When the NHL's summer buyout window opens, it's only natural for NHL fans to take a good, hard look at their team's roster and wonder if there are any buyout candidates.
Honestly, while engaging in this exercise, no one on the roster really jumped out at me. But then I saw this X post from John Rodenburg at TSN 1200 radio, which carries Senators games in Ottawa.
NHL buyout window opens today.
Is Kurtis MacDermid a candidate for Ottawa?
You can bury the money in Belleville, but really, what's the point in having him? After the first 2 months of the season, he never saw the ice
The Wrap Around Show discussed the idea of Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk possibly landing in Ottawa.
Poor ol' Kurtis MacDermid, suddenly out here catching strays on a sunny June morning. So let's examine this particular buyout idea about MacD, and whether I'm lovin' it.
The Senators, from players to coaches to management, have been wide open about their fondness for MacDermid. Back in November, Sens head coach Travis Green shoehorned MacDermid's name into a conversation with the media.
"I've liked that line with Eller, MacDermid and Zetterlund in different ways," Green said. "I know there's been a little talk about Dermi being in the lineup. We're 4-1-1 with McDermid in the lineup. And I don't know if there's been any talk about that.
"He brings an element that is hard to find, but he also understands that he might not play that much some nights."
Green pointed to the flexibility that brings, allowing him to give extra shifts to some of his top forwards without anyone's nose being out of joint.
"We've scored two goals by being able to put Drake Batherson or someone else out with that line. They scored a big goal against Calgary and scored one in Montreal the other night."
When asked how MacDermid directly impacts the lineup, Green drove home the obvious point about toughness. At 6-foot-5, 233 pounds, the guy is a handful.
"People know who's tough in the league and who's not," Green said. "He's a great teammate, he's great in the locker room, and he understands his role. And we've played some hard teams that are known for being tough as well."
But while Green said he values MacDermid, his actions told a different tale. From Dec. 29 onward, Kurtis MacDermid was a healthy scratch for all but three games.
MacDermid's cap hit is $1.15 million for next season, which certainly isn't breaking the bank or preventing the Senators from doing other things. While I do appreciate an enforcer in my lineup, if they're not going to use him, it does seem like an unnecessary investment.
Having said that, if the Senators decide this summer that it's time to move on from MacDermid, I'm not convinced a buyout would be necessary. Chances are there's still a GM somewhere who values the edge, swagger, and intimidation factor he brings, just as Steve Staios did when he brought him to Ottawa last fall.
Jim Hiller is headed from Hollywood to hockey's brightest spotlight.
Just three months after the Los Angeles Kings moved on from their former bench boss, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced Wednesday that Hiller has been hired as the franchise's 41st head coach, handing him one of the NHL's most scrutinized jobs.
The 57-year-old replaces Craig Berube as part of a sweeping organizational reset led by new general manager John Chayka, who has wasted little time putting his stamp on the Original Six franchise.
"(Hiller) has worked with successful teams throughout his career, connects well with players and brings a clear approach behind the bench," Chayka said in a news release. "We believe he's the right person to lead our team and help us reach our goals."
For Hiller, the move represents another quick turnaround in a coaching career that has taken several unexpected turns.
After serving as an assistant with the Kings for two seasons, Hiller was elevated to head coach and compiled a 93-58-24 record over parts of three seasons. Despite posting one of the better regular-season records in franchise history during his tenure, Los Angeles dismissed him on March 1 following an 8-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
Now, instead of trying to get the Kings over the playoff hump, Hiller inherits a Toronto team desperate to rediscover its identity after a stunning collapse.
"I'm incredibly excited for the opportunity to return to Toronto and lead the Maple Leafs," Hiller said in the release. "This is a special organization with great players, passionate fans and high expectations. I'm looking forward to getting to work with our players and staff and doing everything we can to help this team reach its full potential."
The hiring also marks a return to familiar territory. Hiller previously spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Maple Leafs from 2015-19, giving him firsthand knowledge of the market and many of the expectations that come with coaching in Toronto.
Long before reaching the NHL, Hiller built his reputation in the junior ranks. The Port Alberni, British Columbia, native spent 11 seasons behind the bench, including time with the WHL's Tri-City Americans and multiple clubs in the British Columbia Hockey League, before making the jump to the professional level.
Toronto's decision comes after a dramatic offseason shakeup.
The Maple Leafs fired Berube on May 13 following just two seasons behind the bench. The move came after Toronto went from winning the Atlantic Division in 2024-25 and reaching the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to finishing last in the division and 28th overall this past season.
10 days earlier, Chayka had been hired to replace Brad Treliving as general manager, calling the coaching change "an opportunity to start fresh" while promising an extensive search for the team's next leader.
The makeover has already extended beyond the coaching staff.
On Tuesday, Toronto traded goaltender Joseph Woll and defenseman Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenseman Emil Andrae, goaltender Samuel Ersson and a third-round pick in next week's NHL Draft.
The Maple Leafs also own the No. 1 overall selection, the franchise's first since drafting Auston Matthews in 2016, giving Hiller and Chayka an opportunity to reshape the organization's future from behind the bench and on the ice.
The Vegas Golden Knights have found their new head coach by hiring Ryan Craig on Wednesday, June 17.
After falling in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Vegas Golden Knights began their search for a permanent coach. They previously fired former head coach Bruce Cassidy just eight games from the start of the NHL playoffs after the team experienced a serious slump that put them in jeopardy of missing the postseason entirely.
Cassidy was replaced by John Tortorella, who logged a 7-0-1 record before heading into the postseason. While that momentum was enough to carry Vegas into the Stanley Cup Finals, it wasn't enough to keep Tortorella around as the head coach.
Now we know it was because Vegas had their eyes set on someone else. The team announced Wednesday that Craig will become the fifth head coach in Vegas Golden Knights' history. Here's what to know.
Vegas' new head coach has been with the organization in various roles since 2017. From 2017 to 2023, he served as an assistant coach for the Golden Knights. He then became head coach of the team's AHL affiliate, the Hendersonville Silver Knights.
Craig impressed as head coach of the Silver Knights, lifting the team's win total in each of his three years at the helm — 28 in 2023-24, 29 in 2024-25, 39 in 2025-26. The Silver Knights also advanced to the second round of the AHL Playoffs this past season.
How old is Ryan Craig?
Craig is 44 years old.
Ryan Craig's playing career
Drafted in the eighth round of the 2002 NHL draft by Tampa Bay, Craig played in parts of eight years in the NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets, totaling 198 games.
Craig also spent five seasons in the Western Hockey League, leading the Brandon Wheat Kings in scoring twice and serving as captain for two seasons between 1998 and 2003. In his final season with the team, he was named to the WHL East First All-Star Team.
The NHL buyout window is now officially open and runs until June 30 at 5 p.m.
Teams looking to free up salary cap space can use this period to terminate a player's contract early, paying out a portion of the remaining salary while spreading the cap hit over a longer period.
It's usually the last refuge for teams that can't find a buyer for a player they really want to move on from. Whether it's level of playing ability, poor behaviour, or an inappropriately expensive contract (or maybe all three), other NHL teams don't want to take on the player's contract either.
The Senators have had four such players.
Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss how the new NCAA eligibility rules may have an effect on NHL Draft evaluations.
2008: Ray Emery
One year after backstopping the Senators to their only Stanley Cup Final appearance, Emery was bought out following a poor ensuing season that was also filled with disciplinary issues. In a nutshell, for Emery, hockey seemed to have taken a backseat to having fun. Before the buyout, Emery was still owed $6.75 million over the next two seasons.
When he became a UFA, his phone didn't ring, so he spent one season in the KHL before returning to play for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2009-10.
2020: Bobby Ryan
Ryan came over from Anaheim in the deal to (unofficially) make fans forget that the organization had irritated Daniel Alfredsson enough to leave and sign as a UFA with Detroit. In 2014, the Sens signed Ryan to a seven-year, $50.25 million extension worth $7.25 million per season, a deal he never quite lived up to.
In Nov. 2019, he entered the NHL/NHL Players' Assistance program, and upon his return three months later, he had a pretty special first game back.
In Sept. of that season, the Senators bought Ryan out with two years remaining on a seven-year contract. He had just won the Masterton Trophy and finished his Sens career on a high note.
After 33 games with the Red Wings the following year, Ryan's NHL days were over.
2022: Colin White
The buyout saved the Senators $3.875 million in cap space, mitigating the cost of the last two years of his six-year, $28.5 million contract. The White buyout is still on the books as the Sens pull along an $870,000 cap hit for each of the next two seasons.
White played full-time in Florida the following season, but after a few seasons of part-time NHL work, he now seems to be settling in as a full-time AHL player.
2022: Michael Del Zotto
Bought out in July 2022 with one year remaining on his contract. Del Zotto's buyout saved the Senators $1.5 million in cap room. He played one more hockey season in the AHL before retiring.
A couple of years later, on a podcast, Del Zotto let the Senators' former ownership and management have it with both barrels.
“I couldn’t believe that that was an NHL organization when I was there," Del Zotto told Daily Faceoff in 2024. "Just from top to bottom, how the players were treated, how the staff was treated.”
Plenty of questions surround the St. Louis Blues heading into the off-season.
The two major questions are what they do with their draft picks and with veterans like Jordan Kyrou, Colton Parayko, and Jordan Binnington. Regarding the NHL draft, the Blues have three first-round picks, but none are in the top 10. Do they trade up or remain in their spots at 11, 15, and 29?
With their veterans, is it time to trade them and move in a different direction, or could they bounce back and be a playoff team next year?
One question that hasn’t been asked about the Blues is how they approach free agency.
The Blues enter the off-season with a projected $ 14 million in cap space, according to puckpedia.com, with Oskar Sundqvist as a UFA and Jonatan Berggren as an RFA. Even if both players are signed, they likely wouldn’t take more than $3 million in cap space.
The Blues have plenty of space to work with, but is it worth it to chase a big-name free agent?
To begin, there really aren’t many top players available, as most have already signed extensions with their teams. Heading towards July 1, the top available players are right winger Alex Tuch and defensemen Darren Raddysh, Rasmus Andersson, and John Carlson.
While they would help improve the Blues’ roster, they aren’t players who can single-handedly make them a playoff team or a contender.
They are better off preserving their cap space and allowing their young players to develop in the NHL by giving them increased roles.
If the Blues want to solidify their depth or rework their bottom six after a poor season, some moves can be made, but chasing a player approaching his 30s for a long-term deal at a high price would hurt the Blues’ long-term outlook while marginally improving the short term.
In all, the Blues would be wise to revisit trades for Kyrou, Parayko, and Binnington, remain patient in the free-agent market, and test the waters on what a trade-up might cost.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.
See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source.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.
That, of course, makes life a little different for the club’s amateur scouting staff leading up to the 2026 NHL draft. Barring a trade, the Flyers will pick at 21st overall. It’s their lowest first-round spot since 2020.
So the Flyers know the draft is still critical to what they want to do, even when they’re lower in the order.
“We’ve said it for a long time, we wanted to build a team that was going to be here for a long time; not just to go for it for a year or two,” general manager Danny Briere said last month. “That’s still the same approach on my end.”
After the recent trade with the Maple Leafs, the Flyers have only four picks in this draft, which will be held June 26-27. The first round is Friday at 7 p.m. ET, while Rounds 2-7 are Saturday starting at 11 a.m. ET.
“I’ll tell you how I feel about drafts and I’ll be totally blunt with you,” TSN director of scouting Craig Button said June 2 in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I think it’s f—ing bulls–t when I hear about, ‘Oh, this draft isn’t as good.’ Here are the numbers. Approximately 45 players from any draft will play 350 games or more in the NHL. It might be 47 one year, 42 another year. That’s the number — you get 45 players that’ll play 350 games or more with varying degrees of success.
“And I know this about the draft. The teams that get good players from the draft say it was a good draft. The teams that don’t get good players from the draft say it wasn’t a good draft. So when people start telling me about a draft ahead of time, I call bulls–t.”
“What you’re trying to do is find a player that you feel has the potential to be an NHL player,” Button said. “That might be a third-line center, that might be a second-line scoring winger. Hey, listen, maybe you get David Pastrnak, who’s a superstar (drafted 25th overall in 2014).
“But the focus has to be on, ‘OK, what type of player do we like, what type of player do we think the guy can be?’ And then get after it and understand what the development path is, and then try to help that player be the best he can be. Put a stake in the ground and celebrate who you’re drafting.”
Before the draft arrives, we’re breaking down first-round targets for the Flyers.
Next up:
Tommy Bleyl
Position: Defenseman Height: 5-foot-11 Weight: 170 Shoots: Right Team: Moncton
Scouting report
Bleyl is a catch-me-if-you-can blueliner who uses his superb skating ability to make things happen.
The 18-year-old put up prolific numbers at the junior level this season. He led all QMJHL defensemen with 81 points (13 goals, 68 assists) in 63 games and had a plus-58 rating on a Moncton team that went 50-10-4.
He had some high-end forwards to play with, including 2025 fourth overall pick Caleb Desnoyers. Bleyl did a ton of his damage on the power play with 42 points. Will he orchestrate a power play at the next level?
“It’s always tough when you’re looking at power play quarterback because, realistically, there’s one real spot of that on a team,” Daily Faceoff associate editor and prospect analyst Steven Ellis said last Tuesday in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. “That’s tough competition. But I think with him, he has got a good shot, he’s a strong puck mover. The biggest thing about him is his skating.”
Bleyl recorded 28 points (six goals, 22 assists) and a plus-15 rating in 21 playoff games. That run punctuated his impressive transition from the prep level last season to Canadian major junior hockey this season. Next season, he’ll play for the Wildcats again before making the jump to NCAA with Michigan State in 2027-28.
Ellis sees Jamie Drysdale as a “good comparable” for Bleyl.
“I watched a lot of Jamie Drysdale when he was 16, 17 years old,” Ellis said, “and the thing about him was he dominated the puck possession, better than most other players did.”
Bleyl will have to eventually prove he can play the same dynamic game with less time and space against pros. He’ll also have to gain strength so he can defend bigger players.
“Some scouts think he was maybe too good on the power play and not good enough at 5-on-5,” Ellis said. “I think that’s the part that will be a little bit interesting to see, maybe he falls out of the first round. But I think you’re looking at him and saying, ‘Yeah, there’s a lot of potential, great with the puck and he’s a prospect worth getting excited about right now.'”
(Daniel St. Louis/QMJHL)
Fit with Flyers
Drafting smaller, point-producing defensemen can sometimes lead to big-time hits or big-time misses.
The Flyers will have to factor in Bleyl’s competition. He racked up a lot of power play points in the QMJHL, which is not considered the top Canadian major junior hockey league. It’s often geared toward offense.
So the Flyers may have a player higher on their board when they’re on the clock at No. 21.
Bleyl’s power play strengths should at least have the Flyers’ attention. The club has owned the NHL’s worst power play over the last five seasons combined at 14.1 percent.
Owning the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2027 first-round pick, the Philadelphia Flyers could not have asked for better news to start their Wednesday morning.
On Wednesday, the Maple Leafs announced that they had hired former Los Angeles Kings head coach Jim Hiller as their new head coach, marking a stark departure from more accomplished candidates such as Peter Laviolette, Patrick Roy, and even Jay Woodcroft.
This comes on the heels of even stranger hiring, where John Chayka took over the Maple Leafs as general manager after being out of the NHL for years.
Hiller, 57, has three years of head coaching experience at the NHL level, guiding the Kings to a 93-58-24 overall record under his watch and going just 3-8 in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Hiller was dismissed by the Kings 59 games into the 2025-26 season, when the Kings were struggling to a paltry 24-21-14 record.
The only full season Hiller coached at the helm of the Kings was the 2024-25 season, when the team went 48-25-9, thanks in large part to their 203 goals against, which ranked second in the NHL.
Those Kings were also just 14th in the NHL in goals for (249), and without the elite goaltending he got from Darcy Kuemper, Hiller's head coaching resume looks wholly unimpressive.
The Flyers just pried Joseph Woll away from the Maple Leafs at the cost of Emil Andrae, Sam Ersson, and a third-round pick, which leaves Hiller and Toronto stuck with the injury-prone Anthony Stolarz and the unproven Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov.
Now, the Flyers were already in a good spot with the Maple Leafs' 2027 first-round pick, as Toronto had sold off veterans Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, and Nicolas Roy ahead of the 2026 NHL trade deadline.
A Maple Leafs team with a lower-tier head coach, gutted forward depth, and uninspiring goaltending doesn't look like it's on the path to some great success, and certainly leans closer to a rebuild than contention.
While we don't know which of the Flyers and Boston Bruins get the Maple Leafs' 2027 and 2028 first-round picks, assuming it lands in the top 10, there is a very real possibility that both of those draft choices end up being high selections.
And, we can reasonably assume that the Maple Leafs would not choose to give the Bruins the 2027 pick if it falls in the top 10, as they are a direct division rival, and a hated one at that.
The trade conditions benefit the Flyers in virtually every scenario, and if Hiller's hiring tells us anything, the Maple Leafs won't be seeing much success any time soon.
Former
Columbus Blue Jackets forward and Cleveland Monsters Captain Ryan Craig has been promoted by the Vegas Golden Knights to be their next head coach. He replaces John Tortorella, who just took the VGK to the Stanley Cup Final. It was announced on June 16 that Tortorella would not be back to coach Vegas.
Craig has spent the last three seasons as head coach for the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights. Before that, he was an assistant coach for Vegas from 2017 to 2023. He was hired by Henderson just after the VGK won the Stanley Cup in 2023.
COACH CRAIG ⚔️
Vegas Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon has announced Ryan Craig will be the fifth Head Coach in franchise history.
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 17, 2026
Craig's Silver Knights missed the playoffs in two of his three seasons before winning a round in this year's Calder Cup Playoffs against San Jose. They then lost to Colorado in the Pacific semifinals.
Ryan Craig actually captained multiple Columbus Blue Jackets affiliates. From 2012 to 2015, he was the Captain for the Springfield Falcons. When the Lake Erie Monsters became the AHL affiliate in 2015, he wore the "C" until his retirement in 2017.
He played a total of 198 games in the NHL for the Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He played 8 games for Columbus and wasn't able to earn a point.
The hire of Craig is completely out of character for a Vegas franchise that loves to take chances and swing for the fences. They fired Bruce Cassidy with only eight games left in the season and brought in John Tortorella for a new coach bump going into the playoffs. It worked, as Vegas would go on to lose in 6 games in the Cup Final to the Carolina Hurricanes.
What will Craig be able to do with an always star-laden roster? How long will the Golden Knights keep him around? Stay tuned.
Next Up For Columbus: The NHL Draft is on June 26 and 27 in Buffalo, where the CBJ will own pick #14.
Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more!
Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News and never miss a story.
Let us know what you think below.
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.
TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Jim Hiller as the 41st head coach in franchise history, bringing back an assistant with the club from 2015-19.
The 57-year-old Hiller replaces Craig Berube as part of an offseason overhaul led by new general manager John Chayka.
Most recently, Hiller served as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, compiling a 93-58-24 record over parts of three seasons. The Kings fired Hiller on March 1 following an 8-1 loss to Edmonton.
Hiller served as an assistant coach with the Kings for two seasons before being promoted to head coach.
A native of Port Alberni, British Columbia, Hiller spent 11 seasons coaching junior hockey, including stints with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans and several teams in the British Columbia Hockey League, before moving to the NHL ranks.
The Leafs fired Berube on May 13 after two seasons, following a first-to-last turnaround this past season. After finishing atop the Atlantic Division in 2024-25 and making it to the second round of the playoffs, Toronto fell to last in the division and 28th in the NHL.
His firing came 10 days after Chayka was brought on board to replace Brad Treliving. Chayka called the Berube firing “an opportunity to start fresh,” and said the team would go through a wide-ranging search.
Along with making some new front-office additions, Chayka traded goaltender Joseph Woll and depth defenseman Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers for blue-liner Emil Andrae, goalie Samuel Ersson and a third-round pick in the NHL draft.
Toronto owns the No. 1 pick in the draft, a first since taking Auston Matthews atop the 2016 draft.
The Buffalo Sabres could go a number of different ways as the NHL enters trade season leading into the NHL Draft in two weeks, and the beginning of free agency on July 1. Based on a lengthy impasse between pending UFA Alex Tuch, most insiders are expecting the 30-year-old to sign elsewhere since there continues to be a considerable gap between what Tuch’s representatives are looking for and what Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen is willing to pay him.
There is a slim possibility that Buffalo could get something significant in return for the Syracuse, NY native if they arrange a sign-and-trade, so that another club can have him on an eight-year deal and spread out the AAV to lower the cap hit, but with the likely scenario that he simply walks away when free agency opens next month, Kekalainen will have to pivot to fill the scoring gap.
Over the next few weeks, we will look at potential options for the Sabres. Some of the possibilities are not going to match Tuch’s stats, that absence may have to be filled by youngsters like Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich, or Noah Ostlund, but Kekalainen will potentially need to find a veteran winger to replace Tuch in the top six.
Kekalainen will likely looking for a veteran with some leadership, a history of playoff performance, with cost certainty and some term remaining on his deal instead of a younger player like Anaheim’s Mason McTavish, who is 23 years old and is signed long term at an AAV of $7 million. Marchessault might be a fit for what the Sabres are looking for, if he would be willing to waive his no trade protection come to Buffalo.
The acquisition could be quite risky, since the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy winner is 35 and dropped from 42 goals with Vegas in 2024, to 21 in 2025, to 12 in 62 games with Nashville last season. The Predators may be in the process of a retool over a rebuild, and new GM Chris McFarland has already begun the reshuffle of his roster with the trade with Colorado for center Ross Colton on Tuesday.
The $5.5 million AAV for three more seasons is quite reasonable if he can bounce back and score 20+ goals. Kekalainen would likely not move any of his young forwards. Marchessault’s declining numbers could make the acquisition price relatively economical, with Nashville potentially willing to swap the veteran for a draft choice, a B-level prospect or a forward making a significant salary off the Sabres roster, like Ryan McLeod or Jordan Greenway.
The Chicago Blackhawks are going to make the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. They dropped two spots in the lottery, so they slot in behind the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, and Vancouver Canucks. It is expected that they are going to get a great prospect with this selection.
There is a lot of dialogue around the hockey community when it comes to the top 10 in this draft. 3 forwards stick out above the rest, and four defensemen who project to lead the pack at that position. There is also a Latvian player that some team is going to take a chance on, and may be thankful they did years down the line.
What will the order be when teams come up to make their selections? This mock draft goes through the 16 picks that were put through the lottery for non-playoff teams:
1. Toronto Maple Leafs - Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State
The Toronto Maple Leafs, unless they go way off the board, are going to select Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. With big changes within the organization over the last 12 months, he will be a part of their fresh start.
2. San Jose Sharks - Chase Reid, D, Sault St. Marie
Are the San Jose Sharks going to pass on the second-best talent in the draft for what they believe is the top defenseman in the draft? Chase Reid may be a star, and the Sharks need young defensemen in the organization much more than they need forwards.
3. Vancouver Canucks - Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford
The Vancouver Canucks hired Caleb Malhotra's dad, Manny, to be their head coach this offseason. Now, they have a chance to select his son, who happens to be the best true center in the draft.
4. Chicago Blackhawks - Ivar Stenberg, LW, Frolunda
With the Sharks valuing a defenseman and the Canucks going with the bloodline, Ivar Stenberg falls to the Chicago Blackhawks at 4th overall. He plans on playing in the NHL as soon as 2026-27, and the Blackhawks have room for him with one of Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, or his countryman Anton Frondell.
5. New York Rangers - Keaton Verhoeff, D, North Dakota
The New York Rangers need everything to get back into contention after falling out of it. An offensive-minded defenseman with lots of skill makes sense for them as they move forward. Keaton Verhoeff would be a great addition to their future blue line.
6. Calgary Flames - Carson Carels, D, Prince George
Carson Carels joining the elite farm system that exists within the Calgary Flames organization would be perfect for his development curve. There is an argument to be made that he is the best defenseman in the class, but he falls to six here.
7. Seattle Kraken - Alberts Smits, D, Jukurit
Alberts Smits of Latvia seems to be the buffer between the top defensive prospects and the next tier. The Seattle Kraken taking a risk on him seems to be a great fit at this point, as they need a little bit of everything added to their roster.
8. Winnipeg Jets - Daxon Rudolph, D, Prince Albert
Daxon Rudolph doesn't have the projected ceiling that the other defenseman already off the board have, but the Winnipeg Jets have been a master of developing blue-liners and turning them into stars.
9. Florida Panthers - Tynan Lawrence, C, Boston University
The Florida Panthers, who entered this season as the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, had one bad year due to injuries and will make the 9th overall pick. If they add Tynan Lawrence, who spent parts of this season as a projected top-three pick, they would only be improving their future, which is scary for the rest of the league.
The hockey nation of Sweden is pumping out multiple high-end forward prospects these days, and Viggo Bjorck is one of them. He impressed at the World Junior Championships on a team that also had Anton Frondell and Ivar Stenberg. He was also great for Sweden at the Men's World Championships and solidified himself as a top-ten pick. The Nashville Predators could use a dynamic winger like him in their pipeline and possibly on their team.
11. St. Louis Blues - J.P. Hurlbert, LW, Kamloops
The St. Louis Blues have two picks in the top 15. It might be wise for them to use both on forwards to improve their overall skill within the organization. Here at 11, J.P. Hurlbert of the Kamloops Blazers makes sense. He is committed to Michigan in the NCAA in 2026-27.
12. New Jersey Devils - Oscar Hemming, RW, Boston College
Oscar Hemming, a Finnish forward, played 19 games for Boston College in 2025-26. The potential to play with one of Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier may help him take his game to another level if he ever makes it to the NHL.
13. New York Islanders - Ethan Belchetz, LW, Windsor
The New York Islanders had a strong draft in 2025, including Matthew Schaefer with the number one overall pick. Now, they have a chance to add a stud forward in Ethan Belchetz, who spent the 2025-26 season with the Windsor Spitfires. Now, he will transition to play college hockey at Michigan State.
14. Columbus Blue Jackets - Adam Novotny, LW, Peterborough
The Columbus Blue Jackets are close to being a playoff team, but they must continue adding to their prospect pool. Adam Novotny is a strong forward who can score goals with the best of them, as far as prospects are concerned.
15. St. Louis Blues via Detroit Red Wings - Brooks Rogowski, RW, Oshawa
The St. Louis Blues have the 15th overall pick as a result of the Justin Faulk trade with the Detroit Red Wings. Brooks Rogowski, a winger, is the selection here for them. He is a winger who can make their middle six better with the potential of a top-line forward.
16. Washington Capitals - Ryan Lin, D, Vancouver
The Washington Capitals no longer have John Carlson, so selecting a defenseman may be something they are interested in for their long-term future. Ryan Lin is an option for them at 16th overall.
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 on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.
Former San Jose Sharks goaltender Magnus Chrona is heading back to his native Sweden, but that didn't prevent him from being involved in a trade on Tuesday.
Last month, Chrona signed with Brynäs IF in the Swedish Hockey League on a contract that runs through the 2027-28 season. Then, on Tuesday, his NHL rights were traded from the Nashville Predators to the Colorado Avalanche along with two third round draft picks with Ross Colton and Isak Posch heading the other way.
Chrona, 25, was traded to Nashville as a part of the trade that brought Yaroslav Askarov to the Bay Area during the summer of 2024. After the trade, he spent the entirety of his time in the Predators organization with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.
The former University of Denver goaltender only appeared in nine NHL games during his time as a Shark, registering a 4.71 goals against average and an .859 save percentage.
Since Chrona moved to North America to play at the University of Denver ahead of the 2019-20 season, he has yet to make his debut in the SHL.
DENVER — New Nashville front-office executive Chris MacFarland didn’t take long to strike a deal with his former team in trading for Colorado forward Ross Colton.
MacFarland, who recently left his role as Avalanche GM to become the president of hockey operations/general manager of the Predators, acquired the veteran center along with goaltender Isak Posch. Colorado receives goalie Magnus Chrona and a pair of third-round picks (2026, ’27).
“We are very excited to add Ross Colton to our forward mix,” MacFarland said in a statement. “Ross is a versatile, two-way winger who will add sandpaper and grit into our middle six group.”
Colton is coming off a season with Colorado in which he had nine goals and 15 assists over 73 games. He was third among Avalanche players with 159 hits. Colton and the Avalanche made it to the Western Conference Final before being swept by Vegas.
It was MacFarland who helped orchestrate the trade that brought the 29-year-old Colton to Colorado on June 28, 2023, through a deal with Tampa Bay. Soon after, Colton was signed to a four-year contract.
The trade gives more draft capital to Joe Sakic, who’s stepping back into the role of GM in the wake of MacFarland’s departure. Sakic, who’s also the president of hockey operations, was in that position when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
Chrona joins a team that features a goaltending tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. The pair won the William M. Jennings Trophy, which went to the goalies who played at least 25 games for the team that allowed the least amount of goals in the regular season.
Last season, the 25-year-old Chrona was 9-11-3 with a 2.94 goals-against average for the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League. Chrona remains familiar with the area having suited up at the University of Denver from 2019-23. He was part of the Pioneers when they won the national championship in 2021-22.
Posch spent time with the Colorado Eagles in each of the last two seasons. The Swedish native was named to the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic for the Pacific Division.
“He is a big goalie who will add to our already impressive depth at this position,” MacFarland said.
Brendan Gallagher may be on his way out and unlikely to wear the Montreal Canadiens’ jersey next season, but on Tuesday, he attended the CN Sports Complex in Brossard like a few of his teammates. Why? Well, it wasn’t to skate as the veteran didn’t put on his equipment, but he did spend some time on the bench watching Ivan Demidov and prospect Alexander Zharovsky skate. He wasn’t the only curious Hab as Nick Suzuki, Phillip Danault, and Jacob Fowler were also in attendance.
According to TVA Sports’ Nicolas Cloutier, Gallagher’s agent is pleased with the way the Canadiens have been handling the veteran’s case this offseason. Now that the Stanley Cup final is over and the Carolina Hurricanes have been crowned champions, teams have started moving on the trade market. The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers made a surprising goalie swap, the Colorado Avalanche sent Ross Colton to the Nashville Predators for picks, in other words, it’s business as usual.
While Gallagher’s agent previously mentioned that the Vancouver Canucks had interest in the veteran, if the Canadiens are unable to conclude a trade, they could also buy out the alternate captain. That could happen if potential trade partners are proving a bit too greedy in negotiations, requesting too much as a sweetener to take on the contract. While they’d be doing the Canadiens a favour by picking up the veteran’s contract, the contract could also be useful to them to reach the cap floor, giving Hughes some leverage in negotiations.
For instance, if Vancouver were to manage to trade away Elias Pettersson and his huge contract, they would have trouble meeting the cap floor, and Gallagher’s contract would then come in rather handy. Last season, Hughes only had to give the San Jose Sharks a fifth-round pick and take on Gannon Laroque’s contract to shed Carey Price’s huge contract. The Sharks were near the 50-contract limit, and it provided them with some much-needed relief.
In an ideal world, the Canadiens would be able to trade Gallagher early this offseason, and Hughes could then move on to addressing the team’s needs.
Now that the Stanley Cup has been awarded, the NHL offseason is in full swing. The month-long window between now and mid-July is when the vast majority of business will be done prior to the 2026-27 season.
Trades have already taken place, the NHL Draft is less than two weeks away, and unrestricted free agency will soon follow. Between those marquee dates on the calendar, the NHL buyout window looms for players whose teams view them as having vastly underperformed relative to their contracts.
The NHL buyout window is now open, as it is over 48 hours following the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final, and will run through June 30 at 5 PM EST.
Note: For buyout explanations and calculations, head to puckpedia.com’s buyout calculator tool
For the first time in nearly a decade, the Anaheim Ducks are a competitive NHL team who is projected to at least threaten the $104 million salary cap ceiling. Cap hits are no longer irrelevant to the Ducks, and every dollar on the books will matter very soon.
When examining the Ducks’ cap sheet, one player jumps off the screen: Frank Vatrano. His production dropped off a cliff, and he had a difficult season in 2025-26, on and off the ice.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek typically holds the meat of his contract negotiations for the offseason, but on Jan. 5, 2025, he extended Vatrano on a creative three-year deal. Vatrano was in the middle of his third straight 20-goal season for the Ducks, a year removed from a 37-goal All-Star campaign in 2023-24, and had become an identity piece for the organization as they were attempting to put the finishing touches on an extended, painful rebuild.
Vatrano’s deal is worth a total of $18 million, but due to ten years of deferred money ($900k annually between 2035 and 2044), his yearly cap hit dropped from $6 million to $4.57 million. The deal includes a seven-team NTC.
Vatrano was Verbeek’s first UFA signing after he took the job in 2022, and Vatrano outperformed expectations in an elevated role due to the Ducks’ lack of talent and rebuild timeline. Following 2025’s hiring of Joel Quenneville as Anaheim’s next head coach, Vatrano had a difficult time carving a role in the newly implemented system, was injured for a stretch with a fracture in his shoulder, and stepped away from the team for personal reasons.
His final stat line for 2025-26 included just nine points (5-4=9) in 50 games, and he served as a healthy scratch for multiple games, including the Ducks’ entire two-round, 12-game playoff run. It’s safe to question Vatrano’s future with the Ducks.
If Vatrano were to be bought out during the current window, his cap hit would drop to $571,189 for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons, and would be $2 million in 2028-29 and 2029-30. Vatrano would receive $8 million of the $12 million in remaining money he’s owed on the contract.
The possibility remains that the Ducks simply keep Vatrano and allow him to work past the issues he faced in 2025-26. There’s also the possibility that they are able to trade him. The 2026 NHL unrestricted free agency class is notoriously weak, the salary cap continues to rise, and teams will likely attempt to improve their teams via the trade market.
Former Ducks center Ryan Strome went through similar difficulties to Vatrano in 2025-26, and the Ducks were able to move him and the entirety of his $5 million AAV contract to the Calgary Flames at the trade deadline in exchange for a seventh-round pick. Vatrano had a higher ceiling than Strome did during the duo’s time together in Anaheim, and teams may believe they can recapture that magic. They’d have to be willing, however, to assume the responsibility of paying Vatrano through the year 2044.
The next few weeks will be very telling when examining the immediate and long-term future of the Anaheim Ducks. This is a pivotal offseason following their first success in nearly a decade, and a buyout may unfortunately be seen as necessary.
The last time the Ducks bought out a player was when they bought out the final two years of former cornerstone forward Corey Perry’s eight-year deal on June 19, 2019.
The Senators' History Of Using The NHL Buyout WindowAs the NHL buyout window opens this week, we look back at four occasions when the Senators used it to their advantage. 
