The Philadelphia Flyers and top center prospect Jett Luchanko are about to benefit massively from this new AHL rule change, reported to take effect starting this season.

On Tuesday, PuckPedia reported that AHL loans for 19-year-old players, a rule passed in the new CBA with the NHL, will take effect in the 2025-26 season, allowing the Flyers to send Luchanko to the AHL to further develop.

Update: PuckPedia posted the following correction to their X account: " The 19 year old AHL change is not yet in effect. It requires agreement with CHL, & the NHL/NHLPA have agreed to push to get this agreement & change done for this season. However, those negotiations have not started yet & no guarantee it's effective 25-26."

Ordinarily, Luchanko, who turned 19 just over a week ago, would have needed to either make the Flyers' NHL roster outright to play pro, or spend another season in the CHL playing for the OHL Guelph Storm.

And, as we know, the Storm aren't the greatest team in the OHL, and they traded away most of their auxiliary talent last season.

This report has to be a sigh of relief for the Flyers, who saw what their top center prospect can do at the pro level in a small sample size a few months ago.

Luchanko picked up three assists in nine regular season games with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season, then added six more assists in seven postseason contests.

The 2024 first-round pick hasn't scored a pro goal between 16 total AHL games and four NHL games with the Flyers, but shooting and scoring instincts were a generally agreed-upon criticism of Luchanko before he was even selected last June.

Flyers Roster Battles Become Clearer with Porter Martone Taking NCAA RoutePorter Martone's commitment to the NCAA's Michigan State means one less winger is battling for a roster spot with the Philadelphia Flyers this fall.

Considering he only just turned 19 and has succeeded playing against men, there's no reason to believe Luchanko can't develop and build upon the last 12 months in an environment more conducive to growth with the Phantoms.

The 19-year-old's supporting cast in Allentown could shrink slightly after training camp, provided teammates like Alex Bump and Nikita Grebenkin make the NHL roster and stick with the Flyers.

Either way, though, players like Bump, Grebenkin, Devin Kaplan, Samu Tuomaala, Karsen Dorwart, Massimo Rizzo, Denver Barkey, and Alexis Gendron are marked improvements on what Luchanko had in Guelph the last two years.

What the Flyers' prized center prospect achieves next will be exciting to watch.

The news that fans of the Detroit Red Wings had been waiting for was finally delivered last month.

Former Red Wings Hall of Fame forward Sergei Fedorov, one of the greatest players in team history who was an integral part of three Stanley Cup wins, will finally have his iconic No. 91 retired by the club and hung from the rafters at Little Caesars Arena. 

A Red Wing at heart. pic.twitter.com/TqYBHQWi5b

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 19, 2025

The announcement of the impending honor, which was met with overwhelming approval, is also being acknowledged by a former member of the Red Wings who played a lone season in Hockeytown.

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

Daniel Sprong, who suited up for the Red Wings in the 2023-24 NHL campaign and now plays in the KHL for CSKA Moscow, recently disclosed that he chose jersey No. 91 specifically in honor of Fedorov. 

“He is one of the best players. He is special, that is why I chose number 91," Sprong explained via Sport-Express. 

“It is a great honor for me to play under this number for CSKA. I hope that he will be proud of me.”

Not only did Sprong briefly don the Winged Wheel as Fedorov did for so many years, but he also now plays for the same club Fedorov skated for prior to his extremely risky defection to the United States in 1991. 

"Fedorov is strong in his style of play, he could do everything on the ice," Sprong said. "He could gather three people around him and outplay them.”

“My Heart Beat Faster”: Sergei Fedorov Recaps Finding Out Of Jersey Retirement NewsThe iconic No. 91 jersey of former Detroit Red Wings forward Sergei Fedorov will soon be taking its rightful place in the rafters of Little Caesars Arena, and will be displayed alongside the eight previously retired numbers that include his teammates Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom.

Sprong signed with the Red Wings as an unrestricted free agent during the 2023 offseason, and scored 18 goals with 25 assists in 76 games, the second-highest goal output of his NHL career. 

🚨 Daniel Sprong opens the scoring for CSKA in the 2nd period on the powerplay. #KHLpreseasonpic.twitter.com/lb8k2GUNCH

— Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) August 28, 2025

In Fedorov's honor, CSKA Moscow recently retired his number at CSKA Arena. In Detroit, a special ceremony will be held at Little Caesars Arena on Jan. 12 before a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, a matchup carrying some irony.

It was Carolina who signed Fedorov to the infamous offer sheet in early 1998, which Detroit matched, ultimately paying him $28 million for just three months of play.

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No matter how dominant they may be, veteran NHL players rarely, if ever, get to end their playing careers on a perfect note.

Father Time always catches up, but sometimes, they're just not in a circumstance befitting of the elite place they’ve carved out for themselves.

You can see that with Detroit Red Wings right winger Patrick Kane. At 36, Kane can still be a solid contributor, posting 21 goals and 59 points last season. But Kane signed only a one-year, $3-million contract for this coming year on a middling Red Wings team that will compete hard just to try to make the playoffs. If Kane sticks with the Wings for the rest of his career, it's unlikely he'll have a chance of winning the Stanley Cup for the fourth time.

So Kane’s last chance at hockey glory could come on the international stage, if he makes the U.S. team at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Kane doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. His career totals of 492 goals and 1,343 points in 1,302 regular-season games, on top of his three Cup wins with the Chicago Blackhawks, make him a lock to be a Hockey Hall of Famer when he hangs up his skates.

But given that the Red Wings will be picked by many to miss the playoffs this coming season, you can see how Kane needs to make the most of his status as a U.S. icon and help lead Team America to a gold medal win at the 2026 Games in Milan, Italy.

That said, Kane isn’t guaranteed to make the American roster. Indeed, in this writer’s projected U.S. roster for the Olympics, Kane was not on the team.

“The one thing that's kind of missing is a gold in best-on-best, right?” Kane told NHL.com last week at the Americans' Olympic orientation camp. “It would be fun to have that opportunity.”

U.S. GM Bill Guerin has a very deep talent pool from which to draft a roster, and he may choose to go with a youth movement and select young wingers like Utah’s Clayton Keller, Minnesota’s Matt Boldy, Buffalo’s Tage Thompson and Montreal’s Cole Caufield at right wing. So Kane will have all the motivation in the world to come out of the starting gate strongly this season and nudge one of those aforementioned young players out of a roster spot for the Olympics.

If Kane does make the U.S. roster, who’s to say he won’t have one more place in the sun and one final chapter he can hang his hat on as an all-time great?

The thing about Hall of Famers is that they can rise to the occasion, and Kane may have a couple of tricks still left up his sleeve. Getting to the top of the podium at the upcoming Winter Games would tie a lovely bow on his career, especially if Detroit fails to make the playoffs this year and for however long Kane remains there.

Kane’s experience as a proven winner and needle-mover might be something Guerin particularly values, especially as the U.S. tries to transition into a new era of young, up-and-comers. Kane no longer has to worry about being “The Man” at this stage in his career. So long as he can chip in some offense for the American team, he’ll be worth Guerin selecting him for the U.S. squad.

And if Kane does help America win a gold medal in Italy, it will underscore his status as one of the best and most decorated wingers the modern game has ever seen.

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According to multiple reports, the Philadelphia Flyers have lost hockey ops advisor Ian Laperriere to the Metropolitan Division rival New York Islanders.

Laperriere, 51, joins the Islanders from the Flyers as a pro scout, leaving his new post of hockey operations advisor.

The longtime NHLer initially remained with the Flyers in this capacity on May 27 on the heels of his dismissal as the head coach of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. John Snowden has since replaced him as the head coach of the Phantoms.

Neither the Flyers nor the Islanders have publicly announced the news, though The Hockey News's own Stefen Rosner confirmed the initial report from Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff.

With the Islanders organization, Laperriere is reunited with former Flyers assistant coach Rocky Thompson, who was in charge of the power play in Philadelphia.

Thompson took the reins as the head coach of the AHL Bridgeport Islanders this offseason after being let go by the Flyers.

The Florida Panthers have dominated the NHL playoffs in the past three seasons, winning the Stanley Cup twice and reaching the finals another.

They've consistently levelled up their game when the post-season rolls around, but surprisingly, they haven't dominated the regular season like you might have expected. 

Dating back to 2022-23, when they first appeared in the Stanley Cup finals, the Panthers were the eighth seed when the regular season concluded, upsetting the record-setting Boston Bruins in the first round before defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes. Upon reaching the final round, the Panthers were severely beaten up and succumbed to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. 

The following season, the Panthers carried that momentum into the regular season, beating the Bruins by one point to claim the Atlantic Division crown. In the playoffs, they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Bruins, the New York Rangers and the Edmonton Oilers to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup. 

The most recent campaign witnessed the Panthers repeat as Stanley Cup winners, but the regular season wasn't always smooth sailing. They finished third in the Atlantic Division, recording 98 points and finishing just a point ahead of the Ottawa Senators. The Panthers were without home ice advantage in each series, but they took care of each opponent nonetheless.

The Panthers' post-season success hasn't been defined by regular season success, but that doesn't necessarily indicate that the Panthers should throw in the towel during the regular season and not care about playoff seeding. Home ice advantage can be an important factor in the playoffs due to the momentum from the crowd, as well as last change.

The Panthers have played a lot of hockey in the past three seasons, far more than any other team in the NHL. Fatigue is destined to catch up to the Panthers in some sort of fashion, and ensuring easier matchups earlier in the playoffs, as well as home ice advantage for line matching benefits, could be what helps the Panthers three-peat. 

Winning the division is no small feat. The Maple Leafs and the Lightning will be gunning for the crown, and it's possible the Senators and the Montreal Canadiens could be surprise challengers. Without Matthew Tkachuk for a large part of the season, the Panthers will be missing out on plenty of offense, but their depth should allow them to compete with those teams.

The New York Islanders have hired Ian Laperriére as a pro scout, industry sources have confirmd with The Hockey News, first reported by The Daily Faceoff's Anthony DiMarco.

Laperriere, 51, had spent the last four seasons as head coach of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the AHL affiliate for the Philadelphia Flyers. Prior to that, he served as an assistant on the Flyers bench for nine seasons. 

I can confirm @ADiMarco25's reporting that #Isles have hired former NHLer Ian Laperriere as a pro scout.

He spent the last 4 seasons as the head coach of the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He previously spent 9 seasons as an assistant with the Philadelphia Flyers.

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) September 2, 2025

Rocky Thompson, who the Islanders hired as head coach for their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, had previously spend the last two seasons as an assistant coach for the Flyers, so he knows Laperriere well. 

Back in May, the Flyers hired Laperrié as an advisor to their hockey operations department after being let go by Lehigh, but has, clearly, since decided to take on more of a hands-on job with the Islanders. 

Drafted in the seventh round (No. 158) in 1992 by the St. Louis Blues, Laperriere played 16 years in the NHL with five different teams. He played 1,083 regular season cames, recording 121 goals and 215 assists for 336 points, while racking up 1,956 penalty minutes. 

With Mathieu Darche now the general manager of the Islanders, there have been a ton of changes, with the addition of Laperriere being the latest. 

Laperriere will report to Ryan Bowness, who was hired this summer as the Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Personnel, who will oversee the entirey of the pro scouting department. 

Ken Morrow, who has served as #Isles Director of Pro Scouting since 1992, will remain with the team in the pro scouting department.

Ryan Bowness will run the pro scouting staff.

More on Bowness's roles & what they entail @TheElmontershttps://t.co/8NzFAI9FjQ

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) June 17, 2025

We have confirmed that Islanders legend Ken Morrow, who has been a pro scout with the Islanders since 1992, will remain as a scout. 

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Five-time AHL All-Star and two-time Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award winner Cal O'Reilly has signed a contract with the SCL Tigers of the Swiss NL until the end of October with an option to extend. 

One of the most prolific players in AHL history, O'Reilly recorded 177 goals, 606 assists, and 783 points in 1022 games over parts of 18 seasons. He has the eighth most games played in league history, sits sixth all-time in assists, and is 18th all-time in points. 

The 38-year-old recorded 11 goals and 49 points in 68 games to lead the Milwaukee Admirals in scoring last season and was an assistant captain. 

A fifth round selection of the Nashville Predators in 2005, O'Reilly has 16 goals and 49 points in 145 career NHL games with the Predators, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, and Minnesota Wild.

O'Reilly is known as a fantastic leader and won the Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award as the AHL player who best exemplifies sportsmanship in 2021 and 2025. He served as captain with four different AHL franchises over his career. 

An AHL All-Star in 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, and 2019, O'Reilly led the Calder Cup Playoffs in assists in 2015. 

While he is only signed until the end of October there is a good chance we have seen O'Reilly's Hall of Fame AHL career come to an end. 

Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker and AHL Free Agency signing tracker.

The NHL's Calder Trophy race is always one of the most unpredictable storylines heading into the NHL season.

While much of the spotlight tends to shine on hyped rookies and high draft picks, history has shown that lesser-discussed players can emerge as serious contenders.

Artemi Panarin, Kirill Kaprizov and, most recently, Dustin Wolf, are just a few of the stars who have proven that opportunity, situation and timing can be just as important as raw talent.

The 2025-26 NHL rookie class is stacked with potential difference-makers, such as Ivan Demidov and Zeev Buium. But let’s look at three players who may be flying under the radar for potential Calder Trophy consideration.

Sam Rinzel, D, Chicago Blackhawks

Calder Trophy winner odds on BetMGM: 41.00 (+4,000)

Sam Rinzel is joining a crowded dressing room of young defenders within the Chicago Blackhawks organization.

The Blackhawks have eight defensemen who played NHL games last year under contract heading into the 2025-26 season, not including RFA Wyatt Kaiser. Seven of them are younger than 25. It’s far too early to cement anyone’s role within the lineup, but Rinzel possesses the skill set to be the team’s top offensive defenseman this season.

Rinzel joined the Blackhawks for the team’s final nine games of last season and showed some real offensive promise, finishing with five assists, three of which came on the man-advantage. He led the Blackhawks in ice time per game in that stretch (23:22) and was immediately thrust onto the team’s top power-play unit.

It’s a short sample size, but that level of production would give Rinzel 45 points over an 82-game season, which would likely put him near the top of rookie defenders in scoring.

Unfortunately, the Blackhawks will likely not be near playoff contention this season, making it difficult for him to make a case for himself to have improved a franchise as much as other rookies. While it will be difficult for him to stand out, it shouldn’t rule out his chance completely.

Jimmy Snuggerud, RW, St. Louis Blues

Calder Trophy winner odds on BetMGM: 18.00 (+1,700)

Jimmy Snuggerud made his NHL debut on April 1 and played in seven regular-season games with the St. Louis Blues, where he recorded a goal and three assists.

However, the Minneapolis, Minn., native was also an integral part in all seven of the team’s first-round playoff games against the Winnipeg Jets, picking up two goals and two assists in the series.

Snuggerud was slotted on the Blues’ top line alongside Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich, and that role appears to be his to lose heading into training camp this fall. He even took some shifts on the top power-play unit, which could give him every opportunity to be a top offensive contributor for the Blues this season.

Snuggerud, 21, enters the season as one of the older rookies eligible for the Calder Trophy, putting him in a much more advantageous position over this rookie class of forwards. He’s also already earned the trust of coach Jim Montgomery with his offensive instincts and scoring ability, as he was playing just over 17 minutes per game in the playoffs.

There’s not a ton of competition for Snuggerud’s role with Jordan Kyrou being glued to the wing of Brayden Schenn on the team’s second line. If he can replicate the same level of production over 82 games and solidify himself as a top-line player, there’s a strong chance he’ll be a finalist for the Calder when the season concludes.

NHL Prospect Pool Overview ’25-26: Catch Up On Every Team’s PipelineThe NHL prospect pool overview series is our annual summer series breaking down every team's prospect pipeline.

Leevi Merilainen, G, Ottawa Senators

Calder Trophy winner odds on BetMGM: 61.00 (+6,000)

The goaltending situation in Ottawa will be intriguing this season.

Leevi Merilainen, a third-round pick in 2020, suited up 12 times for the Senators last season and had an impressive .925 save percentage and 1.99 goals-against average. His 8-3-1 record in that span helped the Senators end a losing skid and put them back on course for a playoff spot.

That short stint would indicate that he’s undoubtedly earned himself the chance to play a larger role throughout the regular season, now that backup Anton Forsberg signed with the Los Angeles Kings.

Obviously, the Senators have a commitment to Linus Ullmark for the next four years with a hefty $8.25-million cap hit, but his injury history, age and overall durability would suggest that Ottawa may have a tandem this season as opposed to Ullmark carrying a heavy workload.

In his 10-year NHL career, Ullmark’s career high in games played is 49, coming with the Boston Bruins in the 2022-23 season. His statistics have been remarkable within the 40-to-50 game range. But if Merilainen continues to have positive outings, then there’s less pressure on coach Travis Green to have Ullmark overwork himself in favor of having him well-rested for a potential playoff run.

It will be a crowded field of players for the Calder Trophy, and with only three goaltenders winning in the last 25 years, the odds are stacked against Merilainen. However, if the Senators can build off their 2024-25 campaign and remain in post-season contention, there’s a good chance he played a big part in that success and could be a worthy candidate for the award.

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Even after the Mitch Marner saga, player agent Darren Ferris says it’s business as usual with Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving.

The agent appeared on the 100% Hockey Podcast with Daren Millard and John Shannon last week to discuss Marner’s departure from the Maple Leafs and his arrival with the Vegas Golden Knights after a sign-and-trade in late June.

Toronto and Marner agreed to an eight-year, $96 million contract before sending him to Vegas in exchange for Nicolas Roy. Marner’s exit from the Maple Leafs was, and still is, a massive talking point amongst fans within Toronto.

However, during the interview with Millard and Shannon, Ferris indicated that nothing had changed within the relationship between the agent and GM, adding that the two had spoken about a free agent recently.

“[The relationship is] still cordial. I’ve known Brad quite a while. He’s a good man, and he’s got a tough job in front of him. Toronto’s not an easy organization to work in with all the noise on the outside, but he seems to weather it. Everything’s fine between us,” said Ferris. 

“We were talking about a free agent that I have currently that’s still out there, just recently acquired, and we just had a discussion, and we continue to, I mean, it’s business as usual.”

Among the free agents still available under Ferris is defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. The 31-year-old is coming off a full season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he tallied one goal and 40 points while averaging 20:37 of ice time on the blue line.

Grzelcyk had the second most points among Penguins defensemen, and if he were on the Maple Leafs, he’d have been one point off Morgan Rielly for the team lead. This past season with Pittsburgh was his best year to date, as he registered career highs in assists and average ice time.

Would bringing in Grzelcyk make sense for Toronto?

If there’s anything different about the upcoming season for the Maple Leafs, it’s the amount of quality defensemen they already have within the organization.

Any team, of course, would love to have as many defenders as possible, just in case injuries pop up, and the Maple Leafs have that. They’ve got the six defensemen (Rielly, Brandon Carlo, Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Simon Benoit) who just helped push the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers to seven games.

Toronto has also brought in Henry Thrun from the San Jose Sharks in the Ryan Reaves trade, plus they have Matt Benning, Dakota Mermis, Philippe Myers, Marshall Rifai, and William Villeneuve waiting in the ranks.

The only reason Toronto should bring Grzelcyk in is if they’re afraid of losing a couple of defensemen to waivers at the beginning of the season, which could very well occur. 

Benning has mentioned he’d like a chance in the NHL with the Maple Leafs, or elsewhere. He could be a candidate to move if he has a strong training camp with Toronto and doesn’t make the team. 

The Maple Leafs kept Myers as depth for most of last season, which I’d assume they’d do again after signing him to a two-year, $1.7 million contract in January. I could see them doing that with Thrun instead, depending on which player has a better training camp.

Adding Grzelcyk wouldn’t necessarily be a bad move, especially if he comes in on a professional tryout, similar to how Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz did last training camp. As it stands currently, though, the Maple Leafs have $1,919,722 in cap space, according to PuckPedia.com.

Would you rather see Toronto spend that on another depth defender like Grzelcyk, with the chance of losing a couple of defensemen at the start of the season to waivers? Or would you like to see Treliving keep that money for an addition at the trade deadline?

Either way, these last few weeks before training camp could be fascinating to watch if you’re a fan of the Maple Leafs.

Latest stories:

Maple Leafs Sign Dennis Hildeby To 3-Year Deal—Is He Their Third Goalie This Season?

Mitch Marner’s Agent Preferred Former Maple Leaf To Go Through ‘Dog And Pony Show’ Of Free Agency Instead Of Sign-and-Trade

'Bit Of An Awkward One': Former Maple Leafs Forward Mitch Marner Reveals Why He Blocked Move To Hurricanes At Trade Deadline

When St-Georges native Joshua Roy turned up at the CN Sports Complexe in Brossard for training camp last season, he was pencilled in to make the Montreal Canadiens’ roster. But when the players hit the ice, it became apparent that the likes of Emil Heineman and Oliver Kapanen were outperforming him. A couple of weeks later, he landed in the AHL with the Laval Rocket, where he spent much of the last season, putting up 35 points in 47 games. In the 12 games he played in the NHL, he added two goals and failed to make much of an impact.

TVA Sports’ Nicolas Cloutier published an article on Tuesday morning about Roy’s training this Summer, including quotes from the man he put in charge of his very own rebuild: John Chaimberg. The trainer has worked with big names in the past, such as Georges St-Pierre and Kristopher Letang. Roy had to audition for Chaimberg to agree to train him.

Cloutier reports that the training has borne fruit; Roy’s weight has gone from 204 pounds to just 190, and he feels much better for it. He was told at the end of the season that he needed to bring more pace to his game, and he took the comments to heart. His summer coach raves about his work ethic and his improvement in the gym over the offseason, calling him the MVP of their summer.

It will be interesting to see how the leaner version of Roy performs at training camp. Getting a roster spot won’t be easy. While the man who pushed him out of the lineup last season is gone (Heineman was sent to the New York Islanders in the Noah Dobson trade), he has since been replaced by sophomore Zachary Bolduc (in a trade with the St. Louis Blues), who comes to town with an impressive resume and high expectations.

If Roy can bring the same dedication to the ice as he showed in his training session in the gym this summer, he could certainly put up a good fight. With Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia moving on, there will be roles available up front, but the 22-year-old will also need to outperform Joe Veleno and Samuel Blais, two players who are older and desperate to show that they belong in the NHL.

Veleno is a former first-round pick who was tagged with “exceptional status” back in 2015, which allowed him to play in the QMJHL at just 15 years of age. He willingly confesses that he might have taken his foot off the pedal at that point. In the NHL, he failed to make an impact with the Detroit Red Wings, who eventually traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks in March 2025. His stay in Illinois was short-lived, however, since he was traded to the Seattle Kraken this offseason before being bought out. He came to Montreal as a free agent on a one-year, one-way deal with a $900,000 AAV, which is a significant pay cut, and he’ll be eager to prove that he’s better than that.

As for Blais, he has played part of eight seasons in the NHL and even won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2018-19, but has never been able to establish himself as an NHLer and play a complete season. He spent the entire last campaign in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks, winning the AHL Playoffs and scoring 19 points in 23 games on top of being assessed 70 penalty minutes. He also joined the Habs on a one-year, one-way deal, but on a league minimum $775,000 AAV.

Roy will be desperate as well, though. He’s about to embark on the last year of his ELC contract, and he needs to show that he belongs, if not in the Canadiens’ organisation, at least in professional hockey. At the end of the upcoming season, he will be an RFA with a $813,750 qualifying offer, according to Puckpedia. If he wants to secure a more valuable contract, he needs to make an impact now. It appears he has taken the necessary steps to do so this summer, but it remains to be seen how all that work will translate on the ice.

Of course, he’ll also need to outperform youngsters like Oliver Kapanen and Owen Beck. Kapanen started the season in Montreal last year before being loaned back to his European team, Timra IK in Sweden, where he played a significant role, getting plenty of ice-time not only at even strength, but also on special teams. He took part in three playoff games with the Canadiens, picking up an assist in minimal ice time.

As for Beck, he skated in 12 games with the Canadiens last year, all in the regular season, and grabbed a single assist. At 21 years old and with two years left on his ELC, he has time on his side, and there’s no need to rush his development.

As Martin St-Louis would say, there are chairs available in his lineup, and it will be interesting to see which of the players mentioned above manages to step up and not only grab one, but keep it.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs put pen to paper on a new contract for prospect goaltender Dennis Hildeby. The 24-year-old signed a new three-year deal that carries an average annual value of $841,667 at the NHL level.

The 24-year-old restricted free agent will be on a two-way contract for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons before shifting to a one-way deal in 2027-28. Hildeby made his NHL debut last season, starting in six games with the Leafs while posting a 3-3-0 record with a 3.33 goals-against average and .878 save percentage.

The 6-foot-7 Swede also got a taste of the NHL when he was called up during the 2023-24 season amid an injury to goaltender Joseph Woll and Ilya Samsonov's performance issues. Drafted by the Maple Leafs in the fourth-round (122nd) overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, Hildeby has spent most of the last two seasons playing with the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, where he’s likely to spend most of the upcoming season.

The goaltender still has a lot to prove at the professional level. In 73 career games with the Marlies, Hildeby has a 37-21-11 record with a 2.53 goals-against average, along with a 1-3 record in five AHL playoff appearances with a 3.25 goals-against average and .895 save percentage.

Is Hildeby Toronto’s third goalie going into the season?

It appears so. With Hildeby getting some experience at the NHL level and Toronto looking solid with Anthony Stolarz and Woll, the Leafs appear comfortable promoting Hildeby as the No. 3 whenever he is needed. Unlike acquiring veteran goalies, Hildeby is also exempt from waivers, which has historically been a problem for Toronto.

The structure of Hildeby’s deal allows for the goaltender to know exactly where he is on the organization's depth chart. He is a young No. 3 who has an opportunity in the long run to earn a spot with the big club down the road if he can continue to develop at the professional level.

---

Latest stories:

Mitch Marner’s Agent Preferred Former Maple Leaf To Go Through ‘Dog And Pony Show’ Of Free Agency Instead Of Sign-and-Trade

'Bit Of An Awkward One': Former Maple Leafs Forward Mitch Marner Reveals Why He Blocked Move To Hurricanes At Trade Deadline

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Swedish center Jacob Josefson, 34, has signed a one-year contract to play with Djurgården, the Stockholm-based SHL club announced on Monday.

A former NHLer, Josefson has not played professionally since the 2020-21 season, when he recorded 14 points in 27 games for Djurgården. After suffering a series of concussions in his career, Josefson left the team’s training camp prior to the 2021-22 season when symptoms returned. This season, he feels he is finally ready to return and has already appeared in three pre-season games.

“I am so incredibly happy and grateful to have the chance to play hockey after a long absence,” Josefson is quoted in the club’s announcement. “Getting the opportunity to put on the Djurgården jersey and play in front of the best fans in the world again is something that I am extremely proud of. Always. No matter what.”

“This is so incredibly gratifying for both Djurgården and Jacob,” said club sports director Niklas Wikegård. “His attempt to return to hockey has succeeded and the entire Djurgården family will see when a great athlete is given a second chance.”

Born in Stockholm and a member of the Djurgården club from age 14 to 19, Josefson was picked in the first round, 20th overall, by the New Jersey Devils in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Between 2010 and 2018, he recorded 64 points and 84 penalty minutes in 315 regular-season NHL games, mostly with New Jersey but he also played one season with the Buffalo Sabres. His only six playoff games came in 2012 – a year the Devils went to the Stanley Cup Final – in which he tallied one assist.

Norwegian National Team Captain, Former Oiler & Flyer Retires There was speculation he’d come back for one more season but, ultimately, Patrick Thoresen is sticking with the decision he made last summer and announced his retirement on Thursday via Instagram.

From his return to Sweden 2018 until his timeout from hockey, Josefson served as Djurgården’s team captain.

“Hockey-wise, we know what Jacob is capable of, and that there is more to learn,” said Wikegård. “With every game he plays and every practise he attends, he feels stronger in his body. He can skate more, put more pressure on himself and will get better and better just like the rest of the team.”

Djurgården was just promoted to the SHL from the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan but is trying to build a competitive roster. The team will notably feature two 18-year-old forwards who were chosen in the first round of this year’s NHL Entry Draft – Victor Eklund and Anton Frondell.

In addition to Josefson, Eklund and Frondell, Djurgården’s lineup for the 2025-26 season also includes veteran center Marcus Krüger, who was a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks, Canadian winger Charles Hudon, Finnish right winger Jesse Ylönen, Swedish defenseman Gustav Lindström, and Swedish goaltender Magnus Hellberg.

Charles Hudon Signs In Sweden, Joins Frondell & EklundCanadian forward Charles Hudon, 31, has signed a two-year contract with Djurgården IF, the Stockholm-based SHL club announced on Wednesday.

The popular sporting video game series by EA Sports, NHL 26, is set for a September 12 release for Playstation and XBOX. 

Over the past two weeks, the software developer has begun unveiling its rankings for each different playing position in the game. 

Among those listed within the Top-10 at each position will be a handful of Winnipeg Jets players. 

The first position ranking provided by EA Sports was defenceman Josh Morrissey, who was given a 90 overall rating, ranking him eighth among all blueliners. 

The second Jets player to earn a place on the Top-10 position rankings was winger Kyle Connor, who was named the No. 4 left winger in the game with a 92 overall stat line.

Now, it was centre Mark Scheifele was unveiled as the No. 10 centreman in the game.

The 32-year-old put up 39 goals and 87 points in a career year for the Jets, besting his previous career highs in goals, points and penalty minutes, as he helped Winnipeg to the Presidents' Trophy as the No. 1 team following the conclusion of the regular season.

Scheifele's overall rating went up two percentage points from NHL 25 to a 91 overall, ranking him behind only Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, Sasha Barkov, Sidney Crosby, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Jack Hughes and Brayden Point as the best centres in the game. 

No Jets cracked the Top-10 right wingers list, but the Top-10 EA Sports goaltenders is up next. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck should have his way with the list. 

The 2025-26 Anaheim Ducks will attempt to close this elongated rebuilding chapter of the organization's history, having missed the playoffs in each of the last seven years.

As constructed, the roster features very few players in their prime and is unlikely to include a rookie who plays all 82 games in the NHL. Thusly, individual NHL awards will probably elude the Ducks come season’s end.

However, one member of the organization is favored among peers to earn a major award when it comes time for the NHL to hand them out: Joel Quenneville.

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Per NHL.com, the Jack Adams Award is given annually to the NHL coach “adjudged to have contributed the most to their team's success.” The NHL Broadcasters’ Association votes on the award.

Per BetMGM, newly hired head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, Quenneville, is the favorite to win the Jack Adams with +700 odds. He edges out Utah Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny (+750), Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis (+900), and Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason (+1200).

Traditionally, the Jack Adams is awarded to either the coach whose team greatly improves in the standings from the year before, unexpectedly making the playoffs, or to the coach whose team is overwhelmingly the best in the NHL’s regular season.

After the Washington Capitals eked into the playoffs in 2023-24 with 91 points, Spencer Carbery won the 2025 Jack Adams after the 2024-25 Caps tallied 111 points and locked up the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Rick Tocchet’s 2022-23 Vancouver Canucks and Daryl Sutter’s 2020-21 Calgary Flames hovered around NHL .500 in the season before each coach took home their respective Jack Adams Awards in 2024 and 2022.

Jim Mongomery’s 2022-23 Boston Bruins and Bruce Cassidy’s 2019-20 Bruins were particularly dominant, earning their coaches the Jack Adams Award to pair with the organization’s Presidents’ Trophies in those years.

The 2024-25 Ducks made a substantial improvement in the NHL standings from the 2023-24 team, improving from 59 points to 80 points. A self-imposed mandate to make the 2026 playoffs indicates the team expects to make another considerable leap, as the threshold to earn a Western Conference Wild Card spot has required a minimum of 97, 95, 98, and 96 points in each of the last four seasons.

After nearly four years away from the NHL, Quenneville was hired by the Anaheim Ducks on May 8 and brings with him a sparkling resume and an elite assistant coaching staff (Jay Woodcroft, Ryan McGill, Andrew Brewer, Tim Army, and Peter Budaj) at his flanks. Quenneville has won 969 NHL games (second-most in NHL history behind Scotty Bowman) in his coaching career with the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks, and Florida Panthers from 1997 to 2021, winning three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks in 2010, 2023, and 2015.

It’s more than reasonable to assume that if the Ducks achieve their lofty goal of reaching the NHL playoffs in 2025-26, Joel Quenneville will receive Jack Adams votes, and if they comfortably achieve that goal, he’ll run away with the award.

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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 is signed on to be the 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 two seasons. 

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

Pineault only played in 3 games for the Jackets and had zero 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 various 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 hasn't scored more than 38 points in a single season.

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 two seasons, he has played in 121 games and has 55 points. 

This summer, he was signed to a one-year, two-way contract by GM Don Waddell. 

There are 41 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Who was your favorite #41? 

Let us know what you think below.

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