Mar 19, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Utah Mammoth defenseman John Marino (6) warms up before a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Stephen R. Sylvanie/Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Mammoth have signed defenseman John Marino to an eight-year, $54 million extension with an annual average value of $6.75 million.
Marino’s deal comes on the heels of a career-best season that included his first career playoff goal.
“We view John as a foundational piece of our future,” Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong said in a statement. “His ability to control the game from the back end, his play in transition and our trust in him to make the right decisions in critical situations allows him to be a difference-maker on most nights. Beyond his skill, John brings a level of calmness under pressure that our group feeds off of and that’s exactly what you need from your veteran players.”
Marino had career highs of 36 points and 32 assists with four goals in his second season with the Mammoth after being traded from New Jersey in 2024. The 29-year-old ranked second among all NHL defenseman at plus-42 and played all six games in Utah’s first playoff appearance since moving from Arizona.
Marino has 23 goals and 134 assists in seven NHL seasons with Utah, New Jersey and Pittsburgh.
The Buffalo Sabres snapped their 15-year postseason drought, winning the Atlantic Division and advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but after an offseason that saw Bowen Byram and Alex Tuch being dealt, the task of repeating as division champion or finishing in the top three of the Atlantic could be significantly more difficult.
This week, we will look at the seven other teams in the Atlantic to see where they stand in comparison to where they were at the end of last season and see where they potentially stack up as competition with the Sabres.
The Boston Bruins bounced back from a terrible season to make the playoffs with a 45-27-10 record (100 points), due mostly to the performance of superstar winger David Pastrnak, who finished in the top 10 of NHL scoring with 100 points, the goal scoring of Morgan Geekie (who scored a career-high 39 goals), and the bounceback of goalie Jeremy Swayman, and defenseman Charlie McAvoy. The Bruins gave the Sabres a fight in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but lost in six games.
J-J Peterka - Former Sabre scored 25 goals with the Utah Mammoth
Will Borgen - Scored 15 points with the New York Rangers
Connor Clifton - signed two-year, $4.5 million deal
Subtractions
Viktor Arvidsson - scored 25 goals last season, signed with the Detroit Red Wings
Joonas Korpisalo - 14-9-6 as Swayman's backup
Outlook
The Bruins only impactful move of the offseason was the swap of two first round picks with Utah to acquire Peterka, who was sent by the Sabres one year ago for Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring. GM Don Sweeney is making a habit of collecting former Sabres, as he added blueliners Borgen and Clifton to a group that already includes former Buffalo first rounds Casey Mittelstadt and Nikita Zadorov, and blueliner Henri Jokiharku.
Boston is similar to the Sabres in that they are hoping for internal growth from youngsters Fraser Minten and 2025 first rounder James Hagens, to go with the likes of Pavel Zacha, Elias Lindholm, and Hampus Lindholm as support players. Most of all, they are depending on Swayman to continue what he did last season, and for backup Michael DiPietro to build on a phenomenal year with AHL Providence and take some of the burden off of the Bruins starter.
The Bruins have an advantage in goal, and have a solid blueline that is on par with the Sabres, while Buffalo has the advantage in offensive ability up front. The apparent status quo with Boston and Sabres slight step back after the loss of Tuch and Byram gives the Beantowners to pull closer to Buffalo or perhaps overtake them in the Atlantic Division.
The newly acquired Shark played 34 games for the Buffalo Sabres last season and has played in 190 over the course of his NHL career while compiling 12 goals and 43 assists.
The 26-year-old was acquired in a June trade from the Sabres along with the No. 27 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft for the Sharks’ No. 20 selection.
He signed a three-year contract with San Jose for an annual average of $4.5 million.
The 22-year-old Bosse from New Hampshire finished in fourth place in Season 8 of the series.
Adding to the intrigue of the Kesselring-Love Island USA connection is the fact that the Sharks will have a “Sharks x Love Island” game on Jan. 8 of this season.
It doesn't happen so often with the Toronto Maple Leafs, or in instances across the league for that matter, but from time to time, NHL players will make a return to a certain club after a previous stint with that same team earlier in their career.
However, that speculation has seemingly led nowhere. Nonetheless, on the theme of a former Leaf hypothetically returning, here's a list of players who returned to the organization after departing earlier in their careers.
Doug Gilmour
Doug Gilmour's greatest years were with the Maple Leafs, particularly his first two full seasons with the franchise in 1992-93 and 1993-94. He scored career-high 127 points and 111 points in those two campaigns, and helped push Toronto to a conference final appearance in the 1993 post-season.
He returned to Toronto very late in his career. In March 2003, the Maple Leafs acquired Gilmour in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens. Unfortunately, Gilmour's return was short-lived after he suffered an injury in his first game back. He wouldn't see the ice for the rest of the season and announced his retirement before the 2003-04 campaign began.
Wendel Clark
The Maple Leafs and Wendel Clark kept finding each other throughout his 15-year NHL career.
Clark made two returns to Toronto for a total of three stints with the club. It started when the Leafs drafted him first overall in the 1985 draft. From there, he played nine straight seasons in Toronto.
Clark went on to play for the Quebec Nordiques and New York Islanders before returning to the Maple Leafs again in 1995-96. He spent parts of three seasons there before he was moved again, this time spending time with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.
Then, to end the final campaign of his NHL career, he was sent to Toronto during the 1999-00 season and hung up his skates that following summer.
Tie Domi
Tie Domi had two stints with the Maple Leafs, but feels like he only had one.
That's because after Toronto drafted him 27th overall in 1988, he only featured in two games for the Leafs in 1989-90. He then went on to play for the New York Rangers and Winnipeg Jets for three years each.
During the 1994-95 season, Domi returned to Toronto, but this time to stay. He rounded out his NHL career with parts of 11 straight years with the Maple Leafs and retired after the 2005-05 campaign.
So while it's technically a return, Domi's second stint with Toronto is really what he's known for.
Curtis Joseph was another player who returned to Toronto and retired with the organization.
His first stint with the Maple Leafs began in the middle of his NHL career. In year No. 10 of Joseph's 19-year career. It was 1998-99 when he joined the Leafs, remaining with the team through 2001-02.
Then, after five seasons away from Toronto, the goaltender came back in 2008-09 in his early 40s, playing a total of 270 games for the Leafs across five years. He retired after that 2008-09 season.
In that final year, Joseph recorded a .869 save percentage in 21 games for Toronto.
Ilya Lyubushkin
Ilya Lyubushkin is the first player on this list who is still active in the NHL today.
He only played 50 regular-season contests with the Maple Leafs in his two stints. His first year in Toronto came in the middle of the 2021-22 season when he was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes, among other assets.
In 2023-24, it happened again. Toronto traded for Lybushkin from the Carolina Hurricanes as a mid-season acquisition.
The 32-year-old defenseman is currently a member of the Nashville Predators, gearing up for his ninth campaign in the NHL.
Luke Schenn is the other player on this list who remains active in the NHL.
Like Clark and Domi, Schenn was a draft pick of the Maple Leafs, fifth overall in 2008. Out of the draft, he played four straight seasons for Toronto, from 2008-09 to 2011-12.
It was a long time before Schenn would rejoin the Maple Leafs, and he would have to wait 11 years to wear Toronto's Blue and White again.
In total, Schenn featured in five campaigns for the Leafs and appeared in 325 regular-season contests. He was never a defenseman to put up points, but he was a physical presence in Toronto and was solid in the 2023 playoffs.
Michael Hutchinson
Michael Hutchinson didn't play much in the NHL, as he was more of an AHL goaltender. Nonetheless, he also had two stints with the Maple Leafs.
Hutchinson featured for the Maple Leafs in 2018-19 and 2019-20 for a total of 20 appearances. During the 2019-20 season, he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. Following his brief stint with the Avalanche, he found himself back with Toronto when he signed there as a free agent.
He then played a total of 10 games between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns and rarely had an impact for the Leafs.
Dominic Moore played for a whopping 10 different clubs in his 13-year NHL career. As a result, the Maple Leafs weren't the only team that he had multiple stints with, and Moore featured for seven of eight Atlantic Division teams.
Moore had his best season with Toronto in 2008-09, which was the second year of his first tenure with the team. He scored 45 points that year, 41 of which were for Toronto in 63 games before being traded to the Buffalo Sabres and playing 18 games there.
Then, after many stops around the league, he landed in Toronto again for one year in 2017-18, which turned out to be his last year in the NHL. He scored six goals and 12 points in 50 games that year.
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Mammoth have signed defenseman John Marino to an eight-year, $54 million extension with an annual average value of $6.75 million.
Marino's deal, announced on Tuesday, comes on the heels of a career-best season that included his first career playoff goal.
"We view John as a foundational piece of our future,” Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong said in a statement. “His ability to control the game from the back end, his play in transition and our trust in him to make the right decisions in critical situations allows him to be a difference-maker on most nights. Beyond his skill, John brings a level of calmness under pressure that our group feeds off of and that’s exactly what you need from your veteran players.”
Marino had career highs of 36 points and 32 assists with four goals in his second season with the Mammoth after being traded from New Jersey in 2024. The 29-year-old ranked second among all NHL defenseman at plus-42 and played all six games in Utah's first playoff appearance since moving from Arizona.
Marino has 23 goals and 134 assists in seven NHL seasons with Utah, New Jersey and Pittsburgh.
Former San Jose Sharks forward Andrew Agozzino has announced his retirement from professional hockey.
On Tuesday morning, Agozzino posted a short, but clear goodbye to hockey on Instagram.
Agozzino was a mainstay in the American Hockey League for the majority of his career. While he did play a few NHL games, including four for the Sharks during the 2022-23 season, he’ll mainly be remembered for his contributions in the AHL.
That same season, Agozzino served as the captain of the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. As it turns out, that would be the only time he wore the “C” at a professional level.
Across 15 seasons, Agozzino appeared in 847 games at the AHL level with a multitude of different teams. During that time, he scored 284 goals and 662 points. He also played in 53 NHL games, registering 12 points.
Agozzino was originally planning on continuing his career overseas, signing in the Swiss National League, but opted to retire for unknown reasons.
The Buffalo Sabres selection of defenseman Daxon Rudolph fourth overall at the 2026 NHL Draft last month came as a slight surprise amongst draft analysts, as most of them had the young righty being selected later in the top 10 and after other prospects like Chase Reid, Albert Smits, Carson Carels, or Keaton Verhoeff, but based on the analysis revealed by the club in a YouTube video last week, there was not much doubt who to pick. When asked which of the top defensemen could quarterback a power play in the NHL, Sabres assistant GM Jerry Forton and a number of scouts uttered the name of Rudolph.
“These guys are all close, you could put it in a blender and come up with a different list every day,” Sabres scout Kevin DeVine said, “but if you want to go with the upside, you probably take Rudolph.”
The 18–year-old righty exploded offensively in his second season with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders (28 goals, 50 assists in 68 games). The Sabres did not speak to Rudolph at the NHL Scouting Combine earlier in the month, but GM Jarmo Kekalainen explained that they did not expect to be selecting at the top of the draft to be able to pick him.
Does Patrick Kane fit with the Buffalo Sabres next season?
"The situation changed a lot from the combine, because we were thinking of picking at 27, and then we were picking 4, so rather than wasting time with some of the people that were running from interview to interview, and we're so far down that we know that we're not going to get to them. That interview is 15 minutes," GM Jarmo Kekalainen said after the selection. "Our area scouts are doing the interviews throughout the season to know the background of the player, they know him inside and out. The 15 minutes (is) just a chance for the whole staff to get to know and put a face to a name. So that's why we called him and had him come to our office this morning, because now the situation is different, and we had the fourth overall pick."
Rudolph is bound for the University of Denver this fall, a program under head coach David Carle that has won three NCAA Championships in the last five years, and based on the analysis of other in the room before the draft, they believe that the youngster is the total package; capable of matching up against the other team’s top offensive players and has the hockey sense at both ends of the ice, which could mean that his stint in the NCAA will be short.
Twenty years ago this month, the Senators made three decisions that helped derail the greatest team in franchise history.
The 2005-06 Senators were loaded.
They won 52 games, finished with 113 points and scored 314 goals, all franchise highs. Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza were probably the best line in hockey. Wade Redden and Zdeno Chara anchored the D, and Martin Havlat provided another dynamic offensive weapon up front.
Shane Pinto is asked about the exits of Brady Tkachuk and Daniel Alfredsson this summer (Senators YouTube).
And in goal, Ottawa had one of the greatest of all time in Dominik Hasek.
Unfortunately, Hasek suffered an adductor injury while playing at the 2006 Olympics and never played another game for Ottawa.
Without him, the Senators were upset by Buffalo in the second round.
Beyond that, anything can happen in a short series, and it certainly did in that one as the Sabres won all three of the games that went to overtime. Sens fans still curse Jason Pominville, who became the first player in NHL history to score a short-handed overtime goal to end a series.
That disappointment was followed by a nine-day stretch in July when Hasek, Chara, and Havlat all left town.
The Senators reached the Stanley Cup Final the following spring anyway. But no one would ever compare the two rosters and suggest the Senators got better.
July 1: Ottawa Chooses Gerber Over Hasek
General manager John Muckler's first major decision came on the opening day of 2006 free agency.
Rather than take another chance on the 41-year-old Hasek, who wanted to re-sign with the club, Muckler signed Martin Gerber to a three-year, $11-million contract.
At the time, the decision was understandable.
Hasek's Olympic injury (and the way it lingered) frustrated the Senators, who wanted more certainty in goal, and Muckler felt like Gerber would provide that. He had just played 60 games for the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.
As it turned out, despite being 10 years younger, Gerber was closer to the end than Hasek. There was a reason the 'Canes turned to rookie Cam Ward as their starter in that Cup run.
Hasek signed with Detroit and went 38-11-6 with a 2.05 goals-against average the following season, helping the Red Wings reach the Western Conference Final. One year later, he won another Stanley Cup.
Gerber, meanwhile, struggled early in Ottawa and almost immediately lost the starting job to Ray Emery.
Emery eventually helped the Sens reach the 2007 Stanley Cup Final, but it's difficult not to wonder what Hasek might have done for that team.
July 1: Chara Signs in Boston
The same day Ottawa officially turned the page on Hasek, Chara left to sign a five-year, $37.5-million contract with the Boston Bruins.
The Senators wanted to keep both Chara and Redden, another unrestricted free agent who had just produced a career-high 50 points in 65 games. But with owner Eugene Melnyk signing the cheques, it's not hard to imagine why making both players happy was always going to be a challenge.
Ottawa retained Redden on a two-year, $13-million deal. Chara says his phone stopped ringing.
"I wanted to stay here," Chara told the Ottawa Sun that summer. "I'm very disappointed. I thought Ottawa would be really aggressive and they would really show it. In the last nine days before July 1st, we never received a phone call. Myself and (agent) Matt (Keator) were just sitting there and making all the calls. We told them, 'Let's talk and let's negotiate.' They said: 'Six million. You sign it, or we're going to go the other way.' They did.
Redden played two more seasons in Ottawa. Chara became Boston's captain, won a Norris Trophy and eventually led the Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup.
Knowing that the Sens would face a big, ornery Anaheim team in the upcoming season's Stanley Cup Final, it's especially difficult not to imagine what the 6-foot-9 Chara might have meant in that series.
Eight days into free agency, the Sens traded Havlat and Bryan Smolinski to Chicago in a three-team deal involving San Jose.
The Senators wound up with Tom Preissing, Josh Hennessy, Michal Barinka and a 2008 second-round pick.
The speedy Havlat was a high-end offensive talent entering his prime. He immediately scored 25 goals and 57 points in just 56 games with Chicago.
While Smolinski was starting to fade, he had produced 48 points for Ottawa the previous season and provided valuable veteran depth. Both players would have bolstered the forward depth in that '07 Cup Final.
The Aftermath
The Sens didn't become a bad team after losing those players. They were still an excellent club that went further in the playoffs than any other Sens team. But the fact remains they were a lesser team. You could start to see it during the regular season when they dropped from 113 points to 105 and from 314 goals to 288.
Would Ottawa have beaten Anaheim if Hasek, Chara, and Havlat were still around? We'll never know for sure, but they would have, unquestionably, had a better chance.
20 years later, that's part of what makes July 2006 so fascinating... and maybe a bit haunting as well.
By Steve Warne The Hockey News
Article: Every Day The Senators Wait, Drake Batherson Gets More Expensive
The Colorado Avalanche have quietly made one of the more interesting bets of the offseason.
In the span of a few weeks, Colorado added Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov—two forwards the Boston Bruins once viewed as important pieces of their future before ultimately deciding it was time to move in a different direction.
The Avalanche decided there was still something worth chasing. It's been a familiar approach for Colorado over the years: identify players who still have untapped potential, put them in a different environment and see if they can find another level.
Lysell and Merkulov now get that opportunity in Colorado.
Every organization has prospects who don't follow a straight path. Some players arrive immediately. Others need years before the game slows down enough for them to consistently impact at the NHL level.
The difficult part is knowing whether you made the right decision or not. The Avalanche are playing the long game and they believe Lysell and Merkulov have low risk, high reward potential.
Lysell carried much bigger expectations when Boston selected him 21st overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. The Swedish winger had many of the traits teams look for in a top offensive prospect: elite skating, creativity with the puck and the ability to create scoring chances in ways that can't always be taught.
He always had the talent. The problem was execution.
Lysell spent most of his professional career with Providence, where he became a productive AHL player but never fully established himself in Boston. He finished last season with 42 points in 57 games as Providence captured the league's best regular-season record, but it still wasn't the breakthrough the Bruins were waiting for.
When Boston traded him to Colorado in exchange for Ivan Ivan, general manager Don Sweeney offered an honest explanation of why the relationship had reached that point.
"He hasn't fully grasped at the NHL level what it probably requires to play each and every night," Sweeney said. "He took ownership of that today."
But the most telling part came next.
"We took ownership that, could we have done more and better in supporting him? Probably."
It was an important admission because development isn't solely on the player. Organizations have a responsibility to put young talent in positions where they can succeed, and Boston acknowledged it may not have done enough in Lysell's case.
Merkulov's journey was much different.
He was a player who needed time to adjust after coming over from Russia, working his way through the USHL and NCAA before eventually becoming one of Providence's most dangerous offensive players.
Once he arrived in the AHL, the production followed.
Merkulov scored 55 points in his first full season before breaking out for 65 the following year. Offense was clearly not the issue, but Boston demanded he become a complete player. That simply didn't happen in the timeline they made for him.
At 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, Merkulov had to prove he could contribute when he wasn't scoring. He needed to become more responsible defensively, improve without the puck and show he could handle the physical side of professional hockey.
Providence head coach Ryan Mougenel pushed him through that process, and eventually the results showed. By the 2025-26 season, Merkulov had become one of Providence's most dependable all-around forwards while helping the Bruins finish with the best record in the AHL.
But by then, the circumstances had changed.
At 25 years old, Merkulov was no longer viewed as a prospect.. Boston had younger players coming through the pool and made the decision to move on.
Colorado was willing to take the chance on him.
And that's where Sakic's approach becomes interesting.
The Avalanche have never been afraid of players who need a reset.
Andre Burakovsky arrived from Washington after struggling to find consistency and became a key part of Colorado's Stanley Cup championship team. Valeri Nichushkin came to the Avalanche after his career in Dallas stalled, and Colorado helped him become one of the NHL's best two-way forwards.
Those moves worked because Colorado wasn't focused on what those players had already become.
The Avalanche were focused on what they could still become.
That's the same gamble they're making with Lysell and Merkulov.
Lysell represents the bigger upside play. If Colorado can help him find consistency, the skill that made him a first-round selection is still there. His skating and offensive instincts haven't disappeared; he simply needs to translate them into a reliable NHL role.
Merkulov is a different type of addition. He brings experience, production and versatility, whether that means earning NHL minutes or becoming one of the veteran leaders for the Colorado Eagles.
That Eagles component matters, too.
Colorado lost several experienced players from its AHL roster this offseason, and Merkulov gives the organization someone who can help carry the offensive load while also helping younger prospects learn what it takes to become professionals.
If Lysell and Merkulov end up together in the AHL, Colorado could have two players who already understand each other's games and can immediately give the Eagles a dangerous offensive combination.
A former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman just landed a big contract.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, former Penguins defenseman John Marino is signing an eight-year, $6.75 million AAV contract extension with the Utah Mammoth.
Marino was entering the 2026-27 season as a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA). However, with the Mammoth signing him to this eight-year extension, he will be staying in Utah for a long time.
When noting that Marino is a very important part of the Mammoth's blueline, it is not too surprising to see that they have signed him to this contract extension. He will now continue to be a key part of their roster for the long-term.
Marino landing this big contract comes after he had an excellent season with the Mammoth in 2025-26. In 80 games with Utah this past campaign, he posted four goals and set new career highs with 32 assists, 36 points, and a plus-43 rating.
Marino started his NHL career as a member of the Penguins. In three seasons with Pittsburgh from 2019-20 to 2021-22, he posted 10 goals, 54 assists, 64 points, and a plus-23 rating. His time with the Penguins ended during the 2022 NHL off-season when he was traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for blueliner Ty Smith and a 2023 third-round pick.
According to David Pagnotta, the Calgary Flames are rebuilding and are looking to trade a few players, including center Morgan Frost and defenseman Zach Whitecloud. Could they be good trading partners for the Montreal Canadiens? After all, the Habs are in the market for a centerman and a right-shot defenseman.
As things stand, Frost, who recorded 43 points in 82 games with the Flames last season, is listed as their number one center. That’s far from ideal. While he was a Philadelphia Flyers first-round pick at the 2017 draft (27th overall), he’s never truly lived up to expectations. His most productive season came in 2022-23 when he recorded 46 points in 81 games. Those are not the numbers of a second-line center. However, since the Canadiens are essentially in a holding pattern waiting for Michael Hage, Frost could be an interesting stopgap, as he has only one year left on his contract with a $4.375 million cap hit before becoming a UFA.
If Montreal does entertain the idea of picking him up for the season, it likely wouldn’t be willing to give much to acquire him, and chances are the Flames could find better offers out there from teams who may see a future with Frost.
The reported availability of Whitecloud is much more interesting. The 29-year-old right-shot defenseman has two years left on his contract, which carries a $2.75 million cap hit. The 6-foot-2 and 210-pound blueliner doesn’t play an exciting style of hockey; he’s very much a stay-at-home defenseman, as evidenced by the fact that he has never put up more than 19 points in a season in the NHL, but he can hit. He recorded 124 hits in a season split between the Flames and the Vegas Golden Knights and blocked 140 shots. He would have been fifth in hits and fourth in blocks with the Canadiens last season.
He also won a Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights in 2022-23, and in those playoffs, he had a plus-14 differential, putting up eight points in 22 games. Essentially, Whitecloud could become an upgrade on Alex Carrier, who will be entering the final year of his contract this year, if the Canadiens manage to sign him to an extension. His acquisition would make the Canadiens’ defense more balanced, allowing Lane Hutson to play on his natural side and giving David Reinbacher one more year to mature and polish his game at the AHL level with the Laval Rocket. With Noah Dobson, Carrier and Whitecloud on the right side and Matheson, Hutson and Guhle on the left, Montreal would have a much more reliable defense.
The Flames have been rumored to be interested in Arber Xhekaj in the past, and he could certainly be used to make that trade happen. While Xhekaj brings an interesting blend of grit and physicality to the table, it’s become evident that Martin St-Louis doesn’t really trust him, and it could be better for both the player and the team if he were used to acquire a piece whom the coach will trust. He’s more useful to the Canadiens as a trade piece than he is as a healthy scratch or as a third-pairing blueliner who the coach won’t use for more than five minutes. As for Xhekaj, he could get a real chance to establish himself as an NHLer. Of course, the Habs would need to add something else to make the trade happen, likely futures such as draft picks, but the rugged blueliner would be a good starting point.
ST. LOUIS -- Fans of the St. Louis Blues who were previously able to watch the team’s games will be able to watch them in a similar fashion in 2026-27 through a new partnership between the team and the NHL to produce the team’s regional broadcasts beginning this season.
While the Blues sales team has been in the market selling advertising packages for the upcoming season, this partnership ensures the team will also oversee all aspects of production, marketing, and distribution of a new team-owned and operated multimedia platform to be announced at a later date.
"This partnership is an ideal arrangement for the St. Louis Blues that leverages the production strength of the NHL while giving our organization more control over every aspect of our local broadcasts than ever before,” Blues executive vice president, chief revenue and marketing officer Steve Chapman said in a release . "While we still have more work to do before we can provide detailed answers to every question about our broadcasts for the upcoming season, this production agreement is a key step in that process. This partnership with the NHL will enable us to continue delivering reliable access to Blues hockey in ways familiar to our fans and with the ability to expand our reach to even wider audiences."
The Blues are actively working to finalize broadcast agreements to enable fans to watch Blues games through a variety of ways at launch including cable, satellite, streaming services, and over-the-air providers. Details on availability, channel locations, and pricing of a direct-to-consumer streaming option (featuring annual and monthly subscriptions) are being negotiated and will be formally announced before the beginning of the season.
The NHL partnership will produce the team’s local television games starting this season for approximately 70 telecasts -- every regular season game not nationally televised by NHL exclusive broadcast partners ABC, ESPN, ESPN+/Hulu, and TNT. Fans that don’t live in the Blues local broadcast territory can continue to watch Blues games live via the NHL Power Play on ESPN+.
This partnership was enabled by the expansion of the NHL’s award-winning NHL Productions capabilities to include Centralized Production for multiple club local broadcasts, including the Blues, starting with the 2026-27 season. The comprehensive production services to be provided by the League and its centralized production group include studio and show programming, premium game production, advanced graphics and replay capabilities and technical and engineering support.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
After three seasons with the team, perhaps nobody represents what a modern Philadelphia Flyers player should be better than Jamie Drysdale, who just re-upped with the Flyers on a new, well-deserved four-year contract.
Drysdale, 24, was traded to the Flyers by the Ducks in exchange for disgruntled prospect Cutter Gauthier and a 2025 second-round pick (Jack Murtagh) on Jan. 8, 2024, and at that time, the former No. 6 overall pick was trending towards bust territory for his lofty draft status.
Up to the trade, Drysdale had played just 24 games in 2020-21, 81 in 2021-22, when he scored a career-high 32 points, and then just eight in 2022-23 due to injury.
Then, the season of the trade, in 2023-24, Drysdale managed to play in just 10 games for the Ducks before joining the Flyers, missing most of October, all of November, and most of December with another injury.
Even after being acquired by the Flyers, the talented defenseman was sidelined all of March 2024 after being injured by a hit from Jansen Harkins in a game against Pittsburgh on Feb. 25, 2024.
So, heading into his first full season with the Flyers in 2024-25, Drysdale had lost a significant amount of development time for a young prospect his age, having played just 42 regular season games across his previous two seasons.
Drysdale responded with a mostly healthy season after an offseason full of strength training and work to improve his durability, appearing in 70 games for the Flyers and scoring 20 points in what was only his second full-ish NHL season.
The next thing the 2020 No. 6 pick needed to work on was his defending; Drysdale's -32 rating in 2024-25 was the seventh-worst in the entire NHL, ahead of only Steven Stamkos, Connor Bedard, Barclay Goodrow, Rasmus Andersson, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Mason Lohrei.
So, this past season, Drysdale put together his most complete campaign yet, playing in 78 games, scoring a career-high eight goals, matching his career-high 32 points, and posting a personal-best -3 rating over the course of a full season.
Drysdale is rapidly developing into a legitimately good NHL defenseman. (HockeyViz)
Drysdale's improvement defensively was rewarded with trust from Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet, too, as Drysdale's 21:33 of average ice time was nearly two full minutes greater than any of his previous averages over the course of a full season.
Since joining the Flyers, Drysdale has demonstrably improved each year, going from one of the worst defensemen in the NHL to a reliable second-pairing defender who can move the puck at a high level and contribute on the power play.
And considering Drysdale turned 24 only three months ago, there is reason to believe that his best is still yet to come.
But in a nutshell, this is everything the modern Flyers player should be.
Despite being a high draft pick with obvious talent, Drysdale didn't let his development just come to him. He spent extra time in the gym and around the team and actively attacked all of his weaknesses, one summer at a time.
And this is how the present-day Flyers are built.
Porter Martone, David Jiricek, Drysdale, Matvei Michkov, Sean Couturier, Rasmus Ristolainen, Trevor Zegras, and Owen Tippett were all top-10 draft picks.
Drysdale followed in the footsteps of Couturier and Ristolainen, who had to rebuild their games to fit the modern NHL and become effective players again.
Drysdale has become a borderline elite two-way defenseman after some lean years with the Flyers and Ducks. (JFresh Hockey)
Zegras, after some down years in Anaheim, put himself back on the map with hard work and further attention to detail.
Going forward, Jiricek and Michkov, too, will have to follow in the footsteps of Drysdale to help take the Flyers to where they need to go.
Jiricek is less experienced than Drysdale was when he arrived in Philadelphia, and his growth will require similar patience as he works on his defense, too, as well as his average mobility. The offensive talent is already there.
Michkov, in spite of the unreasonable spotlight and a lack of trust from Tocchet, still finished with 51 points in his second NHL season.
He can reach another gear, like Drysdale, by adding another dimension to his skating, as well as, apparently, improving his conditioning in general. As for defense, well... you don't draft or pay Michkov to play defense, do you?
Drysdale is not the flashiest or most popular Flyers player, no. Those titles would sooner go to Zegras, Michkov, or Martone at this stage.
But it should be recognized that he is the epitome of what the organization in its current state stands for: talented, hard-working, loved in the locker room, and stands up for his teammates.
And on his current trajectory, there is no telling how good Drysdale will be by this time next year.
ST. PAUL, MN - MARCH 02: Boston Bruins center Georgii Merkulov (42) looks on during the NHL game between the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild on March 2nd, 2025, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. (Photo by Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Amid the stifling heat wave in Colorado, the Avalanche found the energy to make another transaction that should mostly benefit the Colorado Eagles. Incoming is a 5-foot-11 left shot forward in Georgii Merkulov who inked a one-year two-way NHL deal with the club for the 2026-27 season.
Merkulov went undrafted but was signed out of Ohio State and spent four years in the Boston Bruins organization where he starred for their AHL affiliate in Providence. It’s clear the Eagles needed to rebuild their veteran core after most of the team departed this summer in free agency and Merkulov should provide scoring talent in Loveland.
Merkulov led his AHL squad with 61 points and has scored 240 points in 271 career AHL games. The 25-year-old Russian’s NHL resume is a bit thinner having only produced one assist while he played in 11 total contests over three seasons with Boston including just one game in the 2025-26 season. If the youth movement fails to take off, Merkulov could be another option for the Avalanche to experiment with.
The #GoAvsGo signed 25 y/o F Georgii Merkulov to a one year two-way contract
Contract details show a pretty standard AHL veteran contract with a minor league salary of $350K and $400K guaranteed. The league minimum cap hit of $850K will make it easy for the Avalanche to fit in Merkulov for occasional recalls if they choose to do so.
As a result, the team with an older core will begin the 2026-27 season as the sixth-oldest side in the NHL.
NHL’s Oldest Teams by Average Age 👀 👴 (Via @PuckPedia )
1. LA Kings – 31.0 2. Florida Panthers – 30.9 3. Colorado Avalanche – 30.6 4. Toronto Maple Leafs – 30.3 5. Vegas Golden Knights – 30.0 6. NY Islanders – 30.0 7. Tampa Bay Lightning – 29.8 8. New Jersey Devils –… pic.twitter.com/uBtnbSxsuE
That figure does not include 19-year-old Victor Eklund, who is expected to make the Islanders out of training camp, or, at the very least, be one of the very last cuts.
This could be the last season for a while with the Islanders as one of the oldest teams in the league.
Next summer, all three of Ondrej Palat, Kyle Palmieri, and Casey Cizikas will be unrestricted free agents, and all of them are 35 years old.
Defensively, Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield's trade protections drop from full no-trade clauses to partial no-trade clauses, while Kashawn Aitcheson's potential emergence could force a trade of Adam Pelech.
Additionally, 38-year-old Semyon Varlamov will also be an unrestricted free agent, further dropping the Islanders' average age for next season.
