It was finally the last preseason game at the Bell Centre on Saturday night. When the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators published their rosters, fans feared they’d be treated to another lot of shenanigans. Still, against all odds, the Senators played hockey despite their best players, Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle, getting the night off.

For the Canadiens, it was last chance saloon for the players on the bubble, and with Ivan Demidov, Alex Newhook, and Oliver Kapanen having the night off, Samuel Blais, Owen Beck, and Florian Xhekaj were all hoping to make the most of their last opportunity.

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Dach Does It All

It was the second game in which Kirby Dach played alongside Brendan Gallagher and Joe Veleno, and one has to admit he looked terrific. The big center was committed to the forecheck and was actively looking to hit opponents. Playing with Gallagher and Veleno has done Dach a world of good, and while it was logical for Martin St-Louis to try a line that included him, Patrik Laine, and Demidov, the Canadiens’ newfound depth allowed him to move on when it didn’t work.

One area that didn’t look better, unfortunately, was the draws. In the first frame, he took four faceoffs and only managed to come out on top once. That remains an area of concern in his game and something he really needs to work on; perhaps he could benefit from a séance with Patrice Bergeron, as Newhook did this summer.

Veleno also had a good outing. There’s no denying that he has excellent offensive skills, but as camp went on, we’ve seen him do more and more of the little things, the details that allow a player to perform at all times and not just when it’s time to pull a highlight reel play.

Engstrom Was Everywhere

With the blueline more or less set from the start, Adam Engstrom has flown under the radar this camp, but tonight, he looked like he was everywhere and in all situations as well. The Swede showed great awareness and decision-making at both ends of the ice.

Is there room for him in Montreal right now? No, but if he continues to develop like this, who knows? In the second frame, he nearly went end-to-end on a power play, and it looked really effortless. If the Canadiens cannot find room for him, he is fast becoming an interesting bargaining chip and could be used to acquire reinforcements at positions of need.

Speaking about the young defenseman, the coach said:

He left a perfect calling card. You can see he took another step last season; he has everything to have a long career in the league.

- St-Louis on Engstrom.

The bench boss even went so far as to call him a gamer.

Xhekaj Evolved

Martin St-Louis has hammered on with Arber Xhekaj that he needs to pick his moments, and the older Xhekaj has heard him loud and clear. Early on in the game, Cole Caufield hit Claude Giroux and was justifiably assessed a two-minute boarding call. It didn’t take long for a Senator to come to his aid, and Juraj Slafkovsky stepped in to support him. Last year, Xhekaj would have gone guns blazing and jumped in; this year, he approached and only pulled back a couple of guys from the scrum.

Later in the game, he was invited to drop the gloves but refused, allowing his team to enjoy a power play rather than falling into the trap that was set for him. Overall, this was a great camp from the rugged blueliner. His play has evolved, and so has his decision-making.

The Sens secured a 3-1 win tonight, thanks to goals from Shane Pinto, David Perron, and Lars Eller, in an empty net. At this stage, the result doesn’t really matter as everyone is ready for the real season to start and has had enough of dress rehearsal. However, it’s still worth mentioning that Travis Green’s team was the dominant outfit tonight, even without some of their top guys in the lineup.

The Canadiens have already announced that, despite having a day off tomorrow, the cuts will be announced tomorrow morning; there is no sense in prolonging the uncertainty for those waiting to hear their fate.

Personally, I believe Oliver Kapanen has won the role of 12th forward, and I would see Joe Veleno as the 13th forward, provided Zack Bolduc is healthy; if he’s not, both will likely be in the lineup. We haven't seen enough from Samuel Blais for him to secure one of those two roles, although he was a real impactful physical presence tonight, landing five hits; that wasn’t enough. Owen Beck led the team in hits on the night, but he wasn’t firm in other aspects of the game. If he’s not going to play in Montreal, he needs to be sent down to Laval. While that may not be what he would like, it’s ultimately what’s best for him, and for Florian Xhekaj as well.

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Luc Robitaille knew his hockey playing career was over when it took him longer to get his battered body ready for a game than it did to play it.

“It became harder and harder physically,” said Robitaille, whose next stop was the hall of fame. “I think I knew at that point.”

And once his mind was made up, there was no turning back.

For Anze Kopitar, who is in the peak of good health, the decision was a little different. The Kings’ longtime center announced last month that, at 38, he will retire after this season and spend more time with his family. But, like Robitaille, there will be no turning back.

“I'm not going to change my mind,” he said.

In fact, he’s not going to change anything. Kopitar said he’s approaching this season, his 20th with the Kings, the same way he approached the first 19.

Read more:Kings captain Anze Kopitar says he will retire at the end of the 2025-26 season

“The last few years, I told myself that I have to enjoy it because you don't know when the ending is com[ing],” he said. “So I've been enjoying it. I'm obviously having a lot of fun, still playing the game. This year won't be any different.

“The focus is still on this season.”

A season that kicks off Tuesday when the Kings host the Colorado Avalanche. But while Kopitar is starting the season the same way as always, he’s hoping for a different ending since the Kings’ last four years have ended with first-round playoff losses to the Edmonton Oilers.

Another Stanley Cup title would be a nice parting gift, especially since Kopitar, entering a team-record 10th season as captain, would be the first man to hoist the trophy, an honor that went to Dustin Brown when the Kings won in 2012 and 2014.

“I'd like to win every year. I'd like to win this year,” he said.

“My kids weren't born when we won, so I'd like to win so they can experience that feeling too.”

However Kopitar’s season finishes, his career will end with him joining Robitaille, now the Kings president, in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He is the Kings' all-time leader in games (1,454), assists (838) and winning goals (78) and ranks in the top three in goals, points, plus-minus and power-play scores.

And just nine players in NHL history have played more games with one team than Kopitar, who has spent his entire career with the Kings.

Unlike Robitaille, he’s hardly hobbling off into retirement. He led the Kings with 46 assists and was second with 67 points last season, playing in 81 of 82 games. He also won his third Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, which goes to the player exhibiting the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct in the NHL.

But his two children — daughter Neza, 10, is a talented figure skater and son Jakob, 9, plays hockey — deserve more of his time and attention, he said.

“I still love to be in hockey and I’m still productive,” Kopitar said. “But on the flip side, the kids need their dad to be more present and be a dad, not a hockey player. I can walk away on my own terms and not be forced to retire because of injuries and because the body's not holding up.”

That wasn’t Robitaille’s experience. A fractured ankle late in career and lower back pain so severe he could hardly get out of bed, led to his retirement in 2006, less than six months before Kopitar’s NHL debut.

“It kind of felt to me that I had squeezed everything out of the lemon. There was nothing left,” Robitaille said. “I was really at peace.”

As for what advice he’d give his captain, Robitaille said he’ll tell Kopitar to make time to stop and smell the roses on his last trip around the league.

“If you listen to 99% of the guys that retire in any sport, the one thing they miss is the [locker] room,” he said. “So when you know you’re near the end, you’ve got to make sure you pay attention to every one of those little moments that you’re going to miss for the next 50 years of your life.

“You’re playing a game. You’re 30 years old or 40 years old — 38 for Kopi — and he’s playing a game. It’s amazing. Most people don’t get to do that in their life, you know?”

Kopitar’s decision comes with the Kings at a crossroads. They tied team records for points (105) and wins (48) last season while going a franchise-best 31-6-4 at home in Jim Hiller’s first full season as coach. That earned the team second place in the Pacific Division, its best finish in a decade.

The postseason was déjà vu all over again, however, with the Oilers eliminating the Kings.

General manager Rob Blake resigned four days later and was replaced by Ken Holland, who won four Stanley Cups as GM of the Detroit Red Wings. The Kings' core is also in transition because when Kopitar steps aside, only defenseman Drew Doughty will remain from their Stanley Cup-winning teams.

“Passing the torch, [we]'ve been trying to for the past few years, been trying to mentor some of the kids in this locker room,” Kopitar said. “Maybe that's what it is.”

Holland had mixed results in his first summer with the Kings, adding forwards Corey Perry (who will miss the first month of the season because of a knee injury) and Joel Armia, defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci and goalkeeper Anton Forsberg, and re-signing winger Andrei Kuzmenko to a club-friendly contract.

Read more:Elliott: Why Anze Kopitar beats Gretzky, Dionne and Robitaille as king of Kings

Also back are leading scorers Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe, who had 35 goals each, wingers Warren Foegele and Quinton Byfield and goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who had a career-best 2.02 goals-against average and finished third in Vezina Trophy voting.

But Holland lost veteran defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to the New York Rangers and failed to land Mitch Marner, the summer’s most-sought player, who wound up in Las Vegas.

And now he’s the team’s first general manager in two decades who has been forced to ponder a future without Anze Kopitar.

“We’re really going to enjoy having Kopi in the lineup this year. But next summer it’s going to be a big void,” Holland said on the Canucks Central podcast. “He’s big and strong. And it’s hard to find big, strong, talented centermen.

“He’s very intelligent. And I think the team follows his lead.”

As for Kopitar, he’s not thinking past the next nine months. He has the rest of his life to figure out what comes next.

“I haven't really given too much thought of what's going to happen [next], except for being home for my kids,” he said. “I'll take my time and then see what, see what life throws at me.

“I'm going to miss the game of hockey. What I'm not gonna miss is working out, getting ready for the season, all the hours you’ve got to put in. But the game itself, of course, I'm going to miss it. It's been here for the better part of 35 years. But listen, the summers are going to be more enjoyable.”

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Sharks trade two players to Flyers for defenseman Ryan Ellis, 2026 draft pick originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

With the 2025-26 NHL season opener just a few days away, the Sharks on Sunday made a move.

San Jose traded winger Carl Grundstrom and defenseman Artem Guryev to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenseman Ryan Ellis and a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Sharks announced.

TRADE 🔀

The #SJSharks acquire defenseman Ryan Ellis and a 2026 conditional 6th round pick from the Flyers for Carl Grundstrom and Artem Guryev.

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) October 5, 2025

Ellis, 34, hasn’t played in an NHL game since November 2021 due to injury, and currently has two years left on his contract with cap hits of $6.25 million this season and next. In 11 seasons with the Nashville Predators and Flyers, Ellis has posted 275 points (76 goals, 199 assists) in 566 games.

Grundstrom, 27, was acquired last summer in a draft-week trade with the Kings, which sent defenseman Kyle Burroughs to Los Angeles. Grundstrom appeared in 56 games with San Jose in 2024-25, scoring nine points (three goals, six assists) and 24 penalty minutes. In 292 career games with the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose, Grundstrom has scored 76 points (43 goals, 33 assists).

Guryev spent last season with Wichita (ECHL), posting five points (two goals, three assists). He was originally selected by San Jose in the fifth round (135th overall) of the 2021 draft.

The sixth-round conditional pick San Jose receives in the trade is the earlier of Columbus Blue Jackets’ (previously acquired) or Philadelphia’s selections.

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