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One of the prevailing themes of the Steve Staios era in Ottawa is that the general manager and his staff have done an excellent job of targeting and acquiring players who represented good fits.

With the exception of last summer's Linus Ullmark trade, this front office has historically avoided making splashy moves of the previous regime by avoiding players who carry a lot of name value but fail to move the needle because they are a poor fit.

Working the margins and making incremental gains to support the organization's young core has been the principal focus for the hockey operations department. Adding players like Nick Jensen, Jordan Spence, and Adam Gaudette will never generate big headlines, but they all were or continue to be better fits than the players they replaced.

In the case of Gaudette, last year's free agent signing was coming off a strong 44-goal season with the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds. Thanks to his familiarity playing for head coach Travis Green during their time together in Vancouver, Gaudette turned a productive preseason (four goals, one assist in five games) into an extended audition with the club that culminated in his best season as a pro. The 28-year-old recorded 19 goals and 26 points for the Senators while predominantly playing on the fourth line and second power play unit.

He parlayed those efforts into a two-year, $4.0 million contract ($2.0 million AAV) with San Jose.

Steve Warne did an excellent job drawing parallels between the Gaudette and Kaliyev situations earlier this offseason, so I will not discuss in detail here, but Gaudette's absence created an opportunity. With it, the Senators targeted another player the hockey ops department is familiar with - signing unrestricted free agent winger, Arthur Kaliyev, to a one-year, two-way deal.

Could Arthur Kaliyev Be The Senators' Next Adam Gaudette Story?One of the feel-good stories of training camp last season was Ottawa Senators centre Adam Gaudette. Gaudette came to Ottawa last summer on a one-year, two-way contract, to battle for one of the final forward positions on the NHL roster. No one ruled him out, but he certainly wasn't a shoo-in either.

The winger spent three years playing for Michael Andlauer and Steve Staios' OHL Hamilton Bulldogs and won an OHL championship in 2018. Although Kaliyev was just a developing teenage prospect at the time, these years will inevitably provide familiarity and intimate knowledge of his strengths and weaknesses.

Kaliyev has been linked to the Senators since his 2019 draft year when the organization selected Shane Pinto with the 32nd overall selection. Several prognosticators believed it was a missed opportunity to draft Kaliyev, who was taken just one pick later by the Los Angeles Kings. In the Central Scouting Bureau's final rankings, Pinto was the 28th-ranked North American skater, while Kaliyev ranked seventh.

Kaliyev's offensive production in Hamilton drove his draft value. Widely praised and renowned for his NHL-ready shot, he tallied 51 goals and 102 points in 67 games during his draft-eligible 2018-19 season.

In the years that followed, Kaliyev's stock has dropped, but I spoke with the winger Thursday morning about his opportunity in Ottawa.

"It was really good," the Uzbekistani winger said with a smile as he described his summer. "I trained hard. I had two tough injuries last year, and it was the hardest-working summer that I've had in a while. I'm trying to get back to the top of my game."

Kaliyev sustained a fractured clavicle while battling with defenceman Kyle Burroughs on the second day of training camp last season. When he was cleared to return for play with the Kings in early January, the organization put him on waivers, where the New York Rangers claimed him.

The winger would play 14 games with the Rangers (three goals, one assist) before breaking his surgically-repaired clavicle again, ending his season.

The experience of a lost season ate at Kaliyev.

"Yeah, it was really, really frustrating," he admitted. "I felt I was just starting to get better (in New York). I had a couple of good moments, and then I got hurt again.

"It was really, really sad at first when that happened. So, (when I recovered) I went back to work as soon as I could."

That his career was reaching a pivotal moment was not lost on Kaliyev. The Rangers ultimately decided it was not worth tendering him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Once Kaliyev recovered, he began his offseason workouts at the end of May, acknowledging that he had taken his training to a higher level.

"Everything needed to be at a top level with a lot of extra work, after missing so much time last year with injuries and recovering and not playing," Kaliyev described. "I took it up a notch in the summer to get on top of my game and get my weight and body right."

His NHL career began modestly enough. In his first full season as a 20-year-old in 2021-22, he tallied 14 goals and 27 points in 80 games. He followed that up by recording 13 goals and 28 points 56 games, improving his five-on-five points rate while leading the team in his individual expected goals rate (1.07 ixG/60) per NaturalStatTrick.

It is these levels that Kaliyev wants to get back to and surpass.

"In my second year, I was close to breaking out," he confidently stated. "Then injuries started piling on for three years in a row. (My frustrations and struggles) don't mean I can quit now.

"I'm trying to get back (to those levels), but I can't (dwell on) the past. I want to try to get back to my top level and be even better than I was. I just have to keep working hard. Don't quit on ice mentally and keep going every day. Keep working on being better in practices and games every day."

Lip service and optimism are never in short supply during training camps around the NHL, but during my conversation with Kaliyev, it is evident that he understands how important this season will be for his career.

Given those stakes, it made sense for him to sign with the Senators where there is some familiarity.

"(Management) knows me well, and I don't know how other teams would think of me after coming back from two surgeries," said Kaliyev. "I'm not sure if I would get as good of a chance (to play and develop) if I went to another team.

"Ottawa knows me the best as a player and as a person. It will help me the most to become a top player again."

The opportunity to reunite with Staios was a drawing factor.

"He knows how I can play," Kaliyev stated. "He knows I try to play and work hard in every single game. (Staios) is going to help me to get back to the top of my game.

"I know they have a great staff here, too. I think they are one of the best, so they know what they are doing. To come here, this was my best option."

Kaliyev was not discouraged by the fact that the Senators have quality depth at the wing position.

"I definitely compete in everything and will do everything I can (to win a roster spot)," he stated. "This is part of the business, and I'll do my best to compete with anyone."

Given his age, his underlying metrics and the organization's familiarity with the player, it is easy to understand why the Senators would afford Kaliyev a chance to see if he can recapture some of the lustre.

As one of the lowest-scoring five-on-five teams in the league last season, the coaching staff will be looking for improvements. If Kaliyev can stay healthy and if his usage mirrors how the organization handled Gaudette, he could be an inexpensive secondary scorer for the club.

He represents a low-risk move with upside, but some of that enthusiasm dampened earlier this week after his ex-girlfriend made allegations on TikTok about verbal abuse and financial manipulation.

Steve Staios touched upon those allegations during his availability on the first day of training camp.

"We're aware of (the allegations)," the general manager acknowledged. "It's being monitored, but there's nothing to it, is what we've been told. I don't really have more to say on it."

When I addressed the allegations with Kaliyev, I did not invite the player to comment on their specifics. I simply asked whether they were a distraction or had negatively impacted him as he began training camp with a new organization.

Kaliyev refused to comment. 

By Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News Ottawa

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Can The Senators Still Avoid Losing Their 2026 First Round Pick?
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Less than a week ago, Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams spoke with the media at the opening of training camp at LECOM Harborcenter with news about the injury status of goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen that was so uncertain that the club opted to sign veteran goalie Alexandar Georgiev  as an insurance policy, but following the Sabres intersquad scrimmage, head coach Lindy Ruff had encouraging news regarding his starting goalie.  

"(Luukkonen) is really feeling pretty good,” Ruff said.  Whether he's ready to participate (in practice) on Monday or not, we'll see, but (there have been) a couple of really good reports on how he's progressing."

Adams indicated last week that the 26-year-old goalie had a lower-body injury that he was having issues with. While the Sabres GM did not want to sound alarm bells, he determined that it was out of an abundance of caution to sign Georgiev, who started for Colorado and San Jose last season to a one-year, $825,000 one-way contract.  

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The news was also positive on winger Alex Tuch, who missed the start of training camp with a minor lower-body injury. The 29-year-old tied a career-high with 36 goals last season and will be depended on to be a primary offensive contributor with the departure of second-leading scorer JJ Peterka calling into question whether the Sabres can generate enough goals to stay competitive in the Eastern Conference playoff race this season. 

"We'll get him to skate in on Monday and in all likelihood, if (he) doesn't come into the lineup Monday or Tuesday, it's only because he missed this amount of time,” Ruff said. “We'd like him to skate a little bit more. He would have loved to play in the scrimmage, but I thought he skated great this morning.”

The Sabres open their exhibition schedule in Columbus on Monday, and will face the Blue Jackets at KeyBank Center on Tuesday night. 

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The annual Detroit Red Wings Red & White game, which is typically played at Center I.C.E. Arena in Traverse City, Mich., was moved to Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. for the first time since 2011.

The event, comprised of Red Wings players split into two groups, was announced as a full sellout at the venue that serves as the home of the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins.

Team White pulled out a 3-2 victory thanks to a pair of goals from Elmer Söderblom as well as another goal from Alex DeBrincat; Jonatan Berggren and Emmitt Finnie scored for Team Red. 

Big Elm getting on the board. 💪 pic.twitter.com/7wDnrEPTHR

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 21, 2025

Right from the get-go, the fans were energized, engaged, and loud. 

Afterward, Red Wings team captain Dylan Larkin had nothing but great things to say about the fans who packed the building to cheer them on in their final tune-up before the pre-season begins on Tuesday. 

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

"Unbelievable atmosphere," Larkin said. "I'm not surprised, knowing the hockey fans here in Grand Rapids. I'm sure there are people who drove from all over the west side of the state to come and watch and cheer us on, and show us some support today. That was really special, and it's something I'll always remember." 

Like the rest of his teammates, Larkin is chomping at the bit to get into the pre-season against non-Detroit opponents. 

"It was a productive game and was good to get back on an NHL ice surface and something we're more familiar with," he said. "I thought it was productive and I think we're tired of playing against each other. We're ready to get into the pre-season games here."

The Red Wings have eight pre-season games scheduled in the next few weeks, beginning with a matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday evening at Little Caesars Arena. 

As they did in the Red & White game, young Red Wings prospects like Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård will be getting plenty of playing time.

"A lot of them looked really good," Larkin said of Detroit's young prospects. "You see speed, you see skill. I think they all have very good attributes, whether it's a shot or skating or a brain. But they all seem eager to want to learn and they've really been impressive with their work ethic on and off the ice." 

Tuesday's game at Little Caesars Arena, which will be the first unofficial game of former Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill behind the bench of the Blackhawks in the same role, is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET. 

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Michkov does his thing, young goalies solid in Flyers' preseason shootout win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers won their preseason opener Sunday night with a 3-2 shootout decision over the Islanders at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.

Matvei Michkov, Noah Cates, Rodrigo Abols and Emil Andrae all scored for the Flyers in the skills competition. Andrae’s tally was the winner in the 11th round.

Michkov and Abols provided the Flyers’ goals in regulation. Michkov’s marker came with 1:18 minutes left as the Flyers emptied their net and forced overtime.

The Flyers didn’t play five of their top six scorers from last season. They also sat three of their top defensemen in Travis Sanheim, Cam York and Nick Seeler, as well as their goaltending tandem of Samuel Ersson and Dan Vladar.

It was the first of seven exhibition games for Rick Tocchet and his new coaching staff.

“These are teachable moments and it’s good to have my staff on the bench, how we work, that’s an important thing, too,” Tocchet said Sunday morning. “We haven’t been together ourselves.”

• So much has been made of young roster hopefuls like Alex Bump, Nikita Grebenkin and Jett Luchanko.

But there hasn’t been much noise about Abols, a big 29-year-old forward who played 22 games for the Flyers last season.

Abols has a legit chance to crack the club’s season-opening lineup in the bottom six. He can play center or winger and does a lot of the little things. He also moves well for his size.

The 6-foot-4 Latvian scored on a nice shot only 2:42 minutes into the action off a pass from 2025 first-rounder Jack Nesbitt.

• Aleksei Kolosov was pretty solid in net through two periods. The 23-year-old stopped 15 of 17 shots.

The Islanders tied the game at 1-1 in the second period when Kyle Palmieri flushed a big rebound after Kolosov converted a save on 2025 first overall pick Matthew Schaefer.

But later in the period, Kolosov made a pair of athletic saves. The second came with New York on a 2-on-1 rush at shorthanded.

Kolosov then faced another 2-on-1 rush in the middle stanza but couldn’t deny this one as Marshall Warren put the Islanders ahead.

The 20-year-old Carson Bjarnason took over at the start of the third period and turned away all 17 shots that he faced.

• Trevor Zegras centered a line with Michkov and Grebenkin. The trio did some good things offensively.

Grebenkin, who came to the Flyers in the Scott Laughton trade, looks rather fearless.

“He plays with a ton of bite,” AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley head coach John Snowden said last weekend. “He’s a highly skilled player, but he is not easy to play against at all. He’s going to whack you when you come off the bench, he’s going to crosscheck you, he’s going to stick his nose in there.”

The 22-year-old winger had a goal and two assists over the pair of rookie games. He also set up a goal in the 3-on-3 portion of Saturday’s scrimmage.

Nikita Grebenkin shows some of his skill in 3-on-3, Jack Nesbitt finishes with the goal. pic.twitter.com/N6DhOfIphd

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) September 20, 2025

• Lane Pederson suffered an upper-body injury toward the end of the first period and did not return to the game.

The 28-year-old center signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Flyers on July 1 and is projected to open the season with the Phantoms.

• The Flyers are off Monday before resuming training camp and game action Tuesday. After taking the ice in the morning, the club will head to Montreal for an exhibition matchup against the Canadiens (7 p.m. ET).

With the NHL pre-season having kicked off, there are already a number of big-name young players stuck in limbo. The New Jersey Devils’ Luke Hughes, Anaheim Ducks’ Mason McTavish and Nashville Predators’ Luke Evangelista are the three notable restricted free agents left without an NHL deal as training camp is well underway, with former first rounders Alexander Holtz and Rasmus Kupari being the other two.

Many fans and pundits have questioned the cost-benefit analysis of teams dragging out negotiations past training camp, as it feels as though a trend has formed over the past number of years where players would miss camp and even at times part of the season due to negotiations, only to underperform that season after they’ve signed.

Before the 2004-05 lockout and subsequently the sweeping changes to the NHL’s handling of player salaries and rights, unrestricted free agency wasn’t really a thing for most players, as they were mostly bound to their teams. As such, many players had longstanding holdouts. Furthermore, teams were seemingly much more willing to play ‘hard-ball’ when facing tough negotiations.

Chris Kontos

Chris Kontos wasn’t a star, per se, but it wasn’t because he lacked the skill. Once taken 15th overall in the 1982 draft by the New York Rangers, Kontos would bounce around, playing here, there and just about everywhere.

“I'd get called up, do my best, if the numbers or the politics weren't right, I'd get sent down,” he said in an article for The Score in 2018. “If the contract wasn't right, I'd go to Europe and play, and then come back because somebody else was giving me a shot. 

After stints in Finland, Switzerland, Italy and even with the Canadian national team, he would eventually sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning for 1992-93. Finally given a legitimate opportunity, he would thrive, scoring a career high 27 goals and 51 points for third on the team. However, it was hardly a perfect season as an MCL injury cut his campaign short to just 66 games. Between the injury and his contract situation, negotiations were dire, especially with Kontos’ eyes still set on being an Olympian. He would make Team Canada’s 1994 Olympic team and end up helping them win silver, but ultimately would never ice in an NHL game again.

Alexei Yashin

Ottawa Senators’ then captain Alexei Yashin missed a full season thanks to a contract dispute after what would be a career-high 94-point campaign in 1998-99. He would hardly miss a step, scoring 40 goals once again and notching 88 points in 2000-01, however, the damage was done, and the team ended up flipping him to the New York Islanders for the second-overall pick, which would become Jason Spezza, Zdeno Chara and NHL depth player Bill Muckalt.

Yashin remained a prolific producer, but struggled to maintain the production he had in Ottawa with the Islanders. However, Yashin’s case study serves as a deafening reminder that even when things eventually pan out between team and player, these hold-outs burn bridges that continue to burn well after the ink dries on the dotted line.

Nikolai Khabibulin

Nikolai Khabibulin’s tale was even messier on the team's side. ‘The Bulin wall’ dominated in 1998-99, posting a .923 save percentage through 63 games with the then Phoenix Coyotes before the dispute. He then proceeded to miss nearly two full seasons due to a rift between himself and the Coyotes. In 1999-00, Khabibulin was able to sign in the IHL, a minor league at the time, where he won goaltender of the year, but he ended up sitting out the 2000-01 season until his rights were dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Ahead of the dispute, Khabibulin was coming off a breakthrough season, fully legitimizing himself as an elite goalie talent, and after that, the results speak for themselves. He added two All-Star game appearances, won best goaltender at the 2002 Olympics, and in 2004, he backstopped the Tampa Bay Lightning to a Stanley Cup championship.

Michael Peca

Michael Peca’s restricted free agency story is yet another that ends with an eventual trade after missing a full season, however there remain a few notable details. The Sabres’ captain was fresh off finishing fifth in votes for the Frank J. Selke trophy at the time, with a 41-point season for the fourth highest on the team. The tensions would eventually hit a breaking point with Peca lobbing accusations at the NHL and the Buffalo Sabres of collusion to make an example out of him to other star players looking to get paid – accusations that both the team and league denied.

After plenty of posturing from the Sabres, they’d eventually trade him to the New York Islanders, who would win big as Peca would hit an all-time high in points with the team, with 60 in his return to the ice in 2001-02, winning his second Selke and even finishing tenth in Hart voting. He marks one of the few cases of players having a better season after missing plenty of time due to holdouts.

---

Apart from Kontos, all of these players would get a full training camp to get back into shape for the next season. While missing a full season of hockey would be a tough hurdle to overcome for anyone, these players had the runway to get themselves acclimated to the league again.

Compared to players now, who tend to only hold out until mid-season, thanks to the Dec. 1 deadline, they aren’t afforded that luxury. In the next piece of this two-part series, we’ll take a look at more contemporary examples and whether they were able to thrive after missing the start of their seasons.

The Ottawa Senators began their 2025 NHL preseason schedule on Sunday afternoon the same way they ended last season: falling behind 3-0, then losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto scored three goals in the first period, then held on for a 4-3 victory at Canadian Tire Centre.  

The biggest storyline emerging from this one might end up being the health of Tyler Kleven. In the third period, he went into the end boards awkwardly, skates first, and eventually made his way down the tunnel and called it a night. It looked initially like it might be a knee or ankle injury, but the TV cameras caught him on the bench, looking uncomfortable and favouring his right shoulder.

The Sens said after the game there was no update yet on his condition.

The results of the NHL preseason schedule mean nothing, but if there’s one exhibition game this year the Senators would prefer to win most, it was this one. 

For starters, this game was the only one scheduled for the Canadian Tire Centre, so the organization wanted to put on a good show for their fans. The Sens also dressed the bulk of their top players, while Toronto went with a far less experienced crew that should have been overmatched. And of course, the opponent on Sunday was the Leafs, the Sens' biggest rival, who ended their season with a six-game triumph back in April.

Ridly Greig, Arthur Kaliyev, and Olle Lycksell scored for the Senators. Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk each had two assists. Calle Jarnkrok, Nicholas Robertson, William Villeneuve, and Matthew Barbolini scored for Toronto.

Linus Ullmark allowed three goals on eight shots in the first period before Mads Sogaard took over, making 11 saves on 12 shots. Ullmark says he was always scheduled to play just the first 20 minutes.

Head coach Travis Green took some positives from the game.

"We did a lot of good things," Green said. "I thought the first period our execution with the puck wasn't quite where we wanted it to be. I like that we stayed with the game, even though we're down 3-0. And we had a lot of chances to score a lot more goals than we did. It was a pretty good game."

These same two teams will meet again on Tuesday, this time in Toronto.

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The NHL’s 2025-26 regular season is nearly here, and here on THN.com’s Buffalo Sabres site, we’re approaching the end of our player-by-player series in which we break down expectations for each Sabres player this coming season.

We’ve worked our way through Buffalo’s starters, including goalies, blueliners, and forwards. And in this file, we’re looking at the expectations for depth defenseman Zac Jones. The 24-year-old came to the Sabres after the New York Rangers cut him loose, but he could play a more important role in Buffalo.

That said, let’s move on to our breakdown of Jones and what’s reasonable to expect this season:

Player Name: Zac Jones

Position: Defenseman

Age: 24

2024-25 Key Statistics: 46 games, 10 assists, 11 points, 17:15 average time on ice

2025-26 Salary:$900,000

2025-26 Expectations: For the past five seasons, Jones was a spare part with the New York Rangers, appearing in approximately half the season in Manhattan last year while being a healthy scratch for most of the other games. The Rangers cut him loose in the spring, and the Sabres swooped in and signed the 24-year-old to a one-year, two-way contract. 

Nothing has changed for Jones in that he’s coming into the season with no guarantee about playing time at the NHL level. The Sabres have other, more experienced hands to fill out their top-six defensemen spots, so unless Jones has a terrific pre-season and one of Buffalo’s aforementioned veteran blueliners is injured or an under-performer, Jones is going to see the inside of the press box more often than not.

Jones has shown some promise as an undersized blueliner who can pile up assists. In 2022-23, playing for the American League’s Hartford Wolf Pack, Jones generated 23 assists and 31 points in 54 games, and the season before that, he had 26 assists and 35 points in 52 games. Jones has 115 games of NHL experience to his credit, but he only put up 24 assists and 28 points in those games. So you can see why the Rangers chose not to qualify him contractually and part ways with him.

Sabres 2025-26 Player Expectations: Will Fourth-Liner Kozak Assert Himself As A Full-Time NHLer?The NHL’s 2025-26 regular season is just about here, and on THN.com’s Buffalo Sabres site, we’re almost done with our player-by-player series in which we analyze expectations for each Buffalo player this coming season.

At 24, Jones’ NHL career is not likely to be at an end. Some team is going to give him a chance to contribute in hockey’s top league, and the question is whether that team is the Sabres, or whether Western New York is but a pit stop for Jones as he bounces to another team. Given that he’s earning less than a million dollars, Jones will fit in as a depth player in many markets, so Sabres GM Kevyn Adams could hear from other teams trying to add Jones to their mix as insurance on the back end.

But that fate won’t befall Jones sooner than later. Right now, he’s got to show he can do more than he did in Manhattan. And if he can’t do that, Jones will have a ticket to Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester, N.Y.. 

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Jones could ultimately wind up being a tweener – too good for the AHL, and not good enough for the NHL – but he’s still got time to salvage his NHL career by being a good citizen in Buffalo and a solid influence on offense.

More patience may be what this player needs to solidify himself as a day-in, day-out NHLer. But the pressure is squarely on Jones to show he was worth Adams’ investment.  

Aatu Räty forced the Vancouver Canucks’ hands last year. He performed so well during the Canucks’ 2024 Training Camp that he earned himself a spot on the roster on opening night, and ultimately turned that into an impressive 33-game season in which he scored seven goals and four assists. He managed to do so despite the Canucks already having four centres slotted into their lineup. 

This year looks like it may be different. 

Elias Pettersson, Filip Chytil, and Teddy Blueger look primed to fill their respective roles as first, second, and a bottom-six centre. While that final spot in the lineup could be anyone’s, many believe that position is now Räty’s to lose. It's an interesting twist from the position he held the year prior, but not something that he'll let take over his mind as the team enters the pre-season.

Räty's 2024-25 season was impressive, though he unfortunately wasn't able to build on this in AHL postseason play. The 22-year-old is currently coming off an unfortunate string of charley horse injuries that limited his Calder Cup Playoff stretch to only six games. 

“Even though we won, winning is hard,” Räty told The Hockey News on the final day of Canucks Training Camp. “There’s so many guys playing hurt, I got hurt too, but just the grind that it is. It’s a long time to be playing games or the opponent’s trying to hurt you every shift, and you’re trying to do the same thing. It’s just a battle but it’s so hard to win them, and so many guys from that team just absolutely banged up after, even injured or barely playing after that final game. So it definitely takes a toll to win those playoff games.” 

The injury bug may have caught him, but it hasn’t seemed to hinder his shot at a full-time NHL role. Pius Suter’s departure in free agency dropped the organization’s centre depth substantially, though the fact that the team didn’t make the move to remedy that works heavily in Räty’s favour. It indicates to both the players — and the fans — that their faith currently rests in the players already within the organization. 

With a roster spot in mind, Räty put himself to work during the off-season. 

“I was up and running almost right away,” he said of when he resumed his training. “I thought I had a good summer. And I think that injury also taught me a lot too.”

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The forward worked through a few things during the off-season to help further his case at a full-time roster spot. One of the things he picked out in particular was his skating, which Räty believes he has improved on since the end of the 2024–25 season. 

“I’m always trying to better everything in my game, but especially skating. I think that’s one thing that in today’s hockey you’ve just got to be good at. And I’m trying to feel like bit by bit, I’m getting better each and every day. So I think that improved this summer, and I’m excited to kind of get playing again and see how my speed is. But I think my skating definitely got better.” 

As it stands, Räty has the edge on some of the other younger centres in the Canucks organization based on his audition from the season before. Faceoffs were a notable positive from the forward’s 2024–25 season, during which he placed first on the team in faceoff win percentage of all of the Canucks’ active natural centres with 57.36%. All signs should point to Räty — but at the end of the day, the forward knows the decision is up to management. 

“Just do my best — nothing more I can do. I think I’ve worked hard for so long. I think I do my best every skate, so that’s all I can do, and just see if that’s enough.” 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.