Category: Sports News

During the off-season, the Montreal Canadiens traded goaltender Cayden Primeau to the Carolina Hurricanes. The move was understandable, as Primeau needed a change of scenery. 

However, after being placed on waivers ahead of the season by the Hurricanes, Primeau was claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Thus, his time with the Hurricanes came to a quick end. 

Now, Primeau has made a positive impact in his first appearance with the Maple Leafs.

Primeau made his Maple Leafs debut in their Oct. 14 matchup against the Nashville Predators. Primeau stopped 26 out of 30 shots in the Maple Leafs' 7-4 win over the Predators. 

Primeau getting a win in his Maple Leafs debut was certainly a solid way for him to leave a first impression with his new club. The former Canadiens goaltender will now be looking to build off his first victory with the Maple Leafs when given the opportunity to start again. 

Primeau was selected by the Canadiens with the 199th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. In 55 games over six seasons with the Canadiens from 2019-20 to 2024-25, Primeau recorded a 13-24-7 record, a .884 save percentage, a 3.69 goals-against average, and two shutouts. He also had an 84-44-14 record, a .912 save percentage, and a 2.60 goals-against average in 149 AHL games over five seasons with the Laval Rocket. 

The Florida Panthers have claimed defenseman Donovan Sebrango off waivers from the Ottawa Senators, the team announced Wednesday. 

Sebrango had 20 points in 50 games for the Belleville Senators last season and went pointless in his first two career NHL games with Ottawa. 

The Senators signed the Ottawa native to a one-year, two-way contract just over a month ago.   

The 23-year-old played in two NHL games for Ottawa this season while averaging 15:14 of ice time.

A third round selection of the Detroit Red Wings in 2020, Sebrango has 13 goals and 45 points in 220 career AHL games.

We have claimed defenseman Donovan Sebrango off waivers.

📝 » https://t.co/uSHKrQljq1pic.twitter.com/m6Hn69GNUK

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) October 15, 2025

The Panthers also announced earlier today that defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will be out five months after undergoing surgery for a labral tear, Sebrango will step in and serve as defensive depth. 

Should he end up in the AHL Sebrango will be another big boost to a Checkers team that made the Calder Cup Finals last season. The team has added Tyler Motte, Jake Livingstone, Kevin Mandolese, and Brett Leason to PTOs in recent days. 

The best thing about a new season of hockey is that, in some cases, you can forget the last one.

The 2024-25 Nashville Predators "won" the summer by bringing in big-name veterans such as Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei, but when the puck actually dropped, the Preds fell flat. Nashville got off to a horrid start and never truly recovered, missing the playoffs and registering themselves as the biggest disappointment in the NHL that year.

But the calendar has turned, and for 2025-26, the Predators are focused on the present.

"We're not really worried about last year," said coach Andrew Brunette. "It was beaten to death – I've beaten it to death for too long, so I'm just looking at our team this year, and we're trying to build, we're trying to get better. We're trying to take another step and we're climbing up the ladder, meaning I like the way our game is coming."

The Predators dropped their first game in regulation on Tuesday night, on the second leg of a back-to-back against Toronto after beating Ottawa the night before. The Maple Leafs had their way with Nashville for much of the game, though you can debate among yourselves whether or not two empty-net goals distorted the final score of 7-4, or merely reflected the spirit of the overall contest. Both teams used their backup goalies, and both were playing their second game in as many nights, so everything else was even.

"We probably weren't all that sharp in front of the net," Brunette said. "Stick battles weren't quite to our standard – a little bit slow early. I thought we got to our game in the second period."

But at least the Predators aren't digging themselves out of a hole right now. In fact, Nashville is currently a top-three seed in the Central, if you're enough of a sicko to look at the playoff race eight days into the season. Nonetheless, it's a better spot than they found themselves in last year, when the club lost its first five games of the year.

"We're better this year than last year, that's all I can really say," said center Michael McCarron. "I can sense a difference. It's a pretty determined group. Two years in a row we started pretty sloppy, pretty slow, no pace to our game. Now we have great pace to our game. We're three-quartering-ice* teams, and we're sticking with it, as well. Our resiliency and our determination has definitely shown through the first four games, where it didn't show last year."

(*I had never heard this term, so I followed up with McCarron, who explained that it meant turning the puck back on opponents when they try to chip it in at the defensive blueline and going the other way with it, playing fast and hemming teams in once the Preds are in the O-zone.)

NHL Power Rankings: Stars Start On Top As The Movement BeginsWe can't overreact yet, but the Stars and Hurricanes lead the way while the Bruins are the biggest surprise in the NHL power rankings.

The challenge now will be to keep marrying that determination with results. Nashville is of course in the deadly Central Division, and with Winnipeg, Colorado and Dallas all at the tops of their games, the Preds are basically battling the likes of Minnesota, Utah and St. Louis for a wild-card berth (unless one of those elite teams takes a massive stumble).

On the positive side of the ledger, starting netminder Juuse Saros is off to a hot start, while the offense has been nicely balanced: nearly every regular forward has already found the scoresheet through four games.

If the game against Toronto was an aberration, then Nashville can look forward to playing meaningful contests in late spring again. If not, it's going to be another long season for the Preds. 

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

During practice on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Kings were a few bodies short, including the absence of captain Anze Kopitar and starting goaltender Darcy Kuemper.

After the practice, it was reported that head coach Jim Hiller said both Kopitar and Kuemper are listed as “day-to-day” with lower-body injuries. The veteran duo last played on Monday when the Kings took on the Minnesota Wild. 

Kuemper didn’t show any signs of distress or any hint of any injury. However, at some point against the Wild, Kopitar was hit by a teammate who was trying to play the puck up ice. The puck hit Kopitar in the foot and ankle area, and his yelp could be heard on the broadcast and in the nosebleeds of Grand Casino Arena.

It’s unclear if that’s what triggered Kopitar’s minor injury, but it could be a factor.

Nonetheless, the Kings' captain hasn’t been ruled out for Los Angeles’ contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. 

The Kings’ clash against the Penguins will mark the last time Kopitar and Sidney Crosby share the ice at Crypto.com Arena.

As for the goaltending situation, Los Angeles called up goaltender Erik Portillo on an emergency basis from the AHL’s Ontario Reign. He has made two appearances for the Reign, averaging a 3.50 goals-against average and a .854 save percentage.

The @LAKings have recalled goaltender Erik Portillo from the Ontario Reign, the Kings’ American Hockey League (AHL), on emergency basis.

— LA Kings PR (@LAKingsPR) October 15, 2025

Portillo has one NHL game under his belt from when he made his debut early last season for the Kings. He earned a 2-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks, stopping 28 of 29 shots, recording a .966 SP and was the first star.

Aside from Kopitar and Kuemper missing practice, right winger Corey Perry made an appearance for the first time in his Kings career. He was practising on Wednesday with a red non-contact sweater.

The 40-year-old veteran has been out since early September, as he required knee surgery after suffering an injury during a pre-season training session. 

After going through surgery, the timeline for Perry’s return was six to eight weeks. Up to this point, it has been just over four weeks, meaning there is still some time to go before Perry plays his first game, at least according to the initial projections of his timeline.

The Hockey News Big Show is here to discuss the big topics in the NHL and elsewhere.

Is Something Big Wrong With The New York Rangers? by The Big Show

Here’s what Katie Gaus, Michael Traikos and Ryan Kennedy discussed in this episode:

0:43: Is it time to start worrying about the Toronto Maple Leafs' top six forwards needing help?

4:45: Thoughts on Easton Cowan’s start to his NHL career?

7:36: How concerning is it that Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk is hurt again?

10:09: Which team with a "bad" start will turn it around first?

12:55: Are Kevyn Adams' days numbered as Buffalo Sabres GM? Can any GM fix the Sabres?

18:00: The New York Rangers surpassed the 2001-02 Pittsburgh Penguins for the longest season-opening streak without a goal on home ice. Is this just an unlucky home start – or is something bigger wrong with the Rangers?

21:19: Which team or player with a "good" start will fall apart first?

24:24: Which team has had the most surprising start? 

28:04: Could this be the year we see the Seattle Kraken find their identity?

29:29: Will Cam Talbot be the Detroit Red Wings' bona fide starter by the end of the month?

33:05: Yes or no: after 6-foot-9 forward Curtis Douglas fought Kurtis MacDermid in his first NHL shift last week, is the enforcer role trying to have a resurgence? 

36:37: Yes or no: Nashville scratches rookie and Ontario kid Brady Martin against Toronto – Andrew Brunette says it was all part of the plan, but should they have sat him against a different team?

39:30: Minnesota Wild rookie Zeev Buium went 12th overall in the 2023 draft. Should he have been drafted higher?

41:25: The Anaheim Ducks gave away some sick old-school Duck masks at their home opener – is this one of the best giveaways ever?

42:34: Will the Toronto Blue Jays get a win tonight against the Mariners?

Watch the full episode here 

Subscribe to The Hockey News Big Show on your preferred platform.

The Florida Panthers have claimed defenseman Donovan Sebrango off waivers from the Ottawa Senators. 

The 23-year-old left-handed defenseman has played just four games in the NHL. He was drafted in the third round (63rd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings but never played a game in the Motor City.

His four games of NHL experience came with the Senators, two this season and two in the 2024-25 season. Sebrango carries a solid 6-foot-2, 223-pound frame, but he doesn't use it as much as his former teams may have liked. 

In all, Sebrango is a depth pick-up to provide security on the Panthers' blueline. They've already had a player sustain a long-term injury in Dmitry Kulikov, and if any other Panthers defensemen suffer an injury, they need players with NHL experience ready to go.

Tobias Bjornfot was called up from the Charlotte Checkers to be the seventh defenseman, and Sebrango will serve as the eighth. 

Florida recalls defenseman Tobias Bjornfot from AHL Charlotte in wake of injury to Dmitry KulikovThe Florida Panthers have made a roster move as they prepare to begin a five-game road trip.

Oct 9, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators center Brady Martin (44) skates with the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Four games into the 2025-26 season, the Nashville Predators have made one thing clear regarding Brady Martin's development: They're in no hurry.

The Predators’ fifth overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft has been a healthy scratch through the first two games of the team’s four-game Canadian road trip after seeing action in the previous two games at Bridgestone Arena.

Preds head coach Andrew Brunette has addressed Martin’s healthy scratches on multiple occasions this week. Following the 7-4 loss in Toronto against the Maple Leafs, Brunette provided his latest explanation.

“We want to put him in positions to feel comfortable, to get better,” Brunette told reporters after the game. “I think there’s no better opportunity right now to learn from our veteran guys, be in practice, be around them.”

Martin made the final roster prior to the season opener against Columbus after having a solid training camp. He saw 12:44 of ice time and was the center on the top line with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly in the Predators’ 2-1 victory over the Blue Jackets.

In the Preds' 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth two nights later, Martin once again centered the top line in 10:40 of ice time. He recorded his first NHL point after assisting on Forsberg’s goal that tied the game 1-1 at 7:23 of the first period, finishing the evening with a +1 rating. He was 1-for-3 on faceoffs after winning just 28.6% (2-for-7) of the draws he took against Columbus.

The Preds Have Options

Why the sudden healthy scratches the last two games?

Martin himself may have given a clue following the win over the Blue Jackets when he addressed his being outmuscled on several occasions.

“Need to hit the gym,” he said following the game.

There may also be less urgency to rush Martin after forward Luke Evangelista returned to the club following the signing of his two-year, $6 million contract extension just as the regular season began.

Matthew Wood, who suffered a lower-body injury during the Predators’ Gold Star Showcase intrasquad scrimmage, was assigned to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL Oct. 10. He, too, was impressive in camp.

Depending on how Wood responds coming off the injury, the Preds could call him up and send Martin back to the OHL’s Sault Ste. Greyhounds.

Martin is allowed to appear in a total of nine NHL games before the Preds have to make a decision whether he will stay and continue developing at the NHL level or finish out the season in juniors.

Since the nine-game span only includes games he plays in, Martin can still practice and travel with the Preds until a decision is made.

In other words, Brunette and Preds general manager Barry Trotz have options when it comes to Martin's development plan. They may be walking a fine line by sitting Martin when he could be getting another year of seasoning in the OHL as a top-line center.

Where To From Here?

In 109 games for the Greyhounds, the 18-year-old tallied 43 goals and 57 assists for 100 points, plus six points in 16 post-season games.

Had he been active for Tuesday’s road game in Toronto, Martin would have gotten a chance to play in his home province. He grew up on a farm in Elmira and is one of six Preds from Ontario.

As exciting as it would have been to play just 200 miles from his farming community, Brunette made the decision he felt was best for the team.

“I think (not getting to play) will add fuel to his hunger to make sure he’s playing next time we’re here,” Brunette said.

For now, Martin will have to be content to take things day-by-day. Sitting on a bench for a lengthy period, even in the NHL, could be risky to Martin’s development. If he continues to be a healthy scratch, chances are he’ll be back in Sault Ste. Marie sooner rather than later.

Either way, Brunette gave no clear indication what the next move will be regarding Martin’s immediate future.

“He’s handled every step so far,” Brunette said. “I expect him to continue to grow as a player whether it’s up here or wherever he goes. We’re ecstatic to have him in our organization.”