Colin Gallant Articles - Page 15

Patrik Laine was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Montreal Canadiens a little over a week ago, but that might not have been the ideal landing spot for Jackets general manager Don Waddell. The new executive made it clear throughout the offseason that trying to trade Laine’s hefty $8.7 million AAV was no […]

The New Jersey Devils have made some excellent moves this summer as the franchise looks to improve on a disappointing 2023-24 campaign — but there’s still one more piece of business to get done. Dawson Mercer, who was selected No. 18 overall in the 2020 NHL Draft and projects to be a key piece of […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning are going to look a whole lot different without Mikhail Sergachev and Steven Stamkos this season, but that might not be such a bad thing, according to re-acquired defenseman Ryan McDonagh. “I’ve heard it from a handful of guys, ‘We haven’t gotten out of the first round two years in a […]

After two seasons forming the best tandem in the National Hockey League along with Linus Ullmark, Jeremy Swayman is now the undisputed No. 1 goaltender for the Boston Bruins — but the restricted free agent remains without a new contract. Despite that, head coach Jim Montgomery is confident that the team’s last piece of important […]

The Minnesota Wild are one season away from really being able to improve a roster that missed the playoffs for the first time in five campaigns in 2024. General manager Bill Guerin and the front office are patiently waiting for the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter — which will cost them just over […]

The Utah Hockey Club is experiencing a youth revolution that new owner Ryan Smith is hoping will bring playoff hockey to Salt Lake City in Year 1 of professional hockey in the state. Although it’s been four years since the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes competed in the postseason, the roster was much better in last year’s […]

The Nashville Predators are loaded with effective veterans. Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg turned in true superstar performances last season, while Gustav Nyquist and Ryan O’Reilly — who are both far on the wrong side of 30 — helped to form one of the league’s best lines along with Forsberg. Juuse Saros was a brick […]

The Vegas Golden Knights followed up their maiden Stanley Cup championship in 2023 with a disappointing seven-game loss at the hands of the Dallas Stars in Round 1 of the 2024 postseason. And the franchise watched a couple of heart and soul players walk afterwards in free agency, led by former Conn Smythe winner and […]

After nearly three decades of hockey in the state of Arizona, it looks like the NHL may have left the Coyotes behind for good. While it’s impossible to rule out an eventual return, it’s looking like Gary Bettman and the league are ready to put the saga of the last few years firmly in the […]

The Edmonton Oilers’ blue line looks a whole lot different than it did a week ago. After Philip Broberg was shockingly offer sheeted by the St. Louis Blues — a contract the front office didn’t match — Cody Ceci was shipped to the San Jose Sharks shortly after. And with that, two players who were […]

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been unusually absent from each of the last two Stanley Cup Playoffs — the first time that’s happened in Sidney Crosby’s career — and the roster is getting older and older every season. But general manager Kyle Dubas still believes that this squad can compete for a Stanley Cup before No. […]

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog hasn’t played a single game of professional hockey since Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. And although that contest was monumental for the franchise, a 2-1 win earning the club its first title since 2001, nobody thought that the Swedish star would still […]

The Ottawa Senators came within one goal of upsetting Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins and advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, losing in a heartbreaking double overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final. Fast forward seven seasons, and the Sens haven’t come anywhere close to reaching the postseason since. In six campaigns […]

After once again coming up short in their quest for a first Stanley Cup championship since 2006, the Carolina Hurricanes suffered a mass exodus this offseason. The departure of Jake Guentzel was especially painful, but the club will also have to reckon with the absences of Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei —who formed maybe the […]

The Ottawa Senators have failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the last seven seasons, but with a bona fide No. 1 goaltender in Linus Ullmark now in the fold, the goal for the franchise is to break the long drought in 2024-25. And Ullmark, who the Boston Bruins traded to […]

Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg are officially St. Louis Blues. Although the Edmonton Oilers made a couple of moves to potentially be able to match the offers sheets that Blues GM Doug Armstrong tendered to the two young players, that’s not what happened on Tuesday morning. Instead, both Holloway and Broberg, who were impactful players […]

The San Jose Sharks made a couple of nice moves this summer in the quest to come out of the Western Conference basement in 2024-25. The obvious one was drafting Macklin Celebrini first overall back in June; he will quickly become the face of this franchise as it eventually comes out of the rebuild. He’ll […]

The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to reckon with back-to-back missed postseasons — the first time that’s happened in Sidney Crosby’s career — and the captain is still without a new contract after his 12-year pact expires next summer. The Pens have one of the oldest rosters in the National Hockey League, and there are a few […]

The Detroit Red Wings were oh-so-close to breaking their long playoff drought in April, needing just one more point to vault past the Washington Capitals and secure the final wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference. Instead, it’s now been eight campaigns without postseason hockey in Motown. The Wings will undoubtedly be knocking on the door […]

With Juuse Saros locked up on a massive eight-year deal that will keep the star goaltender with the Nashville Predators until at least 2033, it makes sense that former first-round pick Yaroslav Askarov’s days in Tennessee could be numbered. And it looks like a decision will be coming on the Russian netminder’s future sooner rather […]

The Chicago Blackhawks were one of the worst teams in the National Hockey League in 2023-24; not even Connor Bedard could help this roster escape the basement of the Central Division. Although the reigning Calder Trophy winner was electric, scoring 61 points in his first 68 games as a professional, it was a miserable campaign […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning have followed up back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances — and two championships — with consecutive first-round exits. Gone are face of the franchise Steven Stamkos and top-pairing defensemen Mikhail Sergachev as general manager Julien BriseBois looks to create a team that can compete for a couple more National Hockey League rings. […]

The Utah Hockey Club is ready to rumble as the first season of professional hockey in Salt Lake City approaches. After moving from Arizona earlier this offseason, new owner Ryan Smith gave general manager Bill Armstrong the green light to tweak the roster in the hopes of making a triumphant return to the postseason. It’s […]

The Winnipeg Jets at times looked like a juggernaut in 2023-24, putting together one of the best seasons in franchise history and entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs on an eight-game winning streak. They even beat the Colorado Avalanche 7-0 during that run. But, for the second straight year, the Jets were downed in Round 1, […]

No team in North American professional sports has suffered more than the Buffalo Sabres over the last decade-and-a-half. Although that’s a subjective statement, this one isn’t: no team has gone longer without making a playoff appearance than the team that calls Western New York home. Through multiple rebuilds, trading a franchise cornerstone in Jack Eichel […]

The Philadelphia Flyers were oh-so-close to breaking the postseason drought in 2023-24, occupying the No. 3 spot in the Metropolitan Division for most of the year before suffering an epic collapse. Philly lost nine of its last 11 games, not only falling out of a guaranteed divisional berth but also failing to secure one of […]

Tony DeAngelo enjoyed the best season of his NHL career with the New York Rangers in 2019-20, putting up 15 goals and 53 points in just 68 games in the COVID-19 shorted campaign. But his time with the Blueshirts was cut short abruptly the next year; he appeared in just six contests before getting in […]

The Minnesota Wild missed the playoffs for the first time in five seasons in 2024-25 — and general manager Bill Guerin sees no reason why history needs to repeat itself next year. “I think we certainly have the players in place that there’s no reason we can’t make the playoffs,” Guerin said recently, per NHL.com’s […]

After back-to-back dead last finishes in the Metropolitan Division, the Columbus Blue Jackets are hoping to finally climb out of the basement in 2024-25. Despite some hope that the team could take the next step forward last season, the roster was riddled with injuries and overall bad luck. Patrik Laine played just 18 games before […]

After a half-decade as the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, John Tavares officially passed the honor along to Auston Matthews on Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena. “I’m incredibly humbled to be named captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs,” Matthews said shortly after being named the franchise’s 26th on-ice leader, per NHL.com. “I’m honored to follow […]

Although there was some hope that the Anaheim Ducks would take a step forward last season — especially with the additions of Alex Killorn and Radko Gudas in free agency — the team struggled mightily once again in 2023-24. It was the sixth straight postseason-less campaign for the Ducks, who continue to rebuild but do […]

It’s very possible that Colorado Avalanche star forward Valeri Nichushkin has already played his last game in the National Hockey League. The 29-year-old was placed in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in the middle of the Avs’ second-round series against the Dallas Stars in the middle of May, and his future remains unknown. The power […]

The Seattle Kraken have the opposite of a long and storied history, breaking into the NHL as an expansion team and the league’s 32nd franchise in 2021-22. After the incredible success of the Vegas Golden Knights in their inaugural campaign — the franchise marched all the way to the Stanley Cup Final back in 2018 […]

Trade rumors continue to swirl around Columbus Blue Jackets sniper Patrik Laine, who was cleared by the NHL/NHLPA Player’s Assistance Program earlier this summer. The 26-year-old has requested a move out of Ohio, and potential suitors now have the green light to inquire about the former 44-goal scorer. Multiple teams are reportedly interested in the […]

The Vancouver Canucks were one of the big surprises of the 2023-24 National Hockey League campaign, following up three consecutive playoff-less seasons by winning the Pacific Division and taking the eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers to seven games in Round 2. Although the year ended in crushing disappointment — losing a Game 7 at […]

It’s been tough sledding for the Minnesota Wild over the last couple of seasons, which is to be expected as the club has continued to be hindered by the massive buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Mercifully, this is the last year that the two veterans will cost a fortune, with the franchise set […]

Seth Jarvis broke out in his third full season with the Carolina Hurricanes, fitting like a glove on the top line alongside Sebastian Aho and enjoying career bests across the board. The 22-year-old amassed 33 goals and 67 points over 81 regular-season games, adding another five goals and nine points in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff […]

Macklin Celebrini is just weeks away from his first National Hockey League training camp with the San Jose Sharks — and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft is ready to help turn the club into a contender. “I couldn’t be more excited,” the 18-year-old phenom said at the Hobey Baker Memorial […]

Ryan Lindgren was on the road to an arbitration hearing, but that will no longer be necessary after the bruising defenseman signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract extension with the New York Rangers on Tuesday. The 26-year-old was a pending restricted free agent, but can now focus on helping the Rangers in their quest for […]