Category: Sports News

As NHL free agency draws near, the Toronto Maple Leafs had some key decisions to make – namely, what to do with star forwards Mitch Marner and John Tavares. 

While it’s increasingly clear Marner will walk to July 1 and sign with the highest bidder, Tavares stuck with his hometown Leafs, agreeing to a four-year, $17.55 million contract extension that will almost assuredly take Tavares into his final NHL days. Getting a discount and a little less trade protection in the later years of his contract are massive wins for Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving.

Without a doubt, Tavares’ new annual average value of $4.38 million per season is an incredible bargain for the Maple Leafs. Had Tavares decided to follow Marner’s lead and go to free agency, he could’ve asked for double the amount he ultimately settled for with Toronto. One team or another would’ve happily paid for it. 

After all, we’re talking about a player who posted 38 goals and 74 points in 75 games last season. At 34, Tavares is still as reliable a point-per-game performer as there is in the NHL, and he’s now on a team-friendly contract that will greatly please Leafs fans.

“Even though I left some money out there, I've done pretty well,” Tavares told reporters on Zoom. “I'm still doing pretty well, and I get to play for an amazing club and a great city, a place where I'm from, and a team that's got a real opportunity to win."

Another win for the Leafs and Treliving is that Tavares’ new deal doesn’t have a full no-move clause for the entire contract. 

The first two years of the extension do include a no-move clause, but in the final two years, the clause becomes a five-team trade list. That’s a better off-ramp for Treliving to use if things don’t go as the Leafs envision for the duration of Tavares’ deal. 

But two years is a long way away right now. All the Leafs know now is they signed one of the most proven veterans in the game to a contract that’s less than half of what many stars of Tavares’ caliber are playing for. Tavares took less than he could’ve received on the open market the first time he signed with the Leafs in 2018, and he did it again.

If Leafs Nation didn’t love Tavares before Friday’s announcement, they have to be over-the-moon in love with him after it. Tavares has put his money where his mouth is while giving the Buds more salary cap space to surround the team’s core with. That’s a terrific piece of business by Treliving.

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The Florida Panthers are keeping their original rat king.

On Friday, the team announced they had signed Bennett to an eight-year extension.

The deal comes with an average annual value (AAV) of $8 million, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press.

“Sam is a special player who has mastered a unique blend of skill and physicality in his game, becoming one of the most impactful postseason performers of his generation,” Panthers General Manager Bill Zito said in a statement released by the team. “He played an integral role in our two Stanley Cup championships, earning the franchise’s first Conn Smythe Trophy and is a dedicated contributor to our South Florida community off the ice. We are thrilled that he will continue his career with the Panthers.”

The new deal will keep Bennett with the Panthers through 2033.

This doesn't come as a major surprise since Bennett has said more than once over the past couple weeks that he was going to stay with Florida. 

He joins Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Seth Jones, Carter Verhaeghe, Gus Forsling and Anton Lundell as key members of the team who are signed for the foreseeable future.

Florida originally acquired Bennett in April of 2021 from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a second-round pick and prospect Emil Heineman.

Bennett was chosen by Calgary with the fourth overall selection in the 2014 NHL Draft.

During his five seasons with the Panthers, Bennett has racked up 95 goals and 196 points in 289 games.

He’s added another 29 goals and 59 points in 77 playoff games with Florida.

With Bennett now signed, focus will shift to Florida's remaining unrestricted free agents, including the two biggest ones: Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand. 

We'll see what happens between now and July 1, when free agency officially begins. 

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Photo caption: May 16, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) looks on against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period in game six of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

The Florida Panthers kept Sam Bennett away from NHL free agency.

They re-signed the Conn Smythe Trophy winner to an eight-year extension at an $8 million average annual value.

Bennett, 29, was projected to be one of the top centers available in free agency if he was unsigned by July 1. Instead, he's not leaving the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.

His new deal includes a no-move clause for the first five years of the contract, followed by a limited no-trade clause for the final three years, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. His contract will expire after the 2032-33 season, when he will be 37 years old.

Bennett made his intentions clear that he wanted to remain a Panther during the team’s post-Cup celebrations.

“I ain't f-----g leaving,” Bennett said into the microphone, referencing Leonardo DiCaprio’s famous line from the movie Wolf of Wall Street.

Now, Bennett’s statement has become a reality, and the Panthers’ GM couldn’t be happier about keeping on the two-time Stanley Cup champion.

“Sam is a special player who has mastered a unique blend of skill and physicality in his game, becoming one of the most impactful postseason performers of his generation,” Panthers GM Bill Zito said in a news release. “He played an integral role in our two Stanley Cup championships, earning the franchise’s first Conn Smythe Trophy and is a dedicated contributor to our South Florida community off the ice. We are thrilled that he will continue his career with the Panthers.”

Out of his 11 years in the NHL, the 29-year-old arguably played his best this past season. He recorded a career-high 51 points in the regular season with 25 goals and 26 assists. 

However, his playoff performance likely played a big part in his new cap hit. Bennett led the NHL in post-season goals with 15, ending the Cup run with 22 points in 23 appearances.

With Bennett being the latest center to sign an extension with his team, the UFA market for a middleman becomes even thinner. John Tavares, Matt Duchene and Brock Nelson were also all pending UFA centers who re-signed with their respective teams.

Some pending UFA pivots who remain unsigned include Mikael Granlund and Pius Suter.

The Panthers kept Bennett from being possibly the top UFA center by giving him the priciest and longest contract in his career. But Zito can’t relax just yet. Left winger Brad Marchand and defenseman Aaron Ekblad also require new contracts before Tuesday’s free agency opener, or else they can sign with another squad.

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The NHL is transitioning from one season to the next and The Hockey Show is on board for all the fun.

This week, THS co-hosts Roy Bellamy and David Dwork went over the Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Championship parade and examined how some of the players have been handling their respective celebrations.

Joining the show this week to discuss the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final, as well as the upcoming NH Draft and free agency, with ESPN Senior NHL Columnist Greg Wyshynski.

Greg got into the new CBA between the league and the NHLPA, the celebrating Florida Panthers and some props for their GM Bill Zito, as well as what a few teams may be up to at the NHL Draft and in free agency.

This week the boys also welcomed former NHL player Anthony Stewart to the show. Stewart has been helping build the Black Hockey Summit, which is entering its third year.

They discussed Stewie’s efforts to help bring hockey to children of all backgrounds and nationalities while growing that game that he’s loved his entire life.

You can check out the full show in the video below:

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Vladislav Gavrikov has been linked to the New York Rangers as a potential free-agent target. 

However, the ship has not sailed on Gavrikov potentially re-signing with the Los Angeles Kings this offseason. 

Kings general manager Ken Holland addressed Gavrikov’s future in Los Angeles and confirmed that multiple offers have already been sent to the veteran defenseman. 

“Rob Blake had made an offer, and I went beyond that offer,” Holland said on Wednesday. “And so now we are continuing to talk, and I think I made another offer, so we’ll see.”

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman provided some insight into what Gavrikov’s next move could look like if he were to leave the Kings and the Rangers are part of that equation. 

“Among left shots, Vladislav Gavrikov is not believed to have a long list of places he wants to go if he leaves Los Angeles, which is why so many are pointing to the Rangers,” Friedman wrote. 

What could a potential contract for Gavrikov look like?

According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, a contract for Gavrikov will likely come in at seven years at almost eight million per season. 

Rangers' Top Free-Agent Target Will Likely Come At A Steep Price There’s been a lot of speculation linking free-agent defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and the New York

Signing Gavrikov would certainly come at a steep price and the Rangers’ interest in him could all be contingent on if they trade K’Andre Miller away before July 1. 

The Rangers have also been linked to free-agent defenseman Ivan Provorov while there’s also the potential that the Blueshirts trade defenseman Carson Soucy. 

In this episode of The Sens Nation Podcast, we catch up with former Ottawa Senators defenseman Brendan Bell. He looks back on his own whirlwind experience at the NHL draft. He discusses the importance of team dynamics, the impact of taxes on player decisions, and the attractiveness of Ottawa as a destination for players. The conversation also touches on Claude Giroux's contract situation, the potential of Dylan Cozens, and the future of Connor McDavid with the Edmonton Oilers. Finally, Brendan shares his expectations for the Ottawa Senators in the upcoming season.

The Wraparound is here with a rapid-fire look at some of hockey’s prospect leagues, the NHL draft and more.

What Will Happen With Maple Leafs RFA Matthew Knies? by The Wraparoundundefined

Here’s what Emma Lingan, Adam Kierszenblat and Jake Tye discussed in this episode:

02:10: Thoughts of the decentralized draft and the trades that have already happened on Friday 

03:50: How much movement do you expect to see in the first round of the NHL draft?

05:40: Potential surprising picks in Round 1

07:24: How much of a factor will size play in the first round? 

09:10: Can the CHL survive the new NCAA rule allowing major junior players to switch over?

11:40: What can the CHL do to convince players to come there instead of the NCAA?

13:30: Do you expect other players to take a discount after John Tavares re-signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs for under $5 million annually? 

16:20: How much pressure do contract negotiations with Matthew Knies put on Toronto? 

18:10: How much would a Knies offer sheet cost?

20:30: What will ultimately happen with Knies?

22:30:  Does the Noah Dobson trade make the Montreal Canadiens a contender?  

24:20:  How does this Dobson trade change the landscape of the Atlantic Division?

26:30:  Will Trent Frederic’s new eight-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers age well?

27:56:  The NHL and NHLPA agreed on four-year extension to the collective bargaining agreement. Thoughts? 

29:56: What are some good and bad ideas reported in the new CBA?

32:05: What are your thoughts on the new rules reported in the CBA?

Watch the full episode here. 

See below for where to subscribe to the show for future episodes.

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Promo image credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

There had been rumblings for quite some time that Noah Dobson was available from the New York Islanders, but people wondered if that might have changed with Lou Lamoriello's replacement by Mathieu Darche, but it hadn’t. By Friday morning, a few teams were said to be in the mix for the right-shot defenseman: the Montreal Canadiens (as first reported by Mario D’Amico), the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the St. Louis Blues. By lunchtime, we heard that it was down to Montreal and Columbus, and then, before 2:00 PM, the Habs emerged as the winner of the Dobson derby.

Acquiring a right-shot defenseman was one of the two major issues GM Kent Hughes faced this Summer, along with finding a second-line center. He can now cross the first item off his list, even though the draft hasn’t even been held yet. In the hours leading to the trade, there was plenty of speculation about what the return would have to be to land Dobson, and most agree that one of Logan Mailloux or David Reinbacher would have to go the other way. Still, neither of the promising young rearguard left the organization.

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To get Dobson, the Canadiens traded both of their first-round pick at this year’s draft (the 16th and 17th overall) and winger Emil Heineman. Interestingly, two of the three pieces involved in the deal came from the Calgary Flames: the pick from the Sean Monahan trade and Heineman from the Tyler Toffoli deal, one of Hughes’ very first with the team.

While there is no denying that a pair of first-round picks is significant value, it remains that the draft is a gamble. A mid-first-round pick can become a great player or never live up to their potential; you never know. In Dobson, the Canadiens are acquiring a player who has already demonstrated his capabilities in the NHL.

As for Heineman, he had a great rookie season with the Habs until it was derailed in Salt Lake City when he was hit by a car. Upon returning, he struggled to put points up, but he remained true to his style: a determined forechecker who could make a difference even with limited ice time. In just 62 games, the Swede landed 172 hits, the fourth highest total on the team, and an average of 2.79 hits per game. With his acquisition, the Isles will make up for part of the physicality they lost with Matt Martin’s retirement.

As for Dobson, he was the Islanders’ first pick at the 2018 draft, the 12th overall. He played his junior hockey in the QMJHL, spending parts of three seasons with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and the final part of his third year with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Over those three years, he won two Memorial Cups, one with each team.

The blueliner made the jump straight to the NHL after his junior career was over and progressed exponentially in his first three seasons, going from seven points to 14 and then 51 points in 2021-22. The following season, he dropped to 49 points before rising to 70 points in 79 games during the 2023-24 season. This past year, he struggled a bit offensively, ending the season with 39 points in 71 games. Still, Dobson has shown that he can deliver in the NHL, and there’s a reason why many teams were interested in his services.

Noah Dobson 2023-24 HighlightsFind more IslesDen Content here: youtube.com/@IslesDen?sub_confirmation=1

On top of landing his man, Hughes also managed to sign his new rearguard to an eight-year pact with a $9.5 M cap hit. While this number may seem a bit high, it’s important to remember that the cap is going up significantly this upcoming season and the following two seasons as well. Dobson’s reported asking price was said to be between $10 million and $11 million, and if that was the case, this is a significant win for the GM.

Furthermore, Dobson’s contract should be a fair comparison for Lane Hutson’s contract extension and could go some way towards keeping the figure reasonable. Following the trade, the Canadiens are now without a first-round pick on Friday night, at least for now. It’s not impossible to see Hughes move again, as he's still working the phones as I write these lines.

Photo credit: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images

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The Philadelphia Flyers notoriously have the strangest and most mysterious draft boards, and the trade rumors and hype around the 2025 NHL Draft don't make them any easier to decipher.

But, given the Flyers' recent draft history, we can deduct that it's unlikely for them to go on a size bender for a second year in a row.

Jack Berglund, Spencer Gill, Heikki Ruohonen, Noah Powell, and Austin Moline are all 6-foot-2 or taller, while Jett Luchanko and Ilya Pautov were the only players the Flyers selected in 2024 shorter than 6-foot-2.

With the No. 6 pick, we can safely assume that the Flyers will take the most talented player on their board, be it James Hagens, Jake O'Brien, or Porter Martone.

After that, with the 22nd and 31st picks, it might be open season. But I'll put together my final big board and rankings, and we'll come back to this a little later. Deal?

And, for reference, this big board is organized in the order I would draft these players in if I was the Flyers. Note that these rankings will be sorted by position only, starting with left wing.

Top 10 NHL Draft LWs

1. Lynden Lakovic, Moose Jaw

2. Cullen Potter, Arizona State

3. Malcom Spence, Erie

4. Bill Zonnon, Rouyn-Noranda

5. Jack Murtagh, Boston College

6. Jakob Ihs-Wozniak, Lulea

7. Cameron Schmidt, Vancouver

8. William Moore, Michigan

9. Kristian Epperson, Saginaw

10. Daniil Prokhorov, Dynamo

Top 10 NHL Draft Cs

1. Michael Misa, Saginaw

2. James Hagens, Boston College

3. Caleb Desnoyers, Moncton

4. Roger McQueen, Brandon

5. Jake O'Brien, Brantford

6. Anton Frondell, Djurgardens IF

7. Carter Bear, Everett

8. Cole Reschny, Victoria

9. Braden Cootes, Seattle

10. Ivan Ryabkin, Muskegon

Top 10 NHL Draft RWs

1. Porter Martone, Brampton

2. Victor Eklund, Djurgardens IF

3. Brady Martin, Sault Ste. Marie

4. Benjamin Kindel, Calgary

5. Vaclav Nestrasil, Muskegon

6. Justin Carbonneau, Blainville-Boisbriand

7. Alex Zharovsky, Tolpar Ufa

8. L.J. Mooney, USNTDP

9. Shane Vansaghi, Michigan State

10. Ryker Lee, Madison

Top 10 NHL Draft LDs

1. Matthew Schaefer, Erie

2. Jackson Smith, Penn State

3. Kashawn Aitcheson, Barrie

4. Cam Reid, Kitchener

5. Sascha Boumedienne, Boston

6. Kurban Limatov, Dynamo

7. Haoxi "Simon" Wang, Oshawa

8. Mace'o Phillips, USNTDP

9. Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen, Michigan

10. Jacob Rombach, Lincoln

Top 10 NHL Draft RDs

1. Radim Mrtka, Seattle

2. Logan Hensler, Wisconsin

3. Blake Fiddler, Edmonton

4. Henry Brzustewicz, London

5. David Bedkowski, Owen Sound

6. Carter Amico, USNTDP

7. Charlie Trethewey, USNTDP

8. Maddox Labre, Victoriaville

9. Alex Huang, Chicoutimi

10. Quinn Beauchesne, Guelph

Top 10 NHL Draft Goalies

1. Joshua Ravensbergen, Prince George

2. Alexei Medvedev, London

3. Semyon Frolov, Spartak

4. Jack Ivankovic, Brampton

5. Petteri Rimpinen, Kiekko-Espoo

6. Pyotr Andreyanov, Krasnaya

7. Michael Pradel, Tri-City

8. Burke Hood, Vancouver

9. Mans Goos, Farjestad BK

10. Love Harenstram, Skelleftea

These rankings are built on value plays and personal favorites, and also what I believe the Flyers are going to value.

The 6-foot-5 Vaclav Nestrasil, even as a right wing, might be someone the Flyers covet.

That's something that influenced my defense rankings as well, given the Flyers trade links to players like Alexander Romanov and Nicolas Hague. Plus, they don't have many big defensemen in general.

I expect the Flyers to draft at least one goalie, though Joshua Ravensbergen might go too high for their liking. Alexei Medvedev of London would be my top target at the top of Round 2 on Saturday.

LOS ANGELES – They couldn't say much, but the bigwigs with the NHL and the Players' Association did confirm we have entered an era of almost unheard-of labor peace in hockey.

Gathering the morning of the NHL draft in Los Angeles, commissioner Gary Bettman, deputy commissioner Bill Daly, NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh and NHLPA assistant executive director Ron Hainsey held a press conference where they confirmed that a new collective bargaining agreement was ready to be ratified by its constituents.

Because that ratification hasn't officially happened, they were scant with the details of what said CBA would contain, but what we do know at least is that it will be four years long and begin after next season. So the next five years are taken care of.

"We had a very constructive, professional, collaborative collective bargaining process," Bettman said. "We identified the issues that were important to both sides, and Marty and I have established a very good tone and very good basis for our relationship going forward. I am delighted."

As Walsh noted, the league and the union have been on a roll lately, and both sides wanted to keep that momentum going. From the 4 Nations Face-Off to the upcoming Olympics and World Cup, there has been a lot to work on together in a positive sense lately, which seems to have bled over to the nitty-gritty of a new CBA.

"Compared to other negotiations I've been part of, this was a little different," Walsh said. "We went back-and-forth with very open dialogue. Even the complicated issues that might have come up were given complete thought on both sides, and we were able to get to some good resolutions here. I'm happy with the process, and hopefully, the players will be happy with the outcome."

Bettman, who had faced some heated pushback from past NHLPA leaders during his reign as commissioner, couldn't help but add his two cents on his relationship with Walsh so far, addressing the union head sitting next to him on stage.

"To say this was a little different – from my standpoint, I assure you this was completely different," Bettman said. "And that's a testament to you and the tone you set."

As for why the new CBA will come in at four years, Walsh had a very reasonable take on why he prefers what we could call a 'mid-length' agreement.

"I like having contracts that are four or five years at the max so you have an opportunity to see what's right, and if there's a mistake you can fix it down the road," he said. "For longer-term contracts you have players in the league who have never gone through these negotiations. We have some players who came into this league under the last agreement and retired under the last agreement. They never had a chance to really express their collective bargaining opinions or rights. I just feel it's important to capture the thoughts of the players at the time. Generations of players change, so we want to make sure we get them active."

Eventually, the NHL could be run by the likes of Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer. This new CBA – whatever it contains – will give them a chance to play under one agreement while looking ahead to the next one, which they could help shape. And as long as the current relationship between Bettman and Walsh stays strong, that CBA might be fairly frictionless, too.

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Flyers trade up in first round, grab rising center at No. 12 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Danny Briere was aggressive in the first round of the 2025 NHL draft Friday night, moving up to No. 12 and grabbing center Jack Nesbitt.

The Flyers sent pick Nos. 22 and 31 to the Penguins.

Nesbitt is an 18-year-old center with excellent length and smarts, which make him super effective on the forecheck and finishing in close. With more opportunity down the stretch, the 6-foot-4, 186-pounder stood out on a loaded 2024-25 Windsor Spitfires club in the OHL.

“That confidence took me a long way,” Nesbitt said Friday night in a Zoom interview. “Just kept getting better and better. I’m very happy with the outcome and I’m excited to get going.”

For a team that had 124-point Ilya Protas and 119-point Liam Greentree, Nesbitt recorded 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) and a plus-12 rating in 65 games. Six of his goals came on the power play, two were at shorthanded and he won 51.4 percent of his faceoffs. He added 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 12 playoff games.

From February to the end of the regular season, Nesbitt put up 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 18 games.

“We think his upside is really, really strong,” Dan Marr, the vice president of NHL Central Scouting, said June 11 in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I think teams will step up for him. It was consensus with our group and I think it’s consensus with a lot of NHL teams.

“Windsor was very well-scouted near the end of the year and in the playoffs just because he continued to elevate his game as the season went along. So I think this is a player that teams will step up for. He has got so much room to grow, so much room.”

Nesbitt was the 15th-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. EliteProspects.com had him at No. 48 overall on its board, while TSN’s Craig Button had him at 38th.

As he develops, Nesbitt will have to improve his foot speed, which would help his ability to separate and score.

“I play a very physical game,” Nesbitt said. “As a bigger guy, I need to improve my skating. I’m looking to put on a lot weight, so that’s going to come, as well. I’m going to be working a lot on my skating, quick feet. As a centerman, I’m going to have to get out of those small areas pretty quick, get on the forecheck, stuff like that.”

Center has been a position of need for the Flyers organizationally. They addressed it in the first round last summer when they took speedster Jett Luchanko out of the OHL. Nesbitt gives the Flyers another OHL pivot with some all-situation qualities.

Earlier in the first round Friday night, the Flyers grabbed winger Porter Martone at sixth overall. The draft wraps up Saturday with Rounds 2-7. Here’s where the Flyers are slotted to pick.