Hammond had himself a bit of a homecoming in Salt Lake City, and Texas Tech showed that its costly roster is worth every penny in a dominant Big 12 win.
After Clemson’s latest stunning loss, Dabo Swinney’s bold talk is ringing more hollow than ever
Five AHL Coaches Nearing Promotions To The NHL
Oftentimes, when an NHL coach is fired or removed from their role in any fashion, it’s natural to immediately look for candidates who are next in line to take that job. The obvious picks are outside hires who have NHL experience and who are one or two years removed from an NHL coaching position.
However, there is another path for a team’s brass to go down when it comes to narrowing down a coaching search, and that path leads them to the AHL. All the great coaches once coached in the American League at some point.
In fact, 21 of the 32 coaches in the NHL have coached in the AHL at some point in their careers. That includes Stanley Cup winners Paul Maurice, Jon Cooper, Joel Quenneville and more.
Here’s a list of AHL coaches who could earn a promotion to the NHL in the near future, in no particular order.
Manny Malhotra, Abbotsford Canucks
Manny Malhotra is coming off a Calder Cup championship in his first year as a professional head coach. He led the Abbotsford Canucks to their first championship since the franchise moved to Abbotsford in 2021.
It’s not uncommon for AHL coaches who win championships to get some time as an NHL bench boss. Sheldon Keefe is an example of that when he was with the Toronto Marlies and was promoted to the Toronto Maple Leafs just a couple of seasons later.
It may seem unlikely for Malhotra to get promoted to the Vancouver Canucks, considering Adam Foote was just hired. However, it doesn’t mean other teams around the league aren’t taking note of his accomplishments in the minors.
Geordie Kinnear, Charlotte Checkers
Geordie Kinnear has been a head coach in the AHL for a long time now. He’s been the bench boss for the Springfield Thunderbirds and the Charlotte Checkers for nine seasons. The 52-year-old is coming off his best season with the Checkers, leading them to the Calder Cup final.
Aside from last season’s fourth-place finish in the regular season and final appearance, Kinnear was the man behind a few other solid campaigns with Charlotte. Since the 2021-22 season, Kinnear’s team has put up a minimum winning percentage of .590.
Trent Vogelhuber, Cleveland Monsters
Trent Vogelhuber, the youngest head coach on this list, has had an impressive start to his short coaching career. After missing the playoffs in his first year, he made the AHL post-season in back-to-back seasons to get to this point.
Due to his leadership behind the bench, the Cleveland Monsters have been a promising team for the past two years, and look to continue that reputation for 2025-26. It may be a matter of time before an NHL team recognizes the young prodigy in Cleveland.
Karl Taylor, Milwaukee Admirals
Since becoming the head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals in 2018-19, Karl Taylor has been as consistent as any coach in the AHL. Aside from the 2019-20 season, when the AHL playoffs were cancelled due to COVID-19, Taylor’s Admirals have qualified for the playoffs every year. It’s a shame because in that cancelled season, Milwaukee had a 41-14-8 record, dominating the league.
Nashville Predators GM Barry Trotz might be keeping one eye on Taylor and his success in the minors, especially considering Andrew Brunette's tenure with the team so far. Furthermore, Taylor has taken the Admirals to the third round of the playoffs for three straight years. It’s only a matter of time before he can make a breakthrough in the post-season.
Ryan Mougenel, Providence Bruins
Ryan Mougenel could be on the cusp of a strong season with the Providence Bruins. Several great players could be suiting up for Providence this year, including Fraser Minten, Alex Steeves, Fabian Lysel, Michael DiPietro, Matej Blumel, Matthew Poitras, and more.
Mougenel should be in line to have one of his best seasons as the Bruins’ bench boss. Up to this point, he has been solid with three straight 40-plus win seasons and three consecutive playoff appearances.
Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker and AHL Free Agency signing tracker.
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What we learned as Giants blow another early lead in deflating loss vs. Dodgers
What we learned as Giants blow another early lead in deflating loss vs. Dodgers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
LOS ANGELES — There are few things better for a lineup than striking gold right away. You give your pitcher a nice early lead, you put the other starter in a hole, you get the other bullpen going right away, etc. etc. It’s what teams talk about every day when they have their hitters’ meetings. Be aggressive and get a big early lead. It’s the dream.
Unless you’re the San Francisco Giants.
For the third time in eight games, the lineup scored four runs in the first inning. The Giants have somehow lost all three games.
This time, it was Bryce Eldridge who came up big. The organization’s top prospect in a decade cleared the bases with a three-run double in the top of the first and picked up his first MLB hit. But the Giants let Tyler Glasnow off the hook in the 43-pitch inning, and by the time the offense got back on the board, they trailed.
Since moving into a tie for a Wild Card spot, the Giants have dropped seven of eight. They’re 1-4 on this road trip and will attempt to avoid a four-game sweep on Sunday behind rookie Trevor McDonald. They can’t be eliminated on the final day of an awful trip, but that could come as soon as Monday.
First Of Many
Eldridge scorched a couple of balls in Phoenix and hit a liner to right on Thursday night, but he still was looking for a batting average when he walked to the plate with the bases loaded in the first inning.
On a 2-1 count, he extended his arms and smoked a fastball the other way and off the base of the wall in left. It was the third ball that Eldridge has hit this week that would have been a homer in at least a half-dozen big league parks but the one he was playing in. He later struck out, grounded out to second and drew a walk.
Bryce Eldridge's first MLB hit 🙌 pic.twitter.com/wLprJqHUER
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 21, 2025
The Roller Coaster
It’s hard to know what to make of Kai-Wei Teng’s audition for a big league job. The right-hander entered the night with a 6.41 ERA, but he has been elite when it comes to hard-hit percentage, expected statistics and strikeout rate. Saturday’s start at Dodger Stadium was another head scratcher.
Teng allowed just one hit and struck out six. He was also so wild, particularly in the third inning, that manager Bob Melvin pulled him after 74 pitches. In the third, Teng struck out Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, walked Mookie Betts, and hit Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernandez. On his final pitch of the night, he got a popup from Tommy Edman, leaving the bases loaded.
Teng left his eighth appearance of the year with a 6.37 ERA but also a 3.82 FIP. In 29 2/3 innings, he has 39 strikeouts but also 17 walks and seven hit batters. There seems to be a good big leaguer in there somewhere if the Giants can just figure out why some of the misses are so big.
The Shohei Problem
About 21 months ago, the Giants hosted Ohtani at Oracle Park and agreed to his ask of a heavily-deferred $700 million contract. He instead chose the Dodgers, and he has spent the last two seasons absolutely demolishing the team that hoped to build a future around him.
Ohtani went deep in the sixth, giving the Dodgers a fourth homer and extending their lead. It was his sixth homer against the Giants this season and 10th in 25 rivalry games since signing with the Dodgers.
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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.
We’ve moved through Buffalo’s goalies, blueliners, and most of the top-four lines of forwards. And in this file, we’re examining the expectations for right forward Tyson Kozak. The 22-year-old only broke into the NHL this past season, so Sabres fans should be cautious in what they expect him to do in ‘25-26. But let’s get to our breakdown of what Kozak can be counted on to deliver this year:
Player Name: Tyson Kozak
Position: Center
Age: 22
2024-25 Key Statistics: 21 games, three goals, five points, 10:29 average time on ice
2025-26 Salary:$775,000
2025-26 Expectations: Kozak was a seventh-round pick (193rd overall) in 2021, so it’s a minor miracle and a major credit to him that he’s risen through the ranks and is likely to start the season on Buffalo’s NHL roster. He’s spent the majority of the past two seasons with the Sabres’ American League affiliate in Rochester, N.Y., averaging 42 games, six goals and 12 points per season. So this is not someone who is suddenly going to experience a points surge at the NHL level.
While Kozak will probably be in the press box as a healthy scratch, an injury, trade or underperforming player will open up a spot for Kozak to be a night-in, night-out player for Buffalo. And yes, there’s still a possibility he’s sent back to Rochester this year.
Certainly, Kozak’s modest salary this season – he’s actually taking a pay cut on a three-year contract – makes him easier for Buffalo’s management to keep around at the NHL level. But imagining he’s any more than a fourth-liner is imagining that many things will have to go wrong for the players above Kozak on the Sabres’ depth chart.
Kozak barely got 10 minutes a night from Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff last season, so it’s difficult to envision that number suddenly surges to even 14 or 15 minutes a night is a serious stretch. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, Kozak isn’t going to be a physical menace or a net-front presence for the Sabres. He’s got Father Time on his side right now, but that doesn’t mean he’lll be a needle-mover in any regard.
The Sabres have more than their share of fourth-line talents and young prospects, so the competition Kozak is facing is going to challenge him to either step up or step out of the way. He’s likely to get opportunities to prove himself a capable NHLer, but Kozak is on the clock at the same time. He needs to assert himself as being worthy of playing in hockey’s top league, or he’ll be an AHLer for many years to come.
Kraken's Berkly Catton Embracing The Battles Of Training Camp; Taking Advantage Of Veteran Linemates
Seattle Kraken center Berkly Catton has two options: make the NHL roster out of camp, or return to the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL.
If it were up to the 19-year-old, he wouldn't play a game in the WHL ever again.
But that's not how it works. Catton must impress the Kraken coaching staff throughout training camp and the pre-season, and then he'll have nine games to prove he deserves to stay in the NHL. So far, Catton is off to a good start.
"I’ve liked them. And I think Catton has looked good," said coach Lane Lambert when referring to Catton's line, which features Jared McCann and captain Jordan Eberle.
The adjustment to the NHL game is different, but Catton is staying true to his game and playing with a new level of intensity.
"I think it's a lot different," said Catton when adjusting to the NHL game. "I'm not going to go into a battle with Larsson and outmuscle him. If anything, I have to be quicker or try to get the puck before him, little things like that."
Catton also attributes his early success in training camp to his linemates. Saying their veteran presence, combined with their skill, has made the transition easier than he expected.
"Helps when I'm on a line with two really good players. They always make plays and stuff, and even communicate with me about where I need to be. It's been great playing with them, and they've shown me a lot in two days. It's pretty cool playing on a line with Jordan Eberle and McCann, so I'm just cherishing that. I think they are really smart hockey players, and I have an ability to make plays too, and in two days, I think we have good chemistry. It's been fun."
The first step for Catton is to impress in the upcoming pre-season games so he can earn his nine-game call-up. If he can do so in both, he could very well spend the 2025-26 season in the NHL.
Memphis upsets Arkansas after 18-point comeback, mocks Razorbacks with ‘SEC!’ chant
The Hockey Show: Gauging possibility of Kaprizov, McDavid, Crosby all playing for new teams
NHL training camps are off and running, and no podcast could be happier about it than The Hockey Show!
Not only is the new season basically here, but there are also plenty of interesting storylines to follow regarding several of the league’s top players and teams.
While discussing the biggest stories happening around the NHL, The Hockey Show hosts Roy Bellamy and David Dwork welcomed insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period on the show this week.
Among the topics they got into were Kirill Kaprizov’s contract situation in Minnesota, the future of Connor McDavid in Edmonton and where goaltender Carter Hart may end up now that he is allowed to sign with an NHL team.
They also discussed whether Sidney Crosby could be traded by Pittsburgh to a Stanley Cup contender at some point, and L.A. Kings legend Anze Kopitar announcing that this season will be his last in the league.
This week’s wins and fails included a durag appearance in a preseason game, a goalie scoring on himself during a prospect showcase and the Islanders players finally being able to grow out their facial hair.
You can check out the full episode and interview in the videos below:
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Prepare For Launch - Jan. 25 2016 - Vol. 69 Issue 10 - Tim Campbell
THE FIRST GLANCE AT THE 2015-16 salary cap accounting holds something of a double take near its bottom. Is that really the Winnipeg Jets racing the likes the Arizona and Nashville to the salary floor?
The answer is yes, temporarily, and mostly by design.
The Jets are on track to go into the off-season with the most available cap space of 30 teams, all of which may be needed to solve issues that grow more urgent with each passing game.
Winnipeg may not have the most prominent pending free agents come July 1 – hello, Steven Stamkos, Eric Staal, Anze Kopitar and David Backes – but its combined list of those in the final years of contracts is the stickiest of situations.
Captain Andrew Ladd and Dman Dustin Byfuglien head the list. Both are UFAs on July 1 if they can’t find an extension with Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.
And coming out of their entry-level deals are defenseman Jacob Trouba and centers Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry. Goalie Michael Hutchinson is also an RFA.
After their first playoff berth since the 2011 relocation (and their first as a franchise since 2007), the team opted to give roster spots to young players (Nikolaj Ehlers, Andrew Copp, even Alex Burmistrov) instead of bringing in older free agents, allowing Cheveldayoff to orchestrate this enviable amount of cap space. But does he have enough to satisfy everyone?
The answer appears to be no, unless he can realize some extraordinary hometown discounts. That’s not likely to happen or even be proposed.
The Jets reside in the NHL’s smallest market yet are solidly a middle-revenue team and have said repeatedly they will spend at the appropriate time. That time is upon them, but when it comes to the inevitable choices, they won’t be easy.
Fitting the puzzle together almost surely starts with Ladd and Byfuglien, two clear leaders in the room.
Ladd, who just turned 30, is coming out of a five-year, $22-million deal that was good value for the Jets. He was their leading scorer last season and has given the team nothing but 20-plus goal years plus leadership. Ladd is seeking a healthy raise and reportedly six years in likely his last big chance at a major contract score.
Byfuglien, who turns 31 in March, is also coming out of a five-year deal, his worth $26 million and paying him $6 million in this final season. That contract was also good value for the team, given the big man’s in-game impact, especially once he got past conditioning issues in earlier Winnipeg seasons. His ask is reportedly eight years and $55 million.
Five-and-a-half months after the negotiation window opened, however, no extensions had been agreed upon. Only a few dribs of information had emerged as Cheveldayoff has held fast to his policy of refraining from comment, whether on proposal, progress or pothole.
Neither veteran appears to be unaffordable, but the matter of longer terms does seem to be of issue, including some serious skepticism that a big commitment to Byfuglien through age 39 would be wise.
If agreements aren’t possible by the Feb. 29 trade deadline, expect Cheveldayoff to simply deal, since the Jets are in no position – given their consensus unattractiveness to free agents – to let either walk.
The Jets' approach seemed to be that a lot of effort can still go into the two months prior to the trade deadline.
Another element to the picture is some history.
As former GM of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, Cheveldayoff was a member of the Atlanta Thrashers family long enough to know how waiting too long resulted in a costly outcome for the franchise when it finally traded Ilya Kovalchuk in early 2010. He will be mindful of making the same error, especially since such mistakes have ramifications that ripple long into the future.
If all of that didn’t inject enough uncertainty into the Jets’ situation, then the Trouba situation will.
The 2012 first-rounder, who turns 22 in February, has reportedly put a big proposal on the table for the max eight years and more than $56 million. It appears to have been a non-starter for Winnipeg, due to the price or Trouba’s shaky start to the season, or both, and so the sides have reportedly decided to adjourn the matter to the off-season.
If no bridge deal is found for Trouba, his raise will be substantial, possibly enough to make either Ladd or Byfuglien impossible to fit.
The math is fuzzy at this stage because none of the deals was yet done and the league’s cap for 2016-17 is not concrete. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said at the December GM meetings that the new number is projected to “be somewhere between where it is now and up $3 million, in that range.”
Could Trouba be moved? The interest would be high, but that scenario seems less likely than Ladd or Byfuglien given Trouba’s age and upside.
Beyond the trio, whose starting-point proposals totaled more than $152 million in commitments, Scheifele and Lowry in particular are poster players for the Jets draft-and-develop scheme. They both have earned raises, in bridge deals or not. Their increases figure to be less jolting in terms of headlines, but given their ages (22), both are integral figures in the culture and blueprint that Cheveldayoff is trying to execute.
The outcomes for Cheveldayoff and his pending free agents are very difficult to predict. The only easy call is that you won’t find the Jets in the race to the salary floor come next fall.
BULL OR BEAR MARKET?
Of the top 10 impending UFAs based on their 2015-16 cap hits, we see three getting pay bumps this summer, while the rest take a shave or get the same