With barely 55 hours left until Friday’s 3:00 PM trade deadline, TSN Insider Darren Dreger reports that the Buffalo Sabres have gone the distance in trade talks with the St. Louis Blues on center Robert Thomas and that Jarmo Kekäläinen is ultimately not willing to meet the high price tag set by Doug Armonstrong.
Update: It’s believed St Louis/Buffalo went the distance on Thomas trade talks. Sounds like the Sabres aren’t willing to part with the necessary pieces. (Prospects, Player, 1st). Still teams nibbling, but the Blues are firm in what the return needs to be for the young center.
Meanwhile, after their defeat against the San Jose Sharks, the Montreal Canadiens woke up in the first wild card spot, one point behind the Detroit Red Wings and three points behind the aforementioned Sabres, with a game in hand on both. The 7-5 defeat was the Habs’ last game before the trade deadline, and Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes, who are on the West Coast trip with the team, looked deflated taking in the game last night.
If Armstrong refused to lower the price tag on his prized centerman with the Sabres, it’s unlikely he’ll be willing to do it with the Canadiens. The Blues’ GM reportedly wants the equivalent of four first-round picks in assets, and it is believed that any conversation with the Habs starts with the inclusion of Michael Hage.
While the Blues are willing to move Thomas, they don’t absolutely have to move him, and they are probably more than willing to wait until the offseason to do it if they do not get an offer to their satisfaction. If the Sabres truly are out of the running, the pressure to overpay might be off for the Canadiens.
Seeing the Sabres land Robert Thomas a year after landing Josh Norris could have been a disaster for the Canadiens; seeing a direct divisional rival improve its center line twice while the Habs swung and missed would not have pleased Geoff Molson.
Even though Hughes is a shrewd negotiator, when GMs are moving major pieces like Thomas or Noah Dobson last summer, they tend to stick to their demands when they’ve identified their main trade target. Back in June, New York Islanders GM Mathieu Darche was adamant that, on top of the first two round picks, he needed Emil Heineman to pull the trigger. Hughes wasn’t keen on letting the winger go, but he eventually had to. It’s hard to imagine what the Canadiens could offer to make Armstrong forget about a player with so much hype as Hage right now.
Just like the Blues, the Canadiens don’t have to make a move right now; they have the luxury of waiting, and judging by what we’ve seen from Hughes in the past, he doesn’t lack patience. It may just be that the Habs have a quiet deadline and settle on just moving Patrik Laine and shoring up their blueline.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - JUNE 29: Tom Fitzgerald of the New Jersey Devils attends the 2023 NHL Draft at the Bridgestone Arena on June 29, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The NHL Trade Deadline is this Friday. Two days from now.
Historically, this is one of my favorite times of the year on the NHL calendar, mainly because it’s one of the few times on the calendar that an NHL GM actually does their job and makes trades. We get to see firsthand which teams are serious about winning and competing for championships and which ones are not. We get to see which GMs know what they’re doing and which ones don’t.
I like to consider myself an ideas person. I come up with ideas on fake trades to make the Devils better and then I get to be mad online after the fact when the team doesn’t do exactly what I told them to do. During the buildup to the deadline in prior years, I would come up with trade targets from around the league, gauge whether or not they’re a fit, what the cost might be and if its something the Devils might consider doing.
I love trade deadline season.
Unfortunately in what is shaping up to be a dreadful finish to a once-promising season, it’s hard to get too excited about the trade deadline this year.
It’s not that I lack ideas of what the Devils could or should do. Trust me, I’m going to share a bunch of ideas of what the Devils could and should do at the deadline shortly. But at the end of the day, I’m just a guy behind a keyboard with fake trade ideas. I’m not the general manager of the team. And at the end of the day, its tough to have faith in Devils management to do anything right.
I don’t exactly have confidence in Tom Fitzgerald after he needlessly gave Jacob Markstrom a 2 year contract extension earlier this year. I don’t have confidence in the GM who gave Johnathan Kovacevic five years when he already had a logjam at RHD on the NHL roster. I don’t have confidence in the GM who gave Ondrej Palat $6M for 5 years before finally paying assets a few weeks ago to dump him elsewhere. I don’t have confidence in the GM who capped out the roster to the point where he couldn’t make the Quinn Hughes trade happen when it was right there for him. I don’t have confidence in the GM who whiffed on the 7th overall pick and lacked the assets to pull off said Quinn Hughes trade. I don’t have confidence in the GM whose second hand picked head coach is failing in spectacular fashion.
I could keep going but you get the point. It’s insane to me that we’re at this point of the season, sitting through brutal loss after brutal loss, watching a boring, dreadful team that can’t score and can’t get a stop when they need one. It’s insane to me that we’re STILL trusting Fitzgerald to not somehow make things worse, because he should’ve already been relieved of his duties. He probably would’ve been by now if the Devils were a serious operation.
But he’s still here. It is what it is. So how can the Devils make the most of it with the deadline upon us?
I don’t know what Fitzgerald will do. I can only say what I would do if I was the general manager of this team. But if I were sitting in the big chair, my goals would be as follows.
Free up as much cap space for the 2026-27 season (and beyond) as possible. I don’t know what the summer will bring. I don’t know if Minnesota will look to flip Quinn Hughes if/when he says he’s not signing there. I don’t know what players from other teams might become available. But I want to be in a better position than the Devils were this year to make that type of move if the opportunity presents itself, and half the battle is having the requisite cap space to be able to make those types of moves. It’s something the Devils didn’t have for most of this season, which may or may not have hamstrung them, depending whether or not you want to believe that Tom Fitzgerald was looking to make a move the whole time and the lack of cap space wasn’t just an excuse as to why nothing was getting done.
Accumulate as much draft capital as possible. Mostly to use it in the aforementioned types of deals that I’m looking to make, but also to help rebuild a Devils farm system that has shifted somewhere between league average and below average the last couple years since Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec graduated.
Try to find interesting players to take a flier on.
Revamp a blueline that hasn’t worked.
Add speed and skill to the lineup
Of course, I’m not reinventing the wheel here with my goals or analysis. Every team that can’t win is going to try to add more speed and skill, or get younger, or shed payroll in the process. But with that out of the way, here’s a bunch of fake trades that the Devils won’t make over the next 48 hours, even though they probably should if they were ever on the table.
Devils Trade Jonas Siegenthaler & Paul Cotter to the Sabres for W Isak Rosen, a 2026 4th round pick, and a 2027 2nd round pick
The “Siegenthaler to Buffalo” fit just makes too much sense on paper.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff has a familiarity with Siegenthaler from their time together in New Jersey. The Sabres need to upgrade over Zach Metsa and Michael Kesselring on their third pairing if they want any hopes of doing anything once they get to the playoffs. Siegenthaler won’t help the Sabres offensively, but that’s not his game anyways and the Sabres don’t really need more offense from the backend. They need a defensively responsible defenseman with experience who can kill penalties. Add in that Siegenthaler is signed for 2 more years after this one at $3.4M AAV and its the type of deal that wouldn’t prevent Buffalo from tending to more pressing matters over the summer, like trying to re-sign Alex Tuch. As for Cotter, the Sabres are currently rolling Joshua Dunne out there on their 4th line, so he would simply be another option for Ruff on the back end of the roster.
Getting a 4th round pick would help soften the blow from trading a 3rd away when they dumped Ondrej Palat last month, and a 2nd round pick is currency with which to work with, but the wild card in this deal would be getting Rosen.
Rosen has been a popular name mentioned in the Devils blogosphere…..Alex Chauvancy and JP Gambatese both mentioned similar deals to the one I proposed on their respective Substack platforms, so it feels like I’m riding their coattails a bit. I can’t speak for them but I think I view Rosen similarly to how they do.
Rosen would theoretically add some much needed speed, shooting ability, and skating to the Devils forward group. He’s gotten a few cups of coffee with the Sabres the last few years and registered 7 points in 16 NHL games this season. He’s also been a consistent producer at the AHL level with 91 goals and 97 assists over 229 games for Rochester. Already 22 years old, the former 2021 1st round pick might be blocked at the NHL level as other young forwards like Noah Ostlund and Konsta Helenius have either already carved out an NHL role or have higher upside. Rosen really doesn’t have much left to prove at the AHL level, so it would make sense that he might be available in the right deal.
Admittedly, I don’t love that there might be concerns about Rosen’s compete level, as that might be what has held him back from graduating from the AHL in the first place. But the Devils are probably at the point where they should be more concerned with whether or not a player can score and worrying about things like ’compete level’ secondarily. Rosen might not be an NHL player, but he has the type of skillset where he’s probably worth the gamble and time investment to find out.
Assuming Siegenthaler doesn’t have Buffalo on his 10-team no-trade list, some variant of this deal could potentially be an option.
Devils Trade Dawson Mercer & Dougie Hamilton (with $3M of salary retention) to Anaheim for a 2027 2nd round pick and D Pavel Mintyukov
Anaheim appears to be another team that is poised to snap a long playoff drought. They’re also a team that has a need at RHD beyond this season as captain Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba are both pending UFAs.
On paper, Hamilton would make a lot of sense as a top pairing RHD compliment to Jackson LaCombe. He could also slot into one of Anaheim’s power play units. Obviously, Hamilton has a 10-team trade list so he’d probably have to sign off on moving across the country on a whim. But he’d be joining a playoff race and there are worse places to live in this country than Southern California.
Mercer’s situation is well documented. He’s a former first round pick who has been an NHL regular since making the team out of camp in 2021. His development has sort of plateaued to where he’s been a guy who maybe gets you 20 goals and 35 ish points in a season, which isn’t all that great considering he gets consistent Top Six playing time, plays in all situations, and hasn’t missed an NHL game yet in his career. I don’t know that the Ducks are an ideal fit but Mercer could slot onto their third line immediately with all the injuries they’ve had and make their lineup a lot deeper.
The Ducks could theoretically fit in Hamilton’s full AAV without salary retention, although I don’t know how much of an appetite they have for paying full price on Hamilton when Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier are among the five pending RFAs for the Ducks. So why am I open to the idea of salary retention as a Devils fan?
Simply put, I want to try to get Pavel Mintyukov to New Jersey.
Mintyukov had reportedly told the Ducks earlier this season he’d like to be moved, according to Elliotte Friedman. I don’t know if he’s still disgruntled after being a healthy scratch earlier in the year, and the Ducks seem to be giving him more consistent playing time since New Year’s. But he’s due a new contract after this year and Pat Verbeek tends to play hardball with RFAs anyways. The Ducks don’t have a shortage of prospects on the blueline either, so maybe now is the time for them to cash in on Mintyukov.
Mintyukov is the type of defenseman the Devils are lacking at the NHL level. He’s a plus skater who has offensive ability. He can break out of the defensive zone with the puck. He can join the rush. He’d be a welcome change of pace from the redundancy of the defense-first, defense-only, average at best skaters that have cluttered the Devils depth chart at the NHL level. And while he’s due a new contract, he shouldn’t break the bank. The only question would be whether or not you can convince Pat Verbeek to give up on a recent 10th overall pick for a “win now” type of move. From a value perspective, its probably a fair deal. From a “we’re trying to build something long-term” perspective, Verbeek might say “thanks but no thanks” before hanging up the phone once Mintyukov’s name comes up. Either way, this is the type of player I’m trying to get and it doesn’t really change the fact that Anaheim is a solid potential destination for Hamilton.
Devils Trade Brenden Dillon to the Red Wings for a 2026 3rd round pick and prospect Eddie Genborg
Not much to say about this one other than Detroit could use another NHL-caliber defenseman and Dillon is certainly one of those. Dillon has a full NTC for the rest of this season. Would he waive to go to a contender? Would he waive to go to Detroit? I don’t know the answers to this, but he hasn’t won a Stanley Cup so he might waive to go Cup chase.
So why am I targeting Detroit’s 2nd round draft pick from 2025 in Eddie Genborg? He’s a big body that is the right type of “hard to play against” with his physicality, but also has an ability to get to the front of the net and cause havoc. If he makes it to the NHL, he probably projects as a third line grinder type of winger. You do need those types who can play further down in your lineup.
Value-wise, this deal wouldn’t be too different than the one that sent Brian Dumoulin to the Devils at last year’s deadline. The main differences would be that Dillon has a full NTC for the rest of this season, Dillon has another year of control, the draft pick is a round lower than the one the Devils gave up, and Genborg is probably a slightly higher upside prospect than the one the Devils gave up in Herman Traff.
Devils Trade Nico Daws to the Canadiens for Patrik Laine and a 2026 3rd round pick
The logic behind this is two-fold.
First, Montreal is in the playoff hunt, but Laine’s large AAV is preventing the Habs from making moves they’d like to make elsewhere to improve the roster. And now that I freed up a bunch of cap space on the Devils end by trading away Hamilton, Dillon, Siegenthaler, and Mercer, they would theoretically have no problem taking a 20-game flier on the former #2 overall pick for the rest of this season. If the Devils like what they see, maybe they consider a short-term deal where Laine can rebuild his value around the league pumping in a bunch of goals playing on a line with Jack Hughes. If Laine stinks, barely plays, or is an issue in the room, the Devils can simply move on. I’m not saying the Devils should give Laine $6M a year on his next contract, but this is one of those situations where there’s little to no risk seeing if anything is there.
Admittedly, I’m not a big Laine fan. There’s always ‘something’ with him. He has a 10-team no-trade list. He rarely plays. He’s barely played this season. When he does play, he’s a bit of a one-trick pony. But the reason why I’d be ok taking a flier here is that his one trick that he’s good at happens to be the thing this Devils team is dreadful at. Laine can score goals.
Secondly, I think the Devils have made their bed in regards to Nico Daws and his future, or lack thereof, in New Jersey. Daws is blocked for the foreseeable future while Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen are Devils. There’s probably a better chance of Daws taking his talents overseas this summer than there is of him signing another contract with the Devils. At least here, Daws has a chance of potentially seeing time in the NHL.
I don’t know that the Habs would be all that enthralled with Daws. But I do know they’d like an escape hatch on what’s left of Laine’s deal.
Why I Would Hold On To Certain Players
I would expect most of the comments to say something along the lines of “what about so-and-so?”. So let’s dive into some of those guys.
Chris Johnston mentioned that Nick Bjugstad is “likely to be on the move again” in his latest Trade Board. I don’t quite get that one as the Devils have lacked a competent fourth-line center for some time now, centers are in high demand, and he’s signed for next season at a reasonable cap hit of $1.75M. I also don’t quite get that one seeing as the Devils literally just traded for him a few weeks ago. Unless he’s not in their plans at all for next season or the Devils think they can do better (and I don’t trust that they can at a better price point), I’d probably just hold on to Bjugstad for now.
I understand that most Devils fans are ready to drive Johnathan Kovacevic out of town, given his dreadful play since returning, and I get that. I personally have a hard time believing someone would bail Tom Fitzgerald out of that contract, and if he does have someone willing to take him on, he should probably not let that other GM off the phone until the trade is done.
I wouldn’t be looking to move Connor Brown, Cody Glass, Simon Nemec, Arseny Gritsyuk, or Lenni Hameenaho at this time. I don’t think Luke Glendening or Colton White really have any value in the trade market. Stefan Noesen and Zack MacEwen are injured. Nobody is bailing them out on Jacob Markstrom and I don’t think a Jake Allen trade is happening either. The Devils, aren’t trading Jack or Luke Hughes, nor should they. They’re not trading Nico Hischier, nor should they. Maybe you can get a late pick for Evgeni Dadonov despite his lack of production but that’s not going to move the needle.
That would leave core-adjacent players such as Timo Meier, Brett Pesce and Jesper Bratt. I think there are conversations that could be had about shopping any of them in a so-called hockey trade, but I think with their respective trade protections and term remaining on their contracts, any of them getting dealt this week is highly unlikely.
How Would the Devils Lineup And Future Assets Look If They Approached The Deadline In This Manner?
The Devils lineup would still be bad, but in a season that’s going nowhere, that’s to be expected. We’re beyond the point where anything this season is salvageable and that’s not what I’m trying to accomplish anyways. At the very least, they’d freed up some salary, taken on a couple interesting projects, and maybe found a Top 4 LHD of the future.
Here is what your potential line combinations could look like the rest of the way.
Jesper Bratt – Jack Hughes – Patrik Laine
Arseni Gritsyuk – Nico Hischier – Timo Meier
Isak Rosen – Cody Glass – Connor Brown
Shane LaChance – Nick Bjugstad – Lenni Hameenaho
Luke Hughes – Brett Pesce
Pavel Mintyukov – Simon Nemec
Colton White – Johnathan Kovacevic
To be clear, I don’t really care a ton about how this team looks for the rest of this season. They’re going to wind up with a Top 10 draft pick. Maybe they get lucky and win the lottery and pick Top 2. The only thing I really want at this point is for key players to make it through Game 82 healthy and the Devils to undo a lot of the damage Fitzgerald has done. My goal for this deadline is to create as much salary cap flexibility for next season as possible and get as much draft capital as I could to make future trades with, and I feel we accomplished that (although I’m probably overestimating/overrating/overvaluing the return the Devils might get on some of these deals).
The Devils would have $28.65M in cap space going into next season according to PuckPedia, with that number closer to $30M if/when the Devils buy out Maxim Tsyplakov over the summer. They do have several RFA that would need to be addressed, but there’s also no doubt they’d have the ability to be in on just about anything that might pop up over the summer.
Now, do I expect any or all of this to happen?
Of course not.
Things have been relatively quiet in regards to the Devils. Dougie Hamilton’s name has been sort of publicly out there. So have the Devils defensemen. Players with term aren’t always moved at the deadline. My approach here is also on the more aggressive side of things the Devils could do. Most NHL general managers are conservative by nature and I certainly don’t expect Tom Fitzgerald, who is on a scorching hot seat, to tear it down to this extent.
I do think the Devils need to change something in the room though. They’ve already moved on from Ondrej Palat. Hamilton and Dillon are both on the wrong side of 30, so moving one or both makes some sense. Dawson Mercer’s development as a player has plateaued and while he’s still young enough to find another level, its also possible this is simply what he’s going to be as an NHL player. Paul Cotter is an average at best fourth liner.
The Devils wouldn’t fix all of their issues immediately going this route, but its far more likely they turn things around quicker if they do and then parlay their newfound assets into replacing those players than if they do the bare minimum at the deadline and call it a day.
It was nearly one year ago when popular Russian forward prospect Nikita Grebenkin was traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Philadelphia Flyers. Ahead of his first game against the Maple Leafs on Monday, Grebenkin spoke to reporters, including TSN’s Mark Masters, to reflect on his time in Toronto.
He also revealed that well after the trade to Philadelphia—which saw Grebenkin and a first-round draft pick go to the Flyers in exchange for forward Scott Laughton—he had to shut down his Instagram account because of all the Leafs fans sending him messages.
“I like to speak and talk to people and I don’t like if a guy texts me [and] I [can't respond] to him, but it’s hard always; 100 messages and I don’t use this now," he explained.
Selected by the Maple Leafs at 135th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, Grebenkin got off to a great start with the Toronto Marlies, recording 10 points in his first 13 games. During his preseason debut in September of 2024, he got into a fight with then-Ottawa Senators forward Adam Gaudette. Immediately after the scrap, Grebenkin called for noise from the crowd, and they certainly showed the love back.
Grebenkin was among the final cuts during 2024 Leafs camp, joining the veteran players for their annual late preseason trip to Muskoka. He became an instant favorite for his personality. “Off the ice, he’s a lot of fun to be around, likes to joke around. He’s not shy... He’s definitely been making a lot of friends,” Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews said of Grebenkin at the time.
Grebenkin made his NHL debut on Nov. 20, 2024, and after the game, he delivered a now-viral postgame moment. "Team spoke to me: Backcheck, forecheck, and paycheck,” he said of the advice he received. The response got a massive laugh from everyone in attendance, including himself, and the delivery of the quote became a classic that immediately endeared him to the Leafs fanbase.
On March 7, 2025, Grebenkin was traded to Philly, thus ending his tenure in Toronto. Earlier in the season, when the Leafs visited the Flyers, Grebenkin politely declined to be interviewed as he was looking to be more serious and focused on performing well with his Flyers team. It was understandable, given he wanted to ensure he made a good impression in his first full season with his new club.
The Montreal Canadiens kicked off their Pacific coast road trip with a game against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night. It was Martin St-Louis’s men’s last game before the trade deadline, and scouts from the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues were taking in the game at the SAP Center. Don’t get too excited, though. The Blues are playing the Sharks on Friday night so that they might have been doing pre-scouting.
St-Louis had decided to go with the same lineup that had beaten the Washington Capitals 6-2 on Saturday night, meaning that Joe Veleno, Alexandre Texier, and Arber Xhekaj were healthy scratches while Jakub Dobes was starting a second game in a row.
The Canadiens’ bench boss often talks about the importance of details in the game, and in the first frame, the Habs did a good job of showcasing what should not be done. Over the Olympics break, the team worked on preventing odd-man rushes, but it didn’t show in those first twenty minutes. In one instance, Lane Hutson turned the puck over at the offensive blueline, which led to one such opportunity, but to be fair, he was put in a less-than-desirable situation by Philip Danault, who handed him the puck in close quarters when he had two Sharks nearby.
Two of the Canadiens’ top players were also guilty of big turnovers in their own zone. Cole Caufield lost the puck behind his own net, and had it not been for Jakub Dobes’ active stick, Kiefer Sherwood would have gotten the puck all on his lonesome in front of the net. A bit later, Juraj Slafkovsky attempted yet another no-look backhand pass, which of course became a turnover. The big Slovak was doing a lot of those in every zone earlier in the season, but that mistake has started to creep back up into his game lately; that’s not something St-Louis wants to see.
Double Struble
The Habs had a good start to the second frame, taking a 2-1 lead on a Danault goal, but they couldn’t keep their focus for the whole 20 minutes. Michael Misa tied up the score halfway through the period, and it’s hard not to look at Jayden Struble on that one. The third-pairing defenseman lost the puck at the Sharks’ blueline and was then unable to clear his own zone, and got his pocket picked instead right by the goal as panic was setting in in the Canadiens’ zone.
Watching that sequence, you can see why the Habs may be interested in bolstering their defence before the deadline, especially since St-Louis doesn’t seem to trust either Struble or Xhekaj, who is reportedly a Calgary Flames target right now.
The Habs also got themselves in double trouble late into the middle stanza, giving two goals in 25 seconds with less than two minutes to go. Macklin Celibrini first beat Dobes with a hard shot between the pads, and on the very next sequence, Kirby Dach played nonchalantly along the boards, couldn’t cope with Sherwood’s forecheck, and was dispossessed. Alexander Wenneberg got the puck in acres of space, picked his spot and beat Dobes.
Granted, not everyone can play a big, heavy game, but Dach has the frame necessary to protect the puck there. That was a lack of effort at the worst of times and the kind of play that makes you wonder if the forward deserves to be playing on the top line.
It’s Not Over Till It’s Over
The Canadiens went down 5-2 early in the third when Josh Anderson and Struble were sent to the box alongside Mario Ferraro, giving the Sharks a 5-on-4 power play, but they didn’t give up. It took less than two minutes for Ivan Demidov to score on the power play before Alex Newhook scored 18 seconds later and added another one to tie up the game five minutes later. With those two goals, Newhook now has four points in three games since returning from injury and 16 points in 20 games. On an 82-game season, that’s a 66-point pace.
The Canadiens made one mistake too many, though, being called for too many men with less than five minutes left in the game, and the Sharks scored the game-winner through Sherwood. Montreal did try to attack at 6-on-5 after pulling the goalie, but it was too little too late, and the Sharks added a seventh goal in an empty net. It was a fantastic game for Celibrini, and he showed what he can do with space. This is Dobes’ first regulation loss since December 9th, and hardly the start to the road trip St-Louis wanted.
Mar 3, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; New Jersey Devils center Cody Glass (12) celebrates his goal against the Florida Panthers during the second period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
Here are your links for today:
Devils Links
Arseny Gritsyuk, Dougie Hamilton, Cody Glass, Dawson Mercer and Simon Nemec all scored as the Devils took a 5-1 win over the Panthers on Tuesday. [Devils NHL]
Tom Fitzgerald is still running the show this deadline, for some reason:
“On the surface, Hamilton’s 2025-26 season looks like an outright disaster, like the reality has finally caught up with the perception that has always held him back. But a closer look through all of the chaos in New Jersey shows he has the juice to contribute in a top-four capacity.” [The Athletic ($)]
Someone’s likely on the move:
Some interesting tidbits out this morning for the #NJDevils.
Elliotte Friedman reporting that NJ has several defensemen out there, not including Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, or Brett Pesce.
Chris Johnson reporting that Nick Bjugstad is a likely candidate to get moved again.
A look at potential destinations for Dougie Hamilton, Cody Glass, Jonas Siegenthaler, Dawson Mercer, Evgenii Dadonov and Paul Cotter: [New Jersey Hockey Now]
A signing:
#NEWS: We’ve signed F Matyas Melovsky to a two-year, entry-level contract.
GM’s are describing the NHL landscape as a “buyers market”. Tons of players in play. Keep an eye on the Buffalo Sabres. Sources say talks between Buffalo and St Louis involving Robert Thomas are heating up.
The Blues appear ready to move on from Jordan Binnington. 16 team no trade list is in play but feels like a move is a forgone conclusion at this stage with where @StLouisBlues heading in the near term.
“Some NHL teams told ESPN that they’re frustrated by the impact that the league’s expedited salary cap rules have had ahead of Friday’s trade deadline. The new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA, which was announced in July, begins Sept. 16. The league, however, moved up a handful of new rules governing the salary cap to the 2025-26 season and only briefed its general managers about those changes last September.” [ESPN]
“‘It’s going be great for the city of Calgary.’ That, from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who landed in the Stampede City Tuesday to get a first-hand look at construction efforts at Scotia Place. Bettman toured the site Tuesday morning and in a media availability Tuesday afternoon at the Scotibank Saddledome, expressed his excitement at the progress being made on Calgary’s new hockey home, slated to open its doors in the fall of 2027.” [NHL Flames]
Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.
Gonna be a lot of orange tonight. | NHLI via Getty Images
The Islanders and their five-game win streak touched down in California and got their skating legs going at practice Tuesday. A back-to-back begins tonight in Anaheim, which will be playing its own back-to-back after losing at home last night to the Avalanche.
After an orange-heavy kickoff, this trip includes Los Angeles tomorrow and San Jose on Saturday before concluding next week in St. Louis, where the Blues sound on the verge of a big sellof.
Practice updates: David Rittich will get his second consecutive start, and Ryan Pulock took a maintenance day and is a question mark along with (still) Jonathan Drouin. [Isles | Post]
Previewing tonight: The Ducks just had their five-game win streak cut by Colorado, but they remain in second in the Pacific. [Isles]
Andrew Gross on trade deadline targets (Conor Garland?) and UFAs who’ve made cases not to be sold. [Newsday]
Hear more of that in podcast form at Island Ice. [SoundCloud]
Mat Barzal’s game and maturity has evolved as he approaches 600 games. [Post]
Alex Jefferies discusses his path to the AHL, where Bridgeport is having its best season in a while. [Isles]
Elsewhere
Last night’s scores were many, including Pittsburgh losing in regulation, Columbus winning — and of note, the Devils may have just finished off the Panthers.
The Predators selloff has begun…sort of? They dealt Michael McCarron (to Minnesota) and Cole Smith (to Vegas) for picks. [NHL]
The Flyers are still firmly rebuilding and not shopping for any rentals. [NHL]
Oilers management sounds aware (but helpless to fix?) that the team’s overall defense needs work. [Sportsnet]
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MARCH 3: Casey Mittelstadt #11 of the Boston Bruins scores against Stuart Skinner #74 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at the TD Garden on March 3, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Here are your Pens Points for this Wednesday morning…
The Pittsburgh Penguins shipped up to Boston on Tuesday night. The Penguins fell 2-1 to the B’s after taking an early lead from an Erik Karlsson goal but surrendering two fast first-period goals, and despite late pressure, they couldn’t find the equalizer. Next up is Buffalo on Thursday night. [Recap]
Most Penguins fans would likely agree that their team has sort of flown under the radar for much of the 2025-26 season, and many national pundits have seemed surprised at Pittsburgh’s success thus far, despite strong statistical outputs and elevated play. Why is that? Perhaps because of originally low preseason expectations and a recent lack of playoff success. [PensBurgh]
News and updates from around the NHL…
The NHL is closing in on naming a host city for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, but commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday that a decision isn’t ready yet and could come in the next few weeks as the league reviews submitted bids. [Sportsnet]
The Buffalo Sabres are buyers?! It appears so. Talks are rapidly progressing between the Sabres and St. Louis Blues involving forward Robert Thomas, according to a report from NHL insider Darren Dreger. [TSN]
Vancouver Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk, who is signed through the 2030-31 season at a cap hit of $5.5 million, said he isn’t comfortable being part of the team’s rebuild. While there have been no reported interested buyers, he and a few other Canuck players are names to watch ahead of Friday’s trade deadline. [TSN]
BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights look to stop a three-game skid with a win over the Detroit Red Wings.
Detroit has gone 18-10-2 at home and 35-20-6 overall. The Red Wings have a 28-3-5 record in games they score three or more goals.
Vegas is 14-11-7 in road games and 28-19-14 overall. The Golden Knights are 11-9-8 in one-goal games.
The matchup Wednesday is the second time these teams meet this season. The Golden Knights won 1-0 in the last matchup.
TOP PERFORMERS: Lucas Raymond has scored 20 goals with 44 assists for the Red Wings. Alex DeBrincat has five goals and three assists over the last 10 games.
Mitchell Marner has 16 goals and 43 assists for the Golden Knights. Pavel Dorofeyev has seven goals and three assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Red Wings: 4-4-2, averaging 2.3 goals, 3.9 assists, 3.1 penalties and seven penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game.
Golden Knights: 3-5-2, averaging three goals, 5.1 assists, three penalties and 6.9 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game.
INJURIES: Red Wings: None listed.
Golden Knights: None listed.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Mar 3, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Martin Necas (88) moves the puck againt Anaheim Ducks center Jansen Harkins (24). Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Late Tuesday night the Colorado Avalanche completed a successful Southern California back-to-back in their 5-1 disposal of the Anaheim Ducks. It capped off a stretch of five games in seven nights following the Olympic break and the Avalanche now get two days of rest before the trade deadline.
The Game
Colorado got the scoring going early and often with Cale Makar landing on the scoresheet first in this contest. The opening period also saw a new trick in the Avalanche arsenal — a power play goal. Utilizing the brilliant idea of having Martin Nečas take the one-timer from the left side worked again as the Avalanche entered the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.
A bit of drama in this game came from the Ducks early in the second period when Cutter Gauthier took advantage of a scramble in the Avalanche zone to cut the lead. By the end of the period, however, order would be restored on the first of two Parker Kelly goals on the night and a 3-1 Avalanche lead at the second intermission.
The third period was largely academic as the Avalanche were not going to give up their lead. Gabe Landeskog overachieved by finding the back of the net on a great feed from Nathan MacKinnon for the latter’s 100th point on the season. Parker Kelly added another insurance goal at the midpoint and Colorado secured the 5-1 victory.
Takeaways
It was announced prior to the game that Artturi Lehkonen is out week-to-week with the upper-body injury suffered in Los Angeles. In his place Jason Polin was recalled from the Colorado Eagles and played eight minutes on the fourth line.
Now the focus turns to the upcoming trade deadline before the team’s next game. How many players have played their last game in an Avalanche uniform?
Upcoming
Another important Central Division game in a showdown with the Dallas Stars on Friday, March 6th. Puck drop is at 6:00 p.m. MT in the Lone Star State.
The last time the Colorado Avalanche faced the Anaheim Ducks was on Jan 21, when they fell 2-1 in the shootout. Though no extra time was needed here, as despite a rough start to the game, it was Avalanche hockey all the way, just how they wanted it, and they continued their win streak with a 5-1 victory over the Ducks.
Period 1:
The action starts early for the Ducks as Beckett Sennecke, off a failed Brent Burns clear, gets an early chance, but Scott Wedgewood flashes the glove to make the early save. Both Ross Colton and Martin Necas get called for interference, but the Avalanche can kill off both penalties.
It would be Cale Makar to open the scoring. He wraps around the net, makes Lukas Dostal bite hard on a fake shot attempt, then sends a wrister that beats him glove side as he shimmies into the shooting lane, 1-0 after a rocky start.
Jacob Trouba is called for tripping, and it's Martin Necas with a one-timer from the circle to make it 2-0. Brock Nelson set up Necas with a great diagonal pass when he was at the opposite circle. Despite a rough start to the first period, the Avalanche came out on top in shots, with them being 8-7 as period one came to an end.
Period 2:
Chris Krieder almost makes it 2-1 but is called for goaltender interference as he collides with Wedgewood in the blue paint. Wedgewood is a bit uncomfortable as the team's medical staff checks him, but he is fine and remains in the game.
Another issue with trying to clear the puck leads to Pavel Mintyukov setting up Cutter Gauthier for a one-timer from the circle, making it 2-1. Josh Manson is called for holding, but the Avalanche kills off the penalty. Parker Kelly does his best Necas impression as he finds some room and walks into a wrist shot from past the hashmarks to make it 3-1.
Period 3:
It was all Avalanche in the third period, controlling the pace to their style and limiting the Ducks on numerous chances and puck control. Landeskog makes it 4-1 when he receives a great pass from MacKinnon on the rush.
MacKinnon, with that assist, reaches the 100-point mark in 56 games and becomes the first player in Avalanche/Nordique history to reach 100 points before their 60th game of the season. Last done by Peter Statsny in 1981-82 (60GP)
Kelly doubles up in the game to make it 5-1 as he capitalizes on Dostal losing the puck and scrambling to reposition, leaving Kelly with a wide-open net with the pass coming from Jack Drury. With his second goal of the game, it is his second multi-goal game of the season. Brett Kulak was handed the secondary assist, and that is now his first point as an Avalanche.
Through his first 5 games with the Avalanche, Brett Kulak has not been on the ice for a single goal against at even strength and the Avs are controlling 58% of the shot attempts with him out there.
The Ducks manage to generate some chances, but Wedgewood has been great all night, and the Avalanche secure the 5-1 win over the Ducks, and with the win, they move to 91 points, the first team in the NHL to do so this season.
The Avalanche are back in action on Friday, March 6, against the Dallas Stars as they try to end their 11-game winning streak in a major divisional matchup.
The San Jose Sharks continued their homestand against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night. With both teams fighting for a playoff spot in their respective conference, it was an important game all around.
The Canadiens controlled the puck quite a bit in the opening minutes, forcing Sharks netminder Yaroslav Askarov to make a couple of saves. He couldn’t save them all, though, as 6:18 into the first period, Oliver Kapanen scored his 19th of the season and gave the visitors an early lead on their third shot of the night. Meanwhile, it took the Sharks nearly half of the first period to record their first shot on goal.
Vincent Desharnais drew the first penalty of the night when Nick Suzuki was sent to the box for interference. While the Sharks got a couple of chances on the power play, nothing came of the man advantage.
With 4:28 remaining in the period, the Sharks were finally able to get on the board. Collin Graf scored his 16th of the season when he found himself in front of the net with quite a bit of space. Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini got the assists on the play.
Celebrini nearly gave the Sharks the lead moments later when he intercepted an errant pass and immediately fired the puck on net. Jakub Dobes was positioned perfectly, though, and made the save.
The Sharks were generating quality chances late in the period, but were unable to break through the Montreal defense. Eventually, the game would head into the first intermission, tied at a goal apiece.
Collin Graf tripped up Lane Hutson just over two minutes into the middle frame, giving Montreal their first power play opportunity of the night. When Montreal started to carry the puck into the offensive zone, the SAP Center crowd started a loud “Go Habs Go” chant, which was quickly drowned out by a chorus of boos from the Sharks faithful.
The Sharks’ penalty kill was successful, but Phillip Danault scored shortly afterward to restore the Canadiens’ lead. Moments later, Askarov made a massive cross-crease save to deny Kapanen his second goal of the night, keeping it a one-goal hockey game.
Celebrini would get a hooking penalty 6:55 into the period, giving the Canadiens a prime opportunity to extend their lead. Askarov again denied what seemed like a sure-fire goal during the ensuing penalty kill, fully extending to make the save. The Sharks faced some heavy pressure, but once again, they killed off the penalty.
Michael Misa continued his hot streak, scoring in his third straight game. Moments after the goal, Kapanen went to the penalty box for Montreal after he was called for slashing. The power play was short-lived, though, as Alexander Wennberg was penalized for taking down Jake Evans in the corner less than halfway through Kapanen’s penalty.
Macklin Celebrini gave the Sharks their first lead of the night with a shot from inside the faceoff circle. The goal was Celebrini’s 30th of the season. Just 25 seconds later, Alexander Wennberg would make it 4-2. With the assist on Wennberg’s goal, Kiefer Sherwood recorded his first point as a member of the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks would go on to carry that lead into the second intermission.
Early in the third period, two Canadiens were penalized for roughing, while Mario Ferraro was also sent to the box. Ultimately, the Sharks ended up with a power play.
Will Smith scored a power play goal three and a half minutes into the third period to make it 5-2 for the Sharks. Celebrini found him with a perfectly placed pass, and Smith was able to direct the puck past Dobes. As a result, all three members of the Sharks’ first line had scored.
Shortly after the goal, Vincent Desharnais was sent to the penalty box for cross-checking Kirby Dach. Montreal then got a power play goal of their own, as Ivan Demidov was able to beat his countryman Askarov, making it a 5-3 hockey game. 18 seconds later, Alex Newhook made it a one-goal game, and the Canadiens were right back in it.
The momentum had completely shifted in Montreal’s favor, and the Sharks were on their back foot. They had roughly 15 minutes remaining to maintain their lead, something that they’ve struggled with at times this season. Zach Ostapchuk created a quality scoring chance for himself just under 8 minutes into the third, but was denied by Dobes.
Sam Dickinson hauled down Demidov with 11 minutes remaining, sending the Sharks back to the penalty kill at a crucial point in the game. The Canadiens took advantage of the man advantage, as Newhook netted his second of the night with two seconds remaining on Dickinson’s penalty. In under eight minutes, it had gone from a 5-2 Sharks lead, to a tied game.
Adam Gaudette and Kirby Dach got offsetting penalties with just over eight minutes remaining in regulation, resulting in some four-on-four hockey late in the game. Both penalties would expire without a goal being scored.
With time running down, the Canadiens were penalized for too many men on the ice, giving the Sharks a chance to regain their lead. The Sharks went on to score on the power play, with Kiefer Sherwood scoring his first as a Shark. Adam Gaudette went on to score an empty-net goal, making it 7-5.
Despite heavy pressure by the Canadiens, Sherwood's goal would inevitably be the game-winner as the Sharks held onto the lead, winning 7-5. They'll be back on the ice at the SAP Center on Friday, when they host the St. Louis Blues.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Cale Makar had a goal and two assists, Nathan MacKinnon secured his fourth consecutive 100-point season with a third-period assist, and the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche snapped the Anaheim Ducks' five-game winning streak with a 5-1 victory Tuesday night.
Parker Kelly scored two goals and Scott Wedgewood made 27 saves for the Avs, who have won three straight and four of five since the Olympic break. Martin Necas got his 27th goal and Gabriel Landeskog also scored to complete Colorado's back-to-back sweep of the Southern California clubs.
Cutter Gauthier scored his 29th goal and Lukas Dostal stopped 21 shots for the Ducks, whose eight-game home winning streak since Jan. 2 also ended.
Anaheim would have moved into first place in the Pacific Division with a point, but the loss kept Vegas one point ahead. The Ducks are in a playoff race down the stretch for the first time since 2018.
After two fruitless Ducks power plays in the opening minutes, Makar put the Avs ahead from the slot with his 18th goal.
Necas added his seventh power-play goal of the season 2 1/2 minutes later, beating his Czech Olympic teammate with a high shot. The goal was just the second on the power play in the last 12 games for the Avalanche, who inexplicably have the NHL's worst man-advantage unit despite their overall excellence.
Gauthier hammered home a one-timer early in the second after a superb cross-ice pass from Jackson LaCombe, but Kelly got his 14th goal later in the period.
Landeskog then scored a goal in his second straight game, connecting early in the third on a one-timer from MacKinnon, who got his 59th assist to go with his NHL-leading 41 goals.
Up next
Avalanche: At Dallas on Friday night.
Ducks: Host New York Islanders on Wednesday night.
LOS ANGELES -- The New York Islanders are looking to push their win streak to five games when they battle the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Wednesday night.
A win would be monumental for the Islanders in the standings, given what transpired on Tuesday night.
With the Pittsburgh Penguins falling 2-1 to the Boston Bruins in regulation, an Islanders' win would have them ahead of Pittsburgh for sole posession of second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Not only that, but a win would also widen the gap between New York and the Washington Capitals to seven points. The Capitals fell 3-2 to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday.
The Islanders will have a game in hand on Washington after Wednesday's contest.
The team to watch is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who, after beating the New York Rangers 5-4 in overtime and the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night, find themselves just five points back of the Islanders with a game in hand before Wednesday.
The Islanders are looking to bolster their top-six ahead of Friday's 2026 NHL Trade deadline. They have had serious talks with the Vancouver Canucks regarding right winger Conor Garland.
They are also believed to still be in talks with the St. Louis Blues regarding Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl had two goals and three assists, Evan Bouchard scored on a power play at 1:50 of overtime and the Edmonton Oilers rallied to beat the Ottawa Senators 5-4 on Tuesday night.
With Brady Tkachuk in the penalty box for tackling Connor McDavid in overtime, Edmonton got it back to Bouchard and he blasted in his 18th of the season.
Zach Hyman tied it for the Oilers with 1:25 remaining in the third period with goalie Connor Ingram of for an extra attacker. Hyman tipped Draisaitl's pass under Linus Ullmark for his 25th goal of the season.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored and Ingram made 17 saves for the Oilers in their first home game in a month. They had lost five of their previous six.
Drake Batherson had two goals for the second consecutive game and Dylan Cozens and Michael Amadio also scored for Ottawa. The Senators are 6-1-2 in their last nine games.
