising Canucks prospect is only under contract with the Flyers for one year, but with so many outgoing players at his position, Klimovich will have all the opportunity in the world to make an impact with the Phantoms, and then, potentially, with the Flyers.

Sitting at No 6 in TheHockeyNews.com's Toronto Maple Leafs prospect ranking is Alexander Bilecki.

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

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

The Maple Leafs selected Bilecki in the second round of this past 2026 draft with the 60th overall pick.

Bilecki, 18, is coming off his second season in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers, with the left-handed defenseman's stock trending upwards with how his campaign ended.

His regular season was decent as he registered nine goals and 29 points in 66 games. Bilecki is a blueliner who can really move the puck and can be effective in power-play situations. This past season, he was further down the depth chart on the back end with Cameron Reid and Jared Woolley in the Rangers' lineup.

Maple Leafs NHL Prospect Ranking: No. 7, Noah ChadwickThe 21-year-old defenseman Noah Chadwick slots in at No. 7 in THN's Toronto Maple Leafs prospect ranking.

Luckily for Bilecki, Reid is joining the University of Michigan, and Woolley is projected to join the Ontario Reign in the Los Angeles Kings' system. So if he decides to remain with Kitchener for 2026-27, he'll be the No. 1 defenseman with all the power-play time and the other luxuries that come with that role.

Nonetheless, his numbers jumped when it mattered most. In 18 OHL playoff games, Bilecki posted a pair of goals and 11 points. In the Memorial Cup, the 6-foot-2 defenseman continued to provide for the Rangers with three assists in four outings.

'I'm A Winner': Maple Leafs Selected Memorial Cup Champion Alexander Bilecki At Pick No. 60With the 60th pick in the 2026 NHL draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs selected defenseman Alexander Bilecki. Here's what you need to know about the Mississauga, Ont., native.

Kitchener went on to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions, and the Memorial Cup later in the year. The Rangers finished the regular season atop their division and Western Conference. So even with just two seasons of junior hockey under his belt, the young blueliner can already call himself a winner.

Bilecki is still in the early stages of his hockey career, and it will certainly take some time before he's ready for the Maple Leafs. In The Hockey News' latest issue, it was predicted that Bilecki would be ready to enter the NHL for the 2030-31 season.

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

---

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

The Penguins have unveiled the second class of individuals who will enter the team’s Hall of Fame this coming fall, highlighted by longtime goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Fleury, along with Larry Murphy, Jim Rutherford and Jack McGregor will be inducted into the Penguins Hall of Fame this November, joining last year’s inaugural class of inductees.

Having spent 13 of his 21 seasons playing for Pittsburgh, Fleury was a unanimous selection to the Penguins Hall of Fame and won three Stanley Cups with the Penguins.

Larry Murphy, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004, helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992.

Responsible for helping build the Pittsburgh roster that won the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017, Jim Rutherford will enter the Penguins Hall of Fame in the Builder category. Rutherford’s acquisitions like Phil Kassel, Patric Hornqvist, Nick Bonino, Justin Schultz, Carl Hagelin, and others will forever hold a spot in Penguins lore.

Jack McGregor was a key figure in helping bring an NHL team to Pittsburgh and served as the Penguins’ president from 1967 to 1970.

The induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, November 14 before the Penguins face off against the Ottawa Senators at PPG Paints Arena.

A third class of inductees next year will include Tom Barrasso, Jaromir Jagr, Chris Kunitz and Ray Shero.

Every year, The Athletic puts out an article about how much confidence fans have in each NHL front office. Unsurprisingly, the Montreal Canadiens have fared well in those rankings. Last year, Kent Hughes and co. were fifth, but this year, they moved into second place. The article grades each team in six areas: roster building, cap management, draft and development, trading, free agency, and vision.

The Habs grades given by the public are generally better than those given by the Canadiens’ fan base; they’ve always been a demanding bunch, and it’s never been as clear as in this exercise. While the public deservedly gave the Canadiens an A+ for cap management, Montreal fans gave them an A. It’s hard to imagine what Hughes could have done better in that respect. He’s got his young core locked up to lengthy and team-friendly deals that have positioned the Canadiens extremely well to add quality pieces around that core.

Canadiens Have Two Players In Top-10 Ranking Of Players Under 23, Are They The Right Ones?
THN Yearbook Predicts Higher Finish For Canadiens
THN Yearbook Predicts Big Season For Canadiens Players

So far, four and a half years into his appointment, Hughes has shown that he’s the kind of man who makes a plan and sticks to it. Rather than pouncing on big-name free agents with big contracts (when some were available), he has decided to trust his team’s internal growth, and so far, it has worked; there’s no denying that. Montreal has made the playoffs in the last two years, and they even made the Eastern Conference final this past season, but drafting and developing can only go so far.

It’s impossible to use all of the prospects one’s organization drafts. Eventually, the pipeline gets too crowded because of the contract limit. If you want to have a balanced team, you can’t just keep adding the same kind of players and hope that they will bring you to the promised land (see the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Edmonton Oilers, for instance). At one stage, all that unexploited potential in the pipeline has to be turned into immediate help if you want to get over that hump.

It’s like Dom Luszczyszyn says in his article about the confidence rankings when he discusses the Florida Panthers:

The one downside of trading every pick? Getting a tough grade for drafting and developing. No worries – the Panthers have figured out that when the window is wide-open, talent now is better than talent tomorrow.

- Luszczyszyn on the Panthers' front office's strategy

The Canadiens' draft last year made it clear they were trying to get bigger and grittier. However, prospects need time to develop, and by the time this class comes to maturity and is ready to make an impact, Nick Suzuki’s contract will be nearly done. Furthermore, chemistry takes time; kids don’t tend to perform all that well in their first few years as professionals (though there are exceptions like Lane Hutson or Demidov).

To get over the last few hurdles, the Canadiens will likely need to get some immediate help while sacrificing some of their futures, but that’s easier said than done. When other GMs see how well a team is doing, they’re in no hurry to give them the last few pieces they need to become Stanley Cup champions, and eventually, the GM who has a near-complete puzzle ends up having to bite the bullet and accept that they cannot put too high a value on their assets, making them untradeable.

The other GMs are seeing Hughes coming from miles out now; they know the Canadiens have built a strong foundation, and they will force the Habs to pay dearly for those needle-moving pieces. There comes a time when a GM has to be ready to overpay, and knowing when that time has come isn't always easy. When the finish line is within reach, you have to dig deep to improve your roster.

Hughes won’t be dealing every pick; he’s made it quite clear that he wants to build a perennial contender, but he’ll have to be ready to sacrifice some of them. Such is the reality of a team whose contention window is open. Is the Canadiens’ contention window open? It certainly feels like it is, given that they were one of the last four teams playing hockey this Spring. However, their evisceration by the Carolina Hurricanes shows a few pieces are still missing from their puzzle, and logic dictates those elusive pieces can’t all come from the draft.

---

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

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

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

A reminder of Flyers' key dates leading up to 2026-27 season opener originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

With September around the corner, so is Flyers hockey.

Let’s look at the key dates.

The Flyers open rookie training camp Friday, Sept. 11, before kicking off their series against the Rangers’ prospects at PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The rookie games are Saturday, Sept. 12 (7:05 p.m. ET), and Sunday, Sept. 13 (5:05 p.m. ET).

The club opens main training camp Thursday, Sept. 17, and starts its preseason slate Monday, Sept. 21.

After four exhibitions games, the Flyers host the Penguins in their regular-season opener Wednesday, Sept. 30. With the shortened preseason and the NHL extending its schedule to 84 games for every team, this will be the earliest the Flyers have ever started a regular season.

The Flyers are trying to reach the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns.

Offseason reading

• Vansaghi aiming for more offense, says experience with Martone was ‘unbelievable’

• Pucks and books have Ruohonen developing as a Flyers prospect at Harvard

• Flyers agree to terms on deal with final restricted free agent of offseason

• Flyers believe Michigan-bound Nesbitt could develop into a ‘handful’ for opponents

• Flyers return most of defense, but two youngsters are pushing

• A taste of pro hockey adds to ‘high expectations’ for Flyers’ prospect

• ‘He mauled me’ — Flyers feel and see Sokolovskii’s huge presence

• A look at why Flyers prospect Berglund will play on loan in Sweden

• Grebenkin has new contract as Flyers near the end of their offseason work

• Flyers have ‘lots of faith’ in Luchanko, who could benefit from a few things

• With Vladar the key, Flyers formed new goalie picture in two summers

• Barkey, Bump have plenty of motivation after playoff run with Flyers

• ‘You don’t see that very often’ — Martone’s rise could serve as Flyers’ splash

• Briere’s bold offer sheet for Carlsson leads to Celebrini payday

• Flyers didn’t make huge addition, but Drysdale sees ‘great lineup’

• How Zegras accepted challenge from Flyers, ‘took charge’ with new contract

• Coming off career highs, Drysdale agrees to new 4-year contract with Flyers

• Early date with Ducks, Black Friday home game and more on Flyers’ 2026-27 schedule

• Flyers make Zegras highest-paid player on their roster with new contract

• Flyers host rival to open 2026-27 regular season in September (!)

• Acciari has seen Flyers fans up close, says ‘choosing Philly was an easy decision’

• No Carlsson for Flyers as Ducks match huge offer sheet

• No Giroux reunion as former Flyers captain returns to Senators

• There’s a telling aspect of Flyers’ stunning offer sheet to Carlsson

• Briere makes a bang as Flyers try to snatch Carlsson with offer sheet

• Flyers add former Penguins forward to their bottom-six picture

• Flyers, Foerster agree to terms on big contract extension

• Vladar earns long-term contract after becoming massive answer for Flyers

• Flyers keep veteran depth winger on 1-year deal

• Flyers extend qualifying offers to 4 RFAs, part ways with 6

• Flyers trade back, grab 6-foot-7 defenseman in first round of NHL draft 2026

• Flyers draft a defenseman whose dad has a Flyers-themed jeep

• Flyers draft a goalie for first time since 2023, use second-round pick on Psohlavec

• Flyers go with a second goalie on Day 2 of NHL draft 2026

• Flyers hope to hit on another fifth-rounder from Minnesota high school level

• Flyers close out NHL draft 2026 with seventh-round defenseman

• Flyers trade Hathaway, acquire picks day before NHL draft

• Flyers release shortened preseason schedule for expanded 2026-27 season

• Flyers acquire backup goalie, send Ersson, Andrae to Leafs

• Flyers bring back depth center coming off consecutive 20-goal seasons in AHL

• Flyers elect to not sign 2022 seventh-rounder, lose prospect’s rights

• Flyers sign Russian winger to his entry-level contract

• Konecny has two important things he’ll remember from Flyers’ playoff exit

• No slowing down for Martone, who is just getting started with Flyers

• ‘I was getting more and more mad’ — Vladar has plenty of fuel for offseason

• Can Flyers capitalize on being ‘more of a destination’ in offseason?

• After playoff run, Flyers release injury list with 10 players on it

• Tocchet on Michkov just a few days into offseason: ‘Like a vengeance tour’

• Michkov shows some frustration — and that’s not the end of the world

• Tippett missed second round of playoffs because of internal bleeding

• A ‘taste of it’ could go long way for Flyers’ long-term goal