Category: Sports News

The Buffalo Sabres falling to the ninth overall pick at the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles in late June is not the best situation for the club, as there appears to be a consensus that there is a drop-off after the top five of this draft class, but that does not mean Buffalo will be unable to select a player that could help them down the road. 

Last year, the Sabres traded down from 11th to 14th with San Jose and acquired a second-round pick (which was dealt to Washington for Beck Malenstyn). The Sharks used Buffalo’s pick to select defenseman Sam Dickinson, while the Sabres chose Konsta Helenius.  

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The ninth overall pick one year ago was made by the Calgary Flames, and they selected defenseman Zayne Parekh. Selecting at #9 is a crapshoot, but it is still possible for the Sabres to get someone who could be a productive player. 

Here are the 9th overall picks from the last five drafts:

2024: Zayne Parekh(Calgary) - The 19-year-old led the OHL in defensive scoring with 107 points (33 goals, 74 assists) with the Windsor Spitfires. He played one game at the end of the season with Calgary and is expected to play in the NHL next season. 

2023: Nate Danielson(Detroit) - Danielson played four seasons in the WHL and graduated to the American Hockey League this season, where he scored 39 points (12 goals, 27 assists). Based on the Red Wings' slow developmental process, it is likely he will play next season with Grand Rapids. 

2022: Matthew Savoie(Buffalo) - This pick may already be considered a failure by Sabres fans, since Savoie was dealt to Edmonton in the Ryan McLeod deal. The 21-year-old spent all of last season with Bakersfield in the AHL and scored 19 goals, earning a four-game look with the Oilers. 

2021: Dylan Guenther(Arizona) - The Coyotes hit the jackpot at #9 with the selection of Guenther, who split time between the WHL and NHL as a 20-year-old, scored 18 goals in 45 games last season, signed a seven-year contract with Utah, and scored 27 goals this season with the Hockey Club. 

2020: Marco Rossi(Minnesota) - Selected one pick after the Sabres selected Jack Quinn, the Austrian-born center had complications after contracting COVID in 2020, but after spending most of 2023 in the AHL, Rossi has scored 20+ goals for the Wild the last two seasons.  

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LAS VEGAS -- Just before the regular season started, an anonymous poll of Golden Knights revealed 86.7% of the team saying the Edmonton Oilers are "Vegas' chief arch-rival."

Seven months later, the teams will meet in the postseason for the second time in three years, a battle of the last two Western Conference champions.

⚔️ A Rivalry Renewed ⚔️

🎙️: @garylawlesspic.twitter.com/vDQCsPqGnq

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) May 6, 2025

Vegas won the West and the Stanley Cup in 2023, while the Oilers are looking for redemption after winning the West last year, only to lose to the Florida Panthers in the Cup Final.

With plenty of similarities from the 2023 playoffs comes several changes to both lineups.

Depth will be key, while top-line superstars will be counted on to ignite for both teams.

Here are three reasons the Golden Knights can get past their arch-rivals and advance to the Western Conference Final:

1. COACHING: Yes, Kris Knoblauch is now on the bench for Edmonton, instead of Jay Woodcroft, and many believe that's one of the reasons the team is better. It may be true, but that doesn't take away from the fact the Knights still have the edge with their bench boss, Bruce Cassidy. Long before he arrived in Vegas, the 59-year-old skipper spent time as head coach of both the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins, guiding the latter to the Cup Final in 2019, where they lost to the surprising St. Louis Blues. Knoblauch has is in his second year as a head coach, and sure he led the Oilers to the Cup Final in his inaugural season, but he also has the liberty of coaching who some consider the two best players in the world in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Where Cassidy holds the edge is in his ability to make adjustments on the fly, and keep fluidity among his forward lines and defensive pairings. We saw it in the opening round against Minnesota, and he won't be afraid to do it again if need be against the Oilers.

"I think the relationship between the coach and the player probably gets more and more cemented or solidified with time, as opposed to year one," Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. "But, he stands for the same things that that he stood for as a coach of the Boston Bruins, with the reasons that we hired him, the things that we wanted him to bring to our organization. I think that's been really consistent. I think he's had some changes to staff.

"I think there's different things that you just have to evolve and adapt and grow with day by day. But in terms of who he is and what type of coach he is, I think very much what he was when he arrived."

And that, in fact, is the coach who led the Knights to their first championship.

2. A WILD X-FACTOR: William Karlsson, affectionately known to the fanbase as "Wild Bill," has been exceptional on and off the stat sheet, and continues to do what he does quietly at both ends of the ice. Karlsson has been someone the Knights can count on, and Cassidy can turn to, when making line adjustments, to provide defense at one end, or to make things happen at the other. Karlsson just may be the most underrated never-nominated Selke Trophy kind of player in the NHL. Karlsson owns 67 points (29 goals, 38 assists) in his 100 playoff games and a franchise-best +38 rating. Of his nine regular-season goals this season, four were game-winning tallies, the second-most for Vegas.

"He's appreciated by the people in this room who see him every day, and by our fans and certainly by the organization," McCrimmon said. "But he is a consistent, zero maintenance, hard working, intelligent, two-way player. ... A proven playoff performer, just a tremendously valuable player in our organization. (He) knows exactly what the organization is about, what we stand for, what we want to look like. And he's a big, big part of that, has been from the beginning."

3. GOALTENDING: It's Vegas' Adin Hill versus either Calvin Pickard or Stuart Skinner for the Oilers. Game 1 will pit Hill against Pickard. And the fact is, Hill has proven statistically to be a much better goaltender, and is playoff tested. It was the 2023 series against the Oilers when Hill was brought in, and he's been the guy ever since. After sitting on the bench as Jordan Binnington's backup for the 4 Nation's Face-Off, Hill returned for the final stretch of the regular season with a chip on his shoulder and turned in a 12-3-1 mark to go along with a .920 save percentage and 2.11 goals-against average. In that stretch, among goalies with a minimum of 16 starts, Hill's save percentage was eighth-best in the league, while is goals-against average ranked fifth. Pickard has been the guy for the Oilers in the postseason, going 4-0 with a 2.93 goals-against average, but that .893 save percentage is rather low when coming into a series against a team as deep as the Knights. If the Oilers are forced to go with Skinner, he's 0-2 with a 6.11 GAA and .810 SV% this postseason.

"He was excellent, he got better as the series went on," Cassidy said, about Hill against Minnesota in the first round. "He’s been good in the playoffs, the big games. Hopefully that continues. It’s been his playoff resume so far."

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ST. LOUIS – Defenseman Torey Krug’s career in the NHL is likely over.

The 34-year-old missed the entire 2024-25 season for the St. Louis Blues after having left ankle surgery.

The Blues announced on July 16, 2024 that the defenseman was diagnosed with pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle and would be re-evaluated in 6-8 weeks once Krug worked to rehabilitate the injury through non-surgical interventions over that time. But it was evident he needed a major procedure done and it was immediately known then that his career would be in jeopardy.

The injury is a cumulative result of a bone fracture suffered earlier in his career with the Boston Bruins.

"I don't really think there's much uncertainty with Torey," Armstrong said at Tuesday’s end-of-season media availability. "I talked to him. He was at the rink the other day; he's just getting almost normal, day-to-day living with his leg, his ankle.

I'm not expecting him to play again. Now, he's hoping that I'm wrong, I'm hoping that I'm wrong and he's pushing, but the surgery that he had, it was very, very invasive."

Krug spoke on Sept. 4 prior to training camp and was emotional about the potential of his career being over.

“Thirty-three years old and when you miss a whole year of hockey, obviously those things cross your mind," Krug said at the time. "I don't want to look too far ahead, but those are things you definitely think about.

"I've always wanted to see my kids watch me play and see how hard I work. I don't think regardless of what you're doing, they're going to see, even if it's away from the rink, how hard I work, being a parent, working on the house, doing stuff in the yard, they're going to see that. I just think it's in your DNA. It's tough but the mental side of it's just going to be just as tough as the physical side."

Krug has played 13 seasons in the NHL, the first nine with the Boston Bruins before he signed a seven-year, $45.5 million contract ($6.5 million average annual value) with the Blues on Oct. 9, 2020. He played 778 regular-season games and has 483 points (89 goals, 394 assists) and played in two Stanley Cup Final series with the Bruins, losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in 2013 and losing to the Blues in seven games in 2019.

"You want to win a Stanley Cup and I've had a chance to compete for ... I went to two finals and you make the playoffs so many times and you understand what comes with the job, all the injuries," Krug said. "There's other things that obviously come into play that I can make a living for a family and set up your kids. You don't want to trade that. A lot of great memories for sure."

Krug still has two years remaining on his contract but will need to remain on long-term injured reserve for the Blues to have his $6.5 million cap hit to spend at their disposal.

The NHL held its draft lottery on Monday night, and unlike in the last few years, Montreal Canadiens fans weren’t glued to their TV to see if their favourites struck gold. Thanks to their playoff qualification, the Habs weren’t in the lottery this season and already knew they’d be drafting 17th overall.

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However, they were indirectly in the lottery since they had obtained the Calgary Flames’ pick when they traded for Sean Monahan before the 2022-23 season. The Alberta outfit had very slim chances of moving up in the draft, and they didn’t, remaining in the 16th spot. This means the Canadiens will have back-to-back picks at numbers 16 and 17.

Since the pick was top 10 protected, if the Flames had won the lottery, they would have been allowed to send the Florida Panthers’ pick to the Canadiens instead, but they weren’t that lucky. The New York Islanders had lady luck on their side on Monday night; they moved from the 10th place to the top spot. Former Canadiens’ netminder Patrick Roy’s team only had a 3.5% chance of winning in the draw, making the feat even more remarkable.

As things stand, the Canadiens have 12 picks at the next draft: the 16th and 17th overall selections in the first round, the 41st (acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Mike Hoffman deal) and 49th overall in the second round, the 79th, 81st, and 82nd overall selections in the third round, the 108th and 113th overall in the fourth round, the 145th in the fifth round, the 177th in the sixth round, and the 209th overall in the seventh round.

Needless to say, Montreal has plenty of picks to use on the trade market if the occasion arises. Kent Hughes has been known to pull deals at or just before the draft, acquiring Kirby Dach at his first draft, trading for Alex Newhook on the eve of his second, and trading picks to move up in his third draft to land Michael Hage.

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The NHL reportedly won’t give Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett supplemental discipline after a controversial hit on Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz. 

It was another physical play from a Panthers team whose competitive style walks the line between acceptable and unacceptable. Many people saw Bennett’s hit on Stolarz as completely unacceptable and reckless behavior. But as Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and the Athletic's Chris Johnston reported, Bennett likely won't even have to pay a fine or miss a game.

It’s no wonder Florida sticks with that style.

The Panthers have already been punished for other reckless hits in these playoffs. Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad was suspended two playoff games for a hit on Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel in Game 4 of their first-round series, while Florida defenseman Nikko Mikkola was fined for boarding Lightning center Zemgus Girgensons. That didn’t stop Bennett from getting physical in pursuit of the puck and making contact with Stolarz’s head.

Florida’s robust physical play is part of its identity. The Panthers led the NHL in hits with 2,446 – 233 more hits than the next-most physical team. The Panthers were also the most penalized team in the NHL, with 853 penalty minutes. 

Florida coach Paul Maurice knows what his team should do to win games when they matter most. If the Panthers win games by playing overly aggressively without receiving harsher penalties that curb reckless plays, you can’t completely fault them for employing that style of play.

Bennett came out Tuesday and said there was no intent to injure Stolarz, that he reached out to the goaltender afterward, that he didn’t notice he made contact with him until later and didn't believe there was much force. That’s all fine and dandy – and as a side point, it would’ve been nice to see Bennett face media accountability Monday night after the game instead of taking the easy way out and waiting until Tuesday.

Stolarz was pulled after this collision with Bennett https://t.co/Xns4P1VzVdpic.twitter.com/CxWuBJlFW6

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 6, 2025

But the reality Stolarz was injured, whether it was by a shot to the mask earlier in the action, by the hit or by both, and all NHL players are supposed to be in control of themselves on the ice, regardless of intention.

That hit won’t help his reputation as someone who walks the line between acceptable and non-acceptable play and occasionally crosses it. The next time something like this happens with Bennett, the NHL will have a hard time ignoring it.

Leafs coach Craig Berube clearly didn’t see Bennett’s hit as acceptable, telling media it was “clear as day” an elbow to the head. But again, imagining the Panthers are going to shy away from contact is dreaming in technicolor.

This is who they are and who they’ve been built to be, and it could be a safety concern. Unless something drastically changes, their opponents will have to be careful not to get sucked into their play and to protect themselves.

'Elbow To The Head. Clear As Day': Will Sam Bennett Be Suspended For His Hit On Leafs' Anthony Stolarz?We'll find out very soon whether or not the NHL will impose supplemental discipline on Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers.

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ST. LOUIS – Dylan Holloway and Tyler Tucker were never options to play for the St. Louis Blues during the Stanley Cup playoffs, general manager Doug Armstrong said on Tuesday.

Holloway, a forward who had a breakout season with 63 points (26 goals, 37 assists) in 77 games this season after signing an offer sheet last summer while a member of the Edmonton Oilers, was injured April 3 in the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Hockey News learned Holloway’s injury was to his left hip.

"Holloway and Tucker were done," Armstrong said. "Holloway got injured in that game. We didn't think it was going to be as serious as it was. He needed to get some work done, but he'll be 100 percent for training camp."

It was a tough blow for the 23-year-old who was also a plus-21 during the regular season and fueled the Blues’ second line with Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou.

As for Tucker, he was injured late in the third period of a 5-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round, suffering a lower-body injury to his left leg that listed the defenseman as day to day.

He may have been an option later in the postseason had the Blues advanced, but they lost the series against the Jets in seven games and was never an option the rest of that series.

"Tucker's injury, we all saw in the playoffs," Armstrong said. "It was a non-surgical candidate, but he was going to be out a while."

There were other injury candidates, including to that of Robert Thomas, who had a lower-body injury he suffered in the regular-season finale against Utah Hockey Club that lingered at times in the playoffs. The center said he was fine.

"If you're healthy enough to play, then you're healthy, so we're not going to use anyone's individual ailments as an excuse for not playing tomorrow night," Armstrong said. "... We had two guys injured and that was it."