EA SPORTS will announce the cover athlete for NHL 26 on Aug. 4, the company said in a release Friday.

EA SPORTS NHL changed all of their profile photos and banners on social media to a generic NHL 26 logo, finally acknowledging the games existence, as well as a standard and limited edition version of the game. 

With Season 8 set begin in NHL 25 on it will be interesting to see if there are any tie-ins with NHL 26. 

Appears August 4th is the @EASPORTSNHL 26 cover reveal! pic.twitter.com/M8dBfpcEj2

— Cam / NoSleeves (@NoSleevesGaming) August 1, 2025

In a recent earnings call and in the Events and Presentations tab on the EA website NHL 26 is schedule to release in Q2 before EA FC 26. It was recently announce EA FC will be released Sept. 26, meaning NHL will likely release early to mid September. 

Comment below you think the cover athlete will be. The Hughes brothers were revealed to be the NHL 25 cover athletes in a leaked trailed on Aug. 19, 2024. 

Check out the new 99 overall HUT Team Builders.

For more NHL Gaming news make sure you bookmark The Hockey News Gaming Site or follow our Google News Feed.   

The San Jose Sharks are here in the NHL prospect pool overview series.

Tony Ferrari digs into the Sharks’ strengths and weaknesses, latest draft class, positional depth chart, next player in line for an NHL opportunity and more. A player who no longer holds rookie eligibility in the NHL is considered graduated and no longer a prospect for these exercises, with few exceptions.

Initial Thoughts 

The Sharks are amid a true teardown rebuild and seem to be doing it better than just about anyone, despite still being at the bottom of the standings. The vibes are high in Northern California as the Sharks had plenty to get excited about. 

Macklin Celebrini was outstanding as a rookie, playing high-level hockey at both ends of the ice while finishing second in rookie scoring and rookie goals. His detail-oriented game will make him an effective NHL player for a long time. Fellow rookie Will Smith was a bit more up and down, but his run at the end of the season had people thinking the incredibly skilled and creative playmaker was hitting his stride.

On top of those two, William Eklund broke out and nearly reached the 60-point plateau for the first time. The skilled, tactical playmaking winger is the veteran among the new core, heading into his age-23 season. He has another level to hit, and many expect him to reach the 70-point mark this season.

When you get into the team’s players who are still prospects, the 2025 NHL draft class is obviously very important with Michael Misa, Joshua Ravensbergen, Haoxi ‘Simon’ Wang and Cole McKinney all likely to be important pieces moving forward. Even still, the prospect pool is loaded beyond those guys.

Last year was a weird one for Quentin Musty. It started off with a trade request that the Sudbury Wolves never granted, and he ultimately played for them. He was good for Sudbury, putting up nearly two points per game. Musty would have greatly benefited from playing in the AHL, but due to the rules at the time, he had to return to the OHL. 

Despite the odd year, Musty remains one of the most intriguing prospects in the Sharks' system. His power and playmaking are intriguing aspects on the wing. He has a great shot, and he started to use it more consistently, scoring 30 goals in 33 games last year. As long as Musty stays engaged next season as an AHL rookie, he could be one of the most entertaining players on the San Jose Barracuda. 

Igor Chernyshov was injured to start this past season, and many had allowed him to fade from their minds, especially because he was so highly hyped when it was announced he was coming to the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. When he returned to the lineup, Chernyshov was an absolute monster for the Spirit, putting up 55 points in 23 games. He played alongside Misa for much of his season, and the duo picked apart the competition. 

Chernyshov is a skilled winger who plays a pro-style game, working hard and winning small battles everywhere on the ice. He could build on his chemistry with Misa when they both make the NHL. Before that, Chernyshov will be a fixture in the AHL lineup this season. 

When the Sharks drafted Filip Bystedt, some thought he went a bit too high, but the franchise bet on raw tools finding a way to mesh. Since his draft in 2022, Bystedt has become a very strong two-way forward who can fly up and down the ice, use his shot from all over the zone and make smart defensive plays. He’s been a leader for Sweden internationally, won the Swedish League’s rookie of the year honors and made his North American debut with the AHL Barracuda. His 12 goals and 31 points as an AHL rookie were solid. He will look to build on that and even possibly get into a few NHL games.

Sharks fans have been mesmerized by Kasper Halttunen’s play in London as he helped the Knights become back-to-back OHL champions and the Memorial Cup champions this past season. The sharpshooter has been a lethal presence in the OHL over the last couple of years. He’s a complementary player who brings some physicality and a big shot, but he has his holes as a playmaker and when defending. The Sharks have players who should insulate him and allow him to play to his strengths, which could put him in a similar role to the one he’s played in London. 

Drafted in 2021 by the Colorado Avalanche, Oskar Olausson had plenty of promise as a high-end skater who loved to attack off the rush. His development stagnated in the AHL, and the Avs traded him to the Sharks for fellow prospect Danil Gushchin in July. The Sharks hope the Swedish sniper can get back on track. He’s shown flashes of being a high-end transition player with some really nice offensive skill. He’s likely going to spend the year in the AHL, but he could get an NHL opportunity if he starts strong.

The Sharks' top prospect on the blueline is Sam Dickinson, who had a dominant season in the OHL. He won the CHL’s top defenseman award while impacting play all over the ice. Defensively, he was smothering with his mobility and size. Offensively, he was cerebral at times, firing pucks to teammates in prime position to score or drawing defenders to him to open up passing lanes. There wasn’t much that he didn’t do for London en route to a second OHL title and the Memorial Cup. Dickinson will push for an NHL job in training camp after his 91-point OHL campaign leaves him with not much to prove at the junior level. 

While Luca Cagnoni and Shakir Mukhamadullin played NHL games last year, the two polar-opposite defenders still have a lot to prove to secure an NHL spot. 

Cagnoni is the slick, shifty, undersized defender who can pick apart an opposing team with his skating and skill. He flashed it in the NHL after having an impressive run in the AHL as a rookie. Mukhamadullin is a smooth-skating 6-foot-4 blueliner who has some offensive tools, but he is at his best when he keeps things simple and gets the puck out of trouble. His defensive game blends his mobility with a physical edge. Both will need to earn roles in the NHL, but Mukhamadullin has an easier path as a hulking defender.  

In net, Yaroslav Askarov was patient in his first season in the Sharks organization. He was often the best netminder San Jose had despite some iffy numbers in the NHL, but he spent most of his season with the Barracuda, flashing his elite upside. 

Askarov is a highly athletic goaltender with a ton of personality on and off the ice. He thrives when he’s pushed and loves to have fun on the ice. His time seems to have finally come as the Sharks have jettisoned most NHL talent in the crease aside from Alex Nedeljkovic, so the duo should form a nice tandem this season.

U-23 Players Likely To Be On NHL Roster This Season

Macklin Celebrini (C), Will Smith (C/W), William Eklund (C/W), Michael Misa (C)

2025 NHL Draft Class

Round 1, 2nd overall - Michael Misa, C, Saginaw (OHL)

Round 1, 30th overall - Joshua Ravensbergen, G, Prince George (WHL)

Round 2, 33rd overall - Haoxi Wang, D, Oshawa (OHL)

Round 2, 53rd overall - Cole McKinney, C, U.S. NTDP (USHL)

Round 3, 95th overall - Teddy Mutryn, C/W, Chicago (USHL)

Round 4, 115th overall - Ilyas Magomedsultanov, D, Loko Yaroslavl Jr. (Rus.)

Round 4, 124th overall - Zack Sharp, D, Western Michigan (NCAA)

Round 5, 150th overall - Max Heise, C, Penticton (BCHL)

Round 7, 210th overall - Richard Gallant, F, U.S. NTDP (USHL)

The Sharks are in the glory days of the rebuild. They’re acquiring an insane amount of talent, and this draft might have given them one of the core pieces to building a long, sustainable contender. The 2025 NHL draft may be one of the last where the Sharks are intentionally drafting at the top, so they made the best of it by snagging the best forward in the draft and adding plenty of depth to their pipeline. 

Misa was drafted second overall, and the Saginaw center had the talent to go first overall. He was one of the most productive draft eligibles out of the OHL in the last 30 years, putting up 62 goals and 134 points to lead all scorers across the CHL. 

Misa was arguably the best player in the CHL from start to finish. While most players go on slumps, Misa was held without a point just five times across all competition in the regular season. Misa has a chance to jump into the Sharks' lineup if he opts not to go to the NCAA because he’s accomplished everything he could have at the OHL level and more. 

Misa isn’t just an offensive force, though. His defensive game is quite solid, which could make him a premier two-way center at the next level. While the Sharks already have Celebrini, with Misa in the fold as well, San Jose might have one of the most impressive center duos in the NHL. When you add in centers in the pipeline, such as Bystedt and McKinney, the Sharks could have one of the best groups of centers in the NHL. If Will Smith moves back to center from the wing, then look out.

The Sharks had another first-round pick in this draft, Ravensbergen, at 30th overall. Ravensbergen was often regarded as the top goalie in the draft class. At 6-foot-5, he is massive and takes up the net. He’s a goalie coach's dream in terms of physical tools. He skates well in net, moving well laterally and going from post to post with ease because of his size. He still has some work to do with refining some of his technique and his depth when telescoping in and out of his net, but Ravensbergen is an excellent bet when you already have Askarov about to break into the NHL. 

Kicking off Day 2 of the draft, the Sharks took Wang, a very raw but incredibly talented defender. He joined OHL Oshawa after the NCAA eligibility rules changed, and it was a very good move for his development. Wang is an elite skater at his size and uses it to showcase excellent puck-rushing ability. His mobility and passing allow him to contribute at both ends of the ice, but he has plenty of refinement to do when it comes to details and defensive habits. Wang uses his size well, but he will need to read the play a bit better to reach his full potential, which is quite high.

McKinney is a great value pick in the late second round, bringing a baseline of being a very smart, high-pace, defensive center who was one of the best penalty-killers and most engaged 200-foot players in the draft. He can strip pucks in space or hunt them down in the corners. He rarely takes poor paths to the puck and always finds a way to disrupt opponents' play. His offensive game is simple but effective. A north-south attacker who showcases dual-threat ability, McKinney was often the USA Hockey National Team Development Program’s most reliable forward on a nightly basis. 

Teddy Mutryn is a physical, driven forward with a heavy shot. He plays a straightforward game, looking to crash and bang, collect the puck and get shots off from all over the zone. Mutryn is a prototypical bottom-six forward. If he can add a layer of skill and work on his playmaking a bit at Boston College over the next few years, he could be a Matthew Knies-esque top-six winger. 

In the fourth round, the Sharks grabbed Ilyas Magomedsultanov, a big, mobile defender who plays with an edge. He is a play-killer in his own zone, using his skating and length to close down on attackers and his physicality to eliminate the puck carrier. He isn’t much of a puckhandler, but he can get the puck back for his team. He’s a less refined Mukhamadullin in a lot of ways. 

Zack Sharp had a very solid freshman season at Western Michigan, playing a depth role but helping them win a national title. He liked to activate and get involved in the play, and he will look to do that more next season. He is a jack of all trades, master of none at the moment, which could make him a decent depth piece, especially because the 20-year-old may make the move to pro hockey sooner than most prospects drafted this year. 

San Jose drafted another overage player in Max Heise, a center from the Penticton Vees who brings size, physicality and some nice finishing ability, particularly around the net. He plays a power forward style of game with the puck, looking to drive to the net and protect the puck on his hip. Heise is a long shot to make the NHL, but he will head to Michigan State for the 2026-27 season, so he should have ample time to develop over the next few years. 

The Sharks capped off their draft with Richard Gallant, my favorite pick of the second half of their draft. Gallant is undersized, but he’s fearless and was always making things happen for the NTDP. He plays with a relentless amount of speed and consistently puts himself in a position to make a positive play in the offensive zone, with or without the puck. There are some players who just simply know how to play hockey, and Gallant is one of them. If he weren’t 5-foot-8, he likely would have gone in the top half of the draft, if not the top two rounds. 

Strengths

There may not be another team in the NHL with the young depth down the middle that the Sharks have. 

Not only do they have Celebrini and Smith in the NHL already, but they also have Misa, Bystedt, and McKinney, who are all legitimate NHL center options. That might mean we see Smith move to the wing and then fill in when needed, allowing them to fit three top six centers into the top two lines. 

Bystedt is coming off a solid AHL rookie season and could be a wicked third-line center down the line. McKinney is a versatile center who fits the mold of a fourth-line center who can bring value defensively and on the penalty kill.

The reality is that not every prospect works out, though. So let’s say one of those guys isn’t able to reach their potential. Well, the Sharks have a guy like Mutryn who could be a solid physical, bottom-six center. Maybe they end up with a three-headed monster down the middle by moving Smith back to center and letting things work out with three scoring lines. The Sharks might have a very good problem on their hands. 

Weaknesses

The Sharks have a very strong prospect pool, and while their weakness would be closer to a strength in some of the weaker prospect pools, there does seem to be an obvious weakness at right-shot defense.

They have a number of decent enough bets, but their top player is Mattias Havelid, a prospect who might just be a hidden gem (foreshadowing?), but he’s no guarantee. Everyone beyond Havelid is a low upside swing. Maybe one or two of them work out and play some NHL games, but the likelihood that any of them will become big-time contributors is less likely. Next year might end up being the time to target some right-shot blueliners in the draft. 

Hidden Gem: Mattias Havelid, D

Speaking of Havelid, he might be a very intriguing puck-moving defender who skates at a high level and can run a second power-play unit. He made an impact at the Swedish second level, and now that he’s coming to the AHL, he will have a chance to prove his worth closer to the NHL club.

Havelid is a deceptive puckhandler who can shimmy and shake off opposing defenders on the blueliners and then attack north-south into space. He presents himself as a shooting option, but when he does shoot, he shoots for sticks and tries to give his teammates a chance to deflect pucks. Havelid is at his best when he is attacking downhill off the blueline and then dishing east-west to get the goalie moving laterally. His defensive game must continue to grow, but his value will come in transition and inside the offensive blueline.

Next Man Up: Yaroslav Askarov, G, Sam Dickinson, D, And Michael Misa, C

Askarov might be the only one who seems to be guaranteed to be taking the step into the NHL, with the opportunity to start the season in a tandem with Nedeljkovic. By season’s end, Askarov will hopefully have taken over the starting gig to give the Sharks a bit of confidence with their future in net.

With Dickinson and Misa, there are questions about where they will play this season. Both have proven nearly everything they could at the OHL level, dominating in every facet of the game, so going back to the league might be redundant for their development. The AHL isn’t an option yet for either of them.

Dickinson can’t head to the NCAA for a year because he signed his entry-level contract, but Misa hasn’t yet, which means he can go to college for a year. His brother is heading to Penn State, and he’s expressed a desire to play with him, so that could be an option if the NHL isn’t in the cards. 

Realistically, if it were strictly based on talent, Dickinson and Misa could probably step into this Sharks lineup, but the team is in no rush, and they can let these guys overmarinate if they need to. If I had to make a bet, we’ll see Dickinson in the NHL while Misa heads to the NCAA for a one-year stint, possibly playing alongside his brother and 2026 projected first overall pick, Gavin McKenna. 

Prospect Depth Chart Notables

LW: Igor Chernyshov, Quentin Musty, Richard Gallant, Cam Lund

C: Michael Misa, Filip Bystedt, Cole McKinney, Teddy Mutryn, Yegor Spiridonov

RW: Kasper Halttunen, Carson Wetsch, Ethan Cardwell, Oskar Olausson, Yegor Rimashevskiy

LD: Sam Dickinson, Luca Cagnoni, Haoxi ‘Simon’ Wang, Leo Sahlin Wallenius, Shakir Mukhamadullin

RD: Mattias Havelid, Michael Fisher, Nate Misskey, Colton Roberts, Axel Landen, Jake Furlong, Artem Guryev

G: Yaroslav Askarov, Joshua Ravensbergen, Yaroslav Korostelyov, Christian Kirsch

For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook and Future Watch editions of The Hockey News in print.

As the Calgary Flames head into another season of transition, there is one major decision looming that could shape the trajectory of the team’s blue line—and maybe their rebuild as a whole.

What do they do with Rasmus Andersson?

The 27-year-old defenceman is entering the final year of his six-year deal, and the Flames have to weigh their options: extend him, or move him before he potentially walks next summer as an unrestricted free agent (UFA). On paper, it seems like a no-brainer. He’s a top-four defenceman, plays heavy minutes, and brings edge, experience, and leadership to a locker room that should be shedding more veterans than it’s adding. But when you look closer—both at the numbers and the direction of the team—the picture gets more complicated.

Still a Workhorse, Still a Warrior

There’s no questioning Andersson’s usage or his toughness. He averaged 23:59 of ice time last season, ranking 18th among NHL defencemen. That’s top-pair territory, night in and night out.

One of the most underrated elements of his game is his willingness to block shots. He ranked 4th in the NHL last season with 196 blocked shots, finishing ahead of both Mackenzie Weegar (192) and former Flames fan-favourite Chris Tanev (189), now with the Toronto Maple Leafs. (And if you’re beating Tanev in the blocks column, you’re doing something right.)

He’s reliable, too. Andersson suited up for 81 games last season, and when you’re logging those kinds of minutes against top competition, that availability counts for a lot.

The Defensive Dip

It wasn’t all sunshine on the stat sheet, however. 

Andersson ended the 2024–25 season with a -38 rating, which was the worst of his career and one of the lowest plus/minus on the team. It’s a far cry from the +30 he posted in 82 games just two years ago. That stat doesn’t always tell the whole story—but it paints a picture. Whether it’s a sign of regression, or just a tough season on an inconsistent team, the defensive side of his game trended in the wrong direction.

Offensively, he was steady—but not spectacular. He tied a career high with 11 goals and finished with 31 points, which you’ll take from a second-pairing right-shot defender. But with the Flames looking to get younger and faster, and already having Weegar and rookie Zayne Parekh as right-shot options, the long-term fit becomes a question.

The Market: Who’s Calling?

There’s no shortage of interest in a reliable, right-shot, top-four D-man who plays with bite. Andersson’s trade value isn’t at its absolute peak, but he’s still a coveted asset. The catch? He has a six-team no-trade list, which narrows the field. Still, there are a few clubs who’ve been circling.

Dallas Stars

The rumour mill has been buzzing around Dallas for months. At face value, it makes sense—they’re in their contending window and could use more playoff-style depth on the blue line. But it gets complicated. With Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, Ilya Lyubushkin, and rising star Thomas Harley already eating up major minutes, Andersson might be fighting for ice.

That said, if Calgary could pry Lian Bichsel (the 6-foot-5 Swiss defender who played 38 games for the Stars last year) in return—or even swing big for top forward prospect Mavrik Bourque—it would go a long way toward reshaping the Flames’ future core. Bourque just posted better than a point-per-game season in the AHL (77 points in 71 games) and could be a dynamic piece in Calgary’s top-six plans moving forward.

Vegas Golden Knights

A reunion with Noah Hanifin and a roster built for deep playoff runs makes Vegas a logical fit. Andersson’s rugged style and leadership would mesh well with the Golden Knights’ identity.

If Calgary’s looking to restock the cupboards, Kaedan Korczak or Lukas Cormier could be intriguing additions—young, mobile defenders with NHL upside. Korczak, in particular, plays with a similar physicality to Andersson and could slide into a depth role right away.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Don’t count out Toronto. Leafs’ GM Brad Treliving, who drafted Andersson in 2015, has always valued right-shot defenders, and Andersson fits the mold. The Leafs added Tanev last summer, and reuniting him with Andersson would give Toronto much-needed stability.

The cap gymnastics would be tricky, but not impossible, and if the Flames could extract a prospect or a younger roster player (Nick Robertson, anyone?), it might make sense—especially if the Leafs see themselves as a legitimate contender.

Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina has the cap space—roughly $10.6 million—and just lost Brent Burns to the Colorado Avalanche. They’re still in a win-now window and could use Andersson’s presence on the blue line to get over the playoff hump.

Now here’s where it gets spicy: Alexander Nikishin. The 23-year-old Russian phenom set a KHL record for scoring by a Russian-born defenceman (55 points in 65 games in 2022-23) and has the kind of top-pairing upside that teams dream about. Is it likely Carolina parts with him? Probably not. Still, he’d slot in beautifully alongside the rest of Calgary’s emerging Russian defensive core in Daniil Miromanov, Yan Kuznetsov, Ilya Solovyov or Artem Grushnikov. If you’re Craig Conroy, you have to at least ask.

So… What Do The Flames Do?

Here’s the dilemma: Andersson is a proven NHL defenceman with bite, edge, and leadership—and the Flames don’t exactly have a ton of those guys left. You could extend him, ride out the season, and re-evaluate at the deadline when his value may be higher, but that’s a gamble. If the team struggles and his numbers don’t rebound, you risk getting less—or nothing—when free agency hits.

On the flip side, moving him now for young pieces that align with the timeline of this next-gen Flames team might be the smarter long-term play.

No decision will be perfect, but with Andersson’s contract expiring and a rebuild still underway, this is one of those inflection points that can quietly reshape a franchise’s trajectory.

Whether he’s blocking shots in Calgary this spring—or in another city come March—the Andersson storyline is just heating up.

© Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

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Here's today's NHL Nugget – this month's edition of Shinny or Nothing discusses Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine's introduction to hockey and skating on the outdoor rink.

His first time on skates didn't go as well as it did for his brother, and at 12 years old, everything was in doubt. But not longer after, he was back on the ice and on his way toward a 15-season NHL career with the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers.

Brian T. Dessart takes fans on a distinctive ride through the historic-laden NHL with the #NHLNugget. Check out NHLNugget.com to find where to follow NHL Nugget on social media.  And for past NHL Nuggets, click here.    

Promo image credit: Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images

Seattle Kraken forward Chandler Stephenson appeared at No.3 on The Athletic's Dom Luszczyszyn's top 10 worst contracts list in 2025.

The 31-year-old signed a massive, seven-year, $6.25-million contract with the Kraken in the 2024 off-season, and after a poor first year, he finds himself on a not-so-friendly list. 

The 2024-25 season witnessed Stephenson score 13 goals and 51 points in 78 games, a respectable output, but his struggles at 5-on-5 were concerning. 18 of his 51 points came on the man-advantage, and despite averaging a career-high in ice time, his points per game fell off quite a bit from his production with the Vegas Golden Knights. 

Stephenson is in a weird spot with the current Kraken roster. The Kraken are hoping for some trio of Matty Beniers, Shane Wright, Berkly Catton, and Jake O'Brien to lead them down the middle of the ice, which would put Stephenson on the fourth line or as a winger. Either way, Stephenson doesn't fit into the future plans despite being locked in for six additional seasons. 

"One year removed from Seattle’s big bet on Chandler Stephenson, it is still mystifying that the Kraken ever gave a 30-year-old declining center $6.25 million per year for the next seven years. One year into the deal, nothing has changed on that front. It was a poor decision at the time and that’s played out on the ice.

A surface-level analysis of Stephenson’s game might view that sentiment as incredibly unkind. Stephenson scored 51 points last year and was second on the team in scoring. He was the team’s top faceoff man, led all forwards in ice-time playing nearly 20 minutes per game and took on some of the team’s toughest matchups. On the surface, Stephenson seems like a fine player. Dig deeper, though, and a lot of Stephenson’s production rings hollow. He’s an empty-calorie scorer.

For starters, much of his production hinges on the opportunity he would not get elsewhere. Of Stephenson’s 51 points, 18 were thanks to playing on the team’s top power play, where 11 were secondary assists. At five-on-five, he scored just 1.57 points-per-60, ninth among forwards and directly behind recent salary dump Andre Burakovsky. On a bad team, someone has to score, but it doesn’t mean they’re actually adding much to the team’s bottom line — they’re just getting a lot of minutes. It’s the Mikkel Boedker Rule.

The bigger issue, though, is Stephenson’s five-on-five play. That was a red flag going into free agency, where it looked like he would struggle without Mark Stone. Lo and behold, Stephenson managed just a 37 percent xG last year, seven percentage points lower than the next-worst Kraken forward. The gap between the 13th and 14th being that large is difficult to comprehend, a matter of Stephenson being incredibly porous without the puck. With him on the ice, the Kraken gave up 0.45 more xGA/60, the sixth-worst mark in the league and one that is consistent with his last season in Vegas. Stephenson is a defensive black hole, and that showed up on the scoresheet, too, where the Kraken gave up a lot of goals against with him on the ice.

Some of that can be explained by usage and easing Stephenson’s burden can allow the Kraken to squeeze more juice out of his minutes. He’s not a bad player, but it is highly debatable whether he’s a true top-six player anymore. Paying $6.25 million for a likely third-line center is not ideal. Even less ideal is Stephenson’s age and the term remaining, where things are only likely to get worse from here on out. His age profile does not suggest he will age gracefully either.

At his price tag, Stephenson needs to be a capable second-line center for the next six years for Seattle. In Year 1, he already doesn’t look like one — even if he’s used like one," said Luszczyszyn.

Only Jonathan Huberdeau (Calgary Flames) and Ivan Provorov (Columbus Blue Jackets) ranked ahead of Stephenson. Coming in after him were Brady Skej (Nashville Predators), Nicolas Hague (Nashville Predators), Sean Couturier (Philadelphia Flyers), Ryan Pulock (New York Islanders), Sam Bennett (Florida Panthers), Cody Ceci (Los Angeles Kings) and Tanner Jeannot (Boston Bruins).

Some of these players are definite overpays, but can still live up to some of their contracts, while Stephenson seems to be stuck in a losing situation.

Despite Having A State Income Tax Advantage, The Kraken Still Rank Far Below NHL Average In Contract DiscountsThe Seattle Kraken don't just rank below the NHL average; they rank dead last in the NHL in average contract discounts. 

The Montreal Canadiens exceeded expectations this past season by making it into the Stanley Cup playoffs and putting up a decent fight against the Washington Capitals. 

This summer, with the blockbuster trade acquisition of former New York Islanders star defenseman Noah Dobson, expectations for the Canadiens will be even higher in 2025-26.

But even with Dobson on board – and with him making Montreal’s defense corps one of the better ones in the NHL – how high is the bar for the Canadiens? And how should Habs ownership and management deal with the results that come in throughout the season?

In the grand scheme of things, the Habs overachieved last season. Although their core of young talent was admirable in that they made themselves a playoff team despite the odds not being in their favor, there were few observers who believed they could actually do it.

The Canadiens were last in the Eastern Conference by American Thanksgiving last year, which is the unofficial point where teams in or out of a playoff spot generally stay there. 

But under the guidance of coach-of-the-year candidate Martin St-Louis, Montreal’s players pushed the envelope and went 32-20-8 the rest of the season. Nick Suzuki was tied for the ninth-most points in the NHL from Nov. 29 onward, with 69 in 60 games, and Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson increased his offensive production to get 54 points. Cole Caufield had 24 goals and 52 points, while Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes were a reliable tandem in net.

This team came away from the season putting its opponents on notice – getting into the playoffs would be a bare minimum from this point on.

If the Canadiens take a step back, it would be a disappointing campaign. But it wouldn’t be the first time a young team suffered a setback and wobbled a bit. Progress isn’t always linear. In the highly competitive Atlantic Division, Montreal will have a slew of teams gunning to overtake them and squeeze into the playoffs in a wild-card spot, including the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins and, in the Metropolitan Division, the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets.

That said, if the Canadiens disappoint and miss the playoffs, it would be a huge mistake to do anything drastic with this group. Habs GM Kent Hughes has painstakingly put this group together, and it would make no sense to start dismantling part of the core simply because they failed to meet expectations in a single season.

The full-time arrivals of Dobson, Zack Bolduc and rookie Ivan Demidov will ramp up expectations, but things go awry for the Canadiens. Maybe they dig another early-season hole and cannot dig out of it the way they did this past season, when the Rangers and Bruins dropped out.

Of course, that’s the pessimistic point of view. The optimistic view is that Montreal builds on last season’s performance and follows up a strong regular season in ’25-26 by winning a playoff round or two. But the Canadiens will probably be a playoff underdog no matter who they take on in the opening round next spring, simply because their youngsters haven’t demonstrated they have the wherewithal to send a veteran team packing in the post-season.

It took a long time for the Canadiens to get back on the right track and re-establish themselves as a team to reckon with, and nothing that happens next season should result in management and fans allowing their eyes to wander off the ultimate goal for the organization – namely, being a Cup front-runner year in and year out for the next decade or longer.

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With it now being August, many of this year's notable unrestricted free agents (UFAs) have found their new homes. While this is the case, there are still some UFAs with plenty of experience who have yet to get signed.

Among the top UFA defensemen still on the market is former Chicago Blackhawks blueliner Jan Rutta. 

Given Rutta's resume, the possibility of him landing another contract in the NHL should not be ruled out. The two-time Stanley Cup champion has been a steady stay-at-home defenseman throughout his career, and he could be a nice pickup for teams looking for more depth on their right side of their blueline because of it. 

Rutta played this past season with the San Jose Sharks, posting three goals, six assists, nine points, and 81 blocks in 54 games. Overall, while his offense was down in 2024-25, he still made an impact with his defensive play. Perhaps this could lead to landing a one-year deal or professional tryout (PTO) before training camp gets here.

Rutta played the first two seasons of his NHL career with the Blackhawks. In 80 games as a Blackhawk, he recorded eight goals, 18 assists, 26 points, 36 penalty minutes, and 85 blocks. His time with the Blackhawks ended when he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2018-19 season. 

Blackhawks Made Good Move Bringing Back Key ForwardDuring the 2024 NHL off-season, the Chicago Blackhawks brought back Teuvo Teravainen on a three-year, $16.2 million contract. With this move, the Blackhawks expected him to be a key part of their top six as they look to take that next step in their rebuild. 

Photo Credit: © Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Nick Robertson's camp are reportedly $1.05 million apart in their arbitration filings.

The Maple Leafs are looking for $1.2 million on Robertson's next contract, while the left winger filed for $2.25 million, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on Friday. Their arbitration hearing is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 3.

Toronto has about $2.93 million in available cap space, according to PuckPedia.

Robertson, who elected for arbitration in early July, is the only player left who could be headed to a hearing. The 10 other RFAs who filed for arbitration and two whose teams filed for arbitration signed new deals, including the Seattle Kraken's Kaapo Kakko, Buffalo Sabres' Bowen Byram and Winnipeg Jets' Gabriel Vilardi.

In 69 games this past season, the 23-year-old recorded 15 goals and seven assists for 22 points. In 2023-24, Robertson played more than 15 NHL games for the first time, putting up 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 56 games.

Robertson averaged 12 minutes of ice time under first-year Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube, a career high. But in the playoffs, he only appeared in three games: Games 1 and 2 in the first round against the Ottawa Senators, when he had one assist, and Game 5 against the Florida Panthers, when he scored. He averaged 9:59 of ice time in the post-season.

The Maple Leafs lost right wingers Mitch Marner and Ryan Reaves and left winger Pontus Holmberg in free agency, while Max Pacioretty remains a UFA.

That said, Leafs GM Brad Treliving added Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua and Michael Pezzetta to the wings this off-season.

Toronto also still has Calle Jarnkrok, Steven Lorentz and David Kampf as bottom-six options, while either Bobby McMann or Max Domi will likely be on the third line with the other on one of the top two lines.

Regardless of the contract Robertson signs, he could face competition in earning a spot on the second or third lines. He has proven at times to provide solid secondary scoring, with an average shot speed of 62.73 mph that ranks in the 89th percentile of NHL players, according to NHL Edge.

As Friedman mentioned when reporting arbitration filings for the Jets' Dylan Samberg, who since signed a three-year contract worth $5.75 million annually, these filings are strategic. An arbitrator will often award a contract in between the two filings, leaning toward the team or player's filing.

More to come.

It has been two years since the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and the Chicago Blackhawks are fortunate of the result. They drafted 11 times; two in the first round, three in the second round, two in the third round, and once in each of the final four rounds. The team got some good young players.

There have only been 19 players from the 2023 draft to appear in an NHL game over the first two seasons. The Blackhawks have two of them, Connor Bedard and Oliver Moore.

Bedard ranks first amongst all players drafted in 2023 in points with 128, and even though he played two full seasons, he missed 14 games as a rookie. Moore only just left university at the end of last season and played nine games for the Blackhawks, recording four points.

There are only five players in between Bedard and Moor in points from the 2023 draft, and every one of them have played over 70 games. Only six total players from this draft have even played 10 games. The group of young players separating Bedard and Moore are Adam Fantilli (81 points), Lucas Carlsson (71), Matvei Michkov (63), Zach Benson (58), and Will Smith (45).

Bedard remains the top player on the Blackhawks and that should continue to be true, but Moore took a different path as a later first-round pick and will have to work his way up from a bottom-6 role he will likely start out in next season.

This draft will start to blossom even more in 2025-26 with players starting to break into the NHL and earning more full time roles. Three 2023 draft picks to still watch, not next season, but beyond, are Adam Gajan, Roman Kantserov, and Nick Lardis. All should be able to find their way to the NHL.

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

In an X post yesterday, BarDown asked which of the Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets, or San Jose Sharks had the best 25-and-under core. In less than 24 hours, the post received nearly 200 replies, with not everyone picking the same team. Let’s take a closer look at those three teams’ young core.

San Jose

BarDown identified the six following players as part of the Sharks’ young core: Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, William Eklund, Michael Misa, Sam Dickinson, and Yaroslav Askarov. One thing jumps out at you right away: the presence of a generational talent in Macklin Celebrini. Some stopped their analysis there, saying that settled the debate; San Jose was the best because of his presence. That to me is a bit shortsighted; a great individual does not make a great team. If that were the case, Conor McDavid would have won multiple Stanley Cups already.

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I remember one year, when Russia was still allowed to play in the Olympics. They were hosting the games in Sochi, and they lost to Finland in the quarter-finals despite having what could only be described as an All-Star team with Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Malkin, Andrei Markov, Alexander Radulov, Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Kovalchuk, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Semyon Varlamov.

It doesn’t come down to just having the best players; it comes down to having great players who complement each other well. The six players identified as the Sharks’ young core by BarDown have a total of 334 NHL games under their belt and are far from done developing.

You have to pick ONE of the league’s three brightest cores for the next decade… Who are you rolling with? 👀⤵️ pic.twitter.com/vvIegAcyRa

— BarDown (@BarDown) August 1, 2025

It's worth noting that it includes three centers, and if they all do pan out, that will give them tremendous depth at center, which is generally a must to build a perennial contender. Right now, however, at 22, Eklund is the oldest of the group, and the most points he has gotten in a season so far are 58 points. Celebrini had 63 in his only season so far.

The one defenseman they’ve included in the Sharks’ core has yet to play a single game in the NHL. Granted, he was great in the juniors, scoring 91 points in 55 games. At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, he certainly has the shape of an NHLer, but will he adapt well to the top league? It’s a bit too early to say.

As for the goaltender, there’s a lot of hype around Askarov, and when he was available for a trade, many teams came knocking, but so far, he only has five wins in 16 NHL contests with a 3.01 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage. His stats are better in the AHL, but there’s a significant gap between the difficulty level in the AHL and the NHL, as the Cayden Primeau experiment showed in Montreal recently.

Columbus

The six players identified as the Jackets’ young core are Adam Fantilli, Cole Silinger, Kiril Marchenko, Dimitri Voronkov, Cayden Lindstrom, and Kent Johnson. These are all forwards. There are no defenseman and no goaltender.

This group has 854 games of NHL experience, making them much more seasoned than the Sharks’ core. Columbus seems to have all of its chips on their forward group, and experience tells us that overlooking the other positions is not a recipe for success. The Edmonton Oilers, with their numerous first-round pick, spent years going all in on forwards and eventually realized they needed more than that to win. The other extreme isn’t better, though; the Canadiens also failed to put all their chips on goaltending with Carey Price and invest heavily in their blueline while neglecting the offense.

For a team that is so invested in the attack, it’s interesting to see that they’ve only got 526 points in those 854 games of NHL experience. Marchenko had their most productive season with 74 points. As things stand, Voronkov and Silinger are third-line players, and I’m far from convinced they both have top-six potential.

If these youngsters cannot take over Sean Monahan and Boone Jenner’s roles sooner rather than later, this is not a very convincing core if you ask me. Monahan is only 30 years old, but he has a well-documented injury history. Last year, he could only skate in 54 games. The last time he played 82 games was in 2016-17. As for Jenner, he’s 32 and has never reached the 50-point mark, and yet, he plays on the Jackets’ top six rather than some of their young talent.

This group has more experience than the Sharks’, but despite being all about the attack, they fall short of firepower and real top-six talent. If I had to choose between the two, San Jose would get my vote, even with their inexperience.

Montreal

Like San Jose, Montreal boasts a more diverse core than Columbus, featuring players like Ivan Demidov, Kirby Dach, Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, and Nick Suzuki. This group is by far the most experienced, with 1,297 NHL games under their belt, but an argument could be made that Dach shouldn’t be in the group, as he hasn’t yet proven himself worthy.

The main weakness here is the lack of depth at center; the Canadiens need to find a second-line center before they can even think about depth at that position. The upcoming season will be a big one for Dach, who’s playing the last year of his contract.

The presence of Lane Hutson on the blue line is a massive plus for the Canadiens; they are the only one of the three teams with a proven points producer on the blueline. He might have only played one season, but Hutson improved as the year went on. Proof that even though the teams started knowing him more, they couldn’t find a way to keep him in check, the elusive blueliner just kept finding ways to keep going.

The Canadiens also boast a pure sniper in their group in Caufield, even though he’s yet to hit the 40-goal mark. I firmly believe that he’ll get there this upcoming season. He would have done it last season had he not lost his favourite power play spot to Laine. The experience was beneficial, however, and contributed to making him a more well-rounded player.

Montreal also has a power forward in the making in Slafkovsky. He’s yet to find the consistency to be a fully fledged power forward, but he knows what he has to do to get there, and it appears to be coming.

Overall, this six-player group has put up 896 points, showing great offensive potential. While the lack of a goaltender can somewhat hurt their nomination as best young core, that’s easily solved by replacing Dach with Jacob Fowler. The netminder has yet to play an NHL game and, therefore, is even less proven than Askarov, but he still would have deserved to be included in that group. Even Kaiden Guhle and Noah Dobson would have belonged in the group before Dach.

In my book, Montreal is the winner here for now, at least. Perhaps the Sharks’ group will mature very nicely as it picks up more experience, but as things stand, the Canadiens have the best young core.

Photo credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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New York Islanders prospect Victor Eklund will not be attending rookie camp or training camp this fall, The Hockey News has learned. 

Eklund, selected 16th overall in this past draft, did attend development camp, sharing at the draft and on Long Island that he would be heading back to Sweden for the 2025-26 season to play for Djugardens, which had been promoted to the SHL after winning the HockeyAllsvenskan championship. 

After attending #Isles dev camp, I'm told Victor Eklund (No. 16) will not be attending rookie camp or training camp this fall.

If he did, he'd miss around 6 games for Djugardens, which would jeopardize his position on their roster & ability to prepare for the SHL season.

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) July 31, 2025

The Islanders were on board with this decision. 

Anton Frondell (Chicago Blackhawks, No. 4), Eklund's buddy and Djugarden's teammate, will also be following this path. 

Eklund, 18, did sign his entry-level contract back on July 14. The first year of the deal will slide if the Swedish forward does not play in 10 or more NHL games in 2025-26, which he won't. 

Djugardens opens their season on Sept. 13 vs. Skelleftea. 

PHOTO: David Reginek-Imagn Images

According to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline, former New Jersey Devils forward Stefan Matteau is being hired as an assistant coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.

Matteau announced his retirement from hockey back in May after spending each of the last two seasons with the Monsters. Now, based on Portzline's report, Matteau will be an assistant coach for the AHL squad.

Sounds like Stefan Matteau, 31, is making an immediate leap from player to coach with AHL Cleveland, replacing Mark Letestu behind the bench.

Matteau had a 13-year pro career w New Jersey, Montreal, Vegas, Columbus and Colorado. He's on Trent Vogelhuber's staff. @monstershockey

— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) July 31, 2025

Matteau was selected by the Devils with the 29th overall pick of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. In 44 games over three seasons as a Devil, he recorded three goals, two assists, five points, and 83 hits. His time with the Devils ended during the 2015-16 season when he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Devante Smith-Pelly. 

In 92 NHL games over seven seasons split between the Devils, Canadiens, Vegas Golden Knights, and Blue Jackets from 2012-13 to 2021-22, Matteau recorded six goals, five assists, 11 points, and 181 hits. 

Devils Have Intriguing Free-Agent Target To ConsiderThe New Jersey Devils have made some new additions to their roster this off-season, but it would be understandable if they tried to make more before the 2025-26 campaign is here. When looking at their roster, it is fair to argue that they could use a bit more forward depth, especially. 

Photo Credit: © Andy Marlin-Imagn Images

The Ottawa Senators' Ring of Honour was established to recognize players and team personnel who served the organization with distinction but don’t quite fit into the categories of team jersey retirement or the Hockey Hall of Fame.

There are six men in the Hockey Hall of Fame who once wore the centurion crest: Daniel Alfredsson, Tom Barrasso, Zdeno Chara, Dominik Hasek, Marian Hossa, and former coach Roger Neilson.

The Senators' retired numbers are Chris Phillips, Daniel Alfredsson, and Chris Neil. When the modern-day expansion Senators returned to the ice, they tipped their cap to the original Senators by retiring the number 8 of Frank Finnigan, a star player in the 1920s and ’30s who helped owner Bruce Firestone and his crew with the Bring Back the Senators campaign in the early '90s.

As an aside, I'm not sure why having your jersey retired should remove you from Ring of Honour contention.  To me, that's like making a defenseman ineligible for the Norris Trophy because he won the Hart.

Who Are The Top Five Fighters In Ottawa Senators History?My old pal, Liam Maguire, the greatest hockey trivia mind in the world, was making the rounds in Renfrew last Friday, roughly an hour west of Ottawa. Along with Liam's passion for NHL trivia, I've never met a man who likes seeing a good hockey fight more than he does.

Ironically, the Ring of Honour is the easiest of the three accolades to achieve, and yet it has the fewest members. Currently, it includes just three: former head coach and general manager Bryan Murray, longtime defenseman Wade Redden, and team doctor Donald Chow.

With new ownership and management focused on being "Best in Class," it might be time to throw a few more hats in the Ring. We can't put Brady Tkachuk or Erik Karlsson up there right now. But here are five retired players who wouldn’t look out of place right now on the Sens' R.O.H.

1. Craig Anderson

This one feels like a no-brainer. Anderson is the franchise leader in almost every goaltending stat and metric. He backstopped the team to the Eastern Conference Final in 2017, coming within a single goal of the Stanley Cup Final. Unfortunately, the image of him vainly trying to see through J.G. Pageau as a flutter puck from Chris Kunitz found its way past him will be burned into our memories forever. But the good times were many. The undisputed greatest goalie in team history deserves a spot in the Ring of Honour.

2. Marian Hossa

Some argue Hossa wasn't in Ottawa long enough to be considered Ring-worthy, but he played 467 games here and was emerging as one of the NHL’s truly elite players. He scored 390 points as a Senator and ranks 14th all-time in games played for the club. He didn’t ask out. He signed a contract in good faith, only to be immediately traded by GM John Muckler in a package deal for Dany Heatley. Doesn't that make you want to extend an olive branch to one of the most skilled players to ever wear a Sens jersey?

3. Alexei Yashin

Don't start throwing tomatoes at me. Yashin is the only Senator ever considered for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. He sits 13th in games played with 504 and racked up 491 points. Yes, his contract holdouts were fiercely frustrating at the time, but few players have ever been more talented in a Sens uniform. I've always felt like this was just a kid getting some really bad advice from his agent.

4. Jason Spezza

Spezza ranks sixth all-time in games played (686) and scored 251 goals and 687 points, nearly a point per game. Yes, some were disappointed that he was named captain in 2013–14, only to request a trade by the end of the season. But his behind-the-scenes exhaustion during the Eugene Melnyk years surely played a big role in that. If you believe that, then Spezza deserves a little grace. He was an excellent Senator for a long time and absolutely belongs in the Ring of Honour.

5. Dany Heatley

You could definitely make a case against this one because Heatley only played four seasons for the Senators. But the only 50-goal scorer in club history (he did it twice) will never look out of place on the Ring. Heatley was part of the most entertaining line in team history with Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza. The Senators took the first step by publicly reuniting the Pizza Line last year. Why not complete the tribute?

You could also twist my arm on Zdeno Chara or Mike Fisher, by the way.

I get it. Some of these options are borderline for varying reasons. But frankly, I'm willing to be flexible right now. Because for an NHL team that's 33 years old, having a ring of honour with just one player on it isn't a very good look.

It's time to get some star names up there and beef this thing up. 

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa
Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images

More Sens Headlines:
Sens Rewind: The Year Jason Spezza Became Ottawa Senators Captain
Formenton's Lawyer: 'The Crown Knowingly Forged Ahead With A Hopeless Prosecution'
Mark Stone Jokes That It Wasn't Always Easy Playing On Brady Tkachuk's Line
2018 World Junior Trial Ends: Former Senator Alex Formenton Found Not Guilty
Two Sens Prospects Set To Shine At World Junior Summer Showcase
Croatia's NHL Trailblazer: Sens Prospect Bruno Idžan Takes NHL Road Less Travelled

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15 Years Later: The 2008 Red Wings, a Retrospective - June 14, 2023

(Original author: Sam Stockton) 

Fifteen years ago this month, the Detroit Red Wings lifted the Stanley Cup for the eleventh time in franchise history. It was the team’s fourth title in eleven seasons. If you are the kind of person who is stringent in their application of the label “dynasty,” perhaps believing that a minimum of three consecutive championships is an essential criterion, then you might not count the Red Wings from the late nineties through the late aughts, but you couldn’t put any other hockey team in front of them during that span. In the nascent days of the NHL’s salary cap era, the ‘08 Wings provided the league with an aspirational gold standard.

In June of 2008, you would be in rare company if you suspected that the end of a golden age was imminent, but with the benefit of hindsight, maybe it wasn’t so surprising. To be sure, there was one more big run left—the following season’s journey to a Cup Final rematch with the Penguins, a home defeat in Game 7, and symbolic torch-passing to Sidney Crosby, but beyond that, precious little.

In the four seasons spanning the NHL’s 2005 return from another lockout and that 2009 Game 7 loss in Detroit, the Red Wings won nine playoff series.  They twice won the Western Conference and took home the big prize in 2008.

From the 2009-10 season to the present, the Wings have won just two playoff series, both of them prior to joining the Eastern Conference before the '13-14 season. 

In 2017, Detroit missed the playoffs for the first time since 1990—a streak generally accepted as a core cause for the depth of the ensuing and ongoing rebuild.

In other words, at the rate of a trickle, the band broke up, and, within a decade, the notion of the Detroit Red Wings as a standard for excellence around the league was laughable.

Yet the legacy of the 2008 Red Wings could not be so easily forgotten. With the possible exception of Darryl Sutter’s Cup-winning LA Kings, they remained the supreme example of possession-based hockey in the NHL. Conveniently, the ‘07-08 season is the first for which we have (mostly) reliable shot data and thus a sort of year zero for modern analytics. With those tools at our disposal, we can better express the extent of those Red Wings’ dominance.

At fifteen years' remove, it’s striking that this wasn’t a team of preposterous talent up and down the lineup, layering one scoring line on top of another in the style of the ‘15 Blackhawks or the ‘16 and ‘17 Penguins.  To be sure, they weren't bereft of talent, but you wouldn't confuse the lineup for an all-star team.

At the top of the lineup, there was glimmering skill: Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidsrom, Rafalski. But from a depth perspective, these Wings were more dependent on brawn than skill. Up front it was Draper, Maltby, and Drake. Along the blue line, Lebda, Lilja, and whatever remained of Chris Chelios.

It was during the 2008 postseason that Johan Franzen, with his eighteen points in sixteen games, emerged as one of the best power forwards in the league. 

THN.com's ongoing series on the Buffalo Sabres and their opponents next season continues with this look at the New York Rangers and the considerable changes the Rangers have made thus far this off-season, as well as their record against the Sabres and their schedule head-to-head this coming season.

The Rangers have a new voice guiding them on the ice in former Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins coach Mike Sullivan. And the Blueshirts were quite active in the trade and free-agency departments, so the Sabres team that mostly stayed the same is going to see a much different Rangers squad. So we're excited to see the way the games between the two teams shakes out this year.

BUFFALO SABRES VS. NEW YORK RANGERS

NEW RANGERS PLAYERS: Vladislav Gavrikov, D; Taylor Raddysh, RW; Justin Dowling, LW; Scott Morrow, D

2024-25 SERIES: Sabres 2-1-0, Rangers 1-2-0

2025-26 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER:  October 9 at Buffalo; January 8 at Rangers; April 8 at Rangers

CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM?  The Rangers and Sabres squeezed in their regular-season action last year by the third week of February. which is a bit of a shame, as this rivalry is a favorite of ours and needs more games deep down the stretch of the regular season.

Thankfully, the NHL schedule-maker is giving us this year's three games betweeen the Sabres and Rangers at very different points in the season. First, Buffalo takes on the Rangers in their first game of the year. Then, they meet again in the first week of January. And finally, they wrap things up in a game that's the fourth-to-last on the Sabres' schedule.

That latter game has the potentil to be a powderkeg game, with both teams possibly fighting it out for a wild card berth. But by then, each team will have worked far past the trade deadlne, so we could be talking about two very different rosters.

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Metropolitan Edition: Are Retooling Islanders A Better Team Than Buffalo?Welcome back to  THN.com's Buffalo Sabres site. In recent days and weeks, we've been focusing on the teams the Sabres will square off against next season. And in today's file, we're turning our attention to a team Buffalo will be taking on in the latest battl(es) of New York (state) -- the New York Islanders.

Regardless, the Sabres will be taking on a Rangers team that said goodbye to longtime cornerstone winger Chris Kreider, as well as veteran defenseman K'Andre Miller. In their place is former L.A. Kings stalwart Gavrikov and...well, a few depth players in Raddysh, Dowling and Morrow. There shouldn't be any sizeable expectations of those three players, but Gavrikov will definitely be an upgrade defensively on Miller.

This Rangers team has essentially doubled down on its core, including star winger Artemi Panarin, blueliner Adam Fox, and goalie Igor Shesterkin. None of those three players had an good year typical of them at the NHL level, but teams and players go through sub-par strethes and rebound from them, and that's what Blueshirts GM Chris Drury is banking on.

If things somehow go right for the Sabres and Rangers next season, there's a possibility the teams eventually meet in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Granted, that would take a particular game of plinko from the hockey gods to make happen, but again, the Sabres and Rangers have that built-in relationship that should be developed as much as possible. If the teams aren't going to be in the same division anytime soon -- and that's even if expansion winds up having an effect on the current divisional setup -- then the schedule-maker can continue giving us three games in the season. 

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Metropolitan Edition: Will Devils Remain Formidable Metro Team -- And Will New Jersey Once Again Beat Sabres In Season Series?The Buffalo Sabres are a team that needs to make a playoff appearance this coming season. But in a continuing series, we're examining each of Buffalo's Eastern Conference-rivals that could be in the way of the Sabres making it into the post-season. And in this file, we're examining the rivalry between the Sabres and New Jersey Devils.

 If Shesterkin in particular can look like his old self, the Rangers should be in the mix for a wild card berth. It's now within the realm of possibility, though, that the Sabres take advantage of their games against the Blueshirts and play a key role in the Rangers missing the post-season for the second straight season. And if that's what happens for the Rangers next year, we can see Drury totally dismantle his core and start with a new group.

Between then, we're going to get three games between the Sabres and Rangers. And while there are some Sabres opponents who don't move the needle as playing especially-intriguing games against Buffalo, the Rangers are not one of those teams. And given the tightness of the playoff race in both conferences, the games between the Sabres and Rangers are likely to be highly-entertaining. 

Who do we like to win those three games? Well, not to be all safe about it, but we see Buffalo -- for the second straight season -- winning two of their three games against the Rangers. It's hard for any team to sweep an opponent given the modern-day parity of the league, but the Sabres have what it takes on paper to beat the Rangers more often than they lose.

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Metropolitan Edition: Sabres Could Be Battling Up-And-Coming Blue Jackets For Wild Card BerthThe Buffalo Sabres are one of the teams most desperate to make the Stanley Cup playoffs next season. And one of the teams the Sabres could be battling for one of the two wild card berths next season is another team desperate to end a prolonged playoff drought -- the Columbus Blue Jackets.

We'll see how our prediction lands, but it will nonetheless be intriguing to watch the Sabres/Rangers games this season. They've both got some solid components, but there has to be a desperation to both teams' attack. If not, it will be a long season, and an even longer summer next year, for the team that doesn't get into the post-season.