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The Detroit Red Wings appropriately felt slighted by the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery when they somehow fell back multiple spots and ultimately landed the No. 4 pick despite having posted the worst record of any team since the expansion Atlanta Thrashers of 1999-2000. .

The consensus No. 1 overall selection in that season's Draft was forward Alexis Lafreniere, a star with Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The visions that danced in the heads of Red Wings fans everywhere of Lafreniere donning the Winged Wheel were dashed when Detroit not only didn't get the first overall pick, but had to watch the New York Rangers, a playoff team, select him. 

The Red Wings then turned to their Plan B and selected forward Lucas Raymond, who was playing in the Swedish Hockey League with Frölunda HC. And by all reasonable measurements, Detroit's rotten Draft Lottery Luck in 2020 turned out to be a blessing in disguise. 

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Raymond has become one of the best young players in the NHL after bursting onto the scene as a rookie, along with Moritz Seider, in the 2021-22 season.

He scored 23 goals with 34 assists in his rookie season, and while he experienced a dip in production known as the dreaded "sophomore slump" that multiple players endure, he roared back immediately. 

Raymond caught fire in the second half of the 2023-24 season, finishing with 31 goals and 41 assists for a then career-high 72 points. None were bigger than his pair of goals in Detroit's home finale against the Montreal Canadiens to tie the score late in regulation and then give the Red Wings the overtime victory, keeping their postseason hopes alive. 

LUCAS RAYMOND, TWICE IS SO NICE! 🚨🚨

After netting the tying goal, Lucas Raymond secures a MASSIVE two points for the @DetroitRedWings with the @Energizer overtime winner to keep them in the #StanleyCup Playoffs Wild Card race! pic.twitter.com/mFWrq5YdnZ

— NHL (@NHL) April 16, 2024

His output in the recently-completed 2024-25 NHL season was even higher, scoring 27 goals with 53 assists to set a new career-high in points with 80.

He was the highest-scoring player in the NHL aged 23 or younger, and he also became the first Swedish-born player aged 23 or younger to reach 80 points since Nicklas Bäckström in 2009-10 with the Washington Capitals. 

Additionally, Raymond's 254 career points are 61 higher than the 193 career points for Lafreniere, and are the second-most by any active NHL player aged 23 or younger, behind only Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stützle. 

The Red Wings recognized the special talent that they had on their hands when Raymond was extended for eight years last offseason, and he's in Hockeytown for the long haul. 

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It won’t take long for new Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan to face his old team. 

The NHL announced on Monday afternoon that the Blueshirts will play host to the Penguins on  Oct. 7 at 8:00 p.m. as part of an Opening Night tripleheader.

This will be Sullivan’s first time facing off with Pittsburgh since the 2013-14 season. 

The veteran headman spent the past 10 years behind the bench with the club, helping them reach the postseason eight times including a pair of Stanley Cup victories. 

He’ll now look to carry that success over to the Big Apple, where the Blueshirts are coming off an extremely disappointing 2024-25 campaign. 

This meeting will also be a homecoming for Sullivan’s replacement Dan Muse, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant on Peter Laviolette’s coaching staff. 

Florida will host the Blackhawks (5:00 p.m.) and the Kings will host the Av’s (10:30 p.m.) to round out the slate. 

The rest of the NHL schedule is set to be released on Wednesday afternoon.

The Buffalo Sabres are a team that's still a ways off from being a true Stanley Cup playoff frontrunner. However, in The Hockey News' 2025 Future Watch edition, writer Bill Hoppe broke down the talent that's in the Sabres' system. Below, you'll find our ranking of Buffalo's top-10 young prospects:

BUFFALO SABRES

GRADE: B+

RANKING: 11TH

By Bill Hoppe

As he rebuilt the Sabres early in his tenure, GM Kevyn Adams refused to take any shortcuts and trade his top prospects for a quick fix. These days, Adams operates differently. The Sabres graduated to a new level in 2022-23, entering win-now mode when they missed the playoffs by one victory. As he illustrated in dealing Matt Savoie to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Ryan McLeod following last season’s disappointing 12th-place finish in the East, anyone could be in play. The Sabres need immediate help as Adams works to end the NHL-record 13-year playoff drought that hangs over the franchise.

TOP SABRES PROSPECTS

1. KONSTA HELENIUS

C, 18, 5-11, 189

Rochester (AHL)

42–7–13–20–18

2024 draft, 14th overall

OVERALL: 15

Helenius arrived in Rochester this season as a polished youngster, having spent the past two years in Finland’s Liiga. “An all-around, good two-way center that’s probably benefited from playing with men in Europe because he’s not overwhelmed, and that’s pretty rare,” Adams said. Helenius put up huge numbers for a 17-year-old – 14 goals and 36 points in 51 games – with Jukurit last season. The Sabres want Helenius to play faster as he adapts to a different brand of hockey.

FUTURE WATCH 24 | new NHL | 2026-27

2. NOAH OSTLUND

C, 20, 5-11, 171

Rochester (AHL)

27–5–9–14–12

2022 draft, 16th overall

OVERALL 60

Rochester coach Mike Leone said Ostlund, who’s in his first full season in the AHL, is as talented and detailed as anyone he has coached. In fact, he believes the Swede is perhaps the most responsible player in the defensive zone who has ever played under him. Ostlund possesses a maturity rarely seen in rookies. Still, it hasn’t translated into offense, with just five goals in his first 27 games this season. “If he learns how to finish, he’s going to be a really good player in the NHL,” Leone said.

FUTURE WATCH 24 | No. 2 NHL | 2025-26

3. ANTON WAHLBERG

C, 19, 6-4, 198

Rochester (AHL)

39–8–12–20–0

2023 draft, 39th overall

OVERALL 91

Wahlberg has quickly established himself as an aggressive and physical presence capable of parking himself around the net to score or disrupting plays by forechecking. “He has the ability to play with the top-line guys because he can see the ice and skate,” Leone said. “When he’s driving pucks to the net…he has an ability to protect pucks and extend plays in the O-zone because he doesn’t get hit and pinned a lot.” Leone wants Wahlberg to play with more urgency.

FUTURE WATCH 24 | No. 6 NHL | 2026-27

4. ADAM KLEBER

D, 18, 6-5, 210

Minnesota-Duluth (NCHC)

25–2–2–4–11

2024 draft, 42nd overall

OVERALL 97

When Adams watched Kleber at this year’s WJC, he noticed the youngster had taken “massive steps” over the last year. “He looks like a guy that is getting better and better with the puck,” Adams said. “He needs to work on his puck skills and work on his feet, but he has a big, long frame, and he handled himself really, really well at the world juniors.” Adams is also impressed with Kleber’s play in his first year at Minnesota-Duluth: “He’s done a really nice job in college as a true freshman.”

FUTURE WATCH 24 | new NHL | 2028-29

5. ISAK ROSEN

RW, 21, 6-0, 180

Rochester (AHL)

45–25–18–43–8

2021 draft, 14th overall

The exploits of Jiri Kulich and other recent first-round picks have overshadowed Rosen, who has morphed into one of the AHL’s top goal-scorers in his third season. “He’s attacking the game and getting to the middle of the rink,” Leone said. “He has the ability to strip guys because he’s tenacious on the puck. He’s not going to overpower you with physicality, but he can get there quick and use his stick.” Leone said Rosen’s wall play – winning battles and advancing pucks – will help him get back to the NHL.

FUTURE WATCH 24 | No. 4 NHL | 2025-26

6. DEVON LEVI

G, 23, 6-0, 192

Rochester (AHL)

16–6–2, 2.36, .911

Trade (Fla), July 24, 2021

After early struggles in Buffalo, the agile Levi has become the Amerks’ backbone.

7. VSEVOLOD KOMAROV

D, 21, 6-4, 208 Rochester (AHL)

45–2–10–12–69

2022 draft, 134th overall

Seeing about 18 minutes a game in AHL. Has offensive skills but also plays physically.

8. MAXIM STRBAK

D, 19, 6-2, 200

Michigan State (Big Ten)

26–1–14–15–16

2023 draft, 45th overall

Adams said the Slovak teen projects to be a hardnosed two-way defender.

9. BRODIE ZIEMER

RW, 19, 5-11, 190

Minnesota (Big Ten)

30–11–8–19–21

2024 draft, 71st overall

Ziemer is an intelligent, reliable player who’s a “coach’s dream,” according to Adams.

10. RYAN JOHNSON

D, 23, 6-1, 195

Rochester (AHL)

43–0–7–7–26

2019 draft, 31st overall

Leone said the puck-mover has been perhaps the Amerks’ most consistent player.

21-AND-UNDER NHLERS | ZACH BENSON, LW, 19; JIRI KULICH, C, 20

After getting let go by the Philadelphia Flyers ahead of free agency, once-promising prospect Elliot Desnoyers has resurfaced, signing a one-year deal with the AHL Iowa Wild, the minor-league affiliates of the Minnesota Wild, on Monday.

On June 30, one day before the start of NHL free agency, the Flyers announced that Desnoyers, Zayde Wisdom, and Jakob Pelletier would all not receive qualifying offers, making them unrestricted free agents free to leave Philadelphia.

Wisdom ultimately returned to the Flyers organization, signing a one-year AHL deal of his own with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Pelletier inked a three-year pact with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 2.

Only two years ago, Desnoyers, 23, seemed on the cusp of making the NHL on a permanent basis. The Flyers' former fifth-round pick scored 23 goals, 21 assists, and 44 points in 65 games in his first professional season with the Phantoms in 2022-23, earning himself a four-game NHL cameo in the process.

But, an unimpressive training camp doomed Desnoyers to another year in the minors, during which he managed just six goals, 16 assists, and 22 points in 63 games.

Where Did These Former Flyers End Up in NHL Free Agency?Between their additions and subtractions, the Philadelphia Flyers have been well-represented in NHL free agency this year.

This past season saw much of the same for the 5-foot-11 forward, as he struggled to the tune of an even worse five goals, 14 assists, and 19 points. All in all, an 11-goal, 41-point output in two seasons after nearly making the NHL.

It's a shame for Desnoyers, but perhaps the new change of scenery will allow him to get his career back on track.

Winners Hockey Agency announced on July 9 via Telegram that Desnoyers had joined their clientele and was ready to continue his playing career in the KHL, but it would appear that the ex-Flyer has elected to stay in North America for the time being.

Flyers' Nikita Grebenkin Lauds 'Professional' Aleksei KolosovMark Philadelphia Flyers prospect Nikita Grebenkin down as another player who's publicly shared his support for polarizing goalie Aleksei Kolosov.

Fans may recall that the 23-year-old was once part of the 2021-22 Canada U20 squad that won gold at the World Juniors - a team that featured Flyers teammate Tyson Foerster, Connor Bedard, Sebastian Cossa, Carson Lambos, Ridly Greig, Mason McTavish, Logan Stankoven, Kent Johnson, and Will Cuylle.

Desnoyers isn't the first player of that team to change NHL teams, of course, but he's on the verge of being amongst those lost in the crowd going forward.

The NHL’s trade and free-agency period has died down, which gives us the opportunity to weigh in on the top teams in the league by position. We’re kicking things off by examining the NHL’s best defense corps. 

The criteria for narrowing things down to five teams includes identifying the best blend of the limitation of quality scoring chances against and overall offensive production. If they were very strong in one category and above average in another, that helps. Of course, quality depth on ‘D’ plays a factor as well.

With that said, here are this writer’s picks for the top five defense groups in the NHL, with new-addition players in italics:

1. Colorado Avalanche

Defensemen: Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Josh Manson, Samuel Girard, Brent Burns, Sam Malinski

Adding Burns to an already-dynamic collection of blueliners gives the Avalanche as deep a group of D-men as there is. 

Burns has lost some of the offensive punch he had in recent years, but Colorado doesn’t need him to lead the team in scoring by a blueliner. That’s because the Avs led the NHL in points from defensemen in 2024-25, with 211. Colorado was also 12th in the league with a 2.82 goals-against average and 11th in fewest expected goals-against per 60 minutes, with 2.87, according to naturalstattrick.com.

Superstar Norris Trophy winner Makar and Toews power the Avalanche’s defense group. Manson and Girard form an excellent second pair. Burns and young puck-mover Malinski comprise the third pair. It doesn’t get better than that.

2. Florida Panthers

Defensemen: Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling, Seth Jones, Nikko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov, Jeff Petry

The back-to-back defending Cup champions had an embarrassment of riches on the back end. Re-signing Ekblad was a massive move, and having him and Jones on the right side is a heckuva one-two punch. Replacing veteran Nate Schmidt with the experienced Petry shouldn’t hurt the depth, either.

Regardless of how their final pair shapes up, Florida’s top four of Ekblad, Jones, Forsling and Mikkola are mobile puck-movers who limit opponent chances to the outside. They averaged the seventh-fewest high-danger chances against, the fourth-fewest expected goals against and the fifth-fewest shots against. While they were only 23rd in the NHL in points by defensemen, they were 13th in goals by defensemen and easily outchanced their opponents.

Their defensive acumen when the games matter most is the reason why they’re one of our top six defense corps.

3. Washington Capitals

Defensemen: John Carlson, Jakob Chychrun, Matt Roy, Rasmus Sandin, Martin Fehervary, Trevor van Riemsdyk

The Capitals made some strategic improvements to their back end in the past couple seasons, acquiring Chychrun from the Ottawa Senators and signing Roy in free agency last summer. They also got Sandin from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2023. But Washington has built a terrific defense corps, which finished fourth place in points by defensemen last year, with 200.

The Capitals’ 2.79 goals-against average also finished ninth in the NHL, while their shots against and high-danger chances against were above average. They’re clearly stronger offensively than defensively as a group, but their main pairings this past season outchanced their opponents when on the ice. And given that four Caps D-men – Chychrun, Roy, Sandin and Fehervary – are signed for at least the next four seasons, Washington’s defense corps will likely stay a top-level force for the foreseeable future.

4. Carolina Hurricanes

Defensemen: Jaccob Slavin, K’Andre Miller, Sean Walker, Shayne Gostisbehere, Jalen Chatfield, Alexander Nikishin

The Hurricanes had one of the best groups of blueliners last season, but they lost veterans Brent Burns to Colorado and Dmitry Orlov to San Jose this summer. Still, this group remains elite because Carolina GM Eric Tulsky acquired Miller via trade with the New York Rangers. 

The Canes were 13th in the NHL in points from defensemen, with 171. But it’s their skill at preventing goals that’s why they’re an elite group of D-men. Jaccob Slavin is among the NHL’s best defensive defensemen, after all. Carolina finished 10th in the league in goals-against average (2.80), and the Hurricanes’ defense made life much easier on their goaltenders by limiting quality scoring chances for the opposition. They allowest the fewest shots per game in the NHL, with 24.9.

Of defense pairs that logged at least 500 minutes this past season, the Gostisbehere and Walker pair had the highest expected goals percentage, at 59.6 percent, according to moneypuck.com. The Slavin-Burns pair was fourth, at 57.4 percent.

5. New Jersey Devils

Defensemen: Luke Hughes, Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, Jonas Siegenthaler, Simon Nemec, Brenden Dillon

The Devils were snakebit by the injury bug last season, which limited star D-man Hamilton to only 64 games. However, when everyone’s healthy, New Jersey’s defense has the skill at both ends of the ice that’s the envy of many, if not most teams.

The Devils were 20th in the league in points by defensemen (161), but Hamilton led the NHL with 40 points among defensemen who played 65 games or fewer. Youngsters Hughes and Nemec are only 21 and still developing, and Siegenthaler and Pesce are 28 and 30 years old, respectively. Only Hamilton (32 years old) and Dillon (34) are closer to the end of their careers than the beginning, so this group should only improve. The team was also above average in limiting high-danger chances.

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Back on June 30, the Montreal Canadiens traded goaltender Cayden Primeau to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick. The trade was understandable, as Primeau fell down the Canadiens' depth chart and was placed on waivers by them in December. Furthermore, Jakub Dobes ended up playing very well after being called up to the Canadiens' roster, so it was time for Montreal to move on from Primeau.

In 11 appearances with the Canadiens during the 2024-25 season, Primeau had a 2-3-1 record, a .836 save percentage, and a 4.70 goals-against average. Overall, it was a rough year at the NHL level for the 2017 seventh-round pick.

While things did not go well for Primeau this past season with the Canadiens, the potential for him to turn things around and break out with the Hurricanes should not be ruled out. With Primeau being just 25 years old, it could still be possible for him to prove that he can be a legitimate NHL goaltender. This is especially so when noting that he has now gotten a much-needed fresh start. 

Primeau also simply dominated after being sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL) this past season. In 26 games with the Laval Rocket, he had a 21-2-2 record, a .927 save percentage, and a 1.26 goals-against average. Those are excellent numbers, so it makes sense that a team that needs more goalie depth, like the Hurricanes, are taking a shot on him.

Furthermore, before struggling this past season while with the Canadiens, Primeau performed well for them in 2023-24. In 23 games with Montreal that campaign, he had a .910 save percentage and a 2.99 goals-against average. Perhaps he could get back to this form on a team with a strong defensive group like the Hurricanes. 

When looking at the Hurricanes' roster, Primeau should serve as a call-up option for them. However, with the Michigan native still being young and getting a much-needed change of scenery, he very well could improve his game as a member of the Hurricanes. It will be intriguing to see if he does just that from here. 

Ex-Canadiens Goalie Signed NHL's Most Unique Off-Season DealHeading into July 1, former Montreal Canadien Jake Allen was the clear top pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) goalie who could hit the market. Due to this, there was expected to be a ton of interest in the 34-year-old, and he was in a position to land a high average annual value (AAV) had he tested the market.

Photo Credit: © David Kirouac-Imagn Images