When NHL play resumes on Wednesday, the Seattle Kraken will be back in the thick of a playoff push.
This is only the second time in the franchise’s history that the Kraken are in the playoff race. Their first time witnessing them make the playoffs and win a round in 2023, their second season of existence.
While there are players on the team without any playoff experience and who weren’t with the team during their first and only run, everyone in the Kraken locker room is excited about the opportunity and are ready to embrace the challenges of a playoff push.
“It’s been great. We look good out there,” said Matty Beniers. “We’ve been getting to work, getting back into it, and we’re getting ready to make a playoff push.”
Beniers has taken another important step in his development this year. He’s maintained his defensive fortitude while regaining his offensive potency. Additionally, he’s taking steps as a leader, both by example and vocally. He’s blossomed into the team’s No.1 center.
If the Kraken have hopes of maintaining their spot in the playoff race and making noise in the playoffs, they’ll need Beniers to continue to level up his game.
In addition to individual performances, the Kraken need a full team effort. The Kraken play a structured game under coach Lane Lambert that demands close attention to detail. With just 26 games remaining, the Kraken could ill afford to go on extended losing streaks like they have had at points during the 2025-26 campaign. They need consistent performances and limited lulls.
Lane Lambert (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)
That starts with a strong return on Wednesday when they take on the Dallas Stars.
“I think the guys have been dialed in, for me,” said Lambert. “They come to work. I think they’ve done a real good job of coming and, when we’re on the ice, being really dialed in. There’s a lot of energy out there.”
The Stars will be without Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz on Wednesday, two of their most important forwards. While the Stars still have Wyatt Johnston, Jason Robertson, and Miro Heiskanen, among other skilled players, this matchup provides the Kraken with an excellent opportunity to start on the right foot.
“I mean, it’s exciting,” veteran winger Jaden Schwartz said. “It’s fun to come to the rink. It’s good to be in this position. We’ve worked hard. We’ve had our ups and downs throughout the year, and now we’re in a good spot like lots of other teams.”
“It’s fun to play in high-pressure situations,” added Vince Dunn. “Every game, if you’re winning, you climb into the playoffs, and if you lose, you kind of slip out. So, just knowing how close it is, it’s a fun time of the year, and there’s no better feeling than being in a playoff fight.”
The Kraken currently sit in third place in the Pacific Division, trailing the Edmonton Oilers by one point for second place and five points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the division lead. They are also tied on points with the Anaheim Ducks and three points up on the Los Angeles Kings.
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Read Part One of The Rise And Fall Of One Of The Greatest Teams In Senators Historyhere, a look back at the 2005-06 Ottawa Senators.
“In the East, we believed we were the best.”
It was hard to disagree with Dominik Hasek's insight. When the Olympic break hit in February of 2006, the Ottawa Senators’ confidence was at an all-time high.
The organization held a two-point lead on the Buffalo Sabres, sitting atop the Northeast Division standings with a 37-14-5 record (.705). Their plus-86 goal differential was not only the best in the league; they also held a 20-goal advantage over the next-best mark.
The Senators were not only a legitimate Stanley Cup threat. They believed they were one.
Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss which type of player will be more inspired coming home for the NHL home stretch, American players that won gold or players that settled for sliver?
Dean Brown and Gord Wilson have been calling Senators games on the radio since day one, when CFRA first owned the rights. The broadcasting stations have changed and gone through rebrands, but the duo have been there for every step of the journey.
“Looking back, I remember at that time thinking, I'm not sure the organization had ever had a more complete roster, in the sense that every role you need to win was filled,” detailed Brown, the play-by-play voice. “They had a legitimate tough guy in (Brian) McGrattan, and they had three legitimate big, physical shutdown defenseman in (Zdeno) Chara, (Chris) Phillips and (Anton) Volchenkov. They obviously had scorers in (Jason) Spezza and (Dany) Heatley. But you also had those penalty killing guys, the Chris Kellys.
"I just remember thinking at that time that this organization had never had a more complete roster, where you looked at every role you would need on a team that can win, and every role was filled by somebody who wasn't just holding a place, but was outstanding at it.”
The difference was the addition of Hasek.
“He had a swagger. An aura," Wilson recalled. "He was ‘The Dominator’. He had won so much. This was the goaltender who was going to win you the Stanley Cup. That was the general feeling. And if he doesn't invoke swagger and confidence, I don't know what would. This guy just came in with a pedigree, with a Cup under his belt. The team was so successful under Jacques, going to the playoffs eight years in a row and just unable to get through the rounds for whatever reason.
"When John Muckler came in as the GM, he said, ‘You know what we're going to talk about? We're going to talk about winning the Stanley Cup. We're not going to talk about getting into the playoffs. We're a playoff team. We're going to talk about winning the Cup, because we have a capable team here.’ And Dominik Hasek might be the missing part, or the part that we've been missing all these years. That's how confident they were. It was the first time we really started talking about a Cup win rather than just getting to the playoffs.”
Hasek was a difference maker, and the numbers backed it up.
In 43 appearances, the 41-year-old compiled a 28-10-4 record, a 2.09 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and five shutouts. At the time of his last game, only Mikka Kiprusoff and Marty Turco had more wins (29), with Kiprusoff having one more shutout. Of the goaltenders who appeared in 20-plus games, only Henrik Lundqvist had a higher save percentage (.927), and of those goaltenders who faced more than 1,200 shots, Hasek was the only one to have allowed fewer than 100 goals.
“We were a great team. Both up front and back. I was performing very well, and the numbers matched that,” said Hasek, while reflecting on his metrics. “I was very happy with how the season was going. Unfortunately, my injury happened at the Olympics, and it changed everything.”
Hasek suffered an adductor injury in the first period of the first game against Germany.
“It happened on a completely routine save,” recalled the goaltender. “I felt pain, and quite a lot of it. I knew right away that the Olympics were over for me. However, it never occurred to me that at that moment, the (NHL) season was also over for me.”
Groin-related injuries were nothing new for the goaltender. After missing significant time during the 2003-04 season in Detroit, Hasek had groin surgery in April 2004 before signing with the Senators as an unrestricted free agent.
“I felt a little pressure in those places about a week before leaving for the Olympics, but I never thought it could be serious.”
The Senators immediately flew Hasek back, so he could begin treatment and rehab.
With only 26 games left in the regular season, the organization had no choice but to hand the net over to their 23-year-old rookie, Ray Emery.
On the surface, the idea of handing the reins over to an inexperienced goaltender is not ideal, but Emery’s numbers through his first 15 appearances that season were underwhelming.
Although he had a 9-4-1 record and one shutout, Emery had a pedestrian .888 save percentage and 3.13 goals against average. Despite those metrics, the organization had complete confidence in him.
“Honestly, Ray Emery was the most gifted athlete I've ever played with,” Chris Neil proclaimed. “He was good at everything, like tennis or any racket sport, running, you name it. In the gym, he was a beast. You knew he had something special. You talk about a guy with swagger like (Hasek), well, having Dom with him that year gave him an extra bit of swagger.”
The Senators’ goaltending coach, Ron Low, praised the dynamic between his pupils.
“Their relationship was pretty damn good,” Low stated. “Actually, Dom often helped him, but Razor was pretty much a sponge. He wanted to get better, and he actually had a really good mindset for a goaltender. If something went in, it was gone and forgotten about. Dom really helped them with that. Like Hasek said, “It isn’t going to be the first one, and it’s not going to be the last, but the next one's the most important.”
Although his numbers to start the year left something to be desired, Emery’s confidence was omnipresent. He had put together three strong campaigns in Binghamton and was part of a loaded group of young talent that the Senators integrated onto the parent roster following the lockout.
“We were a cocky group in general, and he was right there with that and brought that swagger,” Jason Spezza said, reflecting on his good friend’s most defining quality. “That's what made Razor who he was, too, just a belief he had in himself. He made you believe that he was going to be fine. That's a trait many great players have. There's no panic. To him, it was no big deal. He was thrown right into the fire, and he was fine with it.”
Senators fans probably forget that Emery started the first 13 games coming out of the Olympic break, compiling an 11-1- 1 record while winning seven of his first eight starts.
It was the performance the Senators needed because not only did it reward their faith in the young goaltender, it vaulted them to the top of the NHL standings, where they were tied with the Detroit Red Wings with 102 points on March 24th.
Emery’s emergence as a viable goaltender should have helped shelve some of the concerns about when Hasek would return, but everyone recognized that the Senators were a much more significant threat with Hasek between the pipes.
“Ray went in and did a fantastic job, a young goaltender having to step up,” said veteran second line centre Bryan Smolinski. “Watching Dom practice, watching how he goes about his business, the hardest-working guy on our team was Dominik Hasek. Razor probably saw that, and he worked just as hard. He wanted to help the team in any way he could. When you get closer to the end of the year, you're thinking, ‘Oh, shit, maybe this isn't ideal.’ You have it in the back of your mind, but we were not trying to change our identity based on that. If you go into the playoffs, and Razor does have to fill that role, so be it. But, he just wasn't Dominik Hasek.”
Had Emery struggled during this stretch, it certainly would have heightened concern regarding Hasek’s timeline for a return.
Unfortunately, the sad reality was that Hasek was not a 25-year-old athlete in the prime of his career. He was 41 years old with a surgically repaired groin.
“From the start, the improvement was incredibly slow, and the playoffs were approaching very quickly,” Hasek remembered, emphasizing his own growing unease that his injury could impact his ability to participate in the postseason.
That slow recovery led to mounting frustrations over his uncertain future. Whenever the media would ask Hasek when he expected to play, his recurring response of “Maybe Friday?” became a soundbite of Senators lore.
Sadly, Hasek was not the only Senator going through his injury troubles.
Martin Havlat was still recovering from surgery that repaired his separated shoulder. The team’s first line centre, Jason Spezza, was dealing with a herniated disc.
“I was really banged up that year, too, and probably played at like 70% (health) in the second half of the year before going for my first back surgery,” stated Spezza. “ So, the stars really didn't align for us perfectly in terms of everybody being healthy.”
Martin Havlat was making progress and working his way back.
“I would not say that there was pressure, but I wanted to be (ready for the postseason) myself,” said Havlat. “We had such a great team, and I knew we should have a chance with a team like that, especially if Hasek was in the net in the back, too. While I was rehabbing, I was working as hard as I could to be in the best shape of my life for the playoffs.”
Part of Havlat’s recovery process involved him eventually getting on the ice with Hasek.
“I took quite a long time before I was allowed to be on the ice,” the speedy winger acknowledged. “I was starting to skate a little bit and able to pass, not doing much. One day, Dom decided he was ready to skate, too, and told the trainers. He asked them to get his gear ready. But then he showed up at the rink, all mad at the trainers because he didn't want the goalie gear. He wanted players' gear. He just wanted me to pass pucks to him, so he could shoot one-timers. That was Dom, he was a special one.”
It would not be the last time Hasek wore full player gear in practice.
“I still remember to this day,” Chris Neil recalled while chuckling. “(John Muckler) comes into the dressing room one day, and he tells Dom to put the gear on and get out there. The next day at practice, I get out on the ice, and there's a new guy on the ice with full player gear. Dom put on full player gear, and he's going around shooting on the goalies. Mucks was fuming. He was beet red. He comes down and says, ‘When I say, put your gear, I mean put your goalie gear on!’ I still remember that to this day. And, Dom was like that.”
Veteran defenceman Chris Phillips was one player who voiced some frustration.
“Quite honestly, it's out of your control, so you’ve got to go play the games,” Phillips said. “It was certainly frustrating to not really know what was going on. To be honest with you, we didn't know what the injury was pinpointed to, other than it wasn't 100 percent. Then there was a bit of that circus of, ‘Alright, you’re going to go skate.’ And then he put on regular equipment and did a few laps, and practice as a regular player. As I said, it was a bit of a circus with everything going on around that.”
As Hasek tried to work his way back, the Senators were faced with another issue. They were at risk of overworking Ray Emery.
General manager John Muckler claimed Mike Morrison off waivers to provide some measure of insulation to Emery, but they obviously never trusted him as a capable alternative. Emery was called upon to start 24 of the Senators’ final 26 games, and his performance suffered in the month of April.
In eight April starts, Emery allowed four or more goals in five of them. Not surprisingly, the Senators lost six games and sputtered into the postseason.
These struggles down the stretch only fuelled the interest and frustration in Hasek’s situation.
“I was over there (in Turin), and I remember running into Dom, and he did not believe that it was going to be a long-term thing,” said Spezza. “He was upset that he got hurt, because it was the Olympics. I was pretty close with Dom. It just didn't seem like it was going to be a massive deal at the time. And I think that was what led to some of the frustration around him coming back: he could never get it back healthy. So at the time, it wasn't a panic moment, because there was still a lot of runway left.”
Until the doomsday scenario happened, the Ottawa Senators had run out of runway.
“We all assumed he'd be back, and then he never came back,” Heatley stated while describing the group’s mindset. “You're waiting, and you're waiting. And then, at some point, you begin to believe that he's not coming back. Razor’s our guy now, and you move on. I mean, every team loses big players, and you don’t have any choice but to move on.”
The problem was that an overworked Emery had struggled down the stretch, and now the Senators were hoping he could flick the switch and resemble the goaltender he was coming out of the Olympic break.
It was not all doom and gloom entering the postseason, however. Dany Heatley recorded the first 50-goal season in franchise history, while he and Daniel Alfredsson also broke the 100-point mark for the first time in franchise history.
The Tampa Bay Lightning represented the first obstacle in Ottawa’s path, but they had no answer for a returning Martin Havlat.
Having worked as hard as he could to put himself in a position to return in time for the postseason, the Czech winger exploded for six goals and 10 points in the five quarterfinal games. Coupled with 10-point efforts from Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, the Lightning had no answer for Ottawa’s firepower, getting outscored 23 to 13 in the series. Most importantly, Ray Emery held his own, stopping 92.4 percent of the Lightning shots.
Dec 12, 2006; Toronto, ON, Canada; Tampa Bay Lightning head coach John Tortorella looks on from the bench Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images Copyright Tom Szczerbowski
Unfortunately, the Senators’ semifinal series against the Buffalo Sabres would not follow the same script.
“Game one was just an all-out shootout,” described Bryan Smolinski. “We had a few of those throughout the year. So it wasn't like we were afraid of that style. It was like, ‘All right, we have the firepower.’ It wasn't like we were lacking in scoring. It was just a matter of all right, we just had to stop the last shot.”
With approximately two and a half minutes to go in the third period and staked to a 5-4 lead, Brian Campbell took a tripping penalty. The circumstances should have led to the Senators trying to control the puck and run the clock down, but an Andrej Meszaros pinch on the right wall sprung the Sabres on a two-on-one that Derek Roy buried.
Twenty-four seconds later, the unthinkable happened.
“We were still on power play, and Alfie made this spinning play with his back to me. He doesn't even know I'm there, and I had an empty net. I was surprised, and during my celebration, I just thought, ‘Oh my god, I can't believe this. We have to lock this down.’”
People in Buffalo have told Smolinski that they still hate him for that goal, but fortunately for them, the Senators were unable to hold the lead. Tim Connolly scored an ugly goal with 10.9 seconds left in the game, and then, 18 seconds into overtime, Chris Drury scored off an egregious Anton Volchenkov turnover to win it.
The Sabres never looked back.
Despite outshooting the Sabres 105 to 64, the Senators quickly found themselves staring up at a three games to none deficit. That April version of Emery had reared its ugly head. And, it wasn’t like Emery was giving up a ton of soft goals. He simply was not making enough big saves to give his team a chance to win.
While all this was going on, Dominik Hasek continued to practice with the team, where his workouts were documented by the local media.
“The media would watch him at practice, and because he was back on the ice for practice, he would do everything that we saw him do in the months prior to the Olympics, and I mean, everything,” Gord Wilson clarified. “All his stretching, he could contort his body like nobody I've ever seen before. Hasek was the human Gumby, and to see him go through all the motions and work, and then at the end of practice say, ‘I'm not ready, I'm not good for a game.’ It was just flooring.”
“I remember so many times you would watch him in practice after coming back from Turin, and in particular during that Buffalo series, you would watch him and swear on your life, this guy's ready to play,” said Ian Mendes. “Unequivocally, you would watch him in practice, and you'd say, ‘That guy's ready to play.’ Every day you'd wake up and think, 'This is the day Dominik Hasek comes back.'”
For a good three to five seconds, it sounded like Hasek was back.
“It was either before game three or four,” said Ian Mendes, now the vice president of communications for the Ottawa Senators. “I'm gonna say game three, because Ottawa had home ice advantage in that series, and so we're at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo. Hasek goes through the morning skate, and when I say he looked good, I mean, he looked great, flexible, doing everything you would think without many restrictions on him.
"So we get into the press conference room in Buffalo, and Bryan Murray is at the little podium, and the first question is asked, ‘Who's your starting goaltender tonight?’
"And he says without hesitation, ‘Dominik Hasek.’"
"There's a ‘One — Mississippi; Two — Mississippi; Three — Mississippi.’ The Ottawa media collectively said, ‘Oh my God.’ And I'll say this, this is in an innocent era. There was no Twitter. Facebook was in its infancy. There was no immediate vehicle to deliver news to the masses. If that happened today, 10 or 15 reporters would have been duped into tweeting Dominik Hasek is starting.
"And then a few seconds later, Murray says, ‘Just kidding. It's Ray Emery.’
But when he said Dominik Hasek, every person in that room believed it, because of what they had just seen with their eyes. It looked like he was ready to go, and they had to go back to Ray.”
Murray may have had some fun at the media’s expense, but after the Senators fell into a three-nothing hole, the players took it upon themselves to convince Hasek to play.
During a team lunch at the Adam's Mark Hotel in downtown Buffalo, several of the team’s leaders approached Hasek in hopes of persuading the veteran goaltender to play.
“When we were down three-zero, Alfie, Redden, and I tried to talk to Dom and push him a little bit to go to the net,” Havlat reflected. “I can’t remember whose idea it was, but the thought was that with Dom in the net being down three-zero, there’s nothing to lose, right? At least you can say you tried, and everybody looks at the team differently with Dom back in the net. Unfortunately, he told us he's not ready, and when your body isn't, you're not going to play. Only he knows if he would have been able to play, but we respected his decision.”
The Hockey News put in a formal request to Daniel Alfredsson to discuss the subject matter of this article. As the captain, the hope was to discuss this interaction with Hasek and get some insights from Alfredsson on the conversation with Hasek and whether the relationship between the goaltender and the organization was salvageable for the following season.
Alfredsson declined to speak on the subject. (Note: he was one of only two players who declined. Zdeno Chara was the other, citing the busy nature of his schedule with his HHOF induction, jersey retirement, etc.)
“We talked about it, and I knew they wanted me to try it,” Hasek confirmed. “But, I just knew I couldn’t help them at that moment.”
As much as he may have wished it, Hasek felt he never got close enough physically to have a chance of playing.
“The muscle was slowly improving, but I wasn’t close enough to start training fully. In fact, even if we advanced past the semifinals, I wouldn’t have been able to help the team. And to try for a possible final without practically any training? That would be stupid and, above all, irresponsible towards the team. The injury was simply much worse than everyone, including me, originally believed.”
With their backs against the wall, the Senators pulled out an impressive 2-1 win in game four, before ultimately dropping game five in overtime. The loss bookended what had been a relatively impressive season for the Senators. And, it was a tight series. All five games were decided by one goal, and every second game was decided in overtime.
Unfortunately, goaltending was a topic of discussion for the Senators. It would eventually get eclipsed by Brian Elliott during the Senators’ Conference Quarterfinal series versus the Penguins in 2010, but at the time, Ray Emery’s .864 save percentage during this Buffalo series was the lowest-recorded save percentage by a Senators goaltender in a single playoff series.
If there were any frustrations from Hasek’s decision not to play, they weren’t being relayed 20 years later.
“Everyone knows players play with injuries, whether it's, you know, broken wrist, broken hand, or a sore back,” Bryan Smolinski explained. “We all do that, and for Dom not to do that, I'm sure he was definitely hurt.”
“We would have loved to have Dom back,” Chris Kelly affirmed. “Only Dom would truly know the extent of the injury. He obviously did not feel comfortable playing. So ultimately, we have to respect the player's choice and how he feels about his body. On the outside, we don't know exactly what's going on, but I would have loved to have him in there.”
“Obviously, it was frustrating because we knew how good we were with Dom in the net,” Spezza echoed. “We knew that he was injured, and we wanted him back because when he played, we didn't feel like we were going to lose very many nights. So it was definitely frustrating.”
The one thing I do love about goaltenders and goaltending,” said Senators goaltending coach Ron Low. “If you feel something's not right, then it probably isn't. We could look at all the stuff, practices and everything that went on. You never realize from a goaltender standpoint that what's going on in practice does not replicate the pressure-filled situations in a game. Now, would we have liked him to go out and try it in a game? Yeah, we definitely would have. Yeah, but the guy knows his body, and that's the end of it.”
Again, it was Chris Phillips who voiced some frustration.
“Not knowing (the extent of the injury), and you're not in that body, and you have no idea what somebody else is going through,” the shutdown defenceman stated. “For myself, to get into moments like that, if I didn't play when I wasn't 100%, I would have never played a game. You get to that time of year, it's like, ‘Okay, what can I take here? I'm gonna suck it up and get out there and do the best I can.’ Right? Because the guys are all playing for a Cup. So, if there's any frustration, it would be, ‘Alright, Dom, if you're 95 percent, a 95 percent Dominik Hasek is still pretty f***ing good.’”
It is important to note that Hasek stood to gain financially if the Senators advanced. His one-year contract carried a base salary of $2 million, but if the organization won the Cup, he would trigger bonuses totalling upwards of $4 million.
The only opinion that mattered, however, belonged to the head coach, Bryan Murray.
In 100 Things Senators Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, Bryan Murray told Chris Stevenson, “When (Hasek) got hurt in the Olympics, we couldn’t understand why he didn’t come back and play, because he seemed to be able to do everything, stretch, until it came to game time. I watched him in the weight room, in the dressing room, do everything that a goaltender had to do and more and not play. That was really, really frustrating.”
It was a sentiment that helped shape the Senators’ offseason.
When he was asked at the end of the year about Hasek, Murray notably quipped, “We’ve had enough of Dominik.”
Hasek’s contract contained a team clause that the Senators could have exercised, which would have tacked on an additional year at a cost of $3 million. The organization declined that option, making Hasek an unrestricted free agent.
The Senators would need another goaltender, but that decision would have to wait. In the interim, all of the organization’s time and energy would be devoted to contract negotiations with its two pivotal defencemen, Wade Redden and Zdeno Chara, before they were slated to hit unrestricted free agency on July 1st.
In a perfect world, the Senators would have found a way to keep both of their preeminent defenders.
“We wanted Zdeno Chara in the biggest way,” affirmed then team president and CEO Roy Mlakar. “We knew that he still hadn’t reached his peak, and we had done so much in his (development). Jacques (Martin) had brought him along so much, and Perry Pearn and his skating, and how far he had improved in his overall game.
"When he came to Ottawa, he was a physical specimen, but most people thought he was going to be a defensive defenseman who was impossible to get around when you came down the ice. The fact is, he owned a huge shot. He was a great passer. He improved his skating immensely every year. So he became a more well-rounded player. So it was a matter of asking his camp, ‘What did you want?’”
Well, what did Zdeno Chara want?
Over the years, many theories and rumours have swirled about the factors that ultimately led to Chara’s decision to leave.
One of the more popular ones was that the organization’s ruthless handling of the Marian Hossa trade a year earlier had irked Hossa’s close friend, Chara.
“No, it’s business,” said Matt Keator, Chara’s long-time representation. “It's always been business.”
Another rumour that gained traction over the years was that the organization was dead set on signing both players to matching contracts.
But there were never discussions with the players about taking matching deals.
“It was never a matter of matching or giving Chara the same or Redden the same amount of money as Chara,” Mlakar clarified. “Redden would even consider relenting on his number if we could keep both players, because the team had so much potential.”
Leadership was another point of emphasis that often gets brought up.
“That was a sales point for Boston,” Keator admitted. “There was a bigger opportunity in that department, because basically, he was going to be the captain, and he was going to have to, you know, he was the captain, and he's able to really put his stamp on the entire culture.”
Keator, who is based in Boston, admitted that Chara’s preexisting relationship with Peter Chiarelli, Ottawa’s assistant general manager who was hired to become Boston’s general manager, helped provide a degree of comfort.
“We knew Peter was going there, but Peter wasn't allowed to start being the general manager until mid-July,” Keator reiterated. "We didn't talk to him. There was no communication with him, because we weren't allowed to, but we actually dealt with Jeff Gorton (when talking with Boston).”
So, what fuelled Chara’s decision to go to Boston?
Money.
“Based on what we were doing, based on what we felt like he could get in the open market. We weren't (close). We weren't able to find common ground. And to be honest with you, when we went to July 1, we went way beyond what we thought. There was so much interest. We had done a lot of pre-work, he and I, just talking through different options and what could be available. So we had three or four teams we thought would come calling, and it wasn't. It was a pretty easy, quick decision.”
Five teams would make major contractual offers to Chara on July 1, and the Ottawa Senators were not one of them.
“In the end, Ottawa wasn't really involved in the final teams because we were far apart on the money.”
It was only on June 30th that Chara realized that he would not be returning to the Senators. Unfortunately, it was a bitter pill for the organization because they felt Chara should have given them a number.
“I can remember because John (Muckler) wasn't an author of foul language in his negotiations or business calls,” stated Mlakar. “I remember him saying, ‘So you're not going to give me a goddamn number, is that what this is? So you're going to make a decision on where Zdeno is going to go, and I'm not even going to get the number? And Chiarelli was in the room. (Muckler) waved me in so I could hear this on the speakerphone.”
It is understandable why the Senators would want Chara to float the first number. It would allow his camp to set the bargaining range and give the organization something to work off of. Similarly, by making formal offers before July 1st, while they still held Chara’s rights, they would have been negotiating against themselves and would have set the bar for other suitors once free agency opened.
The biggest problem was that the Senators were dealing with the complexities and complications of a new cap system. The hard cap gave the organization pause about how to efficiently maximize its money, and when it became clear that Chara wanted to be paid market value, the Senators pivoted and reallocated their money accordingly.
“If there was no salary cap in place, he probably would have signed in Ottawa,” Keator conceded. “He would have stayed there. The salary cap changed everything, and that's why there was a lot of player movement over the years.”
The first order of business was to sign Wade Redden to a two-year, $13 million contract on June 29th.
On July 1st, Hasek and Chara became unrestricted free agents. The defenceman quickly signed a five-year, $37.5 million contract with Boston, carrying an average annual value of $7.5 million.
To replace these players, the Senators inked goaltender Martin Gerber to a three-year, $11.1 million contract and defenceman Joe Corvo to a four-year, $10.25 million deal.
When reflecting on that day’s transactions, Muckler held court with the local media.
''Chara will be a good hockey player for them,'' said Muckler. ''7.5 (million dollars per season) was certainly more than we could carry."
The Senators may not have been comfortable with the idea of spending that much cap space on one player, but they were more than comfortable spending almost 85 percent of Chara’s salary on two lesser players.
Gerber would go on to make 100 appearances across three seasons with the Senators. Corvo would play a season and a half’s worth of games before being traded at the 2008 deadline with Patrick Eaves for Mike Commodore and Cory Stillman.
''We thought (Gerber) was the best goalie available,'' said Muckler. ''I think he's gonna do a very good job for us. I know he played very well against us. He was the go-to guy all season long. We're happy to have him.''
Dominik Hasek was not happy that he did not return to Ottawa.
“The Senators simply didn’t exercise my contract option. I was very sad and disappointed at the time. Especially with the way they (addressed the goaltending position). It was incomprehensible to me.”
Hasek would eventually sign a one-year, $750,000 deal with the Detroit Red Wings.
The infancy and the trepidations of working in this new cap system can be blamed for Chara’s departure, but ultimately, it comes down to an inefficient allocation of limited resources.
The Chara decision still remains a bitter topic for Mlakar because the two had a distinctive relationship early on.
“First of all, Chara and I used to work out together at night. We had a very unique relationship. We used to like the same salad at Baton Rouge, and he became friends with the owners there, and I brought them in as a major sponsor of the team.
“I remember having lunch with him once again. I remember this so well. Again, it was at Baton Rouge, and I'm saying, ‘Z, you really want to leave here? You can be the mayor of Ottawa. I mean, look at your fiancé and the life you have here. You have a key to the gym in the building, and you can walk in anytime you want to work. This town loves you.’
“I was personally bitter because this relationship was different. So, I was a little bit personally bitter taking off my president hat. I told Z afterwards, ‘You didn't even give us a number at the end of the day. Z, this was your decision.’”
Suffice it to say, Chara’s decision worked out pretty well for him as he led the Bruins to three finals and one Cup victory. From his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame this past fall to his recent number retirement earlier this year, Chara’s impact and ability to shape hockey culture in Boston were impressive.
Unfortunately, the events of 2006 will always leave some wondering what might have been if the Senators had just handed Chara a blank cheque. Instead, it was another event like the 2005 NHL Draft, when the Sens were gift-wrapped a top-10 selection out of the lockout and used it on a skinny Minnesota high school defenceman instead of drafting the consensus-ranked prospect.
Maybe the organization’s fate would have been different if it had Anze Kopitar in its pipeline instead of Brian Lee, but these types of ‘What if?’ moments are a chain of events that leave Senators fans wondering how different things might have been had the organization done things differently.
April 3, 2008; Toronto, ON, Canada; Ottawa Senators defenseman (55) Brian Lee prior to the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Eight days later, on July 9th, the Senators continued their retool by trading two-thirds of their second line, sending Bryan Smolinski, Martin Havlat as part of a three-way deal with San Jose and Chicago that returned a package of defenceman Tom Preissing, and prospects Michal Barinka, and Josh Hennessy. The Senators also received a 2008 second-round pick that eventually became Patrick Wiercioch.
The trade did not catch Havlat by surprise.
“I was a restricted agent that time, and I was getting some information that that (Muckler) might be wanting me to move me,” Havlat said. “I don't know why they didn’t want to sign me for a longer term, but I wanted to stay. I loved Ottawa, and I knew what kind of team it was. We had a great team.
He was another cap casualty, and it represented another instance of the Senators moving out a lot of talent without getting anything of consequence in return.
The Senators would go on to reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2007 for the first time in this franchise’s existence, but many would argue that more talented Senators teams fell short. Moreover, critical decisions during the 2006 offseason removed the keystone, eventually leading to the organization’s era of Cup contention to draw to a close.
For Senators fans, that era was a series of missed opportunities. From Ricard Persson’s boarding penalty to Jeff Friesen’s game seven goal in 2003 to Joe Nieuwendyk’s goals in 2004 to Hasek’s injury in Turin in 2006, there were many instances when it felt like the Senators were on the verge of something special, only to have it be snuffed out.
For the players and members of the organization, it was no different.
“I was so close with that group of guys that played in Binghamton, and then we came together through development camps,” Jason Spezza explained. “We all got drafted around the same time, and we really felt like we had a chance to flip the script on what the Ottawa Senators were. We took it personally, and we just really wanted to win.
"I will have lifelong disappointment over not winning, because I feel like those teams were good enough to win. It's really disappointing looking back at how close our group was and not being able to win, because it would be nice to relive all the memories together and celebrate it with a championship, but we never got there.”
“For me, it's that's one regret you have in your career that you didn't win the Stanley Cup,” Wade Redden echoed. “As a kid, you dream of that. For me, it's something you put on your bucket list, and having the opportunity to play for it and get that close is hard. We had such a good group back here. We thought we'd get back there next year and the year after and the year after, that was our mindset. But reality is, it's frustrating with the group of players we've had that we haven't brought it to Ottawa.”
Jan. 1, 2008; Washington, DC, USA; Ottawa Senators defenseman Wade Redden (6) passes the puck during the Senators 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center in Washington, DC. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
“Not winning the Cup sucks, but I’m so proud of the group that we had,” Chris Neil stated while reminiscing about his old teammates. “I look at all the guys, and we get to come back and share each other's company like we were there yesterday. That (camaraderie) is what means a lot at this point in time.”
“We all live with those missed opportunities,” explained Dany Heatley. “There's no question. I live with that. I mean, I live with probably three or four of those seasons, maybe even five. It's especially so when you're done, and you get to this age. It's a missed opportunity, and it is what it is. But, that's the game.”
“I loved our locker room,” professed Bryan Smolinski. “You know everyone. It's not always the wins and losses and the heartbreak. I thought that locker room, the way our personalities, where we had a lot of Europeans, some Russian guys, French guys, Americans and Canadians, you know, good heart and soul. We just joked around. We were businesslike, and we had fun. All the guys were young. When we stepped on the ice, it was all business. When you walk through those doors, and you're jumping on the ice, it's all business. I loved that. You don't always get that with many teams. A lot of teams are like, ‘Oh, they have fun off the ice, but they don't work hard on the ice.’ But this team had it all. We had the players, the speed, the creativity, and the coaching. We just fell short.”
Chris Phillips still talks to colleagues from that era about the missed opportunities. It's like an itch that won’t go away.
“That's what is so wild,” said the veteran defenceman, describing those missed opportunities. “The 2002-03 team was arguably the best we ever had. We get to game seven against Jersey that year, and they face Anaheim in the next round. It’s not the same Anaheim team that we faced in 2007. Jersey walked all over them. So to be one goal away that year hurt.
"The next year, we're up three games to two against Toronto, (Ricard Persson) gets the five-minute boarding penalty when we’re up two goals and have the game in hand. Then it goes downhill. We were that close.
"In 2005-06, Dom gets hurt. If he doesn't get hurt and we have a healthy Hasek that year and in the playoffs, maybe even for the year after, when we go to the Cup Final. A couple of breaks, and we could have been mentioned like the 1980s Oilers or Islanders as a dynasty. Instead, we have nothing to show for it. It hurts.”
It hurts because, as Dominik Hasek admitted, “If we were all healthy, like before Christmas, I would say yes, (we would have won the Cup).”
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Brett Kulak is on the move for the second time this season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins sent the veteran defenseman to Colorado on Tuesday in exchange for defenseman Samuel Girard and a second-round pick in the 2028 draft.
Kulak played 25 games in Pittsburgh after being acquired in a December trade that shipped two-time All-Star goaltender Tristan Jarry to Edmonton. Kulak has one goal and eight assists in 56 combined games this season for the Penguins and Oilers. Kulak's arrival gives the Avalanche an experienced stay-at-home defenseman as Colorado tries to hold on to the top spot in the Western Conference.
The 27-year-old Girard is a 10-year NHL veteran who has spent the last eight-plus seasons with the Avalanche. Girard, who is signed through the 2026-27 season, had three goals and nine assists in 40 games this season with Colorado.
The additional draft capital the Penguins picked up in the deal gives them 34 picks overall over the next four drafts, including 20 selections in the first three rounds.
Former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Brett Kulak has been traded for the second time this season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that they have traded Kulak to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenseman Samuel Girard and a 2028 second-round pick.
Kulak will now be joining an Avalanche club that has Stanley Cup expectations. The 32-year-old defenseman undoubtedly has the potential to be a strong fit on their roster, as he has a ton of playoff experience and can play both sides. With this, he is a player who should come in handy for the Avalanche.
Kulak was acquired by the Penguins back in December as part of the trade that sent Tristan Jarry to the Edmonton Oilers. Now, after spending two months with the Penguins organization, Kulak is heading to Colorado.
Kulak has played in 56 games this season split between the Oilers and Penguins, where he has recorded one goal, nine points, and 77 blocks. Now, the former Canadiens defenseman will be looking to make an impact with the Avalanche after being acquired.
Kulak spent four seasons with the Canadiens from 2018-19 to 2021-22. In 215 games with the Habs over that span, he had 11 goals, 34 assists, 45 points, and a plus-4 rating.
DENVER, COLORADO - NOVEMBER 26: Samuel Girard #49 of the Colorado Avalanche takes a shot against the San Jose Sharks at Ball Arena on November 26, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Kyle Dubas is making moves again, and this is a pretty significant one for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins traded defenseman Brett Kulak to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday afternoon in exchange for defenseman Samuel Girard and a 2028-second-round draft pick.
There are a lot of layers to this move, but at first glance it is a fascinating move for the Penguins and one that seems to improve quite a few areas.
For one, this is pretty clearly a salary dump for the Avalanche. Kulak is a pending unrestricted free agent after this season, while the Avalanche are the ones giving up the draft pick. That is the price they were willing to pay to get the Penguins to take on the remainder of Girard’s contract. Girard is signed through the end of the 2026-27 season with a $5 million salary cap. Given the salary cap space the Penguins have at their disposal for next season, it is not a big deal for them to take on that contract.
Dubas has been weaponizing the Penguins’ salary cap space for the better part of the past year-and-a-half now and used it to bring a stockpile of draft picks into the organization. This is another example of that.
It is also a potential upgrade to the defense for both this season and next season.
While the Avalanche clearly wanted to use that salary cap space for something else — perhaps another big move to add forward depth, what they do next will be fascinating — Girard is still a useful, puck-moving defenseman with strong underlying numbers. He is also a left-shot defenseman under contract for next season, something that has been a pretty big need for the Penguins. He is also still only 27 years old and fits into their current roster and timeline.
Kulak was a solid addition for the Penguins during his brief time here, but this is a no-brainer move. Especially when it comes with another future second-round pick to add into the collection.
With the addition of the 2028 second-round pick, they now have multiple second-round picks in each of the next four drafts, while also having multiple third-round picks in each of the next three drafts. That means over the next four draft classes the Penguins will have 20 draft picks in the first three rounds. That is a net-gain of eight draft picks. That is significant. Not only because it adds more prospects into the system for the ongoing rebuild, but also because those are picks that can also be traded. That is how you find an Egor Chinakhov or a potential addition to help in a playoff push without depleting your long-term prospects.
The other layer to this is it adds another branch to the still growing Tristan Jarry trade tree.
The Penguins initially acquired Kulak, along with goalie Stuart Skinner and a 2029 second-round draft pick, from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Jarry earlier this season.
With this trade now complete, it means the Penguins have turned Jarry and his contract into Stuart Skinner, Samuel Girard and two second-round draft picks.
That seems almost impossible to wrap your head around when you consider Jarry was on waivers a year ago, then playing in the American Hockey League, and looking to have a completely unmovable contract. They made it work, while also coming out ahead both now and in the future.
The thing about that is, even if Girard does not work out here he is STILL signed for fewer years than Jarry is. His contract comes off the books one year before Jarry’s does. So either way the Penguins are saving salary cap space in the long-run while also getting two pretty strong assets back in return and very likely making their team better in the short-term.
The question now becomes whether or not Skinner gets added to that Jarry trade tree to open the door for a potential Sergei Murashov call-up at some point. It would be risky, but nothing seems to be off the table right now.
It is really difficult to walk the line between rebuilding and contending at the same time, but the Penguins are doing a pretty good job of making it happen right now. They are a very good team. They are helping their team this season and very seriously competing for a playoff spot. It is, by pretty much every objective measure, a very good hockey team. They are also positioning themselves for the long-term with a significant influx of young talent while also having more draft picks over the next four years than any team in the NHL, including multiple picks in the second-and third-rounds. They also have significant amounts of salary cap space.
There is a lot you can do with that. All of it. They are in a good position both now and in the future. This is strong work by Kyle Dubas.
The St. Louis Blues have completed an AHL deal, sending forward Matt Luff to the New York Islanders in exchange for winger Julien Gauthier.
Luff is participating in his second season in the Blues organization, as he played 50 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds last year. In the off-season, he signed a two-way contract with the Blues and spent time in both the NHL and the AHL during the 2025-26 season.
In the NHL, he’s notched one goal in five games. In the AHL, he scored 14 goals and 39 points in 42 games. The 28-year-old has played for many teams in his NHL career, but this will be his first stint with the Islanders.
Coming over to St. Louis is a former first-round pick in the 2016 NHL draft. The Carolina Hurricanes had selected Gautier with the 21st overall pick in 2016, but he was dealt to the New York Rangers in the 2019-20 season.
Gauthier has played 181 NHL games in his career, scoring 19 goals and 41 points. The 28-year-old has also accumulated 86 goals and 130 points in 228 AHL games in his career, including five goals and seven points he’s scored in 14 AHL games this year.
Luff and Gauthier are built fairly similarly, with Luff standing 6-foot-3, 219 pounds and Gauthier standing 6-foot-4, 230 pounds. But their play styles differentiate. Gauthier attempts to be involved physically far more frequently than Luff does, and Gauthier is more of a sniper, looking to get into high-danger areas to shoot the puck.
According to the Blues, Gauthier will report to the Thunderbirds in the AHL.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that they have acquired defenseman Samuel Girard and a 2028 second-round pick from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for blueliner Brett Kulak.
Girard appeared in 40 games this season with the Avalanche, where he had three goals, nine assists, 12 points, and a plus-12 rating. This is after he had three goals and 24 points in 73 games this past season with Colorado.
Girard will be more than a rental for the Penguins, as the 27-year-old blueliner has a $5 million cap hit until the end of next season.
As for Kulak, his time with the Penguins organization has come to a quick end. The Penguins brought him in earlier this season in the deal that sent goalie Tristan Jarry to the Edmonton Oilers.
Kulak played in 25 games for the Penguins following being acquired from Edmonton, where he had one goal and seven points.
The Penguins have acquired defenseman Samuel Girard and a 2028 second-round pick from the Avalanche in exchange for Brett Kulak.
The Colorado Avalanche have acquired defenseman Brett Kulak from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Samuel Girard and a 2028 second-round pick.
We have acquired Brett Kulak from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Samuel Girard and a 2nd round pick in 2028 NHL Draft. pic.twitter.com/tZrCRBm3LB
This is a shocking move for the Avalanche, not in what they acquire but in what they gave up, especially with how Samuel Girard has been in numerous insiders' trade lists and the Avalanche’s willingness to get bigger on the defensive end.
Initially, when Elliotte Friedman first announced the Avalanche were going to acquire Kulak, it was going to be for a middle-bottom pairing move, see how he fits with maybe Girard, Malinski or so forth but seeing Girard get moved, this is no longer a “depth” move, it highlights a pretty big change to this defense core the rest of the season.
Kulak is in the final year of his contract, which carries a $2.8 million cap hit. At 31 years of age, he skates pretty well for his age and will help play a role on the already impressive penalty kill unit. He was playing with Kris Letang and doing well despite a rough start to the season with the Edmonton Oilers. Offensively, he might not be hitting the ceiling of what Girard can bring, but when he is at his best, he doesn’t make many mistakes and makes smart plays when he's under pressure.
In 56 games played between the Oilers and the Penguins, Kulak has one goal and eight assists for nine points. He averaged just over 17 minutes of ice time with the Oilers but over 20 with the Penguins.
In a news update first broken by NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Pittsburgh Penguins have traded defenseman Brett Kulak to the Colorado Avalanche. In return, Pittsburgh is getting Sam Girard and a second-round pick.
The Avs confirmed the deal minutes later on their own social media accounts and official website.
We have acquired Brett Kulak from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Samuel Girard and a 2nd round pick in 2028 NHL Draft. pic.twitter.com/tZrCRBm3LB
The pending unrestricted free agent, who carries a $2.75 million cap hit through 2025-26, was acquired earlier by Pittsburgh in the Tristan Jarry deal with Edmonton. As Oilers fans know well, Kulak, 32, brings playoff experience and steady depth, making him a strong fit for a Colorado team viewed as a Cup contender and active buyer ahead of the March 6 trade deadline.
Edmonton wasn't in love with the idea of moving Kulak in the Jarry trade, but to make the money work, GM Stan Bowman wasn't left with much choice. The Oilers have relied on Kulak as a depth guy who can step into a bigger role in meaningful games. He elevates his play during the postseason, which is something the Avs are likely counting on.
The move signals that the post-Olympic trade market is beginning to heat up.
The Philadelphia Flyers will be a team to keep an eye on leading up to the 2026 NHL trade deadline. With the Flyers not holding a playoff spot, there is a chance that we will see them shake up their roster a bit.
One Flyers player who has created chatter as a trade candidate this campaign is Emil Andrae. If the Flyers end up shopping the 24-year-old defenseman, these two teams could make sense for him as landing spots.
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks have several defensemen who are pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs), so it would not be surprising if they looked to add to their blueline ahead of the deadline. With Andrae being a young blueliner with decent upside, he could make a lot of sense as a trade target for a Sharks club that is on the rise.
Winnipeg Jets
It has been a hard year for the Winnipeg Jets. After winning the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top regular-season team just last season, they are currently among the worst teams in the NHL this campaign. With this, they should be focused on getting younger, and a player like Andrae could grab their attention because of it. He could be a strong fit on their bottom pairing and power play if acquired.
The Buffalo Sabres are traveling to snowy Newark and will resume their pursuit of a playoff spot against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, but they may have to begin that pursuit without leading scorer Tage Thompson. Thompson and his gold medal-winning Team USA teammates were diverted from New York City to Miami because of the snowstorm that is hitting the East Coast on Monday, and celebrated their victory in Florida.
The Sabres forward is traveling with Team USA to Washington DC to attend tonight’s State of the Union address at the invitation of President Donald Trump, and will be attending a White House ceremony on Wednesday. The possibility of him making it to Newark in time and being inserted into the lineup without practicing is unlikely.
“We don't have anything mapped out right now. I think it just depends on how things go,” Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said on Monday. “(Tage has) had an unbelievable experience, and it's going to be a tough two or three days for all those guys. Really busy and to be expected."
It is likely that Thompson will travel to Florida to join the Sabres prior to their important back-to-back matches with the Panthers on Friday and Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. With the availability of Thompson in question, the Sabres have called up reinforcements in the form of forward Anton Wahlberg.
This is the 20-year-old's first NHL call-up after playing 119 games over three seasons with the AHL Rochester Americans. Wahlberg has 25 points (6 goals, 19 assists) in 47 games this season, but based on Ruff's usual modus operandi with call-ups, the big Swede will only be inserted as a last resort.
Ruff indicated on Monday that some players injured prior to the Olympic break will be available, including center Josh Norris and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Norris skated at practice between Noah Ostlund and Josh Doan, and has not played since January 14th against Philadelphia. Luukkonen was injured just before the break in Toronto on January 27, which prevented him for playing for Finland in Milano Cortina, but he has participated in three practices. The Sabres are still awaiting test results on winger Zach Benson’s upper-body injury. Ruff indicated that it was unlikely that the 20-year-old would play during their three-game road trip. Benson and forward Jiri Kulich were seen skating on another rink at Harborcenter before practice on Monday. Kulich has been out since early November with a blood clot issue, and last week, Ruff indicated that the youngster is still in protocol for the issue, but that there is still hope of getting him back before the end of the regular season.
Buffalo begins the final stretch in the top Eastern Conference wildcard spot, one point ahead of Boston, five points ahead of the Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets, and seven points ahead of the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 29: Bobby McMann #74 of the Toronto Maple Leafs reacts after scoring a goal past Arturs Silovs #37 of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second period during the game at PPG PAINTS Arena on November 29, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Penguins find themselves in an interesting and surprising position coming out of the Olympic break. They’ve banked 70 points in the standings after 56 games and are firmly in the hunt for a playoff position, currently sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference in points percentage. Perhaps more importantly, the Pens are second in the Metropolitan Division. To the world, it looks like a four-team race between Pittsburgh, the Islanders, Columbus and Washington for the two guaranteed playoff spots in the Metropolitan, with perhaps a chance for the third team to earn a Wild Card playoff spot if the Atlantic Division teams in the mix like Buffalo or Boston slow down a bit.
As such, the Penguins are in a solid spot, yet not one where they’re likely to steer away from their overall plan to prioritize the future. The team has already made some moves to improve the team, bringing in Egor Chinakhov and Brett Kulak (plus Stuart Skinner) has worked out well. Amazingly, the overall net of those transactions amounts to one third round pick plus Tristan Jarry leaving the organization. That’s probably the type of moves that will be considered in the future, GM Kyle Dubas has a glut of future draft picks to work with but won’t be in a hurry to bring in older players on expiring deals that will only have a short-term impact on the team.
That desire has to also be weighed against the areas for opportunity to improve. Chinakhov’s addition has really solidified the depth and talent level of the forward group to the point where the cost of improvements might not be worth disrupting the chemistry or pushing out players who have put Pittsburgh in the current position in the first place. Same thought applies in net, where changes have been addressed by swapping Skinner for Jarry.
This leaves the blueline as a key area to monitor, where the Pens could dip their toes in the trade waters to seek an upgrade and add more quality depth to their group. The Athletic paired together some teams and likely tradeable players, while Pittsburgh wasn’t highlighted there was some utility in seeing what some proposed prices could be and where the Pens might try to insert themselves in negotiations.
NEW with @harmandayal2, we matched 5 NHL playoff hopefuls with their perfect fit this trade deadline, plus what it could take to land them:https://t.co/UeBlLUB8CM
The perfect fit: Justin Faulk, RHD, St. Louis Blues
The trade: Faulk for Detroit’s 2026 first-round pick, 2028 second-round pick, LHD prospect William Wallinder and G prospect Landon Miller
We start out with a doozy. Justin Faulk is an impending free agent and projects to have a huge price based on this. The Pittsburgh equivalent might mean including Owen Pickering and Joel Blomqvist as the prospects involved, to go along with a first and second round draft pick. If something like that ends up being the price, it’s extremely difficult to see the Pens as being terrible interested in shopping down this aisle. Faulk is a quality player, but he plays the right side and has played big minutes on the power play. That’s not a great fit for a team that already has Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang for that role.
Buffalo Sabres
The perfect fit: Connor Murphy, RHD, Chicago Blackhawks
The trade: Murphy for the Sabres’ 2027 second-round pick
A player like Murphy could be more in tune for Pittsburgh’s needs. The 32-year old has great size (6’4”, 212 pounds) and plays more of a stay-at-home defensive type of game from the right side, adding excellent defensive impacts, though it may be concerning his even strength ice time and role with Chicago has been limited this season.
The price is one where the Pens could get into as well. Pittsburgh owns two picks in the second rounds in all of the 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 drafts. They have two third round picks in 2026, 2027 and 2028, positioning them exceptionally strongly for a potential trade like this. Murphy is also an impending free agent, Pittsburgh would have to think about if burning some of their excess was worth it, or even if they wanted to keep Murphy in the fold for the future with a contract extension.
Murphy isn’t a complete necessity but adding him to the group would make a lot of sense if that was the direction they wanted to go to attempt to shore things up defensively and add a veteran to the penalty kill.
Dallas Stars
The perfect fit: Zach Whitecloud, RHD, Calgary Flames
The trade: Whitecloud for the Stars’ 2026 second-round pick and 2027 fourth-round pick
Whitecloud has been a popular name on the ol’ wishlist for potential adds for the Pens and for very good reason. There’s a lot to like, at 29-years old he’s younger than many of the names in the rumor mill. Whitecloud also carries a reasonable $2.75 million cap hit for two seasons after this year. He’s got 78 career games of playoff experience and had a role in Vegas’s 2023 Stanley Cup win. That fits nicely in the mold of what the Penguins would want to do about acquiring players who would be more than a short-term add.
And again, the draft pick excess portions from the Murphy paragraph all dovetail in nicely here as well. The Pens are in a position to easily afford dropping a couple of mid-round picks for an NHL caliber defenseman if they are so inclined to do it, and this proposed price looks very reasonable.
You never know what teams are thinking (including Calgary, who needs some NHL caliber players of their own and might not feel urgency to move Whitecloud at this juncture) but this fit, price and situation all sounds like a very good match. That doesn’t guarantee a transaction will get made, but you’d have to think a lot of the variables align in this case.
Edmonton Oilers
The perfect fit: Bobby McMann, LW/RW, Toronto Maple Leafs
The trade: McMann for the Oilers’ 2026 second-round pick and RW prospect Tommy Lafrenière
We’ve been focusing on defensemen, yet one thing to remember about Dubas is that he often tends to zig when you might expect a zag. He also has a penchant for bringing in players that he is familiar with, to which Bobby McMann certainly fits as a Dubas/Wes Clark project they took on with Toronto in 2020 and watched grow into a very nice player.
Perhaps the Pens like someone like Justin Brazeau too much to acquire another player for a similar mid-line role. Perhaps McMann (who has scored 15 and 20 goals in the last two seasons, plus 19 in 56 games this year so far) has too high of a profile to justify burning futures on for what could be a short-term reunion. It would be easier to hold tight and do nothing.
But doing nothing hasn’t been Dubas’s M.O. He’s swapped players (even ones he likes like Conor Timmins) in and out of the team with frequency. Would it be shocking to see the Pens go so far as to send out Brazeau in a deal and use that return to partially or completely offset what it would take to acquire McMann? Or just grab McMann and make an already stocked forward group that much more loaded? It couldn’t or perhaps shouldn’t be too surprising, those are the types of moves Dubas has been making non-stop in the past couple of years to shuffle pieces of the board around in rapid succession while looking for incremental improvements.
The best bet for a realistic scenario might be to hold on or spend the time looking in other areas, but the one thing that Dubas has shown so far is a willingness to make unexpected moves out of the blue. His approach to the 2026 deadline will be instrumental in positioning the team down the stretch as they look to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
The Montreal Canadiens are expected to be buyers leading up to the 2026 NHL trade deadline. Due to this, we here at The Hockey News Canadiens have been looking at a few players on selling clubs that could make sense for the Habs to target.
In this latest edition of the series, let's take a look at the Vancouver Canucks.
Conor Garland, RW
The Canadiens could use another skilled forward in their top nine, and Conor Garland would provide them with just that if acquired. The 29-year-old is also exactly the kind of heart-and-soul forward that a team on the rise like the Canadiens would benefit from having. He is also known for his two-way play, so he could work on Montreal's power play and penalty kill if acquired.
Garland would be more than a rental for the Canadiens if brought in. The Massachusetts native's six-year, $36 million contract extension kicks in next season, so he would be a long-term part of the Habs' plans if acquired.
Garland has appeared in 46 games this season with the Canucks, where he has recorded seven goals, 18 assists, and 25 points. This is after he had 50 points in 81 games for Vancouver this past season.
David Kampf, C
David Kampf would not provide the Canadiens with another top-six center, but he would improve their depth. If the Canadiens brought him, he could work nicely on their fourth line and on their penalty kill because of his solid defensive play. Furthermore, he would give the Canadiens another center who thrives at the dot, as he has won 52.8% of his faceoffs this season. He has also only had one season where he was under 50% at the faceoff dot during his nine-year NHL career.
Kampf would also be an easily affordable target for the Canadiens, as he has a $1.1 million cap hit for the remainder of this season. With this, he could be a decent rental for the Habs to bring in for their bottom six.
The Athletic's Chris Johnston and Michael Russo also reported that the Canadiens had interest in Kampf when he was a free agent back in November. Perhaps they could kick tires on him again.
With the 27th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks selected forward Marek Vanacker. The Blackhawks are hoping that the 19-year-old forward will be a big part of their roster later down the road, and his play this season should create optimism about his future with the Original Six club.
Vanacker is currently having an excellent season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Brantford Bulldogs. In 50 games so far this campaign with the OHL club, the 6-foot-1 forward has recorded 40 goals, 28 assists, 68 points, and a plus-29 rating. With numbers like these, there is no question that he is showing off his offensive upside with the Bulldogs this season.
If Vanacker can continue to produce strong offense like this at the OHL level, it should only create more excitement about his future with the Blackhawks. The young forward has all the tools to become an impactful NHL forward in the future and is just one of several exciting prospects in the Blackhawks' system.
It will now be interesting to see how Vanacker finishes off the season with the Bulldogs from here. It is clear that he has been having a strong campaign, and this is especially so when it comes to the goal-scoring department.
Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Ville Koivunen is a young player who the Metropolitan Division club is hoping will become a key part of their roster in the future. The 22-year-old forward struggled a bit when given the chance to play on Pittsburgh's roster this season, as he has two goals and five points in 27 games this campaign at the NHL level.
While Koivunen has not broken out with Pittsburgh this season, his play at the American Hockey League (AHL) level is very encouraging. The young forward is continuing to shine with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and it could open the door for him to get another chance on Pittsburgh's roster soon if he keeps this up.
In 25 games this campaign with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he has posted 10 goals, 21 assists, 31 points, and a plus-11 rating. He has also been staying hot as the season carries on, too.
In his last nine games with the AHL club, Koivunen has recorded five goals and 14 points. With numbers like these, there is no question that the Penguins prospect is thriving right now.
It will be interesting to see how Koivunen builds on his strong play with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from here.
Berkly Catton, Jaden Schwartz And Ben Meyers Back Skating With The KrakenAs the Seattle Kraken prepare for the restart of the NHL season, they are joined by Berkly Catton, Jaden Schwartz, and Ben Meyers as they recover from injuries. 
