This means he will at least miss the first four games of the regular season against the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Rangers again, and Anaheim Ducks. He'd have an opportunity to return on October 16 against the Los Angeles Kings if he heals quickly.
Rust had the best season of his career last year, finishing with 31 goals and 65 points in 71 games. His 31 goals and 65 points are career-highs.
His absence could open up a spot for top forward prospect Benjamin Kindel since he's been phenomenal during training camp and the preseason. There's a chance he could get the nine-game trial to open the year before the Penguins have to decide if he goes back to the WHL or sticks with the main club.
The Penguins will play their final preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday before opening the regular season against the Rangers on Tuesday.
Harpur signed a PTO with the Panthers back in September in hopes of landing a contract for the season. However, with this news, he remains an unrestricted free agent (UFA) with the regular season almost here.
Before signing his PTO with the Panthers this off-season, Harpur spent each of the last three seasons with the Rangers organization. However, he only played at the NHL level during the 2022-23 season with the Rangers, where he posted one goal, five assists, six points, 57 blocks, 63 hits, and an even plus/minus rating.
Following the 2022-23 season, Harpur spent each of the next two seasons exclusively with the Rangers' AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wold Pack. In seven games with Hartford during the 2023-24, he posted one goal, three points, and a minus-1 rating. He then followed that up by recording one goal, five points, 48 penalty minutes, and a minus-4 rating in 29 games with Hartford this past season.
It will now be interesting to see if Harpur can land an NHL contract from another team before the season starts from here. In 198 career NHL games over seven seasons split between the Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, and Rangers, he has recorded two goals, 21 points, and 317 hits.
As one of the more active teams in free agency during the offseason, the Detroit Red Wings signed multiple new players for the 2025-26 NHL campaign, one of them being veteran James van Riemsdyk.
The second overall pick in 2007 by the Philadelphia Flyers (one spot behind now-teammate Patrick Kane, who went first overall to Chicago) already has 1,082 games of NHL experience, a factor that the Red Wings hope will pay dividends in their quest to end their postseason drought.
However, van Riemsdyk was unable to participate in Training Camp and the first several practices and games of the pre-season schedule, as he was dealing with a personal situation.
That personal situation was revealed to be a blessing, as his wife gave birth to twin boys. One of his new sons required some extra time in the hospital, which understandably necessitated van Riemsdyk's absence.
Following his first practice with the Red Wings this week, van Riemsdyk expressed thanks to the Red Wings organization and particularly to GM Steve Yzerman and head coach Todd McLellan for their understanding.
“First and foremost, I just really wanted to express my appreciation and gratefulness to the Red Wing organization, particularly Steve (Yzerman) and Todd (McLellan),” van Riemsdyk said after his first practice. “You come to a new team and you don’t really know everyone that well, but just how supportive they were the last few weeks, last few months actually, of dealing with some stuff, with the birth of our twins and just some stuff related to that with the pregnancy for my wife, just how great they were with me.”
van Riemsdyk also lauded the strength of his wife in dealing with the situation, which thankfully appears to have resulted in everything being fine with his now-larger family.
“One of them had some little extra time in the hospital. It’s obviously emotional thing dealing with stuff with your family, with your newborns and it keeps things in perspective. Definitely lucky to have a wife that’s very strong and did such a great job through the whole thing and obviously just feeling the support of all my family and support system and the organization here.”
Depending on how the rest of the pre-season, which has only two games remaining, goes, van Riemsdyk could potentially see time on Detroit's top line alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond.
He'll also likely see time on Detroit's power-play as a net-front presence, much in the same style as four-time Stanley Cup winner Tomas Holmstrom, who made his living by making life a living nightmare for opposition goaltenders.
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The Florida Panthers are entering the home stretch of the preseason.
With only two games and five days remaining before they can officially shift their focus to Opening Night, the Panthers have made some big cuts to their training camp roster.
On Thursday, Florida announced that the roster had been trimmed down to 29 players, a significant drop from the 52 players that made up the roster previously.
The moves break down like this:
MacKenzie Entwistle, Nolan Foote and Wilmer Skoog have been waived, and will head to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers if they clear.
Contracted players who have been assigned to Charlotte are forwards Jack Devine, Josh Davies, Gracyn Sawchyn, Kai Schwindt, Ryan McAllister, Ben Steeves, Hunter St. Martin, Anton Lundmark and Sandis Vilmanis, defensemen Marek Alscher, Michael Benning and Mikulas Hovorka and goaltender Cooper Black.
Also heading to Charlotte are Jake Livingstone, Trevor Carrick and Hunter Johannes, who were all released from their PTOs (professional tryouts), as well as Liam McLinskey, Brett Chorske and Colton Huard, who were released from their ATOs (amateur tryouts).
Additionally, defenseman Ben Harpur was released from his PTO.
Florida’s training camp roster now features 18 forwards, eight defenseman and three goalies. They must get the roster down to at least 23 players by Opening Night.
It will be an important few days for forwards Tyler Motte, Noah Gregor and Jack Studnicka, who are all vying for an NHL job.
The Panthers will close out their preseason with games against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night in Tampa and Saturday night in Sunrise.
An updated training camp roster can be seen below:
Photo caption: Sep 19, 2025; Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA; Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice speaks to his players during training camp at Baptist Health IcePlex. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
The Minnesota Wild
signing Kirill Kaprizov to an eight-year, $136-million contract
extension will make the 28-year-old left winger the NHL's highest-paid
player starting next season.
It also raised
questions among the punditry over how it will affect the 2026
UFA market.
Johnston believes
McDavid prefers a short-term contract over a long-term deal,
speculating he could get something between two and four years. As for
salary, he pointed out that the Oilers need salary-cap flexibility to
maintain a competitive roster around their captain.
Robert Tychkowski
of the Edmonton Journalbelieves McDavid must choose between
the security of a long-term contract at a guaranteed $144 million if
he pursues the cap maximum annual salary, or a short-term one where
his salary rises with the cap in a few years, despite the injury
risk.
Tychkowski's
colleague, Jim Matheson, doubts McDavid will accept a lower average annual value than
Kaprizov's $17 million. He predicts the Oilers' superstar will give
his club a discount of $18 million annually on a two or three-year
contract.
Meanwhile, Pierre
LeBrun agreed with Johnston that Kaprizov's contract will have little
effect on McDavid's negotiations. He felt other notable UFAs would be
affected, like Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights, Adrian Kempe
of the Los Angeles Kings, Alex Tuch of the Buffalo Sabres, and Martin
Necas of the Colorado Avalanche.
Vegas Hockey Now's
Hannah Kirkell cited several NHL insiders predicting that Eichel
could get a new contract from the Golden Knights with an average annual value between
$13 million and $14 million.
While that's a lot
of money, Kirkell pointed out that it would only be between 12.5 and
13.46 percent of next season's $104 million salary cap.
Bleacher Report's
Frank Seravalli believes Kaprizov's deal could push Necas' salary
much higher than the Avalanche might prefer, especially if the
27-year-old right winger has another point-per-game season alongside Nathan
MacKinnon. He didn't rule out a $10 million average annual value for Necas.
Kaprizov's deal
also ensures Winnipeg Jets left winger Kyle Connor will get a significant
raise. TSN's Darren Dreger reports the two sides continue to grind
away in negotiations, seeking a deal that makes sense for both sides.
Connor's been a
consistent scorer for the Jets, sitting eighth among the league
leaders in total goals (282) since 2017-18. He also has two 90-plus
point seasons on his resume, including a career-high 97 points in
2024-25. Connor is earning an AAV of $7.142 million, and another
90-point season could earn him a raise of around $12 million
annually.
Kempe
has led all Kings scorers with 139 total goals since his 2021-22
breakout season. Another solid performance this season could see his
AAV rise from $5.5 million to $10 million.
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New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes once again had a strong season for the Metropolitan Division club in 2024-25. In 62 games, the 24-year-old forward recorded 27 goals, 43 assists, 70 points, and a plus-12 rating. With this, the 2019 first-round pick was over a point per game player for the fourth season in a row.
Now, due to his latest big season, Hughes has been rewarded. This is because he has made Sportsnet's top 50 players list ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Hughes was given the No. 19 on Sportsnet's list. With this, he ranked ahead of other notable NHL stars like William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs), Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets), Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning), and Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators).
When looking at the year Hughes just had and his success over the years, it is not surprising in the slightest that he has been ranked as one of the top players in the NHL right now by Sportsnet. It will be interesting to see what kind of year he puts together for the Devils in 2025-26 from here.
As the Ottawa Senators continue their pre-season auditions, Tuesday’s 5-0 loss illustrated something clearly. When the Montreal Canadiens play the Ottawa Senators this season, they intend to try to intimidate them physically.
Who could blame them? Aside from Brady Tkachuk, who else on the roster can fight and win? This is not to question anyone's heart.
Zack MacEwen was signed a couple of years ago as a response to the Toronto Maple Leafs signing Ryan Reaves. MacEwen is a good fighter and always willing to answer the bell. But he hasn't fared well against the league's heavyweights.
Everyone answered the bell in the Habs game. The Habs, led by the Brothers Xhekaj, initiated the majority and, aside from Kirby Dach turtling against Donovan Sebrango, there really wasn’t a chest puff moment for the Senators.
As far as nuclear deterrents go, the Senators don’t have anyone in the system who can play regularly AND keep the other team in line.
Tyler Kleven has the size to suggest he could handle himself. However, his inaugural bout was against Adam Lowry of the Jets, and it soon became clear that Kleven played University hockey where he did not learn how to become a great fighter.
Carter Yakemchuk had 120 penalty minutes in his draft year and another 82 last year, but didn't have much interest in fighting on Tuesday night. Gabriel Eliasson, the Senators' 2nd pick in the 2024 priority selection, was regarded as the meanest player in the 2024 draft. This is a reputation he tried to uphold in rookie camp this year.
Perhaps they will be a pair one day. This doesn’t solve the current dilemma.
Ridly Greig will take all comers and that isn’t necessarily a good thing. He irritates. He doesn’t intimidate.
Other teams may take note of what happened on Tuesday and try to replicate it. The risk is not only having liberties taken with your star players, but also having your captain taken out of the game defending people when he should be wreaking havoc in front of the opposing goalie.
Looking within the division, the defending champion, Florida Panthers, are without a couple of key pieces in Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, who play the hard minutes, but the Panthers also have the likes of Sam Bennett, who can play it anyway you want or someone like AJ Greer, who can play hard minutes and fight.
The Leafs have said goodbye to Mitch Marner, and new faces like Nicolas Roy won’t replace his offence but will make them bigger and harder to play against. They also brought in Michael Pezzetta for nights when trouble is expected. Simon Benoit is a defenseman who brings both size and the ability to use it effectively to the table. Not the most intimidating roster in the division, but they are big enough not to get pushed around.
The Bruins have the likes of Nikita Zadorov who is as mean as they come, and they also doubled down on former Senator Mark Kastelic for another three years. Say what you will, but Kastelic can play a fourth-line role and can win a fight. He had 10 last year alone. The Bruins, as a team, had the second most fights in the NHL last season with 30.
The Bolts don’t have a lot of guys who fight but they have plenty of guys who can, and they are huge with the likes of former Senator Nick Paul, Victor Hedman, Erik Czernak, and the list goes on. Teams won’t intimidate them physically.
The Sabres don’t have a Matthew Barnaby type and haven’t in a long time. Adding Josh Norris didn’t make them tougher to play against. They also own the longest playoff drought in the league at 14 seasons. Coincidence? They had the eighth most fights in the league last year at 23. Fights at the end of games you are about to lose don’t add up to much in the standings.
The Detroit Red Wings don’t have anyone who would fit the description of an enforcer. They also have the second-longest playoff drought in the league at nine years. Coincidence? Mason Appleton is a gritty player, but as an off-season signing, he doesn’t really inspire fear, and nor do adding Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic. Hard to say where Stevie Y is taking this team.
Coming out of the last lockout, the competition committee sought to make the game faster and more entertaining with an emphasis on skill. This led to the near extinction of the dedicated enforcer. It also led to players who can both play harder minutes, be physical AND fight when needed, all the more valuable. Tkachuk is the Senators' only such player.
Teams don’t need a lot of pugilism to be effective, but they do need some, and aside from their captain, the Senators have a glaring gap in this department.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- The New York Islanders conclude their preseason slate on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena. We will be chatting with head coach Patrick Roy and select players at 4 PM ET.
Puck drop is slated for 7 PM ET and can be watched, exclusively, on ESPN+.
Forward Jonathan Drouin, who missed Wednesday's skate due to illness, did rejoin the team on Thursday but did not take part in line rushes. Roy didn't think he'd play when we spoke to the bench boss following Wednesday's skate.
Drouin went pointless in three preseason games, but was clearly getting more comfortable with his new team in each passing game.
"It’s something you feel. You’re forechecking and you're in your head saying, ‘Am I in the right spot?’ or ‘Am I forechecking the right guy?’ That stuff kind of goes away. & you’re just playing. You’re skating, you’re freer."#Isles@TheElmontershttps://t.co/4cIaYpPSMH
Forwards Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri were on the ice but neither took part in line rushes. Both took part in penalty kill work.
Goaltender Ilya Sorokin told us he wanted to play in two preseason games, and he'll get to do that as he'll start the finale. He stopped 23 of 26 in a 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils last Friday \\.
Forward Maxim Tsyplakov, who wasn't available for the first four preseason games, did skate on Monday, but did so on the fourth line. He's focused heavily on going North and not as much East-West-South play that got him in trouble at times during his rookie season.
We'll see what he can show alongside Barzal.
Forward Calum Ritchie also played on the fourth line last game, but we know he is a top-six forward once he develops to the level the organization envisioned.
While making the Islanders' roster out of training camp is going to be tough despite his strong performance, Thursday serves as his final chance to show his worth, and the Islanders seem to be giving him an opportunity to do that, playing alongside Anthony Duclair and Emil Heineman.
Here's how the Islanders lineup on the power play:
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Former New York Rangers defenseman Niko Mikkola has landed a big payday, as he has signed an eight-year, $40 million contract extension with the Florida Panthers. His extension will kick in during the 2026-27 season.
Mikkola first signed with the Panthers during the 2023 NHL off-season in free agency after finishing the 2022-23 season with the Rangers. Since then, he has become a key part of Florida's blueline and has won the Stanley Cup twice. Thus, it is understandable that the Panthers have locked him up to this long-term contract extension.
Mikkola was acquired by the Rangers with forward Vladimir Tarasenko during the 2022-23 season from the St. Louis Blues. In 31 games with the Rangers that season following the trade, the 6-foot-6 defenseman recorded one goal, three points, 38 blocks, 55 hits, and a plus-4 rating. He also played in seven playoff games for the Blueshirts in 2023, where he recorded two assists, 12 penalty minutes, and a plus-2 rating.
There is a scene in the third episode of FACEOFF: Inside the NHL Season 2 that, depending on your view of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is either highly inspirational or the saddest thing ever.
In it, Sidney Crosby is sweating and grunting through a set of squats in a workout room that he has personally decorated with portraits of the past 16 Stanley Cup winners. He apparently started putting these pictures up in 2008, after the Penguins lost in the final to the Detroit Red Wings. That summer, Crosby hung a photo of Nicklas Lidstrom hoisting the Cup. He then hung up an empty frame next to it as motivation for the following season.
The Penguins went on to win the Cup in 2009. Since then, Crosby has continued the tradition.
“I always put the winning captain up,” Crosby said in the Prime Video docuseries. “When we lost in ’08, I just wanted as a reminder, so I started doing that. Kept putting them up and leave the empty one there.”
Here’s the thing: no one — and I mean absolutely no one — is picking the Penguins to win the Stanley Cup this season, let alone qualify for the playoffs. The Hockey News' Yearbook predicted that the Penguins, which finished last season in seventh place in the Metro, will end up dead last in the division. But even in what is being framed as a rebuilding year, he still believes that this could also be the year where he adds another one of his photos to the empty frame.
Call him an idealist, if you want. Or delusional. But you have to love the competitiveness fire that still burns brightly inside the veteran captain. You also have to wonder why Crosby is pushing towards a goal that seems so unrealistic and unachievable.
When asked by an off-camera producer what keeps him motivated at this stage of his career, the Penguins captain was succinct in his answer: “I think winning,” he said. “I don’t really know any different.”
FACEOFF: Inside the NHL Season 2 premiers on Prime Video on Oct. 3, with the six-episode docuseries featuring Crosby, the Tkachuk brothers, William Nylander and more.
“Sid and Pat were just amazing to us on this project,” director Daniel Amigone told NHL.com. “It’s hard to get that kind of access. It was certainly not guaranteed throughout. Hopefully, we represented it accurately, and we stand behind what we have in the show.”
Indeed, Crosby only knows one way. But that way is at odds with the path that the Penguins are forging.
GM Kyle Dubas is not trying to win a championship this season. He’s not even trying to make the playoffs. No, with an over-the-hill roster and a cupboard that is bare of top-end prospects, he’s trying to win the No. 1 pick in the draft. In order to do that, the Penguins need to lose. And they need to lose big — and probably for more than just one season.
So what is Crosby doing staring at a wall of portraits and squatting? It’s like the life-imprisoned convict who keeps his sanity by digging a hole to freedom, only to realize that he’s been digging towards the cell next to him. The goal is not only unrealistic, it’s unreachable.
That is, as long as he remains in Pittsburgh.
Which raises the question: if the only thing motivating Crosby is winning, then why not accept a trade to Colorado or even Montreal, where the chances at winning are much greater than they are in Pittsburgh?
After all, at the age of 38, it’s not like he has many more years of this.
"But, you know, it's one of those things that's the hard part about losing. I think everybody thinks that losing is, the buzzer goes, you lose the game, and that sucks. But there's so much more. It’s the turnover, it's the unknown, the uncertainty, the question marks. That’s the stuff that's tough, and it makes you appreciate all those years of we're competing and going after that big acquisition every single trade deadline. I don't think I took it for granted, but I definitely appreciate it that much more now."
You could argue that Crosby has won enough and done enough where chasing another Cup isn't that important on his to-do list.
Sure, Crosby’s already a three-time Stanley Cup winner and a two-time Olympic gold medallist who probably deserves to be placed next to Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe on the Mount Rushmore of the greatest players to have laced up their skates.
But he’s also a player who finished in the top-10 in scoring last season with 91 points and who captained Canada to a championship at the 4 Nations Face-Off. In February, Crosby will participate in his third Olympics, where he’ll try to lead the country to its third gold medal.
In other words, he can still win. And he can still help a team, whether it’s a Colorado or Montreal, win. But what he can’t do is help the Penguins win, no matter the motivation and no matter how many squats he’s performing.
"It hasn't changed my approach," he said. "I mean, I still go out there trying to win every single game and try to be the best that I can be. I think that youth and having that energy around you isn't a bad thing, either. And we've got a lot of hungry guys, a lot of competition for spots. So, I think you just try to find different things that you can feed off of, and still continue to learn through it.”
The Columbus Blue Jackets have 11 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #11.
Let's take a look.
Kevin Dineen - 2001-2003 - Drafted by Hartford in 1982.
A CBJ Original, Dineen played 129 games for the Jackets and had 29 points in the early days of the franchise. He appeared in only four games in the 2002–03 season with Columbus, and on November 5, 2002, he retired from playing. In 1188 career games, Dineen recorded 355 goals and 760 points while registering 2229 penalty minutes.
After retiring, he joined the Blue Jackets front office as a Pro Scout and later as an assistant. General Manager. He was the head coach of the AHL's Portland Pirates for six seasons before being hired as the head coach of the Florida Panthers. After two and a half seasons in Florida, he was fired and hired as an assistant by the Chicago Blackhawks. He has since been a head coach for the San Diego Gulls and the Utica Comets of the AHL. After starting the 24-25 season 0-8-0-1, Dineen was fired on November 6th, 2024.
Craig MacDonald - 2009 - Drafted by Hartford in 1996.
MacDonald played eight games as a Jacket in 08-09 and had two points. He never played another NHL game after his time in Columbus.
He left for Germany in 2009 and retired in 2013.
Chris Clark - 2010 - Drafted by Calgary in 1994.
Clark played 89 games for Columbus and had 20 points. He never played another NHL game after Columbus.
After retiring from the NHL, he was hired by the Blue Jackets as a Scout. He later moved into the position of Development Coach and did that for 8 years. In 2019, he was promoted to the positions of Director of Player Personnel for Columbus and General Manager of the Cleveland Monsters, and he still holds those positions today. In 2023, he was also named General Manager of Team USA for the World Championships.
Matt Calvert - 2011-2018 - Drafted by Columbus in 2008.
Calvert played 416 games as a Jacket and had 149 points. Known as a player who was not afraid to step in front of a puck or lay a huge hit, Calvert personified what it was to be a Columbus Blue Jacket. Calvert was loved by all fans for his toughness and for being a great person.
Forced to retire in 2021 due to medical issues, he co-founded CAL Sports Management, where he is the Director of Recruitment and Development.
Kevin Stenlund - 2019-2022 - Drafted by Columbus in 2015.
The big Swede played 71 games as a Blue Jacket and had 20 points. He is currently playing for the Utah Hockey Club, but last season won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers alongside former CBJ goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
Elite prospects described Stenlund as "An intelligent, big-bodied center with superb puck handling ability. His greatest asset is his mature mindset: he thinks the game at a high level. Plays a simplified, complete game and doesn't make low-percentage plays. Uses his edges well at a level that suits his style of play - physical and hard to play against; that being said, there is still room for improvement in his skating and first three strides. Protects the puck well."
Unfortunately, it didn't work out for Stenlund in Columbus, which is a shame.
Adam Fantilli - 2024 - Drafted by Columbus in 2023.
After suffering a brutal skate cut in 2024, he was forced to miss the rest of the season. He scored 12 goals and totaled 27 points.
Last season, Fantilli got off to a bit of a slow start but really turned it on as the season went on. He would finish the season tied for the team lead with 31 goals. He also chipped in 23 assists and totaled 54 points.
This season, Fantilli is expected to take yet another step and become the dominating two-way player everyone thinks he can be. With the tutelage of Boone Jenner and Sean Monahan, he should be able to continue to grow into the face of the franchise.
Luke Kunin - 2025 - Drafted by Minnesota in 2016.
Kunin played 12 games for Columbus after being traded from the San Jose Sharks at the 2025 NHL trade deadline. He failed to register a point in 12 games.
As a free agent, Kunin signed with the Florida Panthers in August on a one-year deal.
There are 11 days until opening night at NWA.
The pre-season schedule is as follows:
Saturday, Oct. 4 at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET
After that, the Blue Jackets will open the regular season on the road against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.
Let us know what you think below.
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The Ottawa Senators wrapped up their six-day, two-game Quebec City stop on Tuesday night with a 5-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in preseason action. On the scoreboard, the game meant nothing. But on the ice, it turned into a night of bad blood, dirty hits, and settling scores.
It was compelling theatre for fans, but for head coaches Martin St. Louis and Travis Green, it was a wasted opportunity to evaluate players and fine-tune systems. As expected, the nastiness spilled over to social media on Wednesday, with Sens fans and Habs fans going at each other over who started what.
Here are four of the most talked-about nasty moments from Tuesday night’s game. This obviously isn't the complete gospel, because no one sees everything that happens on the ice, and they certainly don't hear everything that might be said, which could spark a fight, hack, or hit that otherwise seems random. And even if they could see and heat it all, everyone interprets things differently.
But I've watched the video carefully, and here's my evaluation of what I think happened in each case.
1. Hayden Hodgson’s Hit from Behind on Alex Newhook
At 16:54 of the second period, Ottawa forward Hayden Hodgson delivered a dangerous hit from behind on Montreal’s Alex Newhook. Hodgson, who got a brief NHL look at the end of last season, is fighting to earn a role with the Senators through physical play. But in his eagerness to impress in that area, he crossed the line.
It was the kind of reckless finish that happens when a player is desperate to make an impact. Hodgson was fined by the NHL on Wednesday, and was fortunate he didn't get suspended. Even more fortunately, Newhook wasn’t seriously injured.
2. Struble’s Cross-Check to Jeník’s Face Was An Accident
Emotions were high in the stoppage right after Hodgson’s hit, as players began jawing. Sens winger David Perron lightly cross-checked Montreal defenseman Jayden Struble. It was nothing. Jenik moved in, and Struble responded by cross-checking him at roughly the same angle Perron had. But Perron got his stick in the way so Struble's stick slid up Perron's and accidentally caught Jeník in the face. Still a penalty, of course. But Struble had no intent, in my opinion, to strike Jenik in the face.
The result, though, was predictable: fights broke out. Arber Xhekaj tangled with Zack MacEwen, while Struble himself squared off with Jeník. The Canadiens got the big upper hand in both scraps.
3. Florian Xhekaj vs. Carter Yakemchuk
Third period now. Montreal’s Jake Evans bumped into Dylan Cozens in a light reverse hit at the Canadiens' blue line. Down 5-0 now, MacEwen didn't like it, so he bodied an unsuspecting Evans after the whistle, shoving him during the hit so he was teetering on top of the boards at the Habs bench. A roughing penalty for sure, but the Xhekaj brothers then both jumped into the scrum to rain blows down on MacEwen.
I swear, it reminded me of Slapshot in the scene where the Hansen brothers worked over an opponent together in the corner, and he just topples over sideways when they skate away.
With 19-year-old Carter Yakemchuk — the Senators’ top prospect — seeing 3 or 4 Canadiens all giving MacEwen the business, he came in to try and even out the numbers. He pulled the younger Xhekaj out of the melee, and the Habs’ minor-league tough guy took that as a challenge to fight. hammering Yakemchuk with six fast, hard punches. Wailing on a team's top prospect will never be appreciated, but what I had a way bigger problem with was Xhekaj's move at the end of it.
He grabbed Yakemchuk by the front of his shoulders and pulled him backwards to throw him awkwardly and violently to the ice. Thankfully, Yakemchuk landed flat on his upper back, but watching the replay, if you told me he ended up with a right knee injury, a shoulder injury, a neck injury, or a concussion, I would believe you.
That's judo, pro wrestling or MMA. If I had to pick any incident that should have earned a suspension on Tuesday night, it was that one, even over the Hodgson hit.
Credit to Cozens, who tried to intervene but was restrained by one of the Canadiens.
4. Nick Cousins Slashes Ivan Demidov
The last incident I reviewed (there were others) came just over a minute after the Yakemchuk incident. Canadiens forward Nick Cousins decided to go after Ottawa’s top offensive prospect, Ivan Demidov. Cousins first lined him up for a long run along the boards, then chased him up ice and capped it with a slash to the wrist.
The NHL fined Cousins for the slash on Wednesday. It was unquestionably a dirty play. But in context, it was a direct response to the dirty play that had just happened to Yakemchuk.
Final Word
Tuesday night’s tilt in Quebec City was about emotion, payback, and grudges. With the Senators and Canadiens meeting again on Saturday, this time in Montreal, both teams would ideally like to get back to hockey and get ready for their season openers. But the way these two teams hate on each other, they may not be able to help themselves, so I feel like there's a good chance they take it into the gutter again. If they do, I guess Sportsnet will just have to bite the bullet and deal with the record ratings.
BRACEBRIDGE, Ont. — Simon Benoit is feeling better after a “bump” early in training camp forced the defenseman to miss a portion of on-ice activities with the Toronto Maple Leafs due to an upper-body injury.
“It was bothering me so I just didn’t want to take any risk to make it worse,” Benoit told The Hockey News.
Benoit took part in his first full practice without having to wear the red non-contact jersey, as the club practiced at the Muskoka Lumber Community Centre for their annual getaway up north.
Simon Benoit is taking part in a regular jersey for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury. He had been in a red non-contact jersey.
The third-year Leaf wasn’t concerned, as he was during his first go-around with Toronto in 2023, when the defenseman suffered from back spasms. When he returned, he started his season with the Toronto Marlies before working his way back to the Leafs and eventually earning an everyday spot with the NHL club.
But now a new challenge awaits the 27-year-old from Laval, Quebec: playing on the right side.
When training camp opened, the Leafs flipped Benoit and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Both players are left-handed shots, and while skating together, it was Ekman-Larsson who skated on the right side. While Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said earlier in the camp that playing on the strong side unlocks more offense—a sentiment underscored by Ekman-Larsson, who scored just four goals last season compared to the nine he put up with the Florida Panthers in 2023-24—this positional switch means Benoit will play on his weak side, something he hasn’t done at the NHL level before.
With two games remaining in the pre-season, Benoit is eager to get into games so he can get some time on the weak side.
“It just takes a couple of games to break the habit and make sure you are in the right spot,” Benoit said.
The Leafs have been pleased with Benoit’s game over the last couple of years. He is a big, bruising defensive defenseman who is responsible with the puck. But now he aims to evolve his game by contributing offensively.
Benoit exhibited some of that ability when he set up Max Domi for Toronto’s overtime-winning goal against the Ottawa Senators in Game 2 of their 2025 first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series. He took it a step further, scoring the game-winner in Game 3 of that series.
According to a report, former Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart is rapidly gaining momentum to sign with a top Western Conference contender in the coming days.
On Wednesday, The Athletic NHL insider Chris Johnston reported that Hart, 27, is the closest of the recently acquitted Hockey Canada players to signing a new contract and resuming his playing career in the NHL.
The Vegas Golden Knights, according to Johnston's sources, are a near lock to sign the former Flyers goalie to a deal.
"Hart appears closest to signing a contract, with the Vegas Golden Knights almost certain to be the eventual destination for the 27-year-old goaltender, according to league sources," Johnston wrote for The Athletic. "Hart received interest from multiple NHL teams and is drawn to the opportunity to play for a contender in a situation where he’d likely end up sharing the crease with Adin Hill."
The 27-year-old Hart was found not guilty of the sexual assault charge levied against him on July 24 and has since been reinstated by the NHL, though it should be noted that he, along with the other four players involved in the Hockey Canada trial, are suspended until Dec. 1.
Hart was eligible to sign a contract with a new team as of Wednesday, though it will not be officially registered until Oct. 15.
Previously, it was reported, then confirmed by the Flyers themselves, that a reunion in Philadelphia would not be in the cards.
Hart last played an NHL game on Jan. 20, 2024, when he ceded five goals on 15 shots and was replaced by Sam Ersson in a 7-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
Just when you thought the fun Stanley Cup stories from the summer were over, the Florida Panthers squeezed in one more ahead of Opening Night.
On Tuesday, the Panthers played the Tampa Bay Lightning at Kia Center in Orlando, and on Thursday, the rivals will meet again, this time in Tampa.
As they have done in the past when playing an exhibition game in Orlando, the Panthers took the opportunity to enjoy some of what the tourist destination city has to offer.
This year, Florida was afforded the opportunity to include something very special: the Stanley Cup.
On Wednesday, the Panthers and the Cup visited Universal Studios’ brand new Epic Universe theme park.
Judging by the looks on many of the players’ faces, having the chance to cut loose and enjoy a little fun with each other before the season is something that they took full advantage of.
“It’s great,” said Panthers forward A.J. Greer. “We got to do something very unique, something that we don’t get to do much often, and I haven’t done it since I was a kid.
“You feel like a kid, and walking around with your best friends, it’s great to indulge in some of the stuff that you used to love.”
You can check out footage of the Cats’ day at Epic Univese in the video below:
