Colin Gallant Articles - Page 22

The San Jose Sharks were just terrible in 2023-24 — there’s no sugar coating it. Without a single star player anywhere on the roster, the squad was doomed to mediocrity in the fifth year of the rebuild. The Sharks were one of the best teams of the 2000s to not win a Stanley Cup, and […]

The Washington Capitals returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024 after a rare miss the season before, but it was the team’s worst showing in the postseason during the Alex Ovechkin era. The Great Eight himself didn’t record a single point in a series for the first time in his career, the Caps were […]

Despite signing Oliver Wahlstrom to a one-year contract earlier this week, the New York Islanders are still expected to move on from the former first-round pick ahead of the 2024-25 National Hockey League campaign. There were high hopes for the American when he was selected No. 11 overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, but the […]

Rafael Harvey-Pinard was expected to start the 2024-25 season in a bottom-six role with the Montreal Canadiens, but that will no longer be the case after the 25-year-old broke his leg, the team announced. “Forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard underwent successful surgery on Thursday after suffering a broken leg. The recovery period for the 25-year-old winger is […]

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine was cleared by the NHL/NHLPA player’s assistance program on Friday, as first reported by Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman. And with that, the other 31 National Hockey League teams can officially look into acquiring the sniper, who has expressed a desire for a change of scenery. “Good news on […]

The New Jersey Devils entered the 2023-24 season with sky-high expectations after finishing third in the National Hockey League the year before and winning a playoff round for the first time since marching all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012. With an excellent young core and a solid veteran supporting cast, there […]

Along with the San Jose Sharks, the Chicago Blackhawks were absolutely awful in 2023-24. Take Connor Bedard out of the equation — which happened for six weeks when the phenom broke his jaw — and the Hawks were barely worth watching. But general manager Kyle Davidson was one of the busier executives in NHL free […]

Just minutes after Travis Konecny tweeted that he “isn’t going anywhere,” the Philadelphia Flyers locked him up to one of the richest contracts in franchise history. Konecny and the Flyers agreed to a massive eight-year, $70 million extension on Thursday, the team announced. “Travis Konecny is an integral part of the fabric of our team […]

Matvei Michkov has only been in North America for a matter of days, but the young Russian phenom is already saying all the right things as he prepares for his first National Hockey League campaign in 2024-25. After touching down at JFK airport in New York earlier this week, the 19-year-old was introduced in a […]

Free agent frenzy was quiet for the Montreal Canadiens in 2024, which makes sense as the most storied franchise in all of hockey continues the rebuild. The Habs won just 30 games in 2023-24, missing the postseason for the third straight year and finishing dead last in the Atlantic Division. The squad was again hit […]

Just weeks after Ken Holland and the Edmonton Oilers parted ways, the franchise found its new general manager and executive vice president of hockey operations on Wednesday. The Oilers will tab former Chicago Blackhawks executive Stan Bowman for the role, who hasn’t been involved in the sport since the Hawks’ 2010 sexual assault scandal came […]

Kevin Hayes experienced the worst season of his National Hockey League career in 2023-24 with the St. Louis Blues, scoring just 13 goals and 29 points over 79 games. But after being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this offseason, the 32-year-old is confident he can bounce back next year. “I still think I can […]

The Philadelphia Flyers have not really been busy at all this offseason, which was to be expected after general manager Danny Briere said as much after the 2023-24 season. But, despite that, it’s been an exciting one for Philly fans. Matvei Michkov, who was selected No. 7 overall in the 2023 NHL Draft and not […]

Kirill Marchenko was one of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ best players throughout the 2023-24 NHL campaign, but despite a standout year from the Russian winger, he remains without a contract heading into next season. The restricted free agent will be headed for arbitration on July 31 in Toronto if he and the Jackets front office […]

The Buffalo Sabres have made a couple of interesting trades this offseason, including acquiring former fifth-round pick Beck Malenstyn from the Washington Capitals on June 29. And the franchise avoided arbitration with the restricted free agent, signing him to a two-year, $2.70 million contract on Tuesday, the team announced. “This guy is a player who’s […]

Despite winning the President’s Trophy in 2023-24 as the National Hockey League’s premier regular-season team, the New York Rangers were again unable to bring a Stanley Cup to the Big Apple after losing to the eventual champion Florida Panthers in the East Final. It’s now been over 30 years since Mark Messier led the Blueshirts […]

The Minnesota Wild have already made one trade this offseason, shipping out Vinni Lettieri to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Jakub Lauko. The 24-year-old is a former third-round pick by the B’s, and figures to start the 2024-25 NHL season on the team’s fourth line. Besides signing Yakov Trenin from the Nashville Predators and […]

The St. Louis Blues were on top of the hockey world after going from worst-to-first in 2018-19, en route to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. The Blues went on an all-time run, highlighted by winning Game 7 against the Boston Bruins in an always-hostile TD Garden. It was the last seven-game series in a championship […]

The Ottawa Senators were oh-so-close to being a team of destiny in 2017, taking the Pittsburgh Penguins to seven games in the Eastern Conference Final and eventually losing in heartbreaking fashion in double overtime. The Pens would go on to win the Stanley Cup that postseason, and the Sens have yet to make the playoffs […]

Despite 13 straight National Hockey League seasons without a playoff appearance — the longest such drought in North American professional sports — the Buffalo Sabres continue to struggle to make meaningful progress. In 2023-24, the club floundered again, finishing sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a 39-37-6 record. It wasn’t a terrible season by […]

Although there was some hope that the 2023-24 Columbus Blue Jackets could surprise the hockey world and make a push for the playoffs — especially after acquiring Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov last offseason — the campaign went off the rails pretty quickly and never got back on track. When the dust settled, the Jackets […]

It’s no secret that Jake DeBrusk’s seven-year tenure with the Boston Bruins was not without its challenges — the 27-year-old did ask for a trade on two different occasions, after all. And after signing with the Vancouver Canucks in free agency on July 1, the former first-round pick broke his silence on the trade requests […]

The Seattle Kraken nearly went nuclear in just their second season of existence in 2022-23, defeating the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in Round 1 and coming within one victory of advancing all the way to the Western Conference Final. It was a hugely encouraging campaign in the State of Washington, providing hope that […]

The Carolina Hurricanes are in the midst of a mass exodus this offseason after watching a plethora of talent depart Raleigh, including forwards Jake Guentzel, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Teuvo Teravainen. And those might not be the only players on the move as youngsters Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis remain without a contract heading into 2024-25. […]

Shortly before free agent frenzy kicked off on July 1, the Utah Hockey Club didn’t have a single NHL defenseman under contract. Fast forward a couple of weeks and the club’s defense is arguably better than it’s been in the last decade. The league’s newest franchise had nothing but cap space heading into free agency, […]

The Florida Panthers are in the midst of one of the shortest offseasons in National Hockey League history after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 24. But that won’t matter too much to the franchise after the team brought a first-ever championship to South Beach. Still, even […]

There is going to come a time when Alex Ovechkin retires and the Washington Capitals inevitably return to a level of mediocrity the franchise hasn’t seen since before The Great Eight was drafted No. 1 overall in 2004. But not this day, say new general manager Chris Patrick and president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan. […]

The Nashville Predators have never won a Stanley Cup in the franchise’s 25-year history, but after a couple of huge offseason signings — including two-time champion Steven Stamkos — the squad is looking primed to compete for one for the first time since 2017. And Stamkos, who returned to Nashville this week for the first […]

The San Jose Sharks were not only the weakest team in the National Hockey League in 2023-24, but they put together one of the worst campaigns in the history of the league. Everyone knew this squad would struggle in the early stages of the rebuild, but probably no one expected a 19-win, 47-point season. That […]

The Edmonton Oilers may have come one win short of their first Stanley Cup in over 30 years, but CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson made it clear in NHL free agency that nothing short of a championship is the goal in 2025. Edmonton started last season horrifically, sitting near the bottom of the league […]

The Carolina Hurricanes have been Stanley Cup contenders for the better part of the last half-decade, but the franchise has been unable to get over the hump when it matters most. After getting swept by the Florida Panthers in the 2023 Eastern Conference Final, the Canes’ roster was even better in 2024, especially with the […]

It doesn’t seem like all that long ago when the New York Islanders were legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. The franchise advanced to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals in 2020 and 2021, losing both times to a powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning squad that went on to capture two consecutive championships. The Isles could have won both of […]

Nearly two weeks after Steven Stamkos left the Tampa Bay Lightning in free agency — the team he won two Stanley Cups with and captained for the last decade — the future Hall of Famer penned an emotional letter to the organization in The Players Tribune on Monday. Stamkos was selected No. 1 overall by […]

After spending seven years as a ‘Golden Misfit’ — and with a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy under his belt — Jonathan Marchessault is off to Smashville after joining the Nashville Predators on a five-year, $27.5 million contract on July 1. The 33-year-old, who went undrafted but has carved out an excellent NHL career, […]

Chris Patrick has only been the general manager of the Washington Capitals for a matter of days, but he’s inheriting a team that is already vastly improved from last season. Before passing the torch, former GM Brian MacLellan — who is still president of hockey operations — made a flurry of huge moves, adding Pierre-Luc […]

After winning a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in his rookie season in 2015 — as part of a team that featured Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane — Teuvo Teravainen is returning to where it all started after signing a three-year, $16.2 million contract with the Hawks on July 1. And the 29-year-old, who […]

Since being traded from the Los Angeles Kings — the team he won a Stanley Cup with in 2014 — to the Vancouver Canucks in 2020, Tyler Toffoli has played for four different Canadian franchises (and the New Jersey Devils) in just five seasons. After joining the Canucks, he also suited up for the Montreal […]

The Utah Hockey Club have locked in a key member of their young core ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, signing Barrett Hayton to a two-year, $5.3 million contract on Monday, general manager Bill Armstrong announced. It comes in at an AAV of $2.65 million, keeping the former first-round pick in Salt Lake City until the […]

Jeff Skinner scored 40 goals in his first season with the Buffalo Sabres after signing a massive $72 million contract with the franchise back in 2019. The deal looked like a steal back then, but fast forward five years and Skinner’s $9 million AAV is hamstringing the organization after one of the worst seasons of […]