Category: Sports News

St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer once again had a solid season in 2024-25. In 31 games with the Blues on the year, the 24-year-old goaltender recorded a 16-8-3 record, a .904 save percentage, and a 2.64 goals-against average. This was after he had a 15-12-1 record, a .913 save percentage, and a 2.65 goals-against average in 30 games with the Blues in 2023-24. 

Due to his strong play over the last two seasons, Hofer earned a two-year contract extension with an average annual value (AAV) of $3.4 million this off-season. Now, he has also earned some nice praise. 

NHL Fantasy/Edge recently ranked the top 10 fantasy hockey goalies who are 26 years old or younger heading into the 2025-26 season, and Hofer secured the No. 9 spot.

The other goalies who made the list are Jake Oettinger (Dallas Stars), Dustin Wolf (Calgary Flames), Pyotr Kochetkov (Carolina Hurricanes), Lukas Dostal (Anaheim Ducks), Jeremy Swayman (Boston Bruins), Yaroslav Askarov (San Jose Sharks), Spencer Knight (Chicago Blackhawks), and Leevi Merilainen (Ottawa Senators).

There's so much young talent in the crease around the NHL! 🙅‍♂️ #NHLYoungStarsWeekpic.twitter.com/lJg2WrA6Hu

— NHL Fantasy / EDGE 🏒 (@NHLFantasy) July 18, 2025

Given how well Hofer has played at the Blues' backup, it is understandable that he is being considered one of the top young goalies for fantasy hockey in 2025-26. He has the potential to be a nice sleeper heading into next season, and this will especially be the case if he hits a new level with the Blues in 2025-26. 

Former Blues Prospect Signs With New TeamA former St. Louis Blues prospect is taking his talents overseas.

Photo Credit:  © James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images

Two new 99 overall Team Builder cards are live now in NHL 25 Hockey Ultimate Team. 

A 99 overall Zdeno Chara and Jaromir Jagr are now available, as well as 14 new Chelebration cards.

The Team Builders can be built in sets, one 99 card can be acquired by trading in any 10 92+ cards. This is a good deal and a much cheaper way to build 99s than past events. 

The new Chelebration cards are led by four 97 overall players, they are Wayne Gretzky, Daniel Alfredsson, Mikko Rantanen, and Zach Werenski. 96 overall Mathew Barzal and Patrik Laine, 95 overall Jordan Kyrou and Adam Lowry were also added. 

Screenshots of Chara and Jagr via HUTContent on X.

The Season 7 XP Path is now live,  Check out the new Chelebration Event. 

For more NHL 25 news make sure you bookmark The Hockey News Gaming Site or follow our Google News Feed.      

New Pittsburgh Penguins’ defenseman Connor Clifton missed a few important calls back on Jun. 28 while the 2025 NHL Draft was happening. 

“It was kind of funny,” Clifton said. “I was putting my daughter down for a nap, and I guess the draft was going on. We didn’t even have it on the TV, but I didn’t see that [Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams]... he texted me, and I had a missed call, I guess, when I was in the room.”

After his daughter fell asleep, he noticed the missed calls from Adams, and he told his wife. 

“She’s like, ‘Oh… where are we going?’” Clifton recalled.

As he found out just a few minutes later while whispering in the restroom - as to not wake his sleeping daughter - he was traded to the Penguins during the second round of the draft in a trade that also brought in the second-round pick used to draft defenseman Peyton Kettles. The deal also sent defenseman Conor Timmins and defensive prospect Isaac Belliveau to the Sabres. 

And even though the news came as a bit of a surprise to Clifton, the 30-year-old defenseman was more than ready for a change of scenery. 

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound right defenseman felt as though he was straying away from what made his game so effective over the last two seasons in Buffalo, where he signed as a free agent in the summer of 2023 after spending his first five NHL seasons with the Boston Bruins. Drafted in the fifth round (133rd overall) by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2013, Clifton was heralded as a physical, hard-hitting blueliner despite his size, and his competitive edge helped elevate him through his college years at Quinnipiac University and his AHL seasons in Providence prior to the NHL. 

Penguins Trade Timmins, Prospect For Clifton, Second-Round Pick; Select Defenseman Peyton KettlesAfter the events of the first round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins were left without the second-round pick given to them by the Washington Capitals for forward Anthony Beauvillier at the trade deadline.

Clifton was scratched for nine games last season - and several in 2023-24, too - due to a self-proclaimed “standstill” in his game.

“I wasn’t too happy with it,” Clifton said. “I think I was all over the place: I wouldn’t even say just last year, really the past two years. My game has, kind of, been at a standstill. It was a lot of mental battles along the way. 

“I feel like I kind of lost myself. The change of scenery - I got that call that I’m going to be a Pittsburgh Penguin - I was really excited for the change. I want to get back to my old self and how I play and the impact that I have on the game. It was a couple of mental battles… but, you just try to simplify and be who you are, I guess.”

And one person who may be able to help Clifton rediscover his form is new Penguins’ head coach Dan Muse, who tried to recruit Clifton to Yale University back in 2013 during his time there. Even though things didn’t work out the first time with Clifton and Muse, the defenseman looks forward to the opportunity to finally get to work with him.

'I'll Be Ready': Penguins' Mantha Sets Goal To Hit Ground Running In Training CampIn the summer of 2024, the Pittsburgh Penguins had, apparently, reached out to then-free agent forward Anthony Mantha.

They spoke last week while Clifton was in Pittsburgh for a few days. He is aware that the Penguins have a lot of competition on the right side of their defensive corps - Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Matt Dumba, and, potentially, prospect Harrison Brunicke, are already in the picture, too - but he left the conversation feeling confident.

“I was speaking to Dan and just how we’re going to be competitive, and it’s all going to start with work,” Clifton said. “And he mentioned he wanted me to come in and try to find it right away and don’t come in all passive, but be aggressive and be who I am. And that’s always good to hear.”

Like everyone else who has come into the fold for the Penguins this summer, Clifton is aware that the Penguins are in a bit of a transitional period. But, he’s also aware of the veterans the team has in the room. 

He recalled his playing days with the Bruins, when he had the chance to play with guys like Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Even if Pittsburgh is in this time of change and transition, he knows that he can learn a lot from them.

“To play with some greats, with some of the starpower in that room, I think it’s going to be awesome to be around those guys,” Clifton said. “I came up for the Boston Bruins playing with some absolute legends, and I get to play with Sidney Crosby. So, you know, it’s pretty incredible. I’ve played against those guys for a while now, but I’m excited to meet them, get in the same room, and get on the same side as them for once.”

And one thing he won’t do is count them out, even if others have Pittsburgh penciled in as a non-playoff team next season.

“I’m excited for the opportunity, and yeah, I guess you want to talk about standings,” Clifton said. “But with, obviously, some of the guys you have in that room, you’ve got a veteran group, an older group who knows how to play the game, knows how to manage situations… so, I think I’m excited to get back to that, meet the guys, and get this year started.”

Will Owen Pickering Make The Opening Night Roster?The Pittsburgh Penguins will have a lot of decisions to make regarding some of their young players before the puck drops on the regular season Oct. 7 against the New York Rangers.

---

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!       

Feature Image Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Flyers have officially reached the point where they can't afford to hold onto the rotting contract of Ryan Ellis any longer.

Ellis, 34, has two years remaining on his contract at a $6.25 million cap hit, but is permanently retired from playing in the NHL and has since returned to Nashville to rehab and preserve his quality of life.

Now, the Flyers could always place Ellis on LTIR instead of regular injured reserve and benefit from that cap relief, but they won't accrue any daily cap space for as long as Ellis is on LTIR.

The issue is that the Flyers want to avoid this, preferring to accrue cap space and keep their options open ahead of the trade deadline.

Current injuries to Tyson Foerster and Rasmus Ristolainen, and the call-up replacements for those players, leave the Flyers with about $570k in cap space, and the cap space the Flyers accrue depends on their daily cap hit.

Effectively, the lower the daily cap hit, the more money they gain, but their daily cap hit is quite high as it currently stands.

So, if the Flyers want the cap space, and they don't want to use the LTIR pool, the next logical step would be to move on from Ellis's contract altogether.

Flyers Among NHL Leaders in Dead Salary Cap SpaceThe Philadelphia Flyers will head into the 2025-26 season with the third-highest amount of dead salary cap space in the NHL.

It may cost a prospect or a draft pick, sure, but it opens the opportunity to recoup a draft pick by helping facilitate a retained salary trade at the NHL trade deadline, for example.

Simply put, there is no reason for the Flyers to put themselves in the precarious position of potentially not being able to afford to call players up as injury replacements and construct the roster as they wish, as well as limiting themselves at the trade deadline months in advance.

Looking around the NHL, fellow rebuilders like the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and Chicago Blackhawks are barely above the NHL's salary cap floor.

Taking on Ellis's deal will help those teams ensure they don't have to make needless big-money commitments to veterans to add to the roster and stay above the floor at the same time.

As for a potential price, the Flyers could reference the Shea Weber trade from this past NHL trade deadline.

On March 7, the Blackhawks traded a 2026 fifth-round picks to the Utah Mammoth for Weber's contract, 24-year-old prospect Aku Raty, and the rights to 24-year-old prospect Victor Soderstrom, who was subsequently traded to Boston for Ryan Mast and a 2025 seventh-round pick.

The Flyers don't have fourth- or fifth-round picks in 2026, but they do have a 2027 third-round pick acquired in the Andrei Kuzmenko trade that could be used if no prospects are included, as Utah did with Chicago.

Prospects who could be dangled in this potential scenario might include the oft-injured Samu Tuomaala, Adam Ginning, and Aleksei Kolosov, particularly in the event he doesn't return to North America this season.

How Cam York's New Flyers Contract Changes Salary Cap OutlookAfter re-signing Cam York, the Philadelphia Flyers have depleted virtually all of their salary cap space ahead of the start of the 2025-26 season.

Kolosov and Tuomaala are both RFAs at the end of the season, and Kolosov's UFA season is 2029-30. The Belarusian goalie could be a smart bet for a team willing to take the risk of letting him go home and potentially return to the NHL at a later date.

But, this is all to say that the Flyers have options when it comes to moving on from Ellis and his big $6.25 million cap hit.

They'd be better served having that money available to spend in the 2026 and 2027 free agent classes rather than hold onto it any longer to preserve a measly draft asset or two.

Plus, as mentioned above, not being able to call up players in the event of injuries is not a place you want to be to start your season.

But, will the Flyers try to help themselves, or will they continue to play the long game and stick with the passive approach?

Six NHL RFAs have dates scheduled for a salary arbitration hearing in 2025.

After the NHL Players' Association previously announced hearings would be held between July 20 and Aug. 4, PuckPedia reported the schedule now runs from July 28 to Aug. 3 as follows:

July 28: Arvid Soderblom, G, Chicago Blackhawks
July 29: Maxim Tsyplakov, RW, New York Islanders
July 30: Dylan Samberg, D, Winnipeg Jets
Aug. 2: Conor Timmins, D, Buffalo Sabres
Aug. 3: Nick Robertson, LW, Toronto Maple Leafs
Aug. 3: Jayden Struble, D, Montreal Canadiens

On those days, the player (with the NHLPA and/or the player's representative) and their respective teams (with a league representative) will try to persuade an independent arbitrator to award a contract that favors their case. Both parties can use statistics, player comparables and other allowed evidence to make their case.

All the scheduled hearings are for player-elected arbitration cases. The two players in team-elected arbitration cases – the Sabres' Bowen Byram and Utah Mammoth's Jack McBain – have since signed contracts.

Five RFAs who filed for arbitration – the Anaheim Ducks' Lukas Dostal and Drew Helleson, Winnipeg Jets' Gabriel Vilardi and Morgan Barron, and Seattle Kraken's Kaapo Kakko – have also since settled on new deals. Kakko's hearing was scheduled for July 25.

That said, the remaining players and squads still have time to avoid this potentially contentious process. But if they do have the hearing, the team has options of what to do afterward.

Before The Hearing

Any RFA who's scheduled for arbitration cannot sign an offer sheet with another club at this point.

They can, however, settle the case and re-sign with their current team at any time before the beginning of the hearing, which is usually at 9 a.m. ET except when the NHL and NHLPA agree to change it.

After The Hearing

The arbitrator must issue and email the decision to the parties within 48 hours of the end of the hearing.

The contract must be either one or two years long. In a player-elected salary arbitration, the team elects the length, and in a club-elected arbitration, the player chooses the term. If the player is one year away from unrestricted free agency, however, then the award can only be for one season.

The arbitrator will establish the term, salary, minor-league salary if they decide to include one and the reasons for the decision.

In a player-elected arbitration, if the awarded average annual value is at least $4.85 million, the team can walk away from one year of the contract. If the club walks away from a one-year contract, the player becomes a UFA. On an awarded two-year deal, the team can opt for a one-year contract instead, and the player would be a UFA once it ends. The squad only has 48 hours to notify the parties of that decision.

Where Seven NHL RFAs Fit In With Their Team Before ArbitrationSeven NHL RFAs could have salary arbitration hearings this week.

Three days after the last arbitration case is either awarded or settled, a second buyout window opens for NHL teams that had a player file for arbitration. Only contracts with a cap hit greater than $4 million that were on the team's roster at the last NHL trade deadline can be bought out in this window.

Arbitration rules are according to the NHL and NHLPA collective bargaining agreement and, when hyperlinked, PuckPedia.

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.

Senior writer at THN Adam Proteau has given the Calgary Flames a ranking of number 28 in The Hockey News' NHL summer splash rankings.

That is only above the Los Angeles Kings, Winnipeg Jets, Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres.

It was not a surprise as the Flames had a quiet free-agency with most notable signings being that of defenceman Nick Cicek and goalie Ivan Prosvetov. 

The team lost many players including back-up goalie Dan Vladar to the Flyers, leaving Prosvetov and Dan Cooley to battle it out for the spot behind Dustin Wolf.

There is a lot of talent in the Flames system and the future seems bright as ever, but for the next season senior players like Mikael Backlund, Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau will take the reigns in Southern Alberta. Calgarians will (and have good reason to) be hoping pleasant surprises from younger talents like Matt Coronato and Zayne Parekh.