On July 22nd, 2021, five years ago today, the Seattle Kraken drafted their inaugural roster, selecting 30 players from every NHL club except the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Kraken ended up with the following 30 players:
Of those players, six remain on the roster in 2025-26.
The Kraken struggled in their first few seasons in the NHL.
In the 2021-22 season, the team went 27-49-6 and earned 60 points.
In 2022-23, they improved to 46-28-8 and tallied 100 points. In 2023-24, they went 34-35-13, and in 2024-25 they went 35-41-6.
Last season, the team went 34-37-11 and tallied 79 points.
The team made the playoffs once since the draft, in 2022-23. They went 7-7 in 14 playoff games.
As the Kraken continue to develop their team, it is a good time to reflect on the history that was made five years ago today.
Contracts in the NHL are steadily growing larger, and will continue to do so - especially after the record-breaking offer sheet for Anaheim Ducks forward Leo Carlsson from the Philadelphia Flyers that was ultimately matched.
Carlsson will make $18 million per season over the next five seasons, the highest annual salary in NHL history.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings have several contracts on the books that are among the best in the NHL in sheer value.
In fact, the contract of defenseman and potential future captain Moritz Seider has been named one of the 10 best in the NHL by analytical Insider Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic.
There are some NHL stars locked up to absolute BARGAIN deals for years to come…
Of course, Seider's contract, along with teammate Lucas Raymond, were negotiated by now-former GM Steve Yzerman, who vacated his role earlier this month.
Additionally, as of now, captain Dylan Larkin's salary cap hit of $8.7 million is a tremendous bargain. Larkin has reached the 30-goal plateau in each of the last four seasons, but stunned the franchise by requesting a trade out of town following the 10th straight campaign without making the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This past season, Seider established new personal bests with 10 goals, 50 assists, and a plus-15 rating. He also paced the Red Wings in average ice time at 25:39 per game, serving as Detroit's workhorse defenseman while routinely matching up against the opposing team's top offensive talent in every game situation.
He also garnered consideration for both the Norris and Hart Trophies.
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The Vancouver Canucks have announced that the team’s 2026–27 Training Camp will take place in Penticton at the South Okanagan Events Centre, running from September 17 to 20.
“Returning to Penticton this year makes perfect sense for our organization,” Canucks co-President of Hockey Operations, Henrik Sedin, said in a press release. “The South Okanagan Events Centre has everything we need for camp both on and off the ice. Besides being a first-class facility, the venue is also a great spot for our fans to experience our skates and fan fest. We look forward to kicking off our season in the interior this September and connecting with the thousands of fans who will make the trip to watch our training camp at the SOEC. Our organization really appreciates the provincial wide support we receive at this camp and throughout the regular season.”
This is the third straight season the Canucks have hosted their training camp in Penticton, having done-so in 2024–25 and 2025–26 as well. Prior to then, Vancouver hosted their camps in Whistler (2022–23) and Victoria (2023–24).
A finalized schedule of practice times will be released at a later date.
Apr 14, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Fin the mascot and the Vancouver Canucks celebrate their victory against the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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One of the New York Rangers’ most notable moves of the 2026 NHL Draft was their selection of goaltender Danai Shaiikov in the third round.
The selection of Shaiikov marked the first time the Rangers drafted a goalie since Talyn Boyko in 2021.
Being drafted to the NHL is a moment that all young hockey players dream of. Shaiikov comically experienced that moment.
“I was surprised. I honestly was in (the) bathroom when I got picked,” Shaiikov revealed. “I came back, everybody (was) clapping, looking at me.”
Aside from Dylan Garand, the Rangers don’t have a ton of goaltending prospects to complement Igor Shesterkin and newly acquired Joonas Korpisalo at the NHL level, so Shaiikov instantly becomes one of the team’s most intriguing young goalies in the pipeline.
The 19-year-old goaltender expressed his excitement to join the Rangers’ organization, while underplaying the significance of being the first goalie drafted by the franchise since 2021.
“I’m just happy to be here,” Shaiikov said. “It’s an honor to be in such a legendary organization.”
The Kazakhstan native played for the Gatineau Olympiques in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League this past season, recording an 18-26-2 record, .903 save percentage, and 2.78 goals against average in 50 games in his role as the starting goaltender.
While he idolized Sergei Bobrovsky as a young boy, Shaiikov confessed that his style of play is more comparable to that of Shesterkin.
“I was saying that Bobrovsky is my idol, but I compare myself more to Shesterkin,” Shaiikov said.
Shaiikov is expected to return to the QMJHL for the 2026-27 season.
A former Buffalo Sabres forward is heading to the KHL.
The KHL has announced that former Sabres forward Justin Bailey has signed a one-year contract with Barys Astana.
Bailey signing with Barys Astana comes after he 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 25 goals, 17 assists, and 42 points. Overall, the 31-year-old forward had a solid year with the Gulls and will now be looking to make an impact with Barys Astana after landing this new contract.
This is the first time in Bailey's career that he will be playing for an overseas club.
Bailey was selected by the Sabres in the second round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, 52nd overall. He played three seasons with the Sabres from 2015-16 to 2017-18, where he recorded five goals, three assists, eight points, and 54 hits.
Following his time with the Sabres, Bailey had stints at the NHL level with the Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, and San Jose Sharks. In 141 career NHL games over eight seasons, he posted 10 goals, 13 assists, 23 points, and 157 hits.
After not receiving a qualifying offer from the Vancouver Canucks at the end of June, forward Nils Åman has returned to the SHL. Djurgårdens IF announced yesterday that Åman has signed with the Swedish club, ending his four-year stint as a member of the Canucks organization.
Åman was first acquired by Vancouver via free-agent signing in 2022. He was originally drafted in the sixth-round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche but never ended up signing with them. He played in a career-high of 68 NHL games during the 2022–23 season, scoring four goals and 12 assists in that span of time.
As time went on, Åman’s usage at the NHL level began to dwindle, going from 43 games in 2023–24, to 19 games in 2024–25, and finally to only two games in 2025–26. During these seasons, he spent more time with the Abbotsford Canucks, with the forward putting together a career-high of six goals and 35 assists in 55 games in 2025–26 — the team-high in points.
While the 2026–27 season will be Åman’s first with Djurgårdens, it won’t be his first in the SHL. Prior to his time with the Canucks, the forward played for Lekands IF.
Apr 2, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Nils Aman (88) during pre game warm up against the Seattle Kraken at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images
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In many ways, Philadelphia Flyers defensemen David Jiricek and Jamie Drysdale are similar, but only time will tell if their careers will pan out the same way.
Jiricek, 22, and Drysdale, 24, are former No. 6 overall picks: the former in 2022, and the latter in 2020. Both Flyers were conscripted into NHL service early--probably too early--by the teams that drafted them, which put them at a disadvantage developmentally.
Due to injury, and things just generally not working out on the ice, Drysdale was traded to the Flyers in exchange for a young, future top-six winger in Cutter Gauthier, as well as a 2025 second-round pick.
Jiricek's path was slightly different in that he was healthy but in and out of the lineup and up and down from the AHL; Columbus eventually traded him to Minnesota for Daemon Hunt and first-, second-, third-, and fourth-round picks, respectively.
Just over a year later, Jiricek, too, found his way to Philadelphia, getting flipped by Minnesota for Bobby Brink ahead of the 2026 NHL trade deadline.
Drafted two years apart, the two defensemen join the Flyers two years apart. Heading into the 2023-24 season, the year the Flyers acquired him, Drysdale had played 89 NHL games, scoring four goals, 28 assists, and 32 points with a -29 rating.
Jiricek, heading into his first full season with the Flyers in 2026-27 season, has played 85 NHL games, scoring two goals, 11 assists, and 13 points with a -8 rating. They have had very similar careers through their first 80-odd games.
The main difference between the two, at least when it comes to production and rating, is that Drysdale was thrown to the wolves in a big role from Day 1, whereas Jiricek has largely been forced to play sheltered minutes, which require him to play to avoid mistakes instead of learning on the job.
Drysdale, two years on, has quickly come into his own as an NHL defenseman. Even John Tortorella was willing to live with his warts for the greater purpose of player development.
New head coach Rick Tocchet hasn't always shown that same willingness; Matvei Michkov barely played last season, and Emil Andrae never quite established himself as an NHL regular despite handily outplaying his peers.
To that end, the Flyers were by and large considered to be rebuilders throughout Tortorella's reign, but expectations are higher now that the Flyers have made the playoffs, and won a round, in Year 1 of Tocchet.
Jiricek needs time and patience, given his inexperience, and it bears noting that he is playing for his third organization in four years, entailing yet another system change.
The Czech defenseman has obvious talent, and the Flyers are hoping his booming shot and offensive chops will make a difference on the abhorrent power play.
However, the question is, will he get plenty of opportunity and freedom to make his mark as Drysdale did the previous two years, or will Jiricek continue to be trotted out in limited minutes in fear of a big mistake?
The Buffalo Sabres snapped their 15-year postseason drought, winning the Atlantic Division and advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but after an offseason that saw Bowen Byram and Alex Tuch being dealt, the task of repeating as division champion or finishing in the top three of the Atlantic could be significantly more difficult.
This week, we will look at the seven other teams in the Atlantic to see where they stand in comparison to where they were at the end of last season and see where they potentially stack up as competition with the Sabres.
The Florida Panthers finally had the long arduous journeys that resulted in three trips to the Stanley Cup Final and two straight Cup victories catch up to them. The club lost team captain Aleksander Barkov to an ACL injury in training camp, were without top winger Matthew Tkachuk for a significant chunk of the season, and endured a slew of other injuries that resulted in the club finishing out of the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
GM Bill Zito was extremely active after the season in the trade market, adding winger Brady Tkachuk in a massive deal with the Ottawa Senators and other moves that are expected to help a healthy Panthers squad return to the postseason.
Brady Tkachuk - Averaged nearly a point-per-game with Ottawa last season.
Garnet Hathaway - Veteran enforcer acquired from Philadelphia
Lars Eller - Veteran depth forward who played one season in Ottawa signs an incentive-based one-year deal.
Radko Gudas - 36-year-old former Panther signs a six-year, $9 million contract
Jacob Markstrom - Veteran goalie acquired from New Jersey
Akira Schmid - Played 34 games for Vegas last season, acquired for a third-round pick.
Where does Patrick Kane end up?
Subtractions
Evan Rodrigues - scored 31 points last season, swapped to the Devils in Markstrom deal.
Jesper Boqvist - depth forward who played 73 games for the Panthers last season, swapped to the Devils in Markstrom deal
AJ Greer - signed a free agent deal with the Anaheim Ducks
Sergei Bobrovsky - signed a free agent deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs
Daniil Tarasov - signed a free agent deal with the Detroit Red Wings
Mackie Samoskevich - traded to the Seattle Kraken for a pair of draft picks
Outlook
The Panthers will benefit just as much from the new additions as they will from getting their existing players back 100% healthy. Barkov is one of the best two-way forwards in hockey and already showed he is back playing for Finland at the World Championships. Tkachuk is expected to be fully back, and his younger brother joins one of the deepest groups in the NHL, with Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Brad Marchand, Eetu Luostarinen, and Anton Lundell up front, and Seth Jones, Aaron Ekblad, Niko Mikkola, and Gustav Forsling on the back end. The biggest area of question is in goal, where a contract dispute led to Bobrovsky leaving in free agency.
Markstrom is experienced and will benefit from playing behind a veteran crew who plays solid defensive hockey, but there are questions of whether the 36-year-old goalie is up to the task of replacing Goalie Bob.
The Sabres benefited from the Panthers decline and fall last season, but will not be as fortunate this time around. Florida appears to be assembling the closest version of the Charlestown Chiefs and unless they are hit with catastrophic injuries for two years in a row, they are a virtual lock to finish in the top three in the Atlantic.
The Panthers and Sabres have similar questions between the pipes, and a blueline that has won two Stanley Cups is equal or better than the Sabres defensive corps. Florida has a distinct advantage over Buffalo in experience and depth up front, but the Sabres forward corps has much more speed than the veteran Panther group. The Sabres slight step back after the loss of Tuch and Byram likely has the them finishing behind the Panthers next season.
The Buffalo Sabres have not made a major move since the opening of free agency in July, after trading defenseman Bowen Byram to Chicago for Louis Crevier, and a pair of high draft picks, Alex Tuch to Washington in a sign-and-trade, and acquiring blueliner Olen Zellweger from Anaheim prior to the NHL Draft last month. The club has been rumored to be interested in trading for Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck, and signing Buffalo native Patrick Kane, but neither move has come to fruition at this point.
Kane hit the open market on July 1, and immediately rumors tied him to his hometown Sabres, but over the last three weeks, there has been a growing amount of chatter that the Chicago Blackhawks would like to bring the three-time Cup winner. Earlier this week, star center Connor Bedard indicated that he hopes that Kane will re-sign with the Hawks.
"I hope so. I don't know what I can say to persuade his decision, but we'd all obviously be so excited to have a player like that, but also a guy like that.” Bedard said. “I can't imagine his first game back at the (United Center), the reaction he'd get and how much juice that would bring not only to our team but our fans as well. That would be incredible to get to play with him and learn from him. Hopefully he decides to come back. You talk about the legacy aspect of it, but as a team, it would make us a way better team. He's still an amazing player. I don't know if this is the best pitch, but hopefully he comes back and we can play together, for sure."
On Tuesday, Hawks GM Kyle Davidson added his two cents during an interview on a Chicago radio station, saying that he would love for the future Hall-of-Famer to return to the club that selected him first overall in 2007.
Where will Patrick Kane sign? Chicago or Buffalo?
Patrick is someone that our organization (and) myself have had a relationship (with) for a long time. I don’t necessarily think it’s right for me to comment on the process he’s going to be running this offseason.” Davidson said. “A guy like (Patrick) has done pretty much everything there is to do in our game. He’s inspired every young player playing hockey today with what he’s accomplished, and he’s earned the right to take his time and make a decision.”
The Sabres snapping their 15-year playoff drought has made them a more attractive landing spot, but there has always been a debate of how much Kane wants to play for his hometown team, especially with the expectation level raised since their Atlantic Division title last season. Buffalo has limited cap space after the signings of Zach Benson and Peyton Krebs, which also might be a contributing factor.
"We see (Patrick) often. He trains at our practice facility in the offseason. We’ll await his decision, but he knows our door is always open.” Davidson said. “We’ve got a great deal of reverence, respect, and love for Patrick Kane, so we’ll leave him to that decision, and we’ll see where he ends up when that day comes.”
Buffalo has to be looking to add some offensive punch without Tuch and his 30+ goals per season and may be a holding pattern until Kane makes his decision. If he decides to finish his career with the Hawks, the Sabres may have to pivot to other options in free agency or in the trade market before the opening of training camp in September.
In a recent article for The Athletic, Dom Luszczyszyn named the 10 best contracts in the NHL for the 2026-27 season. Without much surprise, a member of the Buffalo Sabres made the cut: Rasmus Dahlin.
"If Dahlin were to hit UFA this summer, it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine him commanding something close to Kaprizov’s current AAV," Luszczyszyn wrote. "It’s in line with what Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes will no doubt ask for, and he’s risen into that company. That he’s signed for six more seasons at just $11 million is a huge discount for Buffalo."
When looking at how well Dahlin has performed for the Sabres, it is easy to understand why his contract is being viewed as one of the best in the NHL. The 26-year-old defenseman is one of the top blueliners in the league, and with the salary cap going up, his cap hit just keeps looking better.
In 77 games during this past season with the Sabres, Dahlin posted 19 goals, 55 assists, and 74 points. This was after he had 17 goals and 68 points in 73 games for Buffalo during the 2024-25 season. With numbers like these from the point, the Sabres captain has been providing a ton of value for Buffalo.
Furthermore, with Dahlin being only 26 years old, he is just entering his prime. That just makes his deal look even better, and it will be fascinating to see how he performs during it from here.
TheHockeyNews.com is running a series ranking each NHL coach, going in reverse order from No. 32 to No. 1.
The criteria for these rankings include each coach’s accomplishments, short- and long-term history, expectations, and general reputation. Of course, these rankings are subjective.
St. Louis Blues coach Jim Montgomery found his name at No. 16 on these rankings, ahead of the likes of Todd McLellan, Sheldon Keefe and Marco Sturm. He also finds himself trailing coaches like Dan Muse, Peter Laviolette, and Rick Bowness.
Montgomery’s time in St. Louis has been very up and down. When he took over, he helped propel the Blues to the playoffs and pushed the Presidents’ Trophy winners to the Game 7 overtime.
But in 2025-26, with expectations higher, Montgomery was unable to help the Blues avoid another slow start to the season, and they fell short of the playoffs.
Now, Montgomery has added his assistant coaches, and with over a year and a half under the helm in St. Louis, the pressure for the 57-year-old to deliver is increasing.
With the Boston Bruins, Montgomery guided the Original Six franchise to the most wins in a single season, taking home the Jack Adams Award, although he wasn’t able to bring them past the second round.
“When Montgomery became available to teams in November of 2024, the Blues took exactly five days before they fired Drew Bannister and replaced him with Montgomery,” started THN.com’s Adam Proteau. “And who could blame them – Montgomery had led the Bruins to a stunning 65-12-5 record in 2022-23 while winning a Jack Adams Award in the process.
“Montgomery hasn’t had the success in St. Louis that he had in Boston. But that’s a product of the changing core of the Blues as they transition to a new era under new GM Alex Steen.
“That said, there is all kinds of pressure for Montgomery to improve St. Louis’ 2025-26 record of 37-33-12, and Montgomery must be a teacher for the Blues’ youngsters while trying to push the team up the standings of the highly competitive Central Division. With so much at stake, Montgomery is at a point where he could rise steeply or fall steeply in the coach rankings depending on what St. Louis does next season.”
Montgomery’s third season with the Blues will be an important one. If the Blues falter out of the gate and are on a crash course to miss the playoffs, changes could be made, but the Blues have full faith in their bench boss.
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In a recent article in La Presse, Richard Labbe reports that Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender Samuel Montembeault has made it clear that he has no interest in riding a goaltending carousel this upcoming season. This is not surprising; after all, the 29-year-old goaltender will be playing his contract year, and after a dreadful season last year, he needs to bounce back; his future is riding on it.
Furthermore, last season, when the Habs voluntarily sidelined him, Montembeault was told by GM Kent Hughes that one bad year is not the end of a goaltender’s career, telling him that Jeremy Swayman went from a bad season to a Vezina Trophy nomination-worthy season. The difference, however, is that Swayman’s abysmal season came after signing a big-money, big-term contract. Still, the fact that Hughes said that to Montembeault created an expectation in the goaltender’s mind that he would have an opportunity to bounce back; according to what he said at the locker room clean-out day, he would like it to be in Montreal.
Over the years, Montembeault has been a good teammate and rode the goalie carousel twice already, once with Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau and then this past season with Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler. After seeing Dobes get a three-year contract extension, which will only kick in at the start of the 2027-28 season, Montembeault knows that the Czech netminder now has the inside lane. If he were to be his backup, he would have a chance to prove to the rest of the NHL that he can still be a good NHL goaltender. Because make no mistake, no matter what happens, the Bécancour native won’t get another extension with the Habs, and playing third fiddle certainly wouldn’t help him convince other GMs around the league that he’s worth a gamble.
Training camp is still a fair way away, but many goaltenders have already moved this offseason while Montembeault has stayed put. Hughes isn’t in the market for selling low, and right now, the goaltender’s stock is as low as it’s been since the Canadiens picked him up on waivers back in 2021. Back then, he was an emergency remedy to Carey Price’s lingering injuries, and the Canadiens didn’t give anything to acquire him. It wouldn’t be a loss to sell low in that instance; it’s not like walking away from Kirby Dach after sacrificing Alexander Romanov to get a first-round pick to acquire him from the Chicago Blackhawks.
There are still teams out there that don’t look like they’re particularly well set in net. The Edmonton Oilers put their eggs in often-injured veteran Frederik Andersen’s basket, who will be backed up by Tristan Jarry (who didn’t impress last season after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins). The Oilers did add an insurance policy in Devon Levi, but he has yet to prove he can perform at the NHL level. Connor McDavid is two seasons away from being a UFA, and time is running out for the Oilers to put together a team competitive enough to make their captain want to stay.
There’s been a lot of noise around the Winnipeg Jets being tempted to trade Connor Hellebuyck, and had the Buffalo Sabres been willing to include their fourth overall pick at the last draft in a proposed deal, he would be in the state of New York by now. If they do manage to trade him, though, Winnipeg could become an interesting landing spot for Montembeault. After all, their backup right now is Stuart Skinner, who they signed as a free agent on July 1 to a two-year deal with a $3.75 M cap hit but who hasn’t had impressive numbers in recent years. He’s three seasons removed from posting an above-900 save percentage.
The New Jersey Devils have three goalies on the payroll: Jake Allen, Nico Dawes and David Rittich. That’s not an inspiring trio for a team that’s eager to get back in the playoffs. Rittich has posted .887 and .894 save percentages in the last two seasons and was given a one-year deal with a $1M cap hit. Dawes is 25 years old and has yet to show he’s a real NHL goaltender, and as for Allen, he has historically thrived as a backup, and right now he looks like the number one choice.
Of course, it’s always a possibility that Fowler could be sent down to the AHL, leaving Dobes and Montembeault in Montreal, but I’m just not convinced this is the place where the latter can bounce back like he needs to do. He basically admitted that he put too much pressure on himself last season, and that’s how his troubles started. He was coming to the rink worried about letting goals in; that’s not the right mindset to be in. Will he be able to shake it off under the extreme scrutiny in Montreal? That’s a bigger challenge than it would be if he were able to turn over a new leaf in another market.
The Florida Panthers are bringing back restricted free agent defenseman Mikulas Hovorka, signing the Czech defender to a one-year, two-way contract.
The 6-foot-6 right-handed shooting defenseman was undrafted and signed with the Panthers in 2024. Hovorka appeared in four NHL games this season, recording one assist and averaging 14:55 of ice time.
Hovorka has spent the past two seasons in the AHL, featuring in 117 games, notching eight goals and 28 points. Prior to moving to North America, Hovorka skated in the Czech Extraliga with HC Motor České Budějovice.
The 25-year-old defenseman’s deal carries an NHL cap hit of $850,000, an AHL salary of $100,000, and a guaranteed salary of $150,000 for the 2026-27 campaign, according to puckpedia.com.
Although Hovorka will start the season in the AHL, he’ll be considered one of the first defensemen to receive a call-up if any injuries occur, alongside Tobias Bjornfot, Marek Alscher, and Donovan Sebrango.
With extra defenseman on the roster like Uvis Balinskis and Alexander Petrovic, Hovorka’s chances of finding many NHL games during the 2026-27 season are fairly slim.
Nonetheless, he’ll be a prominent player for the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL.
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