The Columbus Blue Jackets have 45 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #45. 

Let's take a look.

Jody Shelley - 2001-2008 - Undrafted out of Thompson, MB, CAN. 

Jody Shelley is the Original Columbus Blue Jackets enforcer. On February 17th, 2001, he was called up for his NHL debut. In that game, he fought two Pittsburgh Penguins, Steve McKenna and Krzysztof Oliwa, and would instantly become a Blue Jacket legend. It would be the only game he played that season. He would go on to fight 119 times in his CBJ career. He had seasons where he fought 28 times, 27, and 30. In seven years with Columbus, he had 29 total points; in one season, he had 30 fights alone. During those seasons of 28, 27, and 30 fights, he had over 206 PIMS in all three seasons. He was even given the honor of fighting legendary enforcer Bob Probert on four occasions. Off the ice, Shelley is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.

Shelley was traded to the San Jose Sharks on January 29, 2008, traded to the New York Rangers on February 12, 2010, and then signed with the Philadelphia Flyers on July 1, 2010. In August of 2013, he retired from playing and joined the Blue Jackets as the team ambassador, where he also serves as a color analyst for the Blue Jackets TV broadcasts. 

The Town of Yarmouth declared July 13, 2013, as Jody Shelley Day, and honoured Shelley by renaming Cottage Street as Jody Shelley Drive, and also renumbering the Mariners Centre, the local winter sports facility, as 45 Jody Shelley Drive, after his jersey number.  

Lukáš Sedlák - 2017-2019 - Drafted by the CBJ in the 6th round in 2011. 

Sedlák played 162 games for Columbus before, in a surprising move, leaving North America to sign in the KHL. After three years in Russia, he enacted his NHL out-clause, signing with the Colorado Avalanche and his former Monsters coach Jared Bednar. After just three games, the Avs put him on waivers, where he was claimed by another former coach, John Tortorella. After just 27 games, he asked to have his contract terminated so that he could return to Czechia. He remains in his home country playing for HC Dynamo Pardubice, where he has been the captain for the last three seasons. 

Gavin Brindley - Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2023 by Columbus. 

Brindley quickly became a fan favorite, mostly because his best friend, Adam Fantilli, also played for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Unfortunately for Brindley, however, he never got a real shot to make the CBJ. Brindley struggled with the Cleveland Monsters after making his pro debut. Playing in 52 AHL games, he could only muster 17 points. 

On June 27, 2025, Brindley was traded to the Colorado Avalanche for Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood. Fans immediately ripped the Blue Jackets for trading him, but after seeing what Coyle alone did last year for the CBJ, those critical comments are nowhere to be seen now. 

Don Waddell was asked why he traded Brindley, and his response was pretty straightforward: "We felt we had enough small players on the team." Enough said. 

Brindley signed a two-year contract extension with the Avs on November 11, 2025. He had 13 points in 56 games for Colorado. 

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If there is one glaring weakness, or one area of the Florida Panthers' roster with the most question marks, it's goaltending.

For the past seven seasons, that hasn't been much of an issue. Sergei Bobrovsky has been the Panthers' rock, and while his play was at times a bit inconsistent, outside the 2025-26 season, it never dipped into catastrophically bad territory. 

But Bobrovsky is gone, and in come Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid.

Markstrom joins the Panthers with familiarity, having been drafted by the organization in 2008. Schmid, on the other hand, is brand new to the workings of the Florida Panthers. 

Markstrom posted rather weak numbers with the New Jersey Devils over the past two seasons, coming to Florida as the No. 1 goaltender with numbers far below playoff caliber. Schmid also joins after posting a save percentage below .900, but did play a career high in games.

With uncertainty in the crease, GM Bill Zito could look to the free agent market in hopes of adding a reliable veteran third-string goaltender, in case of both injuries and/or replacements due to poor performance. 

According to puckpedia.com, there are five UFA goaltenders: Connor Ingram, Matt Murray, Petr Mrazek, Cam Talbot, and James Reimer.

All of these goaltenders boast plenty of NHL experience, and many carry post-season experience as well.

Report: Florida Panthers, Sergei Bobrovsky Failed To Agree To Terms Over No-Trade Clause InclusionThe Florida Panthers and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky reportedly were unable to come to an agreement on a contract due to a dispute over the inclusion of a no-trade clause, Daria Tuboltseva of RG Media reports.

Connor Ingram was in a difficult situation with the Edmonton Oilers. The team struggled to figure things out defensively, and their goaltending situation was awful. They shipped Stuart Skinner to the Pittsburgh Penguins and brought in Tristan Jarry, whom they hoped would be the No. 1 goaltender. Instead, he faltered, and Ingram was forced to step in as the No. 1 goaltender for large chunks of the season.

Ingram posted respectable numbers with a .899 SP and a 2.60 goals-against average in 32 games. Ingram would be a solid third-string netminder, but given his history and his age, he's likely looking for a larger role. 

Injuries have tormented Matt Murray's career. When he emerged with the Penguins, he looked like a future NHL top netminder, but since the 2018-19 season, he has played more than 30 games only once. 

The 32-year-old played just five games last season with the Seattle Kraken, but did post a .922 SP. As a third-string goaltender, Murray could be worth the chance, but it's difficult to feel comfortable relying on a goaltender who suffers injuries as frequently as he does. 

Petr Mrazek has played for six NHL teams in his career, owning the No. 1 role for three seasons. Overall, his career numbers show him posting a .905 SP and a 2.87 GAA in 438 games.

Despite that, Mrazek has played just 15 games over the past two NHL campaigns; his numbers last year with the Anaheim Ducks were woeful. That's a chance Mrazek could still be dependable as a third-stringer, but those chances are slim. 

Three Former Florida Panthers Players Without An NHL ContractThree players who played for the Florida Panthers during the 2025-26 season remain without a contract nearly a month after free agency began.

Cam Talbot played more games than any of the five available goaltenders last season and is also the oldest. Talbot has dressed in 587 regular-season games and another 36 post-season games in his career. With the Red Wings last year, Talbot recorded a .883 SP and a 3.19 GAA in 34 games.

His best days are far behind him, but with his experience, playing behind a team like the Panthers could help him feel the security in between the pipes that he may have been lacking recently. Despite playing for eight teams in his career, Talbot has never landed in Florida. Could they be his ninth franchise?

James Reimer would join the Panthers with plenty of familiarity, as the 38-year-old spent three seasons with the Panthers, manning the crease in 123 regular-season games. 

NHL work has been hard to come by for Reimer, but with his selfless mindset and vast experience, he could be a valuable third-stringer. 

None of these goaltenders will come to Florida and save their season if things go sideways, but they could be relied upon in times of need.

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After seeing Cole Caufield make the NHL Network’s top 20 wingers right now list in ninth place and Lane Hutson land in sixth place on their top 20 defensemen right now list, the Montreal Canadiens saw Jakub Dobes crack the top 10 goaltenders list on Sunday night.

It’s surprising to see the rookie goaltender land on the list after just one full season in the league and one in which he did experience some struggles, despite leading all rookie goaltenders in wins. Still, the fact that he was able to crack the list speaks to the fact that there aren’t that many superstar goaltenders these days in the NHL. Gone are the days of Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hašek, and Curtis Joseph. A lot of teams now bet on a tandem of goalies rather than put all their eggs in one main goaltender's basket.

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To justify Dobes’ selection, NHL Network notes that he dominated all rookie goaltenders with 29 wins, while posting a 2.78 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. While that is impressive, it’s worth mentioning that only four rookie netminders, including Dobes, started over 30 games last season and could therefore hope to have as many wins as the Habs’ goaltender. Yaroslav Askarov had 21, Artus Silovs had 19, and Jesper Wallstedt had 18.

The article also mentions the fact that Dobes started all 19 playoff games for the Habs and took them all the way to the Eastern Conference final, on top of becoming the fifth goaltender in franchise history to win a Game 7, joining Carey Price, Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante, which is some pretty elite company. The article seems to have forgotten that Jaroslav Halak also won a couple of Game 7s with the Habs against the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2010.

Dobes is not the only rookie to have found his way into the top-10 list, as Wallstedt lands in ninth place. Dan Vladar grabs the eighth spot, Jake Oettinger the seventh, Logan Thompson the sixth, Jeremy Swayman the fifth, Ilya Sorokin the fourth, Igor Shesterkin the third, Connor Hellebuyck the second and Andrei Vasilevskiy the first.

It will be interesting to see what the list looks like next year, especially if Dobes can make his sophomore season as successful as his playoff run. As things stand, the Czech netminder will without a doubt be the Canadiens’ first-choice goaltender this season, whether he is backed up by Samuel Montembeault or by Jakub Dobes.

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Carolina Hurricanes forward Logan Stankoven had his day with the Stanley Cup on Sunday, bringing the Cup home to family and friends in Kamloops, B.C.

Stankoven was a huge part of the Canes’ championship run this spring, and if you ask the average Sens fan, many would suggest he should have been the Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

That’s because Stankoven was an absolute Sens slayer in the first round of the playoffs, scoring a goal in every game of the series. And if you’ll recall, this was a series where goals were hard to come by... for both teams.

Take away Carolina’s two empty-netters and an overtime winner, and the Hurricanes scored just eight regulation goals in the entire four-game series.

Stankoven scored half of them. And set up another.

The series would have looked very different without Stankoven, and seeing him out and about and enjoying his big day with the Cup made it hard not to think back to that series.

Despite the Sens' loss, Game 2 remains one of the most entertaining games I’ve seen in years, and one of the craziest overtime games in Senators history.

That game and its double OT had it all.

There was the Sens comeback from a two-goal deficit, an apparent overtime winner that wasn't, an overtime penalty shot, some unreal saves at both ends, a couple of Senators ringing shots off the post/crossbar, and finally, a double-overtime winner from the same guy who had just missed that OT penalty shot.

If you've forgotten how crazy that night in Raleigh was, it's worth another look.

The Canes had won Game 1 and seemed well on their way to taking a commanding 2-0 series lead to Ottawa after Stankoven (naturally) and Sebastian Aho gave the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead in Game 2.

But the Senators didn't go quietly.

Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens scored in the second period to tie the game, while Linus Ullmark was playing out of his mind at the other end.

Ullmark stopped 43 shots on the night, including a terrific glove save on a Taylor Hall one-timer in the second period and another huge stop on Jordan Staal in the dying seconds of regulation. And he had a bunch more in OT, including a penalty shot save.

So it was off to overtime, and that's when things got weird... and unbelievably exciting.

With 2:42 remaining in the first overtime, Mark Jankowski appeared to end it. Jankowski jumped on a loose rebound and beat Ullmark, sending the Hurricanes pouring off the bench and the crowd in Raleigh into celebration.

Game over? Not so much.

Officials reviewed the play and determined Carolina had been offside entering the Ottawa zone, so the goal was wiped out and the Senators had new life.

But the review created another problem for them.

Before the puck had gone into the net, Warren Foegele had hooked Martinook on his way to the net, and the delayed penalty was actually going to be a penalty shot. So while the Hurricanes lost their apparent game-winning goal, Martinook skated up to the puck all alone at centre ice

Once again, Carolina had a chance to end it. Once again, they didn't.

Ullmark stopped Martinook on what was the NHL's first overtime penalty shot in a playoff game since 2020.

And the game continued.

The Senators had already had two unreal chances in tight during the first overtime from Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle.

Tkachuk got a nice feed out front from Drake Batherson and his shot barely clipped the top of Frederik Andersen’s right pad. Another quarter-inch higher and the puck was in.

On Stützle’s chance, he outwaited Andersen, slid it past that same right pad and hit the goalpost.

In the second overtime, Michael Amadio got another glorious chance in tight. His shot clipped the top of Andersen’s left shoulder and fluttered toward the net.

ESPN’s John Buccigross screamed, “He scores!” For a split second, it looked like he had.

Instead, the puck gently glanced off the crossbar and stayed out.

If the Sens get a bounce on any of those plays, we're probably remembering Game 2 as one of the great playoff wins in Senators history.

Instead, Carolina finally put the matter to rest.

With fatigue clearly setting in, Brady Tkachuk meekly turned the puck over at the far blue line, and as Carolina quickly transitioned back the other way, it set off a series of unfortunate events.

On the one hand, you had tired forwards either scrambling around or puck-watching. And on defence, Jordan Staal was allowed to stand directly in front of Ullmark, and no one touched him, let alone tried to move him. You could almost feel the death blow approaching.

With the Canes whipping the puck around at will, Martinook found wide open ice in the slot between Stutzle and Batherson and ripped a great shot past Ullmark, who was still being screened by Staal.

After 93 minutes and 53 seconds of incredible hockey, the game was over.

The Senators have played plenty of bigger playoff games over the years. But it's hard to think of many that were crazier or more entertaining than that one.

And seeing Stankoven zipping around Kamloops with the Stanley Cup on Sunday was a pretty good reminder of it.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News

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The National Hockey League released its list of the Top 10 NHL Goalies on Sunday night. Of course, some of the best net-minders in league history are at the top of the list, and there is plenty of depth at this position across the league.

Goalies as a whole are better than ever. It’s as hard to score a goal as it’s ever been, and a lot of it has to do with how good these men are. Without good goaltending at precisely the right time, a team cannot win when it counts. 

In the same breath, some goalies can vary from year to year. A guy could be in the mix for the Vezina Trophy one year and struggle hard the next. His team will likely reflect those results too. It can be random, but most of the guys on this list are elite every season. 

The Chicago Blackhawks have an outstanding goaltender in Spencer Knight. They have some good young goalies in the system, but the trade to acquire Knight gave the rebuild some juice because he is a young player (25) who is already great at the NHL level. 

It would have been reasonable for him to come in the second half of the top-10, but he was snubbed. 

Introducing NHL Network's Top 10 Goalies Right Now!

What do you think of the list? #NHLTopPlayerspic.twitter.com/bblvaYkKmq

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) August 17, 2026

Knight is going to finish higher than those in the top seven for a while, but he has played just as well, if not better, than the rest on a much worse team. 

With the Blackhawks, who have been one of the worst defensive teams during his tenure, Knight has made them a much more formidable squad. 

During the 2025-26 season, his first full year in Chicago, he posted a record of 19-25-11 but managed to have numbers near his career average as he had a 2.82 goals-against average and .902 save percentage. 

Those aren't top-flight numbers, but they are great for a guy facing 30+ shots every single night, and sometimes much more than that. 

Knight's numbers also started to fall off a bit after the trade deadline, when the team traded away a few of their top defensive players, including Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson, and Connor Murphy.

With a good team in front of him, he is an outstanding goalie. In Knight's final 23 games with the Florida Panthers, the 2024-25 season before being traded, he was 12-8-1 with a .907 save percentage and a 2.40 goals-against average. 

Now, Knight has to work hard to get himself back into consideration for that list. It is going to be a challenge, with the Blackhawks scheduled to be in front of him again, but they have improved a bit. 

Nobody questions Knight's ability to be a starting goalie in the NHL anymore. It's just a matter of how good he can become and whether or not he is on a team that will allow him to take that next step. 

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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Minnesota Wild forward and former Stanley Cup Winner Nicolas Aube-Kubel has now signed a deal overseas.

Aube-Kubel, 30, has agreed to terms on a contract with KHL club Dinamo Minsk for the 2026-27 season. It had been rumored for weeks but it has now been made official.

The 6-foot forward drew interest from KHL club Barys Astana earlier this month but now has signed with Dinamo.

He recorded two assists in six NHL games last year while posting 37 points in 62 AHL games with the Iowa Wild.

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NHL Network released their top-10 goalies of ‘right now’ and one thing that stood out was the preponderance of goalies within the division for the Penguins. Half of the teams in the division can be found in this league-wide ranking.

Introducing NHL Network's Top 10 Goalies Right Now!

What do you think of the list? #NHLTopPlayerspic.twitter.com/bblvaYkKmq

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) August 17, 2026

The two NYC-ish based Russian goalies of Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin are generally understood to be the top talents in the division at the position as known quantities. Goaltending performances from year-to-year are notoriously variable and all over the map, aside from the handful of elite goalies that almost always bring their A game. Shesterkin and Sorokin are accepted as those rare goalies good enough to be above the fray and provide consistently strong play.

Logan Thompson in Washington should arguably be even higher than the sixth place position he was placed for this list, considering that he’s finished fourth in Vezina voting for the last two years. Those finishes in the voting might even be lower than deserved considering that Thompson held up statistically very well coming in second across the NHL in 5v5 and overall GSAA, tied for third in save percentage and shutouts, fourth in wins and fifth in GAA. Thompson doesn’t tend to get a lot of shine or outward accolades but there’s little doubt that he has been playing at an impressive level recently, placing him in the sixth spot could easily be seen as too low for what his resume has indicated.

Rounding out the list for Metropolitan goalies was Dan Vladar at eighth, who the Penguins know all too well was good in the moment. Vladar went 12-6-1 for the Flyers after the Olympic break and his play was a big reason why Philadelphia made the playoffs and then advanced through the first round of the playoffs posting a .937 save% and 1.61 GAA in the first round against Pittsburgh. The Flyers rewarded Vladar with one of those contracts that seemingly always bite NHL teams to give a mid-level goalie a long term and a decent-sized salary ($5.5 million in Vladar’s case, and the contract doesn’t even kick in until the 2027-28 season) so that could be one to watch as a player that potentially could be more on the roller coaster for ups and downs. Recently, however, Vladar’s arrow has been pointing up.

All these opponent goalies being on the list serves to underscore the difficulty that next season could have for a team like the Pens, who don’t go into the year with an advantage in net against many of their closest rivals. It doesn’t help that with the perfected system of puck possession that Carolina has that it doesn’t even matter that they don’t have a top goalie and can have average netminders perform very well behind a team that doesn’t ask too much of their shot stoppers. That formula works for them and should be continuing into the future just the same.

None of this are new revelations but just underscore the reality that teams like the Penguins find themselves in when it comes to competition levels isolated to the goalie position. Between having four top-10 goalies (plus the overall great situation in Carolina) there’s a strong challenge in the season ahead for most of the division games that Pittsburgh is going to play.

The NHL Network has been slowly releasing its annual positional rankings ahead of the 2026-27 season. Thus far, through the defense and right wing rankings, the Calgary Flames have come away empty-handed. However, a couple of former players made the list, with Dan Vladar joining the group on Sunday.

The NHL Network tapped him as the 8th-best goalie in the NHL right now, just below Jake Oettinger and ahead of Jesper Wallstedt and Jakub Dobes.

Initially drafted in the third round (75th overall) by the Boston Bruins at the 2015 NHL Draft, Vladar came to Calgary in 2021 and earned a full-time backup role under Jacob Markström and Dustin Wolf. As an unrestricted free agent in July 2025, he signed a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Flyers, where he became the team's top goalie with a 29-14-7 record in 52 games, helping the club earn a playoff spot. 

Despite not posting any shutouts, Vladar produced a .906 SV% and 2.42 GAA, both personal bests, and played all 10 playoff games for the Flyers, who eventually lost to the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. Philadelphia fans took notice, and so did NHL award voters, as he finished sixth in Vezina Trophy voting and 18th in the Hart Trophy race.

For his efforts, Philadelphia extended him for another five seasons at $5.5 million, his biggest payday in professional hockey.

Over six years in the NHL, the 28-year-old from Prague has a 78-48-23 record, a .898 SV%, and a 2.80 GAA. 

New York Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin was at it again in 2025-26, finishing as a Vezina finalst for the second time in his NHL career. 

Sorokin, 31, posted a 2.68 GAA and a .906 SV% with a league-leading seven shutouts in 55 games, with a 29-24-2 record. His GSAE sat at 25.3, which was the best in the NHL behind Boston Bruins' netminder Jeremy Swayman (28.8) and Washington captains netminder Logan Thompson (29.3).  

He comes in at No. 4 on NHL Network's Top 10 Goalies Right Now list:

Another year, another spot on NHL Network's Top 10 Goalies Right Now list for Ilya Sorokin (@NYIslanders), coming in at #⃣4⃣!

📺: #NHLTopPlayers on NHL Network pic.twitter.com/IiejxdqWYZ

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) August 16, 2026

The three goalies ahead of him are New York Islanders netminder Igor Shesterkin at No. 3, Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck at No. 2 and coming in at No. 1 is the goaltender who beat Sorokin out for the Vezina, Tampa Bay Lightning's starter Andrei Vasilevskiy:

Introducing NHL Network's Top 10 Goalies Right Now!

What do you think of the list? #NHLTopPlayerspic.twitter.com/bblvaYkKmq

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) August 17, 2026

It's a debatable list and had Sorokin willed the Islanders into the playoffs -- he did all he could behind a questionable defense -- he likely finishes higher on the list, especially ahead of his Russian pal Shesterkin.

On the heels of an improbably good breakout campaign, Philadelphia Flyers goalie Dan Vladar has earned himself a nice slice of national recognition from NHL pundits around the league.

Vladar, 28, was Mr. Right for the Flyers last season, always showing up when the stakes were the highest.

The longtime Calgary Flames backup emerged as the Flyers' starting goalie in his first year in Philadelphia, going 29-14-7 in 52 appearances and 51 starts to the tune of a 2.42 GAA and .906 save percentage.

While the raw stats aren't all that impressive on their own, Vladar also finished 10th in the NHL in goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck, with 13.8.

In the playoffs, Vladar was even better, stopping 8.5 goals above expected in just 10 games. Only Montreal's Jakub Dobes (13.3) was better, and he played in nine more games for the Eastern Conference semifinalist Canadiens.

All in all, Vladar was able to parlay his stunning season into some deserved national recognition, impressively ranking as the eighth-best goalie in the entire NHL in the eyes of NHL Network producers and analysts on the heels of coming in sixth place in Vezina Trophy voting earlier in the summer.

Exclusive: Flyers GM Daniel Briere On How Joseph Woll Trade With Leafs Came TogetherPhiladelphia Flyers GM Daniel Briere shared when they made Joseph Woll a trade target from the Toronto Maple Leafs and how the team plans to use him and Dan Vladar.

The 6-foot-5 Czech netminder ranked ahead of Minnesota's Jesper Wallstedt and Dobes, but behind all the names you would come to expect to see on a list like this one: Jake Oettinger, Logan Thompson, Jeremy Swayman, Ilya Sorokin, Igor Shesterkin, Connor Hellebuyck, and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The question for Vladar and the Flyers going forward is whether or not the breakout star can repeat his performance next season and in the years beyond.

Before signing with the Flyers, Vladar had recorded a save percentage greater than .898 in a season just once, and had never started in 30 or more games in a single campaign.

If Vladar can put on an encore and more in Philadelphia, though, the Flyers will have a top-10 goalie in the NHL locked down for the foreseeable future.

The Flyers tied down their newfound starting shot-stopper to a five-year, $27.5 million ($5.5 million AAV) contract extension back on July 1.

That kind of investment tells us that the Flyers certainly believe Vladar can do it again, and the national analysts and producers over at NHL Network seem to agree.

Listed No. 8 of this Toronto Maple Leafs prospect ranking at TheHockeyNews.com is Harry Nansi.

The players in this ranking do not have extensive NHL experience and are all under 23. Therefore, players such as William Villeneuve, Artur Akhtyamov and Easton Cowan, among others, won't feature in this ranking for either or both of those particular reasons.

In terms of where these players fall in the rankings, it is a mix of their ceiling and potential, as well as how they've performed in the past year with their respective clubs. 

The Maple Leafs selected Nansi at the 2025 NHL draft with the 153rd overall pick in the fifth round. He is coming off his third season with the OHL's Owen Sound Attack, and his second straight campaign of featuring in all but one regular-season outing.

This past year, the 6-foot-4 right winger scored 13 goals and 56 points in 67 appearances for Owen Sound. His playmaking in 2025-26 notably excelled from the 2024-25 campaign. All he provided was 16 assists - along with seven goals for 23 points - compared to the 43 helpers he registered this past year.

Maple Leafs NHL Prospect Ranking: No. 9, Tyler HopkinsCampbellville, Ont., native and Guelph Storm center Tyler Hopkins ranks No. 9 in THN's Toronto Maple Leafs prospect ranking.

It's likely that Nansi does have more in his locker than he's been able to display to this point in his junior hockey career. A lot of that has to do with the Attack, and how they haven't been one of the stronger teams in the OHL for the past little while. In fact, since Nansi debuted for the team in 2023-24 as a 16-year-old, Owen Sound have finished each year with a losing record, but made the playoffs.

This past year, the Attack finished with a 27-32-9 record, winding up sixth in the Western Conference. They ended the campaign with 63 points, which is 21 points fewer than the fifth-place team in the Western Conference, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

In each of the three playoff campaigns that Nansi featured in, Owen Sound have been swept in the first round. Nansi played in all four games of the 2024 and 2026 series, finishing without a point in those contests. In 2025 against Easton Cowan's London Knights, Nansi was able to record one assist in the two games he played.

Maple Leafs NHL Prospect Ranking: No. 10, Victor JohanssonKicking off our Toronto Maple Leafs prospects ranking is Victor Johansson at No. 10.

Regardless of the team he has around him or the circumstances of the team through the years, what's important is Nansi's growth and progression, particularly the 33-point increase from 2024-25 to 2025-26, which should please the Maple Leafs' front office.

In that regard, one area that Nansi has clearly improved in is his skating. At the Maple Leafs development camp in early July, he said that was something he had worked on for quite some time.

"Especially down low, I think my skating has evolved," Nansi said. Forward, backward, it helped me a lot, being stable on the ice and being able to make plays out there." 

He said that he worked all summer with Paul Matheson, who is a part of the Maple Leafs' development team as a skating coach.

This coming season will be a big one for Nansi.

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Devils Links

“It wouldn’t be a stretch to say the Devils need more from Meier, though. The underlying metrics remain excellent, but he finished with 24 goals and 44 points last season, which doesn’t cut it for someone making $8.8 million per year. If the Devils are to rebound and make the playoffs next season, Meier will have to be a key part of it. What should fans expect from him?” [Devils on the Rush ($)]

“The New Jersey Devils have restocked their cupboard a fair amount this off-season, enjoying a well-regarded draft, accumulating future assets, and trading for the likes of Amadeus Lombardi. With that, let’s talk about the cream of the crop – the top three prospects in the system – entering the 2026-27 season.” [Infernal Access ($)]

“The New Jersey Devils come in at No. 19 on TheHockeyNews.com’s NHL off-season ranking. The Devils have a new GM and a new No. 1 goalie, but are they a Stanley Cup playoff lock?” [The Hockey News]

FWIW:

Joe Lorincz is no longer listed on the NJD website.

He was the team's Strength and Conditioning Coach since 2015-16.

— Devils Insiders (@DevilsInsiders) August 13, 2026

Hockey Links

“Saturday will mark one month until the maximum term for NHL contracts will drop from eight years when re-signing with a team to seven. It’s possible that the last-ever eight-year deal has already been inked, with the most recent max-term deal surprisingly going to Pittsburgh Penguins winger Ville Koivunen, who signed for a cap hit of $4 million.” [TSN]

“Which teams are heading into a cap crunch next summer? Who’s sitting pretty and under budget? How much will the game’s next big stars command on their next deals, and what might that mean for teams’ second-best scorers? With all that in mind, we’re looking at a handful of intriguing franchises — each facing different questions and approaches to salary cap management — in the year ahead, and beyond.” [Sportsnet]

“There are blockbuster trades, massive free-agent contracts and acquisitions that immediately become central to a team’s Stanley Cup aspirations. But for every major move, there are several quieter additions that could ultimately prove just as important. Some teams found value in players coming off down seasons. Others targeted specific areas of need, while a few took chances on players who could have considerably more responsibility in their new surroundings. Here are 12 under-the-radar acquisitions who could make a bigger impact than the attention they’ve received this summer:” [Sportsnet]

“What hockey game had you sitting in complete silence for 30 minutes after the fact?” [r/hockey]

Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.

Alexandar Georgiev revived his career in Russia, but the NHL still isn't buying it.

Nearly two months after returning to North America, Georgiev remains unsigned. Training camps are getting closer, rosters are taking shape and the number of places for a goaltender looking for a fresh start is getting smaller by the day.

Not long ago, he was Colorado's starting goaltender, an All-Star and one of the NHL's winningest netminders. Now, he's trying to convince a team that the goaltender it saw struggle so badly in North America isn't the one it would be getting this time around.

And that's probably the biggest problem Georgiev faces.

From 38 Wins To Searching For A Job

Georgiev's fall happened quickly.

As a member of the Avalanche, he tied for the NHL lead with 40 wins during the 2022-23 season before leading the league outright with 38 victories in 2023-24. He was selected to the All-Star Game in 2024, putting him alongside the league's biggest names and giving him the kind of recognition that suggested he had arrived.

There was even a memorable moment at All-Star Weekend when Georgiev faced Connor McDavid in the one-on-one goalie challenge. He stopped nine of 12 attempts from the best player in the world, earned $100,000 and had McDavid joking afterward that Georgiev "had my number."

At the time, it was easy to see Georgiev as a goaltender who had figured things out.

Then the numbers started going the other way.

His .897 save percentage in 2023-24 was hardly reflective of a 38-win season, and things became much worse the following year. Georgiev finished his final stretch in Colorado with an 8-7-0 record, a 3.38 goals-against average and a .874 save percentage.

A trade to San Jose didn't fix anything.

With the Sharks, Georgiev went 7-19-4 with a 3.88 GAA and a .875 save percentage across 31 appearances.

Suddenly, the goaltender who had been trusted to carry a Stanley Cup contender was looking for a way to stay in the top league in the world. 

Russia Was Exactly What Georgiev Needed

Georgiev eventually found that reset in Russia.

After his NHL struggles continued in San Jose and Buffalo, he returned to the KHL and joined Spartak Moskva. For the first time in years, his numbers started looking like those of the goaltender Colorado thought it was getting when it made him its starter.

In 24 regular-season appearances, Georgiev posted a 2.37 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

That .918 is particularly noteworthy.

It marked the first time since the 2022-23 season with Colorado that Georgiev finished a season with a save percentage above .900.

That doesn't erase what happened in the NHL. But it does give Georgiev something he didn't have when he left North America: evidence that his game could still be rebuilt.

He wasn't finished.

The playoffs were a little more complicated.

Georgiev went 1-4 in five postseason appearances with Spartak, but his individual numbers remained solid. He recorded a 2.65 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

Not bad.

The problem is that NHL teams aren't simply asking whether Georgiev can play well in Russia.

They're asking whether they can trust him to do it here. And due to that lack of trust, Georgiev has found himself in a pickle. 

Most NHL teams have already figured out their goaltending situations. The obvious starting jobs are gone, most backup positions have been filled and teams are increasingly looking toward younger options to provide depth.

He's too accomplished to be viewed as just another organizational goaltender, but his recent NHL performance makes it difficult to view him as a reliable starter.

A team considering Georgiev has to balance two very different versions of the same player.

There's the goaltender who won 78 games over two seasons in Colorado and earned an All-Star selection.

Then there's the goaltender who posted a .875 save percentage in 2024-25 and eventually found himself out of the NHL altogether.

As the saying goes, you're only as good as your last outing. And his last stint in the NHL was as dismal as you can get.

Georgiev Doesn't Need To Be A Starter

The good news for Georgiev is that he doesn't necessarily need someone to hand him the starting job.

He just needs someone to give him a chance.

A low-cost, one-year deal could make sense for a team looking for an experienced backup. A PTO could give him an opportunity to earn a roster spot during training camp. And, as every NHL season inevitably proves, injuries can create openings that simply don't exist in August.

That may ultimately be how Georgiev gets back to the NHL. But so far, nobody has been willing to make that bet — and it's hard to blame them. Teams aren't exactly lining up to gamble on a goaltender whose recent NHL struggles earned him the unfortunate nickname "Fourgiev."

Until then, he'll remain one of the more intriguing unsigned goaltenders on the market — and one of the biggest question marks.

It's officially another season, another prospects ranking for the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

In years past, this has been a bit easier of an exercise, as there used to be a more clear-cut line between prospects with NHL upside and longshots. However, because of the work that general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas and his staff have put in during the last several years, the line is blurring a whole lot more - and there is a substantially higher volume of talent in the system. 

This time around, making a top-20 list was challenging. So, a few criteria were put into place: To make our list, prospects must be under the age of 26 and have played less than 50 NHL games. This excludes names such as Ben Kindel, Filip Hallander, Oliver Okuliar, and Alexander Alexeyev.

To kick off the top-10, we selected center Tristan Broz, whose health this season will probably determine whether or not he ends up sticking in the NHL. Shifting to the wing for No. 9, we discuss the Penguins' 2026 first-round pick who seems to have a dangerous and translatable offensive toolset.

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No. 9: RW Liam Ruck

One of the best plays I have seen out of Liam Ruck comes on the Penalty Kill in the WHL Playoffs. Big time players make big time plays in the big moments.

Liam Ruck is not afraid to get in the middle of the ice. @PuckBunkerBoyce talked about how translatable Ruck’s goals he… pic.twitter.com/puA2O9XQey

— The Prospect Don (@TheProspectDon) April 14, 2026

Once Liam was selected by the Penguins with the 22nd overall pick in this year's draft, it was pretty much inevitable that his twin brother, Markus, was also going to be taken by Pittsburgh, too. And, yes, that did happen. 

Much has been made about the development of the brothers together, which we covered when we highlighted Markus on this list at No. 15. And it's for good reason, as they were first and second in WHL scoring last season, with Markus leading the way at 21 goals and 108 points and Liam right behind him at 45 goals and 104 points for the Medicine Hat Tigers. 

Obviously, the two teaming up to dominate the league is no small thing, and the Penguins have both in their clutches. But the one thing that makes Liam stand out a bit from his brother is that 45. 

This guy is a pure goal-scorer with a nasty release. And, regardless of whether he and his brother develop at the same pace or at different paces, that's something that should translate no matter who he ends up on a line with.

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?? THE TWINS ARE COOKING AGAIN!! 😤🎯

Liam Ruck gets his 41st of the season to make it 3-0 for the Tigers! @tigershockey | #NHLDraftpic.twitter.com/El3PWFBA9l

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) March 11, 2026

Top-20 Penguins' Prospects 2026, No. 10: Center Will Be Player To Watch At Training CampNext up on THN's Top-20 Penguins' Prospects list at No. 10 is a two-way center who, with some better injury luck, should see more extended

Liam, 18, experienced a breakout WHL campaign last season, but it wasn't only the result of flanking Markus. The young scoring winger's hockey IQ was on display all season long, as he is able to outsmart defenders and will his way to scoring areas undetected. He has enough footspeed to win races to loose pucks, his shot has legitimate pop, and he is also an excellent distributor who rarely forces plays and instead finds the right one. All that was on display during the playoffs, too, when he put up eight goals and 12 points in 14 games.

But Liam's bread and butter is around the net front. He anticipates well, puts himself in open positions to score and create, consistently wins puck battles, and can finish off plays with a quick, deceptive release. He's also a good forechecker, and his stick seems to be a magnet for the puck.

"It's neat to see how he can get to open space and wants the puck in the shooting areas," director of player development Tom Kostopoulos said following development camp. "Some guys want the puck all the time, and it seems to me he wants the puck in the areas that he can score from."

Liam Ruck AGAIN!?! 😱@tigershockey | #NHLDraftpic.twitter.com/jIMIJnZgnH

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) January 17, 2026

IT’S A BIRTHDAY BASH FOR LIAM RUCK!!! 🎉🎊

Liam Ruck snipes his 34th goal of the season and makes it 3-0 for the Tabbies@tigershockey | #NHLDraftpic.twitter.com/X4oGybr4FW

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) February 22, 2026

Offensively, Ruck has so much raw talent that is hard to ignore or dismiss, but the instincts are what separates him. If he can build out his two-way game a bit more, he should be an intriguing piece for the Penguins going forward, as he is one of the few forwards in their system with legitimate top-six upside.

“It's not just the talent,” Dubas said following the selection of Ruck. “It’s the talent plus the enthusiasm and the intelligence and how much he loves playing and contributing to a contending team and playing well in the playoffs for them. So, it was a number of different things that just made him what we felt was a great fit as a Pittsburgh Penguin.”

Next up for Liam - and Markus - is one more year with Medicine Hat before heading off to the University of North Dakota for the 2027-28 season. He may be several years away from sniffing the NHL, but if he continues to grow his game, he will quickly become one of the organization's very best prospects. 

Top-20 Penguins' Prospects 2026, No. 11: Newly Drafted Defenseman Has High IntrigueNext up on THN's Top-20 Penguins' Prospects list at No. 11 is a left blueliner new to the system who has shown some pretty high offensive upside and who could fill a glaring positional need for the Penguins in the future.

The list so far:

- Honorable mentions

- No. 20: D Chase Pietila

- No. 19: C Kale Dach

- No. 18: LW/C Ryan Miller

- No. 17: C Zam Plante

- No. 16: G Joel Blomqvist

- No. 15:C Markus Ruck

- No. 14:LW Tanner Howe

- No. 13:D Finn Harding

- No. 12:RW Avery Hayes

- No. 11:D Tomas Galvas

- No. 10:C Tristan Broz

- No. 9: RW Liam Ruck

Top-20 Penguins' Prospects 2026, No. 13: Defenseman's Growth A Revelation For PittsburghNext up on THN's Top-20 Penguins' Prospects list is a defenseman who continues to raise his own stock despite his late draft selection - and who is beginning to look more and more like an NHL-wired blueliner.

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The Colorado Avalanche spent months positioning themselves for another deep Stanley Cup run.

Then, when the moment arrived, everything unraveled at once.

A Presidents’ Trophy-winning regular season ended with a Western Conference Final sweep at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights, leaving Colorado with an offseason to figure out how a team that looked so dominant for much of the year suddenly ran out of answers.

For Cale Makar, the explanation isn’t complicated.

But that doesn’t make it any easier to accept.

“It was just a tough way to end,” Makar told Bailey Curtis of DNVR during a fan meet-and-greet Sunday at the new Dick’s House of Sport in Thornton. “I think a lot of things just went wrong for us at the wrong time.”

Perhaps that is the most telling assessment Makar could offer.

There were no excuses. No finger-pointing. No suggestion that Colorado needs to tear everything down.

Instead, Makar described a team that simply couldn’t get enough things going its way when the margin for error became razor-thin.

“Everything’s got to be going right in order to win,” Makar said. “We just kind of ran into a little bit of a wall and had a little bit of tough circumstances for some guys.”

Colorado knows how unforgiving that wall can be.

After dominating the regular season, sweeping the Los Angeles Kings and getting past the Minnesota Wild, the Avalanche entered the Western Conference Final with legitimate championship expectations.

Vegas ended those expectations in four games.

Now Colorado has to make sure the loss actually means something.

“You regroup and you try and build up,” Makar said.

A Different Avalanche Is Taking Shape

The Avalanche will have plenty to build around, but the team taking the ice in 2026-27 won’t look exactly like the one that lifted the Presidents’ Trophy.

Colorado has already made significant changes to its forward group.

Ross Colton was traded to Nashville on June 16. Eight days later, the Avalanche made another deal with the Predators, sending Jack Drury, Chase Bradley and a 2029 third-round pick to Nashville for Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux.

Colorado also acquired Fabian Lysell from Boston for Ivan Ivan and added veterans Jaden Schwartz, Noah Juulsen and Vinnie Hinostroza in free agency.

For Makar, those departures mean more than simply replacing goals and assists.

“We’re losing some key guys and some guys that were big parts of our team,” Makar said. “Not just on ice, but off ice as well.”

That is where Colorado’s biggest challenge could come.

Talent can be replaced.

Leadership has to develop.

Makar knows the Avalanche are going to look different, but he doesn’t view that as an automatic step backward.

“It’s going to be different, obviously,” Makar said. “It’s new bodies, new faces.”

Makar has stayed in contact with some of Colorado’s newcomers during the offseason, although he has mostly let everyone enjoy their summer before training camp begins.

Once camp opens, however, the expectations return.

And Makar remains confident in what the Avalanche can become.

“I feel confident that we’re in a good spot right now and we’re going to continue to get better as the season progresses, like we always did,” he said.

That confidence matters.

Because despite all the roster movement, Colorado’s standard hasn’t changed.

The Avalanche still expect to contend for the Stanley Cup.

Makar Isn’t Worried About The Power Play

One area that will inevitably receive scrutiny after the disappointing playoff exit is Colorado’s power play.

Makar, however, doesn’t sound like someone who believes the Avalanche need to reinvent themselves.

Instead, he sees a foundation worth building on.

“I felt confident in how we ended the regular season and then playoffs as well,” Makar said. “I felt like we can just build up a little bit of that momentum.”

That mindset may be important for Colorado moving forward.

The Western Conference Final sweep doesn’t erase what the Avalanche accomplished during the regular season. It simply exposed how quickly things can change once the playoffs become a battle of inches.

Colorado doesn’t need to start over.

It needs to find a way to finish.

Makar said he is feeling good heading toward training camp after spending part of his summer back in Calgary and recovering from another demanding NHL season.

That is obviously important.

But Colorado needs more than Makar being Makar.

Lysell will have an opportunity to establish himself in Colorado, while L’Heureux and Svechkov will be expected to grow into larger roles.

L’Heureux, in particular, could bring an element of physicality the Avalanche will need. His willingness to throw big hits and play with an edge would give Colorado a different dimension, especially in a playoff environment where games can become increasingly physical.

The veteran additions, particularly Schwartz, will also have to help stabilize a locker room that lost some important voices.

And for the returning core, the challenge is simple: make sure what happened against Vegas becomes a lesson rather than another missed opportunity.

The Avalanche were good enough to dominate the regular season.

They weren’t good enough when things went wrong in the playoffs.

That is the gap Colorado has to close.

The Vegas sweep is still part of the story.

It just doesn’t have to be the ending.

Colorado ran into a wall.

Now, with a new-look roster and another championship opportunity ahead, it has to figure out how to break through it.