The Toronto Maple Leafs put pen to paper on a new contract for prospect goaltender Dennis Hildeby. The 24-year-old signed a new three-year deal that carries an average annual value of $841,667 at the NHL level.

The 24-year-old restricted free agent will be on a two-way contract for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons before shifting to a one-way deal in 2027-28. Hildeby made his NHL debut last season, starting in six games with the Leafs while posting a 3-3-0 record with a 3.33 goals-against average and .878 save percentage.

The 6-foot-7 Swede also got a taste of the NHL when he was called up during the 2023-24 season amid an injury to goaltender Joseph Woll and Ilya Samsonov's performance issues. Drafted by the Maple Leafs in the fourth-round (122nd) overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, Hildeby has spent most of the last two seasons playing with the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, where he’s likely to spend most of the upcoming season.

The goaltender still has a lot to prove at the professional level. In 73 career games with the Marlies, Hildeby has a 37-21-11 record with a 2.53 goals-against average, along with a 1-3 record in five AHL playoff appearances with a 3.25 goals-against average and .895 save percentage.

Is Hildeby Toronto’s third goalie going into the season?

It appears so. With Hildeby getting some experience at the NHL level and Toronto looking solid with Anthony Stolarz and Woll, the Leafs appear comfortable promoting Hildeby as the No. 3 whenever he is needed. Unlike acquiring veteran goalies, Hildeby is also exempt from waivers, which has historically been a problem for Toronto.

The structure of Hildeby’s deal allows for the goaltender to know exactly where he is on the organization's depth chart. He is a young No. 3 who has an opportunity in the long run to earn a spot with the big club down the road if he can continue to develop at the professional level.

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Swedish center Jacob Josefson, 34, has signed a one-year contract to play with Djurgården, the Stockholm-based SHL club announced on Monday.

A former NHLer, Josefson has not played professionally since the 2020-21 season, when he recorded 14 points in 27 games for Djurgården. After suffering a series of concussions in his career, Josefson left the team’s training camp prior to the 2021-22 season when symptoms returned. This season, he feels he is finally ready to return and has already appeared in three pre-season games.

“I am so incredibly happy and grateful to have the chance to play hockey after a long absence,” Josefson is quoted in the club’s announcement. “Getting the opportunity to put on the Djurgården jersey and play in front of the best fans in the world again is something that I am extremely proud of. Always. No matter what.”

“This is so incredibly gratifying for both Djurgården and Jacob,” said club sports director Niklas Wikegård. “His attempt to return to hockey has succeeded and the entire Djurgården family will see when a great athlete is given a second chance.”

Born in Stockholm and a member of the Djurgården club from age 14 to 19, Josefson was picked in the first round, 20th overall, by the New Jersey Devils in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Between 2010 and 2018, he recorded 64 points and 84 penalty minutes in 315 regular-season NHL games, mostly with New Jersey but he also played one season with the Buffalo Sabres. His only six playoff games came in 2012 – a year the Devils went to the Stanley Cup Final – in which he tallied one assist.

Norwegian National Team Captain, Former Oiler & Flyer Retires There was speculation he’d come back for one more season but, ultimately, Patrick Thoresen is sticking with the decision he made last summer and announced his retirement on Thursday via Instagram.

From his return to Sweden 2018 until his timeout from hockey, Josefson served as Djurgården’s team captain.

“Hockey-wise, we know what Jacob is capable of, and that there is more to learn,” said Wikegård. “With every game he plays and every practise he attends, he feels stronger in his body. He can skate more, put more pressure on himself and will get better and better just like the rest of the team.”

Djurgården was just promoted to the SHL from the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan but is trying to build a competitive roster. The team will notably feature two 18-year-old forwards who were chosen in the first round of this year’s NHL Entry Draft – Victor Eklund and Anton Frondell.

In addition to Josefson, Eklund and Frondell, Djurgården’s lineup for the 2025-26 season also includes veteran center Marcus Krüger, who was a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks, Canadian winger Charles Hudon, Finnish right winger Jesse Ylönen, Swedish defenseman Gustav Lindström, and Swedish goaltender Magnus Hellberg.

Charles Hudon Signs In Sweden, Joins Frondell & EklundCanadian forward Charles Hudon, 31, has signed a two-year contract with Djurgården IF, the Stockholm-based SHL club announced on Wednesday.

The popular sporting video game series by EA Sports, NHL 26, is set for a September 12 release for Playstation and XBOX. 

Over the past two weeks, the software developer has begun unveiling its rankings for each different playing position in the game. 

Among those listed within the Top-10 at each position will be a handful of Winnipeg Jets players. 

The first position ranking provided by EA Sports was defenceman Josh Morrissey, who was given a 90 overall rating, ranking him eighth among all blueliners. 

The second Jets player to earn a place on the Top-10 position rankings was winger Kyle Connor, who was named the No. 4 left winger in the game with a 92 overall stat line.

Now, it was centre Mark Scheifele was unveiled as the No. 10 centreman in the game.

The 32-year-old put up 39 goals and 87 points in a career year for the Jets, besting his previous career highs in goals, points and penalty minutes, as he helped Winnipeg to the Presidents' Trophy as the No. 1 team following the conclusion of the regular season.

Scheifele's overall rating went up two percentage points from NHL 25 to a 91 overall, ranking him behind only Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, Sasha Barkov, Sidney Crosby, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Jack Hughes and Brayden Point as the best centres in the game. 

No Jets cracked the Top-10 right wingers list, but the Top-10 EA Sports goaltenders is up next. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck should have his way with the list. 

The 2025-26 Anaheim Ducks will attempt to close this elongated rebuilding chapter of the organization's history, having missed the playoffs in each of the last seven years.

As constructed, the roster features very few players in their prime and is unlikely to include a rookie who plays all 82 games in the NHL. Thusly, individual NHL awards will probably elude the Ducks come season’s end.

However, one member of the organization is favored among peers to earn a major award when it comes time for the NHL to hand them out: Joel Quenneville.

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Per NHL.com, the Jack Adams Award is given annually to the NHL coach “adjudged to have contributed the most to their team's success.” The NHL Broadcasters’ Association votes on the award.

Per BetMGM, newly hired head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, Quenneville, is the favorite to win the Jack Adams with +700 odds. He edges out Utah Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny (+750), Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis (+900), and Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason (+1200).

Traditionally, the Jack Adams is awarded to either the coach whose team greatly improves in the standings from the year before, unexpectedly making the playoffs, or to the coach whose team is overwhelmingly the best in the NHL’s regular season.

After the Washington Capitals eked into the playoffs in 2023-24 with 91 points, Spencer Carbery won the 2025 Jack Adams after the 2024-25 Caps tallied 111 points and locked up the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Rick Tocchet’s 2022-23 Vancouver Canucks and Daryl Sutter’s 2020-21 Calgary Flames hovered around NHL .500 in the season before each coach took home their respective Jack Adams Awards in 2024 and 2022.

Jim Mongomery’s 2022-23 Boston Bruins and Bruce Cassidy’s 2019-20 Bruins were particularly dominant, earning their coaches the Jack Adams Award to pair with the organization’s Presidents’ Trophies in those years.

The 2024-25 Ducks made a substantial improvement in the NHL standings from the 2023-24 team, improving from 59 points to 80 points. A self-imposed mandate to make the 2026 playoffs indicates the team expects to make another considerable leap, as the threshold to earn a Western Conference Wild Card spot has required a minimum of 97, 95, 98, and 96 points in each of the last four seasons.

After nearly four years away from the NHL, Quenneville was hired by the Anaheim Ducks on May 8 and brings with him a sparkling resume and an elite assistant coaching staff (Jay Woodcroft, Ryan McGill, Andrew Brewer, Tim Army, and Peter Budaj) at his flanks. Quenneville has won 969 NHL games (second-most in NHL history behind Scotty Bowman) in his coaching career with the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks, and Florida Panthers from 1997 to 2021, winning three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks in 2010, 2023, and 2015.

It’s more than reasonable to assume that if the Ducks achieve their lofty goal of reaching the NHL playoffs in 2025-26, Joel Quenneville will receive Jack Adams votes, and if they comfortably achieve that goal, he’ll run away with the award.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have 41 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today we look at the history of jersey #41. 

Let's take a look.

Matt Davidson - 2000-03 - Davidson was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 4th round of the 1995 NHL Draft. He is a native of Flin Flon, Manitoba, the same town as CBJ bench boss Dean Evason. 

Davidson was traded to the Blue Jackets as part of an expansion draft deal in 2000. He played parts of three seasons for the Jackets, totaling 56 games, and had 12 points. He spent most of his time with Columbus playing for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. 

He left North America in 2004 for Europe. He played in Germany, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden before retiring in 2011.  

Brad Moran - 2001-04 - Moran was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 7th round of the 1998 NHL Draft. 

The Jackets signed Moran as a free agent in 2000. He only played in 5 games as a Blue Jacket and had 2 points. He spent most of his time playing for the AHL Syracuse Crunch. In his final year with the Crunch in 2004-05, he played in 80 games and had 72 points. 

Moran left for a second stint in Europe in 2011 and played the last six years of his career there. He would retire after playing two seasons in the EIHL in 2017. 

Moran would be the GM and HC of the Calgary Canucks in the Alberta Junior Hockey League from 2018 to 2025. For the 25-26 season, Moran is signed on to be the Asst. Coach of the WHL's Calgary Hitmen. 

Ben Simon - 2005-06 - Simon was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1997 NHL Draft. 

Simon, a native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, played 13 games for Columbus during the 2005-06 season. He totaled zero points. He left for Europe and played one season in the EIHL in England. He retired in 2011. 

Simon moved into coaching almost immediately after retiring. His first head coaching job was for the Cincinnati Cyclones in 2013-14 for one season. He spent 5 years as the Head Coach for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. He has been an assistant for the Iowa Wild for the last two seasons. 

Adam Pineault - 2007-08 - Pineault was drafted by Columbus in the 2nd round of the 2004 NHL Draft.

Pineault only played in 3 games for the Jackets and had zero points. He spent most of his time playing for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. On January 10, 2009, Pineault was traded by the Blue Jackets to the Chicago Blackhawks for Michael Blunden.  

After playing two years in Europe, he returned to North America and would play three more seasons before retiring in 2014. He suffered a jaw injury that ultimately ended his career. After retiring, he moved into pharmaceutical sales after his wife was diagnosed with Leukemia.

Allen York - 2011-12 - York was drafted by Columbus in the 6th round of the 2007 NHL Draft. 

York played in 11 games and started 5 of those for the Blue Jackets. He went 3-2 with a .920 SV%. He signed with the Nashville Predators on a PTO but was never signed. 

York would never play another game in the NHL after his time in Columbus. He spent time playing in the AHL, ECHL, and other various lower leagues around North America. He also spent five years as a goaltending coach in various leagues. 

He retired on March 4, 2016.

Alexander Wennberg - 2014-20 - Wennberg was drafted in the 1st round of the 2013 NHL Draft as the 14th overall draft pick. 

Wennberg came to North America and made his NHL Debut in 2014. After having three decent seasons, including a 59-point year in 2016-17, Wennberg was signed to a six-year deal on September 1st, 2017. 

Tom Wilson would seemingly derail Wennberg's career in the 2018 playoffs when he laid a devastating check on him. The next two seasons, Wennberg would only total 47 points. In October of 2020, the CBJ would buy Wennberg out, making him a free agent. The Jackets are finally about to make the final buyout payment to Wennberg this year. 

In addition to playing with the Florida Panthers since leaving Columbus, He's played for the Seattle Kraken, New York Rangers, and San Jose Sharks. After the 59-point season he had in 2016-17, Wennberg hasn't scored more than 38 points in a single season.

Hunter McKown - 2022-23 - McKown was an undrafted free agent out of San Jose, California. 

McKown has played 12 career games with the Jackets, all in 2022-23. He has spent the majority of his time playing for the Monsters. In the last two seasons, he has played in 121 games and has 55 points. 

This summer, he was signed to a one-year, two-way contract by GM Don Waddell. 

There are 41 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Who was your favorite #41? 

Let us know what you think below.

Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more!

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More From THN Columbus

From The Archive: Meet A Mascot - StingerThe Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features. Blue Jackets Players Donate To Local Hockey Player With Brain Tumour Yesterday, a story surfaced on social media about local Columbus hockey player Quinn Halstead, who has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumour. Blue Jackets, Flames & NHL Make Donations In Honour Of Johnny & Matthew GaudreauToday marks one year since the hockey world tragically lost Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. It is a sad day, a day to reflect and remember all the great memories of the brothers who were taken away too early. It is also a day to give back, with donations being made in their memory to foundations that carry on their legacy.

A member of the Florida Panthers defensive corps was the recent recipient of a major honor back in his homeland.

It’s no secret that Latvia has emerged as one of the most hockey-crazed nations in Europe.

Earlier this summer, Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis brought the Stanley Cup back home to Latvia.

During his special day with the Cup, Balinskis shared it with youth players at two local Latvian rinks before enjoying some intimate time with his close friends and family.

Last week, Balinskis shared in another special moment back on his home soil.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina invited Balinskis to the Palace of Justice inside the Latvian capital of Riga.

This must have been an amazing experience and extreme honor for Balinskis, who has worked his way from the KHL to the Czech Extraliga to the AHL to the NHL, all while keeping an incredible attitude and making his fellow countrymen extremely proud.

Photos of the visit were posted on social media and can be seen below:

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Photo caption: Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis (26) hoists the Stanley Cup after winning game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)