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The Stanley Cup is heading back north of the border.

Over the past few weeks, the Cup has been across North America several times.

It started the Stanley Cup Final on the ice in Edmonton before finishing the series in Sunrise, in the hands of the Florida Panthers for the second year in a row.

Following a week of hardcore partying and celebrating with the Panthers, and a quick stop at the repair shop for some minor dings, the Cup headed to Los Angeles for the NHL Draft.

Now it’s heading back up north, but not to its home at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Nope, the Cup will now spend some time in Montreal.

According to Phil Pritchard, the Keeper of the Cup, the historic trophy was brought to the HHOF’s official silversmith.

The #StanleyCup is enroute to Montreal to the Silversmith to get the names of the 2025 @FlaPanthers engraved on it. Stay tuned. @HockeyHallFame@NHLpic.twitter.com/sfjnscoA7p

— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) June 29, 2025

That’s where the names of the 2025 Florida Panthers will be engraved onto the Stanley Cup.

In order to be eligible to have your name on the Cup, a player must appear in at least 41 regular season games or one game during the Stanley Cup Final.

Teams can petition for players to be added who do not fall under that criteria.

Last year, Florida successfully petitioned to have Jonah Gadjovich and Josh Mahura included with the names engraved onto the Cup.

A player who comes to mind who the Panthers may petition for this year is Nico Sturm.

Florida picked him up at the Trade Deadline, but he only played a combined 23 regular season and playoff games, and none after the Eastern Conference Final, though when in the lineup, Sturm was often utilized regularly both at even strength and on the penalty kill.

Interestingly, this is only the third year that the engraving process has taken place before the Cup begins its summer tour with the winning team.

It’s an excellent new tradition that allows the new winners to take their time with the Stanley Cup after it already bears their name.

Just like last summer, it should be fun to see how and where the Panthers celebrate with the Cup over the coming weeks and months.

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Photo caption: Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; The Florida Panthers look at the Stanley Cup after winning game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

Just days before the start of the free agency period, the Nashville Predators are already making moves. 

Late Sunday night, it was announced that the Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague had been traded to the Predators and signed a four-year contract extension. 

It is a $22 million contract, with an annual hit of $5.5 million. 

Nashville sent defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and center Colton Sissons to Vegas. 

This past season, Hague played in 68 games with the Golden Knights, scoring 12 points and logging 40 penalty minutes. He primarily played on Vegas' third defensive pairing with Zach Whitecloud. 

Hague also won the Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights, with fellow Predator Jonathan Marchessault, in 2023. During that run, Hague had six points in 22 games and 37 penalty minutes. 

After acquiring Hague, the Predators have about $13.5 million left in cap space, with free agency opening up on Tuesday. 

With a 6-foot-6-inch, 245-pound build, Hague fits the identity that Nashville holds for bigger, physical players. Hague's offensive production has been limited during his time in Vegas, but he has provided them with more size on the blue line. 

Early on, it's projected that Hague will skate with the Predators' third defensive pairing with Andreas Englund. 

Lauzon had one points in 28 games and 37 penalty minutes last season. He was in the final year of a four year, $8.million contract. 

Sissons had 21 points in 72 games and a plus/minus of -12. Nashville may be shopping for more center depth in free agency. He was in the final year of a seven-year, $20 million contract. 

Nashville will begin its development camp on Monday and it'll run through July 5. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins should look to improve their forward depth this off-season. When looking at their roster, it is fair to say that they could use a little bit of help in their bottom six. 

Due to this, one player who the Penguins should consider pursuing this summer is Boston Bruins pending free agent Jakub Lauko. 

The Boston Herald's Steve Conroy reported that Lauko's agent, JP Barry, confirmed to him that the Bruins won't be sending Lauko a qualifying offer and that he will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. With Lauko being a solid and young bottom-six winger, he could be a decent player for the Penguins to bring in for their fourth line or as an extra forward.

JP Barry, Jakub Lauko’s agent, tells me Lauko will be a UFA, Bruins apparently not tendering him a qualifying offer

— steve conroy (@conroyherald) June 29, 2025

In 56 games this season split between the Minnesota Wild and Bruins, Lauko recorded five goals, 11 points, and 119 hits. Furthermore, in 2023-24 with the Bruins, he had a career-high 176 hits. Thus, if the Penguins signed Lauko, he would undoubtedly give the Penguins much more grit in their bottom six. Furthermore, due to this speed and defensive play, Lauko would also be a potential option for the Penguins' penalty kill if signed. 

Overall, with the Penguins needing more youth, bringing in a player like Lauko on a cheap one-year contract could be worthwhile. He is also still young enough where he could hit a higher level offensively, so he would have the potential be a nice pickup for a Penguins team in the middle of a retool. 

NHL Rumors: Penguins Free-Agent Target Expected To Hit MarketOne of the Pittsburgh Penguins' top goals of this off-season should be to strengthen the left side of their defense. It is a major weakness on their roster right now, and they should be considering several different options to help address that. 

Photo Credit: © Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

The Boston Bruins agreed to terms with left winger Morgan Geekie on a six-year contract extension, the team announced on Sunday.

Geekie, 26, is set to earn an average annual value of $5.5 million through the 2030-31 season. He was a pending RFA with arbitration rights, but the Bruins got their second-top scorer this past season under contract for the long term.

After finishing the regular season with a six-game goal streak and 11-game points streak, including a five-point night on April 5, Geekie had a career-high 33 goals and 57 points. Only frequent linemate David Pastrnak had more than him in both categories on the Bruins, with 43 goals and 106 points.

That said, Geekie's goal-scoring nearly doubled his previous career high of 17, set in 2023-24 in his first season with the Bruins. Before that, he played for the Seattle Kraken and Carolina Hurricanes.

His shooting percentage skyrocketed from 13.1 percent in 2023-24 to 22 percent this past season. That was the second-highest shooting percentage in the NHL among players who scored at least 30 goals, beating Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy winner Leon Draisaitl (21.7 shooting percentage for 52 goals) but trailing Tampa Bay Lightning pivot Brayden Point (22.2 percent for 42 goals).

The 6-foot-3, 208-pound Manitoban had one of the consistently harder shots in the league as well in 2024-25. His average shot speed of 63.34 miles per hour ranked in the 91st percentile, and he had 64 shots of at least 80 mph, including 10 of at least 90 mph, according to NHL Edge data. The season prior, only 35 of his shots were at least 80 mph.

Geekie played most of the season on a line with Pavel Zacha and Pastrnak, according to moneypuck.com. The season before, he didn't play nearly as much with those two, spending the most minutes with James van Riemsdyk and Trent Frederic while averaging 15:25 of ice time. This past campaign was a career-high 16:55 average. 

Considering Pastrnak is also signed through 2030-31 and Zacha is signed for the next two seasons, the trio could potentially stay together for the long term if that's what new bench boss Marco Sturm and his coaching staff want. The line could help lead the squad offensively through a retooling phase after trading Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle and more near the NHL trade deadline and falling to second-last place in the Eastern Conference.

The Bruins now have about $16.4 million in projected cap space, according to PuckPedia. Cole Koepke, Parker Wotherspoon and Henri Jokiharju becomes UFAs on July 1 if they don't re-sign by then, and John Beecher and Jakub Lauko were pending RFAs. That said, the Bruins are not expected to give Lauko a qualifying offer, which would make him a UFA, according to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. 

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The Chicago Blackhawks and the rest of the National Hockey League have the 2025 draft behind them. Now, it's about taking the selected draft class and developing them to their full potential. 

It all starts on Monday with Development Camp. For the third straight year, this will be an off-ice program. The Blackhawks released the roster for this year’s edition: 

Forwards

Nathan Behm

Sacha Boisvert

Jiri Felcman

Anton Frondell

Parker Holmes

Nick Lardis

Martin Misiak

John Mustard

Vaclav Nestrasil

Jack Pridham

AJ Spellacy

Julius Sumpf

Joel Svensson

Riku Tohila

Marek Vanacker

Mason West

Defensemen

Ashton Cumby

Ty Henry

Ryan Mast

Janne Peltonen

Goaltenders 

Adam Gajan

Seven of the eight selections made by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2025 NHL Draft are attending. That includes all three first-round picks. 

From Monday to Thursday, the prospects will participate in off-ice workouts and meet with the Media.

Rockford IceHogs head coach Jared Nightingale, Assistant General Manager of Player Development Mark Eaton, and GM Kyle Davidson will also speak throughout the week. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

The Vegas Golden Knights’ 2025 Development Camp, will be in full swing from Monday, June 30, through Thursday, July 3. All on-ice sessions will take place at City National Arena on Rink A and are open to the public. 

Development Camp presented by Martin-Harris Construction gets started tomorrow! Read below for our full schedule 👇https://t.co/6mx3gEIzB1

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 29, 2025

The Knights will feature 26 players taking the ice, including four of the most recent additions to the team from the 2025 NHL Draft: Jakob Ihs-Wozniak, Mateo Nobert, Alex Weiermair, and Gustav Sjoqvist.

One notable name appearing in the rink is forward Trevor Connelly, the Golden Knights’ most recent first-round draft pick (19th overall) from 2024. Since being drafted he played his 2024-25 season with AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. Connelly appeared in six games, recording one goal and three assists. 

This year’s camp structure is taking a more focused approach.

“A little more time with fewer people,” Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “I think that would be the long and short of it. I think we're going to have everybody at the dev. camp that we want to see.”

The Development Camp schedule is as follows:

Monday, June 30

Practice, 1:15 p.m. PT

Tuesday, July 1

Practice, 10 a.m. PT

Wednesday, July 2

Practice, 3:15 p.m. PT

All Development Camp participants will once again team up with Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, introducing them to the Las Vegas community. They will prepare and serve meals for more than 600 men, women, and children in need throughout Southern Nevada. Note that Wednesday’s event is closed to fans. 

PHOTO COURTESY: Star Building Systems / City National Arena.