NHL Summer Splash Rankings: No. 18, Edmonton Oilers
We’re almost at the halfway point of The Hockey News’ NHL summer splash series, and we’re turning the spotlight on the Edmonton Oilers in 18th place.
In these summer splash rankings, we judged NHL teams that got better, worse or essentially remained the same.
We’ve focused on each team’s roster departures, roster additions and coaching and management hirings and firings. Right now, we’re in the thick of examining teams that stayed the same this summer. You’ll find the teams that finished lower than Edmonton at the bottom of this column, but first, we’re breaking down the state of the Oilers.
Additions
Andrew Mangiapane (LW), David Tomasek (RW), Isaac Howard (LW), Curtis Lazar (C)
The Breakdown: The Oilers made it to the Stanley Cup final for the second straight season, but the Florida Panthers grinded them down methodically. Now, Edmonton GM Stan Bowman has done his best to slightly alter the big picture for the team as they try to go on another deep playoff run.
The biggest addition of a proven talent is the free-agent signing of veteran left winger Mangiapane, who produced 14 goals and 28 points in 81 games with the Washington Capitals this past season. But Mangiapane’s individual numbers are likely to improve if he gets slotted in as the Oilers’ second-line winger. He brings two-way ability and recorded a career-high 35 goals and 55 points with the rival Calgary Flames in 2021-22.
That said, the biggest addition based on long-term potential is the trade acquisition of former Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Howard, who won the Hobey Baker Award last year as the NCAA’s best men’s hockey player. The 21-year-old must earn his keep next year by proving he can hang with the big boys in the NHL, but the Oilers are betting that Howard quickly acclimates to hockey’s top league.
Finally, the Oilers added some veteran experience down the middle with the signing of former New Jersey Devils center Lazar. The 30-year-old had only two goals and five points in 48 games last season, but he’s just two years removed from a seven-goal, 25-point year with New Jersey.
Bowman needs as much veteran depth as the salary cap will allow, and with just $225,834 in cap space remaining, his work is pretty much done.
Departures
Corey Perry (RW), Connor Brown (RW), Jeff Skinner (LW), Viktor Arvidsson (RW), Derek Ryan (C), John Klingberg (D), Drake Caggiula (LW), Olivier Rodrigue (G)
The Breakdown: The Oilers’ cap constraints forced them to move on from a good number of veterans, most notably crafty winger Perry, solid two-way wingers Brown and Arvidsson, and offense-minded defenseman Klingberg.
Edmonton isn’t going to lose playoff games next season because they don’t have those players in the lineup, but you’d be kidding yourself if you think Bowman isn’t going to make some deals by or before the next trade deadline to add talent to his roster. And who knows – perhaps Perry, who left for the Oilers’ Pacific Division rival L.A. Kings, may eventually find his way back to Edmonton. Stranger things have happened.
If there’s one player Edmonton probably should’ve held onto, it was Brown, who departed to join the Devils on a four-year contract that pays him $3 million per season. That was too rich a deal for the Oilers to accommodate for a bottom-six forward, but Brown did a lot of little things right. In the playoffs, he had five goals and nine points in 20 games. That’s an excellent depth performance, and Brown is going to be missed in Edmonton.
The Bottom Line
In a couple of regards – in terms of their overall experience and grit – the Oilers have taken a hit. Perry, Brown and Arvidsson all bring a solid skill set to the table, and they leave holes in the lineup that Bowman tried to fill.
However, with the additions of Howard and Mangiapane in particular, Edmonton may not ultimately be missing those aforementioned departed players for very long. Considering they may also call up Matthew Savoie, the Oilers might even become a faster, younger and more skilled team in the bottom six.
In the end, the Oilers are likely only going to go as far as superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl – and goaltenders Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard – take them.
Of course, the goaltending picture in Edmonton will be a focal point all season long. Many were expecting Bowman to trade for a goalie, but that hasn’t materialized. One of the reasons the Oilers landed near the middle of the pack in our summer splash ratings is that the additions Bowman made were more or less evened out by the departures.
Edmonton is still going to be a top team in the Pacific. But many Oilers fans were hopeful Bowman would change up the netminding tandem, and Skinner and Pickard remain the duo between the pipes for Edmonton. So for the purposes of the NHL summer splash rankings, the Oilers deserve to be not too high and not too low. But we still expect they’ll eventually make more moves to fortify their attack and give them a better chance to win their first Cup in 36 years.
Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
Summer Splash Rankings
18. Edmonton Oilers
19. Minnesota Wild
20. Seattle Kraken
27. Dallas Stars
28. Calgary Flames
30. Winnipeg Jets
32. Buffalo Sabres
Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
Yankees trading Oswald Peraza to Angels
Oswald Peraza's time in the Bronx is up.
According to multiple reports, the Yankees are trading the young infielder to the Los Angeles Angels, minutes before the trade deadline. New York will receive 18-year-old minor league outfielder Wilberson De Pena and international money from the Angels in the return.
Peraza was a highly touted infield prospect in the Yankees system alongside Anthony Volpe. However, the combination of injuries and poor performance in the majors caused Peraza to fall out of favor in the organization.
After a cup of coffee in 2022, Peraza was beaten out for the starting shortstop gig by Volpe the following season. However, he would appear in 52 games as a bench player. Injuries derailed his 2024 campaign as he appeared in just four games for the Yankees, but after having no more options, he broke camp with the team this year. In 71 games this season, mostly as a bench player, Peraza slashed just .152/.212/.241 with an OPS of .453 to go along with three home runs, five doubles and 13 RBI.
As for De Pena, the Dominican native has spent two seasons in the Angels' developmental league. This season, he's slashed .227/.306/.493 with four home runs and six doubles to go along with his .799 OPS.
What Craig Breslow said after another underwhelming trade deadline day
What Craig Breslow said after another underwhelming trade deadline day originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
One hour after the buzzer sounded across Major League Baseball on Thursday night, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow addressed the Boston media via Zoom to share his side of what happened — and didn’t happen — before the trade deadline.
Breslow swung two deals in the 24 hours before that deadline, acquiring reliever Steven Matz from the Cardinals late Wednesday and getting starter Dustin May from the Dodgers in the final minutes before the actual deadline arrived at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Boston sent outfield prospects James Tibbs III (who had been acquired in the Rafael Devers trade) and Zach Ehrhard to the Dodgers for May, and they sent corner infielder Blaze Jordan to St. Louis for Matz.
Breslow, leading Boston’s baseball department at a deadline for the second time, made additions but didn’t make any significant additions that will alter the Red Sox’ postseason chances. He even said as much himself.
“We were pursuing multiple impact players,” Breslow said. “And obviously, on the other side, teams that were operating as sellers were trying to juggle different concepts. And for whatever reason, we weren’t able to line up.”
As a result, the Red Sox will hit the home stretch of the season without significant reinforcements as they try to earn a postseason spot for the first time in four years.
Here were all of the major points hit by Breslow in his 20-plus meeting with reporters.
Red Sox were “uncomfortably aggressive,” but teams still didn’t like their offers
According to Breslow, the Red Sox entered the deadline with no untouchables in their farm system. Everyone was on the table, and the team made aggressive deals, but potential trade partners weren’t satisfied with the offers.
“We’re happy with the guys that we brought in with Steven and Dustin, but we also pursued real impact players that we felt like could improve our team in ’25 and beyond. Like I said, we were kind of uncomfortably aggressive in trying to pursue them and the players that we were willing to put into deals,” Breslow explained. “And ultimately, you know, it wasn’t from a lack of effort. Other teams needed to say, ‘Hey, that’s enough [to get a deal done].’ You know, ‘That crosses the line.’ But like I said, it wasn’t about an unwillingness to talk about our whole system.”
Breslow said that the team used the offseason’s Garrett Crochet deal, which saw Boston send top catching prospect Kyle Teel and three other prospects to Chicago, as a model for how to make a trade with a major impact at the deadline.
“That was instructive in terms of how we approached this deadline,” Breslow said of the big swing for Crochet. “But ultimately, we didn’t line up with other teams in those pursuits.”
The major league roster was pretty much off limits
While the whole farm system was in play, the MLB roster was more or less off the table when it came to making trades. After months of public discussions about the outfield logjam and speculation on Jarren Duran potentially being the odd man out, and with Aroldis Chapman being someone who could have had a hefty price tag attached to his left arm, Breslow said the big league club has performed too well for any of the players to be shipped away.
“I think over the last two to three weeks, it became clear that all 26 guys on our roster were contributing to what we were doing, and we weren’t willing to take a hit to our major league team and potentially impact the 2025 season in favor of trying to repackage or repurpose in a way that might have improved the future,” Breslow said. “And there weren’t really opportunities to both trade off of our major league team and improve our 2025 outlook. So we felt like it was best to kind of leave that group as it was and try to use what I think is a strong and deep system to try to improve the team.”
On Chapman specifically, Breslow said, “We recognize what trading somebody like like Chappy would mean, and so didn’t have the appetite to go down that path.”
So is the farm system bad?
With Breslow repeating several times that other teams weren’t interested in Boston’s offers, it begged the question: Were you surprised that the players you offered up in trades weren’t appealing to other teams?
“I don’t know if that is surprising,” Breslow said. “I think a lot of the industry does appreciate the young players that we have in our system. And, you know, we try to work through different combinations of guys and didn’t approach some of these conversations as though any players were off limits, and we couldn’t line up.”
Breslow reiterated: “I do think that there’s pretty widespread sentiment across the industry that we have a really solid group of young players, many of whom are already impacting our big league club. And so I think the outlook is really good, not just for 2025 but beyond.”
The Red Sox do have a number of young players contributing at the big league level, including Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer (prior to his injury), Wilyer Abreu and Carlos Narvaez. Yet with the Red Sox’ unwillingness to move players off the big league roster, the “widespread sentiment across the industry” seemed to be that the rest of the system wasn’t particularly alluring for other teams.
When can Dustin May start for the Red Sox?
The 27-year-old May has been through a lot in his career. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021, and then went through a Tommy John revision procedure two years later in 2023. He also suffered a torn esophagus in the summer of 2024, forcing him to undergo emergency surgery.
He returned to the mound this year, but he’s struggled. He went 6-7 with a 4.85 ERA for the Dodgers, and his ERA has jumped from 4.20 in April and May to 5.59 in June and July.
With all of that, plus May getting traded to a team 3,000 miles away, Breslow said the team won’t rush the righty to start ASAP.
“I think we’re still working through when the right time is to get him into the rotation, just given a bit of a whirlwind day, I’m sure, for him,” Breslow said. “And sometimes, having to get somebody to travel and settle in and then take the ball in a start could be a hefty ask. But we’ll work through that.”
Breslow also said that May is “a guy who really limits hard contact [and] keeps the ball on the ground at a strong rate.”
“He’s battle-tested, has premium stuff, and a bona fide starter that can take the ball for us every five days,” Breslow added.
Breslow also said that there won’t be any restrictions placed on May, even though at 104 innings pitched, he’s close to doubling his previous career high of 56 innings.
And Steven Matz?
The 34-year-old Matz was a starter for most of his career but has operated almost exclusively as a reliever this season (30 relief appearances, two starts). Despite the history, Breslow sees Matz working as a late-inning reliever in Boston.
“He’s served multiple roles in the big leagues, but it seems like out of the pen, the stuff has ticked up,” Breslow said. “He’s got a really good fastball that plays to both sides. He’s a great strike thrower who’s been in kind of pressure situations before, so we feel like he’s someone that Alex [Cora] can call upon in the seventh, eighth, ninth inning, and get really big outs for us. And if you kind of look at what he’s done out of the pen, he’s been really, really good.”
What about other teams getting better?
The Red Sox are in possession of an American League wild-card spot. But just about every other playoff contender in the AL made bigger moves ahead of the deadline. Breslow was asked if that’s a concern.
“Yeah, we can’t ignore what other teams are doing. At the same time, our focus today was identifying and pursuing the players that we felt like were good fits for our team. And ultimately, we’re all going to be defined by what happens from tomorrow through our last game of the season and potentially the playoffs,” Breslow said.
“I think it’s really easy to sit here today and evaluate the trades that were made and how much better we think teams got on paper. Ultimately, those questions are going to be answered for us. Like I said, we were as aggressive as we could possibly be in pursuits. Some of them worked out and some of them didn’t, and that’s the nature of a trade deadline.”
Did the Red Sox pursue offensive help?
The Red Sox needed pitching help, but they also could have used some pop in the lineup. Alex Cora’s dual move of making Roman Anthony bat leadoff while putting Jarren Duran in the three hole has provided a bit of a spark, but there’s still been a notable lack of thump ever since the Rafael Devers trade.
So … did the Red Sox try to pursue a bat at the deadline?
“Yeah, we spent pretty significant time trying to add a bat,” Breslow said. “But someone, again, that could impact the roster, and represent a meaningful upgrade over the guys that we have, either on our team or potentially in Triple-A that we feel like would immediately improve the roster. We weren’t able to line up.”
Notably, in terms of corner infielders, the Padres acquired Ryan O’Hearn from the Orioles and the Mariners got Eugenio Suarez from Arizona.
Aggressive, aggressive, aggressive…
When Breslow and Sam Kennedy spoke with the media after the Rafael Devers trade, the buzzword was “alignment.” This time, it was “aggressive.”
Despite the tepid moves, Breslow really stressed that he and his fellow front office employees were aggressive in their efforts to bolster the 2025 team. Like … really, really aggressive.
Here are all the times Breslow used the word:
” … it wasn’t from a lack of trying to be as aggressive as possible [or] from an unwillingness to get uncomfortable.”
“Like I said, we were kind of uncomfortably aggressive in trying to pursue them in the players that we were willing to put into deals.”
“None of the deals that didn’t end up being executed, in my opinion, came from a lack of being aggressive or an unwillingness to get uncomfortable.”
“Like I said, we were as aggressive as we could possibly be in pursuits.”
“The decisions that were made at this deadline, they weren’t driven by, like I said, an unwillingness to be aggressive.”
“We were aggressively pursuing acquisitions that could help us in 2025 and they didn’t line up.”
“We tried to put the most aggressive offers that we could in hopes that they were going to end in deals.”
The bottom line: Breslow wants you to know the team was aggressive. Really, really aggressive … even if the end result doesn’t indicate that being the case.
Brad Marchand joined by Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon for Stanley Cup day in Nova Scotia
Stanley Cup summer celebrations are kicking up a notch this week.
After spending time with Florida Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich in his hometown of Whitby, Ontario, the Cup moved east to Nova Scotia.
That’s where one of the newest, and arguably most popular Panthers players hails from, and that’s where several non-Panthers NHL stars found themselves this week.
Taking his turn with the Stanley Cup was Brad Marchand, and joining him in his hometown of Halifax were fellow superstars Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon.
During Marchand’s party, video surfaced showing him being lifted literally into the Cup by a couple of his buddies.
In addition to his Cup fun with friends, Marchand also loaded himself and the historic trophy into the back of a pickup truck.
The pair then took a ride to a nearby Tim Hortons, where Marchand placed an order from the back of the pickup.
Keeper of the Cup Phil Pritchard snapped a photo of the iconic donut order and posted it on social media.
Brad Marchand at Tim Horton’s drive thru: “Oh, a Boston Cream donut!…uhh, maybe I better not.” (Middle Sackville, Nova Scotia) #StanleyCup@FlaPanthers@NHL@HockeyHallFame@TimHortonspic.twitter.com/AM4UX99DRy
— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) July 31, 2025
Marchand’s kids also enjoyed their own Stanley Cup feast, filling the silver bowl with some yummy ice cream, according to NHL.com.
I can’t wait to see where the Cup ends up next!
LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA
Panthers' Sam Bennett Controversially Lands On Contracts List
Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich brings Stanley Cup to hometown rink in Whitby, Ontario
Former Panthers Defenseman Coming Out Of Retirement To Play In Finland
Sam Bennett discusses amazing Stanley Cup season, from 4 Nations fighting to winning Conn Smythe
Panthers' Sam Reinhart Finds His Name On Exclusive List
Photo caption: Brad Marchand poses with the Stanley Cup and fellow Canadian hockey greats Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, who are all from Nova Scotia. (@keeperofthecup on X)
Kirby Smart opens preseason camp for 10th season at Georgia with young team after 2024 SEC title
Kirby Smart knows his lessons won’t quickly sound stale for the defending Southeastern Conference champion Bulldogs.
How Impactful Can Ex-Oiler Be For The New Jersey Devils?
Ken Daneyko and Mike Kelly sat at the desk at the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey, believing Connor Brown was a perfect fit for the Edmonton Oilers when he signed as a free agent with the club in July 2023.
"They are right there," Daneyko said of the Oilers. "Everything has to fall into place. Adding those subtle pieces like Connor Brown should help. Can they take that next jump? A lot of teams believe they can."
Turns out the Oilers secured the right pieces to make the jump.
During his tenure with Edmonton, Brown reached the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive seasons, both times falling short to the Florida Panthers.
In the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, Brown, along with his linemates Mattias Janmark and Adam Henrique, were an effective third line. Throughout the 2023-24 postseason, the trio combined for 21 points, with nine of them earned in the Final against Florida. In addition to their contributions to the scoresheet, Brown and Janmark were assets on the penalty kill.
One year later, in the same situation, Brown saw his ice time increase as he potted five goals in 20 postseason games.
"Connor Brown is a really good two-way player, whether we put him out there as part of a shutdown line," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch told NHL.com back in June. "His penalty kill skills are second-to-none. He is usually paired with (Mattias) Janmark, and the two of them we rely on quite a bit. But you see, during the playoffs, he has come up with some really big goals, especially early in our playoff run against L.A. (in the first round). He is a guy who can move up and down the lineup, especially right now (when) we are short on right wingers."
As a free agent, Brown left Edmonton and signed a four-year contract worth $12,000,000 to play for the New Jersey Devils on July 1.
During his first media availability, the 31-year-old spoke to Devils reporters about his decision to sign with New Jersey.
"It was a balancing act to narrow down the places I wanted to be," Brown explained. "I mean, ultimately, I would say the main factor is the skill of the team and the direction of the team. I think the team is in a position to get better and better over my term, and I anticipate some good playoff runs and things like that. There are other things that go into it. The East Coast is closer to our family. We got a little guy, so to be able to have family visit him a little bit easier and things like that."
On the ice, it is clear why the Devils made a pitch to Brown, and it goes beyond his playoff experience.
New Jersey's depth, or lack thereof, was a glaring issue in both the regular season and Round 1 of the postseason against the Carolina Hurricanes. It was one area that general manager Tom Fitzgerald needed to address this summer.
Many expect Brown to slide into the third line right-wing position to begin the season, slotting behind Jesper Bratt and Stefan Noesen.
NHL (@NHL) on XHow far will the @NJDevils go with this projected lineup? 🤔
Read more from @NHLdotcom ➡️ https://t.co/Ks3Zqblm6DAs a two-way winger, the foundation of Brown's game is penalty killing and being positionally sound.
"I think as I have gotten older in my career, I think I really have a defined role," Brown said. "I imagine that (head coach) Sheldon Keefe will get me some D-zone starts and things like that. Penalty kills late in games, trying to close out games as well. Adding to that offense is really important, and making sure I am contributing."
Depth Scoring at Even Strength
Last season, he appeared in 82 games and earned 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists). It marked the fifth time in his career that he reached the 30-point mark.
Scoring at even strength was something Fitzgerald focused on as he explained to the media on July 2.
"The one thing we were looking for was 5-on-5 play," he explained. "When you look at the goal totals of Brown, the majority of (his) goals are at 5-on-5."
Connor Brown's fourth goal of these #StanleyCup Playoffs caps off a Game 1 win for the @EdmontonOilers! 🤩#NHLStats: https://t.co/diFqic26NUpic.twitter.com/Vecfi8vNEq
— NHL (@NHL) May 7, 2025
Out of his 13 goals in 2024-25, 12 were scored at even strength. To take it a step further, throughout his career, Brown has 107 goals, and 90 of them were scored at 5-on-5.
Becoming An Asset In New Jersey
There are specific roles that every successful hockey team needs in addition to star forwards like Jack Hughes and Bratt.
Having Brown should help ease some of Nico Hischier's responsibilities, especially on the penalty kill, as he led all Devils forwards in shorthanded ice time last season. Taking some of the defensive assignments away from Hischier would benefit both the captain and the team.
Fitzgerald acknowledges the versatility that the Toronto native brings to his lineup, already playing with superstar Connor McDavid.
"Brown is a guy who can move around your lineup," Fitzgerald said. "He gives you speed and is a fantastic penalty killer. He is a guy that (Keefe) will use at the end of games as well."
Another Perfect Fit?
If there is one takeaway from the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, it is that having a dominant third line matters. The Panthers' line of Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, and Brad Marchand is a prime example.
Brown has the tools to add a spark to a line that was virtually nonexistent for the Devils in Round 1 against the Hurricanes. His playoff experience and knowledge could be beneficial for players like Cody Glass and Paul Cotter, who got their first true taste of the playoffs this past April.
With Brown preparing to start this chapter as a Devil, the same questions that Daneyko and Kelly had two years ago still apply. Will the addition of a subtle piece like Connor Brown help New Jersey? Can the Devils take that next jump?
Time will eventually reveal how impactful Brown can be as the Devils must take the next step in becoming a contender for the Stanley Cup.
Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
Photo Credit: © Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Ohio State coach Ryan Day clear on what he needs from QBs vying to replace Will Howard
After losing QB Will Howard to the NFL Draft, Ohio State coach Ryan Day looks for his next quarterback.
Clemson leads preseason All-ACC picks. QB Cade Klubnik is picked as the player of the year
The Tigers claimed 11 of the 27 spots on the preseason team.
Nashville Predators Hague, Skjei contracts ranked in 'NHL's 10 worst' by The Athletic
Retooling the defense has been a major focus for the Nashville Predators, but two defensemen's contracts have come under scrutiny.
In an article published by The Athletic on Thursday, Dom Luszczyszyn ranked defensemen Brady Skjei and Nicolas Hague's contracts as the fourth and fifth worst contracts in the NHL.
Nashville was the only team in the article to have two contracts in the top 10 rankings.
Skeji is in year two of a 7-year, $49 million contract, with an annual hit of $7 million. Hague signed a 4-year, $22 million contract, with an annual hit of $5.5 million in July.
Luszczyszyn said that despite Skeji's acquisition during the 2024 free agency period looking like a "win," the defenseman had a "steep drop-off" in his first season with the Predators.
He scored 33 points in 82 games and had a plus/minus of -24. It was a 14-point drop-off and a plus/minus decrease of 40 from his previous season with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Luszczyszyn noted that Nashville needs a strong No. 2/3 defenseman, but Skeji appears more suited to a fourth-line role. Considering his age and regression, the contract puts the Predators in a difficult spot.
On the flip side, while Skjei has regressed, Hague has yet to prove that he is a No. 2/3 defenseman, which is the role Nashville is expecting him to take on.
Luszczyszyn claims that Hague's acquisition is based more on height and less on his on-ice play. Hague is 6 feet 6 inches.
"It seems there’s a growing trend for teams to pay defensemen per inch rather than per win lately, and that’s how Hague was paid to be a No. 3 defenseman despite a career being a third-pair guy," Luszczyszyn wrote.
During his six seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, Hague did win a Stanley Cup in 2023, but he has not played in a top-four role nor had more than 17 points in a single season. This past season, he scored 12 points in 68 games and had a plus/minus of -2, the lowest among Vegas defensemen.
Considering that General Manager Barry Trotz has historically gone after bigger and more physical defensemen, the Hague acquisition may be a swing and a miss.
Levi Locked Up By Sabres On Bridge Deal
The Buffalo Sabres took care of their final unresolved contract situation of the summer, signing goalie Devon Levi to a two-year, $1.625 million deal ($812,500 AAV). The 23-year-old was 2-7-0, with a 4.12 GAA and .872 save % in nine NHL games last season, but posted a very strong 25-13-4 record, 2.20 GAA, and .919 save % with AHL Rochester.
The Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, Quebec native was originally a seventh-round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2020, but was acquired along with a first-round pick (Jiri Kulich) for Sam Reinhart in 2021. After winning consecutive Mike Richter Awards as the NCAA’s top goaltender at Northeastern, Levi signed with the Sabres and was 5-2-0 at the end of the 2022-23 season, which convinced GM Kevyn Adams and former head coach Don Granato that at 21, he could be the club’s future between the pipes.
Other Sabres Stories
Projecting Sabres Trade Cost - Bryan Rust
Six Former Sabres Who Signed Elsewhere
After a slow start, the Sabres switched to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as their primary starter, and the young netminder was demoted to the Amerks, where he went 16-6-4, with a 2.42 GAA, and .927 save percentage. Luukkonen’s strong second half and new five-year contract seemed to signal that Levi was more on a devlopmental track, and when veteran James Reimer was reclaimed off of waivers, the youngster was once again sent to the AHL.
The deal is one-way and at the NHL minimum $775,000 in year one and $850,000 in the second year. With the signing of veteran Alex Lyon to a two-year deal, it appears that Levi will begin next season in the AHL, sharing the goaltending duties with 20-year-old prospect Scott Ratzlaff. Expectations for Levi are still extremely high but his waiver exempt status this upcoming season makes it almost certain that his year will start in Rochester.
Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo
LeBron James, Nikola Jokić reportedly meet over $5bn upstart to rival NBA
A high-profile meeting last week in France between LeBron James, his business partner Maverick Carter and Nikola Jokić’s agent Miško Ražnatović was about plans for a new $5bn international basketball league, according to a report by Front Office Sports, which cited multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The proposed league, spearheaded by Carter, would feature six men’s and six women’s teams that travel together to eight global cities in a touring format. Inspired by LIV Golf and Formula One, the league aims to offer players equity stakes, something NBA rules currently prohibit for active athletes.
Ražnatović, a powerful figure in European basketball, posted a photo of the meeting on Instagram over the weekend. The caption, tagged in Saint-Tropez, teased: “The summer of 2025 is the perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026.” That photo fueled speculation about a potential team-up between James and Jokić, but sources confirmed to Front Office Sports the meeting was unrelated to the NBA.
Carter began pitching the league earlier this year, with Bloomberg reporting in January that he is seeking to raise $5bn in funding. Backers already include the Singapore government, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, SC Holdings, UBS and investors such as Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice and former Facebook executive Grady Burnett.
Unlike the WNBA-adjacent Unrivaled league, which allows dual participation, Carter’s venture is expected to require full-time commitments, effectively ruling out NBA participation unless league rules change.
The NBA, meanwhile, is pursuing its own expansion into Europe. Commissioner Adam Silver and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum met with UK prime minister Keir Starmer in London last week to discuss plans for a Europe-based NBA league in partnership with Fiba. As part of that effort, the NBA announced that the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies will play regular-season games in Berlin and London in January 2026.
EuroLeague officials have pushed back against the NBA’s expansion talks. “We said to them, like we said publicly, we don’t believe that the new league is something that would help the market,” EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejūnas told the Athletic on Tuesday.
Mike Yastrzemski bids San Francisco, fans farewell in emotional Instagram post
Mike Yastrzemski bids San Francisco, fans farewell in emotional Instagram post originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
On Thursday the Giants said goodbye to the longest tenured player on San Francisco’s roster, Mike Yastrzemski.
The 34-year-old outfielder was sent to the Kansas City Royals just before the 2025 MLB trade deadline wrapped up. A few hours later, Yastrzemski, who has been with the team since 2019, bid the fans and city of San Francisco farewell with a touching Instagram post.
In a COVID-shortened 2020 MLB season, Yastrzemski finished eighth in MVP voting for the Giants as he boasted a .297 average, .968 on-base-plus-slugging, 10 home runs and four triples, which led the majors.
Yastrzemski amassed 114 home runs and a .238 batting average in 790 games during his seven seasons in San Francisco.
Tigers bolster bullpen and perhaps pitching chaos with right-handers Finnegan, Sewald and Heuer
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers seem to be setting themselves up to potentially go back to what manager A.J. Hinch calls pitching chaos.
Detroit bolstered its bullpen, and options in games without a traditional starting pitcher, with a series of moves to add a trio of right-handers in the hours before the trade deadline on Thursday.
The Tigers acquired Washington’s Kyle Finnegan, Cleveland’s Paul Sewald and Texas minor leaguer Codi Heuer for prospects and cash.
Detroit made the trades — and one earlier this week — hoping to increase its chances of winning a World Series for the first time in more than four decades.
The AL Central-leading Tigers won their fourth straight game with newly acquired starting pitcher Chris Paddack on Wednesday, two days after he was added in a trade with the Minnesota Twins. Later that day, they acquired right-handed reliever Rafael Montero from Atlanta for minor league infielder Jim Jarvis.
Detroit has nearly a double-digit game lead in a division suddenly filled with rebuilding teams, including the defending AL Central-champion Guardians, and is vying with Toronto and Houston for the best record in the league.
The Tigers, trying to take advantage of ace Tarik Skubal and a balanced lineup, are aiming for their first World Series title since 1984.
Detroit earned a spot in the playoffs last year for the first time in the decade after a late-season surge, using Hinch’s unconventional approach to using relievers to start and pitch in games for an inning or two.
The 33-year-old Finnegan was an All-Star in 2024, but his velocity has been down this season. He has 20 saves with a 4.38 ERA in 2025.
In the trade for Finnegan, the Tigers sent minor league pitchers Josh Randall and R.J. Sales, Detroit’s third and 10th round draft picks from 2024, respectively, to Washington.
The 35-year-old Sewald is eligible to return from the injured list on Sunday after being shut down with a strained right shoulder, but he isn’t expected to pitch until September. He is 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA in 18 games this season, averaging more than one strikeout each inning.
The 29-year-old Heuer, who will report to Triple-A Toledo, was 3-2 with a 3.43 ERA and four saves in 35 games at Triple-A Round Rock this year and pitched in one game for the Rangers.
Detroit opens a three-game series Friday night at Philadelphia.
Sens Rewind: The Year Jason Spezza Became Ottawa Senators Captain
When Jason Spezza was named captain of the Ottawa Senators for the 2013–14 season, not many people saw it coming, at least not yet. Spezza was coming off the shortened NHL season in which he played just five regular-season games and three playoff games due to back problems, and Daniel Alfredsson was still widely respected as the club’s captain and longtime leader.
But Spezza recovered nicely, and Alfredsson left the team in free agency that summer, signing with the Detroit Red Wings. So, Spezza became Ottawa’s new captain.
At the time, no one realized it would be such a short tenure, just one season, before Spezza asked for a trade. If the Senators had known then what they know now, they might have given the captaincy to veteran Chris Phillips, the club’s all-time leader in games played.
From The Hockey News Archive, Ryan Kennedy wrote about Spezza shortly after he made his debut as the Senators’ captain in October 2013. – SW
Oct 28, 2013
Vol. 67, issue 07
A TEAM ON HIS BACK
Jason Spezza is healthy, and his timing is impeccable. Ottawa is hungry for a deep playoff run and needs a leader in the wake of Daniel Alfredsson’s departure
BY RYAN KENNEDY
THE OTTAWA SENATORS were full of miracles last season, starting with the young squad making the playoffs during a campaign in which their best player in each zone lost most of the 48-game season to injury. Goaltender Craig Anderson missed 18 games with a sprained ankle. Defenseman Erik Karlsson missed 31 with a sliced Achilles tendon, a year after winning the Norris Trophy. And center Jason Spezza was done after five games due to surgery on a herniated disc.
Now, with franchise face Daniel Alfredsson gone, Spezza will test his back literally and metaphorically as he dons the ‘C’ for the up-and-coming Senators. Spezza has battled back issues before, having surgery in 2006, but the ordeal he went through this time pushed him to the brink.
“The first time it happened I got by with cortisone shots for a while, because it was the Torino Olympics year and I wanted to be ready,” Spezza says. “I tried cortisone again this time and got no relief whatsoever.”
The latest flare-up actually dated back to the 2012 playoffs, when the Senators lost a hard-fought seven-game series to the top-seeded New York Rangers. “It was very manageable,” he says. “I played in Switzerland during the lockout and felt good starting the season after that. But by the third game in Florida, I couldn’t sit at the dinner table. It took over my life. I almost lost full function in my right leg. It went numb.”
Unlike in 2006, there was no delaying the surgery. Spezza went under the knife and didn’t return to duty until the second round of the playoffs, when Ottawa fell to Pittsburgh in five games. From February until late May, he sat in the press box, often with Karlsson and defenseman Jared Cowen, who was also out long-term with a hip injury. “It’s nerve-wracking when you want your team to win and you can’t do anything about it,” Spezza says. “It’s not something I want to make a habit of doing. You try to keep your mind sharp. It’s good to have conversations and bounce ideas off each other. Rehabbing is tough and long and not very rewarding sometimes.”
You’d think two incredible players watching from a bird’s eye view would have been helpful for coach Paul MacLean, but he notes that since Spezza and Karlsson think and play the game at such a high level, it’s not often that useful to the average player incapable of pulling off such feats. One player who did benefit, however, was center Kyle Turris. He was playing his first full season with Ottawa after a mid-year trade with Phoenix in late 2011 and had a fit of bad luck once Spezza was on the shelf, but the veteran was there for him. “There was a stretch where I went like, 20 games without a goal,” Turris says. “He’d come down after I had hit the post that night and say, ‘Turs, don’t worry. It’s coming.’ He’d text me on the road and was always so encouraging.”
Former Ottawa Senator Mark Stone Jokes That It Wasn't Always Easy Playing On Brady Tkachuk's LineVegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone will always have a soft spot for Ottawa. Six years after he was traded away by the Senators, Stone still spends most of his summers in the city. He has a boatload of friends here, and he’s pleased to see that the Senators—his former team—are playing so well again.
Turris and Spezza have a funny history. They met in 2008, when a teenaged Turris was invited to Canada’s camp for the World Championship in Quebec City and Halifax, and Spezza was his roommate. “I was a wide-eyed 18-year-old kid,” Turris says. “And he was a superstar. It was a lot of fun. We joke about it now.”
Fast-forward to last season and Turris was once again a new face, this time in the pros after several tumultuous seasons in Phoenix. Spezza was there for him this time, too. “He was awesome,” Turris says. “He made me feel like a part of the team right from the start. He’s such a good professional and respects everyone. So down-to-earth.”
MACLEAN HAD A LOT OF conversations about the captaincy before bestowing the honor on Spezza, particularly with GM Bryan Murray. There were certainly other options available: Chris Phillips, for instance, has been a Senator his entire 15-year career and stayed with the franchise through its recent rebuild even when he had a chance to leave for more competitive pastures. There’s also Karlsson, who, though he’s just 23, has already become an elite defenseman in the NHL and would fit into the recent trend of young stars (Jamie Benn in Dallas being the latest) earning the ‘C.’ “We felt Jason was at the point where he was ready to take his career in a new direction,” MacLean says. “It’s not so much about the amount of goals or points he scores as an individual, but how much success the team has as a whole.”
He’s become so entrenched in the NHL that it’s easy to forget Spezza was a headline-grabbing phenom back in the day. As a 15-year-old, he was allowed to head to the Ontario League a year early, suiting up for Brampton and scoring more than a point per game. He was essentially John Tavares before John Tavares. Though his first pro season was split between Ottawa and AHL Binghamton, it wasn’t long before Spezza was one of the most dangerous players in the NHL. “He came into the league highly touted and now he’s in a space where his responsibilities to the younger players have grown,” MacLean says. “He can now pass on what he has learned from the veterans before him.”
One of those veterans, of course, was Daniel Alfredsson. A Senator for 17 seasons and captain for 13, he had become virtually fused into the identity of the team. But when negotiations went bad on a new contract in the summer, ‘Alfie’ pulled up stakes for Detroit, where he believed he would have a better shot at that elusive Stanley Cup ring. In an age where nothing is secret for long, Spezza was one of the few who got the inside scoop from the man himself. “That was very stand-up of him,” Spezza says. “He wanted me to hear it from him and I’ve always respected him for that.”
The exit of Alfie actually represents one of Spezza’s first official tests as captain. It’s a given he’ll be asked about the move many times this year, especially when Detroit and Ottawa clash as new rivals in the Atlantic Division. Spezza, for his part, is unflappable on the subject. “It was talked about so much,” he says. “Since we’ve been at camp it hasn’t been discussed and it hasn’t had to be discussed. We’ve been preparing for life without him for a couple years now, we just didn’t know he’d be going to a different team.”
Alex Formenton's Lawyer: 'The Crown Attorney Knowingly Forged Ahead With A Hopeless Prosecution'Daniel Brown, the lawyer for former Ottawa Senator Alex Formenton, made a statement to the media this week after his client was found not guilty of sexual assault charges. Formenton and four other members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior Team were accused of sexual assault by a then 20-year-old woman in a London, Ontario hotel room.
The irony of Alfredsson’s defection is that if anything, the scrappy Senators will be tough outs in the post-season, especially with Spezza, Karlsson and Anderson at full strength. Bobby Ryan was acquired from Anaheim, bringing an upgrade at right wing from the aging Alfredsson, plus even the young kids got experience last season thanks to the team’s first-round upset of Montreal. Spezza watched that Habs series from the press box, but loved the way his mates shut down the middle of the ice on the speedy Canadiens and applied back pressure. The Sens got smacked by Pittsburgh in the second round, but Spezza sees that as the low tide mark, not the high. “We can be a hard team to play against,” he says. “But as we saw in the Pitts-burgh series, we need to take another step. Expectations have gone up.”
And once again the clock is ticking. Spezza has been to the Cup final once and it didn’t go the way he would have liked. That happened in 2007 when the Senators were destroyed by an Anaheim Ducks machine featuring three surefire Hall of Famers (Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne) and a cluster of up-and-coming stars, including Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. “Probably the best moment and the worst moment of my career,” Spezza says. “That was as good a team as I’ve ever played on and I still didn’t win.”
Though competitors always hold out hope, Spezza knew it was over midway through Game 5, an eventual 6-2 Ducks triumph to clinch the chalice. “The third period was a blur,” he says. “I’m sure everybody felt the same way.”
Of course, most of those players are gone from Ottawa now (Phillips and Chris Neil are the only other holdovers). The current edition of the squad has just a handful of players 30 or older and Spezza’s still just 30 himself. Which in another way makes him a strategic choice for captain – despite having more than 600 NHL games under his belt, he’s no greybeard. “I’m into house music and rap,” he says. “I’m still up on the music, I’m not stuck in the 90s or anything. I’m not crazy about the social media, but maybe I’m just stubborn.”
On the road, he’s not one to simply hole up in his room by himself, either. “He’s right in there and he’s one of the guys,” Turris says. “That’s why everyone respects him so much. He interacts with everybody from the rookies to the veterans.”
Even his coach has seen Spezza’s fun side, but the moustachioed bench boss also points to a studious part of the new captain’s personage that intrigued. “He is a relaxed guy and he likes to have fun, but he’s very serious about hockey,” MacLean says. “He’s a student of the game and a fan of the game. He knows all the trivia and he loves to do the research about the history.”
If Spezza wants to do some book learnin’ early on this season, maybe he can delve into the history of Canada’s Olympic hockey team and dark horses who made the final cut. It’s relevant since he was a surprise snub when the team’s orientation camp was held over the summer, meaning no ball hockey with Mike Babcock for the skilled Senator. Spezza was told by Canadian brass his missing nearly all of last season hurt his profile, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to book a Caribbean vacation during the Olympic break just yet. He’s going to work through the slight and try to prove his way onto the final roster.
“You have to use it as fuel,” he says. “I hoped they would look at my entire body of work instead of the fact that I missed most of last year. I’m definitely going to use it as motivation. I want to be in that upper echelon.”
And he can start by leading the Senators back up the standings. While MacLean may not be worried about individual numbers for his new on-ice general, Spezza did average more than a point per game in his last full campaign with Ottawa and now he’s got Ryan, one of the purest finishers in the league, running shotgun.
Turris has seen Spezza’s arsenal up close and personal and is still in awe. “A big thing is how strong he is and his ability to keep the puck under pressure,” he says. “He has smarts and he sees the game. The plays he makes are incredible.”
So it’s over the remparts once again for Spezza and now the team is his to lead into battle. There may have been some awshucks humility in him earlier in life, but now the veteran is focused. With the ‘C’ on his chest and passion to win in his heart, Spezza is embracing responsibility. “It’s something that can’t be taken lightly,” he says. “I’m looking forward to the challenge and honored to be given the opportunity.”
And given the pain he endured last season, it’s an opportunity he knows not to squander.
By Ryan Kennedy
The Hockey News Archive
Image credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
More Sens Headlines:
2018 World Junior Trial Ends: Former Senator Alex Formenton Found Not Guilty
Two Sens Prospects Set To Shine At World Junior Summer Showcase
Croatia's NHL Trailblazer: Sens Prospect Bruno Idžan Takes NHL Road Less Travelled
Senators Re-Sign 2021 First-Round Pick To One-Year Deal
Why Mason McTavish Isn’t Coming Home To The Senators