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It looks like Matthew Knies will be adding to the cut-resistant equipment he currently wears during hockey games. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward was wearing a hockey baselayer shirt from Warroad, which showed off an attached neck guard in an Instagram video shared by the company last week.

“It’s nice, I haven’t tried the neck guard one, this is the first time,” Knies said as he skated around in the shirt. “(I) don’t really feel it much, which is a good thing. It feels comfortable all around, and it's loose in the body, so it’s easy to wear”.

Warroad was co-developed by recently retired NHLer T.J. Oshie. Knies also explained why he appears to be making the change this year. “It’s nice to know that I’m wearing something that can prevent all that and keep me safe on the ice,” Knies said. “I owe it to my parents and my friends around me to be as safe as possible out there”.

There’s been more awareness around the need for neck protection in hockey since Adam Johnson was killed in a game in England after his neck was lacerated by Matt Petgrave in an on-ice collision. Following the incident, Maple Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit began wearing a neck guard. Last season, former Leafs forward Pontus Holmberg began wearing a neck guard after then-teammate Ryan Reaves’ skate hit him in the chest.

The growing emphasis on safety has even influenced official policy. This summer, the NHL and NHLPA announced a new four-year extension to their collective bargaining agreement. Beginning in the 2026–27 season, all new players in the NHL will be required to wear one. Players who were in the NHL before that season are not required to wear one.

Knies, who is entering his fourth season with the Maple Leafs, signed a new six-year contract extension worth an average of $7.75 million per season after scoring 29 goals and adding 29 assists during the 2024-25 NHL season.

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Cleveland Monsters forward Jordan Dumais has been invited to the 2025 NHLPA Rookie Showcase, which is hosted by the NHLPA and UPPER DECK.

Dumais played in 21 games for the Monsters and had 11 points last season. 

Per the NHLPA, 

The National Hockey League Players’ Association and Upper Deck will host the 15th annual NHLPA Rookie Showcase on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Virginia, with over 30 NHL® prospects and rookies scheduled to attend. This unique event provides Upper Deck – the official trading card partner of the NHLPA and the NHL – with an opportunity to capture photographs and videos of many of the game’s top young prospects and rookies in their official NHL team uniforms. The content collected will be used by Upper Deck to create the players’ first NHL and NHLPA licensed rookie trading cards, as well as additional promotional materials throughout the season and beyond.

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2025 NHLPA Rookie Showcase Scheduled Attendees:

Frederic Brunet (BOS), Zeev Buium (MIN), Berkly Catton (SEA), Trevor Connelly (VGK), Ben Danford (TOR), Sam Dickinson (SJ), Karsen Dorwart (PHI), Jordan Dumais (CBJ), Jack Finley (TB), Marc Gatcomb (NYI), Konsta Helenius (BUF), Quinn Hutson (EDM), Tij Iginla (UTA), Joakim Kemell (NSH), Ryan Leonard (WSH), Oliver Moore (CHI), Alexander Nikishin (CAR), Jani Nyman (SEA), Zayne Parekh (CGY), Gabe Perreault (NYR), Francesco Pinelli (LA), David Reinbacher (MTL), Axel Sandin-Pellikka (DET), Gracyn Sawchyn (FLA), Matthew Schaefer (NYI), Beckett Sennecke (ANA), Jimmy Snuggerud (STL), Cam Squires (NJ), Matthew Wood (NSH), Brayden Yager (WPG), Carter Yakemchuk (OTT)

The Blue Jackets have had a few prospects go to this event the last few years. In 2023, Denton Mateychuk and Stanislav Svozil attended, and in 2024 Gavin Brindley participated as well. 

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Welcome to The Hockey News - Vancouver Canucks site’s player preview series for the 2025–26 season. In these articles, we’ll preview the players who are expected to play for the Canucks in the 2025–26 season. Today, we’ll be looking at Vancouver and Abbotsford Canucks centre Nils Åman. 

Åman’s 2024–25 Season 

Åman has consistently been a solid depth player for the Canucks, though he has yet to play in a full NHL season. He played for both Vancouver and Abbotsford this season, scoring one goal and five assists in 19 NHL games. In the AHL, he posted seven goals and 23 assists in 36 games. Despite being on the Canucks at the start of April, Åman’s season was cut short after he took a scary fall into the boards during practice. He was also unable to join Abbotsford for their 2025 Calder Cup Playoff run. 

Åman’s 2024–25 Letter Grade

For his efforts during the 2024–25 season, The Hockey News - Canucks site gave Åman a C. While he was solid in his role as a fourth-line forward, he didn’t particularly stick out — which can be both a good and bad thing. Even so, playing this type of game has provided him with success in the past, as he has played in at least 15 NHL games since joining the Canucks in the 2022–23 season.

Åman’s 2025–26 Predictions 

As a center who doubles as a winger on occasion, Åman’s situation will be interesting come training camp as Vancouver has yet to determine who will fill the fourth spot down the middle of their lineup left by Pius Suter’s departure. Åman has been a consistent call-up for the Canucks when injuries come knocking, and has even stuck in the lineup over other Abbotsford players at times. However, there are many other players who also look primed to take a spot on the Canucks, particularly in that fourth-line center role. 

In the event that Åman does make the main roster out of training camp, it’s likely that he’ll continue his usual style of play — simple and solid with a little bit of offence on occasion. If he ends up back in Abbotsford at the start, he’ll be one of the AHL Canucks’ top point-getters. 

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Mathieu Darche’s first offseason as general manager of the New York Islanders has been action-packed, led by a first overall selection, three total first-round selections, a blockbuster Noah Dobson trade, and more.

His biggest addition outside the draft was Jonathan Drouin, a 30-year-old free agent winger he inked to a two-year deal worth $8 million ($4 million AAV).

Drouin, who spent the past two seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, had 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 43 games.

Jonathan Drouin On Why He Signed With IslandersOn Thursday night, New York Islanders forward Jonathan Drouin spoke on NHL Tonight about why he signed a two-year deal worth $4 million with Long Island.

When speaking about his additions, Darche made clear why Drouin was brought in:

“He really fits what we need right now. We need a guy who can move the puck on the power play, a guy that can play top six with guys like Bo Horvat, who is a guy who likes to shoot. [Jonathan] is a great passer, so he fits our need right now and will help us right away.”

At 5v5, Drouin played almost exclusively alongside Nathan Mackinnon, a former teammate on his junior team, the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL.

Playing alongside a superstar like Mackinnon will make anyone’s life easier, and Drouin was no exception. 

In nearly 500 minutes together in 2024-25, Drouin and Mackinnon outscored opponents 46-2, a +25 goal differential. In Drouin’s 284 minutes without Mackinnon, the Avalanche outscored opponents 22-18, a +4 goal differential. 

One area where the duo especially thrived was on the power play.

While the Avalanche struggled overall on the power play – an issue that led to the departure of assistant coach Ray Bennett, who oversaw the unit and later joined Patrick Roy’s staff this offseason – Drouin and MacKinnon still thrived.

Bennett had been with Colorado for seven seasons, overseeing the power play since the 2017-18 season while winning the 2022 Stanley Cup.

In 126 minutes together, the duo scored 24 goals, a rate of 11.39 goals per 60 minutes. For comparison, the Winnipeg Jets scored the most goals per 60 minutes as a team on the power play with 11.06. The Avalanche, without Drouin and Mackinnon, scored just 4.78, and the Islanders scored 4.1. 

Individually, Drouin scored 12 power-play points (three goals, nine assists), which would have tied the Islanders' leader, Dobson, while outpacing any Islander forward.

Of course, Drouin played around half of Colorado’s games, and Dobson is now a Montreal Canadien.

Notably, Drouin played 95.8% of his power play time alongside Mackinnon, so there is really no way to tell how he would have performed without the established superstar, but historically, he has been a dominant power play force. 

2024-25 was the fifth time Drouin recorded double-digit power-play points in a season, previously posting a career-high 26 power-play points in 2016-17 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

At all strengths, Drouin’s role was as an offensive forward, so the defensive metrics were not great, but he has all the tools to make a positive defensive impact.

He ranked in the 87th percentile in top skating speed in 2024-25 (23.07), according to NHL Edge, and has historically been labelled an agile skater with elite vision.

Final Verdict: N/A

Drouin wasn’t even an Islander last season, so it would be a bit weird to give him a grade.

However, he was effective in his role, so had he not missed 39 games, his outlook would have been even more promising.

Looking ahead, getting a healthy Drouin in 2025-26 will be vital for the Islanders' playoff aspirations.

In 2023-24, Drouin played 79 games, but before that, he hadn’t played in over 80% of his team’s games since 2018-19, when he suited up in 81.

A Drouin and Horvat duo could be a great fit, as Drouin’s playmaking, vision, speed, and creativity should pair well with Horvat’s shot and IQ.

The third line member is to be determined, but Kyle Palmieri could be a great fit.

He excels at driving the net, is a consistent goal scorer, and a great skater, rounding out a line with a little bit of everything while solidifying an established trio within the Islanders' top six.

Given his power play success, one would assume Drouin will join the top unit, potentially as the bumper or set-up man by the right faceoff dot.

Even if his production declines, his prior success will go a long way in leading the Islanders' power play closer to league average.

All things considered, Drouin’s 2025-26 outlook is a bit of a question mark, but if he stays healthy, he will likely land in the 10-15 goal, 40-55 point range, with 10-14 of those points coming on the power play. 

CoreNHL’s model projects Drouin to provide an estimated $3.4 million of value in 2025-26.

Michael Ostrower wrote this story. 

American winger Zach Sanford, 30, has signed a one-year contract with HC Lugano, the National League club announced on Monday.

After a nine-year pro career in North America, this is Sanford’s first contract to play in Europe.

“Zach Sanford brings a lot of experience to our team – he’s a very versatile forward that can play on the wing and at center,” said Lugano GM Janick Steinmann. “He’s also used to playing different roles on the power play and is strong on the penalty kill. He will bring our team lots of stability and quality in all aspects of the game. The coaches will have lots of different options down the line up. I’m very happy that Zach decided to join our club and help our team this season.”

A native of Salem, Mass., Sanford was a second-round pick, 61st overall, of the Washington Capitals in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. After a year in the USHL and then two years at Boston College, he signed with Washington in 2016.

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Between 2016 and 2024, Sanford played 334 NHL regular-season games for the Capitals, St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks, recording 104 points and 144 penalty minutes. He also had eight points in 25 playoff games – all for St. Louis – and was a member of the Blues’ 2019 Stanley Cup championship team.

He spent the entire 2024-25 season in the AHL for the Rockford IceHogs, where he tallied 51 points in 77 regular-season and playoff games.

Sanford joins a Lugano team that is trying to rebuild its roster after missing the playoffs last season. The team has also added former NHLers Rasmus Kupari, Connor Carrick and Brendan Perlinithis off-season.

Former First-Rounder Rasmus Kupari Signs In Switzerland Finnish forward Rasmus Kupari, 25, has signed a two-year contract with HC Lugano, the National League club announced on Tuesday.