Earlier this week, former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Andrew Agozzino announced his retirement from professional. Now, just a few days later, he has already landed his first job since hanging up the skates. 

The Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL have announced that they have hired Agozzino as a new assistant coach. 

Seeing Agozzino become an assistant coach for the Roadrunners is a cool story, as he played each of the last two seasons with the AHL club. Clearly, they appreciated what the former Penguins forward did for them as a player, and he will now be one of their coaches because of it. 

Agozzino will now give the Roadrunners a new coach who had a long career in the AHL. In 847 career AHL games over 15 seasons, the former Penguins forward posted 284 goals, 378 assists, and 662 points. This included him posting 14 goals and 33 points in 37 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2019-20. 

Agozzino also played in 53 career games at the NHL level over eight seasons, posting three goals, 12 points, and a plus-4 rating. In 17 games with Pittsburgh, he recorded two assists. 

Patrick Kane is returning to Chicago, signing a two-year deal to go back to the Blackhawks. It’s a nice way for him and the team to presumably put the final chapter on his career and go full circle for a Hall of Fame run.

It also made me think of how that was denied for the Penguins with Jaromir Jagr.

This summer are some round anniversary figures for Jagr and the Pens. It was 25 years ago this month that his stint in Pittsburgh came to an end in 2011 via a trade to Washington that ended up being a real lose-lose situation for both sides.

Then, 15 years ago, Jagr and the Pens flirted with the idea of a reunion in the summer of 2011. The star forward, then 39, was looking to return to the NHL after playing three years in a self-imposed exile to the KHL. The Pens had prime Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and were looking to win more Stanley Cups.

Everything looked perfect, but the pieces didn’t fit. Jagr, ever peculiar, had desires the Pens couldn’t match – Jagr always preferred playing with a right-handed center, both Crosby and Malkin are lefties. It is also out there that while some within the higher-ups in Pittsburgh were eager for Jagr’s return, then GM Ray Shero (in the midst of a cap crunch) was not one of them. Shero made an offer to Jagr that was significantly lower than what he received from at least two other NHL teams that further soured feelings.

At this point, the whole thing feels like a fever dream. The Pens even went so far as to publicly retract their contract offer to Jagr when through the negotiation it became apparent the two sides weren’t going to reach an agreement. The rumors and anticipation had grown so highly that this kind of statement was deemed necessary to break the news themselves that a reunion wasn’t going to happen.

#Pens Withdraw Offer to Jagr. Read more here: http://t.co/UQ7iVXO

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 1, 2011

Could you even imagine something like that these days? Obviously the internet and social media existed 15 years ago, but not to the same extent of how that news would rattle around cyberspace today.

In the end, Jagr went with the highest offer (and a right handed center) to resume his NHL career. It turned out to be a $3.3 million contract with, of all teams, the Philadelphia Flyers and Claude Giroux. Jagr would go onto score 54 points in 79 games with the Pens’ biggest rivals and be on the team that eliminated Pittsburgh in the playoffs in 2012.

From there, Jagr became even more nomadic in his 40’s, playing in small bursts for all of Dallas, Boston, New Jersey and Florida before finally wrapping up his storied NHL career in Calgary for the 2017-18 season. The idea of Jagr wanting to return to Pittsburgh, or the Pens wanting him back as a player, were closed off permanently after 2011 without much real consideration of either side.

Fortunately, there was a happy ending to the whole thing. Jagr has stayed busy with the Czech league team in Kladno that he had an ownership stake in, still remaining an occasional part-time player through 2025-26 (six games at the age of 53). That distance made a formal reconciliation take time, which finally happened in February 2024 when Jagr’s famous No. 68 was taken up to the rafters in Pittsburgh and the organization and fans could give him the proper send off.

That reunion had to happen after the fact in Pittsburgh, which has to feel a little bit of jealously and envy that Chicago fans will get a second chapter on the ice with one of their franchise’s best ever players when Patrick Kane returns to play.

Throughout the San Jose Sharks' three-and-a-half decades of existence, only a single player has ever worn the number 69: Andrew Desjardins. 

Desjardins, an undrafted player out of the Ontario Hockey League's Soo Greyhounds, joined the Sharks organization for the 2008-09 season as he signed with their AHL affiliate at the time, the Worcester Sharks. 

He then quickly made his way to the NHL, debuting during the 2010-11 season. During the following campaign, he established himself as a full-time NHLer for the Sharks until he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2014-15 season. He then went on to immediately win his only career Stanley Cup during his first season in Chicago. After two more seasons with the Blackhawks, he departed the NHL and signed overseas for the remainder of his career.

Desjardins spent a number of years with Adler Mannheim of the German DEL before closing his career out with a couple of seasons in the Austrian ICEHL with Villacher SV. After the 2023-24 season, he officially hung up his skates and served as an assistant coach with the OHL's Sudbury Wolves during the 2024-25 season. 

Former San Jose Sharks forward Justin Bailey has signed a one-year deal with Kazakh club Barys Astana of the Russian Kontinental Hockey League.

Bailey, who was drafted by his hometown Buffalo Sabres in the second round of the 2013 NHL Draft, joined the Sharks organization during the 2023-24 season. Initially, he signed just an American Hockey League level deal with the San Jose Barracuda, but after a month or so, he earned an NHL deal and was called back up to the NHL for the first time since the 2021-22 season. 

Bailey appeared in 59 games for the Sharks in his return to the NHL, playing bottom-six minutes on a struggling team. He scored five goals, having last scored during the 2017-18 season while still a member of the Sabres organization, and 14 points. At the end of the season, he was named the Sharks' nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, but the award ended up going to Connor Ingram of the Arizona Coyotes.

At 31 years of age, Bailey is heading overseas for the first time in his career. Since departing the Sharks organization, he had been a mainstay in the AHL for the San Diego Gulls, the Anaheim Ducks' affiliate.

The Utah Mammoth caused quite the stir during the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Before Game 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights, Mammoth owner Ryan Smith celebrated his team clinching the postseason for the first time by offering fans a unique opportunity— a jersey swap. 

“For any Golden Knights fans still left in Utah, come swap your VGK jersey for a new Utah Mammoth jersey on Friday at noon at the Delta Center,” Smith wrote in a post on X / Twitter.

For any Golden Knights fans still left in Utah, come swap your VGK jersey for a new @UtahMammoth jersey on Friday at noon at the Delta Center. Utah shows up! #TusksUp

— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) April 22, 2026

The initiative was wildly popular with Mammoth and Golden Knights fans alike. People showed up in droves to wait in a line that wrapped well around the side of the Delta Center. The jersey exchange began at 12 p.m. MST; by 12:48, the team announced that they’d exchanged all available jerseys.

Utah SHOWS 🆙

Jersey exchange at the @deltacenter ahead of tonight’s game vs. Vegas! pic.twitter.com/TRGMwugs3w

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 24, 2026

“Vegas hockey was on TV here,” said Mammoth owner Ryan Smith later that day. “And I think you could see that with the jersey exchange today. Everyone thinks I’m just trolling them, but no— I mean, it’s 50% trolling. But like, I think it’s way more out of respect for how [the Golden Knights have] grown. And I think that’s part of the responsibility, to slide over and let the new group come in, similar to how someone slid over for them to come in.”

If you’re wondering what happened to all those Golden Knights jerseys that fans traded in, we now have an answer.

Ryan Smith and the Utah Mammoth could have profited from the jersey swap, or even furthered the bit by destroying exchanged jerseys. Instead, they gave the Golden Knights jerseys to charity in a way that almost repaid Golden Knights fans for being good sports. The Mammoth donated the jerseys to the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation, an organization that serves as the primary charitable link between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Las Vegas community.

“The collected Golden Knights jerseys were donated by the Utah Mammoth to the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation,” wrote HELP of Southern Nevada in a Facebook post. “The Vegas Golden Knights Foundation then shared them with local nonprofits throughout Southern Nevada, including HELP of Southern Nevada.”

A huge THANK YOU to the Utah Mammoth, the Utah fans who turned in their VGK jerseys, and the @VGKFoundation for donating jerseys to HELP of Southern Nevada. Our youth and staff love them! 🏒❤️ #VegasBorn#CareGiveHELPpic.twitter.com/AHeFBtZl5F

— HELP of Southern Nevada (@helpsonv) July 24, 2026

The Buffalo Sabres had a roller-coaster season in 2025-26, but their 45-15-5 record at the end of the season resulted in Buffalo’s Atlantic Division title. The Sabres got to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by beating the Boston Bruins in Round 1, but they lost in seven games to the Montreal Canadiens in the second round. 

But in this year’s collection of TheHockeyNews.com’s grades for Buffalo players, coaching and management will largely be positive. When you finally end your franchise’s decade-and-a-half playoff drought, you earn some positive reactions from fans, friends and media. And that’s what was true of the Sabres this past season.

Buffalo is far from a perfect team, but most, if not all of their players deserve an above-average grade for what they did in 2025-26. And in this particular file, we’re looking at the Sabres’ top player – star winger Tage Thompson:

Tage Thompson

Position: Right Winger

Grade: A

The Skinny: Thompson has been Buffalo’s most important offense-producer, and this past season, he was the Sabres’ top offense-producer, with 40 goals and 81 points in 81 games. That’s not the best point-total in Thompson’s nine-year NHL career – that came in 2022-23, when he generated 94 points in 78 games – but Thompson hit the 40-goal mark last season, doing so for the third time in his career.

Thompson’s salary cap hit of $7.1 million – which runs for another four seasons – makes him one of the league’s best financial bargains. But make no mistake – he’s still under tremendous pressure to get Buffalo deeper in the post-season. And that’s not going to be easy. In fact, in a drastically-improved Atlantic Division, it will be extremely difficult just to get into the playoffs.

Still, if Thompson continues thriving as a play-finisher and a major offense contributor, the Sabres figure to be a playoff team next year. The bigger question about Thompson concerns what he’ll do in the 2027 post-season. This past spring, Thompson generated 10 assists and 15 points in 13 playoff games while earning 19:58 of ice time in his first-ever NHL post-season. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff gave Thompson 19:15 of ice time in the 2025-26 regular-season, also a career-best for Thompson. So he’s made the most of his increasing usage.

This past year was the first year Thompson played 81 games or more, and now that veteran winger Alex Tuch has departed for the Washington Capitals and defenseman Bowen Byram has been traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, they’re going to rely more than ever on Thompson to produce as much offense as possible. 

Thompson will be Buffalo’s top-line winger for the foreseeable future, but if the Sabres are going to push deeper in the 2027 playoffs and beyond, they’re going to need Thompson to evolve into even more of a difference-maker. Five of Thompson’s 25 career regular-season game-winning goals came in 2025-26, and if that number increases next year, the Sabres are going to be even happier with Thompson’s contract than they are today.

Thompson isn’t a top-10 talent in the league, but he ranked No. 32 in this year’s ranking of the NHL top players, and the Sabres are only going to go as far as he and Buffalo’s other core members carry them. Thompson is currently in his peak years, but he’s still got room to grow his game. And if he can elevate to a 50-goal-scorer – which certainly isn’t out of the question for him – Thompson could lead Buffalo to a championship victory.

Thompson did virtually everything asked of him in 2025-26. And although the Sabres’ season ended sooner than they’d hoped it would’ve, Buffalo brass have to be pleased with the Sabres’ season in the macro, and Thompson’s season in the micro.

And that’s why Thompson deserves an ‘A’ from us. He’s delivered on just about every count, and he should get his flowers for helping power Buffalo to desperately longed-for results.

Jack Johnson has found his next chapter in hockey, and it takes him back to his home state.

The former Colorado Avalanche defenseman and Stanley Cup champion is joining Ohio State University's women's hockey program as an associate coach, marking the first coaching position of his post-playing career after a brief stint in NHL scouting.

Johnson, who helped the Avalanche capture the Stanley Cup in 2022, spent three seasons in Colorado across two separate stints. While he wasn't the flashiest player on a roster loaded with stars, he became a trusted veteran presence in the locker room and a dependable depth defenseman during one of the most successful stretches in franchise history.

After retiring following the 2024-25 season, Johnson initially stayed in the NHL by accepting a pro scouting role with the Vancouver Canucks in January. That opportunity proved to be short-lived, as he has now departed the organization less than a year later to move behind the bench.

The coaching opportunity also brings Johnson back to Ohio, where he grew up before becoming one of the country's most highly touted hockey prospects. The former No. 3 overall pick in the 2005 NHL Draft played 19 seasons in the NHL, appearing in 1,228 regular-season games with the Los Angeles Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Avalanche.

Johnson finished his NHL career with 77 goals and 265 assists, but his greatest accomplishment came in Colorado, where he lifted the Stanley Cup during the Avalanche's 2021-22 championship run.

Now, he'll look to help build another winner.

Johnson joins an Ohio State women's program that has emerged as one of college hockey's premier powers, winning NCAA national championships in both 2022 and 2024. Instead of mentoring NHL veterans, he'll now help develop the next generation of elite players as he begins what could be a long coaching career.

On July 23, The Athletic released its revised lists of the NHL's best and worst contracts, and as expected, the Calgary Flames found themselves on the worst list, but in an odd twist to the rankings, also found themselves on the best list.

As a rebuilding team with good NHL Draft Lottery odds, it is quite surprising to see them with such a bad contract that they'd be on the worst list, since the goal is to be younger and cheaper. Still, there's no denying that Jonathan Huberdeau's $10.5 million salary does complicate bookkeeping at the Saddledome. 

With all this negative press about one player's mosterous contract, it kinda overshadows the excitement that the Flames have Dustin Wolf locked up until the next decade on a relatively inexpensive deal. If he happens to win the Vezina Trophy before his deal expires in 2033, there's no denying his $7.5 million could be considered the heist of the century. 

Today, we discuss why these deals popped up on The Athletic's lists and what it means long term for the organization as they move into Scotia Place next season.

Huberdeau's contract continues to be the NHL's worst

For the third consecutive year, Huberdeau's $84 million contract, which pays him $10.5 million annually, ranks as the league's worst contract. After scoring 115 points in 2021-22, he came to Calgary via a trade and was immediately signed to a blockbuster deal.

In his first season, he scored 15 goals and 55 points, exactly 60 points fewer than the year before. He collected even fewer points in 2023-24, with just 12 goals and 52 points and a team-worst minus-29 rating. Despite bouncing back with 28 goals and 62 points in 2024-25, he only skated in 50 games last year, scoring 10 goals and 25 points. 

In 2026-27, Huberdeau's contract will count 10.1% towards the Flames' cap, and at 33, many believe his best days are behind him. Hopefully, coming back from hip surgery will give him a chance to find chemistry with the team's young core, but for the past few seasons, Calgary has been one of the lowest teams in the NHL.

Considering his hefty salary, everyone expects more from Huberdeau, but with unappealing statistics, it makes it almost impossible to trade him and offer him a change of scenery and a fresh start.

Wolf is the only reason the Flames haven't hit rock bottom

All-Rookie goalie Wolf is about to begin his new contract extension, which will pay him $7.5 million for the next seven seasons. As the undisputed number one goalie, the Flames will only go as far as Wolf can carry them. Last year, for the first time in his professional hockey career, he produced a losing season, posting a 23-29-3 record as Calgary secured the fourth-best draft lottery odds. 

As the organization continues to rebuild, Wolf is the only reason one of the lowest-scoring teams isn't being run out of every building they play in. He had a spectacular 2024-25 campaign, going 29-16-8 and kept the Flames close to a wildcard spot, only losing out in the final weeks of the season.

Throughout their history, Calgary has had some great goalies, but there hasn't been a single youngster to come in and ignite the fanbase as Wolf has since Miikka Kiprusoff in the early 2000s. 

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Do you agree with The Athletic's assessments of the league's best and worst contracts? Are their opinions on Huberdeau and Wolf valid? Let us know what you think in the comments. 

The NHL's salary arbitration season is over without a single case being heard and only one player being close.

The final two players — Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger and Florida Panthers goalie Akira Schmid — settled on Friday, July 24. Their cases were scheduled for next week.

Settling early is typical, as filing for arbitration creates a deadline for both sides to get a deal done and avoid having an independent arbitrator set a salary.

Sillinger averages $4.625 million in his new three-year deal and Schmid will average $2 million in his two-year deal, according to Sportsnet's Ellliotte Friedman, after being acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights.

Blue Jackets goalie Jet Greaves was the only player who was close as his three-year, $15 million deal was reached right before his hearing on Thursday. He had requested $7.5 million and the team requested $2.8 million for the goalie who became a No. 1 netminder last season.

Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson, who had 96 points last season, settled for one year at $12 million earlier this week.

Here are the 15 players who filed for arbitration, when they were supposed to have hearings and the deals that they reached by settling early (dates and salary figures from puckpedia.com):

More: Connor Bedard, Sabres among winners, losers of Patrick Kane Blackhawks deal

Salary arbitration hearing dates, results

Monday, July 20

• Jamie Drysdale, Philadelphia (settled, four years, $6.5 million average)
• Cole Perfetti, Winnipeg (settled, five years, $6 million average)

Wednesday, July 22

• Trevor Zegras, Philadelphia (settled, four years, $9.125 million average)

Thursday, July 23

• Jet Greaves, Columbus (settled, three years, $5 million)

Saturday, July 25

• Xavier Bourgault, Ottawa (settled, one year, $850,000)
• Jason Robertson, Dallas (settled, one year, $12 million)
• Connor McMichael, St. Louis (settled, six years, $6.75 million average)

Monday, July 27

• Cole Sillinger, Columbus (settled, three years, $4.625 million average).
• Note: The Blue Jackets have about $14.5 million left to re-sign 2023 No. 3 overall pick Adam Fantilli, who has no arbitration rights.

Tuesday, July 28

• Nick Robertson, Pittsburgh (settled, two years $3.5 million average)

Wednesday, July 29

• Braden Schneider, N.Y. Rangers (settled, one year, $5.5 million)
• Ronan Seeley, Carolina (settled, one year, $850,000 in the NHL, $100,000 in the AHL and $160,000 guaranteed)

Thursday, July 30

• Alex Jefferies, N.Y. Islanders (settled, one year, $850,000 in NHL, $100,000 in AHL, $130,000 guaranteed)
• Kirby Dach, Montreal (settled, one year, $3.6 million)

Saturday, Aug. 1

• Akira Schmid, Florida (settled, two years, $2 million average)
• Peyton Krebs, Buffalo (settled, four years, $4.5 million average)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL arbitration cases all settled early: What each player received

On Friday, the Chicago Blackhawks introduced Patrick Kane at a press-conference held at Blackhawks Ice Center. This came just one day after announcing that he was back on a two-year deal with an average annual value of $8 million. 

Kane talked about a wide variety of topics based on questions that were presented to him, but there was one recurring theme.

He wanted to make it abundantly clear that he is not coming back for some legacy "ride off into the sunset" reason. He wants to win, he wants to play at a high level, and he wants to help the young players take that next step. 

"Obviously the story is great, coming back to Chicago and being a Blackhawk again," Kane said. "But most importantly, it was about coming to a team where I think I can fit in well, a team that's on the rise."

Well, Kane is certainly going to fit in well. You could let him play right wing with any of Connor Bedard, Anton Frondell, or Frank Nazar, and he would perform. He is also going to play a key role in them improving their bottom-five power play from a year ago. 

Kane is well aware that his coming back is a wonderful piece of nostalgia. He is one of the greatest Blackhawks ever, and he is returning after a couple of years away. It is a feel-good story for a Chicago legend. However, nobody involved in the deal getting done would have gone through with it if that were the only benefit. 

"It’s not like I’m coming back home to ride off into the sunset," Kane said. "I want to be a big player here and help the team win."

Are the Blackhawks good enough to be a playoff team now that Kane is there? It is hard to say. The Central Division is very top-heavy with the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, and Utah Mammoth, but the rest could go in a variety of different orders. At this point, every team sees itself as a potential playoff threat. 

The elephant in the room is Connor Bedard's injury. With or without Kane, it set the Blackhawks back when he had to have shoulder surgery. He is aiming to come back in mid-November, but he is going to try incredibly hard to be back before that. The Kane news fired him up, and that will force him to work extra hard on coming back as quickly as possible.

If Patrick Kane can help them stay afloat while Bedard is on the shelf, and they can turn on the gas once he returns, the Blackhawks will be in much better shape. He will also help them in the long term by implementing some of his on-ice wisdom into the young players. His motivation to be great and help those around him be great makes this an impactful signing already. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay up to date on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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John Tortorella hasn't closed the door on coaching at 68, some two months after his latest, brief stint ended two wins short of a Stanley Cup and not being rehired by the Vegas Golden Knights.

“Oh, I want to coach,” Tortorella told The Athletic this week in a story posted on Friday. “I want to coach now. I’m not sure if that happens, and that’s where I am in my career. But I wanted to coach that Vegas team. I told (general manager Kelly McCrimmon) that.”

Tortorella’s tenure in Vegas began with him replacing the fired Bruce Cassidy with eight games left in the regular season. And it ended in mid-June with the Golden Knights losing the Stanley Cup Final in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Though Tortorella pushed for his return, he said he respected McCrimmon's decision to promote minor-league coach Ryan Craig.

“They’ve been developing (Craig) for a number of years there,” he said. “He’s a good coach and a good man.”

Tortorella has 24 seasons of NHL head-coaching experience, with the Golden Knights representing his seventh stop — including two separate tenures with the New York Rangers. He enjoyed his longest stint with Tampa Bay, spanning 2000-01 to 2007-08, during which he won his only Stanley Cup in 2004. He also coached in Columbus, Philadelphia and Vancouver.

From Boston, Tortorella is sixth on the NHL list and first among U.S.-born coaches with 1,628 games coached. Tortorella’s 777 career wins rank second among U.S.-born coaches behind Peter Laviolette’s 846. With a 70-72 career playoff record, he’s 20th on the NHL list in wins.

Tortorella lamented coming up short on winning a second Cup.

“I guess the word I’d use is disappointed,” Tortorella said.

“We didn’t finish the job, and I wanted some more time with that club to try to finish the job. That’s not my call. That’s the general manager and president’s call,” he added. “You just get about your business after that.”

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Hockey Hall of Fame player Cammi Granato is changing roles within the Vancouver Canucks’ front office.

Granato will work as a senior amateur adviser after serving as assistant general manager for parts of five seasons, general manager Ryan Johnson said Friday.

“After taking some time to reflect on things, I feel this is the perfect time to transition into a new role with the Canucks,” Granato said in a statement released by the team. "Helping on the amateur side is something I am extremely passionate about, and I am thrilled to continue working with our hockey operations department on that front. I have great confidence in our front office leadership group and love their vision and the direction they are taking with the team.”

Former president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford, who stepped down from his role in May, hired Granato in February 2022 after the women’s hockey icon became the NHL’s first female scout with the Seattle Kraken. Granato, from suburban Chicago, was the captain of the U.S. women’s hockey team that beat Canada to win gold at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

The Canucks have undergone wholesale changes in the front office, hiring Johnson as GM along with franchise icons Henrik and Daniel Sedin as co-presidents of hockey operations after finishing last in the overall NHL standings last season. They hired a new coach, Manny Malhotra, in June.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

The Florida Panthers took care of an important piece of business on Friday.

With just over a week remaining until their scheduled arbitration hearing, the Panthers and goaltender Akira Schmid came to an agreement on a new two-year contract.

The deal comes with an average annual value (AAV) of $2 million, according to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman.

Florida and Akira Schmid avoid arbitration

2 x $2M

All arbitration cases are now settled

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 24, 2026

Florida previously acquired Schmid, a restricted free agent, in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a 2028 third-round pick.

He filed for salary arbitration on July 5, and a hearing had been scheduled for Aug. 1.

Now both Schmid and Jacob Markstrom, Florida’s new-look goaltending tandem, are signed through the end of the 2027-28 season.

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Photo caption: Dec 11, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Vegas Golden Knights goaltenderAkiraSchmid(40) against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at Xfinity Mobile Arena. (Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)

While other teams are adding pieces and paying dearly for them, Montreal Canadiens’ GM Kent Hughes is staying on the straight and narrow, content to re-sign his budding stars to team-friendly deals.

Yesterday, the Chicago Blackhawks signed veteran winger Patrick Kane to a 2-year deal with an $8 million cap hit. Before signing that deal, the American had signed three one-year contracts with the Detroit Red Wings, with cap hits of $2.75 M, $4 M, and $3 M. The amount of the deal surprised me.

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Granted, Chicago had the cap room to give him that kind of deal, but it could lead to a ripple effect across the league and in Kyle Davidson’s own team as well. When Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, Ryan Donato and Jordan Greenway need a new deal, they’ll remember Davidson giving Kane $8 M after he put out seasons of 47, 59 and 57 points.

Grant McCagg made an interesting comparison on his Habscast podcast: by the 2027-2028 season, the Canadiens will have Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov and David Reinbacher for $42.1 million, who combined for 402 points last season. Meanwhile, Chicago will have only four players for that same amount of money: Connor Bedard, Patrick Kane, Bowen Byram and Frank Nazar. Their 2025-26 point output stood at 215 points.

Needless to say, the Canadiens are in much better financial shape than the Hawks are. Had the price tag been reasonable for Kane, since he has already made plenty of money over the course of his career, he could have been a good addition to the Canadiens’ top six, but not at that price. The Habs are building both a roster and a culture in which players must want to be part of something rather than be the thing to quote Hughes at Demidov’s new contract press conference.

A 35-year-old who commands an $8 M cap hit might have helped the Canadiens in the now, but that’s not the only thing to consider. Hughes has always said that he won’t spend money to spend money, and he’s been true to his word so far. It will likely mean that the roster improvement will come from organic growth rather than outside help, but so far, that has paid off well for the Canadiens.

When the organization’s new regime came into place, they invested in a sports science and analytics department, they hired the best skills coach in the business in Adam Nicholas, they invested in helping their players improve, and we’re seeing dividends every year. Of course, coach Martin St-Louis is also part of the reason why his players can improve, but one fact remains: Geoff Molson wasn’t scared to invest in coaching and preparation, and it’s paying off. Suzuki has been on an incredible rise ever since he started in the NHL, Caufield’s become a much more complete player, Slafkovsky has shown and learned that he can be more than the supporting cast of the Suzuki-Caufield double act, Hutson has improved on a rookie season that was record-setting, and one has to wonder what Demidov’s sophomore season will look like.

Of course, eventually, Hughes will have to pay up if he wants to get outside help. Still, with his players’ meteoric rise, he can afford to wait until a few veteran contracts come off the books and he has a chance to see what the Canadiens really have in Michael Hage. From the outside, it looks like the Habs are out to prove that slow and steady wins the race, and they’re well on their way to doing that.

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