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In an announcement that former Golden Knight Max Pacioretty was joining the University of Michigan ice hockey program as special assistant to the head coach, it also signaled the end to a 17-year career in the NHL.

"After 17 seasons in the NHL, I'm excited to begin this next chapter with Michigan Hockey," Pacioretty said in a press release on the Michigan athletics website. "I'm so thankful for the teammates, coaches and fans who have been a part of my journey."

After 17 seasons, Max Pacioretty is hanging up the skates.

Best of luck in retirement! pic.twitter.com/vv5pFfutKZ

— NHL (@NHL) September 30, 2025

The 36-year-old, who played at Michigan as a freshman before turning pro, went on to say that while hockey has given so much to him, he's looking forward to an opportunity to develop the next generation of players.

"Michigan has a tradition of producing elite talent, and I can't wait to share what I've learned to help these guys grow on and off the ice," said Pacioretty, who played in Vegas for four seasons. "Just as important, this next step allows me to be closer to my family and spend more time with my kids.

"I'm going to be coaching my four boys in youth hockey, and that's something I'll really cherish as a dad."

Pacioretty played in 939 games during his career, including 224 with the Golden Knights.

After playing the first 10 years of his career in Montreal, Pacioretty arrived in Vegas before the franchise's second year in the league (2018-19). He was named to an All-Star in 2020.

In four seasons, Pacioretty registered 194 points (97 goals, 97 assists). In 36 playoff games for the Golden Knights, he had 30 points (15 goals, 15 assists).

Pacioretty played the 2022-23 season with the Carolina Hurricanes and the 2023-24 season with the Washington Capitals. He played his final season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, last year.

Through their long, dark rebuilding days, the Ottawa Senators cycled through a lot of players, often trying to fill holes with journeyman options. Some of those names hit the waiver wire this week, available to anyone, and seeing their names now will, in some of the cases, remind Sens fans of how far their team has come.

Eight former Ottawa Senators were placed on waivers in the last few days. They are forwards Roby Jarventie (Edmonton Oilers), Matthew Highmore (NY Islanders), Clarke Bishop (Calgary Flames), Scott Sabourin (Tampa Bay Lightning), Jake Lucchini (Nashville Predators) and Shane Bowers (San Jose Sharks), along with defenseman Josh Brown (Edmonton), and goalie Marcus Hogberg (Islanders).

Jarventie, Sabourin, and Brown cleared on Sunday, and Lucchini on Monday. Sabourin was recalled by Tampa on Tuesday. The others were placed on waivers on Tuesday.

Three of the names in the group of eight were once seen as potentially an important part of the Senators' future.

Roby Jarventie (33rd overall, 2022 NHL Draft)

It's hard to complain much about the Sens' lucrative 2020 Draft. The Sens had just scooped up Tim Stutzle (3rd), Jake Sanderson (5th), and Ridly Greig (28). But five picks after Greig, they whiffed on Jarventie. They did regroup and get Tyler Kleven (44) and Leevi Merilainen (71) so they get nothing but accolades for that draft. But Sens fans still can't get over how they passed on Stutzle's buddy, J.J. Peterka (picture me using a whiny voice here), who went with the pick right after Jarventie.

Shane Bowers (38th overall, 2017 NHL Draft)

Bowers never actually played for the Sens, but he was their first-round pick in 2017. He was also a 2017-18 Boston University linemate of their 2018 first-round pick, Brady Tkachuk. The Senators were wise to move Bowers while his stock was fairly high. Five months after they drafted him, they packaged him up and sent him to Colorado in the deal for Matt Duchene.

Marcus Hogberg (78th overall, 2013 NHL Draft)

In 2019-20, Craig Anderson's final season with the Senators, his main backup was Marcus Hogberg, prompting some very brief 'goalie of the future' discussions. But it became clear pretty quickly that he wasn't the heir apparent. So the Sens went out and acquired (deep breath) the injury-prone Matt Murray. Filip Gustavsson, also acquired from Pittsburgh several years earlier, arrived in Ottawa that season to overtake Hogberg as well, so it wasn't long before Hogberg went back to Europe. Hogberg returned to North America last season and got a chance after the Islanders ran into injury trouble. He won just 2 of 11 games in his return. 

Life moves pretty fast in the NHL. One day you're a top prospect, the next you're on waivers. And with hundreds of new young prospects jumping onto the league's radar every year, no matter how good you once were, teams don't have time to wait around for you to figure things out.

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For the last couple of years, the Montreal Canadiens had a little getaway to Mont Tremblant before the start of the season. This year, the getaway will take place in Quebec City, as the Habs are playing there on Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators.

It remains a preseason game, however, and unsurprisingly, the Canadiens will not be using their complete lineup. Captain Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky will not be playing, just like Kaiden Guhle and Noah Dobson. Given the fact that both blueliners have been dealing with groin issues, their absence is not a shock.

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At the morning skate, the only line that remained the same as it was yesterday was the one formed by Ivan Demidov, Alex Newhook, and Oliver Kapanen. Zack Bolduc, who was put on the second line with Kirby Dach and Patrik Laine on Monday, will be skating with the center and Brendan Gallagher against the Sens. Meanwhile, Florian Xhekaj will be taking Gallagher’s spot alongside Jake Evans and Josh Anderson. In contrast, the fourth line will be made up by Joe Veleno, Owen Beck, and Patrik Laine.

This is an interesting mix; it gets a final audition for the younger Xhekaj, Veleno, and Owen Beck, but it also sends a message to Laine. If he wants a role in the top six, he’s going to have to earn it. He’s not with Bolduc and Dach tonight, and while it’s still early, this is clearly a way for Martin St-Louis to show the big Finn that he has some options this year and that he won’t be as patient as he was last season. This is Laine’s second year with the Canadiens, and while he didn’t play for the whole season during the 2024-25 campaign, he played enough to know what’s expected of him and what he needs to do at both ends of the ice.

Asked about losing an opportunity to see if he could create chemistry between Dach and Laine on Tuesday night, the bench boss replied:

Not really, it’s not like the players don’t know each other already. We’re trying to make up lines and see what they’ll give us so that we can keep evaluating.

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On the blueline, St-Louis decided to do some mix and match as well. For the first time since the start of camp, Jayden Struble will be skating with Alexandre Carrier, who is already secured in the fifth defenseman’s spot. As for Arber Xhekaj, he will be skating alongside Lane Hutson, while Mike Matheson will be paired with Adam Engstrom.

Speaking about his lines, the coach says that the team now has a good idea who their first line is, but for the rest, they’ll see as they go. It’s not the first time the coach has said that, and it gives the impression that he wants to temper player expectations when it comes to time on ice. With more options come more possibilities to upset some players if they are not playing the role they would like to play. It’s a reality St-Louis will have to deal with this year, both when it comes to its even-strength lines and to the power play.

In net, St-Louis confirmed that Jakub Dobes will be on duty for the whole game, which is a hint that he’s done well enough to deserve to be Samuel Montembeault’s backup this season, just like he was to finish the last campaign. This is not good news for Kaapo Kahkonen, however, and he’ll more than likely be put on waivers soon to be reassigned to the Laval Rocket.

The coach plans to have a more complete team on Saturday when the two teams meet again, this time at the Bell Center. While St-Louis hasn’t said it yet, Samuel Montembeault will likely be on duty for that game.

The Canadiens will have a day off on Wednesday in Quebec, and they’ll then hold a couple of public training sessions on Thursday and Friday. They’ll be back in Brossard for the morning skate on Saturday morning.

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After the latest round of training camp roster cuts, the Philadelphia Flyers are rapidly approaching their final roster ahead of opening night to start the 2025-26 season.

On Tuesday, the Flyers said farewell to a number of their top prospects, including some who were in a realistic battle for an NHL roster spot.

Chief among those prospects is winger Alex Bump, whose lowlight gaffe and otherwise ineffective performance against the Boston Bruins on Saturday helped doom him to an AHL start with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Forward Anthony Richard, a 2024 preseason standout, was also placed on waivers Tuesday with the intention of being assigned to the AHL.

Among the other cuts were Denver Barkey, Alexis Gendron, Devin Kaplan, Emil Andrae, Helge Grans, Hunter McDonald, Ty Murchison, and goalies Aleksei Kolosov and Carson Bjarnason.

Of the players in that group, Andrae stands out as the real surprise.

Grans, having been placed on waivers on Monday and clearing waivers Tuesday, played himself out of consideration.

Injured Flyers Prospect Missing Out on Big OpportunityIn what is shaping up to be a race to the bottom in the battle for a roster spot on defense, injured Philadelphia Flyers prospect Oliver Bonk is, unfortunately, missing out on a big opportunity.

Dennis Gilbert, Noah Juulsen, Adam Ginning, and Egor Zamula are all still in the mix for the Flyers, but Ginning is the only one who has been even remotely impressive or noticeable in a good way this preseason.

Based solely on merit, Andrae should have been given a roster spot, or at least a chance to earn one until the very end, but it would seem that head coach Rick Tocchet and the Flyers were gravely concerned about his 5-foot-9 size.

Andrae is waivers-exempt, so there's no real risk here, but it's hard to feel that the Flyers are icing their best possible lineup at this time.

With Bump and Barkey officially out of the mix, it would seem that Nikita Grebenkin and Rodrigo Abols have unblocked paths to NHL roster spots out of camp, and both players fully earned it if so.

According to PuckPedia, the New York Rangers have placed forward Brendan Brisson and defenseman Connor Mackey on waivers. 

The Rangers acquired Brisson this past season in the deal that sent forward Reilly Smith back to the Vegas Golden Knights. Following the trade, Brisson appeared in 16 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack in 2024-25, where he posted two goals, four assists, six points, and 12 penalty minutes. 

Brisson was selected by the Golden Knights with the 29th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. In 24 career NHL games, he has recorded two goals, six assists, eight points, and a plus-2 rating. 

Mackey, on the other hand, recorded six goals, 14 assists, 24 points, and 102 penalty minutes in 66 games last season with Hartford. He also played in two NHL games with the Rangers during the 2024-25 season, recording zero points, five penalty minutes, and an even plus/minus rating.

In 42 career NHL games over five seasons split between the Calgary Flames, Arizona Coyotes, and Rangers, Mackey has recorded four goals, seven assists, 11 points, and 80 penalty minutes. 

The Philadelphia Flyers can consider themselves somewhat lucky that prospect defenseman Helge Grans went unclaimed on waivers Tuesday, but where do the two sides go from here?

Grans, 23, is still under contract through next season after inking a two-year, $1.58 million contract extension this offseason.

At the same time, though, he was considered a shoo-in for the Flyers' roster this year in the wake of Rasmus Ristolainen's injury, only to get cut before players like Noah Juulsen, Adam Ginning, Emil Andrae, Dennis Gilbert, and Egor Zamula.

That's particularly prudent, as Ginning had an awful training camp last year and played in only one NHL game, whereas Grans played in his first six NHL games for the Flyers.

Now, the tables have turned, with Ginning putting himself in the driver's seat for a roster spot and Grans enduring the disastrous training camp. Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet prefers to have a lefty and a righty on each defense pair, which underscores how bad Grans was to get to this point.

The 6-foot-3 Swede was such an attractive prospect heading into his draft year due to his rare combination of size and skating ability, but despite that size and skating ability, Grans was uncharacteristically and regularly beaten to the net with speed in the preseason.

Now that he can start the season in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Grans will have an opportunity to impress Flyers brass and begin auditioning for another opportunity as soon as possible.

Injured Flyers Prospect Missing Out on Big OpportunityIn what is shaping up to be a race to the bottom in the battle for a roster spot on defense, injured Philadelphia Flyers prospect Oliver Bonk is, unfortunately, missing out on a big opportunity.

Clearly, the moment was too big for Grans after an offseason full of hype and promise, but the opportunity isn't completely gone.

In addition to being under contract for two seasons, the Flyers just simply can't count on Ristolainen surviving the rigors of a long and arduous regular season any longer.

On top of that, the battle on defense for a roster spot has been so unflattering so far that anyone who makes the team can falter and open a place in the lineup in the blink of an eye.

The Flyers were probably wise to cut Grans from their roster before other teams had the opportunity to make their final cuts and the league-wide waivers carousel begins around the NHL.

The 23-year-old would have been far more likely to get claimed at the end of the preseason, though it's also possible that teams saw Grans's performance in the preseason and decided that if he can't make the lowly Flyers, he won't be able to help them, either.

Regardless, the Flyers have no reason to rush the process along. For Grans, it's now time to roll with the punches, learn from this experience, and return to the Flyers in the future as a better player.